William Barclay (1546–1608) was a Scottish jurist.

Life

He was born in Aberdeenshire in 1546. Educated at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, he went to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

by 1572, and studied law at the

University of Bourges The University of Bourges (french: Université de Bourges) was a university located in Bourges, France. It was founded by Louis XI of France, Louis XI in 1463 and closed during the French Revolution. Until the mid-17th century, lack of suitable le ...

, where he took his doctor's degree.

Charles III, Duke of Lorraine Charles III (18 February 1543 – 14 May 1608), known as ''the Great'', was Duke of Lorraine from 1545 until his death. Life He was the eldest surviving son of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, and Christina of Denmark. In 1545, his father died, and ...

, appointed him professor of civil law in the newly founded

university of Pont-à-Mousson A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, and also made him

Counsellor of State Counsellors of State are senior members of the British royal family to whom the monarch can delegate and revoke royal functions through letters patent under the Great Seal, to prevent delay or difficulty in the dispatch of public business in t ...

and master of requests. Here, he was colleague to the French jurist

Pierre Grégoire Pierre Grégoire (9 November 1907 – 8 April 1991) was a Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de L ...

, with whom he entered into a dispute with the Jesuit faction in the university. In 1603 he was obliged to leave

, having incurred the enmity of the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

, through his opposition to their proposal to admit his son John a member of their society. Arriving in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he was offered considerable preferment by

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

on condition of becoming a member of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. This offer he refused, and he returned to France in 1604, when he was appointed professor of civil law in the

university of Angers The University of Angers (french: Université d'Angers; UA) is a public university in western France, with campuses in Angers, Cholet, and Saumur. It forms part of thAngers-Le Mans University Community History The University of Angers was init ...

. He died at

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

in 1608.

Works

His principal work was ''De Regno et Regali Potestate'' (1600), a strenuous defence of the rights of kings, in which he refutes the doctrines of those he terms

monarchomachs The Monarchomachs (french: Monarchomaques) were originally Early Modern France, French Huguenot political theory, theorists who opposed monarchism, monarchy at the end of the 16th century, known in particular for having theoretically justified tyra ...

George Buchanan George Buchanan ( gd, Seòras Bochanan; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth century Scotland produced." ...

, "Junius Brutus" ( Hubert Languet or

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 ...

) and Jean Boucher, a leading member of the French Catholic League; he also wrote ''De potestate papae: an & quatenus in reges & principes seculares jus & imperium habeat'' (published in 1609, after his death), in opposition to the usurpation of temporal powers by the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, which called forth the celebrated reply of

Cardinal Bellarmine Robert Bellarmine, SJ ( it, Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino; 4 October 1542 – 17 September 1621) was an Italian Jesuit and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was canonized a saint in 1930 and named Doctor of the Church, one of only ...

; also commentaries on some of the titles of the ''

Pandects The ''Digest'', also known as the Pandects ( la, Digesta seu Pandectae, adapted from grc, πανδέκτης , "all-containing"), is a name given to a compendium or digest of juristic writings on Roman law compiled by order of the Byzantine e ...

''.

References

* *"William Barclay, Professor of Law at Pont-a-Mousson and Angers" by Andrew F Stewart in Stair Society Miscellany V, ed H L MacQueen, Edinburgh 2006 * Andrew Pyle (editor), ''Dictionary of Seventeenth Century British Philosophers'' (2000), article pp. 59–62.

Life

Works

References

Further reading