Absolute monarchy

A system of government in which a monarch holds supreme political authority, largely unconstrained by constitutional or representative institutions.

Divine right of kings: A doctrine that monarchs receive authority from God and are accountable to God rather than their subjects. It supplied a religious argument for royal authority beyond ordinary political restraints.
Louis XIV: King of France from 1643 to 1715, associated with court centralization and the expansion of royal authority. His reign became a defining example of French royal power at its height.
Feudalism: A set of medieval political and economic relationships based on landholding, personal allegiance, and service. Royal centralization developed partly by reducing the independent power of feudal lords.
Constitutional monarchy: A monarchy in which a constitution or established laws limit the monarch’s political authority. It retains a hereditary monarch while placing governing power under formal constraints.
Royal prerogative: The special powers and privileges historically exercised by a monarch, often through executive authority. It describes the powers through which monarchs governed without routine representative approval.
Versailles: A palace complex near Paris that served as the principal court and seat of French government under Louis XIV. Its court rituals drew nobles into the orbit of the king and his administration.
Early modern period: The historical period between the late Middle Ages and the modern era, usually dated from the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. Many European states built stronger monarchies during this period.
Parliamentary sovereignty: The principle that a legislature has supreme legal authority within a political system. It locates ultimate authority in an elected legislature rather than the monarch.
Bureaucracy: An administrative system in which officials carry out government through defined offices and procedures. Centralized officials helped monarchs extend decisions across territories.
Peter the Great: Russian ruler from 1682 to 1725 who expanded the state and pursued military and administrative reforms. His reforms show how a monarch could reorganize institutions from the center.

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