Synopsis
A medieval treatise locating all coercive authority in the people, denying the church coercive power and subordinating it to secular government.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Public domainLegitimate law derives its authority from the whole body of citizens, and the church has no coercive jurisdiction, only spiritual teaching, within the civil order.
It strikingly anticipates popular sovereignty and the separation of church from coercive temporal power.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with Thomas Aquinas, Treatise on Law.
Reading note
Read it in historical context, appreciating how radical its subordination of papal power was for its era.
Best paired with
Thomas Aquinas, Treatise on Law