What did John Milton argue in The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates?

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Engraved portrait of John Milton by Jacob Houbraken, showing Milton with shoulder-length hair, a lace collar, and period clothing, facing forward in an oval frame. — John Milton John Milton, engraving by Jacob Houbraken, 1741.

In The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (1649), John Milton argued for the abolition of tyrannical kingship and the necessity of executing tyrants. Written during the trial of King Charles I, the treatise posits that such extreme measures are just when a monarch acts as a tyrant.1

To support his position, Milton drew upon a wide array of authorities, including Classical antiquity, Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, Reformation theologians, and early modern political philosophers. He maintained that the execution of a monarch is a justifiable act when necessitated by the public good and the tyrannical nature of the sovereign's rule.1