The Concept of “Office” in Early Stuart England

Abstract

The paper analyzes specific issues in perception of “office” — one of the most socially and politically important concepts in Early Stuart England. There were three general patterns of representation of “office”. The first pattern, defined as “ciceronian”, traces back to Cicero’s “De Officiis”; the second pattern, defined as “isidorian”, traces its origins to Isidore of Seville’s “Ethimologies”; finally, the third pattern can be defined as administrative-legal, or jurisdictional. In Early Stuart political, legal and historical writing on subjects touching “office”, traditional medieval definitions and rhetoric were still in use; nevertheless, its internal content and meanings were getting new interpretations due to the development of public sphere in the Early Stuart State.