The Divine Right of Kings and the Interpretation of the Concept of Order in Seventeenth-Century English Political Theology

The article offers an analysis of several documents, both canonical and theological, that reveal the Church of England's vision of the place and role of the Crown in the process of her self-identification. It is demonstrated how the concept of the Divine Right of Kings was not just part of the theological and general intellectual discourse but got pride of place even in the Canons of the Established Church. The doctrine of Royal Supremacy based on Divine Right had for centuries remained one of the basic elements in the structure that was determining the identity of the said Church. The relationship between the English monarch and the English Church survived the ‘Age of the Reformation,’ taking on a new form and acquiring new foundations without losing the old ones. The doctrine of Royal Supremacy propounded by Richard Hooker, strongly influenced by the legal tradition of civil law, formulated by B. da Sassoferrato and H. de Bracton, played an important role in ensuring a degree of continuity with the medieval legal thinking behind the idea of royal patrimonial dominion over the national church, as well as in creating an essential link between that intellectual tradition of civil lawyers and the 16th–17th century theological apologies of the Divine Right, a striking example of the latter being works by Bishop Lancelot Andrewes. Nevertheless, the collapse of the Stuart Monarchy did not entail the collapse of the concept of the Divine Right, which, after undergoing a gradual transformation from a theological and legal theory into a ‘political strategy,’ continued to define political and intellectual discourses in the 18th century Britain.

Keywords

confessional self-identification, Church of England, political theology, Divine Right of Kings, Richard Hooker, Lancelot Andrewes, Canons of 1603 (1604)

Received

24.07.2020

Publication date

07.12.2020

Number of characters

29521

Cite

GOST	Fadeyev I. The “Divine Right of Kings” and the Interpretation of the Concept of Order in Seventeenth-Century English Political Theology // Novaia i noveishaia istoriia – 2020. – Issue 6 C. 42-52 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://nni.jes.su/S013038640012690-7-1 (circulation date: 25.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013038640012690-7
MLA	Fadeyev, Ivan "The “Divine Right of Kings” and the Interpretation of the Concept of Order in Seventeenth-Century English Political Theology." Novaia i noveishaia istoriia 6 (2020):42-52. DOI: 10.31857/S013038640012690-7
APA	Fadeyev I. (2020). The “Divine Right of Kings” and the Interpretation of the Concept of Order in Seventeenth-Century English Political Theology. Novaia i noveishaia istoriia (6), pp.42-52 DOI: 10.31857/S013038640012690-7

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