Dei Gratiâ

Dei Gratiâ (Lat., 'by the grace of God') is a formula taken from several apostolical expressions in the New Testament. It is believed to have been first formally used by the bishops at the Council of Ephesus, 431 A.D. Afterwards, it came to be appended by archbishops, bishops, abbots, monks, and even chaplains, to their titles, in letters, and other documents, as a humble expression of dependence on the Most High. After the middle of the 13th century, the higher clergy wrote Dei et Apostolicæ sedis gratiâ, 'by the favour of God and the apostolic see.' In the British Islands, this style was generally dropped about the time of the Reformation, but it was occasionally given to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, even after the beginning of the 17th century. Many temporal princes, earls, and barons made use of the formula Dei Gratiâ; William II. and Edward III. of England employed it; and before the 15th century, no idea of independence or of divine right seems to have been attached to it. But in 1442 King Charles VII. of France forbade its use by the Comte d'Armagnac, and in 1449 obliged the Duke of Burgundy to declare that he used it without prejudice to the rights of the French crown. These instances show that it had now begun to be regarded as belonging exclusively to sovereigns who owed no allegiance to any other earthly potentate or power. In this way, what was originally a pious expression of humility came to be looked upon as an assertion of the doctrine of the 'divine right' of kings.