Valentina Vadi, Ph.D. (2009), European University Institute, is a Professor of International Law at Lancaster University, United Kingdom. She has published more than eighty articles in top journals, and several edited collections and monographs in various areas of public international law.

“Alberico Gentili (1552–1608), the Italian exile religionis causa who became Regius Professor of Civil Law in Elizabethan Oxford, is a complex, polyvalent figure. This emerges clearly from the ambitious and important monograph penned by Valentina Vadi, appropriately added to the already well-established Brill series, Studies in the History of International Law….War and Peace will surely become a solid work of reference for those interested in one of the key thinkers of the history of international thought.” -Alberto Clerici, in Grotiana, 43 (2022), 273-308.“Vadi’s study engages with an impressive range of scholarship, and she thoughtfully weighs competing interpretations….she succeeds in providing a comprehensive study of Gentili’s elaborate thought.” -Peter Schröder, in Journal of the History of International Law, 23 (2021), 631-640“The book is an excellent read, analytically rigorous and methodologically refined. It provides a great addition to international legal history. Among its many benefits, the book makes a summary and analysis of Gentili’s works written in Latin accessible, which are otherwise inaccessible to non-Latin speakers.” -Samuel Berhanu Woldemariam, in the Australian Yearbook of International Law, 39 (2022), 321-327

• Foreword by David Sugarman F.R. Hist. S.PrefaceAcknowledgmentsList of IllustrationsAbbreviationsNote on Terminology and Translations1 The Varied Fortunes of Alberico Gentili1.1Introduction1.2Methodological Framework1.3Chapter Plan1.4The Fame and Fortunes of Alberico Gentili1.5The State of the Art1.6Key Challenges1.7Conclusions2 The Adventurous Life of Alberico Gentili2.1Introduction2.2The Early Years in San Ginesio2.3Studying Law at the University of Perugia2.4The Italian Reformation2.5Gentili’s Religious Belief2.6Fleeing to London2.7The Oxonian Years2.8Family Life2.9Advocate at the Admiralty Court2.10Conclusions3 Gentili, International Law, and the Humanities3.1Introduction3.2The Sixteenth-Century Revolution in the Methodology of Law3.3From Mos GallicusandMos Italicus towards theUsus Modernus3.4Gentili’s Sources3.5Gentili’s Method3.6Gentili and the Humanities3.7The Gentilian Sonnets3.8Debating Theatre in Elizabethan England3.9Dialectical Antinomies3.10Conclusions4 Gentili and the Law of Nations4.1Introduction4.2The Founder(s) of International Law4.3The Notion of International Community4.4The Notion ofIus Gentium 4.5Diplomatic Law4.6The Settlement of International Disputes4.7The Secularization of Legal Theory4.8Final Remarks5 Gentili and the Law of War5.1Introduction5.2De iure belli5.2.1 Defining War5.2.2 The Causes of War5.2.3 Neutrality5.2.4 TheIus in Bello2335.2.5 TheIus Post Bellum2395.3Freedom of Religion5.4Preventive War5.5The Balance of Power5.6Critical Assessment5.7Conclusions6 Gentili and the Law of the Sea6.1Introduction6.2The Sea: Between Freedom and Sovereignty6.2.1 The Freedom of the High Seas6.2.2 The Territorial Sea6.2.3 Impact6.3The Freedom of Communication, Movement and Commerce6.3.1 The Freedom of Communication6.3.2 The Freedom of Movement6.3.3 The Freedom of Commerce6.4Piracy and Privateering6.5Advocacy at the High Court of Admiralty6.6Critical Assessment6.7Conclusions7 Gentili and the Injustice of Empire7.1Introduction7.2Cultural Diversity and the Law of Nations7.2.1 The Challenge of Cultural Diversity7.2.2 Slavery and Freedom7.2.3 Gross Violations of Natural Law7.2.4 Critical Assessment7.3The (Il)legitimacy of European Expansion7.3.1 Discovery7.3.2 Occupation7.3.3 Ius Praedicandi3697.3.4 Freedom of Movement7.3.5 Just War7.3.6 Converging Divergences7.4The Roman Model: Empire or Commonwealth?7.4.1 The Wars of the Romans7.4.2 Diverging Interpretations7.4.3 International Law and Empire7.5TheRegales Disputationes7.5.1 The Emergence of Absolutism and the Royal Disputations7.5.2 Conceptualizing Sovereignty7.5.3 The Royal Prerogative7.5.4 Taming the Leviathan?7.5.5 Critical Assessment7.5.6 Epilogue: Gentili and Hobbes7.6Critical Assessment7.7Conclusions8 Alberico Gentili and Hugo Grotius8.1Introduction8.2Comparing Gentili and Grotius’ Respective Works8.3Diverging Writing Styles8.4On Method8.5Converging Arguments?8.6Critical Assessment8.7ConclusionsConclusionsBibliographyIndex