In the early modern period, the discourse on divine right of
monarchy reached a peak. At the same time, depositions of monarchs
by their own subjects increased as well, events which were — in theory
— not possible within the political ideology of divine right. This chapter
argues that the theory of divine right and the practice of depositions
did indeed complement each other when taking a closer look both at
the ideas of divinely legimitated monarchy and of the course of events
during a deposition. In particular, the role of the dynasty and of the form
of government within divine right of monarchy is discussed further and
identified as central to early modern political thought.
