Divine right of kings

The power of the monarch

Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, monarchs were seen as being God’s deputies on earth, having a ‘divine right’ to rule; the monarch had absolute power, and an attack on him or her, even a verbal one, was considered to be treason.

Although there were meetings of Parliament, and had been for hundreds of years, Parliament did not convene unless summoned by the king; this practice continued through the reign of James I and beyond.

For most English (and European) citizens of Shakespeare’s day, the ruler was accepted as head of the nation by divine appointment.

James I was particularly keen on the idea that the king ruled by divine appointment. In their coronation ceremony, monarchs are anointed. The idea of anointing kings isbased on the Bible, and English kings since Edgar in 973 have been anointed after this biblical pattern. In 1 Samuel 24:6 the military hero David refuses to harm King Saul because Saul had been anointed, and later David has the man killed who finally killed Saul.

In The True Law of Free Monarchies (1598) James had written:

Kings are justly called gods, for that they exercise a manner or resemblance of divine power upon earth: for if you will consider the attributes to God, you shall see how they agree in the person of a king. God hath power to create or destroy make or unmake at his pleasure, to give life or send death, to judge all and to be judged nor accountable to none; to raise low