The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates

The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates is a book by John Milton, in which he defends the right of people to execute a guilty sovereign. In the text, Milton conjectures about the formation of commonwealths. He comes up with a kind of constitutionalism but not an outright anti-monarchical argument. He gives a theory of how people come into commonwealths and come to elect kings. He explains what the role of a king should be, and conversely what a tyran... more

The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates is a book by John Milton, in which he defends the right of people to execute a guilty sovereign. In the text, Milton conjectures about the formation of commonwealths. He comes up with a kind of constitutionalism but not an outright anti-monarchical argument. He gives a theory of how people come into commonwealths and come to elect kings. He explains what the role of a king should be, and conversely what a tyrant is. After Parliament executed Charles I, Milton wrote The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates in order to justify the action and to defend the government. Milton later remarked that the piece was "written to reconcile men's minds, rather than to determine anything about Charles". The work was printed five times: the first edition was printed in 1649 with a second following in 1650; two editions in collections of Milton's works, including The Works (1697), A Complete Collection (1698); and an edited version in 1689. Only one edition altered... less