Sacral Kingship Between Disenchantment and Re-enchantment The French and English Monarchies 1587-1688

"In offering this sustained exercise in comparative history Ronald Asch does a very difficult thing well... [His] study deserves respect and attention...as the most assured and sustained account of the theme produced to date. This status is achieved through a combination of conceptual clarity and rigorous comparison across a crucial century... this is a fine book that successfully utilizes the ideas and practices of sacral monarchy to problematize easy notions of the secularization of European politics by about 1700." · Journal of Modern History

"Because of the richness of its information and the clarity of its presentation , this book demands respect and constitutes an eloquent argument for a comparative history of political ideas." · Perspectivia

"Asch's skills come to the fore when he summarizes the historiography, his mastery of which is shown by his concise comment on the nuances in (say) Elizabethan monarchical republicanism, or the shifting representations of Louis XIV in different media." · The Parliamentary History

"...[an] important, provocative, and quietly masterful contribution to the study of early modern political Theology... Asch's impeccably sourced, well-argued study is part of a recent and welcome trend in scholarship that emphasizes the centrality, vitality, and diversity of theology in early modern politics. Its portrayal of the interwoven nature of French and English history during this time makes an elegant case for redrawing and expanding existing scholarly boundaries. By softening the focus on long-held assumptions and predetermined outcomes, it brings to light the tangled complexity of the early modern period and quietly, yet forcefully, invites us to do the same." · H-France Review

"This is an excellent book. It is intellectually outstanding in that it sustains an argument in comparative history throughout its whole length. The research is very impressive. The comparison is fruitful and appropriate. The book is capable of changing the field through its argument. It is thoroughly well-grounded and therefore convincing...Conceptually and methodologically this book is tightly organized and clearly the fruit of enormous reflection in these areas. It is a fine example of rigorous comparative methodology applied to a complex and evolving field." · Peter R. Campbell, Institut d'études culturelles, Guyancourt, nr. Paris

"Throughout [his sparkling new study the author] shows a mastery of complex theological, religious and political issues, and he has many illuminating conclusions to offer, which will give early modern historians much to ponder and reflect upon... Comparative history of this kind is a difficult genre to write successfully, but the author has found a particularly neat way to organize his text... [This] study will be recognized as one of the most important contributions to the study of early modern monarchy, and will be required reading for all historians of both England and the continent." · Hamish Scott, University of St. Andrews