Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Origins of Representative Government in Europe - Portable Library of Liberty

The French political philosopher and historian Francois Guizot (1787-1874) was one of the French Doctrinaires, thinkers who sought to avoid the interpretations of the Revolution advanced by either extreme of Left or Right. He argued that in order to understand the nature of political institutions it is necessary to study first the society, its composition, and the relation between various classes. At the very centre of his theory lies the principle of the sovereignty of reason. The first part of the book covers the period from the fifth to the eleventh century and such topics as the "true" principles of representative government and the origin and consequences of the sovereignty of the people. The second part spans the Norman Conquest to the reign of the Tudors in England and analyzes the architecture of the English Constitutional monarchy.

“In every society there exists a certain sum of correct ideas. This sum of correct ideas is scattered among the individuals who make up the society and is unequally distributed among them. The problem is to gather up all the scattered and incomplete fragments of this power, to concentrate them, and to constitute them into a government. What is called ‘representation’ is nothing other than the means of arriving at this result. It is not an arithmetic machine intended to collect and enumerate individual wills. It is a natural process for extracting from the bosom of society the public reason that alone has the right to govern.”

—from the book

The French political philosopher and historian François Guizot (1787–1874) was one of the French Doctrinaires, thinkers who sought to avoid the interpretations of the Revolution advanced by either extreme of Left or Right. He argued that in order to understand the nature of political institutions it is necessary to study first the society, its composition, mores, and the relation between various classes. At the very center of his theory lies the principle of the sovereignty of reason.

Aurelian Craiutu, associate professor of political science at Indiana University, writes in the introduction: "A cursory look at the table of contents shows the originality of this unusual book: it combines lengthy narrative chapters full of historical details with theoretical chapters in which Guizot reflects on the principles, goals, and institutions of representative government." The first part of the book covers the period from the fifth to the eleventh century and such topics as the "true" principles of representative government and the origin and consequences of the sovereignty of the people. The second part spans the Norman Conquest to the reign of the Tudors in England and analyzes the architecture of the English Constitutional monarchy.

Guizot's historical method combined philosophy and history by passing from the exposition of facts to the examination of ideas. Readers not familiar with him will profit from an encounter with Guizot, who not only writes in a beautiful French style but also illustrates the French liberal-conservative tradition at its best, much like Constant and Tocqueville.

The Online Library of Liberty 1 A project of Liberty Fund, Inc. 1 François Guizot, The History of the Origins of Representative Government in Europe [1861] 1 The Online Library of Liberty Collection 1 Edition used: 2 About this title: 2 About Liberty Fund: 3 Copyright information: 3 Fair use statement: 3 Table of Contents 4 INTRODUCTION TO THE LIBERTY FUND EDITION 6 EDITOR’S NOTE 13 PREFACE 14 PART 1 16 REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS IN ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND SPAIN, FROM THE FIFTH TO THE ELEVENTH CENTURY 16 LECTURE I 16 Gentelmen,— 16 LECTURE 2 30 LECTURE 3 36 LECTURE 4 42 LECTURE 5 47 LECTURE 6 51 LECTURE 7 58 LECTURE 8 66 LECTURE 9 70 LECTURE 10 73 LECTURE 11 79 LECTURE 12 85 LECTURE 13 90 LECTURE 14 95 LECTURE 15 100 LECTURE 16 106 LECTURE 17 113 LECTURE 18 118 of local institutions 119 LECTURE 19 122 LECTURE 20 128 LECTURE 21 133 LECTURE 22 137 LECTURE 23 148 LECTURE 24 157 LECTURE 25 163 LECTURE 26 172 PART 2 190 ESSAYS OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IN ENGLAND, FROM THE CONQUEST TILL THE REIGN OF THE TUDORS 190 LECTURE 1 190 LECTURE 2 199 LECTURE 3 206 LECTURE 4 211 LECTURE 5 216 LECTURE 6 221 LECTURE 7 225 LECTURE 8 233 LECTURE 9 237 statute issued by edward i., in confirmation of the charters. november 5, 1297 240 letter of clement v. to edward i 241 LECTURE 10 244 LECTURE 11 255 LECTURE 12 262 LECTURE 13 268 LECTURE 14 274 LECTURE 15 281 LECTURE 16 290 LECTURE 17 302 LECTURE 18 307 LECTURE 19 322 LECTURE 20 326 LECTURE 21 331 LECTURE 22 339 LECTURE 23 345 LECTURE 24 351 LECTURE 25 361 This book is an important text in the history of political thought, which has long been unavailable in English. In it, Guizot combines philosophy and history, basing his interpretation of representative government on the sovereignty of reason