DOC The Struggle for Equality: Abolitionists and the Negro in the Civil War and Reconstruction (Princeton Classics) by James M. McPherson in History

Description

Originally published in 1957; this classic work has guided generations of scholars through the arcane mysteries of medieval political theology. Throughout history; the notion of two bodies has permitted the post mortem continuity of monarch and monarchy; as epitomized by the statement; "The king is dead. Long live the king." In The King's Two Bodies; Ernst Kantorowicz traces the historical problem posed by the "King's two bodies"--the body natural and the body politic--back to the Middle Ages and demonstrates; by placing the concept in its proper setting of medieval thought and political theory; how the early-modern Western monarchies gradually began to develop a "political theology.?The king's natural body has physical attributes; suffers; and dies; naturally; as do all humans; but the king's other body; the spiritual body; transcends the earthly and serves as a symbol of his office as majesty with the divine right to rule. The notion of the two bodies allowed for the continuity of monarchy even when the monarch died; as summed up in the formulation "The king is dead. Long live the king." Bringing together liturgical works; images; and polemical material; The King's Two Bodies explores the long Christian past behind this "political theology." It provides a subtle history of how commonwealths developed symbolic means for establishing their sovereignty and; with such means; began to establish early forms of the nation-state. Kantorowicz fled Nazi Germany in 1938; after refusing to sign a Nazi loyalty oath; and settled in the United States. While teaching at the University of California; Berkeley; he once again refused to sign an oath of allegiance; this one designed to identify Communist Party sympathizers. He was dismissed as a result of the controversy and moved to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton; where he remained for the rest of his life; and where he wrote The King's Two Bodies.Featuring a new introduction; The King's Two Bodies is a subtle history of how commonwealths developed symbolic means for establishing their sovereignty and; with such means; began to establish early forms of the nation-state.