Medieval Christendom and Islam recognized overlapping bonds instead of single sovereign authority.
Evidence
The idea of complex space (in contrast to the discourse of a borderless world37) is in my view a fruitful way of thinking about the intersecting boundaries and heterogeneous activities of individuals as well as of groups related to traditions. Unlike the modern, secular world of nation-states, medieval Christendom and Islam recognized a multiplicity of overlapping bonds and identities. People were not always expected to subject themselves to one sovereign authority, nor were they themselves sovereign moral subjects. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 874
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- XREF: Parallels the plural legal orders in my Milgrom law-merchant notes; medieval institutions ran on shared reputation networks, not unitary sovereignty.
Related
- Pre-modern societies tolerated layered loyalties that sovereign states suppress (similarity 0.86)
- Medieval Islam and Christendom were structurally opposite societies (similarity 0.80)
- Both medieval Christianity and Islam defined each other by disagreement, not overlap (similarity 0.79)
- Medieval overlapping jurisdictions hold ontological priority over modern simple space (similarity 0.78)
- Medieval Christian-Muslim division was mental rather than geographical (similarity 0.78)
- Medieval religious pluralism was impossible because one God implied one true religion (similarity 0.78)