Basilikon Doron

Home > ... > Literature and the Arts > Scholars and Historians > Historians, British > ...

Basilikon Doron

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Basilikon Doron [Gr.,=royal gift], book written by James VI of Scotland (subsequently James I of England) as a guide for the conduct of his son Henry when he became king. The work was completed in manuscript in 1598 and published the following year. James warned Henry of meddlesome ministers and expounded the doctrine of the divine right of kings. Henry died in 1612 before he could succeed his father.

Bibliography: See edition by J. Craigie (1944-50).

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-Basiliko" title="Facts and information about Basilikon Doron">Basilikon Doron</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Basilikon Doron." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Basilikon Doron." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (November 12, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Basiliko.html

"Basilikon Doron." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Basiliko.html

Learn more about citation styles

Basilikon doron

A Dictionary of British History | 2004 | | © A Dictionary of British History 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Basilikon doron (1598), a manual on the practice of kingship, was written by James I and VI for his eldest son, Prince Henry. Though less polemical in tone than The Trew Law of Free Monarchies, composed about the same time, it made apparent James's exalted view of kingly power.

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O43-Basilikondoron" title="Facts and information about Basilikon Doron">Basilikon Doron</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

JOHN CANNON. "Basilikon doron." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Basilikon doron." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (November 12, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Basilikondoron.html

JOHN CANNON. "Basilikon doron." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Basilikondoron.html

Learn more about citation styles

Basilikon doron

The Oxford Companion to British History | 2002 | | © The Oxford Companion to British History 2002, originally published by Oxford University Press 2002. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Basilikon doron (1598), a manual on the practice of kingship, was written by James I and VI for his eldest son, Prince Henry. Though less polemical in tone than The Trew Law of Free Monarchies, composed about the same time, it made apparent James's exalted view of kingly power. James wrote the Basilikon doron for his own enjoyment and initially distributed it only among his family and close friends. Mass publication, in England, came in March 1603, on the eve of James's accession to the English throne, when the Basilikon quickly became a best seller and fuelled fears of the new king's absolutist tendencies.

Roger Lockyer

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O110-Basilikondoron" title="Facts and information about Basilikon Doron">Basilikon Doron</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

JOHN CANNON. "Basilikon doron." The Oxford Companion to British History. Oxford University Press. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Basilikon doron." The Oxford Companion to British History. Oxford University Press. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (November 12, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Basilikondoron.html

JOHN CANNON. "Basilikon doron." The Oxford Companion to British History. Oxford University Press. 2002. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Basilikondoron.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Deviceful Settings: The English Renaissance Emblem and its Contexts.
Magazine article from: Yearbook of English Studies; 1/1/2002
Free Article The Mental World of Jacobean Court.
Magazine article from: The Historian; 1/1/1994

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

Deviceful Settings: The English Renaissance Emblem and its Contexts.
Magazine article from: Yearbook of English Studies; 1/1/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...later that of Prince Henry, for whom James wrote Basilikon Doron. Young shows that Peacham's three manuscript emblem books are related not only to James's Basilikon Doron, but also (especially in case of the heraldic emblems...
King James VI and I and the Reunion of Christendom
Magazine article from: Trinity Journal; 10/1/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...Indeed, by 1600 James had already honed his theory of kingship. In The Trew Law of Free Monarchies (1598) and in Basilikon Doron (1599), James developed his divine right ideas of monarchical rule to thwart theories of resistance and contract...
Reconsidering the Renaissance.
Magazine article from: Renaissance Quarterly; 6/22/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...surrounding Renaissance discourse on witchcraft in Macbeth, the relationship between Measure for Measure and James I's Basilikon Doron in terms of sexual and political control, a survey and critique of feminist criticism and theory
Kingship and Crown Finance under King James VI and I, 1603-1625.(Reviews of Books)(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Albion; 3/22/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...then subordination and obedience were entailed for the subject. James made his commitment to absolutism clear in the Basilikon Doron, the manual of kingship that he prepared for his son Henry, and he reiterated it in parliamentary addresses and...
The English Emblem Tradition: Vol. IV: William Camden: "Remaines of a Greater Worke Concerning Britaine"; H.G.: "The Mirrour of Maiestie"; Otto van Veen: "Amorum Emblemata".(Review)
Magazine article from: The Modern Language Review; 7/1/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...excellent job, neatly fitting Peacham's three extant manuscripts based (perhaps rather daringly) on James I's Basilikon Doron (Bodleian MS Rawlinson Poetry 146, BL MSS Royal 12A lxvi and Harleian 6855, Art.13) into not only a chronology...
Emblematica: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Emblem Studies.(Review)
Magazine article from: The Modern Language Review; 7/1/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...rather daringly) on James I's Basilikon Doron (Bodleian MS Rawlinson Poetry 146...issues and concerns of the three Basilikon Doron Emblem Books: Peacham's relationship with James 1, his use of his Basilikon Doron, his ad
The English Emblem Tradition: Vol. V: Henry Peacham's Manuscript Emblem Books.(Review)
Magazine article from: The Modern Language Review; 7/1/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...manuscripts based (perhaps rather daringly) on James I's Basilikon Doron (Bodleian MS Rawlinson Poetry 146, BL MSS Royal...grows out of, the issues and concerns of the three Basilikon Doron Emblem Books: Peacham's relationship with James...
Ancient rituals bow to modern manners
Newspaper article from: The Scotsman; 3/9/1998; ; 700+ words ; ...mannered recluse and a sodomite, he was also hailed as a poet and thinker, the author of learned tomes such as the Basilikon Doron. As was common throughout polite society in Europe, men bowed before the king and their wives curtsied, and woe...
Bringing the dead to life
Magazine article from: The Spectator; 10/5/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...gods' representatives upon earth. The closest parallel might be with the theories of James VI and I expounded in Basilikon Doron, a book which opens with the sonnet: God gives not Kings the style of Gods in vaine For on his throne his scepter...
The Mental World of Jacobean Court.
Magazine article from: The Historian; 1/1/1994; ; 700+ words ; ...different perspectives. Two of these are worth mentioning here. Jenny Wormald explores the Scottish setting for Basilikon Doron and The Trew Law of Free Monarchies and argues persuasively that James, in the tradition of Marcus Aurelius and King...

Pictures from Google Image Search

Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Popular on Newser:

Stewart Catches Hannity Faking Video Footage

(11/11/2009 1:44:01 PM)

Porn Doesn't Have to Ruin Sex

(11/11/2009 7:57:01 PM)

Physicists: Bird From the Future Damaged Collider

(11/11/2009 10:50:03 PM)

Lou Dobbs Leaves CNN

(11/12/2009 11:33:00 AM)

Noisy-Sex Woman Loses Appeal

(11/11/2009 4:02:04 PM)