Z badań nad kształtowaniem się pojęcia „suwerenność” w średniowieczu
From the research into shaping of the notion of „sovereignty” in the Middle Ages

Summary/Abstract: Colloquial representations link the establishment of the political-legal category of sovereignty with the activity of Jean Bodin. The very notion itself appeared earlier, though. The paper, which provides exclusively an initial framework of the problem area, recollects how the shaping of the understanding of sovereignty was progressing in the Middle Ages: from the appearance of the word superanus, through the concept of dispersed sovereignty represented by Philip de Beaumanoir, into the medieval sources of formation of J. Bodin’s monistic concept. The author also points to the differences in the Weltanschauung, which characterized that epoch in relation to modern times. Moreover, he wonders which of the meanings of the notion of sovereignty is better adjusted to fit contemporary times: primeval, the pluralistic framework proposed by Philip de Beaumanoir, which is characterized by acknowledgement of dispersion of competence and network-like system of power, or maybe the framework offered by Bodin and Hobbes, one that is modern, monistic, exclusivism-oriented and based on the law of excluded centre. In conclusion, the author expresses the conviction that in view of the need to protect natural human rights, the concept of dispersed sovereignty should be returned to.

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