James Harrington

Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Dates

Born 3 Jan 1611
Died 11 Sep 1677
Activity 1640-1677

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Political Philosopher

Resources

Harrington's Works

Save to Bookshelf

James Harrington developed an agrarian-republican and democratic political theory in his work

The Common-wealth of Oceana

(1656) which was to prove influential through the eighteenth-century, especially in the United States, and in particular contribute to many of the practical arrangements and ideological assumptions of modern democratic constitutions, notably the separation of executive, legislature and judiciary, and arrangements for secret ballots.

Life

Life

Born in Upton, Northamptonshire, on January 3rd, 1611, James Harrington was the eldest son of Sir Sapcote Harrington of Rand, near Lincoln in Lincolnshire, and Jane, daughter of Sir William Samwell of Upton. The Harrington family was of eminent ancient aristocracy and widely connected within the English power élite. Around 1600 they

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2414 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "James Harrington". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 August 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1990, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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