From Defense to Resistance

This is a print on demand publication. The right to defend oneself & one’s property came into conflict with medieval rulers’ attempts to maintain public order. As the French monarchy asserted its claims to sovereignty, the concept of “lese-majeste,” or treason, grew, but so did the belief that the king ruled by popular consent for the good of the kingdom. By the late 16th cent., heresy was being seen as a kind of treason, & religious arguments began to play a vital role in the new context of religious warfare. It was the convergence of these various elements during the 16th-cent. wars of Religion which resulted in the formulation of theories of resistance which asserted the right of the people to defend themselves against “bad” kings. This work explores the legal theories used to justify that development.