The French Monarchical Commonwealth, 13561560 by James B. Co... - 9781108473309

The French Monarchical Commonwealth, 13561560Author(s): James B. Collins\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9781108473309, 978-1108473309\nSynopsis\nHow does authority become power? How does power justify itself to achieve its ends? For over two hundred years, the Valois kings relied on a complex mixture of ideologies, ruling a monarchical commonwealth with a coherent theory of shared governance. Forged in the Hundred Years War, this commonwealth built on the defense of the public good (bien public) came undone both practically and theoretically during the Wars of Religion. Just as certain kings sought to expand the royal prerogative, so, too, elites fought to preserve their control over local government. Using town archives from more than twenty cities to complement traditional sources of political theory, The French Monarchical Commonwealth, [tel] establishes the relationship between seemingly theo.