La thèse est dédiée à analyser les possibilités du pouvoir royal à l’époque des derniers Carolingiens en étudiant le règne de Charles III le Simple (893/898-923) et en le comparant avec ceux de ses prédécesseurs depuis la mort de son grand-père Charles II le Chauve en 877, c’est ce que permet aussi l’identification des développements à moyen terme des structures politiques du monde Franc. Le pouvoir royal se devait de naître des interactions entre le roi et les nobles autour de lui. Selon les interprétations de la recherche récente, ces derniers sont considérés comme des partenaires du premier, qui participent dans le processus de sa prise de décision et qui fonctionnent comme des exécuteurs des décisions prises en consensus, transmettant ainsi le pouvoir royal dans les différentes parties du royaume. La question des marges de manœuvre du pouvoir royal est donc une question des relations entre le roi et les nobles qui l’entourent. En conséquence, l’étude de ces relations constitue l’axe central de cette étude. Les réseaux des nobles en contact avec les rois sont identifiés et l’influence des nobles individuels ainsi que des groupes est déterminée en analysant les diplômes royaux et en les mettant dans le contexte des sources narratives. Pendant les règnes de Louis II le Bègue (877-897) et ses fils Louis III (879-882) et Carloman II (882-884), jusqu'à celui de Charles III le Gros (884-888), l’existence d’un et plus tard de deux groupes qui dominaient la politique royale est révélée. Cette image change sous le dernier, qui promouvait certains nobles qui entretenaient des liens avec ces anciens groupes. Le manque de cohérence de cette nouvelle élite devient évident après la mort de Charles le Gros, quand des groupes rivaux soutinrent différents candidats pour le trône vacant. Cette fragmentation de l’élite du royaume continua pendant le règne d’Eudes (888-898) jusqu’aux premières années de Charles le Simple. Ce n’est qu’après la mort de certaines figures clés que l’intégration des nobles qui s’opposaient au nouvel ordre dans le cercle autour du nouveau roi devint possible. Pendant les prochaines décennies du règne de Charles, ce cercle fut modifié encore plusieurs fois, par l’addition d’un grand nombre de nobles après l’acquisition de la Lotharingie ainsi que par l’ascendance d’un nouveau groupe favorisé par Charles vers les dernières années 910s. Cette analyse constitue la base pour une évaluation des activités des rois concernant leurs pairs et les Vikings. Une collaboration étroite entre les rois est mise en lumière pour avoir d’une part stabilisé les relations entre ces rois et leurs nobles, et d’autre part, pour avoir limité aussi au même moment les marges de manœuvres des rois concernant leurs propres intérêts dans les royaumes voisins. Concernant les mesures prises contre les Vikings, des stratégies purement militaires pour sécuriser le royaume s’avèrent avoir été inefficaces. Ce n'était seulement que par des accords diplomatiques avec les Vikings, négociés et mis en œuvre avec le soutien des grands, que des succès sur le long terme pouvaient être obtenus. Quand pour la majeure partie de son règne Charles le Simple profitait du soutien des nobles, sa fin arriva quand même par leur rébellion en 922. Cette contradiction est résolue par l’introduction du concept sociologique de la confiance. Son importance dans les relations entre les rois et les nobles est déterminée par l’analyse de différentes situations de conflits. Il semble que la détérioration des liens entre Charles et les grands autour de lui était causée par la perception de certaines actions royales comme des violations des normes par les nobles ainsi que sa mauvaise grâce à employer une langue appropriée pour répondre à cette crise de confiance. / The thesis aims to determine the possibilities of royal power in the late Carolingian age, analysing the reign of Charles III the Simple (893/898-923). His predecessors’ reigns up to the death of his grandfather Charles II the Bald (843-877) serve as basis for comparison, thus also allowing to identify mid-term developments in the political structures shaping the Frankish world toward the turn from the 9th to the 10th century. Royal power is understood to have derived from the interaction of the ruler with the nobles around him. Following the reading of modern scholarship, the latter are considered as partners of the former, participating in the royal decision-making process and at the same time acting as executors of these decisions, thus transmitting the royal power into the various parts of the realm. Hence, the question for the royal room for manoeuvre is a question of the relations between the ruler and the nobles around him. Accordingly, the analysis of these relations forms the core part of the study. Based on the royal diplomas, interpreted in the context of the narrative evidence, the noble networks in contact with the rulers are revealed and their influence examined. Thus, over the course of the reigns of Louis II the Stammerer (877-879) and his sons Louis III (879-882) and Carloman II (879-884) up until the rule of Charles III the Fat (884-888), the existence of first one, then two groups of nobles significantly influencing royal politics become visible. This image changes only under the latter, when individual nobles originating in the immediate vicinity of the older groups were promoted. The missing inner coherence of this new elite is revealed after the death of Charles the Fat, when rivalling parties formed, which supported different candidates for the vacant throne. This fragmentation of the leading nobility continued throughout Odo’s reign (888-898) until the first years of Charles the Simple’s rule. Only then, after the death of political key figures, the full integration of those nobles opposing the new king into the circle around him became possible. Over the course of the next decades this circle underwent a number of further modifications, most of all by the integration of numerous nobles after the addition of Lotharingia to Charles’ rule as well as the ascent of a new group of nobles promoted by the king in the late 910s. These analyses constitute the basis for an evaluation of the rulers’ activities in regard to their peers as well as the Vikings. A close cooperation between the rulers is revealed to have had a stabilizing effect on the relations between the rulers and the nobles. At the same time, however, these alliances also limited their room for manoeuvre when it came to pursuing their interests against their partners. Concerning the politics pursued against the Vikings, purely military measures to secure the realm remained rather ineffective. Longer lasting success could only be obtained by diplomatic agreements with the Northmen, negotiated and implemented with the support of the leading nobles of the realm. While for the most part of his reign Charles enjoyed the support of the leading nobles, his rule, nevertheless, remains under the shadow of their rebellion against him in 922. Outlining the importance of trust by analysing different conflict situations, this contrast is resolved by arguing that the deterioration of the relations between Charles and the nobles was caused by repeated actions of the king, which were perceived as violations of the existing norms and a failure to adjust his symbolic language to respond to this crisis.

Le but de cette thèse est d'examiner les réformes politiques qui sont intervenues sous le règne de Charles III. La chronologie (1765-1787) se confond avec la visite générale de José de Gálvez en Nouvelle Espagne, puis avec sa nomination, en 1776, au secrétariat d’État des Indes. Au cours de cette période furent créées de nouvelles juridictions : une vice-royauté, deux capitaineries générales, trois audiencias et desintendances presque partout aux Indes. Ce moment est unique dans l'histoire de la monarchie espagnole par l'ampleur des réformes adoptées. Mais plus que les réformes elles-mêmes, c'est leur genèse et les moyens mis en œuvre pour les adopter qui ont attiré notre attention. À travers l'étude du réseau de José de Gálvez, nous avons pu observer une véritable politique de prise de contrôle du gouvernement des Indes. Le clientélisme du secrétaire d’État est alors mis au service de ses projets politiques. Ces réformes engagent une fragmentation du superior gobierno et un affaiblissement de l'autorité des vice-rois. Un nouveau système de gouvernement des Indes estalors expérimenté. / This dissertation examines the political reforms under the rule of Charles III and, especially, under José de Gálvez, first, as Visitador General of New Spain and, later, as Secretary of State of the Indies. Between 1765 and 1787, Gálvez undertook several profound changes in the Indies’ government, including the creation of new administrative territories: a viceroyalty, two capitanías generales, three audiencias, and numerous intendencias in almost all the Indies. This period was unique for the Spanish monarchy not only for the large-scale reforms, but also for the means to achieve them, which is the focus of our research. By studying the José de Gálvez’s network, we argued that it succeeded in taking control of the Indies’ government. In fact, the goal of the Secretary of State’s clientelism was to serve his political projects. Furthermore, Gálvez’s reforms caused the fragmentation of the Superior Gobierno and the weakness of viceroys’ authority, which resulted in a new government system in the Indies.

This dissertation relates to treason and sodomy crimes that were fundamental in all pre-modern societies (also adultery but to a lesser extent). These laws, characterized by their biblical source, have met their demise in modern Western societies. The rise of individual rights led to significant changes in these crimes and eventually to their demise. As discussed below, the demise has become so substantial that the antiquated crime of sodomy, termed the crime against nature, is a modern source of pride, and actions like those of January 6, 2021, that would have been considered treason in prior generations are no longer charged as treason. Chapter One: Dying Criminal Laws: Sodomy and Adultery From the Bible toDemise analyzes the rise and fall of sodomy and adultery. The original legal basis for punishing sodomy and adultery was due to a breach in the duty of loyalty owed to God (i.e. sin) or the state. However, the loosening of the bonds of loyalty in present day Western criminal law has led to the demise of these crimes. Their demise has correlated with the rise of individual rights, especially the right to privacy. As such, the demise of sodomy and adultery laws is symbolic of the shift from a duty-based to a rights-based society. Chapter Two: The Genesis of Treason: The Creation of Equality and TheEstablishment of the Patriarchy analyzes the biblical source of treason. The roots of treason reach back to the Bible. Treason against God’s divine right kings was acrime because it was an assault against the heavenly order. Petit treason was also an attack on God’s order. The initial chapters of the book of Genesis contain the foundation of the law oftreason. The treasons of Adam and Eve, Cain, the Sons of God, Ham, and Nimrod each relate to different aspects of both high and petit treason. The dissertation also analyzes the place of treason during the reign of Saul and David as Kings of Israel. According to the Book of Samuel, neither Saul's indeterminate use of treason nor the virtually nonexistent use of treason by David is the right path. Rather, a determinant form of treason that punishes actual treason but does not punish all forms of opposition is appropriate. Chapter Three: The Rise and Fall of High Treason and The Correlation with PetitTreason Infallible Relationships: From Edward III to The Execution of Charles I And Lessons For Modern Treason in the Age of Charles III traces the roots of treason as a crime in Anglo-American law, the expansion of treason during Henry VIII’s reign, up to the conviction of King Charles I for high treason. Henry VIII enacted multiple amendments to the law of high treason and did nothesitate to utilize treason as a weapon in his battle for supremacy against the Pope in England. Compared with Henry and his children, James I endeavored to use the law of high treason sparingly. Treason underwent a fundamental transformation during Charles I’s reign thatultimately led to a civil war and Parliament transforming treason from a statute that protected the King into a law that protected the nation. This was done by rejecting the King’s special status and invoking the transformative idea of a social contractbetween the nation and the people. In short, a transformation from status to contract. The changes at the dawn of treason have continued to the present day, and treason,the crime that protects the hierarchy of society, has not been invoked in the US and UK since the end of World War II. The failed South African treason trial against Nelson Mandela and the Civil and Woman’s Rights Movements appear to have led to treason’s demise in cases that do not involve armed warfare. Despite the renewed interest in treason following the assault on the US Capital on January 6, 2021, there does not appear to be an appetite for reviving treason. In the age of Charles III, the most severe crime for a march like Charles I’s “warlike march” on Parliament is seditious conspiracy.