Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.4, 2014

The Romantic Imagining of “The King Under the Law”: Rethinking the “Tradition of the Rule of Law” in Medieval Britain

(Abstract)

Meng Guanglin

Under the Influence of Whig historiography, many Western scholars have emphasized that the “tradition of the rule of law” restricting the power of the king prevailed in Britain in the Middle Ages. However, it can be readily be seen from a survey of historical facts that the prevalent idea of “the king under the law,”—a combination of Germanic law, feudal law and divine law—could not really restrain a tyrannical king. The parliaments thought to embody this tradition did sometimes limit royal authority, but they were still the king’s parliaments and basically took his side. The great nobles’ use of parliament in their struggle for power should not be viewed as a “revolution” or “experiment” in the constitutional sense. We should rethink the Whig interpretation of this tradition propounded by Western scholars. Our research needs to distinguish “politics in thought” and the “politics in institutions” from politics as they really happened if we are to draw a convincing conclusion.