4 Pulling the strings
-
Patrick Collinson
Abstract
In July and August 1578, Elizabeth I and her court toured deep into East Anglia, the only extensive royal tour of that region. This chapter addresses the polities — and, in particular, the religious factors in politics — of the 1578 progress. The conundrum of counsel, which was the greatest political problem of an age which brought into uncomfortable partnership nearly absolute monarchy and a civic-minded humanism, was never more nakedly exposed than at this point. By looking at the historical geology of the East Anglia of 1578 we are able to uncover the fundamental faultline in Elizabethan politics. The climax was reached in elaborate celebrations in Norwich, stage-managed and choreographed by Thomas Churchyard, a native of the city, which may have had a serious and substantial political purpose.
Abstract
In July and August 1578, Elizabeth I and her court toured deep into East Anglia, the only extensive royal tour of that region. This chapter addresses the polities — and, in particular, the religious factors in politics — of the 1578 progress. The conundrum of counsel, which was the greatest political problem of an age which brought into uncomfortable partnership nearly absolute monarchy and a civic-minded humanism, was never more nakedly exposed than at this point. By looking at the historical geology of the East Anglia of 1578 we are able to uncover the fundamental faultline in Elizabethan politics. The climax was reached in elaborate celebrations in Norwich, stage-managed and choreographed by Thomas Churchyard, a native of the city, which may have had a serious and substantial political purpose.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of abbreviations vi
- Acknowledgments vii
- Introduction 1
- 1 The politics of religion and the religion of politics in Elizabethan England 36
- 2 The Elizabethan exclusion crisis and the Elizabethan polity 61
- 3 Servants and citizens 98
- 4 Pulling the strings 122
- 5 Elizabeth I and the verdicts of history 143
- 6 Biblical rhetoric 167
- 7 John Foxe and national consciousness 193
- 8 Truth, lies and fiction in sixteenth-century Protestant historiography 216
- 9 One of us? 245
- 10 William Camden and the anti-myth of Elizabeth 270
- 11 John Stow and nostalgic antiquarianism 287
- Index 309
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of abbreviations vi
- Acknowledgments vii
- Introduction 1
- 1 The politics of religion and the religion of politics in Elizabethan England 36
- 2 The Elizabethan exclusion crisis and the Elizabethan polity 61
- 3 Servants and citizens 98
- 4 Pulling the strings 122
- 5 Elizabeth I and the verdicts of history 143
- 6 Biblical rhetoric 167
- 7 John Foxe and national consciousness 193
- 8 Truth, lies and fiction in sixteenth-century Protestant historiography 216
- 9 One of us? 245
- 10 William Camden and the anti-myth of Elizabeth 270
- 11 John Stow and nostalgic antiquarianism 287
- Index 309
