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The Myth of Absolutism

Nicholas Henshall, in his book The Myth of Absolutism., Change and Continuity in Early Modern European Monarchy, argues that the concept of absolutism as generally used by historians to describe kingly rule in early modern Europe is badly misleading and inaccurate. Henshall argues that absolutism is no longer a valid and significant concept, for it is too often equated with outright despotism, instead of being seen as a description of broader and more varied forms of monarchic rule. Therefore, the author examines the misuse of the term and endeavors to redefine the governments it was meant to describe in a way that will be useful to the understanding of the era and the governments in question. Monarchies were not "absolute" in terms of force and despotism and the crushing of liberties. In opposition, to traditional theories, Henshall argues that monarchies were varied, indeed, and, in fact, far from despotic. Some inaccurate theories

have mistakenly subscribed to a contrast between French 'absolute' monarchs who monopolized power and English 'limited' monarchs who shared it. [However,] most monarchs were both. They were absolute when they wielded their sweeping prerogatives and limited when they negotiated over their subjects' rights (pp. 2-3).

In presenting this and other related arguments, Henshall simply examines the historical records available to all historians. He offers not a unique examination of the evidence, but rather a re-examination of that evidence in order to right the habitual wrongs that other historians have fallen into. The fault does not lie in the history, but in the historians who have adopted tunnel-vision in analyzing that history. He openly admits that his work is not necessarily ground-breaking in its intent, but it is clear that his book is rather unique in the comprehensive scope of its portrait of true monarchy in the period under study. He wants to do away with the term "absolutism" in o...

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The Myth of Absolutism. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 09:34, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1680506.html