For at least two centuries after its first appearance in 1573 Hotman's Francogallia influenced the way in which men regarded the European past and appraised the validity of political institutions. The intricate collation of the variorum Latin readings by Professor Giesey here demonstrates that nearly half the complete work consists of material added by Hotman to later editions in such a manner as substantially to modify the argument and balance of the original Francogallia. This definitive Latin edition contains a facing English translation by Professor Salmon, and a joint introduction in which the editors discuss the genesis and development of the text, which can no longer be regarded as written in response to the massacre of St Bartholomew. The editors analyse the discordant elements in Hotman's thought as his Calvinist background, his fundamentalism in both constitutional and religious doctrine and his ambivalent attitude to his profession as an eminent jurist.
