Timeline: Debate about the Divine Right of Kings

This timeline depicts the struggle in England between Parliament and the Monarchy over the concept of the Divine Right of Kings. It covers the period of the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution which brought William of Orange to the throne to govern England under a constitutional monarchy. The political struggles were reflected in an intellectual debate between Sir Robert Filmer (a staunch defender of Divine Right), John Locke (an advocate of individual natural rights and the consent of the governed), and Algernon Sidney (a radical republican who was executed for his beliefs).

The timeline is also available in a PDF format (32 KB) with embedded links to the relevant biographies and texts and a larger JPG (2,000 pixels wide).

Key: contemporary historical events are in green; publications are in red; events in the life of the author are in blue.