Myth of Absolutism, the Change and Continuity in Early Modern European Monarchy Book

	Acknowledgements
	Preface
	Introduction	1
1	Valois and Early Bourbons	7
	Medieval inheritances	7
	Decentralised corporations	8
	Agents of centralisation	16
	Collapse and recovery	18
	Richelieu	23
	The Fronde	29
2	Louis XIV Reassessed	35
	Royal authority	35
	The court of the Sun King - a cliche re-examined	38
	Instruments of absolutism?	40
	Patrons, brokers and clients	45
	The elite	49
	Instruments of self-government	52
3	A High Road to Revolution?	61
	Faction and ideology	62
	Despotism or consent?	66
	A formative minority	69
	Louis XV and Louis XVI	71
	The wages of despotism	72
	The dominance of court faction	74
4	France and England: Absolutism Versus Limited Monarchy?	80
	Monarchs	80
	Courtiers	85
	Despots	89
	Bureaucrats	91
	Aristocrats	92
5	France and England: Absolutism Versus Parliamentary Liberties?	101
	Parliaments, Estates and parlements	101
	1688: the great divide?	108
	Economic and fiscal policy	112
	Civil liberties	114
6	A Theory of Absolutism?	120
	Problems of evidence	120
	The concept of the state	122
	Theories of royal sovereignty	123
	Bodin and absolutist theory	126
	Two spheres of royal authority	128
	Absolutist legislative and emergency power?	133
	Absolutist versus constitutional ideologies?	137
	Divine right absolutism?	141
	Conclusions	143
7	Royal Prerogatives and their Context	148
	Personal monarchy	148
	Prerogatives and their justification	150
	The main prerogatives	152
	Agents of the prerogative	161
	Prerogative enthroned	164
	Prerogative dethroned	167
	Conclusions	170
8	Liberties and Consent	176
	Monarchs and despots	177
	The rituals of consent	179
	Estates: crushed or co-operating?	182
	Conflict	186
	Enlightened Despotism	191
9	Life-Cycle of a Myth	199
	Birth	200
	Childhood	201
	Adolescence	203
	Maturity	207
	Senility	210
	Glossary of Recurrent Terms	215
	Bibliographical Essay	217
	Appendix I: The Regusse clientele	227
	Appendix II: The Oppede clientele	228
	Appendix III: Major European monarchs 1461-1833	230
	Map: Pre-revolutionary France: principal administrative, judicial, and fiscal subdivisions	235
	Index	236