"What a Good Ruler Should Not Do": Theoretical Limits of Royal Power in European Theories of Absolutism, 1500-1700
The article provides an overview of political ideas about limiting royal power which were developed by Latin-writing German bourgeois authors of the late sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries: Arnold Clapmar (1574-1604), Justus Lipsius (1547-1606), Henning Arnisaeus (ca. 1575-1636), Adam Contzen (...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc.
1995
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| In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 1995, Volume: 26, Issue: 4, Pages: 897-915 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | The article provides an overview of political ideas about limiting royal power which were developed by Latin-writing German bourgeois authors of the late sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries: Arnold Clapmar (1574-1604), Justus Lipsius (1547-1606), Henning Arnisaeus (ca. 1575-1636), Adam Contzen (1571-1635), Hermann Conring (1606-1681), and others. The core concept of the debate was the idea of the common good. This common good referred to a twofold goal of politics, a beatitudo for the individual citizen, which laid in some sense beyond the state, and the conservation of the state by means of a moderated reason of state. Thus, the authors tried to improve the monarch's ability to rule as well as to bind him by certain ideas of individual freedom, rights, and opportunities to live happily and securely. A most influential maxim was Regnum solum potest conservari, si reges limitatam habeant potestatem (the kingdom can only be preserved if the power of kings is limited). |
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| ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/2543793 |