Summary Of True Law Of Free Monarchies

In 1698, King James I of England published a book concerning his rule as an absolutist monarch called, True Law of Free Monarchies. In this book, King James I justifies his actions as an absolutist leader and reasserts his role in the government as an all powerful center of authority. James I explains how parliament is simply the bridge between the king and his vassals. He states all noteworthy acts are done through the king who passes laws and regulations of the people's request. His final words were, every action is done through the king because he is all powerful and above the law, but as a leader, continues to care for his people. In the next text, King James I is conducting a speech toward parliament, addressing divine right and his supremacy over the nation. He
explains this by using the Bible as a means to support his belief and persuade the public. King James then concludes his speech by reprimanding parliament for meddling in affairs set apart for the king, meaning he can handle matters by himself and doesn't want to quarrel with parliament. King James I was the first leader of the Stuart family and believed strongly in absolutism and divine right. Because of this, it was common for king James to quarrel and battle with parliament over government court decisions. This is because king James methods of restricting power from nobles and other government figures in order to have control. Likewise, King James was determined to be all powerful and in control of every aspect of England government and society. Prior to King James’ reign, King Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were rulers of England who also believed in absolutism, but unlike James, continues to work with parliament for the better of the country. King James conflicted with Parliament so much so that he disbanded them after a period of time. The ideas of absolutism and divine right expressed through King James’ book and speech are very important because they will influence other leaders to adopt some of these principals, such as King Charles I and other rulers throughout Europe.

During the rise of absolutism in Europe, Robert Filmer, an english political theorist, published the book Patriarcha around 1680.
In his book, Filmer depicts and justifies the concept of divine right. Robert Filmer was best known for his support of divine right and the many absolutist leaders following it by using scripture from the Bible to provide evidence for his claim. Filmer’s main support of divine right was that all men are made equal by God, therefore the ones that rise to power or are born into it, are chosen by God for that specific purpose. Filmer proceeds with his argument by providing various examples revolving around sentences or commands made by high placed figures, which keep order in a society. These involve capital cases, peacemaking, and war, all of which are signs of dominion commonly expressed in a monarch. In addition, Filmer believes that whether a person come to power through election, birthright, or any other means, the ruler is God’s sovereign choice. Likewise, Filmer ends this passage by restating the commandment by God to obey thy father, and explains how the king takes on many roles as a father, to clothe, feed, punish, preserve, and defend his children, or
subjects.
Absolutism in Europe was a popular concept that many leaders and nations took after once it spread across Europe from Spain. Along with absolutism, divine right rose quickly and appealed to many religious leaders as another support of their reign. The leaders of these nation were very involved in this belief, but not many others supported them as wholly. Although, there were some zealot supporters of their rule, such as Robert Filmer, who believed in divine right and wanted to defend and spread those ideas through literature. Citizens of divine right rulers and those under other rulers were influenced by the rational explanation of divine right, causing people to accept and support this belief. Divine right gained plenty of its support from books such as Patriarcha, which would later influence the leaders of various other countries to continue believing in divine right or inspire other to believe it too.