William of Ockham: A Short Discourse on Tyrannical Government

The Short Discourse is a passionate but compelling statement of Ockham's position on the most fundamental political problem of the medieval period.

William of Ockham (Author), Arthur Stephen McGrade (Edited by), John Kilcullen (Translated by)

9780521352420, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 August 1992

252 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.7 cm, 0.47 kg

"Ockham's argument combines lucidity with passion....it was the first complete Latin work I ever read. By the time I finished it I would gladly have followed Ockham out of Avignon and into the imperial entourage." David Burr, Church History

William of Ockham (c. 1285–c. 1347) was the most eminent and influential theologian and philosopher of his day, a giant in the history of political thought. He was a Franciscan friar who came to believe that the Avignonese papacy of John XXII had set out to destroy the religious ideal on which the Franciscan order was based: the complete poverty of Christ and the apostles. This is the first complete text by Ockham to be published in English. The Short Discourse is a passionate but compelling statement of Ockham's position on the most fundamental political problem of the medieval period: the relationship of supreme spiritual authority, as represented by the pope, to the autonomous secular authority claimed by the medieval empire and the emerging nation-states of Europe. Professor McGrade's introduction, and the notes on the translation make the volume wholly accessible to a modern readership, while a full bibliography and chronology are included as further aids to the reader.

Preface
Note on references
List of abbreviations
Introduction
Principal dates in Ockham's life
Suggestions for further reading
A Short Discourse on the Tyrannical Government over things
Divine and human, but especially over the Empire and those subject to the Empire
Usurped by some who are called Highest Pontiffs
Prologue
Book I
Book II
Book III
Book IV
Book V
Book VI
Appendix: text and translation
Bibliography
Index of references to the Bible
Index of references to canon law
Index of persons
Subject index.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX]