The trew law of free monarchies or The reciprock and mutuall duetie betwixt a free king and his naturall subjects = La vraie loi des libres monarchies ou Les devoirs réciproques et mutuels entre un roi libre et ses sujets naturel / Jacques VI d'Écosse

Traduction et édition critique par Bernard BourdinJames VI of Scotland was pursuing two goals when he published The Trew Law of Free Monarchies in 1598 : consolidate the crown's sovereignty by justifying the divine right of kings in the face of presbytarian-puritan clericalism, whose doctrine of the two kingdoms advocated the control of the monarchy by church ministers ; and prepare the succession of Queen Elizabeth, in accordance with the hereditary nature of the sovereign's divine right. Therein lies the originality of his thought : since divine right « comes from above », it applies to the royal function ; this ensures his successors'right to the hereditary devolution of the crown. Catholic theoreticians cannot invoke the principle of catholicity to try and install a catholic princess on the throne. Thus, divine right and hereditary legitimacy are the two theological-political norms of the Stuart monarchy, which will shape English absolutism until its fall during the Glorious Revolution of 1688.Traduction et édition critique par Bernard Bourdi