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Divine Right of Kings
Divine Right of Kings
This article is about the Western tradition. For the East- 1 Origins
ern tradition, see Mandate of Heaven. For various rulers
who claim a divine relationship, see God emperor (dis- The remote origins of the theory are rooted in the meambiguation).
dieval idea that God had bestowed earthly power on the
The divine right of kings, or divine-right theory of king, just as God had given spiritual power and authority
to the church, centering on the pope. The immediate author of the theory was Jean Bodin, who based it on the interpretation of Roman law. With the rise of nation-states
and the Protestant Reformation, the theory of divine right
justied the kings absolute authority in both political and
spiritual matters. The theory came to the fore in England
under the reign of James I of England (16031625, also
known as James VI of Scotland 15671625). Louis XIV
of France (16431715) strongly promoted the theory as
well.
2 WESTERN CONCEPTIONS
(1) Let every soul be subject unto the
higher powers. For there is no power but of
God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
(2) Whosoever therefore resisteth the power,
resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that
resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
(3) For rulers are not a terror to good works, but
to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the
power? do that which is good, and thou shalt
have praise of the same: (4) For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that
which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the
sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a
revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth
evil. (5) Wherefore ye must needs be subject,
not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
(6) For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for
they are Gods ministers, attending continually
upon this very thing. (7) Render therefore to
all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due;
custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear;
honour to whom honour.[2]
Western conceptions
2.1
could be displeased with a despotic ruler and thus withdraw its mandate, transferring it to a more suitable and
righteous person. This withdrawal of mandate also afforded the possibility of revolution as a means to remove
the errant ruler; revolt was never legitimate under the EuThe French prelate Jacques-Bnigne Bossuet made a clas- ropean framework of divine right.
sic statement of the doctrine of divine right in a sermon In China, the right of rebellion against an unjust ruler had
preached before King Louis XIV:[5]
been a part of the political philosophy ever since the Zhou
dynasty, whose rulers had used this philosophy to justify
their overthrow of the previous Shang dynasty. Chinese
Les rois rgnent par moi, dit la Sagesse
historians interpreted a successful revolt as evidence that
ternelle: 'Per me reges regnant'; et de l nous
the Mandate of Heaven had passed on to the usurper.
devons conclure non seulement que les droits
de la royaut sont tablis par ses lois, mais que
le choix des personnes est un eet de sa providence.
5
post-Brahminism in Tamilakam, as the famous Thiru- Charles I's execution.
valangadu inscription states:
According to U.S. President John Adams, Ponets work
contained all the essential principles of liberty, which
Having noticed by the marks (on his body)
were afterward dilated on by Sidney and Locke", includthat Arulmozhi was the very Vishnu in refering the idea of a three-branched government.[14]
ence to the Emperor Raja Raja Chola I.
In due course, opposition to the divine right of kings came
from a number of sources, including poet John Milton in
his pamphlet The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates. Prob4 Opposition
ably the two most famous declarations of a right to revolution against tyranny in the English language are John
Locke's Essay concerning The True Original, Extent, and
Further information: All men are created equal
End of Civil-Government and Thomas Jeersons formulation in the United States Declaration of Independence
In the sixteenth century, both Catholic and Protestant po- that "all men are created equal".
litical thinkers began to question the idea of a monarchs
divine right.
The Spanish Catholic historian Juan de Mariana put forward the argument in his book De rege et regis institutione (1598) that since society was formed by a pact
among all its members, there can be no doubt that
they are able to call a king to account.[9][10] Mariana
thus challenged divine right theories by stating in certain
circumstances, tyrannicide could be justied. Cardinal
Robert Bellarmine also did not believe that the institute
of monarchy had any divine sanction and shared Marianas belief that there were times where Catholics could
lawfully remove a monarch.[10]
5 See also
7 References
6 Further reading
Burgess, Glenn (October 1992).
The Divine Right of Kings Reconsidered. The English Historical Review 107 (425): 837861.
doi:10.1093/ehr/cvii.ccccxxv.837.
External links
The Divine Right of Kings on In Our Time at the
BBC. (listen now)
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