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This thesis examines the relationship of George Villiers, First Duke of Buckingham (1592--1628) to the art and aesthetic ideas of his era. As the intimate and all-powerful favourite of two successive kings, James I and Charles 1, Buckingham profoundly influenced the course of English politics, both at home and abroad, and it is as a political force that he is generally viewed. But, as a major patron of many artists and the builder of one of the largest art collections of the time, his influence in the cultural sphere must have been equally significant. Yet no modern study of this aspect of Buckingham's persona exists. / After a review of the general historiographical material on Buckingham as well as his evaluation by art historians over the years, Chapter I presents an analysis of the concept and role of Favourite in social and cultural terms. It goes on to detail Buckingham's personal position within early Stuart court culture, and argues that while this culture formed and defined him, he simultaneously re-formed and redefined it through his choices and actions. / Chapter II examines the dynamics of art patronage and Buckingham's activity as a patron, beginning with his early dealings with the native English painter, William Larkin. The relationship of Buckingham and the young Anthony Van Dyck is discussed, with parlicular attention to the artist's brief visit to England in 1620--21, and it is suggested that Buckingham was instrumental in bringing about this event. The Duke's dealings with the controversial polymath, Balthazar Gerbier, are explored, as are his many-layered connections with the premier painter of the day, Peter Paul Rubens. / In Chapter III the traditions of art collecting, especially in England are discussed, as is Buckingham's reputation as a collector compared to some of his rivals in the field. The extant documentation of his collection is examined, along with the chronology and methodology of its formation. Particular attention is given to gifts of art to Buckingham by King Charles, the Earl of Arundel and others; the art-buying by Buckingham's agents like Balthazar Gerbier; and the incorporation by the Duke into his own inventory of parts of other collections such as that of the Duke of Hamilton and, more importantly, that of Rubens. / Both in the realm of court culture and in the world of art patronage and art collecting, it was Buckingham more than anyone else who supplied the energy and set the fashion. And he continued to do so even after his premature death: the Duke's image remained bright in the memory of King Charles, whose subsequent expanded relationships with Rubens and Van Dyck owe much of their intensity to both artists' previous connections with Buckingham.

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In the latter half of the seventeenth century, the first-person overseas voyage narrative enjoyed an unprecedented degree of popularity in England. This thesis is concerned with texts written by travellers and the increasing perception that such information might be useful to those engaged in newly-developing scientific specialisms. It draws upon a wide range of texts including geographiae, physico-theological texts, first-person voyage narratives and imaginary voyage prose fictions. The main focus of the thesis is on the movement away from traditional encyclopaedic geographical textbooks whose treatment of non-European countries comprised an amalgam of unattributed information and a mass of traditional and erudite beliefs, towards a priontising of eyewitness accounts by named observers. Following an introductory survey of the production of an indigenous body of geographical literature in England, the first chapter traces the decline in popularity of traditional geographiae and the separation of regional description from general theories of the earth. The second chapter shows how in the Restoration period the concerted efforts of Fellows of the newly-established Royal Society resulted in a significant increase in the number of overseas travel narratives being published. The third chapter looks at the way in which the Royal Society's campaign developed from its initiation in 1666 to the close of the century, focusing on the response of travellers to the Society's requests for information. The fourth chapter considers the way in which earlier accounts were advertised as fulfilling contemporary expectations of this type of discourse. The fifth and sixth chapters concern fictitious voyage narratives. Imitative of a genre the value of which was increasingly seen as residing in its veracity, these fictions adapted in accordance with the changes being introduced to real voyage accounts whilst continuing to perpetuate the archaic myths and traditional beliefs which had been ehminated from factual geographical description. Appended to the thesis is a list of accounts of voyages and travels outside Europe, printed in the Philosophical Transactions (1665-1700). Also listed are reviews and abstracts of geographical texts, inquiries concerning specific locations and directions and instructions aimed at seamen, with brief biographical information about the authors to indicate the range of contributors to that journal.

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The plurality of worlds has had a long history in England, which has not gone unnoticed by scholars. Historians have tended to view this English pluralist tradition as similar to those found on the continent, and in doing so have failed to fully understand the religious significance that the plurality of worlds had on English thought and society. This religious significance is discovered through a thorough investigation of plurality as presented by English natural philosophers and theologians, and in so doing reveals much about England in the seventeenth century. As natural philosophers incorporated plurality within the larger framework of natural theology, it became a weapon of science and reason to be used against the unreasonable atheists of late seventeenth-century England.

According to Walter Stephens, witch-theorists in the fifteenth century developed the witchcraft belief of demon copulation in order to prove the existence of demons and therefore the existence of God. In England, during the mid-seventeenth century, Cartesian and materialist philosophies spread. These new philosophies stated there was nothing in the world but corporeal substances, and these substances had to conform to natural law. This, the philosophers argued, meant witchcraft was impossible. Certain other philosophers believed a denial of any incorporeal substance would lead to atheism, and so used witchcraft as proof of incorporeal spirits to refute what they felt was a growing atheism in the world. By examining this debate we can better understand the decline of witchcraft. This debate between corporeal and incorporeal was part of the larger debate over the existence of witchcraft. It occurred at a time in England when the persecution of witches was declining. Using witchcraft as proof of incorporeal substances was one of the last uses of witchcraft before it disappeared as a valid belief. Therefore, a better understanding of this debate adds to a better understanding of witchcraft during its decline.

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