The Prince and the Law, 1200-1600 : Sovereignty and Rights in the Western Legal Tradition / Kenneth Pennington.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pennington, Kenneth, author.

Contributor:

American Council of Learned Societies.

Series:

ACLS Humanities E-Book.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kings and rulers--History.

Kings and rulers.

Monarchy--History.

Monarchy.

Prerogatives, Royal--History.

Prerogatives, Royal.

Roman law--Influence.

Roman law.

Rule of law--History.

Rule of law.

Law, Medieval.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 335 p. )

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, California : University of California Press, [1993]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The power of the prince versus the rights of his subjects is one of the basic struggles in the history of law and government. In this masterful history of monarchy, conceptions of law, and due process, Kenneth Pennington addresses that struggle and opens an entirely new vista in the study of Western legal tradition. Pennington investigates legal interpretations of the monarch's power from the twelfth to the seventeenth century. Then, tracing the evolution of defendants' rights, he demonstrates that the origins of due process are not rooted in English common law as is generally assumed. It was not a sturdy Anglo-Saxon, but, most probably, a French jurist of the late thirteenth century who wrote, "A man is innocent until proven guilty." This is the first book to examine in detail the origins of our concept of due process. It also reveals a fascinating paradox: while a theory of individual rights was evolving, so, too, was the concept of the prince's "absolute power." Pennington illuminates this paradox with a clarity that will greatly interest students of political theory as well as legal historians.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

CHAPTER 1. The Emperor Is Lord of the World

CHAPTER 2. The Prince's Power and Authority 1150-1270

CHAPTER 3. The Power of the Prince in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries

CHAPTER 4. Natural Law and Positive Law

CHAPTER 5. Henry VII and Robert of Naples

CHAPTER 6. The Authority of the Prince in the Late Middle Ages

CHAPTER 7. The Pazzi Conspiracy and the Jurists

Epilogue

Bibliography of Works Cited

General Index

Index of Manuscripts

Index of Legal Citations

Notes:

"A Centennial book"--Half-title verso.

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 01. Okt 2020)

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780520913035

0520913035

9780585041162

0585041164

OCLC:

1198929856