Jean Bodin, ‘This Pre-eminent Man of France’

This book presents the only rounded treatment of a key figure in the intellectual history of France and Europe. Jean Bodin (1529/30–1596), jurist, associate of kings and courtiers, and participant in key political events, was the author of works of lasting interest and enduring significance in the fields of political science, historical writing, witchcraft, and a great deal else besides. Best known for his contribution to formulating the modern doctrine of sovereignty, Bodin has also been credited with developing the quantity theory of money and with advocating religious toleration at a decidedly unpropitious time. Yet, while certain aspects of his thought have long attracted and continue to receive a great deal of lively attention, no attempt has been made until now to approach this challenging thinker on a broad front, to consider all his writings, major and minor, and to examine his ideas contextually and in the round. That is precisely what is offered in this deeply researched and wide-ranging study. Deploying a multilingual array of source materials, it devotes particular attention to Bodin’s own use of sources and modes of discourse in the course of analysing each of his works in turn and in considerable detail. And, beyond Bodin himself and his writings, the book sheds far-reaching light on the intellectual world of the late Renaissance writ large—a dynamic environment shaped through the interaction of multiple traditions of thought.