7 Court discourse, the mid-Elizabethan polity and Ireland, 1571–75
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Christopher Maginn
Abstract
How did courtiers interested in Ireland move from reform plans to action? This chapter takes up the question of the genesis of that most celebrated early attempt at Crown–courtier collaboration in bringing ‘reform’ to Ireland: the dismally unsuccessful attempt to anglicise Ulster led by the first Earl of Essex. Here we witness the inner workings of court, Privy Council and Queen in the making of policy and planning its implementation. On the positive side, factional inclinations had little effect on an emergent policy consensus; on the negative side, the lack of proper information and scrutiny of the actual logistics required boded ill for success.
Abstract
How did courtiers interested in Ireland move from reform plans to action? This chapter takes up the question of the genesis of that most celebrated early attempt at Crown–courtier collaboration in bringing ‘reform’ to Ireland: the dismally unsuccessful attempt to anglicise Ulster led by the first Earl of Essex. Here we witness the inner workings of court, Privy Council and Queen in the making of policy and planning its implementation. On the positive side, factional inclinations had little effect on an emergent policy consensus; on the negative side, the lack of proper information and scrutiny of the actual logistics required boded ill for success.
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
