Counsel and Command in Early Modern English Thought

Counsel and Command in Early Modern English Thought establishes the precise role political counsel played during the 'monarchy of counsel', from the end of the Wars of the Roses to the end of the English Civil War, and its relation to the discourse of sovereignty, through analysis of the relevant texts in their social and political contexts.

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While it has often been recognised that counsel formed an essential part of the political discourse in early modern England, the precise role that it occupied in the development of political thinking has remained obscure. This comprehensive and rigorous study of early modern English political counsel establishes the importance of the relationship between political counsel and the discourse of sovereignty. Tracing the changes and evolution of writings on political counsel during the 'monarchy of counsel', from the end of the Wars of the Roses to the end of the English Civil War, Joanne Paul examines English thought in its domestic and transnational context, providing an original account of the relationship between counsel and emerging conceptions of sovereignty. Formed at the conjunction of the history of political thought and English political history, this book grounds textual analysis within the context of court politics, intellectual and patronage networks, and diplomacy.