TYRANTS AND BODY POLITIC: THE REMEDY FOR TYRANNY IN THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLISH AND FRENCH CORPORAL METAPHOR
TYRANTS AND BODY POLITIC: THE REMEDY FOR TYRANNY IN THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLISH AND FRENCH CORPORAL METAPHOR

Summary/Abstract: Sixteenth-century English and French political discourse made use of descriptions of tyranny as a “disease” and resorted to analogies inspired from medicine to suggest possible remedies. By examining a corpus of sixteenthcentury English and French political texts, the article argues that while many of the English political writers remained attached to the regime and their recommended remedies did not challenge the monarchy directly, in France a major part of political literature advocated resistance or deposition of tyrants by analogy with medical practices.

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