Sovereignty in English Political Thought 1576-1628

Abstract

This thesis aims for the most part to give an updated analysis of the reception of Bodin's theory of sovereignty into English political thought before the personal rule of Charles I. The relevance of such a study for modern constitutionalism is in the delineation, both of Bodin's original concept, and of the versions of this concept adopted in England long before the time of Blackstone. While it is to be hoped that this elucidation will aid in the understanding of sovereignty today, care must he taken to recognise the limits of such studies. The elements of parliamentary sovereignty which present writers discuss include many which came into being centuries after Bodin's time, so that what we can expect to see in this early period is only a barebones theory of sovereignty. But it is also a minimalist statement of the architecture of the modern State in that it expresses a legal view of political supremacy.