Iura maiestatis (“rights of majesty”) is an early modern term for the sovereign rights of a ruler. Across Europe, in the 17th century, they became the focus of the philosophical and legal discussion concerning the state (State, general theory of); they were highly important as the organization of the early modern state took shape.

Beginning in the 16th century, different kinds of iura maiestatis emerged across Europe from a comprehensive philosophical discourse of the state. The starting point was maiestas, which in the early modern period indicated not only the exalte…