Absolutism (European history)

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Absolutism or the Age of Absolutism (c. 1610 – c. 1789) is a historiographical term used to describe a form of monarchical power that is unrestrained by all other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites. The term 'absolutism' is typically used in conjunction with some European monarchs during the transition from feudalism to capitalism, and monarchs described as absolute can especially be found in the 16th century through the 19th century with several notable and important Medieval precursors. Absolutism is characterized by the ending of feudal partitioning, consolidation of power with the monarch, rise of state power, unification of the state laws, and a decrease in the influence of the church and the nobility. Historian Martyn Rady argues absolutism was a term applied post-hoc to monarchs before the French Revolution, with the adjective 'absolute' going back to the Middle Ages. Deriving from the Latin absolutus or 'absolved', it had a predominantly legal meaning...

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