How did monarchs justify and buttress their power over their subjects?

Divine Right of Kings

Explanation:

Monarchies in the past and indeed some in the present justified and supported their rule over their people by claiming that only God gave them the power to rule and so they were not only supposed to have absolute power over their subject, but were immune from criticism from the same subjects.

This so called right was so justified that even when the monarchs were evil it was painted as a deserved punishment from God for the people's sinful ways.

This was the case in England until the Glorious revolution which overthrew King James II and was the case in France until the French Revolution.

The religious body trusted the peasants were excessively insensible, making it impossible to choose for themselves thus revealed to them what to accept by imposing their ideologies on the peasants. Luther had a different point of view concerning these issues. Luther made sure that the bible had other translation as the only ones they had were in latin and only a select few understood latin. Likewise, through the offering of liberalities, the poor were abused by the Catholic church, and Luther tried to free them from this.