大宪章话语与中世纪英格兰的政治文化

The Discourses of Magna Carta and Political Culture in Medieval England

大宪章开篇词使用了“为革新吾邦”“为荣耀上帝”“忠诚臣民之建议”等政治话语,用以表达制定大宪章的目的和方式。这类政治话语在随后的大宪章确认和请愿活动中持续得到使用,并且在此过程中还产生了新的话语。伴随着王国共同体范围的扩大,这类话语也为更多的政治群体所使用,成为政治精英进行交流互动的重要媒介。一方面,君主在确认大宪章时往往注重话语的使用,此举有助于应对政治问题或危机。另一方面,诸多臣民在请愿活动中往往援引大宪章并使用相关话语,进而强化其诉求的合理性。大宪章政治话语的普遍使用反映了中世纪英格兰的一种政治文化,其基本特点是:面对王国出现的政治问题或危机,最佳的解决方式是国王通过与臣民沟通互动形成革新方案;和平稳定是王国所有政治参与者共同追求的目标,促成国家的善治是所有政治群体共同承担的责任。这种政治文化以共识和革新为典型特征,是中世纪英格兰集权君主制之下合作性政治的集中体现。

The preamble of Magna Carta used such political discourses as‘for the reform of our realm'‘for the honour of God'on the advice of our faithful subjects'to describe how and why that document was created.This type of discourses continued to be used in the subsequent activities related to Magna Carta,including confirmations and petitions.Moreover,new expressions also emerged during that process.As the scope of the community of the realm expanded,those discourses were adopted by more political groups and therefore became an important medium for communication and interaction among the political elite.On the one hand,the monarch attached attention to the use of discourse in confirming Magna Carta,which was helpful to cope with political problems or crises.On the other hand,the subjects often invoked Magna Carta and used its discourses in their petitions for the purpose of strengthening the validity of their demands.The widespread use of the political discourses of Magna Carta reflected the existence of a political culture in medieval England,which showed the fllowing two characteristics.First,if the royal state encountered a political crisis,the best solution was to formulate a reform plan through the reciprocal dialogue between the king and his subjects.Second,the maintenance of the peace and stability of the realm was a goal shared by all political participants in the state affairs,and the promotion of good governance was the duty shared by the whole community of the realm.This political culture,characterised by consensus and reform,was an epitome of cooperative politics'under the centralised monarchy of medieval England.