Political Culture in the Reign of Elizabeth I: Queen and Commonwealth 1558–1585 (Ideas in Context, Series Number 56)

Annotation: Anne Mclaren Explores The Consequences For English Political Culture When, With The Accession Of Elizabeth I, Imperial Kingship Came To Be Invested In A Female Ruler. She Looks At How Elizabeth Managed To Be Queen, In The Face Of Considerable Male Opposition, And Emphasizes The Continuities Between Elizabeth's Reign And The Outbreak Of The English Civil Wars In The Seventeenth Century. Political Culture In The Reign Of Elizabeth I Thus Offers A Wholesale Reinterpretation Of The Political Dynamics Of The Period. 1. 'to Be Deborah': The Political Implications Of Providentialism Under A Female Ruler. The Debate Over Headship. Restored Protestantism And The English Deborah. The Queen And The Regime. The Incorporated Crown: Privy Councillors And The Queen -- 2. Announcing The Godly Common Weal: Knox, Aylmer And The Parameters Of Counsel. A Queen Called By God: John Knox's First Blast Of The Trumpet. Inaugurating The 'mixed Monarchy': John Aylmer's Reflections On Female Rule. Conclusion: Counsel And Sovereignty In The Godly Nation -- 3. Feats Of Incorporation: The Ideological Bases Of The Mixed Monarchy. Counsel, Consent And Conscience: The Common Good. Commonwealth Ideology. Conquest And Consent: The Marian Legacy. Incorporating The Queen. A.n. Mclaren. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 244-265) And Index. In this major contribution to the Ideas in Context series Anne McLaren explores the consequences for English political culture when, with the accession of Elizabeth I, imperial'kingship'came to be invested in the person of a female ruler. She looks at how Elizabeth managed to be queen, in the face of considerable male opposition, and demonstrates how that opposition was enacted. Dr McLaren argues that during Elizabeth's reign men were able to accept the rule of a woman partly by inventing a new definition of'citizen', one that made it an exclusively male identity, and she emphasizes the continuities between Elizabeth's reign and the outbreak of the English civil wars in the seventeenth century. A significant work of cultural history informed by political thought, Political Culture in the Reign of Elizabeth I offers a wholesale reinterpretation of the political dynamics of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. In this major contribution to Ideas in Context Anne McLaren explores the consequences for English political culture when, with the accession of Elizabeth I, imperial 'kingship' came to be invested in the person of a female ruler. She looks at how Elizabeth managed to be queen, in the face of considerable male opposition, and demonstrates how that opposition was enacted. Dr McLaren argues that during Elizabeth's reign men were able to accept the rule of a woman partly by inventing a new definition of 'citizen', one that made it an exclusively male identity, and she emphasizes the continuities between Elizabeth's reign and the outbreak of the English civil wars in the seventeenth century. A significant work of cultural history informed by political thought, Political Culture in the Reign of Elizabeth I offers a wholesale reinterpretation of the political dynamics of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. In 1559 Elizabeth's query to John Knox was a telling one.