The mis-understanding comes from an incomplete knowledge of history, one that I think approaches being deliberate
Let's assume most people go to college, I don't know what the current statistics are on that but let's stipulate it for the purpose of argument.
I went to 7 years of college for 2 different degrees never had 1 credit hour in anything but American history. These classes touch on the conflict with the Protestant absolutist monarchy of England and perhaps the French Revolution but that's about it, one has to take it upon himself to learn anything further - like the 800 years of Catholic civilization that preceded the Protestant revolt.
Then you have classes, sometimes required, on "Classical civilization" which discuss the pagan monarchies and the Roman Empire.
If you never went to college then you have absolutely 0 chance of ever hearing any of it
You can turn on the History channel most any day of the week and see shows on Rome but when was the last time you saw any show in the popular media about Christendom or the Holy Roman Empire?
My guess is never..
The limited Catholic monarchs ruled over a society of totally different character than the "post-enlightment" absolutist monarchs. Absolutist political theory, started in practice by Henry VIII and formally promulgated by James I of England was a corruption of the monarchial system that had existed in Europe for nearly 1000 years.
I recommend the work of Harry Crocker, Hilaire Belloc and Christopher Dawson if you actually want a complete picture beyond the revisionist history of the post-enlightenment age.
don't see many monarchists here.
No, unfortunately, especially since Zviadist was banned and Goetz_von_Berlichingen hardly ever posts. The few of us left continue to put up a fight--for what purpose, I'm not entirely sure.
The mis-understanding comes from an incomplete knowledge of history, one that I think approaches being deliberate
You can turn on the History channel most any day of the week and see shows on Rome but when was the last time you saw any show in the popular media about Christendom or the Holy Roman Empire?
My impression is that the History Channel is almost always about World War II. They should just rename it the "World War II Channel."
You might enjoy perusing my archive of older FR monarchy discussions:
I have his Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church, and I like it a lot. However, there was one sentence that irritated me: "He [Pope John Paul II] saw that the old altar-and-throne model of Catholicism had died with the Habsburg Empire after World War I, though the Church had never conceded this." (pp. 420-1) True, perhaps, but why should the Church condone this?
Even as a non-Catholic, I for one will never give up on the "old altar-and-throne model."