The Medieval Case Against Flattery
And what it means for freedom of speech today
John of Salisbury was born around 1120 A.D. to a non-noble family in Salisbury, England. After receiving an extensive education in France, John returned to England, where he was appointed secretary to the archbishop of Canterbury. In this prestigious role, he rubbed elbows with the most powerful people in the English government. Over the course of his life, John had a variety of occupations: he was a poet, a moralist, an educator, and a philosopher. He was easily one of the most well-educated men of his day.
John became a controversial figure when he criticized King Henry II’s methods of raising funds for a war against the French. In order to raise an army, Henry disproportionately taxed church property. John was an ardent defender of the church’s traditional liberties, including its exemption from certain taxes. In response to the king’s actions, John wrote a book entitled Policraticus, a newly coined word that roughly translates from the Greek as “The Statesman’s Book.” In Policraticus, John discussed a wide variety of topics, including his justification for tyrannicide, the nature of law, and the behavior of a just king. Generally, we assume that people of the medieval era were viciously dogmatic and backward. John, with his surprisingly modern-sounding defense of free speech as a…
