This dissertation argues that Elizabethan and Jacobean women participated in the political process despite the fact that women seldom held formal political offices. Women entered the political sphere by serving as political patrons, brokers, and clients, as well as by rebelling and protesting against the crown Elizabethan and Jacobean women functioned as political patronage brokers at court by procuring honors, titles, leases, annuities and employment for their clients. Women also garnered university positions and ecclesiastical posts for those in their patronage networks. Noble and gentlewomen built their patronage networks by arranging marriage alliances for their children. In addition to this, elite women managed to enrich themselves by petitioning the monarchs and their ministers. Elite women gained patronage for their clients and themselves through skillful deployment of language in their political petitions Women's political involvement was not limited to patronage. Noblewomen acted politically on a seditious level when they aided their male relatives in the only full-scale rebellion of the period, the Northern Rising of 1569. Non-elite women also joined in political uprisings by leading protests over communal and religious rights Women from a variety of socio-economic groups challenged the legitimacy of the government by questioning the sexual honesty of royal women. Women, whose worth was often judged by their own chastity, and who were expected to act as the moral custodians of female morality, were especially attuned to the sexual honesty of other women. Women chose to attack the legitimacy of both Elizabeth I and James I by bringing the sexual conduct of their mothers (Anne Boleyn and Mary, Queen of Scotland, respectively) into disrepute. Women also attempted to discredit the rule of Queen Elizabeth by accusing the queen of illicit behavior. Women's political speech indicates not only their widespread interest in politics, but also their belief that they had a right to speak out against the government when circumstances warranted it By establishing that women acted as political patrons and brokers, rebelled against the crown, criticized the government, and took part in political riots, this dissertation demonstrates that women from all ranks became involved in the world of Elizabethan and Jacobean politics / acase@tulane.edu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_26041 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Contributors | Keenan, Margaret (Author), Pollock, Linda (Thesis advisor) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Access requires a license to the Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest) database., Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law |
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