Politics and the Renaissance

“The Prince”, Absolutism & Constitutionalism

Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was a historian, diplomat, philosopher and writer

He wrote the masterpiece “The Prince” and is considered the father of Modern political Science

The Prince Machiavelli was an important civil

servant in Florence However, he was denied employment

by the Medici family when they took control of the city.

It was during this time when Machiavelli wrote “The Prince”

In the book, Machiavelli lays out ideas and tactics that a leader should employ to get and maintain power.

The revolutionary thing about the book is that it is purely logical. His ideas are not bound by religious virtues or morality It is Machiavelli that first says “The Ends justify the Means”

Absolutism During the Middle Ages, Nobles and Knights

held most of the political power The Theory of Absolutism developed from

Roman ideas (The Emperor) The King should hold absolute power over a

country Humans, by nature, were evil and stupid and

need to be led by a strong ruler The development of this theory coincided

with the centralization of power that occurred in many European nations

With the invention of the longbow and then the musket, Knights lost their dominance on the battlefield

The king was able to use his wealth to build and train large peasant armies. Firearms were very powerful, easy to use and could be mass produced.

Instead of the feudal hierarchy, now everyone owed loyalty to the King himself

Louis XIV

Several Absolute Monarchs rose to power during the renaissance, however the best example is Louis the 14th of France

Became a King at 22 and ruled into his 90s

Louis was often called “Le Roi-Soleil”; the Sun King; because he was the center of the French political universe

Strong believer in “Divine Right”; he was king by God’s power and was God’s agent on Earth

Life under the Sun King Louis created one of the first modern nation-states He destroyed the power of the nobility by creating a modern civil

service (paid government workers) He fought many wars and expanded the power and influence of

France Built the palace of Versailles (one of the most expensive and

impressive buildings in the world) and spent enormous amounts on personal luxury

Louis is most famous for his court; which he used to control the Nobles

The Court was the centre of French political Life, this meant that nobles were forced to leave their castles and come to Versailles in order to have any influence, this made them dependant on Louis

Louis created detailed and meticulous rules about court life. A person’s status could rise and fall based on their table manners and how they knocked on a door

The unending pomp of the court was ridiculous but genius, the nobles danced to Louis tune at Versailles while he controlled the country without them

Louis XIV’s elaborate rules of etiquette included the following:

People who wanted to speak to the king could not knock on his door. Instead, using the left little finger, they had to gently scratch on the door, until they were granted permission to enter. As a result, many courtiers grew that fingernail longer than the others;

A lady never held hands or linked arms with a gentleman. Besides being in bad taste, this practice would have been impossible because a woman’s hooped skirts were so wide. Instead, she was to place her hand on top of the gentleman’s bent arm as they strolled through the gardens and chambers of Versailles. It is also mentioned that the ladies were only allowed to touch fingertips with the men.

When a gentleman sat down, he slid his left foot in front of the other, placed his hands on the sides of the chair and gently lowered himself into the chair. There was a very practical reason for this procedure. If a gentleman sat too fast, his tight trousers might split;

Women and men were not allowed to cross their legs in public;

When a gentleman passed an acquaintance on the street, he was to raise his hat high off his head until the other person passed;

A gentleman was to do no work except writing letters, giving speeches, practicing fencing, or dancing. For pleasure he engaged in hawking, archery, indoor tennis, or hunting. A gentleman would also take part in battle and would sometimes serve as a public officer, paying the soldiers;

Ladies’ clothing did not allow them to do much besides sit and walk. However, they passed the time sewing, knitting, writing letters, painting, making their own lace, and creating their own cosmetics and perfumes.

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Constitutionalism Not all States went toward Absolutism In some, cases the complete opposite

was true, rather than give more power to the king, the people demanded power

In a Constitutionalist state, the State would be governed by law and not royal decree

A perfect example of this was England. The English parliament fought and won a civil war against their king when he pushed for absolutism.

England went so far as to remove the monarchy and install a republic. However, this was short lived and a new monarchy was installed.

In Summary

During the renaissance, people no longer thought about the world from a purely religious viewpoint.

People applied rational principals to all areas of life, including politics

Machiavelli, having written the prince, was the first true political scientist

This rational thought process also provoked the English parliament to demand rights and power to match their economic contributions, leading to a constitutionalist state.

However, Absolutism developed at the same time but it was completely dependent on the genius and charisma of Louis XIV.