A collection of never-before-published essays by the great historian Ernst Kantorowicz, author of the classic The King’s Two BodiesErnst Kantorowicz was one of the greatest historians of the twentieth century. His 1927 biography of Frederick II is still in print, and his masterwork, The King’s Two Bodies (1957), continues to inspire scholars in a wide variety of fields. From 1935 until his death in 1963, Kantorowicz published some forty essays on an astonishing variety of subjects that reflect the superabundance of his ideas and interests. But he also left behind a number of unpublished essays that rank with his best work. Humanities and History presents for the first time Kantorowicz’s unpublished essays written in English.Seven of these essays address subjects across an enormous chronological span, from ancient Greece and Rome to the Renaissance: “Synthronos: On Throne-sharing of Gods and Men,” “Roman Coins and Christian Rites,” “Coronation Scenarios Eastern and Western,” “Charles the Bald and the Natales of the King,” “Roma and the Coal,” “Glosses on Late-Mediaeval State Imagery,” and “The Dukes of Burgundy and the Italian Renaissance.” These essays are rounded out by two worthy occasional pieces: an essay on “Humanities and History” and a talk on “Postage Stamps and the Historian.”

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 postmortem 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 dilemma posed by the “King’s two bodies”—the body natural and the body politic—back to the Middle Ages.The king’s natural body has physical attributes, suffers, and dies, as do all humans; however the king’s spiritual body transcends the earth and serves as a symbol of his office as majesty with the divine right to rule. Bringing together liturgical works, images, and polemical material, Kantorowicz demonstrates how early modern Western monarchies gradually began to develop a political theology. Featuring a new introduction and preface, 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.

A collection of never-before-published essays by the great historian Ernst Kantorowicz, author of the classic The King’s Two BodiesErnst Kantorowicz was one of the greatest historians of the twentieth century. His 1927 biography of Frederick II is still in print, and his masterwork, The King’s Two Bodies (1957), continues to inspire scholars in a wide variety of fields. From 1935 until his death in 1963, Kantorowicz published some forty essays on an astonishing variety of subjects that reflect the superabundance of his ideas and interests. But he also left behind a number of unpublished essays that rank with his best work. Humanities and History presents for the first time Kantorowicz’s unpublished essays written in English.Seven of these essays address subjects across an enormous chronological span, from ancient Greece and Rome to the Renaissance: “Synthronos: On Throne-sharing of Gods and Men,” “Roman Coins and Christian Rites,” “Coronation Scenarios Eastern and Western,” “Charles the Bald and the Natales of the King,” “Roma and the Coal,” “Glosses on Late-Mediaeval State Imagery,” and “The Dukes of Burgundy and the Italian Renaissance.” These essays are rounded out by two worthy occasional pieces: an essay on “Humanities and History” and a talk on “Postage Stamps and the Historian.”

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 postmortem 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 dilemma posed by the “King’s two bodies”—the body natural and the body politic—back to the Middle Ages.The king’s natural body has physical attributes, suffers, and dies, as do all humans; however the king’s spiritual body transcends the earth and serves as a symbol of his office as majesty with the divine right to rule. Bringing together liturgical works, images, and polemical material, Kantorowicz demonstrates how early modern Western monarchies gradually began to develop a political theology. Featuring a new introduction and preface, 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.