Patriarchalism is a political theory that arose in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in the seventeenth century that defended the concept of absolute power for the monarchy, through language that emphasized the "paternal" power of the king over the state and his subjects. Due to divisive religious policy, controversial political strategy at home and disastrous diplomatic campaigns abroad, James I and Charles I alienated the consensus of the people. Hence the patriots played down the leading role of the sovereign. They questioned the royal prerogative, seeing the king as the mere figurehead of England. The king's absolute authority was challenged by the authority of Parliament. Against this increasing opposition, the Patriarchalists emphasized the absolute right of the king, as the paternal head of state. In ''Patriarcha'' (composed in the late 1620s),

Sir Robert Filmer Sir Robert Filmer (c. 1588 – 26 May 1653) was an English political theorist who defended the divine right of kings. His best known work, ''Patriarcha'', published posthumously in 1680, was the target of numerous Whig attempts at rebuttal, ...

said "many out of an imaginary fear pretend the power of the people to be necessary for the repressing of the insolencies of tyrants, herein they propound a remedy far worse than the disease". Filmer used genealogy as a way to legitimize kingship, by tracing the throne's origins back to the original fatherly rule of Adam. Filmer argued that the king ''is'' the father; the relationship is not one of similarity, but of identity, the right of fathers having been passed down genealogically since Adam. Stating that the ideal relationship was between a father and his son to indicate the "mutuall trust and Confidence" which was always necessary in the State, Kynaston put forward the view that the inferior (the people) ought not to plot against the superior (the king). Richard Mocket maintained that the maxim “Honor thy Father, and thy Mother” pertained to the political sphere rather than to the familial one since it had more to do with political obedience than with submission within the household. Locke and

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the princi ...

were instrumental in the rejection of Patriarchalism.

References

Monarchy Political philosophy {{poli-philo-stub