Contemporary understanding of the modern state is so bound up with the development of liberal democracy that it may appear anachronistic to identify the origins of the modern state in a theological-political configuration of events. Yet in European history, the sovereignty of the people arose from the divine delegation of royal sovereignty to the temporal and spiritual orders -- a theory that the Holy See could not countenance. The controversy that erupted between James I of England and Cardinal Bellarmine following the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 is a striking illustration of this political and ecclesiological dispute over who ultimately holds absolute sovereignty by divine right -- the king or the pope?

In this work, Bernard Bourdin clearly sets forth the political thought and theology of James I as an early intellectual foundation for the modern state. He offers a comprehensive examination of James's intense dispute with Bellarmine, a controversy that sent shock waves throughout Europe and had a lasting impact on the rise of the modern state.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR:

Bernard Bourdin holds a Ph.D. in theology and the history of religion. Professor at the University of Metz, France, Bourdin has written numerous articles on James I and the divine right of kings and recently published a critical translation of The Trew Law of Free Monarchies. Susan Pickford is associate professor of translation at the University of Paris 13.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:

"Bourdin has provided the key elements of a highly significant controversy regarding the birth of the modern sovereign state. . . . Each position is presented both in its full rhetorical force and in detail. . . . The work clearly demonstrates the far-reaching impact of the advent of Protestantism. . . . The significance of the debate justifies an equally significant study of the controversy." -- Archives de Philosophie

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