The Medieval Constitution of Liberty

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06/23/2026 Ryan McMaken

Ryan McMaken reviews a new book on the political institutions of the Middle Ages, ‘The Medieval Constitution of Liberty: Political Foundations of Liberalism in the West.’ We find that it is in the Middle Ages that we find the origins of modern notions of political freedom, representative government, political decentralization, and limits on state powers. In practice, the politics of the “Renaissance” and the “Enlightenment” were steps in the wrong direction.

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