«ANGEVIN», «NORMAN», «ENGLISH», «AQUITANIAN» «EMPIRES», OR «COMPOSITE MONARCHIES» IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE

Abstract

The article offers a new interpretation of the so‑called Angevin, Norman, Aquitanian, and English empires as composite monarchies. The originality of the study lies in the deconstruction of established historiographical mythologemes and a critical reassessment of the applicability of the concepts of «state» and «empire» to the realities of the 11th–13th centuries. The aim of the article is to reconstruct the structure and mechanisms of functioning of the Angevin dynasty’s possessions and to determine their correspondence to the concepts of a «composite monarchy» and personal union. The methodology is based on the principles of historical constructivism, comparative and structural analysis, as well as approaches from the new political history and intellectual history. The main results show that medieval power was exercised over people rather than territories; royal authority functioned as a form of seigneurial power, while political formations were composite, with fluid configurations of rights and loyalties. As a result, it is demonstrated that the Plantagenet possessions constituted a network of personal and familial ties rather than a coherent «state» in the modern sense. The research prospects include expanding comparative studies to Ukrainian material and rethinking the concept of the «Romanovych state» in terms of a personal union. The practical significance lies in refining the categorical apparatus of Ukrainian medieval studies and critically examining the influence of modern political concepts on the interpretation of the past.