Well-known for his work on absolutism, divine right theory, and his contextual reading of Hobbes’ ideas, Sommerville also published successful critical editions of Sir Robert Filmer and King James vi and I’s political writing. Sommerville’s engagement in key historiographical debates on early- modern British history, involving “opposing camps” of revisionists and post-revisionists, is less explored. Here, I focus on the question whether pre-Civil War England was immune to ideological conflict or, instead, featured a confrontation between King and Parliament based on ideas of power, liberty and obedience. I also highlight the continued relevance of Sommerville’s innovative account of English political thought as deeply shaped by European theories. His work reminds us of the role of the history of political thought in rectifying false claims and unchecked opinions, so commonly expounded in our divided world. In conclusion, I advance my own critical interpretation of Sommerville’s views on absolutism and patriarchalism.

萨默维尔以其在专制主义、神权理论和对霍布斯思想的背景解读方面的工作而闻名，还成功出版了罗伯特·菲尔默爵士和詹姆斯国王六世的批评版我是政治写作。萨默维尔参与了关于早期现代英国历史的关键史学辩论，涉及修正主义者和后修正主义者的“对立阵营”，很少有人探讨。在这里，我关注的问题是，内战前的英格兰是否不受意识形态冲突的影响，或者相反，国王和议会之间的对抗是基于权力、自由和服从的观念。我还强调了萨默维尔对深受欧洲理论影响的英国政治思想的创新描述的持续相关性。他的作品提醒我们政治思想史在纠正错误主张和不受约束的意见方面的作用，在我们分裂的世界中如此普遍地阐述。最后，我对萨默维尔关于专制主义和父权主义的观点提出了自己的批判性解释。