Commynes, Philippe de 189Cohen (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1969); Samuel Eliot
Morison, ed., Journals and Other Documents on the Life
and Voyages of Christopher Columbus(New York: Her-
itage, 1963); Valerie I. J. Flint, The Imaginative Landscape
of Christopher Columbus(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Uni-
versity Press, 1992); Samuel Eliot Morison, Admiral of the
Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus,2 vols. (1942;
reprint, Boston: Northeastern University, 1983); Kirk-
patrick Sale, The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Colum-
bus and the Columbian Legacy(New York: Knopf, 1990).
commerce SeeTRADE AND COMMERCE.
common good SeePOLITICAL THEORY.
Common Life, Brethren of the See BRETHREN OF
THECOMMONLIFE.
commune (communitas) In the early Middle Ages,
the term communeusually meant groups of clerics, such
as communities of canons. By the 11th century it
referred to sworn associations created for almost any
common purpose including maintaining the PEACE AND
TRUCE OFGOD. By the late 11th and 12th centuries the
term was applied to the associations of townsmen seek-
ing self-rule within a town from ecclesiastical and feu-
dal lords. During the 12th century, such communes
bought or bargained for by contractual agreements or
treaties a territorial ruler’s, most often the emperor’s,
recognition of their privileges and self-government.
Such communes were sworn associations from then on
in control of the institutions of a town, including its
fiscal and defense systems and personnel. Only certain
people, usually rich men, in the town were actually
sworn associates of the controlling clique or commune.
The privileges they sought involved personal liberty for
members, freedom of tenure, and authority to regulate
local trade, levy tolls and taxes, and control judicial
procedures and practices. This type of urban commune
developed in FRANCE,ENGLAND,FLANDERS,BRABANT,
the Rhineland, and ITA LY.
ITALY AND FRANCEIn Italy, these communes profited from the struggle
between the papacy and the empire to bargain for recog-
nition of their essential independence. They soon created
regional city-states, which, at the end of the 13th cen-
tury, often fell under the rule of local oligarchies or even
particular families. In France, the growth of royal
authority in the 13th century, and especially during the
reign of LOUISIX, weakened these communes. The royal
government capitalized on the commune’s frequent
internal dissent and the jockeying for dominance by its
members. The economic and fiscal importance of such
urban regimes forced King PHILIPIV to call them to the
assemblies of the Estates General as the third estate;
there they did influence royal taxation policies.
See also BOLOGNA; BOROUGH;BRUGES;COLOGNE;
FLORENCE;FREDERICK I BARBAROSSA;GHENT;LONDON;
MEDICI;PISA;PODESTÀ;ROME;SIENA;VENICE;VERONA.
Further reading:J. K. Hyde, Society and Politics in
Medieval Italy: The Evolution of the Civil Life, 1000–1350
(London: Macmillan, 1973); Charles Petit-Dutailles, The
French Commune in the Middle Ages,trans. Joan Vickes
(Amsterdam: North Holland, 1978); Henri Pirenne,
Medieval Cities: Their Origins and the Revival of Trade,
trans. Frank D. Halsey (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Uni-
versity Press, 1925); Susan Reynolds, An Introduction to
the History of English Medieval Towns(Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1978); Daniel Waley, The Italian City-Republics,3d
ed. (1969; reprint, London: Longman, 1988).communion SeeSEVEN SACRAMENTS.Commynes, Philippe de (Philip de Comines)(ca.
1447–1511)author, statesman
Born in 1447 of a French-speaking, aristocratic-Flemish
family, Commynes received an excellent education and
then went to work for the dukes of BURGUNDY,PHILIPThe
Good, and CHARLESthe Bold. He fought on the Burgun-
dian side, at the Battle of Monthéry in 1465. In 1468 he
was present at the famous interview of Péronne between
Charles of Burgundy and Louis XI. He changed sides in
1472 and was from then on a faithful servant of the king
of France. Commynes was a statesman and diplomat who
served King LOUISXI and, to a lesser extent, the kings
Charles VIII (r. 1483–98) and Louis XII (r. 1498–1515).
By 1476 he was Louis XI’s main adviser. In the meantime
Commynes had become one of the richest men in the
realm, thanks to his properties in Poitou and the royal
wages, gifts, and pensions he received. After the death of
Charles the Bold in 1477, his favorite place of residence
was ITA LY.
In 1484 he backed a losing side in dynastic disputes
in France. This error led to his disgrace and a period of
imprisonment (1487–89). He finally obtained his free-
dom but recovered only a small part of his wealth. Still
he was entrusted with long and important diplomatic
missions to VENICE(1494–95), GERMANY (1506), and
Italy (1507). He began to write his Memoiresto provide
information for Angelo Cato, archbishop of VIENNEin
France.POLITICAL IDEAS
The work of this widely experienced and cultured man
contained balanced political and moral observations. His
admiration for Louis XI did not prevent him criticizing
him. He showed expertise in war and was conscientious
and attentive to public finances. His information was