What is the relationship between Anselm's feudal metaphor for divine "satisfaction" atonement and the terminology of the actual feudal system?

by TheosEstinAgape

What really sparked this interest was thinking of where the term Lord came from in the English Language. Did the feudal system pick it up from the bible or did it exist in the bible for God and the hierarchy of the feudal system adopted it so as to hold power over others? Also let me know if I can word this in a different/better way.

Bakuraptor

Well, I can address some of your concerns, but I'll need a rephrasing of the question to answer it more generally. In order:

  1. The etymology of the word "Lord" comes from "Hlaford", an old english term which translates to master of the household/ruler. This developed to "Laverd"; the original terms were from "Hlaf" (Bread) + "Weard", guardian - literally, Keeper of the Bread.

  2. Dominus, the word typically used for God in the Bible as it existed in Latin (for, with the exception of the heretic Lollard bible in the 14th century, the Bible was only translated in the Reformation) [EDIT: my bad, I was thinking of a middle english bible: it was at some points circulated in Old English in partial translations] was occasionally used to mean Lord in the secular sense, but far more rarely than its alternatives.

  3. The feudal system's hierarchy did relate secular and religious authorities, as both could serve as landowners and hence as feudal overlords; but typically, the only person in England who could claim their position on grounds of divine providence was the monarch; below him, succession was based on hereditary right, not on divine right.

Otherwise, I'll need you to rephrase the text of your question to answer it: it looks very interesting, so please do!

[deleted]

Did the feudal system pick it up from the bible or did it exist in the bible for God and the hierarchy of the feudal system adopted it so as to hold power over others?

Neither. The Vulgate word for God, Dominus, is the Latin word for "master." It is used in all sorts of contexts, secular and religious, wherever and whenever Latin is used.

Anselm (of Canterbury, I assume), is utilizing language which would have been intelligible to his readers, who would have been both Religious and noble. It is a convenient analogy, not foundational in one way or another.