JSB178 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Witenagemot, Volvo S80, Dominate
Document Summary
Diocletian was a prominent roman emperor of the third century. He marked the change in rome from the principate to the dominate (in other words, from a republic where he would have been considered first among equals" to a monarchy where he was a divinely selected ruler). He also declared that every man must from that point onwards follow in the career path of his father, in order to produce order and organisation in rome. This prevailed for the next 1200 or so years. The anglo-saxons parliament called the witenagemot in which the king consulted with wise men" (i. e. the wealthiest men). Kings were not under obligation to follow the wise men"s advice; however the wise men had the right to insist that he hear their advice. Kings who continuously did not take advice often did not last long. The grand council consisted of clergymen (bishops) and lords who had the right to consultation under contract.
