The French Monarchical Commonwealth, 1356–1560

Offers a new perspective on the nature of political society in the French monarchy, across more than two centuries.

James B. Collins (Author)

9781108461283, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 May 2024

320 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 1.5 cm, 0.48 kg

'Subjects of the king of France acted as if they were citizens of a 'monarchical commonwealth' from the middle of the fourteenth century until the Wars of Religion. In this marvelous and novel work, James B. Collins recovers an underappreciated political discourse in competition with 'the monarchical one' and proposes that 'this commonwealth discourse was, in fact, France's primary language of politics' during this period … This is a great and ambitious book from a senior scholar that causes us to look with new eyes upon late medieval and early modern France.' Tyler Lange, Journal of Modern History

How does authority become power? How does power justify itself to achieve its ends? For over two hundred years, the Valois kings relied on a complex mixture of ideologies, ruling a monarchical commonwealth with a coherent theory of shared governance. Forged in the Hundred Years War, this commonwealth built on the defense of the public good (bien public) came undone both practically and theoretically during the Wars of Religion. Just as certain kings sought to expand the royal prerogative, so, too, elites fought to preserve their control over local government. Using town archives from more than twenty cities to complement traditional sources of political theory, The French Monarchical Commonwealth, 1356–1560 establishes the relationship between seemingly theoretical constructs, like the Salic Law, and the reality of everyday politics.

Preface
Introduction: Political theory read in the light of politics
1. La chose publique de nostre royaume
2. Political vocabulary in action
3. Murder, justice, and la chose publique in an age of madness
4. The commonwealth under siege: Louis XI
5. La chose publique and urban government
6. The Orléanist offensive: 'Puissance absolue' and republicanism
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: European history [HBJD]