 | |
| Author | Ernst Kantorowicz |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Princeton University Press |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 616 pp. |
| ISBN | 978-0691017044 |
The King's Two Bodies (subtitled, A Study in Mediaeval Political Theology) is a 1957 historical book by Ernst Kantorowicz. It concerns medieval political theology and the distinctions separating the "body natural" (a monarch's corporeal being) and the "body politic".[1]
The book has had significant influence on the field of medieval studies, even as its methods and style of argumentation are viewed with wariness by contemporary scholars.[2] It is the recipient of the Haskins medal from the Medieval Academy of America.[3]
Stephen Greenblatt has said that the book is a "remarkably vital, generous, and generative work,"[2] while the historian Morimichi Watanabe called it a "monumental classic."[3] Others have called it "an unnoticed volume on the shelves" that remains important and influential in disciplines including art history.[4] It is also said to have more admirers than readers.[5] Horst Bredekamp, an art historian, has referred to the book as a "continuous success".[4] It has been kept in print since 1957 by Princeton University Press and has been translated into Romanian, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.[4]
Scholarly technique in the book includes use of art, philosophy, religion, law, numismatics, and archaeology.
- ^ Lewis, Ewart (September 1958). "Reviewed Work: The King's Two Bodies: A Study in Mediaeval Political Theology. by Ernst H. Kantorowicz". Political Science Quarterly. 73 (3): 453–455. doi:10.2307/2145850. JSTOR 2145850.
- ^ a b Greenblatt, Stephen (May 2009). "Introduction: Fifty Years of The King's Two Bodies". Representations. 106 (1): 63–66. doi:10.1525/rep.2009.106.1.63. ISSN 0734-6018.
- ^ a b Watanabe, Morimichi (June 1983). "The King's Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology. By Ernst H. Kantorowicz. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981 xvi + 568 pp. $9.95". Church History. 52 (2): 258–259. doi:10.2307/3167020. ISSN 0009-6407. JSTOR 3167020. S2CID 161370549.
- ^ a b c Jussen, Bernhard (Spring 2009). "The King's Two Bodies Today". Representations. 106 (1): 102–117. doi:10.1525/rep.2009.106.1.102. JSTOR 10.1525/rep.2009.106.1.102.
- ^ Lerner, Robert E. (11 September 2018). "The King's Two Bodies". Ernst Kantorowicz. Princeton University Press. pp. 344–358. doi:10.23943/princeton/9780691183022.003.0025. ISBN 978-0-691-18302-2. S2CID 187979775. Retrieved 25 June 2020.