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Tyranny from Ancient Greece to Renaissance France

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

Authors:
  1. Orest Ranum

    1. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA

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  • Offers a brief and accessible intellectual history of tyranny, useful for reflection on the current political climate

  • Features historical analyses of tyranny from both well-known and lesser-known writers, along with a brief biography of each

  • Appeals to students and scholars of history, political science, and political philosophy

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Table of contents (23 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
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  2. Antique Understandings of Tyranny

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. The Athens of Plato, Aristotle, and Xenophon

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 3-10

    3. Tyranny and Despotism in Plato’s Republic and Laws

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 11-15

    4. Aristotle on Tyranny in the Politics

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 17-23

    5. Xenophon on Tyranny in Hiero

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 25-29

    6. Seneca the Younger on Tyranny in On Mercy

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 31-36

  3. Three Medieval Commentators on Tyranny

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 37-37
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    2. Mimetic Impulses and Early Receptions

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 39-43

    3. John of Salisbury on Tyranny in Policraticus

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 45-47

    4. Aquinas on Tyranny in the Regime of Princes and in the Summa Theologica

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 49-51

    5. Giles of Rome on Tyranny in His Regime of Princes

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 53-56

  4. Recovering Plato and Aristotle on Tyranny in the Renaissance

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 57-57
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    2. Imminence of the Past

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 59-69

    3. Machiavelli on Tyranny in the Prince and the Discourses

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 71-77

    4. Seyssel on Tyranny in the Monarchy of France

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 79-82

    5. Guillaume Budé on Tyranny in the Education of the Prince

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 83-86

    6. Erasmus on Tyranny in the Education of a Christian Prince

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 87-94

    7. Thomas More on Tyranny in the History of Richard III

      • Orest Ranum
      Pages 95-100

  5. A Time of Troubles in France, 1570–1605

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 101-101
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Keywords

About this book

This Palgrave Pivot examines how prominent thinkers throughout history, from ancient Greece to sixteenth-century France, have perceived tyrants and tyranny. Ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle were the first to build a vocabulary for tyrants and the forms of government they corrupted. Thirteenth century analyses of tyranny by Thomas Aquinas and John of Salisbury, revived from Antiquity, were recast as short observations about what tyrants do. They claimed that tyrants govern for their own advantage, not for the people. Tyrants could be usurpers, increase taxes, and live in luxury. The list of tyrannical actions grew over time, especially in periods of turmoil and civil war, often raising the question:  When can a tyrant be legitimately deposed or killed? In offering a brief biography of these political philosophers, including Machiavelli, Erasmus, More, Bodin, and others, along with their views on tyrannical behavior, Orest Ranum reveals how the concept of tyranny has been shaped over time, and how it still persists in political thought to this day.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA

    Orest Ranum

About the author

Orest Ranum is professor emeritus at the Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA, and the author of several books including Artisans of Glory (1980), The Fronde, a French Revolution (1993), and Les bienfaits, la gratitude et l'action politique (2018)

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Tyranny from Ancient Greece to Renaissance France

  • Authors: Orest Ranum

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43185-3

  • Publisher: Palgrave Pivot Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-43184-6Published: 29 May 2020

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-43187-7Published: 29 May 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-43185-3Published: 28 May 2020

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIII, 178

  • Topics: Classical Studies, Political History, Political Philosophy, Intellectual Studies

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