The reign of Elizabeth I : court and culture in the last decade

This book is about the politics and political culture of the ''last decade'' of the reign of Elizabeth I, in effect the years 1585 to 1603. It takes a critical and provocative look at the declining Virgin Queen. Many teachers and their students have failed to consider the ''last decade'' in its own right, or have ignored it, having begun their accounts in 1558 and struggled on to the defeat of the Armada in 1588. Only two major political surveys have been attempted since 1926. Neither allots adequate space to Crown patronage, Puritanism and religion, society and the economy, political thought, and literature and drama. This book will be indispensable to a fuller understanding of the age. This Book Is About The Politics And Political Culture Of The 'last Decade' Of The Reign Of Elizabeth I, In Effect The Years 1585 To 1603. It Argues That This Period Was So Distinctive That It Amounted To The Second Of Two 'reigns'. It Also Invites Readers, At Times Provocatively, To Take A Critical Look At The Declining Virgin Queen. Many Teachers And Their Students Have Failed To Consider The 'last Decade' In Its Own Right, Or Have Ignored It, Having Begun Their Accounts In 1558 And Struggled On To The Defeat Of The Armada In 1588. Only Two Major Political Surveys Have Been Attempted Since 1926. Both Consider Mainly The War With Spain And The Politics Of War, And Each Allots Inadequate Space To Crown Patronage, Puritanism And Religion, Society And The Economy, Political Thought, And Literature And Drama. This Book, Written By Some Of The Leading Scholars Of Their Generation, Will Be Indispensable To A Fuller Understanding Of The Age.--jacket. Introduction : The 1590s : The Second Reign Of Elizabeth I? / John Guy -- The Patronage Of The Crown In Elizabethan Politics : The 1590s In Perspective / Simon Adams -- Regnum Cecilianum? : A Cecilian Perspective Of The Court / Natalie Mears -- Patronage At Court, Faction And The Earl Of Essex / Paul E.j. Hammer -- Peers, Patronage And The Politics Of History / Linda Levy Peck -- The Fall Of Sir John Perrot / Hiram Morgan -- The Elizabethan Establishment And The Ecclesiastical Polity / John Guy -- Ecclesiastical Vitriol : Religious Satire In The 1590s And The Invention Of Puritanism / Patrick Collinson -- Ecclesiastical Vitriol : The Kirk, The Puritans And The Future King Of England / Jenny Wormald -- Social Strain And Social Dislocation, 1585-1603 / Jim Sharpe -- Lord Of Liberty : Francis Davison And The Cult Of Elizabeth / Richard C. Mccoy -- The Complaint Of Poetry For The Death Of Liberality : The Decline Of Literary Patronage In The 1590s / Alistair Fox -- Summer's Last Will And Testament : Revels' End / Marie Axton -- The Theatre And The Court In The 1590s / Fritz Levy. Edited By John Guy. Includes Papers Presented At A Workshop Held At The Folger Institute, Washington, D.c., Oct. 4-5, 1991. Published In Association With The Folger Institute, Washington, Dc. Includes Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In February 1597, after learning of the initial discussions of the naval operation that would become known as the 'Islands Voyage', Sir Francis Vere observed to Sir Robert Sidney: 'Of my Lord of Essex's going to sea, I am sorry to hear, unless I could persuade myself that before his going he would furnish the court with offices, for that it will else prove his adversaries work whilst he is absent.'