Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2015 “Princes upon Stages”: the Theatricalization of Monarchy in the Reign of Elizabeth I, 1558-1569 Kimberly Reynolds Rush Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Rush, Kimberly Reynolds, "“Princes upon Stages”: the Theatricalization of Monarchy in the Reign of Elizabeth I, 1558-1569" (2015). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 923. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/923 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. “PRINCES UPON STAGES” THE THEATRICALIZATION OF MONARCHY IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH I, 1558-1569 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of History by Kimberly Reynolds Rush B.S., Oklahoma City University, 2001 M.A., Louisiana State University, 2006 May 2015 For David and Baby Rush - yes, you can do it. Thank you for always reminding me of what’s important. I love you both to the moon and back! ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writing of this dissertation was a huge undertaking and I could not have done it without the support and encouragement of a number of people. This topic of Elizabethan pageantry and propaganda has been a labor of love for me and has been with me for quite a while. It began as my thesis, “All the World’s a Stage”: Pageantry as Propaganda at the Court of Elizabeth I, 1558-1569.” The topic stuck with me and will continue to do so in the future. To Dr. Victor Stater who has guided me through both my thesis and this dissertation. He gave me the freedom to choose this great topic and under his direction I have expanded my worldview and become a historian. I am grateful for his continued support and for giving me a chance. To Dr. Suzanne Marchand and Dr. Maribel Dietz for agreeing to be on my committee and for their support throughout my graduate and post-graduate career. To Dr. Emily King for agreeing to be the Dean’s Representative on my committee and for bringing her unique perspective to my research. To American Public University and Louisiana State University who helped me take a research trip to London, which proved invaluable. I would also like to thank Dr. Marc Patenaude for his support and words of encouragement. He is an invaluable friend. Most importantly, I wish to thank my family for their support and for basically putting up with me throughout this experience. To my husband, Ryan, for putting up with me through this and to my son, David, for always being there with a smile, a kiss, and a hug. To my baby who gave me the final incentive to get in gear and finish this. Finally, I wish to thank my mother who always supports me no matter what and who is always there to listen. I love you all. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………..……… iii ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………………... v INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………… 1 CHAPTER I. “A DANCE OF STATE”: THE EVOLUTION OF ROYAL PAGEANTRY ………… 9 II. A QUEEN AS KING: MODELS OF ENGLISH QUEENSHIP ………..……………. 36 III. “THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING”: THE CORONATION PROCESSION OF ELIZABETH I ….….……………………………………………………………… 52 IV. “THE PERMANENT PAGEANT”: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROYAL COURT ……...……………………………………………………………... 84 V. “THE LAND OF GOOD ADVICE”: PLAYS AND MASQUES AT COURT ……. 107 VI. “A SPUR TO ACTION”: THE MARRIAGE AND SUCCESSION ISSUE ………. 130 VII. “EVERY NOBLEMAN’S HOUSE IS HER PALACE”: THE PROGRESSES OF ELIZABETH I …………………………………………………………………... 149 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………. 178 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………….… 185 APPENDIX A. THE CORONATION ROUTE OF ELIZABETH I ………………………………… 200 B. COUNTIES VISITED DURING ELIZABETH’S PROGRESSES …………………. 201 VITA ………………………………………………………………………………………… 203 iv ABSTRACT The reign of Elizabeth I of England is one of the most celebrated reigns in history and is renowned for the renaissance of the arts, theater, and culture. Authors, playwrights, and artists venerated her in their art in what became known as the Cult of Gloriana. At her accession, however, her position was far from secure. Many considered her illegitimate and she was a female entering a male-dominated world. In addition, Elizabeth inherited a religiously divided nation. In response to this, Elizabeth and her councilors initiated a propaganda campaign that created an image of Elizabeth as a wise, just, and well-beloved ruler. This dissertation will examine the growing use of pageantry utilized by sixteenth-century rulers, the legacy of the English queens who preceded Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s coronation procession, the evolution of the royal court, the performance of plays and masques at court, and the queen’s annual progresses to show how Elizabeth, her council, and her subjects used pageantry and spectacle to communicate with each other on the important issues of the day. v INTRODUCTION Early on the morning of March 24, 1603, Queen Elizabeth I died at Richmond Palace, bringing to an end a reign that saw a golden age of the arts, long periods of peace and stability both domestically and abroad, and the reaffirmation of England’s status on the world stage. Her funeral was held on April 28 with over 1,500 people following her in her last procession to Westminster Abbey. “Nothing quite like it had ever been seen before.” 1 The English historian, John Stow, described the scene: The city of Westminster was surcharged with multitudes of all sorts of people in their streets, houses, windows, leads, and gutters, who that came to see the obsequy; and when they beheld her statue lying upon the coffin, there was such a general sighing, groaning and weeping as the like hath not been seen or known in the memory of man, neither doth any history mention any people, time or state to make like lamentation for the death of their sovereign. 2 Poets and writers throughout the country quickly eulogized the beloved queen, comparing her to a phoenix, a mother pelican, a rose, Astraea, the Greek virgin goddess of innocence, the biblical judge Deborah, a multitude of heroes from the Old Testament and Greek mythology. One poet wrote, “She was and is, what can there more be said, in earth the first, in heaven the second maid.” 3 What quickly becomes apparent in these tributes is that none of the authors referred to Elizabeth as a human. By the time of her death, she had achieved an almost mythical status. Historians call this phenomenon the Cult of Gloriana, a term coined by Roy Strong. The cult, according to Strong, is centered on “Elizabeth as the object of an intellectual cult.” 4 It was a deliberate attempt by Elizabeth and her image-makers to take the worship of the Virgin Mary and Catholic saints, which ended as a result of the English Reformation, and focus that adoration 1 Roy Strong, The Cult of Elizabeth: Elizabethan Portraiture and Pageantry (London: Pimlico, 1977), 14. 2 Quoted in Agnes Strickland, Lives of the Queens of England from the Norman Conquest, vol. 7: Elizabeth, Second Queen-Regnant of England and Ireland (Philadelphia: George Barrie & Sons, 1902), 226. 3 Quoted in Strong, Cult of Elizabeth , 15. 4 Strong, Cult of Elizabeth , 47. 1 on the queen. This process was so effective that “the myth…of Elizabeth has been inseparable from the history and historiography of her reign.” 5 The Cult of Gloriana flourished during the second half of Elizabeth I’s reign. Authors, playwrights, and artists venerated the queen in their art. This cult had its beginnings in the first years after her ascension because of the propaganda used by Elizabeth, her council, and the people of England. Susan Doran and Thomas Freeman in The Myth of Elizabeth argue that the Cult of Gloriana was a cooperative effort between the queen, her council, the people, and nobles, each with his or her own motives. The queen contributed to the cult by a process known as Renaissance self-fashioning. Her subjects contributed to the cult in order to please their queen, gain her approval, and to enhance the monarchy. “The monarchy of Elizabeth I,” according to Christopher Haigh, “was founded upon illusion.” 6 The accession of Elizabeth brought a cautious optimism about the future. Years of upheavals and religious strife left England a divided nation and the new queen faced a difficult situation. She faced more threats to her power than any Tudor monarch since her grandfather, Henry VII. In order to strengthen her position and unite the country during her first decade as queen, Elizabeth and her council launched an organized and effective propaganda campaign and cultivated an image that focused her subjects’ loyalties on her. She accomplished this through the use of spectacle, drama, and pageantry, specifically in her coronation procession, the performance of plays and masques at court, and annual progresses. Pageantry and performance offered a different type of medium through which to present a message because unlike a portrait 5 Kevin Sharpe, Selling the Tudor Monarchy: Authority and Image in Sixteenth-Century England (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 319. 6 Christopher Haigh, Elizabeth I , 2 nd ed., Profiles in Power (New York: Longman, 1998), 10. 2 or book, a performance or appearance by the queen only occurred once. Therefore the message had to be memorable and clear. The people of England participated in propaganda dialogue through the use of civic theater.