"The Gargantuan Polity examines political, legal, theological, and literary texts in the late Middle Ages to show how individuals were defined by contracts of mutual obligation, which allowed rulers to hold power through the approval of their subjects. Noting how the relationship between rulers and common people changed with the rise of absolute monarchy, Michael Randall provides significant insight into Renaissance culture and politics by showing how individuals went from being understood in terms of their objective relations with the community to being subjective entities." "A profound and detailed study of one of Europe's most drastic periods of change, The Gargantuan Polity will be of interest to scholars of French literature. the Renaissance, and intellectual history."--Jacket.