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The Development of Anti-Catholicism in Early Modern English Drama

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The Development of Anti-Catholicism in Early Modern English Drama From tendency to feature: The development of anti-Catholicism in early modern English drama INAUGURAL-DISSERTATION zur Erlangung des Grades einer Doktorin der Philosophie (Dr. phil.) dem Fachbereich Fremdsprachliche Philologien der Philipps-Universität Marburg vorgelegt von Carolina Bauer aus Offenbach/ Main Magistra Artium Gutachter/in Prof. Dr. Sonja Fielitz Prof. Dr. Martin Kuester Einreichungstermin: 08.04.2015 Prüfungstermin: 02.09.2015 (Marburg, 2015) Hochschulkennziffer: 1180 Vom Fachbereich Fremdsprachliche Philologien der Philipps-Universität Marburg als Dissertation angenommen am:………………………………… Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Sonja Fielitz Prof. Dr. Martin Kuester Meiner Familie Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Dissertation behandelt die Darstellung und Entwicklung antikatholischer Ansichten und Meinungen im reformatorischen England der frühen Neuzeit. Anhand der Verknüpfung faktischer Rechtstexte, historischer Gegebenheiten und fiktionaler Dramentexte wird gezeigt, dass innerhalb eines Jahrhunderts der Glaube in England vollständig vom Katholizismus abrückte und sich dem Protestantismus zuwandte. Da dies unter dem Druck der Regierungen geschah, die mit erheblichen Geld- und Freiheitsstrafen drohten, sollten ihre Forderungen, Vorgaben und Verbote nicht eingehalten werden, waren Konflikte unumgänglich. Wie diese Konvertierung ablief, welche Spuren sie in der Gesellschaft und dem Drama bzw. dem Theater der Zeit hinterließ, ist Gegenstand dieser Arbeit. Der Fokus liegt hierbei auf dem wechselseitigen Einfluss von Politik, Gesellschaft und Drama, dessen Analyse und Darstellung zum Ziel hat aufzuzeigen, dass vor allem in dieser Epoche (die jedoch sinnbildlich für jede andere sich im Umbruch befindende Ära stehen kann) die Beziehung zwischen Bevölkerung/Theaterzuschauer, Drama/Theater und dem machthabenden Herrscher bzw. dessen/deren Regierung keineswegs einseitig gesteuert war, sondern durch einen gegenseitigen, unterschwelligen Einfluss bestimmt wurde. Im einleitenden Teil der Arbeit wird der historische Hintergrund beleuchtet. In einer ausführlichen Darstellung wird veranschaulicht, wie es unter Heinrich VIII. zu ersten reformatorischen Schritten und einer Eindämmung der römisch- katholischen Macht in England kam. Die Herrschaften von Maria I. und Eduard VI. und deren Auswirkungen auf die Reformation werden ebenfalls kurz skizziert. Den größten und ausführlichsten Teil nimmt jedoch die Herrschaft Elisabeth I. ein, da ihre Regierungszeit zum einen von den größten (einschränkenden) Änderungen der Gesetzeslage, das katholische Leben in England betreffend, gezeichnet war, zum anderen aber auch die Entwicklung einer einzigartigen und bis dahin noch nicht dagewesene Theaterlandschaft nicht nur zuließ, sondern auch förderte. Erst durch das Faible der Königin zum Theater war es Autoren wie William Shakespeare und Christopher Marlowe möglich, Stücke zu schreiben und damit bis heute ein breites Publikum anzusprechen. Den Abschluss bildet eine kurze Darstellung der Herrschaft Jakob I. und dessen Bemühungen die Reformation weiterzuführen, um das katholische Leben in England weiter zu unterdrücken und einzuschränken. In einem Zwischenkapitel wird der Übergang von historischen und rechtlichen Fakten hin zur dramatischen Fiktion geleistet. Ein kurzer vergleichender Abschnitt zeigt die mittelalterlichen Wurzeln des frühneuzeitlichen englischen Dramas, gleichzeitig wird jedoch eine Abgrenzung von eben diesem dargestellt, da die einzigartige Diversität und Komplexität des frühneuzeitlichen Dramas und dessen Charaktere in starkem Kontrast zu den mittelalterlichen Moralitäten und Mysterienspielen und deren Bühnentypen steht. Der dritte Abschnitt der vorliegenden Arbeit leistet eine umfassende Analyse zehn ausgewählter Dramentexte von Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Thomas Dekker, John Webster, Thomas Middleton und James Shirley und deckt den Zeitraum von 1587 bis 1641 ab. Dieses Kapitel bietet neben Erläuterungen zu der Entwicklung der Charaktertypen auch eine detaillierte, textnahe Analyse der katholischen Charaktere, ebenso wie eine Einbettung der jeweiligen Stücke in ihren zeitgeschichtlichen Kontext. Im Mittelpunkt steht jedoch eine detaillierte Dramen- und Charakteranalyse, die den Umgang der katholischen Charaktere mit ihren Mit- und Gegenspielern offenlegt, die Rolle der katholischen Kirche und des Papstes hinterfragt und deren Ziel es ist aufzuzeigen, dass die Geschehnisse und Entwicklungen abseits der Bühne ein Spiegelbild dessen waren, was auf der Bühne und in den Dramen verarbeitet und aufgeführt wurde. Die abschließende Diskussion führt schließlich zum einen die historische und literarische Ebene zusammen und liefert zum anderen einen neuartigen Erklärungsansatz für die Entwicklung des frühneuzeitlichen englischen Antikatholizismus basierend auf der phänomenologischen Theorie des „Anderen“ des französischen Philosophen und Holocaust-Überlebenden Emmanuel Levinas. Der letzte Abschnitt dient der Zusammenfassung und einem abschließenden Resümee. I Content i 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Source material 11 1.2 Structure 14 2. From Praemunire to legal religious prosecution – the development of anti-Catholicism in early modern England 16 2.1 The English Reformation 16 2.1.1 Praemunire facias (1353) as a tool for supremacy 16 2.1.2 The Act of Supremacy (1534) 20 2.1.3 The Act of Uniformity and the Second Prayer Book 23 2.1.4 Mary I’s reign 24 2.2 The Elizabethan Era 25 2.2.1 First Acts of Parliament (1559) 26 2.2.2 The early years 1560-1580 and the beginnings of anti-Catholic propaganda 29 2.2.3 The Jesuit landing and the French Match 1580 – 1585 34 2.2.4 The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots 42 2.2.5 The Spanish Armada and the Act Against Recusants 46 2.3 The Jacobean Era 53 2.3.1 The Gunpowder Plot and the Act for the better discovery and repression of Popish recusants 55 2.3.2 The Spanish Match 62 2.4 Conclusion 66 3. Transitions – From actual politics to fictional plots 68 4. Anti-Catholicism in early modern drama – from tendency to feature 75 4.1 Cultural embedding 75 4.1.1 Medieval drama – an influential ancestor 75 4.1.2 Roman roots – the Senecan tyrant 79 4.1.3 Niccoló Machiavelli and the stage Machiavel 80 4.1.4 A local colouring – Italy 83 4.2 Elizabethan drama – setting the stage 87 4.2.1 Christopher Marlowe – Doctor Faustus (1588) 88 4.2.2 William Shakespeare – Henry VI, Part One (1592) 91 4.2.3 William Shakespeare – Henry VI, Part Two (1592) 97 4.2.4 Christopher Marlowe – The Massacre at Paris (1593) 104 4.2.5 William Shakespeare – The Life and Death of King John (1595) 116 4.2.6 Reflections 120 4.3 Jacobean drama – setting the mind 123 4.3.1 Thomas Dekker – The Whore of Babylon (1607) 124 4.3.2 Reflections 138 i 4.3.3 John Webster – The White Devil (1612) 141 4.3.4 John Webster – The Duchess of Malfi (c.1614) 146 4.3.5 Thomas Middleton – A Game at Chess (c.1623) 152 4.3.6 James Shirley – The Cardinal (1641) 168 4.4 Conclusion 178 5. Discussion – Mutual influences, mind forming, and the Catholic other 185 5.1 Socio-political influences and the shaping of a public opinion 185 5.2 Literary dependence and influence on the English mind set 203 5.2.1 Single Catholic characters 203 5.2.2 Catholic leagues 209 5.2.3 Allegorical Catholics 212 5.2.4 Methods of character isolation 216 5.2.4.1 Isolating spheres 217 5.2.4.2 Character isolation 218 5.3 The process of ‘othering’ – A Levinasian reading 223 5.3.1 Searching for an approach 223 5.3.2 Emmanuel Levinas and ‘the other’ 227 5.3.3 ‘The other’ on the English stage 235 6. Conclusion 241 II Appendix iv 1. Ricardian Acts iv 1.1 Praemunire Facias (1353) iv 2. Henrician Acts v 2.1 An Act that no Spirital Person shall take to Farm, of the King or any other Person, any Lands, or Tenements for term of Life, Lives, Years, or at Will, &c. and foe Pluralities of Benefices; And for Residence (21 Hen VIII, c.13) (1529) v 2.2 An Act concerning the restraint Payment of Annates to the See of Rome (23 Hen VIII, c. 6) (1531) xvi 2.3 An Act for the Submission of the Clergy to the King’s Majesty (25 Hen VIII, c.19) (1533) xxii 2.4 An Act restraining the Payment of Annates (25 Hen VIII, c.20) (1533) xxvi 2.5 Act of Supremacy (1534) xxxii 2.6 An Act that all Religious Houses under the yearly Revenue of two hundred Pounds shall be dissolved and given to the King and his Heirs (27 Hen VIII, c. 28) (1535) xxxiii 3. Edwardian Acts xxxviii 3.1 First Act of Uniformity (1549) xxxviii 4. Elizabethan Acts xlv ii 4.1 First Acts of Parliament (1 Eliz. c.1) (1559) xlv 4.2 Act of Uniformity (1 Eliz. c.2) (1558) lvii 4.3 Regnans in Excelsis (1570) lxv 4.4 An Act to retain the Queen’s Majesty’s Subjects in their due Obedience (23 Eliz. c.1) (1580) lxviii 4.5 An Act Against Seditious Words and Rumours (23 Eliz. c.2) (1580) lxxiii 4.6 Act Against Jesuits and Seminarists (27 Eliz. c.2) (1584) lxxv 4.7 Act Against Recusants (35 Eliz. c.2) (1592) lxxx 5. Jacobean Acts lxxxviii 5.1 Act for the better discovery and repression of Popish recusants (3 Jac. cc.4+5.) (1606) lxxxviii III Bibliography xc 1. Primary Sources xc 2. Secondary Sources xc 3. Online Sources ciii Der in den Pflichtexemplaren enthaltene Lebenslauf wurde aus datenschutzrechtlichen Gründen entfernt. cv Eidesstattliche Erklärung cvi iii 1. Introduction “English nationalism rests on a foundation of anti-Catholicism”1 is the first sentence of Arthur F. Marotti’s extensively researched study Religious Ideology and Cultural Fantasy: Catholic and anti-Catholic discourses in early modern England. This provocative but comprehensive statement suggests that early modern English national identity was defined as a non-Catholic one. Furthermore, it implies that, on the one hand, English nationalism also had to be defined as something inherently different than Catholic and that, on the other hand, England must have undergone some significant and remarkable changes during the early modern period which transformed a Catholic nation into a country declaring Catholicism as its archenemy. These circumstances, of course, raise questions concerning the catalysts of these processes and developments as well as the circumstances which helped shape such a hostile brand of nationalism.
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