Anneke van Baalen, HIDDEN MASCULINITY, Max Weber's historical sociology of bureaucracy. 1994
Chapter 7 The city: new fraternities of patriarchs
121
Europe. The burghers were often denied all legal rights; not only did the nobility refuse to
pay its bills, but it also insulted and threatened them. The courts gave no protection at all,
since they were dominated by the nobility. In cities where the citizens won their struggle, the
positions of citizens and nobles were reversed, the citizens formally excluding the knights
from participation in the city colleges and discriminating against them in the administration of
justice; knightly lifestyle and attire were forbidden.
Comparable revolutions had taken place in Mediterranean Antiquity, where the 'demos' in
Greece and the 'plebs' in Rome revolted. (The terms 'demos' and 'plebs' again only
designate the non-noble status of the revolting men, not their income.) The difference
between Antiquity and the Western European Middle Ages lies in the organization of the
revolutionary strata: in Antiquity they were organized according to the district ('demos')
where they lived; because of the existence of slavery guilds could not develop.
52
In both kinds of revolutions however a completely new community of law was created, from
which the nobility was excluded as much as possible. In this process the law, which
originally had been 'found' in a charismatic way, was increasingly rationalized into the law of
a compulsory organization ('Anstalt'). This is the beginning of the idea of lawgiving, that is to
say: of the idea that law is not something that has always existed, but that it has been
artificially created and thus can be consciously changed, and also that it 'should be based on
the consensus
53
of those to whom it is to apply.'
54
Thus in Athens the demos was asked
every year whether the laws should be changed. In medieval cities the democratic
revolutions led to the writing of urban law books, codification of civil and trial law, and 'a
veritable flood of statutes of all kinds'.
55
The second important change caused by the city revolution took place in government and
administration. Under the patriciate officials had been 'honoratiores' who ruled by 'honor',
thus by virtue of family or office charisma
56
; after the revolutions they were elected or chosen
by lot, in for this period vast numbers.
57
These officials should not be seen as modern, bureaucratic officials; their term of office was
short, its revenues constituting only a side-income; officialdom moreover did not constitute a
profession since no career and no official 'estate-honor' existed. The administrators therefore
were not detached from their own associations and did not form an association to serve their
own common interests. They kept representing the interests of the associations they
belonged to, in the Middle Ages those of the guilds and of other corporations which
governed the city. This gave city politics its 'democratic' character: the interests of the
associated corporations were represented, though there was no representation of the
individual citizens.
52
ES p. 1343, WG p. 798/9.
53
'Zustimmung'.
54
ES p. 1313, WG p. 782.
55
ES p. 1315, WG p. 783.
56
See Ch 9,3 below.
57
ES p. 1315, WG p. 783.
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