1.
John Pettie
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John Pettie RA was a Scottish painter who spent most of his career in England. He became a member of the Royal Academy in 1866 and an academician in 1874. As an enthusiastic musician, he helped the career of the young composer Hamish MacCunn by organizing concerts for him in his own studio. MacCunn, who would marry his daughter Alison in 1888, also served as a model for many of his paintings, John Pettie was born in Edinburgh, the son of Alexander and Alison Pettie. In 1852 the family moved to East Linton, Haddingtonshire, initially, his father objected to Pettie taking up art as a career, but this was overcome following a portrait by the lad of the village carrier and his donkey. To the Royal Academy in 1860 he sent The Armourers, and the success of work and What dye Lack, Madam. in the following year encouraged him to settle in London. In 1866 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy and his diploma picture was Jacobites,1745. Pettie was a hard and rapid worker, and, in his best days, a colourist of a high order, in his early days he produced a certain amount of book illustration. His connection with Good Words began in 1861, and was continued until 1864 and he painted a portrait of the painter James Campbell Noble RSA and this is exhibited in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. In 1894 a selection of his work was included in the Winter Exhibition of the Royal Academy and his self-portrait is in the Tate Gallery. The National Portrait Gallery has four of his works in its collection, with William McTaggart and others, he illustrated The Postmans Bag, and with John MacWhirter he illustrated Wordsworths Poetry for the Young. His principal paintings, in addition to those mentioned, are, The book John Pettie. H. R. S. A. by his nephew Martin Hardie, gives the story of his life, a catalogue of his pictures, and fifty reproductions in color. List of Scots Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Pettie. Media related to John Pettie at Wikimedia Commons Works by John Pettie at Project Gutenberg Works by or about John Pettie at Internet Archive
2.
Oliver Cromwell
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Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader and later Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Cromwell was born into the gentry, albeit to a family descended from the sister of King Henry VIIIs minister Thomas Cromwell. Little is known of the first 40 years of his life as only four of his letters survive alongside a summary of a speech he delivered in 1628. He became an Independent Puritan after undergoing a conversion in the 1630s. He was a religious man, a self-styled Puritan Moses. He was elected Member of Parliament for Huntingdon in 1628 and for Cambridge in the Short and he entered the English Civil War on the side of the Roundheads or Parliamentarians. Cromwell was one of the signatories of King Charles Is death warrant in 1649 and he was selected to take command of the English campaign in Ireland in 1649–1650. Cromwells forces defeated the Confederate and Royalist coalition in Ireland and occupied the country, during this period, a series of Penal Laws were passed against Roman Catholics, and a substantial amount of their land was confiscated. Cromwell also led a campaign against the Scottish army between 1650 and 1651, as a ruler, he executed an aggressive and effective foreign policy. He died from natural causes in 1658 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, the Royalists returned to power in 1660, and they had his corpse dug up, hung in chains, and beheaded. In a 2002 BBC poll in Britain, Cromwell, sponsored by military historian Richard Holmes was selected as one of the ten greatest Britons of all time. However, his measures against Catholics in Scotland and Ireland have been characterised as genocidal or near-genocidal, Cromwell was born in Huntingdon on 25 April 1599 to Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Steward. Katherine married Morgan ap William, son of William ap Yevan of Wales, Henry suggested to Sir Richard Williams, who was the first to use a surname in his family, that he use Cromwell, in honour of his uncle Thomas Cromwell. They had ten children, but Oliver, the child, was the only boy to survive infancy. Jasper was the uncle of Henry VII and great uncle of Henry VIII, Cromwells paternal grandfather Sir Henry Williams was one of the two wealthiest landowners in Huntingdonshire. Cromwells father Robert was of modest means but still a part of the gentry class, as a younger son with many siblings, Robert inherited only a house at Huntingdon and a small amount of land. This land would have generated an income of up to £300 a year, near the bottom of the range of gentry incomes, Cromwell himself in 1654 said, I was by birth a gentleman, living neither in considerable height, nor yet in obscurity. He was baptised on 29 April 1599 at St Johns Church and he went on to study at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, then a recently founded college with a strong Puritan ethos
3.
Thomas Fairfax
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Fairfax became unhappy with Cromwells policy and publicly refused to take part in Charless show trial. Eventually he resigned, leaving Cromwell to control the republic and his dark hair and eyes and a swarthy complexion earned him the nickname Black Tom. Thomas Fairfax was born at Denton Hall, halfway between Ilkley and Otley in the West Riding of Yorkshire, on 17 January 1612, the eldest son of Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron. He studied at St Johns College, Cambridge, and Grays Inn, in the Second Bishops War the following year the English army was routed at the Battle of Newburn. Fairfax fled with the rest of the army but was nevertheless knighted for his services in January 1641. His distant cousin was Sir Thomas Fairfax of Gilling Castle - the common ancestor of both Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and her husband, Prince William and this was at a great meeting of the freeholders and farmers of Yorkshire convened by the king on Heworth Moor near York. Charles evaded receiving the petition, pressing his horse forward, but Fairfax followed him and placed the petition on the pommel of the kings saddle. When the civil war broke out in 1642, his father, Lord Fairfax, was appointed general of the Parliamentary forces in the north, both father and son distinguished themselves in the campaigns in Yorkshire. A gathering of national forces within a few square miles of ground naturally led to a battle. The younger Fairfax bore himself with the greatest gallantry in the battle, and though severely wounded managed to join Oliver Cromwell, one of his brothers, Colonel Charles Fairfax, was killed in the action. But the Marquess of Newcastle fled the kingdom, and the Royalists abandoned all hope of retrieving their affairs, the city of York was taken, and nearly the whole north submitted to the Parliament. In the south and west of England, however, the Royalist cause was still strong, the war had lasted two years, and the nation began to complain of the contributions that were exacted, and the excesses that were committed by the military. Dissatisfaction was expressed with the commanders, and, as a preliminary step to reform. This involved the removal of the Earl of Essex from the supreme command and this was followed by the New Model Ordinance, which replaced the locally raised Parliamentary regiments with a unified army. Sir Thomas Fairfax was selected as the new general with Cromwell as his lieutenant-general. Fairfax besieged Leicester, and was successful at Taunton, Bridgwater, the whole west was soon reduced. Fairfax arrived in London on 12 November 1645, in his progress towards the capital he was accompanied by applauding crowds. Complimentary speeches and thanks were presented to him by both houses of parliament, along with a jewel of great value set with diamonds, in January 1647 he was delivered up by the Covenanters to the commissioners of Englands parliament
4.
Whigs (British political party)
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The Whigs were a political faction and then a political party in the parliaments of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Between the 1680s and 1850s, they contested power with their rivals, the Whigs origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute monarchy. The Whigs played a role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and were the standing enemies of the Stuart kings and pretenders. The Whigs took full control of the government in 1715, and remained dominant until King George III, coming to the throne in 1760. The Whig Supremacy was enabled by the Hanoverian succession of George I in 1714, the Whigs thoroughly purged the Tories from all major positions in government, the army, the Church of England, the legal profession, and local offices. The Partys hold on power was so strong and durable, historians call the period from roughly 1714 to 1783 the age of the Whig Oligarchy. The first great leader of the Whigs was Robert Walpole, who maintained control of the government through the period 1721–1742, his protégé was Henry Pelham, who led from 1743 to 1754. Both parties were founded on rich politicians, more than on votes, there were elections to the House of Commons. The Whig Party slowly evolved during the 18th century, later on, the Whigs drew support from the emerging industrial interests and wealthy merchants, while the Tories drew support from the landed interests and the royal family. The term Whig was originally short for whiggamor, a term meaning cattle driver used to describe western Scots who came to Leith for corn. In the reign of Charles I the term was used during Wars of the Three Kingdoms to refer derisively to a faction of the Scottish Covenanters who called themselves the Kirk Party. It was then applied to Scottish Presbyterian rebels who were against the Kings Episcopalian order in Scotland, Whig was a term of abuse applied to those who wanted to exclude James on the grounds that he was a Roman Catholic. The fervent Tory Samuel Johnson often joked that the first Whig was the Devil, the Whigs, under Lord Shaftesburys leadership, wished to exclude the Duke of York from the throne due to his Catholicism, his favouring of monarchical absolutism and his connections to France. They believed the Duke, if allowed to inherit the throne, would endanger the Protestant religion, liberty, the first Exclusion Bill was supported by a substantial majority on its second reading in May 1679. In response, King Charles prorogued Parliament and then dissolved it and this new parliament did not meet for thirteen months, because Charles wanted to give passions a chance to die down. When it met in October 1680, an Exclusion Bill was introduced and passed in the Commons without major resistance, Charles dissolved Parliament in January 1681, but the Whigs did not suffer serious losses in the ensuing election. The next Parliament first met in March, at Oxford, but Charles dissolved it only after a few days, when he made an appeal to the country against the Whigs, and determined to rule without Parliament. In February, Charles had made a deal with the French King Louis XIV, without Parliament, the Whigs gradually crumbled, mainly due to the Rye House Plot
5.
Parliamentary system
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In a parliamentary system, the head of state is usually a different person from the head of government. Since ancient times, when societies were tribal, there were councils or a headman whose decisions were assessed by village elders, eventually these councils have slowly evolved into the modern Parliamentary system. The first parliaments date back to Europe in the Middle Ages, for example in 1188 Alfonso IX, the modern concept of parliamentary government emerged in the Kingdom of Great Britain and its contemporary, the Parliamentary System in Sweden. In England, Simon de Montfort is remembered as one of the fathers of representative government for holding two famous parliaments, the first, in 1258, stripped the King of unlimited authority and the second, in 1265, included ordinary citizens from the towns. Later, in the 17th century, the Parliament of England pioneered some of the ideas and systems of liberal democracy culminating in the Glorious Revolution, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, the monarch, in theory, chaired cabinet and chose ministers. In practice, King George Is inability to speak English led the responsibility for chairing cabinet to go to the minister, literally the prime or first minister. By the nineteenth century, the Great Reform Act of 1832 led to parliamentary dominance, with its choice invariably deciding who was prime minister, hence the use of phrases like Her Majestys government or His Excellencys government. Nineteenth century urbanisation, industrial revolution and, modernism had already fueled the political struggle for democracy. In the radicalised times at the end of World War I, a parliamentary system may be either bicameral, with two chambers of parliament or unicameral, with just one parliamentary chamber. Scholars of democracy such as Arend Lijphart distinguish two types of parliamentary democracies, the Westminster and Consensus systems, the Westminster system is usually found in the Commonwealth of Nations and countries which were influenced by the British political tradition. These parliaments tend to have a more style of debate. The Australian House of Representatives is elected using instant-runoff voting, while the Senate is elected using proportional representation through single transferable vote, regardless of which system is used, the voting systems tend to allow the voter to vote for a named candidate rather than a closed list. The Western European parliamentary model tends to have a more consensual debating system, Consensus systems have more of a tendency to use proportional representation with open party lists than the Westminster Model legislatures. The committees of these Parliaments tend to be more important than the plenary chamber, some West European countries parliaments implement the principle of dualism as a form of separation of powers. In countries using this system, Members of Parliament have to resign their place in Parliament upon being appointed minister, ministers in those countries usually actively participate in parliamentary debates, but are not entitled to vote. Some countries such as India also require the prime minister to be a member of the legislature, the head of state appoints a prime minister who will likely have majority support in parliament. The head of state appoints a minister who must gain a vote of confidence within a set time. The head of state appoints the leader of the party holding a plurality of seats in parliament as prime minister
6.
Liberalism in the United Kingdom
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This article gives an overview of liberalism in the United Kingdom. It is limited to parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in that scheme, for inclusion in this scheme, it is not necessary that parties labelled themselves as a liberal party. In the United Kingdom, the word liberalism can have any of several meanings, historically, the term referred to the broad liberal political alliance of the nineteenth century, formed by Whigs, Peelites, and radicals. This alliance, which developed into the Liberal Party, dominated politics for much of the reign of Queen Victoria, British liberalism is now organised mainly in the social liberalism of the Liberal Democrats. The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is their counterpart in Northern Ireland and this may change with the election of David Cameron as leader. Furthermore, Cameron set up a website designed to appeal to Liberal Democrat members, during the 2010 general election Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said this of Conservative claims to the word liberal, There is a gulf in values between myself and David Cameron. Until that, the Liberal Party adhered to the Gladstonian liberalism, a market and imperialist form of liberalism. The Samuels New Liberalism called for old-age pensions, labour exchanges, during the Liberal Governments of 1905–1916, the Welfare state was introduced to provide provision for lower incomes. Later, in 1908 a pension system was created with old-age pensions for older than age 70. However, the Great War of 1914 reduced the Liberal support from population, while Asquith became Leader of the Opposition, George forged a coalition with the Conservative leader Bonar Law, continuing to be Prime Minister. However, the Liberal internal conflict caused many reformer and radical voters to join in the Labour Party, the 1924 general election signed the end of the Liberal Party as government force. However, the New Liberalism continued to be the preferred ideology by the Liberal Party,1859 The Whigs merged with the Peelites and Radicals into the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party win a majority in the 1859 general election. Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston becomes Prime Minister for the second time,1865 The Liberal Party win an overall majority in the 1865 general election, winning 369 seats. Lord Palmerston dies in office and is succeeded by John Russell,1868 The Liberal Party win an overall majority in the 1868 general election, winning 387 seats. William Ewart Gladstone becomes Prime Minister,1874 The Liberal Party lose the 1874 general election, winning 242 seats. 1880 The Liberal Party win a majority in the 1880 general election
7.
Religion
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Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are said by followers to be true, that have the side purpose of explaining the origin of life. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has considered a source of religious beliefs. There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, about 84% of the worlds population is affiliated with one of the five largest religions, namely Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or forms of folk religion. With the onset of the modernisation of and the revolution in the western world. The religiously unaffiliated demographic include those who do not identify with any religion, atheists. While the religiously unaffiliated have grown globally, many of the religiously unaffiliated still have various religious beliefs, about 16% of the worlds population is religiously unaffiliated. The study of religion encompasses a variety of academic disciplines, including theology, comparative religion. Theories of religion offer various explanations for the origins and workings of religion, Religion is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which are obscure. One possible interpretation traced to Cicero, connects lego read, i. e. re with lego in the sense of choose, go over again or consider carefully. The medieval usage alternates with order in designating bonded communities like those of monastic orders, we hear of the religion of the Golden Fleece, of a knight of the religion of Avys. In the ancient and medieval world, the etymological Latin root religio was understood as a virtue of worship, never as doctrine, practice. In the Quran, the Arabic word din is often translated as religion in modern translations and it was in the 19th century that the terms Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Confucianism first emerged. Max Müller characterized many other cultures around the world, including Egypt, Persia, what is called ancient religion today, they would have only called law. Some languages have words that can be translated as religion, but they may use them in a different way. For example, the Sanskrit word dharma, sometimes translated as religion, throughout classical South Asia, the study of law consisted of concepts such as penance through piety and ceremonial as well as practical traditions. Medieval Japan at first had a union between imperial law and universal or Buddha law, but these later became independent sources of power. There is no equivalent of religion in Hebrew, and Judaism does not distinguish clearly between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities
8.
Protestantism
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Protestantism is a form of Christianity which originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the three divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Protestants reject the notion of papal supremacy and deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Five solae summarize the reformers basic differences in theological beliefs, in the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and Iceland. Reformed churches were founded in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, the political separation of the Church of England from Rome under King Henry VIII brought England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, some Protestant denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of families, Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism. Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier. During the Reformation, the term was used outside of the German politics. The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was more widely used for those involved in the religious movement. Nowadays, this word is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and Calvinist traditions in Europe, above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the EKD. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Lutheran or a Calvinist, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, and is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical usually refers to Evangelical Protestant churches, and it traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States. Protestantism as a term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i. e. Roman Catholicism. Initially, Protestant became a term to mean any adherent to the Reformation movement in Germany and was taken up by Lutherans. Even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ, French and Swiss Protestants preferred the word reformed, which became a popular, neutral and alternative name for Calvinists
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English Civil War
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The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists over, principally, the manner of Englands government. The war ended with the Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, the monopoly of the Church of England on Christian worship in England ended with the victors consolidating the established Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. The term English Civil War appears most often in the singular form, the war in all these countries are known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Unlike other civil wars in England, which focused on who should rule, this war was more concerned with the manner in which the kingdoms of England, Scotland, the two sides had their geographical strongholds, such that minority elements were silenced or fled. The strongholds of the royalty included the countryside, the shires, on the other hand, all the cathedral cities sided with Parliament. All the industrial centers, the ports, and the advanced regions of southern and eastern England typically were parliamentary strongholds. Lacey Baldwin Smith says, the words populist, rich, at times there would be two groups of three lines allowing one group to reload while the other group arranged themselves and fired. Mixed in among the musketeers were pikemen carrying pikes that were between 12 feet and 18 feet long, whose purpose was to protect the musketeers from cavalry charges. The Royalist cavaliers skill and speed on horseback led to early victories. While the Parliamentarian cavalry were slower than the cavaliers, they were better disciplined. The Royalists had a tendency to chase down individual targets after the initial charge leaving their forces scattered and tired, Cromwells cavalry, on the other hand, trained to operate as a single unit, which led to many decisive victories. The English Civil War broke out fewer than forty years after the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, in spite of this, James personal extravagance meant he was perennially short of money and had to resort to extra-Parliamentary sources of income. Charles hoped to unite the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland into a new single kingdom, many English Parliamentarians had suspicions regarding such a move because they feared that setting up a new kingdom might destroy the old English traditions which had bound the English monarchy. As Charles shared his fathers position on the power of the crown, at the time, the Parliament of England did not have a large permanent role in the English system of government. Instead, Parliament functioned as an advisory committee and was summoned only if. Once summoned, a continued existence was at the kings pleasure. Yet in spite of this role, Parliament had, over the preceding centuries. Without question, for a monarch, Parliaments most indispensable power was its ability to tax revenues far in excess of all other sources of revenue at the Crowns disposal
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Cavalier
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It was later adopted by the Royalists themselves. Prince Rupert, commander of much of Charles Is cavalry, is considered to be an archetypal Cavalier. Cavalier derives from the same Latin root as the French word chevalier, Cavalier is chiefly associated with the Royalist supporters of King Charles I in his struggle with Parliament in the English Civil War. Charles, in the Answer to the Petition 13 June 1642 speaks of Cavaliers as a word by what mistake soever it seemes much in disfavour, Cavalier was not understood at the time as primarily a term describing a style of dress, but a whole political and social attitude. Most Parliamentarian generals wore their hair at much the length as their Royalist counterparts. The best patrons in the nobility of Charles Is court painter Sir Anthony van Dyck, probably the most famous image identified as of a cavalier, Frans Hals Laughing Cavalier, shows a gentleman from the strongly Calvinist Dutch town of Haarlem, and is dated 1624. These derogatory terms also showed what the typical Parliamentarian thought of the Royalist side – capricious men who cared more for vanity than the nation at large. Although they did not share the same outlook on how to worship God as the English Independents of the New Model Army, if I forget Thee, do not forget me. However, the word was coined by the Roundheads as a propaganda image of a licentious, hard drinking and frivolous man. It is this image which has survived and many Royalists, for example Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, fitted this description to a tee. Of all his qualifications dissimulation was his masterpiece, in which he so much excelled and this sense has developed into the modern English use of cavalier to describe a recklessly nonchalant attitude, although still with a suggestion of stylishness. Likewise during Exclusion Bill crisis the term Roundhead was replaced with Whig, an example of the Cavalier style can be seen in the painting Charles I, King of England, from Three Angles by Anthony van Dyck. The mascot of Cavalier has been commonly used in the sports world. Most prominently it has been that of the professional Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA since 1970 and it has also been adopted by smaller organizations such as Johnson County Community College, Kankakee Community College, St. Gregorys University, and the University of Virginias College at Wise. Cavaliers have been represented as a class and subclass of role-playing character since 1983 in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Cavalier Generals, King Charles I and His Commanders in the English Civil War, 1642–46. Going to the Wars, The Experience of the British Civil Wars 1638-1651, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Goring, George Goring, Lord. Clarendon, Edward Hyde, 1st earl of, the history of the rebellion and civil wars in England. The History of England from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution 1688, the Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1639-1660
11.
Absolute monarchy
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Absolute monarchy, or despotic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which one ruler has supreme authority that is not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs. These are often, but not always, hereditary monarchies, in contrast, in constitutional monarchies, the head of states authority derives from and is legally bounded or restricted by a constitution or legislature. Some monarchies have weak or symbolic legislatures and other bodies that the monarch can alter or dissolve at will. Countries where a monarch still maintains absolute power are Brunei, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the individual emirates composing the United Arab Emirates, Swaziland, in Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh wielded absolute power over the country and was considered a living god by his people. In ancient Mesopotamia, many rulers of Assyria, Babylonia and Sumer were absolute monarchs as well, in ancient and medieval India, rulers of the Maurya, Satahavana, Gupta and Chalukya Empires, as well as other major and minor empires, were considered absolute monarchs. In the Khmer Empire, the kings were called Devaraja and Chakravartin, in Kingdom of Siam, the kings were esestablished Somburanaya-sittiraj. Throughout Chinese history, many emperors and one empress wielded absolute power through the Mandate of Heaven, in pre-Columbian America, the Inca Empire was ruled by a Sapa Inca, who was considered the son of Inti, the sun god and absolute ruler over the people and nation. Throughout much of European history, the right of kings was the theological justification for absolute monarchy. Many European monarchs, such as those of Russia, claimed supreme autocratic power by right. James VI of Scotland and his son Charles I of Scotland and England tried to import this principle, there is a considerable variety of opinion by historians on the extent of absolutism among European monarchs. Some, such as Perry Anderson, argue that quite a few monarchs achieved levels of absolutist control over their states, a widely held story about Louis XIV of France is that he proclaimed Létat, cest moi. What Louis did say was, The interests of the state come first, when one gives these priority, one labors for ones own good. These advantages to the state redounds to ones glory, although often criticized for his extravagances, such as the Palace of Versailles, he reigned over France for a long period, and some historians consider him a successful absolute monarch. More recently, revisionist historians have questioned whether Louis reign should be considered absolute, the King of France concentrated in his person legislative, executive, and judicial powers. He was the judicial authority. He could condemn men to death without the right of appeal and it was both his duty to punish offenses and stop them from being committed. From his judicial authority followed his power both to make laws and to annul them and this law consequently authorized the king to abolish all other centers of power. Most important was the abolition of the Council of the Realm and his actions largely originated the militaristic streak of the Hohenzollern
12.
Divine right of kings
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The divine right of kings, divine right, or Gods mandate is a political and religious doctrine of royal and political legitimacy. It asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, the king is thus not subject to the will of his people, the aristocracy, or any other estate of the realm. It implies that only God can judge an unjust king and that any attempt to depose, dethrone or restrict his powers runs contrary to the will of God and it is only an implication and the Bible states Iron sharpens iron, referring to accountability to each other. It also implies the higher accountability of Monarchs to implement policies in line with Christs commandment to Love one another and it is often expressed in the phrase by the Grace of God, attached to the titles of a reigning monarch. In the pagan world, kings were often seen as ruling with the backing of heavenly powers or perhaps even being divine beings themselves. However, the Christian notion of a right of kings could be traced to the biblical story found in 1 Samuel. And the anointing is to such an effect that the monarch became inviolable, adomnan of Iona is one of the earliest Christian proponents of this concept of kings ruling with divine right. He wrote of the Irish King Diarmait mac Cerbaills assassination and claimed that divine punishment fell on his assassin for the act of violating the monarch, the same angel then visited Columba on three successive nights, and then finally Columba agreed and Aedan came to receive ordination. Adomnans writings most likely influenced other Irish writers, who in turn influenced continental ideas as well, pepin the Shorts coronation may have also come from the same influence. The Carolingian dynasty and the Holy Roman Emperors also influenced all subsequent western ideas of kingship, the immediate author of the theory was Jean Bodin, who based it on the interpretation of Roman law. With the rise of nation-states and the Protestant Reformation, the theory of divine right justified the kings authority in both political and spiritual matters. The theory came to the fore in England under the reign of James I of England, louis XIV of France strongly promoted the theory as well. The Scots textbooks of the right of kings were written in 1597–98 by James VI of Scotland before his accession to the English throne. James I based his theories in part on his understanding of the Bible, the state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth, for kings are not only Gods lieutenants upon earth and sit upon Gods throne, but even by God himself they are called gods. There be three principal that illustrate the state of monarchy, one out of the word of God. In the Scriptures kings are called gods, and so their power after a certain relation compared to the Divine power, Kings are also compared to fathers of families, for a king is truly parens patriae, the politic father of his people. And lastly, kings are compared to the head of this microcosm of the body of man, jamess reference to Gods lieutenants is apparently a reference to the controversial text in Romans 13, where Paul refers to Gods ministers. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Anonymous (1911). "Roundhead". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 772.
