Western Civilization II / Unit 1 WC2 0015 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Divine Right: Bossuet's Version, Beside the Anchor's
Captions available
The idea
The anchor's absolutism rests on reason of state. The exam also expects divine right, which the anchor never names; Bishop Bossuet supplied it. Royal power, he wrote, is sacred and absolute; rulers act as God's ministers and lieutenants on earth.
In practice
Absolute is not arbitrary, he insists; the prince answers to God alone.
Where people slip
The witness calls Louis the epitome of a divine-right monarch.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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