Jacques Benigne Bossuet
He was a well-known bishop who was very much appreciated as a
spokesman. He gave the theory of Divine Rights of Kings and gave his ideas on
it. According to him the kings were appointed by god to rule and they were
answerable only to god and no one else.
The powers to rule are innate in them and it was granted to them
by god who takes care of them and this autocracy legitimate. Since it is the god who grant the king the
power to neither rule so the king should be followed and obeyed and the king
can never be questioned nor can the king is opposed. Disobeying the king meant
showing disrespect to god which was not accepted. This was very cruel and it
lead to cruel ruling and thus it was followed by French Revolution in 1789 when
Louis Xvi was beheaded as the king of France.
The Divine Right of Kings
This theory had its origins in medieval beliefs where people
believed that kings are sent by god to rule. The god had granted spiritual
powers and domination to Church which centered on Pope. As the nation states grew
and protestant reformation came along, the theory of divine g was given its
acknowledgement and it was accepted that the king had divine spiritual and
political powers. This theory was accepted in England in 1603 when King James
ruled. Later when King Louis XIV of France came this theory was again supported
and promoted.
Though the theory was accepted in England earlier but later in
1688 it was abandoned and it was no longer considered that the kings had divine
rights to rule. This change happened
owing to glorious revolution. Later the
American and French revolutions impacted the theory ideas and diminished its
views and this theory was finally discarded in 20th century.
This notion of divine ruling by king is also present in various
other \cultures. This theory was also
promoted by Aryan and Egyptians. Other
religions too would consider their king as god where he can never be
questioned.
But in Jewish tradition the Israelite kings’ power was
restricted in accordance to mosaic laws and they would often raise an eyebrow
on the ruling of the king and sometimes supported the rivals of the king.
According to Thomas Aquinas the king can be overthrown when the king was
not true. But the power remained in the hands of the central authority of
church which was pope her to overthrow the king. Some other philosophers of Middle Ages namely
Nicholas of Cusa and Francisco Suarez too supported such theories of
overthrowing a king. The main powers were still confined to the church and it
had a final say and it would ensure that the king followed the law and
traditions of god and justice.
In the Renaissance people became more and more aware. The
protestant reformation helped them rule over the authority of the king and the
church. They helped in increasing their freedom from papacy.
Cited: https://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/367/367-04.htm
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