One of Measure for Measures central concerns is the changing shape of political theology in Shakespeares England. From its origin until the high middle ages, Christian thought had described the work of the church (the care of souls) and that of the state (the maintenance of the common good) as complementary but essentially different tasks. This division implicitly separated and held in tension the private spiritual obligations of the individual Christian and the public duty of the Christian ruler. This understanding fell under fire in the late middle ages, however, first from the papacy and then from Protestant reformers.<p>Shakespeares Lord Angelo is often linked with this latter groups Puritan faction in England, which was known for its demand that the state enforce private Christian virtue (primarily sexual) as public law. The Duke Vincentio has frequently been described as representative of the more moderate Reformed political thought of Elizabeth I and James I. <p>This thesis argues that in both assuming the disguise of a priest and insisting that a magistrates judgments are only valid if he is himself innocent of the condemneds crime, the Duke shares Angelos and thus the Puritans rejection of the traditional division between the private and public obligations of a Christian ruler. Act V particularly reveals both the similarities between Angelo and the Duke and the fundamental problems of their approach to law. In the end, Isabella is not simply the student of the Dukes political theology but rather the exemplar of how the traditional distinction between the roles of church and state and an individuals private and public moral obligations better defends both personal freedom and the common good.

One of Measure for Measures central concerns is the changing shape of political theology in Shakespeares England. From its origin until the high middle ages, Christian thought had described the work of the church (the care of souls) and that of the state (the maintenance of the common good) as complementary but essentially different tasks. This division implicitly separated and held in tension the private spiritual obligations of the individual Christian and the public duty of the Christian ruler. This understanding fell under fire in the late middle ages, however, first from the papacy and then from Protestant reformers.<p>Shakespeares Lord Angelo is often linked with this latter groups Puritan faction in England, which was known for its demand that the state enforce private Christian virtue (primarily sexual) as public law. The Duke Vincentio has frequently been described as representative of the more moderate Reformed political thought of Elizabeth I and James I. <p>This thesis argues that in both assuming the disguise of a priest and insisting that a magistrates judgments are only valid if he is himself innocent of the condemneds crime, the Duke shares Angelos and thus the Puritans rejection of the traditional division between the private and public obligations of a Christian ruler. Act V particularly reveals both the similarities between Angelo and the Duke and the fundamental problems of their approach to law. In the end, Isabella is not simply the student of the Dukes political theology but rather the exemplar of how the traditional distinction between the roles of church and state and an individuals private and public moral obligations better defends both personal freedom and the common good.

No description available.

This thesis contends that the monarch-centred view of the masque, which has prevailed since the publication in the 1960s and 1970s of Stephen Orgel's seminal works on the genre, needs to be challenged in the light of recent scholarship on the cultural agency of other members of the royal family. In my introduction I argue that while the New Historicism has been crucial in elucidating the theatricalization of power in the early Stuart court, its insistence on the inevitability of the collusion between art and sovereign power needs to be questioned. The masque has long been seen as a monolithic and univocal celebration of monarchical power, despite the fact that it was promoted at court not by King James but by other members of the royal family. Adopting a loosely chronological approach, this thesis retells the story of the 'Jacobean' court masque by recovering the role played in the commissioning and performance of masques by James's wife, his children, and his male favourites. The chapters set out to hear voices other than that of the King, and discover that, while panegyric was part of each masque, it was rarely as unequivocal as traditional criticism has suggested. On the contrary, the annual masques were frequently appropriated to express the oppositional agendas of factions at court, and above all, of members of James's own family. I argue that Queen Anne set a precedent for the disruptive use of the masque which she exploited to present herself as independent from the King, and to emphasise her importance as the mother of the royal children. Prince Henry, and later Prince Charles, both used the masque to contest the pacifist policies of the King, while Buckingham's success as a favourite was linked to his skilful exploitation of the masques as an integral part of his self-fashioning. Above all by shifting the focus away from King James to consider the more active participation in the masque of other members of the royal family, this thesis offers a possibility of moving beyond the current impasse of the subversion / containment debate to a more nuanced reading of the culture of the early Stuart court which recognises the delicate process of negotiation and accommodation in which the masquers and their audiences were engaged.

No description available.

This thesis is a study of the relations between James I and his most important landed subjects during the thirteen years of his personal reign. The King's active and aggressive approach to monarchy contrasted with the political experiences of the Scottish nobility in the fifty years before 1424. The analysis of this attempt to impose strong kingship in a situation where strong kingship had not been the norm is the most important theme of the thesis. Such an analysis can only be undertaken by establishing the ambitions and activities of the King and his chief subjects at both national and local levels. The first chapter deals with the political community in 1423-4 and the evidence of their preparations for James', release from England. The immediate effects of James' return are studied in detail, especially his relations with the Earls of Mar, Douglas, Atholl, March and Angus in the first year of the reign. However, the main emphasis of the opening chapters is on the King's dealings with the Albany Stewarts, beginning with the piecemeal round-up of Walter Stewart and his allies and then the gradual establishment of sufficient support for James to launch a general attack on Albany and his family. Chapter Four deals with the results of Albany's removal for James' position within Scotland. The expansion of royal authority is considered in the ex-Albany Stewart lands and with regard to James' relations with the major surviving magnates, Douglas, Mar and Atholl. The varied fortunes of these three earls indicate the extent and limitations of the King's authority following his initial successes. This is also an important theme in the chapters dealing with the middle section of the reign between 1428 and 1431. This period is dominated by the attack on the Lord of the Isles and the effects of the King's ambitions in the north on the lowland political community. The apparent successes of James in both areas, and the connection between the collapse of his northern plans and the growing difficulties in his relations with the political community are analysed. The effect of the setback which James experienced in 1431, on royal policy is studied by considering the King's aims in the 1430s, and especially his interventions in Mar and March. The final chapter deals with the motives for James' assassination and the circumstances and immediate aftermath of the murder. As with the rest of the reign, this is best understood in terms of magnate affinities and ambitions and the areas in which such ambitions came into conflict with those of the King.

A re-evaluation of the king's writings combined with a detailed study of these Jacobean plays provides sufficient evidence to support the main contentions of this thesis. First, it presents the proposition that the interest of James in witches and witchcraft has been misjudged and frequently either maligned or disregarded. Second, it demonstrates that the king's views on witchcraft comprise a philosophy which is consistent with the balance of his political and religious thought and action. Third, it develops the idea that certain reflections of the king's interest in witchcraft are significantly evident in specific plays written during his reign.

This thesis examines the importance of the royal court and household in Scotland during the reign of James I (1424-37). The medieval royal court and household has received little concentrated attention in recent Scottish studies. However, a significant body of published research exists elsewhere in Britain and Europe which shows the importance of this arena for other kingdoms at this time. These studies have emphasised how the court and household was an important centre for politics and culture in the medieval period, indicating how a similar study of the Scottish evidence is essential for a fuller understanding of James I’s reign. Through a variety of sources, the composition of James’s household and court affinity has been examined. It is evident from this that James lacked an appropriate body of companions and high-status administrative officers for a medieval ruler and this was to have significant consequences for his reign. Additionally, by looking at some of the cultural aspects of the royal court, in particular the architecture, literature and religion, a clearer picture of the socio-political dynamics and tensions of James I’s reign emerges. In contrast to the generally held view of James as a politically successful, strong and active monarch for much of his reign, this study instead indicates a king who failed to establish an attractive and useful court and household that could be exploited for royal political gain. With his failure to establish a suitable court and household, James was a king incomplete and it is the contention that this contributed significantly to the king’s assassination.

No description available.

My dissertation, Agnostos Dei: Staging Catholicism and the Anti-Sectarian Aesthetic in Early-Stuart England, traces over four chapters the emergence of a literary counter-aesthetic to the increasingly violent sectarianism of Post-Reformation England. I focus primarily on popular plays that dramatize the destabilizing effects of radical beliefs on a society, whether small town or royal court, culminating in blood and exile. I argue that the plays' destructive conflicts and redemptive moments suggest the potential worth of cross-sectarian belief and ritual. In doing so, John Fletcher's The Faithfull Shepherdess (1608), William Shakespeare and John Fletcher's Henry VIII (1613), Dekker, Ford, and Rowley's The Witch of Edmonton (1621), and John Ford's `Tis Pity She's a Whore (1629) participate in an aesthetic that rejects the disunity promoted by radical sectarians and revises the rhetoric of English Protestantism. Kings James and Charles promoted, ultimately unsuccessfully, a via media (middle way) for the Church of England, seeking reunification of divergent Christian sects. At the same time, these works used the theatre as a space of free play to consider the possibility of ecumenical success in fictionalized worlds removed from the clashing rhetoric of real kings and clergy. My project responds to the revitalized return to religion in the scholarship of early modern England, which has included a renewed interest in the English Catholic experience and a reconsideration of the variety of believers within the nation, loosely grouped into categories like Puritans and High Church Anglicans. My work presents a correlative- and counter-narrative to these well-established readings. I consider the historical and literary analogues of the plays and the contemporary religiopolitical realities of the times of their staging. Rather than attempting to discover crypto-sectarian messages in the tales or intentions of the playwrights behind them, I argue that such categorizations can reduce and obscure the broader, ecumenical implications of these works. In speaking to a range of sectarian audiences, these playwrights exceed the limitations of clear affiliation to address a wider Christian possibility.