Introduction – Contiguous court societies
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David Edwards
Abstract
This chapter opens Ireland and the Renaissance court, an interdisciplinary collection of chapters exploring Irish and English courts, courtiers and politics in the early modern period, c.1450–1640. It gives an overview of changes to court culture in the late medieval and early modern periods and argues for the European character of Irish courts and aristocratic practice. It briefly describes the chapters, which are written by both established and emergent scholars working in the fields of history, literary studies and philology. Topics explored include Gaelic cúirteanna, the indigenous centres of aristocratic life throughout the medieval period; on the regnal court of the emergent British Empire based in London at Whitehall; and on Irish participation in the wider world of European elite life and letters. Collectively, they expand the chronological limits of ‘early modern’ Ireland to include the fifteenth century and recreate its multilingual character through exploration of its English, Irish and Latin archives. In sum, this chapter argues for moving beyond binary approaches to English-Irish history and identifying points of contact as well as contention.
Abstract
This chapter opens Ireland and the Renaissance court, an interdisciplinary collection of chapters exploring Irish and English courts, courtiers and politics in the early modern period, c.1450–1640. It gives an overview of changes to court culture in the late medieval and early modern periods and argues for the European character of Irish courts and aristocratic practice. It briefly describes the chapters, which are written by both established and emergent scholars working in the fields of history, literary studies and philology. Topics explored include Gaelic cúirteanna, the indigenous centres of aristocratic life throughout the medieval period; on the regnal court of the emergent British Empire based in London at Whitehall; and on Irish participation in the wider world of European elite life and letters. Collectively, they expand the chronological limits of ‘early modern’ Ireland to include the fifteenth century and recreate its multilingual character through exploration of its English, Irish and Latin archives. In sum, this chapter argues for moving beyond binary approaches to English-Irish history and identifying points of contact as well as contention.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Series editors’ preface x
- Acknowledgements xi
- Abbreviations xiii
- Introduction – Contiguous court societies 1
- I Indigenous court society in Ireland 27
- 1 Bouncers, stewards and gatecrashers 29
- 2 Court society in the south of Ireland, c.1430–c.1620 45
- 3 The Gaelic court and Irish country-house poetry 65
- 4 Latin letters and Renaissance civility in sixteenth-century Ireland 86
- II Made in Whitehall 103
- 5 Debating Irish policy at the court of Elizabeth I, c.1558–80 105
- 6 How to govern Ireland without leaving your armchair 123
- 7 Court discourse, the mid-Elizabethan polity and Ireland, 1571–75 142
- 8 Magnificence and massacre 166
- 9 Counsel in extremis 195
- III Positioning Ireland in the Renaissance court world 213
- 10 Our men in Scotland 215
- 11 Ireland’s militarised itinerant court and the Tudor state 238
- 12 ‘Winning hearts and minds’ 261
- 13 From court to courtliness 278
- Index 297
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Series editors’ preface x
- Acknowledgements xi
- Abbreviations xiii
- Introduction – Contiguous court societies 1
- I Indigenous court society in Ireland 27
- 1 Bouncers, stewards and gatecrashers 29
- 2 Court society in the south of Ireland, c.1430–c.1620 45
- 3 The Gaelic court and Irish country-house poetry 65
- 4 Latin letters and Renaissance civility in sixteenth-century Ireland 86
- II Made in Whitehall 103
- 5 Debating Irish policy at the court of Elizabeth I, c.1558–80 105
- 6 How to govern Ireland without leaving your armchair 123
- 7 Court discourse, the mid-Elizabethan polity and Ireland, 1571–75 142
- 8 Magnificence and massacre 166
- 9 Counsel in extremis 195
- III Positioning Ireland in the Renaissance court world 213
- 10 Our men in Scotland 215
- 11 Ireland’s militarised itinerant court and the Tudor state 238
- 12 ‘Winning hearts and minds’ 261
- 13 From court to courtliness 278
- Index 297
