Kate DiCamillo Quotes
When you are a king, you may make as many ridiculous laws as you like. That is what being a king is all about.
DiCamillo, Kate. The Tale of Despereaux. Candlewick Press, 2003, p. 19.
Province of the Congo. Both the British and the Belgians were vying for Katanga to become a part of their empire. Msri, a cruel tyrant, was hated by his people, many of whom he had had murdered.
Prior to Cooke’s indictment of English King Charles I, there was a concept of Royal Impunity—that a sovereign could not legally be called to account for his actions as ruler of the state. The concept of “sovereign immunity” was a concept where the sovereign and his agents could be given immunity for specific actions, but they never would have impunity again where there were no limits to the crimes they might commit against their own people. Charles I refused to even recognize Cooke’s indictment and so have heads of state called to account for their major crimes since then all the way down to Saddam Hussein in 2006 who made the same argument. Cooke was himself hanged, drawn and quartered almost 20 years after the Charles I trial for his part in the “Regicide” so the concept of Royal Impunity did not die quickly.
The statement so offended the Lords—the highest court of England—that he was imprisoned by the Lords and not released until he had recanted the position. The argument goes on today in many countries incuding the United States.
William the Conqueror. See Henry of Huntington for another similar description of the King's authority.
The priest had come to the Empress to complain about the debauchery of her Prime Minister and made the error of describing him as the first man of the empire. The story may be apocryphal but it illustrates the character of the Empress. The source of the exact words are given in the historical novel, Luise Muhlbach, Joseph II. and His Court
This newspaper was his communications outlet.
Bartolo was the most famous legal expert of his day and for many years thereafter as he died at the age of 44—the height of his career. In Italy, Spain and other nations of Europe there were statutes passed that said if there was no precedent in Roman Law, the writings of Bartolo should dictate the law.
Katrina Elizabeth DiCamillo is an American writer of children's fiction for all reading levels, usually featuring animals. She is one of six people to win two Newbery Medals, recognizing her novels The Tale of Despereaux (2003) and Flora & Ulysses (2013). Her best-known books for young children are the Mercy Watson series, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. DiCamillo lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
