Monarchy

The monarchy was the most common form of government in Europe during the Renaissance, though monarchies varied greatly in size and type. In some—Scotland, England, and France—hereditary rulers held power. In others—including Poland, Hungary, Bohemia*, and the Holy Roman Empire*—rulers were elected. The variation in Renaissance monarchies involved social as well as political differences. While a few monarchies were made up mostly of people of the same language or ethnic group, the majority included a diversity of languages, dialects, ethnic groups, and regions. Sometimes, kingdoms united under a joint monarch. Poland and Lithuania formed such a union of crowns, as did Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.

Claims and Images of Monarchy. Many Renaissance monarchies made grand claims to power and independence. For example, the advisers of CHARLES V, the Holy Roman Emperor, assured him that he had the power of God behind him. Charles believed it was his duty to lead Christian Europe against the enemies of God, such as Muslims and Lutherans. Many advisers at European royal courts helped advance the grand ideas of their rulers by supplying them with ancient Roman or Greek texts that supported such notions.

Renaissance kings and queens spent vast sums of money enhancing the image of the monarchy. Their patronage* of artists, writers, architects, and others served to glorify the reputation of the monarch and his rule. Monarchs wore magnificent clothes and finery to remind subjects of their power and majesty. They held elaborate pageants at coronations, weddings, and other occasions. Such displays of power and wealth occurred throughout Europe except in SCANDINAVIAN KINGDOMS, where monarchs adopted a policy of plain dress and behavior.

Powers of Monarchy. Some scholars have noted the development of a new type of state in Renaissance monarchy, one distinct from kingdoms of the Middle Ages. This new state tended to centralize power, end feudal* privileges, and increase the power of a bureaucracy* staffed by men of the educated middle class. Scholars believe that kings and queens either ignored or overpowered REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS of the time, such as the English Parliament.

Many Renaissance monarchs no doubt had dreams of ruling without interference from nobles and assemblies. However, no Renaissance king or queen ever achieved absolute power. All had to deal on a daily basis with the complex workings of government and with political obligations similar to those faced by rulers of the Middle Ages.

Some Renaissance rulers took steps to control the church and the clergy in their lands. In the 1530s, King HENRY VIII of England attempted to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon. When the pope would not consent to the divorce, Henry broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and created the Church of England with himself at its head. Outside England, other Protestant monarchs also ruled the Protestant churches in their lands. In Catholic countries, rulers introduced policies that gave them great authority over church activities within their borders. In the late 1400s, the Spanish monarchs FERDINAND OF ARAGON and ISABELLA OF CASTILE appointed church officials and controlled the INQUISITION, the country's most important court. The French kings had the power to name bishops and to keep papal* messages out of the kingdom. These measures increased the loyalty of priests and nobles because the crown was the source of church careers and income for their family and supporters.

Finding enough money to support their activities posed an ongoing problem for Renaissance monarchs. In the Middle Ages, rulers had depended on crown-owned lands to finance government. This was no longer possible in the Renaissance because of the huge expense of government. The cost of warfare and the construction of splendid buildings had soared, and patronage of artists and writers also drained royal treasuries.

Kings and queens met these financial challenges in various ways. Some raised funds by selling lands owned by the crown. In England and other Protestant countries, the ruler sold lands taken from the Catholic Church. Monarchs could also revive long-forgotten feudal dues or sell state or church offices. In fact, many rulers invented new offices strictly for that purpose. Such sales opened careers to members of the middle class and reinforced the view of royalty as the source of authority. In addition, monarchs could raise funds by taking loans from banking houses. But at some point every monarch had to consider raising taxes.

Kings and queens seeking new taxes often had to obtain the consent of representative assemblies. Although rarely eager to raise taxes, such assemblies recognized the needs of government. As governments grew in size, rulers had to pay closer attention to the opinions of their subjects. They also had to acknowledge the powerful loyalties that people felt toward old noble families. At the same time, monarchs looked beyond noble families for skilled managers. Although this practice often created tension between the established ruling class and new civil servants, both played a vital part in Renaissance government. The old noble families, in particular, played key roles in governing provinces and leading military forces.

Monarchs, royal councils, courts, and assemblies all gained power during the Renaissance. No kingdom could function without cooperation among these various groups. Nobles dominated the military and politics, middle-class professionals contributed legal and administrative skill, and the king served as the patron and ruling authority of the state. Such developments marked a dramatic change from medieval feudalism. However, absolute monarchy was still a thing of the future.