Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Divine RIght of Kings

One thing that really interested me in our class discussions of Richard II was the concept of divine right of kings. I knew I had studied it in previous classes but I wanted to find out more on the tradition- how it come about, how it evolved, etc.

The concept comes from the ancient belief that shaman, or medicine man, had a direct line of communication with god and tribes slowly evolved so that they would become the "king priest of the community" (Nicolson 188). Although it took centuries for the system of primogeniture to be widely accepted, "the theory remained that the magica communication between the king and the gods... was in some manner hereditary and transmitted from generation to generation. The royal family became in this manner sacred and even divine... and that if a king were to be elected, he must at least pretend to be descended from royal ancestors" (Nicolson 188). The phrase "Divine Right of Kings" came about because of a power struggle between Popes, who believed they were supreme ruler over both religious and secular worlds, and emperors and kings, who believed they had control of the lay world. Because of this power struggle, the emperors and kings came out with this phrase.

As primogeniture came to the forefront, it was protected because it "was believed to possess some sacred sanction as implied in the motto 'only God can make an heir'" (Nicolson 194). It was debated if whether a son succeeded his father as king as soon as the father died or if the son must first be anointed with holy oil. it was contended by many theologians that a "king could not become the 'Vicar of God' unless he had received unction and that his anointing rendered his sovereignty indefeasible" (Nicolson 194). Richard II, according to Nicolson, was overtly influenced by John Wycliff's De Offico Regis in which he argued the idea that "the king was superior to the Church since he reflected the godhead of the Church, whereas the priest reflected His manhood only" (Nicolson 195). According to Wycliff, the king was above the law causing Richard to assert "'that the laws were in his mouth or in his breast and he alone could change the statutes of the realm'" (Nicolson 195). When Bolingbroke assumed power as Henry IV, Parliament was "careful to maintain the fiction of Divine RIght by asserting that he had succeeded 'through the right God had given him by conquest'" (Nicolson 195).

Nicolson, Harold. Monarchy. Weidenfeld and Nicolson: Italy, 1962.

2 comments:

Life in Teal said...

This is fantastic information. I frequently thought of, and noted, passages dealing with divine right in the text. This is especially apparent (in my mind) whenever there was a prophesy about the damnation of England. It seemed to be that there was a fear of replacing one king with another so quickly, and with any betrayal of the king to assume the throne for fear of cursing the nation.

Hannah Banana said...

Wow, this was such a fascinating post. Thanks for the special insight into the history of divine right! I found it surprising that this tradition arises from shaman and that the concept was used in order for kings to gain leverage over popes in their power struggle with them. Having some knowledge about the history of divine right definitely gives me a greater understanding as to why so many of the characters in Richard II are so fearful of God’s retribution for overthrowing Richard.