''Vindiciae contra tyrannos'' (meaning: "Defences f libertyagainst tyrants"University of Wisconsin History Department
/ref>) was an influential

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

tract published in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

in 1579. Its author remains uncertain, since it was written under the pseudonym of "Stephen Junius Brutus". Likely candidates for its authorship include Hubert Languet and

Philippe de Mornay Philippe de Mornay (5 November 1549 – 11 November 1623), seigneur du Plessis Marly, usually known as Du-Plessis-Mornay or Mornay Du Plessis, was a French Protestant writer and member of the anti-monarchist '' Monarchomaques''. Biography H ...

. In 1931, Gerardina Tjaberta van Ysselsteyn conjectured that the tract was a collaboration between Languet and de Mornay. The work proceeds through four questions concerning the response of the people to their king. The first two questions are treated briskly and concern whether a people are bound to obey or are able to resist their king when he breaks the

divine law Divine law is any body of law that is perceived as deriving from a transcendent source, such as the will of God or godsin contrast to man-made law or to secular law. According to Angelos Chaniotis and Rudolph F. Peters, divine laws are typically ...

. The third and longest question considers whether the people can resist a king on the grounds that he is destroying the

commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

. The answer to each of these questions is an affirmative. The work is interesting for the grounds that it gives a justification for popular resistance. The work merges the theological view of

covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

with the legal understanding of

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

to show why resistance can be justified in the eyes of the law. However, it stops short of inviting any individual to judge a king. Rather, individuals could only take up arms if they are led by an inferior magistrate (so termed to distinguish them from the superior magistrate, i.e., the king). This shows considerable restraint in the wake of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and in comparison to other Reformed thinkers such as

Christopher Goodman Christopher Goodman BD (1520–1603) was an English reforming clergyman and writer. He was a Marian exile, who left England to escape persecution during the counter-reformation in the reign of Queen Mary I of England. He was the author of a work o ...

and

John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...

. The fourth question considers whether foreign princes can legally support a popular rising against a king on the conditions set out in the first three questions.

References

External links

''Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos: A Defence of Liberty Against Tyrants''
in its entirety (free PDF download) 1579 works Works published under a pseudonym Huguenot history Pamphlets Works about monarchy Political philosophy literature French Wars of Religion {{lit-stub