r()\

lC/r.

lihe,rtionsare r.
q,ts to Pro|e tl:.::
:ntilelr', just lik.
,rrporation.Thrrr
|c cntrePreneur:rr lt the top of .,
rrcnt u'hich is ":
ur rJC\. iS one JII
)rrticular kind , i
-lI
fixcd salan'.
ropriated ilill t.' bclon', sec. S.'
. Though this i.
r3nqementwhich
ravc the charact.r
rlies the appropr:
There are, hor'.
rtt'rmediate tr-px':.
thc pledge o[ in
tr pe of bureau'
t's principal tx'crr
other categorit:.
:al "bureaucratic''
rom orvnership , d
thc same in th.
atic organizations.
I o r , .(' s e c t i o nr ; ' .
portancein far','r
n(^t part formallr
in\t.rnce,the ct,l
\1.tv to the mon,'
.lc..isivefactor ir.
isi,rns.free o[ thc'
an.l also free ,,[
d ,'lficial rvho i.
rvill be discuss..i
er radicallv fron
.-.. I:), from tl:.
\ .r: a capitali:!..
r:r,,ns\\'hich hr', ,
r n . i t i r l n sb e t u . . . ,
,! fr,-rrnthe mc.r:..

LegalAuthority With a BureaucraticStaft

223

I carrying out his function, and the proprietor of a mercenary army for
,apitalistic purposes have, along with the private capitalistic entrepreneur, been pioneers in the organization of the modem type of bureaucracy.This will be discussedin detail below.

5. Monocratic Bureaucracy
Experiencetends universally to show that the purely bureaucratic
n?e of administrative organization-that is, the monocratic variety of
bureaucracy-is, from a purely technicalpoint of view, capableof attaining the highestdegreeof efficiencyand is in this senseformally the most
rational known meansof exercisingauthority over human beings. It is
superiorto any other form in precision,in stability, in the stringency
of its discipline,and in its reliability. It thus makespossiblea particularly
high degreeof calculability of resultsfor the headsof the organization
.rnd for those acting in relation to it. It is finally superior both in intensiveefficiency and in the scope of its operations,and is formally
capableof applicationto all kinds of administrativemsks.
The developmentof modern forms of organizationin all fields is
nothing less than identical with the developmentand continual spread
of bureaucraticadministration.This is true of church and state.of armies,
political parties, economic enterprises,interest groups, endowments,
clubs, and many others. Its developmentis, to take the most striking
case,at the root of the modern Western state, However many forms
there may be which do not appear to fit this pattern, such as collegial
representative
bodies,parliamentarycommittees,soviets,honoraryofHcers,
hy judges,and what not, and howevermany peoplemay complain about
the "red tape," it would be sheer illusion to think for a moment that
continuousadministrativework can be carriedout in any field exceptby
meansof officialsworking in offices.The whole pattern of everl'd2ylifs
is cut to fit this framework.If bureaucraticadministrationis, other things
being equal, always the most rational type from a technical point of
r-iew,the needsof massadministrationmake it today completelyindispensable.
The choiceis onlv that betweenbureaucracvand dilettantism
in the field of administration.
The primary sourceof the superiorityof bureaucraticadministration
lies in the role of technicalknowledgewhich, through the development
of modern technologyand businessmethodsin the production of goods,
has becomecompletelyindispensable.In this respect,it makes no differencewhether the economicsystemis organizedon a capitalisticor a
socialisticbasis.Indeed,if in the latter casea comparablelevel of technical

224

THE TypES oF LEGTTTMATEDoMTNATToN

lCh.

efficiencywere to be achieved,it would mean a tremendousincrease

the importanceof professionalbureaucrats.
When those subject to bureaucraticcontrol seek to escapethe .:
fluence of the existing bureaucraticapparatus,this is normally possii.,
only by creating an organizationof their own which is equally subj.-:
to bureaucratization.Similarly the existing bureaucratic apparafus ..
driven to continue functioning by the most powerful interestswhich .,
materialand objective,but also ideal in character.Without ir, a soci(:i
like our own-with its separationof officials,employees,and workt:
r:
from ownershipof the meansof administration,and its dependenCe
disciplineand on technicaltraining-could no longer function. The on..
exceptionwould be thosegroups,such as the peasantr/,who are still
possession
of their own meansof subsistence.
Even in the caseof rr'r,1
..
tion by force or of occupationby an enemy, the bureaucraticmachinr:-.
will normally continue to function just as it has for the previous leg,.
government.
The question is always who controls the existing bureaucraticn:
chinery. And such control is possibleonly in a very limited degrec :
personswho are not technicalspecialists.
Generallyspeaking,the high..:
ranking careerofficial is more likely to get his way in the long ruD th.,:
his nominal superior,the cabinetminister,who is not a specialist.
Though by no meansalone, the capitalisticsystemhas undenial ..
played a major role in the developmentof bureaucracy.Indeed, witht:.:
it capitalisticproduction could not continue and any rational type . :
socialismwould have simply to take it over and increaseits importan.
Its development,largelyunder capitalisticauspices,has createdan urg(: '
need for stable,strict,intensive,and calculableadministration.It is rl
need which is so fateful to any kind of large-scaleadministration.On
by reversionin every field-political, religious,economic,etc.-to sm.,
scale organizationwould it be possibleto any considerableextent :
escapeits influence. On the one hand, capitalismin its modern stir!
of developmentrequiresthe bureaucracy,though both have arisen fr, ::
different historical sources.Conversely,capitalism is the most ratirrr:
economicbasisfor bureaucraticadministrationand enablesit to devcl
in the most rational form, especiallybecause,from a fiscalpoint of li.
it suppliesthe necessarymoney resources.
Along with thesefiscalconditionsof efficientbureaucraricadminis::
tion, theie are certain extremely important conditions in the fieldt
communicationand transportati;.r.fh" precisionof its functioning :
quircs the servicesof the railway, the telegraph,and the telephone,.,:
becomesincreasinglydependenton them. A socialisticform of organr.'
tion would not alter this fact. It would be a question(cf. ch. II, sec. r -

I
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F5

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{r
rt

fegal Autkority Witk a BureaucraticStaff

225

'.r'hetherin a socialisticsystemit would be possibleto provide conditions

ior carrying out as stringent a bureaucratic organization as has been
possiblein a capitalisticorder.For socialismwould, in fact, require a still
higher degreeof formal bureaucratizationthan capitalism. If this should
prove not to be possible,it would demonstratethe existenceof another
of those fundamental elements of irrationality-a confict between
formal and substantive rationality of rhe sorr which sociology so often
encounters.
Bureaucraticadministration meansfundamentally domination through
knowledge. This is the feature of it which makes it specifically rational.
This consistson the one hand in technical knowledge which, by itself, is
sufficient to ensure it a position of extraordinary power. But in addition
to this, bureaucraticorganizations,or the holden of power who make use
of them, have the tendency to increasetheir power still further by the
knowledge growing out of experience in the service. For they acquire
through the conduct of office a special knowledge of facts and have
available a store of documentary material peculiar to themselves.While
not peculiar to bureaucraticorganizations,the concept of "official secrets"
is certainly typical of them. It stands in relation to technical knowledge
in somewhatthe sameposition as commercial secretsdo to technological
rraining. It is a product of the striving for power.
Superior to bureaucracyin the knowledge of techniques and facs is
only the capitalist entrepreneur,within his own sphere of interest. He is
the only type who has been able to maintain at least relative immunity
from subjection to the control of rational bureaucratic knowledge. In
large-scaleorganizations,all others are inevitably subject to bureaucratic
control, just as they have fallen under the dominance of precision
machineryin the massproduction of goods.
In general, bureaucratic domination has the following social consequences:
(r) The tendency to "levelling" in the interest of the broadestpossible basis of recruitment in terms of technical competence.
(z) The tendency to plutocracy growing out of the interest in the
greatestpossiblelength of technical training. Today this often lasts up
to the age of thirty.
(f) The dominance of a+pirit of formalistic impersonality: "Sine
ira et studio," without hatred or passion,and hence without affection
or enthusiasm.The dominant norms are conceptsof straightforward duty
rvithout regard to personal considerations.Everyone is subject to formal
equality of treatment; that is, everyone in the same empirical situation.
This is the spirit in which the ideal official conducts his office.

226

THE TYPES OF LEGITIMATE DOMINATION

I Ch.

II;

The developmentof bureaucracygreatly favors the levelling of status.

and this can be shown historically to be the normal tendency. Conversely, every processof social levelling createsa favorable siruation io:
the development of bureaucracy by eliminating the office-holder s'ho
rules by virtue of status privileges and the appropriation of the mean-.
and powers of administration; in the interestsof "equality," it also elimi
natesthosewho can hold officeon an honorary basisor as an avocation
by virtue of their wealth. Everywhere bureaucratization foreshadorr:
massdemocracy,which will be discussedin anotherconnection.
The "spirit" of rational bureaucracy has normally the follon'ing
general characteristics
:
( r ) Formalism,which is promoted by all the interestswhich are con'
cerned with the security of their own personalsituation, whatever thrr
may consist in. Otherwise the door would be open to arbitrarinessand
hence formalismis the line of leastresistance.
(z) There is another tendency, which is apparend/, and in pan
genuinely, in contradictionto the above.It is the tendency of offici.rls
to treat their official function from what is substantively a utilitarien
point of view in the interest of the welfare of thoseunder their authorirr
But this utilitarian tendency is generally expressedin the enactment o{
corresponding regulatory measures which themselves have a form.:i
character and tend to be treated in a formalistic spirit. (This will bc
further discussedin the Sociologyof Law). This tendencyto substantile
rationality is supported by all those subjec to authority who are nc(
included in the group mentioned above as interestedin the prorection
of advantagesalready secured.The problemswhich open up at this poin:
belong in the theory of "democracy."

iii
Traditional Authorit\

6, TkePureType
Authority will be called traditional if legitimacyis claimedfor it er:.:
believed in by virtue of the sanctity of age-old rules and powers. Ti:,
mastersare designatedaccordingto traditional rules and are obeyedl'.
causeof their traditional status (Eigenwinde). This type of organiz,-.

Traditional Authority

r
'

:...

- -::
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r-5:

rtl'r[t

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zz7

.Lleis, in the simplestcase,primarily basedon perconalloyalty which

,.'sultsfrom common upbringing. The person exercisingauthority is not
., "superior," but a personal master, his administrativestaff does not
,onsist mainly of officials but of personal retainers, and the ruled are
not "members"of an association
but are either his traditional "comrades"
"subjects."
his
loyalty, not the official's impersonal
or
Personal
.sec.7a)
Juty, determinesthe relationsof the administrativestaff to the master.
Obedience is owed not to enacted rules but to the person who occupiesa positionof authority by tradition or who has been chosenfor it
by the traditional master.The commandsof such a person are legitimized
in one of two ways:
a) partly in terms of traditions which themselvesdirecdy determine
the content of the commandand are believedto be valid within certain
limits that cannot be oversteppedwithout endangering the master's
traditionalstatus;
b) partly in terms of the master'sdiscretion in that sphere which
tradition leavesopen to him; this traditional prerogativerestsprimarily
on the fact that the obligations of personal obediencetend to be essentially unlimited.
Thus there is a double sphere:
a) that of actionwhich is bound to specifictraditions;
b) that of actionwhich is free of specificrules.

{r
dd'*
rt
dlur

I.
C'i

In the latter sphere,the masteris free to do good turns on the basis

of his personalpleasureand likes, particularly in return for gifts-the
historical sourcesof dues (Gebahren). So far as his action follows princiof ethical commonsense,
plesat all, theseare governedby considerations
of equity or of utilitarian expediency.They are not formal principles, as
in the caseof legal authority.The exerciseof power is orientedtoward the
considerationof how far master and staff can go in view of the subjects'
When resistance
traditionalcompliancewithout arousingtheir resistance.
occurs,it is directed against the master or his servant personally, the accusationbeing that he failed to observethe traditionallimits of his power.
Opposition is not directed against the system as such-it is a case of
"traditionalistrevolution."
In the pure type of traditional authority it is impossible for law or
administrativerule to be deliberatelycreatedby legislation.Rules which
in fact are innovationscan be legitimized only by the claim that they
havebeen "valid of yore," but have only now been recognizedby means
of "Wisdom" [the Weistum of ancient Germanic law]. Legal decisions
as "finding of the law" (Rechtsfindung) can refer only to documents
of tradition, namely to precedentsand earlier decisions.

228

THE TYPES OF LEGITIMATE

DOMINATION

ICh'

III

(Continued)
7. The PureTYPe
on the
The master rules with or without an administrative staff.
latter case,seesec.7a:I'
^-""ti;rypical
the
adminisrrative staff is recruited from one or more of
following sources:
(I) From perconswho are-alreadyrelated to the chief by traditional
f"y"iry. tli, will be called patrimonial recruitment. Such Penons
t*
"f
may be
a) kinsmen,
b) slaves,
d"p"rrd"nts who are officers of the household' especially
"i rninistetiales,
d) cliens,
e) coloni,
f) freedmen;
(II) Recruitment may be extra-patrimonial,induding
sors
a) personsin a relation of purely personalloyalty such as all
of "favorites,"
(vassals)'
b) persons,"*ding in a relation of fealty to their lord
and, finallY,
c) free -"rr-"rho voluntarily enter into a relation of penond
loyalty asofficials.
On I.a) Under traditionalistdominationit is very."oT*-o," for the
mosrimporranrpoststo be filled with membersof the ruiing family or clan.
-__
and freedi> fit patririronialadministrationsit is commonfor sl-aves
for Grand
rare
been
not
has
It
men to rise evento il" trigft.rt positions.
slaves'
'-;j to havebeenat onetime
Viziers
fi;;ypical householdofficialshave been*e fotlowinqi 'h" -t"l
qal_orechaf,the *aish"l, the chamberlain,the cawer (Truchsess),_tf-te
of the
a"*q *r," was the head of the servicepersorrneland possibly
in
the
Orient'
Europe',In
in
vassals.These are to be found everywhere
was
harem,
the
of
charge
in
was
who
Partlcaddition,the headeunuch,
Furtherularly imporr"rrr, *d in African kingdomf the executioner'
,h"""ler'r'p..sorral physician,tf,e astrologerand similar Persons
;;;;
have
- beencommon.
a) ln China and in EgyPt, the principal.sourceof recruitment for
officialslav in tf,L clienteleo[ the king'
oatrimonial
t-'"i^
nr*r", i ;ifui have been knoryn thrdrghout the. orient and
of the Roman 1oliliry, (Even in irodent times, in the
*".;'iil;i
Mohammedanworld, armiesof slaveihaveexisted')
of-everyPatrimo
On II.a) The regimeof favoritesis characteristic
revolutions'
traditionalist
for
occasion
the
been
nial rule and has ofien
separately'
treated
be
will
vassals
b) The

jl

Tradinonal Autkority

229

c) Bureaucracyhas first developedin patrimonialstateswith a body

of officialsrecruitedfrom extra-patrimonialsources;but, aswill be shown
soon,theseofficialswereat first^personal
followersof their master.
*

In the pure t)?e of traditional rule, the following features of a

bureaucraticadministrativestaff are absent:

In
*

a) a clearly defined sphere of competence subject to impersonal

rules,
b) a rationallyestablishedhierarchy,
c) a regularsystemof appointmenton the basisof free contract,and
orderly promotion,
d) technicaltraining asa regularreguirement,
e) (frequently) fixed salaries,in the type casepaid in money.

t
*

On a): In place of a welldefined functional jurisdicfion, there is a

conficting seriesof tasks and powers which at first are assignedat the
master'sdiscretion. However, they tend to become permanent and are
often traditionally stereotyped. These compering functions originate
particularly in the competition for sourcesof income which are at the
disposalof the master himself and of his representatives.It is often in
the first instance through these interests that definite functional spheres
are first marked off and genuine administrative organs come into being.
At first, persons with permanent functions are household officials.
Their (extra-patrimonial) functions outside the administration of the
householdare often in fields of activity which bear a relatively superficial
analogyto their household function, or which originated in a discretionary act of the master and later became traditionally stereotyped.In addition to household officials, there have existed primarily only persons
s,ith ad hoc commissions.
The absenceof distinct spheresof competenceis evident from a
perusalof the list of the titles of officialsin any of the ancient Oriental
itates.With rare exceptions,it is impossibleto issociatewith thesetitles
a set of rationally delimited functions which have remainedstableover
a considerable
period.
The processof delimiting permanentfunctions as a result of competition amongand compromisebetweeninterestsseekingfavors,income,
and other forms of advarltageis clearly evident in the Middle Ages.
This phenomenonhas had very important conseguences.
The financial
interestsof the powerful royal courts and of the powerful legal profession in England were largely responsiblefor vitiating or curbing the
infuence of Romanand Canonlaw. In all periodsthe irrational division
of official functions has been stereofypedby the existenceof an establishedsetof righa to feesandperquisites.
On b): The questionof who shall decidea matter or deal with ap
peals-whether an agent shall be in charge of this, and which one, or

230

THE TYPES OF LEGITIMATE DOMINATION

I Ch.

IIl

whether the masterreservesdecisionfor himself-is treatedeither traditionally, at times by consideringthe provenienceof certain legal nornr.
and precedentstaken over from the outside (Oberhof-System);" or
endrely on the basisof the master'sdiscretionin such manner that rill
agentshave to yield to his personalintervention.
Next to the traditionalistsystemof the lprecedent-setting
outside]
"superior"court (Oberhof) we find the principleof Germaniclaw, deriving from the ruler's political prerogative,that in his presencethe
jurisdictionof any court is suspended.
The ius e"tocandi
and its modern
derivative,chamberjustice (Kabinettsju.stiz),stemfrom the samesource
and the ruler'sdiscretion.Particularlyin the Middle Agesthe Oberhof
$/asvery often the agencywhosewrit declaredand interpretedthe lar.r',
and accordinglythe sourcefrom which the law of a given localitywas
lmported.
On c): The householdofficialsand favoritesare often recruited in
a purely patrimonial fashion: they are slaves or dependents(mini:teriales) of the master.If recruitment has been extra-patrimonial,thcr
have tendedto be benefice-holders
whom he can freely remove.A fund.:
mental changein this situation is first brought about by the rise of fr.-c
vassalsand the filling of officesby a contract of fealty. However, sinc.
fiefs are by no meansdeterminedby functional considerations,
this dc^-.
not alter the situation with respectto a) and b) fthe lack of definir.
spheresof competenceand clearly determinedhierarchicalrelationships'
Exceptunder certaincircumstances
when the administrativestaff is orgln
ized on a prebendalbasis,"promotion" is completelyup to the mastcrdiscretion(seesec.8).
On d): Rationaltechnicaltraining as a basicqualificationfor ofl..
is scarcelyto be found amonghouseholdofficialsand favorites.Howevc:
a fundamental change in administrativepracticeoccurswherever tht':.,
is even a beginning of technical training for appointees,regardless, :
its content.
For someofficesa certainamountof empiricaltraininghasbeennecessaryfrom very earlvtimes.This is particularlytrue of the art of read'
ing and writing which was originallvtruly a rare "art." This has often.
moststrikinglyin China,had a decisiveinfluenceon the whole development of culture through the mode of life of the literati. It eliminated
the recruitingof officialsfrom intra-patrimonial
sources
and thus limiteci
thc ruler'spowerby confrontinghim with a statusgroup(cf. sec.7a: rrr'.
On c), Household officialsand favoritesare usually supportedrr:r
equipped in the master'shousehold.Generally, their dissociationfr, ::
the lord's own table means the creation of benefices,at first usu.:..
beneficesin kind. It is easyfor theseto becometraditionally stereot\'fr
in amount and kind. In addition, or instead of them, the officialsu l

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Trailitional Autkority

z3 r

r e outsidethe lord's householdand the lord himself count on various

: res, which are often collected without any regular rate or scale, being
,greedupon from caseto casewith thoseseekingfavors.(On the concept
of beneficesseesec.B.)

7a. G erontocrac,y,Patriarchalisrnand.Patrirnoni alism

I. Gerontocracy and prirnary patriarchalisrn are the most elementary
rypes of traditional domination where the masrer has no personal administrative staff.
The term gerontocracyis applied to a situation where so far as rule
over the group is organized at all it is in the hands of elders-which
originally was understood literally as the eldest in actual years, who are
the most familiar with the sacredtraditions. This is common in groups
which are not primarily of an economicor kinship character."Patriarchalism" is the situation where, within a group (household) which is
usually organized on both an economic and a kinship basis,a particular
individual governs who is designatedby a definite rule of inheritance.
Gerontocracyand patriarchalism are frequently found side by side. The
decisivecharacteristicof both is the belief of the members that domination, even though it is an inherent traditional right of the master, must
definitely be exercizedas a joint right in the interestof all membersand
is thus not freely appropriatedby the incumbent. In order that this shall
be maintained,it is crucial that in both casesthere is a completeabsence
of a personal (patrimonial) staff. Hence the master is still largely dependent upon tle willingness of the members to comply with hi -d"r,
since he has no machinery to enforce them. Therefore, the members
(Genossen)are not yet really subjects(Untertanen).
Their membershipexistsby tradition and nor by enactment.Obedience is owed to the master, not to any enacted regulation. However, it
is owed to the master onlv bv virtue of his traditional status. He is thus
on his part strictly bound'bltradition.
The different types of gerontocracywill be discussedlater. Elementary patriarchalismis related to it in that the patriarch'sauthority carriei itrict obligations to obedienceonly wit*n his own hous6hold.
Apart from this, as in the caseof the fuabian Sheik, it has only an exernplaryeffect,iri\he manner of charismaticauthority, or must iesort to
adviceand similarmeansof exertinginfluence.
lI. Patrimonialisrn and, in the extreme case,sultanism tend to arise
rvhenevertraditional domination developsan administrationand a military force which are purely personalinstruments of the master. Only
then are the group members treated as subjects. Previously the mastert

232

THE TYPES OF LEGITIMATE

DOMINATION

I Ch,

III

authority appearedas a pre-eminent group right, now it turns into his

personal right, which he appropriatesin the same way as he would anv
ordinary object of possession.In principle, he can exploit his right like
any economicasset-sell it, pledge it as security,or divide it by inherirance. The primary extemal support of patrimonial power is provided br
slaves(who are often branded), coloni and conscriptedsubjects,but also
by mercenary bodyguards and armies (patrimonial troops); the latter
practice is designedto maximize the solidarity of interest between master
and staff. By controlling these instruments the ruler can broaden the
range of his arbitrary power and put himself in a position to grant grac
and favors at the expenseof the traditional limitations of patriarchal and
gerontocraticstructures.Where domination is primarily traditional, even
though it is exercisedby virtue of the ruler's personal autonomy, it rvill
be called patritnonial authority; where it indeed operatesprimarily on the
basisof discretion, it will be called sultanisrvr..
The transition is definitelr
continuous. Both forms of domination are distinguished from
"I"-"ntrr.'
patriarchalismby the presenseof a personalstaff.
Sometimesit appearsthat sultanismis completelyunrestrainedbv
tradition, but this is never in fact the case.The non-traditionalelement
is not, however,rationalizedin impersonalterms,but consistsonly in an
exrreme development of the ruler's discretion. It is this which distinguishesit from everyform of rationalauthority.

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o
TI

lll Esntc-type dornination (stiindische Henschaft)n is that form of

patrimonial authority under which the administrative staff appropriates
particular powersand the correspondingeconomicassets.As in all similarr
cases(cf. ch.II, sec.I9), appropriationmay take the following forms,
a) Appropriation may be carried out by an organized goup or bl a
categoryof personsdistinguished by particular characteristics,or
b) it may be carried out by individuals, for life, on a hereditary basis.
or as free property.
Domination of the estate-typethus involves:
a) alwaysa limitation of the lord's discretion in selectinghis adminis'
trative staff becausepositions or seigneurial powers have been appropn
ated by
") an organizedgroupr
0) a statusgroup (seech. IV), or
b) often-and this will be considered as typical-appropriation i-.
the individual staff membersof
the positions, including in general the economic advantaf")
associated
with them,
F) the materialmeansof administration,
y) the governing powers.

F
I

Traditional Authority
D

b
I

b
t
I

233

Those holding appropriatedpositionsmay have originated historically

from membersof an administrative staff which wal not previously an
rdependent status group, or z) before the appropriation, they may nor
hrve belongedto the staff.
Where governing powers are appropriated,the costsof administration
are met indiscriminat4y fto- the incumbent's own and his appropriated
means.Holders of military powers and seigneurial membersof the "feu&1" army (stiind.ischesHeer) equip themselvesand possibly their own
?atrimonial or feudal contingents. It is also possible that the provision
d administrative means and of the administrative staff itself is approprieted as the object of a profit-making enterprise, on the basis of fiied
cpntributions from the ruler's magazinesor treasury. This was true in
particular of the mercenaryarmies in the sixteenth and seventeenthcenurry in Europe-examples of "capitalist armies."
Where appropriation is complete, all the powers of government are
divided between the mler and the administrative stafi members, each
qr the basisof his penonal nghts (Eigenrecht); or autonomouspowers
te created and regulated by special decreesof the ruler or special comp'r,omises
with the holders of appropriated rights.
On r): An example are the holders of court officeswhich have be
come appropriated as fiefs. An example for z) are seigpeurswho ap
propriatedpowersby vir4re of their privileged position or by uzuqpation,
using the former asa legalizationof the latter.
Appropriation by an indiuidual may rest on
r. leasing,
z. pledging assecurity,
3. sale,
4. privileges, which may be personal, hereditary or freely approprriated,unconditional or subject to the performanceof certain functions;
srch a privilege may be
a) granted in retum for services or for the sake of "buying"
compliance,or
b) it may constitute merely the formal recognition of actual
usurpation of powers;
5. appropriation by a.n organized group or a status group, usually a
consequenceof a comproinise between the ruler and his administrative
staff or between him and an unorganized status group; this may
o) leave the ruler completely or relatively free in his selection
rf individuals,or
B) it may lay down rigid rules for the selectionof incumbents;
6. fiefs, a casewhich we musr deal with separately.

-)'+^
aa

THE

TYPES

OF LEGITIMATE

DOMINATION

lch. rrr

r. In the casesof gerontocracyand pure patriarchalism, so far as

there are clear ideas on the subject at all, the means of administration
are generally appropriated by the group as a whole or by the participating households.The administrative functions are performed on behalf
of the group as a whole. Appropriation by the master personally is a
phenomenon of patrimonialism. It rrrayvary enormously in degree to the
extreme casesof a claim to full proprietorship of the land (Bodenregal)
and to the status of master over subjects treated as negotiable slaves.
Estate-type appropriation generally means the appropriation of at least
part of the meansof administrationby the membersof the administrative
staff. In the case of pure patrimonialism, there is complete separation
of the functionary from the means of carrying out his function. But exactly the oppositeis true of the estate-typeof patrimonialism. The person exercising goveming powers has personal control of the means of
administration-if not all, at least of an important part of them. In full
of thesemeanswere the feudal knight, who provided his own
possession
equipment, the count, who by virtue of holding his fief took the court
fees and other perquisites for himself and met his feudal obligations
from his own means (including the appropriatedones), and the Indian
jagirdm, who provided and equipped a military unit from the proceeds
of his tax benefice.On the other hand, a colonel who recruited a mercenary regiment on his own account, but received certain payments
from the royal exchequerand coveredhis deficit either by curtailing the
service or from bootv or requisitions, was only partly in possessionof
the means of administration and was subject to certain regulations. By
contrast,the Pharaoh, who organizedarmies of slavesor coloni, put his
clients in command of them, and clothed, fed and equipped them from
his own storehouses,was acting as a patrimonial lord in full personal
control of the means of administration.It is not always the formal mode
of organization which is decisive.The Mamelukes were formally purchased slaves.In fact, however, they monopolized the powers of government as completely as any group of ministeriales has ever monopolized
the servicefiefs.
There are examples of service land appropriated by a closed group
without any individual appropriation. Where this occurs, land mav be
freely granted to individuals bv the lord as long as they are membersof
the group (case rrla,tl) or the grant may be subject to regulations
specifving qualifications (case rrr:a:B). Thus, military or possibly
ritual qualificationshave been required of the candidates,but once they
are given, close blood relations have had priority. The situation is similar in the caseof manorial or guild artisansor of peasantswhose services
have been attachedfor military or administrativepurposes.
z. Appropriation by lease, especially tax farming, by pledging as
security, or bv sale, have been found in the Occident, but also in the
Orient and in India. In Antiquity, it was not uncommon for priesthoods to be sold at auction. In the case of leasing, fhe aim has been
pafily a practical financial one to meet stringenciescausedespeciallybv
the costs of war. It has partly also been a matter of the technique of

.. 1
:LL ]

T r aditional Autlt ority

235

financing, to insure a stable money income available for budgetary uses.

Pledging as security and sale have generally arisen from the first aim.
In the Papal States the pulpose was also the creation of rents for nephews (Nepoterrenten). Appropriation by pledging played a significant
role in France as late as the eighteenth century in filling judicial posts
in the pailements. The appropriation of officers' commissions by regulated purchase continued in the British army well into the nineteenth
centuqy. Privileges, as a sanction of usurpation, as a reward, or as an
incentive for political services,were common in the Middle Ages in Europe as well as elsewhere.

Benefiees
andFiefs
8. PatrimonialMaintenance:
The patrimonial retainer may receive his support in any of the following ways:
a) by living from the lord's table,
b) by allowances (usually in kind) from the lord's magazines or
treasury,
c) by rights of land use in return for services("service-land"),
d) by the appropriationof property income, feesor taxes,
e) by fiefs.
We shall speak of benef.cesinsofar as the forms of maintenance
b) through d) are always newly granted in a traditional fashion which
determines amount or locality, and insofar as they can be appropriated
by the individual, although not hereditarily. When an administrative
staff is, in principle, supported in this form, we shall speakof prebendalisrn.In such a situation there may be a systemof promotion on a basisof
seniority or of particular objectively determined achievements,and it may
alsohappen that a certain social statusand hence a senseof statushonor
(Standesehre) are required as a criterion of eligibility. (On the concept
of the statusgroup: Stand,seech. IV.)
Appropriated seigneurial powers will be called a fief it they are
granted primarily to particular qualified individuals by a contract and
if the reciprocal rights and duties irivolved are primarily oriented to
conventional standardsof status honor, particularly in a military sense.
If an administrative,staff is primarily supported by fiefs, we will speak
of fWestern) f eudalism(Lehensfeudalismus).
The transition between fiefs and military beneficesis so gradual that
at times they are almost indistinguishable. (This will be further discussedbelow in ch. IV.)
In casesd) and e), sometimesalso in c), the individual who has ap
propriated governing powers pays the cost of his administration, possibly