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The Decline of Feudalism and Origin of The Early Modern State

1) Feudalism declined at the end of the Middle Ages as kings gained greater power over nobles and commoners, establishing the modern state with absolute monarchs. 2) Absolute monarchy meant the sovereign power rested solely with kings who claimed divine right to rule without legal restrictions. 3) Louis XIV of France epitomized absolute rule from 1643 to 1715, centralizing control of taxation, military, and administration to diminish noble power.

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Raphael Asiegbu
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91 views

The Decline of Feudalism and Origin of The Early Modern State

1) Feudalism declined at the end of the Middle Ages as kings gained greater power over nobles and commoners, establishing the modern state with absolute monarchs. 2) Absolute monarchy meant the sovereign power rested solely with kings who claimed divine right to rule without legal restrictions. 3) Louis XIV of France epitomized absolute rule from 1643 to 1715, centralizing control of taxation, military, and administration to diminish noble power.

Uploaded by

Raphael Asiegbu
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Decline of Feudalism and Origin of the Early Modern State

At the end of the Middle Ages, Feudalism declined. While the old feudal system had
been defined by a weak monarchy attempting to control the lands of the realm*
through mutual agreements with regional leaders of the nobility, the modern age was
characterized by a rise of the king’s power in some parts of Europe. These kings
were soon to become absolute monarchs with a much greater power over the nobles
and the common people.

Thus historians generally regard the growth of the absolute monarchy as the origin of
the modern state. Most of the characteristic features of the modern state were more or
less instituted* in the France of Louis XIV and other contemporary* monarchies in
Europe. As for the economy, the decline of the feudal order also gave rise to the
earliest forms of Capitalism.
The Age of Absolutism
“Absolute monarchy or absolutism meant that the sovereign power or ultimate
authority in the state rested in the hands of a king who claimed to rule by divine
right.”

Absolutism is a term used by historians to describe a form of monarchical power that


is unlimited by any other institution, such as the church, parliament, or social elites.
The absolute monarch exercises ultimate authority over the state and his subjects, as
both head of state and head of government. In an absolute monarchy there is no
constitution or legal restriction on the monarch's power. Absolute monarchy is
normally hereditary* or passed on through marriage.

Features of Absolute Rule


Absolutists made sure that the key elements of national government would be solely
placed into the hands of the monarch: the armed forces, tax collection, and the judicial
system. These were powers normally enjoyed by the local nobles in their territories;
the national administration of these functions, however, required the formation of a
nationwide bureaucracy whose officials were answerable to the king alone. In order to
centralize the administration of the state, the absolute ruler had to – some way or other
– take political authority out of the hands of the nobles who had no desire whatever to
give that authority up!

Apart from the rise of professional bureaucracies, absolute states featured a national
legislation*, a national jurisdiction,* a large, standing military under the direct control
of the king, and a national tax collection mechanism in which taxes went straight to
the national government (i. e. the king’s treasury) rather than passing through the
hands of the local nobility.

Absolute monarchs spent exorbitant sums on warfare and extravagant buildings, such
as the Palace of Versailles (see above), for themselves and the nobility. They often
required the nobles to live at court for some time, while state officials ruled their lands
in their absence. Behind this was the idea to reduce the effective power of the nobility
by making them become reliant upon the munificence* of the monarch.

Foundations of Royal Absolutism


Absolute monarchies often gave birth to ideologies that eloquently justified the power
exercised by the absolutist monarch. Political and religious doctrines* of royal
absolutism were either based on the Divine Right of Kings* or a variation of the
Social Contract* Theory.

Divine Right of Kings


The Divine Right of Kings states that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority
since he derives the right to rule directly from God. As a consequence, he is not
subject to the will of his people, the clergy or the nobility. The Divine Right of Kings
implies that whoever might attempt to remove the king from his office or restrict his
powers runs contrary to the will of God and thus commits heresy. During the reign of
King Louis XIV of France, the theory of divine right was strongly promoted by the
French bishop and theologian Jacques Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704). The theory of
divine right disappeared in England after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The
American (1776) and French (1789) Revolutions further weakened its appeal, and by
the early twentieth century, it was given up completely.

Social Contract Theory


The idea of the social contract is based on a reciprocal* agreement: the people transfer
some of their rights to a government or ruler in order to receive social order and peace
through the rule of law. The first modern philosopher to articulate this kind of theory
was Thomas Hobbes. In his book Leviathan (1651), Hobbes argues that without social
contract and rule by an absolute monarch, people’s lives would be "solitary, poor,
nasty, brutish, and short". To escape from the state of nature, people agree on a social
contract and thus establish a society. All individuals in that society transfer their
natural rights to the monarch for the sake of protection. But peace comes at a stiff
price: any abuse of power by bad rulers has to be accepted. There is no right to resist
and the process of transferring one’s rights to the king is irreversible!

Historical Example of Absolutism in France


The Age of Absolutism is usually thought to begin with the reign of Louis XIV
(1643–1715) and ends with the French Revolution (1789). The most prominent
monarch who fully embodied absolutist principles was Louis XIV, called the Sun
King, who ruled France from 1643 to 1715. His alleged statement, “L’état, c’est moi”
(The state, it is me), gets to the heart of absolute rulership, i. e. sovereignty resting in
the hand of one individual. Although often criticized for his extravagance,* he reigned
over France for a long period, and many historians consider him a successful absolute
monarch.

Most of the practices of the modern state were more or less instituted in the France of
Louis XIV: in particular a strong government with Paris and the Royal Palace at
Versailles as centre points, a centralized bureaucracy, a large standing military, and an
efficient tax system that helped to restock the king’s financial supplies. King Louis
XIV made France the capital of luxury in Europe, from building the Palace of
Versailles to keeping complete control of the feudal nobility. But his expensive habits
also led to terrible economic crisis and poverty amongst his people.

The next two Louis kings kept up the French grandeur, until King Louis XVI found
himself in the middle of a revolution. The more the French people began demanding
civil rights and privileges (built from Enlightenment ideals), the less the French
monarchy became absolute and eventually faded under the new French Republic.

Other nations in which Absolutism held sway include Spain, England, France, and
Prussia.

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