Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1598

The True Law of Free Monarchies

James VI and I · 1598

A political treatise by James VI arguing that kings rule by divine right and answer only to God, not to their subjects.

James wrote this himself to justify his belief in absolute royal power, which shaped his rule in both Scotland and England.

Ask James I about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Title page of a 1598 book reading 'The True Lawe of free Monarchies: or, The reciprocal and mutuall duetie betwixt a free King, and his naturall Subiectes', printed in Edinburgh by Robert Waldegrave, printer to the King's Majestie, with a printer's device at the bottom.
James VI, The True Law of Free Monarchies, Edinburgh, 1598.

About this source

What it is

This is a treatise written by James VI of Scotland, published in 1598 in Edinburgh and again in London in 1603 after he became king of England.

Why it matters

James wrote it to set out his belief in absolute, divine-right monarchy, directly opposing the ideas of his own childhood tutor George Buchanan, who argued kings ruled under a kind of contract with their people. This is one of the earliest statements of divine right of kings in Scotland, and it foreshadows James's later conflicts with Parliament over royal power.

Look closer

  • Why might a king want to argue that his power comes directly from God?
  • How might Parliament or ordinary subjects have reacted to this idea?
  • What does it tell us that James was taught a different view of kingship as a child?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of James I on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More James I sources

Meet the AI James I →
Engraved title page of the 1611 King James Bible. Large white central panel reads 'The Holy Bible' and 'Anno Dom. 1611'. Above, figures in clouds and a dove with rays. Moses holds tablets on the left, Aaron on the right, and four evangelists sit in the lower corners.Book

Secondary source

King James Version

1611

Title page of a early 17th-century book. Ornate woodcut border at top. Text reads: DAEMONOLOGIE, IN FORME OF A DIALOGUE, Diuided into three books, written by the high and mighty Prince, James by the grace of God King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith. Below is a small ornament, then LONDON, Printed by Arnold Hatfield for Robert Waldegraue, 1603.Book

Primary source

Daemonologie

James VI and I · 1597 (reprinted 1603)

Title page of an early 17th-century printed book, 'Basilikon Doron, Devided into Three Books', printed at Edinburgh by Robert Waldegrave, Printer to the King's Majestie, 1599. Ornate border with figures of Justice and Peace, Latin mottoes Amor, Pax, Pacis Alumnus, and Infestamalis, and a central printer's ornament.Book

Primary source

Basilikon Doron

James VI and I · 1599 (published 1603)

Photograph of a handwritten early 17th-century letter in brown ink on aged paper, with a fold line across the middle and the number 11A in the top right corner. The cursive text is partly legible and faded.Letter

Primary source

The Monteagle Letter

Unknown · 1605

Map of the eastern North American coast showing territories granted to the Plymouth Company (green outline, northern area) and the London Company (red outline, southern area), with latitude lines 41 and 38 degrees marked, and cities labeled Q, R, Po, and SA.Document

Primary source

Charter of 1606

James VI and I · 1606

Ready when you are

Start chatting with James I now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions