Parliamentary Monarchy and Absolutism

Differentiate Between England's Parliamentary Monarchy and France's Absolutism

Absolutism or 'Absolute Monarchy' refers to a monarchical form of government in which a sovereign (king or queen) has unfettered powers to rule over a country, while 'Parliamentary Monarchy' is a system of government in which a monarch (king or queen) reigns with limited powers while most of the powers rest with a governing body called parliament.

Examples of the two models are the English parliamentary monarchy and the French political absolutism that developed in the 17th century. The theory of absolute monarchy developed in the late Middle Ages and has its roots in feudalism with the most powerful noble becoming the monarch. The absolute monarch adopted the doctrine of "divine right of kings" to justify their rule by claiming that they owed their power to the will of God rather than the people or the parliament. Such political absolutism developed in France during the reign of Louis XIV and was in part a reaction against the political instability caused by the civil wars ('the Fronde') in which a number of French noblemen challenged the authority of Louis XIII in the mid 17th century. The concept of absolutism was supported by theologians such as Jacques Boussuet who gave religious sanction to the view that kings were God's anointed representatives on earth and to rebel against their authority is to rebel against God.

In contrast to the French model of absolutism, parliamentary monarchy took roots in England in the 17th century. In fact the concept of the 'divine right of kings' had been weakened in England ever since the adoption of Magna Carta in 1215. When King Charles I attempted to gain absolute power in his reign during the 17th century, the parliament opposed him and the King was eventually tried and executed through an Act of the parliament. Later, when King James II again attempted to grab absolute powers, he was overthrown in what became known as the Glorious Revolution of 1688 after which the Bill of Rights was passed in 1689. Since then England has been governed under the system of constitutional monarchy with the monarch having only ceremonial powers.

Reference

Constitutional Monarchy." (2006). From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved on October 17, 2006 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy