The Power of Kings: Monarchy and Religion in Europe, 1589–1715 (review)

The Power of Kings: Monarchy and Religion in Europe, 1589-1715. By Paul Kléber Monod. (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. 1999. Pp. x, 417. $35.00.)

By his own admission Monod found it necessary to narrow the scope of his project by eliminating a consideration of monarchy and religion in Africa and Asia. Nevertheless, he has produced an impressive study of the evolution of monarchy in early modern Europe from an institution that represented godly ideals to one that had begun to absorb the rationalism of enlightened liberalism. Even with a narrower focus, his finished product will be a challenging and stimulating exercise for readers interested in the history of ideas. His research has resulted in an impressive array of primary and secondary sources in several languages, which are displayed in more than seventy-five pages of notes. He will utilize the observations of a wide range of famous and ordinary contemporaries to support his arguments. As a scholar of English history, Monod is obviously more familiar with western European conditions; however, he includes material from translations pertaining to Scandinavian, Polish, and Russian experiences in order to treat Europe as a whole. His comparative analyses demonstrate that he has mastered the political and religious details and their implications; moreover, he fortifies and expands upon many of his arguments with references to philosophy, social theory, anthropology, and literature. One will also discover photographs of thirty-five paintings and statues associated with the images of kingship that are deftly assessed in the text.

In his introductory chapter Monod defines and discusses terminology that will be applied consistently as his story unfolds. Unlike other studies that deal with the exercise of monarchical power, he indicates that he will place more emphasis on the importance of religious beliefs. For instance he points out how Renaissance humanism began to challenge traditional Christian views at a time when monarchs were faced with a substantial population increase, dynamic economic change, and escalating social instability, conditions that weakened their authority. Royal efforts toward centralization were hampered by the lack of funds even before the Reformation further complicated the governing process.

A reconstruction of the monarchy along very different lines will be addressed in subsequent chapters arranged chronologically, beginning with the assassination of Henry III of France in 1589 and concluding with the death of Louis XIV 126 years later. For Monod Henry's murder was a signal that the sacred monarchy was in considerable trouble. Both Catholic and Protestant reformers had started to question the mystical attributes of kingship and to challenge the courts' secular activities, while promoting a spiritual purification. When monarchs failed to make the desired responses, these representatives of the Christian Right, fearing a loss of their identity, adopted violent measures until they were frightened by revolutionary extremism. While these devoted Christians were arriving at the conclusion that support of monarchy was the only way to maintain order, the kings had turned to the techniques of public theater like rituals, ceremonies, paintings, and literature to create a more human face.

Monod believes that this theater of royal virtue, which he has explored in depth with numerous pertinent examples, represented the initial stage in the formation of a rational state, but as he has demonstrated in his investigation of the various royal families, it would take several decades before the kings as mere mortals could secure stable agreements with their subjects. Contributing to this process was the rise of patriotism, a by-product of international politics and warfare, which weakened confessional rivalries and religious intensity. However, for many zealous Christians the rational state would remain morally and religiously disturbing, even for those who gained the most from its development. Monod's ambitious undertaking will be welcomed by scholars who are interested in a thought-provoking and well-focused monograph.

Thomas M. Keefe
St. Joseph's University (Philadelphia)

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