John Donne on Royal Mercy and Pardon

Abstract

One of the arguments that John Donne develops in his first published work Pseudo-Martyr of 1610 is that the English Monarchy and the papacy can resolve their conflict by the mutual exercise of royal mercy and pardon. Pseudo-Martyr, in which Donne attempts principally to convince English Recusant Catholics that they can take the Oath of Allegiance to James I without betraying their religious loyalty to Rome, cites a number of examples of popes from past and contemporary history tempering the absoluteness of their power and making concessions to secular rulers. Donne argues that the exercise of royal mercy and pardon is a virtue of the absolute ruler, both secular and religious, and that, if used by Pope Paul V and James I toward each other, it can take the political pressure off English Catholics.