In this interview, I spoke with Professor Warren Brown of Caltech about medieval law, government, violence, and warfare. He explained that in the early Middle Ages, crimes were usually handled through compensation between the people involved, rather than punishment by a strong government. As kings became more powerful, however, crimes increasingly came to be viewed as offenses against the state, which led to more corporal and capital punishment. We also discussed how medieval kings separated themselves from ordinary people through armed followers, religious ceremonies, and the belief that they were chosen by God. Professor Brown explained that Roman law continued to influence medieval Europe, although different ethnic groups often lived under their own laws. He also described how knights followed rules that limited violence against other knights, but these protections usually did not extend to peasants or ordinary soldiers. Finally, we discussed the decentralization that followed the collapse of Charlemagne’s empire, the development of feudal relationships, and how trained infantry, crossbows, longbows, and gunpowder weapons gradually weakened the military power of knights and castles.
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