The Medieval Church · 1324
The Defender of the Peace
Defensor Pacis
Marsilius of Padua · c. 1275–c. 1342
What it is
Authority belongs to the whole body of citizens; the clergy have no coercive power at all; and a general council, not the pope, is the church's highest authority.
Why it lasted
The most radical political work of the Middle Ages. Its author fled to the emperor's protection, and the Reformation drew on it heavily two centuries later.
Where to read it
This work is in the public domain and can be read in full, free, at the archives below. The Library catalogues it; it does not host the text.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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