Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
contestation des hiérarchies
English translation:
internal power struggles
Added to glossary by
Yolanda Broad
Jul 21, 2003 15:10
20 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term
contestation des hiérarchies
French to English
Social Sciences
Archaeology
Cette contestation des hiérarchies pourrait expliquer que le stade des chefferies n'est jamais dépassé.
Bronze Age 'politics'
Bronze Age 'politics'
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Apr 27, 2011 16:28: Stéphanie Soudais changed "Term asked" from "sentence" to "contestation des hiérarchies" , "Field" from "Art/Literary" to "Social Sciences" , "Field (write-in)" from "archaeology" to "(none)"
Proposed translations
+2
18 mins
Christopher Crockett
Native in English
Specializes in field
M.A., Ph.D. Historian/Art Historian
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
131
Selected
These internal power struggles may explain why it is that
[what ever it was] never developed beyond the stage of petty chiefdoms.
I.e., the energies of the society were so consumed by fratricidal (figuratively or literally) power stuggles that power was never suffiently concentrated to allow for a larger political unit to emerge, and nothing larger than a "chiefdom" ("petty" emphasises the lowly status of the term) could be formed.
Similar occurances can be seen in various periods : the Greek city-states (*relatively* speaking, "petty chiefdoms") never gave up their fratricidal quarrelling and became anything like a unified "state" until the time of the conquest by Alexander.
And the "Merovingian" period (6th-8th centuries) in France was marked by endless fratricidal (literally) power struggles which kept the "kingdom" --which was a kingdom in name only-- from becomming a truely united political unit until the comming of the Carolingian dynasty and, especially, of Charlemage.
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Note added at 2003-07-21 15:31:30 (GMT)
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Should be : \"...internal power stuggles *among the elites*...\"
Or, whoever it was that was engaged in these \"contestations\".
I.e., the energies of the society were so consumed by fratricidal (figuratively or literally) power stuggles that power was never suffiently concentrated to allow for a larger political unit to emerge, and nothing larger than a "chiefdom" ("petty" emphasises the lowly status of the term) could be formed.
Similar occurances can be seen in various periods : the Greek city-states (*relatively* speaking, "petty chiefdoms") never gave up their fratricidal quarrelling and became anything like a unified "state" until the time of the conquest by Alexander.
And the "Merovingian" period (6th-8th centuries) in France was marked by endless fratricidal (literally) power struggles which kept the "kingdom" --which was a kingdom in name only-- from becomming a truely united political unit until the comming of the Carolingian dynasty and, especially, of Charlemage.
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Note added at 2003-07-21 15:31:30 (GMT)
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Should be : \"...internal power stuggles *among the elites*...\"
Or, whoever it was that was engaged in these \"contestations\".
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+2
4 mins
William Stein
Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Native in English
Costa Rica
Translations that read like originals
Native in: English (Variants: US, UK) 
Works in: French to English, German to English, Spanish to English, and 3 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
20
My version
This contestation of the hierarchies might explain why the society never progressed beyond the level of chiefdoms.
The Celtic Chiefdom
The Celtic Chiefdom, All things belonged to the brave who carried
justice on the points of their swords. This page is devoted to ...
Description: Categorized links including linguistics, art, music and folklore.
Category: Society > Ethnicity > Celtic > Guides and Directories
www.geocities.com/Athens/Library/9107/ - 13k - Cached - Similar pages
The Hinterland of a Polynesian Chiefdom
Description: This research examines the "hinterland" of Moloka'i where the expansion of chiefdom to state-level...
Category: Regional > North America > ... > Molokai > Arts and Entertainment
www.otago.ac.nz/Anthropology/Pacific/ hinterland/hinterframe.html
The Celtic Chiefdom
The Celtic Chiefdom, All things belonged to the brave who carried
justice on the points of their swords. This page is devoted to ...
Description: Categorized links including linguistics, art, music and folklore.
Category: Society > Ethnicity > Celtic > Guides and Directories
www.geocities.com/Athens/Library/9107/ - 13k - Cached - Similar pages
The Hinterland of a Polynesian Chiefdom
Description: This research examines the "hinterland" of Moloka'i where the expansion of chiefdom to state-level...
Category: Regional > North America > ... > Molokai > Arts and Entertainment
www.otago.ac.nz/Anthropology/Pacific/ hinterland/hinterframe.html
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Christopher Crockett
: Yes, though I don't care for "contestation", which has a rather archaic flavor to it, to my ear at least.
16 mins
|
| agree |
Mario Marcolin
: or strife
2 hrs
|
-1
4 mins
This contention for mastery might explain why rural fiefdoms still exist
my solution
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Christopher Crockett
: I like "contention for mastery" better than "contestation", but I doubt if these "rural fiefdoms" "still exist".
18 mins
|
| disagree |
Nooz
: Of course they don't still exist, the sentence is set in the Bronze Age.
1 hr
|
+1
24 mins
French term (edited):
sentence
This hierarchical dispute could explain why
the society never moved past the age of chiefdoms.
I guess it was easier to have one despotic type of ruler rather than a more complocated layered leadership model
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Note added at 26 mins (2003-07-21 15:36:16 GMT)
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Complicated- sorry, typo
I guess it was easier to have one despotic type of ruler rather than a more complocated layered leadership model
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 26 mins (2003-07-21 15:36:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Complicated- sorry, typo
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Christopher Crockett
: Quite possible, if it fits the context we are not give.
1 hr
|
|
Yes, we are not spoiled for context.
|
4 hrs
Carolingua
United States
United States
Native in French
&
English
United States
Intelligent Translations for Business
Native in: French , Spanish , English
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 1 more.
This hierarchical jockeing could explain why the chiefdom model is never abandoned
From what I understand the sentence is saying that in a hierarchical model(or layered power structure), people kept challenging each other or jockeying for position (to "jockey" is to maneuver for a certain position or advantage), and that therefore the chiefdom model (where one person had absolute power) proved to have the most staying power in this era.
8 hrs
This dispute over hierarchy may explain why the chiefdom age is never overridden
overridden dans le sens de "passer outre"
20 hrs
This contest for hierarchy might explain why xxx never progressed beyond the level of chiefdoms
I agree with the gist of the first answer, but would express it slightly differently
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