A Short Discourse on Tyrannical Government

William of Ockham (c. 1285–c. 1347) was the most eminent and influential theologian and philosopher of his day, a giant in the history of political thought. He was a Franciscan friar who came to believe that the Avignonese papacy of John XXII had set out to destroy the religious ideal on which the Franciscan order was based: the complete poverty of Christ and the apostles. This is the first complete text by Ockham to be published in English. The Short Discourse is a passionate but compelling statement of Ockham’s position on the most fundamental political problem of the medieval period: the relationship of supreme spiritual authority, as represented by the pope, to the autonomous secular authority claimed by the medieval empire and the emerging nation-states of Europe. Professor McGrade’s introduction, and the notes on the translation make the volume wholly accessible to a modern readership, while a full bibliography and chronology are included as further aids to the reader.

• Ockham is the most important thinker of his age, and this work reflects the essentials of medieval political philosophy • This is the only translation in English of a complete work by Ockham • Professor McGrade is recognised as the world’s leading authority on Ockham, and is one of the best-known scholars in medieval and early modern political thought Author of the Hooker volume in Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought series

Preface; Note on references; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Principal dates in Ockham’s life; Suggestions for further reading; A Short Discourse on the Tyrannical Government over things; Divine and human, but especially over the Empire and those subject to the Empire; Usurped by some who are called Highest Pontiffs; Prologue; Book I; Book II; Book III; Book IV; Book V; Book VI; Appendix: text and translation; Bibliography; Index of references to the Bible; Index of references to canon law; Index of persons; Subject index.