Exploring Medieval Power Structures: Subjugation, Encompassing, or Both?

The spatial dimension in the construction of medieval concepts of power is the primary focus of this article. The results of a text-mining analysis of corpora of medieval charters and theologi­cal treatises allow me to argue that, depending on the context, power relations were portrayed either as relations “in the power” (a model rooted in an “inside/outside” scheme) or as relations of “power over” (a model based on an “over/under” scheme). The “in the power” scheme is more frequently encountered in the corpora of medieval texts. I suggest that the coexistence and com­bination of the two schemes in the construction of power concepts align with Philippe Descola’s model of analogist societies and Louis Dumont’s hierarchical models for holistic societies. Fi­nally, the frequency of the second scheme allows us to recall the “polar model” of power as an alternative to the “pyramidal” one.