French Literature Reviews - 2026

Shingo Akimoto, À l’image de l’Antiquité. Jean Bodin et la juris prudentia dans la France des humanistes
History, Politics and Society

Shingo Akimoto

À l’image de l’Antiquité. Jean Bodin et la juris prudentia dans la France des humanistes

Paris, Classiques Garnier, coll. « Esprit des Lois, Esprit des Lettres », no. 17, 2026.

Overview:

This book demonstrates how Jean Bodin, as part of the humanist movement, developed a method of reading history to revitalize the juris prudentia of the elite, capable of ensuring just governance within the sovereign state he theorized and thus embodying the true image of Antiquity.

Table of Contents

Also available in a hardcover edition — EAN 9782406197720 — priced at 98 euros.

Jean Bodin occupies a central place in the intellectual history of early modern France, particularly through his contributions to political thought and legal humanism. During the sixteenth century, scholars across Europe sought to reconcile classical jurisprudence with the demands of emerging sovereign states, utilizing philological and historical methods to interpret ancient texts. This scholarly tradition treated Roman law not merely as a static body of rules, but as a dynamic framework for understanding political order, civic virtue and the organization of society within the rapidly shifting landscape of Renaissance humanism.

Readers interested in the intersections of legal history, Renaissance humanism and early modern political theory may find this study relevant. This book demonstrates how Jean Bodin, as part of the humanist movement, developed a method of reading history to revitalize the juris prudentia of the elite, capable of ensuring just governance within the sovereign state he theorized and thus embodying the true image of Antiquity.