The Divine Right of Kings

Book excerpt: "Figgis sets his analysis in Europe beginning from the early Middle Ages, with how nobles would often elect fellows to act as king (lord of lords), and who were bound to the customary laws of the land. Through a series of theocratic power struggles originating in the Holy Roman Empire, and the transformation of being a king of a people to being king over a land, and the eventual resolution of those power struggles (in England), Figgis gives a thorough account of the development of Divine Right as it came to be stated by James VI. You will find a thoroughly researched work which traces step-by-step the evolution of DROK, taking the time to demonstrate the nuances of moral laws and adherence to them which are counterintuitive to modern interpretations of pre-modern ideas (such as resisting a king who has contradicted God's law, in order to serve that king), and its different expression and application by Catholics, Protestants and Presbyterians. The in-depth account of DROK will give you an excellent picture of the historical and political landscape occurring right at the birth of humanity into modernity. The book is a vital companion to anyone studying ideas of sovereignty, power, political doctrines, theocracy, or the events and ideas which led up to the execution of Charles I; referencing Marsilius of Padua, Jean Bodin, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Likewise, Figgis' work is vital for wider reference towards other philosophical works which were themselves discussing DROK (such as Hegel's Philosophy of Right), or of political responses to ideas of sovereignty, such as the school of Karl Marx (Including Giovanni Gentile, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler); utilitarians; or the post-modernists (Agamben) and post-structuralists (Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida)" --Amazon.com