ABSTRACT Title of Document: SCRIPTING PUBLIC PERFORMANCE: THE REPRESENTATION OF OFFICEHOLDING IN EARLY MODERN LITERATURE Helen Louise Hull, PhD, 2009 Directed By: Donna B. Hamilton, Professor, Department of English This study argues that early modern English dramatists and prose writers were reevaluating the subject’s offices. Officeholders appear frequently on the early modern English stage, in roles ranging from lord mayors to constables to lord chancellors. Widely circulated prose tracts established officeholders’ authority and defined their duties. Dramatists who staged officeholders, along with men who wrote officeholding manuals, drew on humanist and classical republican concepts of citizenship in depicting officeholders; they were also responsive to contemporary religious and political pressures. They were redefining the very parameters of office by redescribing officeholding as a site of political representation. I begin by establishing the investment subjects had in officeholding as evidenced by the proliferation of contemporary officeholding manuals. My first chapter canvases the range of manuals as well as their socio-political context . I then focus on William Lambard’s Eirenarcha (1581), a manual for justices of the peace. By emphasizing that the ju stice is duty-bound to God and to the common law as well as to the monarch, Lambard raises questions of obligation and representation for officeholders. In chapter two, I consider representations of justices of the peace in Anthony Munday’s Downfall of Robert, Earl of Huntington , William Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor and Ben Jonson’s Every Man in His Humor (all three c. 1597-98). By juxtaposing officeholding with quasi-feudal and chivalric models of service, these dramatists define what officeholding was not and what it could be. In my third chapter, I consider depictions of the lord chancellor in Anthony Munday’s Play of Sir Thomas More (c. 1592-94) and in Henry VIII (1613), by Shakespeare and John Fletcher. I argue that these plays challenge the claims made by early modern magistrates to be ministers of justice. The last chapter considers scenes featuring London’s lord mayor in Shakespeare’s Richard III (c.1593) , Thomas Heywood’s Edward IV (1599) , and Heywood’s 1 If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody (1604) . I read these plays in the light of contemporary disputes over free speech in Parliament . By asking how freely the lord mayor can speak, these plays associate office itself with the representation of subjects. SCRIPTING PUBLIC PERFORMANCE: THE REPRESENTATION OF OFFICEHOLDING IN EARLY MODERN LITERATURE By Helen Louise Hull Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009 Advisory Committee: Professor Donna B. Hamilton, Chair Professor Theodore B. Leinwand Professor Kent Cartwright Professor Theresa M. Coletti Professor Judith P. Hallett © Copyright by Helen Louise Hull 2009 Acknowledgements With a journey like this, there is no single finish to the sentence, “It all started with…” I am very fortunate to have taken this journey, and it gives me great pleasure to acknowledge those who have enabled me to do so. First, I am so very grateful to the members of my advisory committee at the University of Maryland. Donna Hamilton, my chair, was there for one of the starting points to this project and has seen it through to the end, teaching and mentoring me patiently all the way through. Her energy and good cheer are constantly inspiring. Ted Leinwand has been an essential force in shaping this dissertation, constantly challenging me with thought- provoking questions and comments, resulting in a far stronger project. His generosity with his time and energy continues to astound me. Kent Cartwright has taken precious time to discuss and respond to this project at various stages, and I appreciate greatly the interest he has taken. Theresa Coletti has been an engaged and thoughtful reader, and I am thankful for the insights she has provided and her friendship. Judith Hallett has also been engaged from the start, asking questions that have illuminated how the topic might open up. I am grateful to have attended a university where the professors are so deeply committed to both teaching and scholarship. I would also like to acknowledge the influence of others who have been associated with the University of Maryland. Sharon Achinstein and Bill Sherman introduced me to many of the ideas and resources that shape early modern studies, providing excellent guidance in the earlier stages of my studies. David Norbrook directed me to resources that proved invaluable in developing my topic; in many ways, this dissertation started with him. I also owe an immense debt to my colleagues at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. UNCC’s English department provided support both as a department and individually. In particular, Kirk Melnikoff has been instrumental in the shaping of this dissertation, reading and responding to numerous sections and providing insights and suggestions in numerous conversations. He has been a mentor in other ways as well, advising me on the profession and providing me with opportunities. Alan Rauch, too, has been an enthusiastic supporter of this project, tirelessly reaffirming its value. I would also like to thank Jen Munroe and Lara Vetter for their advice and friendship. I have benefited from many other excellent teachers and mentors. This journey began prior to college, with the mentoring and friendship of Frank and Elizabeth Tindall, former directors of Camp Illahee for Girls. Davidson College provided another important starting point, fostering a commitment to intellectual growth and good citizenship; I was fortunate enough to take courses with Zoran Kuzmanovich and Carole Kruger, in particular, whose enthusiasm for teaching and learning was infectious. In recent years, Davidson professors Cynthia Lewis and Robin Barnes have also offered encouragement. Fran Teague of the University of Georgia has been and continues to be a powerful influence; I am fortunate to count her as friend and mentor. No project like this is possible without libraries, of course. The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC has been an important resource; its librarians ii are always immensely helpful. This dissertation has also required some scavenging, and I would like to thank in particular the librarians in the Rare Books Collection and the Professional Center Library of Wake Forest University as well as the Alexander Campbell King Law Library of the University of Georgia for their help. I would also like to thank my friends at the University of Maryland, in particular Bryan Love, Tim Helwig, Magdelyn Hammond, Brandi Adams, Erin Sadlack, Meg Pearson, and Allyson Fetterhoff, whose encouragement helped keep me engaged. They provided material support—places for me to stay—and intellectual support—there are no better conference buddies! And I look forward to long-lasting personal and professional friendships with them. I have had many other friends cheering me on along the way. In addition to my University of Maryland friends, Sharon Core and Nick Kuhn, Megan Bel, and Lois Steinitz have also housed and/or fed me, making possible (and even more pleasant) my numerous trips to Maryland. Evelyn and Joe Starnes and Lottie Calhoun have been like family to me. Susan Shuping has been looking out for me socially and professionally ever since I moved to Charlotte. To list more names is to be sure to leave someone off, but I greatly appreciate the unflagging encouragement and support I have received. Finally, my family is the most important starting point of all. Aunts and uncles and cousins have all been interested and encouraging, in particular my aunt Barbara Hull, who should have been a Shakespeare scholar. My brothers, once they got past the punching and the hair-pulling, have turned out to be wonderful friends, and I am grateful to them and their families for always welcoming me into their homes as one of the family. My parents, Charles and Louise Hull, provided a sound departure point for my brothers and me, teaching important values and setting high expectations. And they pushed me to take this journey, encouraging me always to be independent and to take on challenges. To them, I am most profoundly indebted. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………..ii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………….iv Introduction…………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 1: The Subject’s Office…………………………………………….20 Chapter 2: Promising Justice………………………………………………...66 Chapter 3: Keeper of the King’s Conscience……………………………....113 Chapter 4: Officially Speaking…………………………………………..…165 Bibliography………………………………………………………….…….213 iv Introduction In William Shakespeare’s Richard III , even as he plots his way to the throne, Richard needs the support of English subjects—or at the very least, the appearance of their support. He solicits the aid of London’s lord mayor, who acts complicitly as his intermediary. Having heard Richard and Buckingham’s justification for executing Hastings, the Lord Mayor declares that he will “acquaint our duteous citizens / With all your just proceedings in this cause” (3.5.64-65). 1 Richard applauds this intent, since “…to that end we wish’d your lordship here, / T’avoid the censure of the carping world” (3.5.66-67). Later, ignoring Londoners’ refusal to voice their approval for Richard, the Lord Mayor urges Richard to