The Myth of Absolutism: Change & Continuity in Early Modern European Monarchy / Edition 1

by Nicholas Henshall

Overview

Conventionally, ‘‘absolutism'' in early-modern Europe has suggested unfettered autocracy and despotism — the erosion of rights, the centralisation of decision-making, the loss of liberty. Everything, in a word, that was un-British but characteristic of ancien-regime France. Recently historians have questioned such comfortably simplistic views. This lively investigation of ‘‘absolutism'' in action — continent-wide but centred on a detailed comparison of France and England — dissolves the traditional picture to reveal a much more complex reality; and in so doing illuminates the varied ways in which early-modern Europe was governed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780582056176
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/21/1992
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Authored by Henshall, Nicholas

Table of Contents

Introduction; Chapter One Valois and Early Bourbons; Chapter Two Louis XIV Reassessed; Chapter Three A Highroad to Revolution?; Chapter Four France and England: Absolutism Versus Limited Monarchy?; Chapter Five France and England: Absolutism Versus Parliamentary Liberties?; Chapter Six A Theory of Absolutism?; Chapter Seven Royal Prerogatives and their Context; Chapter Eight Liberties and Consent; Chapter Nine Life Cycle of a Myth;

Editorial Reviews

'This thoughtful, wide-ranging and often spikey book xxx; a valuable corrective to much that has been written on the period. It deserves wide attention.'

Journal of European Studies

From the Publisher