Kingship by Francis Oakley

Kingship by Francis Oakley

From despots to powerless figureheads, and from the Neolithic era to the present, this book traces the history of kingship around the world and the tenacity of its connection with the sacred.

"This is a wide-ranging, cross-cultural exploration and meditation on sacral kingship by one of the rare, intellectually adventurous, historians in the academy" Janet Coleman, London School of Economics and Political Science

"In Oakley's hands, kingship turns out to be a tremendously insightful vantage point to understand the human story. His magisterial sweep through the history of monarchical rule shows conclusively how difficult it is to separate the history of politics from that of religion. Oakley's argument is supported by vivid examples drawn from an impressive range of times and civilizations." Charles Taylor, McGill University

"Original and lucid. This is an essential book ... it offers a persuasive reconsideration of the history of political philosophy, which bears on modern and recent as well as much older periods." Choice

"Oakley's study is neither confined to the West, nor to any period. It is not on kings, but on the very idea of kingship, an idea characterised by ubiquity, longevity and sacrality. [This] study is interesting and at times challenging." European Constitutional Law Review

“A most useful and informative survey of the theme…The juxtaposition of so much diverse material is certainly thought-provoking and demands changes in historical perspectives.”
Catholic Historical Review

Francis Oakley is the Edward Dorr Griffin Professor of the History of Ideas and President Emeritus of Williams College, Massachusetts. He is also President Emeritus of the American Council of Learned Societies, New York. In 1999 he was Isaiah Berlin Visiting Professor of the History of Ideas at Oxford University. He is the author of The Medieval Experience (1988 [1974]), Omnipotence, Covenant,and Order (1984), The Conciliarist Tradition (2003), and Natural Law, Laws of Nature, Natural Rights (2005).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780631226956
ISBN 10	0631226958
Title	Kingship
Author	Francis Oakley
Series	New Perspectives On The Past
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Year published	2006-01-16
Number of pages	212
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.