Franciscus Junius (Frangois du Jon, 1545-1602) is one of the key figures in the formation of a Calvinist theological tradition following the great reformers John Calvin (1509-1564) and Theodore Beza (1519-1605).
Junius made a noticeÂable impact not only on Early Modern theology, but also on political and legal thought. When in 1593 he published his treatise De politiae Mosis observatione} he had already established himself as a well-known Reformed theologian and bible translator.
He came to fame as a gifted humanist through the 1580 transÂlation of the Old Testament he undertook together with the Reformed theoloÂgian and Hebraist John Immanuel Tremellius (1510-1580).[258] [259] Multiple editions of the Biblia sacra followed and later went into print together with Theodore Beza's translation of the New Testament. Junius had pursued diplomatic duties in the previous years and now continually extended his correspondÂence and networking throughout the European intellectual world. Before the publication of De politiae Mosis observatione, Junius had also worked on a comÂpilation and commentary of Old Testament references in the New Testament, entitled Sacrorum parallelorum libri tres (1585/88).[260] All of these works and the later De theologia vera (1594) paved the way for Junius to become a leading figure in Reformed theology (â€?school theology'). Especially his tract De politiae Mosis observatione, however, became important for the history of legal and political thought. Influentialjurists and political thinkers such asJohannes Althusius, Hugo Grotius,[261] Petrus Cunaeus,[262] while English-speaking intellectuÂals also cited it, as we will see in the following.Based on previous research on Junius as a theologian[263] and his treatise De politiae Mosis observatione in particular,[264] in the present chapter I first intend to further clarify the historical context of this treatise. Starting with a literary perspective, I will show how Junius's treatise belongs in the context of humanÂist jurisprudence and a Calvinist tradition. Second, I will outline Junius's legal theory in its most significant points. We will see how Junius upheld the model of the Mosaic polity as a perfect example and source of law, overall and in closer political terms, because for him it is the outcome of the purest reason and most closely follows the teachings of nature. In a last step, I will suggest an answer to the question in how far Junius's approach really became relevant for the debates on church and state at his time and why he would turn to the model of the Mosaic polity and the written laws of Moses (ius scriptum) rather than content himself to elaborate on a theory of conscience and natural law in more detail.
1