Wednesday Walk
The weather has turned around here in Vancouver. Minime and I have taken advantage of the mostly dry afternoons to stroll about the city streets and venture into neighbourhoods a little afar. The flowers are enjoying slightly warmer weather and spring showers in between those sunny rays.
The city looked amazing under these swift moving clouds and atop the perspective of a coastal embankment.
We have lived in downtown Vancouver for many years. I have to admit. I am getting a little bored with the same-same of the city. I was pleasantly surprised to come across this amazing new park on Richard Street. Hats off to the architects who designed this beauty. It has levels and feng shui and boasts enclosed climbing opportunities for the young'uns, a trampoline for all ages, and a rampart ... yes a rampart ... for any of us who want to rise above it all. You can even take a nap on a raised net up on those ramparts.
Lunar New Year has just passed. The city celebrated with a parade, which we took a pass on due to heavy rains. But we did enjoy this amazing wicker dragon displayed on Georgia street side of Robson Square. One hopes it finds a long term home somewhere else in the city.
Minime and I love to walk through the city and travel back in time with our studies. We finished up our look at the evolution of governmental system in Europe by contrasting and comparing 5 major system/changes: the moving of the Roman capital to Constantinople, the enactment of the Justinian Code, the feudal and town charter system, and finally erosion of the divine right of monarch. Read on history buffs.
Governmental Evolution of European Systems
From our studies ...
Throughout the Medieval period, European governing went from an empire in Constantinople, with its Justinian law code; to the feudal system and town charters of the middle ages; and finally from the divine right of kings to secularism and the charters and constitutions of today.
In the 4th century, the Roman emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east to Constantinople. The move saw much of the imperial wealth concentrate in Constantinople. Going forward, the East and the West didn’t always support each other in war.
The western half of the empire fell to Gothic general, Odacer, about a hundred years later. The eastern half of the empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, would last for another thousand years. In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian gave the empire a unified law code. Laws were now the same throughout the Empire and could be easily referenced, and this helped in trade and military expansion.
After the fall of Rome and Ravenna, western Europe moved into the feudal system and town charters. Feudalism was hierarchal, with the king at the top, then the feudal lords and barons, their knights, and finally at the bottom were the peasants/serfs. Security/military service and access to land was traded for labour and food. Imperial slaves became peasants, but were still tied to the land.
Meanwhile, more freedom could be found in the towns for everyday people. By the 13th century, charters, granted by nobles, kings, or high ranking clerics, gave towns the authority to form their own city council and govern certain aspects of town life. Citizens took part in town decision making and were protected by the town charter. Townspeople were free to move around.
The divine right of monarchs began to erode in the 16th century. The ideas that a monarch’s powers should be limited and a nation and individuals had rights to self determination would steadily gain popularity. Less people were religious and more religions weakened a sovereign’s ability to claim a divine right to rule. The end of WWI would see the end of monarchial power in most European countries. The monarchies that remained held only ceremonial power.
From the Middle Ages to present, governing in Europe would go from centralized empires; to the feudal system and the divine right of many kings; to charters and constitutions and the rule of people through democracy.
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