Right of Magistrates
Encyclopedia
The Right of Magistrates ( Du droit des magistrats, De jure magistratuum) was a 1574 work written by Theodore Beza
in 1574, and published anonymously, as a polemical contribution to the pamphlet literature of the French Wars of Religion
. It emphatically protested against French state tyranny in religious matters, and affirmed the resistance theory that it is legitimate for a people to oppose an unworthy magistracy in a practical manner and if necessary to use weapons and depose them.
Theodore Beza
Theodore Beza was a French Protestant Christian theologian and scholar who played an important role in the Reformation...
in 1574, and published anonymously, as a polemical contribution to the pamphlet literature of the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
. It emphatically protested against French state tyranny in religious matters, and affirmed the resistance theory that it is legitimate for a people to oppose an unworthy magistracy in a practical manner and if necessary to use weapons and depose them.