Keith Wrightson and David Levine
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198203216
- eISBN:
- 9780191675799
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198203216.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History, Social History
This book studies the single community in Terling in early modern England and offers an interpretation of the social dynamics of the period. It opens with a chapter establishing this small Essex ...
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This book studies the single community in Terling in early modern England and offers an interpretation of the social dynamics of the period. It opens with a chapter establishing this small Essex parish in the national context of economic and social change in the years between 1525 and 1700. Thereafter the chapters examine the economy of Terling; its demographic history; its social structure; the relationships of the villagers with the courts of the church and state; the growth of popular literacy; the impact of the reformation, and the rise in puritanism. The overall process of change is then characterized in a powerful interpretive chapter on the changing pattern of social relationships in the parish. An additional chapter addresses debate occasioned by the book in its previous edition, notably over kinship relations in early modern England, and the impact of puritanism on local society.Less
This book studies the single community in Terling in early modern England and offers an interpretation of the social dynamics of the period. It opens with a chapter establishing this small Essex parish in the national context of economic and social change in the years between 1525 and 1700. Thereafter the chapters examine the economy of Terling; its demographic history; its social structure; the relationships of the villagers with the courts of the church and state; the growth of popular literacy; the impact of the reformation, and the rise in puritanism. The overall process of change is then characterized in a powerful interpretive chapter on the changing pattern of social relationships in the parish. An additional chapter addresses debate occasioned by the book in its previous edition, notably over kinship relations in early modern England, and the impact of puritanism on local society.
Alexandra Gajda
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199699681
- eISBN:
- 9780191739057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199699681.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Essex and his followers’ attitudes to classical and historical scholarship are examined. The relationship between arms and letters was idealized in praise for Essex’s militarism, but the study of ...
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Essex and his followers’ attitudes to classical and historical scholarship are examined. The relationship between arms and letters was idealized in praise for Essex’s militarism, but the study of Tacitus fostered a parallel obsession with the likely repression of virtue, and the decline of states that failed to reward virtuous conduct. Readings of Tacitus by Sir Henry Savile, Essex’s mentor and translator of Tacitus’s Histories and Agricola, indicate the frameworks employed by the earl to interpret his political problems as manifestations of a state governed by a weak tyrant. Connections between Essex’s rising in 1601 and the fascination of writers and dramatists with medieval baronial revolts are also examined, especially the deposition of Richard II by Henry Bullingbrook. Noble revolts were widely condemned in sixteenth-century literature as liable to result in the deposition of monarchs. These were the frameworks invoked by contemporaries to define and interpret Essex’s rising in 1601.Less
Essex and his followers’ attitudes to classical and historical scholarship are examined. The relationship between arms and letters was idealized in praise for Essex’s militarism, but the study of Tacitus fostered a parallel obsession with the likely repression of virtue, and the decline of states that failed to reward virtuous conduct. Readings of Tacitus by Sir Henry Savile, Essex’s mentor and translator of Tacitus’s Histories and Agricola, indicate the frameworks employed by the earl to interpret his political problems as manifestations of a state governed by a weak tyrant. Connections between Essex’s rising in 1601 and the fascination of writers and dramatists with medieval baronial revolts are also examined, especially the deposition of Richard II by Henry Bullingbrook. Noble revolts were widely condemned in sixteenth-century literature as liable to result in the deposition of monarchs. These were the frameworks invoked by contemporaries to define and interpret Essex’s rising in 1601.
Noel Malcolm
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198564843
- eISBN:
- 9780191713750
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198564843.003.0006
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter chronicles the life of John Pell in Essex and London from 1658 to 1665. Pell's return to England in August 1658 coincided with the final illness of Cromwell, shortly after which the ...
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This chapter chronicles the life of John Pell in Essex and London from 1658 to 1665. Pell's return to England in August 1658 coincided with the final illness of Cromwell, shortly after which the government dispensed with his services, leaving Pell without a means to pay his huge arrears. The Restoration of Charles II seemed to offer little hope of improvement in Pell's situation. His social and intellectual milieu in London, based as it was on the Hartlib circle, had been overwhelmingly Parliamentarian during the Civil War; the only prominent Royalist among his patrons, Sir Charles Cavendish, was long dead, and Pell never established any usable connection with his brother, the Marquess of Newcastle. However, it was thanks to the Restoration that financial security was eventually obtained for Pell, from a rather unexpected source: the restored hierarchy of the Church of England. On March 31, 1661 he was ordained a deacon; his ordination as a priest followed in June, and on the 16th of that month he was instituted Rector of Fobbing, a parish in the southern part of Essex.Less
This chapter chronicles the life of John Pell in Essex and London from 1658 to 1665. Pell's return to England in August 1658 coincided with the final illness of Cromwell, shortly after which the government dispensed with his services, leaving Pell without a means to pay his huge arrears. The Restoration of Charles II seemed to offer little hope of improvement in Pell's situation. His social and intellectual milieu in London, based as it was on the Hartlib circle, had been overwhelmingly Parliamentarian during the Civil War; the only prominent Royalist among his patrons, Sir Charles Cavendish, was long dead, and Pell never established any usable connection with his brother, the Marquess of Newcastle. However, it was thanks to the Restoration that financial security was eventually obtained for Pell, from a rather unexpected source: the restored hierarchy of the Church of England. On March 31, 1661 he was ordained a deacon; his ordination as a priest followed in June, and on the 16th of that month he was instituted Rector of Fobbing, a parish in the southern part of Essex.
David Manning
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195182392
- eISBN:
- 9780199851485
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195182392.003.0037
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
The folk tunes collection in this chapter differs from most of those hitherto printed in the Folk-Song Journal in that, while former collections have been gathered from one county, the present tunes ...
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The folk tunes collection in this chapter differs from most of those hitherto printed in the Folk-Song Journal in that, while former collections have been gathered from one county, the present tunes represent no less than seven: Essex, Norfolk, Sussex, Wiltshire, Yorkshire, Kent, and even London. It is not suggested that the tunes grouped under the counties are their exclusive property; indeed, the more wonderful fact elicited from the search for folk songs is that the same tune may be heard, with hardly any variation, in Norfolk, Sussex, or Yorkshire. This proves more than anything the fundamental character of the genuine folk song. It will be noticed that a large proportion of the tunes in this collection are modal in character—Dorian, Aeolian, or Mixolydian. The chapter suggests that the Mixolydian and Dorian tunes are more characteristic of agricultural districts, while Aeolian tunes belong more to towns, and to trades such as fishing and cobbling.Less
The folk tunes collection in this chapter differs from most of those hitherto printed in the Folk-Song Journal in that, while former collections have been gathered from one county, the present tunes represent no less than seven: Essex, Norfolk, Sussex, Wiltshire, Yorkshire, Kent, and even London. It is not suggested that the tunes grouped under the counties are their exclusive property; indeed, the more wonderful fact elicited from the search for folk songs is that the same tune may be heard, with hardly any variation, in Norfolk, Sussex, or Yorkshire. This proves more than anything the fundamental character of the genuine folk song. It will be noticed that a large proportion of the tunes in this collection are modal in character—Dorian, Aeolian, or Mixolydian. The chapter suggests that the Mixolydian and Dorian tunes are more characteristic of agricultural districts, while Aeolian tunes belong more to towns, and to trades such as fishing and cobbling.
David Manning
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195182392
- eISBN:
- 9780199851485
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195182392.003.0038
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
The 15 melodies that are arranged in this book are part of a much larger collection made in the Eastern Counties. It is not to be supposed that they are the exclusive property of the counties to ...
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The 15 melodies that are arranged in this book are part of a much larger collection made in the Eastern Counties. It is not to be supposed that they are the exclusive property of the counties to which they are credited; all that is claimed for them is that they certainly are sung in these counties, and that most of the melodies have not as yet been discovered elsewhere. It will be noticed that, while six songs from Essex and seven from Norfolk are given, there are only two from Cambridgeshire and none from Suffolk. This means, not that these two counties are less rich in folk song than the others, but simply that time and opportunity have not yet been found to explore them. It is to be hoped that an acquaintance with the melodies here given will incite others to explore those parts of East Anglia which are still unsearched.Less
The 15 melodies that are arranged in this book are part of a much larger collection made in the Eastern Counties. It is not to be supposed that they are the exclusive property of the counties to which they are credited; all that is claimed for them is that they certainly are sung in these counties, and that most of the melodies have not as yet been discovered elsewhere. It will be noticed that, while six songs from Essex and seven from Norfolk are given, there are only two from Cambridgeshire and none from Suffolk. This means, not that these two counties are less rich in folk song than the others, but simply that time and opportunity have not yet been found to explore them. It is to be hoped that an acquaintance with the melodies here given will incite others to explore those parts of East Anglia which are still unsearched.
HOWARD GLENNERSTER
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264904
- eISBN:
- 9780191754081
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264904.003.0015
- Subject:
- History, Historiography
Peter Townsend was a towering figure in the intellectual history of social policy in the twentieth century. He was both a sociologist and a tireless campaigner for poor and disabled people, who ...
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Peter Townsend was a towering figure in the intellectual history of social policy in the twentieth century. He was both a sociologist and a tireless campaigner for poor and disabled people, who opened up new areas of study in sociology: inequalities suffered by older people and those with disabilities. Townsend was elected to the British Academy in 2004 and was a key member of the Black Review in the late 1970s. He was a Founding Professor at the University of Essex and later held professorships at Bristol and New York universities and the LSE. Obituary by Howard Glennerster FBA.Less
Peter Townsend was a towering figure in the intellectual history of social policy in the twentieth century. He was both a sociologist and a tireless campaigner for poor and disabled people, who opened up new areas of study in sociology: inequalities suffered by older people and those with disabilities. Townsend was elected to the British Academy in 2004 and was a key member of the Black Review in the late 1970s. He was a Founding Professor at the University of Essex and later held professorships at Bristol and New York universities and the LSE. Obituary by Howard Glennerster FBA.
Stephen Rippon
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199203826
- eISBN:
- 9780191708282
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199203826.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter considers a region that is termed ‘greater East Anglia’, embracing Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire, which straddles the eastern edge of England's central zone characterized ...
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This chapter considers a region that is termed ‘greater East Anglia’, embracing Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire, which straddles the eastern edge of England's central zone characterized by villages and open fields. To the south of the Gipping and Lark valleys in Suffolk (i.e. southern Suffolk and Essex) there was a considerable degree of continuity between the Roman and medieval periods with no evidence for a major restructuring of the landscape. To the north, there was a significant change in how the landscape was exploited with a nucleation of settlement and intensification of agriculture around the eighth century. This emergence of villages—‐which is probably part of the same phenomenon seen in the East Midlands—‐was, however, short‐lived, and a greater degree of dispersion soon emerged in most areas.Less
This chapter considers a region that is termed ‘greater East Anglia’, embracing Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire, which straddles the eastern edge of England's central zone characterized by villages and open fields. To the south of the Gipping and Lark valleys in Suffolk (i.e. southern Suffolk and Essex) there was a considerable degree of continuity between the Roman and medieval periods with no evidence for a major restructuring of the landscape. To the north, there was a significant change in how the landscape was exploited with a nucleation of settlement and intensification of agriculture around the eighth century. This emergence of villages—‐which is probably part of the same phenomenon seen in the East Midlands—‐was, however, short‐lived, and a greater degree of dispersion soon emerged in most areas.
PATRICIA LYNCH
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199256211
- eISBN:
- 9780191719677
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199256211.003.01
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter explores the causes and the nature of the dramatic changes that overtook the rural Liberal party between 1884 and 1886. The first three sections, which focus on the constituencies of ...
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This chapter explores the causes and the nature of the dramatic changes that overtook the rural Liberal party between 1884 and 1886. The first three sections, which focus on the constituencies of Holmfirth and North Essex, show that labourers in many parts of England possessed longstanding traditions of radical social protest that inspired them, once enfranchised, to demand a voice first in the choice of a Liberal Parliamentary candidate and then in the planning of the Liberal election campaign. The fourth section addresses the subject of rural divisions where the Liberals lost the election. The fifth section discusses the effect of household enfranchisement on the local Liberal moderates who had previously controlled the party in the counties, and particularly the ways in which the democratization of local party structures and the radicalization of the Liberal agenda alienated moderate support.Less
This chapter explores the causes and the nature of the dramatic changes that overtook the rural Liberal party between 1884 and 1886. The first three sections, which focus on the constituencies of Holmfirth and North Essex, show that labourers in many parts of England possessed longstanding traditions of radical social protest that inspired them, once enfranchised, to demand a voice first in the choice of a Liberal Parliamentary candidate and then in the planning of the Liberal election campaign. The fourth section addresses the subject of rural divisions where the Liberals lost the election. The fifth section discusses the effect of household enfranchisement on the local Liberal moderates who had previously controlled the party in the counties, and particularly the ways in which the democratization of local party structures and the radicalization of the Liberal agenda alienated moderate support.
PATRICIA LYNCH
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199256211
- eISBN:
- 9780191719677
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199256211.003.07
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter begins by discussing the reasons for the prevailing historiographical neglect of rural politics. It clarifies several points regarding the relationship between the rural voters and the ...
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This chapter begins by discussing the reasons for the prevailing historiographical neglect of rural politics. It clarifies several points regarding the relationship between the rural voters and the Liberal party, and the differences between the semi-official political culture of the late Victorian Liberal party and the more informal, but no less strongly ingrained, political culture of the radical rural electorate. It also focuses the discussion on case studies in North Essex, South Oxfordshire, and the Holmfirth division of the West Riding of Yorkshire by taking a look at their economic, political, demographic, and religious conditions. It notes that this study relied heavily on sources such as rural press; the private papers of three Liberal politicians: Herbert Samuel, Joseph Albert Pease, and Henry Joseph Wilson; and the sparse official party records on rural Liberalism.Less
This chapter begins by discussing the reasons for the prevailing historiographical neglect of rural politics. It clarifies several points regarding the relationship between the rural voters and the Liberal party, and the differences between the semi-official political culture of the late Victorian Liberal party and the more informal, but no less strongly ingrained, political culture of the radical rural electorate. It also focuses the discussion on case studies in North Essex, South Oxfordshire, and the Holmfirth division of the West Riding of Yorkshire by taking a look at their economic, political, demographic, and religious conditions. It notes that this study relied heavily on sources such as rural press; the private papers of three Liberal politicians: Herbert Samuel, Joseph Albert Pease, and Henry Joseph Wilson; and the sparse official party records on rural Liberalism.
Alexandra Gajda
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199699681
- eISBN:
- 9780191739057
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199699681.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
In sixteenth‐century England, Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex, enjoyed great renown: a favourite of Elizabeth I, Essex was a privy councillor and general of exceptionally powerful ambition, who ...
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In sixteenth‐century England, Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex, enjoyed great renown: a favourite of Elizabeth I, Essex was a privy councillor and general of exceptionally powerful ambition, who scaled the heights of favour and fame. The earl was expected by many throughout Europe to play a key role in the succession, and to act as kingmaker on the death of Elizabeth. Instead, Essex ended his life as a traitor on the scaffold, following his disastrous uprising in 1601. This book explores the ideological contexts of Essex’s extraordinary career, and the intricate relationship between thought and action in Elizabethan England. It examines the attitude of the earl and his followers to war, religion, the structures of the Elizabethan polity, and Essex’s role within it. It also explores the classical and historical scholarship prized by Essex and his associates that gave shape and meaning to the earl’s increasingly fractured relationship with the queen and regime. It also addresses contemporary responses to the earl, both positive and negative, and the earl’s wider impact on political culture. It is argued that political and religious ideas in late sixteenth‐century England had a very important impact on political events in early modern England, and played a vital role in shaping the rise and fall of Essex’s career.Less
In sixteenth‐century England, Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex, enjoyed great renown: a favourite of Elizabeth I, Essex was a privy councillor and general of exceptionally powerful ambition, who scaled the heights of favour and fame. The earl was expected by many throughout Europe to play a key role in the succession, and to act as kingmaker on the death of Elizabeth. Instead, Essex ended his life as a traitor on the scaffold, following his disastrous uprising in 1601. This book explores the ideological contexts of Essex’s extraordinary career, and the intricate relationship between thought and action in Elizabethan England. It examines the attitude of the earl and his followers to war, religion, the structures of the Elizabethan polity, and Essex’s role within it. It also explores the classical and historical scholarship prized by Essex and his associates that gave shape and meaning to the earl’s increasingly fractured relationship with the queen and regime. It also addresses contemporary responses to the earl, both positive and negative, and the earl’s wider impact on political culture. It is argued that political and religious ideas in late sixteenth‐century England had a very important impact on political events in early modern England, and played a vital role in shaping the rise and fall of Essex’s career.
R. B. Wernham
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198204435
- eISBN:
- 9780191676277
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198204435.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
The defeat of the Spanish Armada did not put an end to Spanish sea power, nor to Spain's ambitions in northern Europe. By the mid-1590s, Spain had recovered from the disaster of 1588, and the renewed ...
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The defeat of the Spanish Armada did not put an end to Spanish sea power, nor to Spain's ambitions in northern Europe. By the mid-1590s, Spain had recovered from the disaster of 1588, and the renewed naval wars together with the outbreak of rebellion in Ireland form the principal themes of this book. This book examines these major events of the last years of the Queen Elizabeth's reign and assesses their impact on English policy. It shows how much of the impetus in foreign policy derived from the Earl of Essex, whose personal ambition and practical incompetence brought frustration and danger, and ultimately led him through rebellion to the Scaffold. It was left to Mountjoy in Ireland, to Leveson and a new generation of sea commanders, and above all to Robert Cecil, to bring war and rebellion to a reasonably satisfactory conclusion.Less
The defeat of the Spanish Armada did not put an end to Spanish sea power, nor to Spain's ambitions in northern Europe. By the mid-1590s, Spain had recovered from the disaster of 1588, and the renewed naval wars together with the outbreak of rebellion in Ireland form the principal themes of this book. This book examines these major events of the last years of the Queen Elizabeth's reign and assesses their impact on English policy. It shows how much of the impetus in foreign policy derived from the Earl of Essex, whose personal ambition and practical incompetence brought frustration and danger, and ultimately led him through rebellion to the Scaffold. It was left to Mountjoy in Ireland, to Leveson and a new generation of sea commanders, and above all to Robert Cecil, to bring war and rebellion to a reasonably satisfactory conclusion.
JONATHAN BATE
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264584
- eISBN:
- 9780191734069
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264584.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This lecture presents the text of the speech about William Shakespeare's involvement in the 1601 rebellion of the Earl of Essex delivered by the author at the 2008 Shakespeare Lecture held at the ...
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This lecture presents the text of the speech about William Shakespeare's involvement in the 1601 rebellion of the Earl of Essex delivered by the author at the 2008 Shakespeare Lecture held at the British Academy. It discusses the closure of performance theatre after the arrest of Essex, his steward Sir Gelly Meyrick, and several other men. The lecture also explains that the case of Meyrick is the first instance on record of a person being executed for commissioning the performance of a Shakespeare play.Less
This lecture presents the text of the speech about William Shakespeare's involvement in the 1601 rebellion of the Earl of Essex delivered by the author at the 2008 Shakespeare Lecture held at the British Academy. It discusses the closure of performance theatre after the arrest of Essex, his steward Sir Gelly Meyrick, and several other men. The lecture also explains that the case of Meyrick is the first instance on record of a person being executed for commissioning the performance of a Shakespeare play.
Alexandra Gajda
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199699681
- eISBN:
- 9780191739057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199699681.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter gives a brief introductory sketch of Essex’s career and the existing scholarship about the earl and his role in late Elizabethan politics. Current themes in Elizabethan studies that ...
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This chapter gives a brief introductory sketch of Essex’s career and the existing scholarship about the earl and his role in late Elizabethan politics. Current themes in Elizabethan studies that inform the thematic and methodological approach of the book are defined. These include the interrelation of the histories of politics, religion, and political ideas; the definition of the separate and distinctive nature of the political culture of the 1590s in England; and the shadow that the unsettled succession cast over the minds and actions of all political actors. The chapter structure of the book is mapped out, as are the lines of analysis that will be pursued.Less
This chapter gives a brief introductory sketch of Essex’s career and the existing scholarship about the earl and his role in late Elizabethan politics. Current themes in Elizabethan studies that inform the thematic and methodological approach of the book are defined. These include the interrelation of the histories of politics, religion, and political ideas; the definition of the separate and distinctive nature of the political culture of the 1590s in England; and the shadow that the unsettled succession cast over the minds and actions of all political actors. The chapter structure of the book is mapped out, as are the lines of analysis that will be pursued.
Alexandra Gajda
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199699681
- eISBN:
- 9780191739057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199699681.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter examines the Essex rising of 8 February 1601, and introduces the themes that structure the rest of the book. A narrative explains the context of the events that led to the earl’s protest ...
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This chapter examines the Essex rising of 8 February 1601, and introduces the themes that structure the rest of the book. A narrative explains the context of the events that led to the earl’s protest on the streets of London. Then, analysis focuses on the ways that Essex and his followers conceived of the legitimacy of their actions as a loyalist intervention to save queen and state, and to defend the succession of James VI of Scotland from a court-based conspiracy to enthrone the Spanish Infanta. Government propaganda denied the legitimacy of Essex’s protestations of loyalty, insisting that the rising was a treasonous rebellion, and arguing that Essex’s character and conduct reflected long-standing ambitions to usurp the throne, as Henry Bullingbrook had deposed Richard II. These narratives of Essex’s rising exemplify political and ideological divisions that had emerged over the course of the earl’s later career.Less
This chapter examines the Essex rising of 8 February 1601, and introduces the themes that structure the rest of the book. A narrative explains the context of the events that led to the earl’s protest on the streets of London. Then, analysis focuses on the ways that Essex and his followers conceived of the legitimacy of their actions as a loyalist intervention to save queen and state, and to defend the succession of James VI of Scotland from a court-based conspiracy to enthrone the Spanish Infanta. Government propaganda denied the legitimacy of Essex’s protestations of loyalty, insisting that the rising was a treasonous rebellion, and arguing that Essex’s character and conduct reflected long-standing ambitions to usurp the throne, as Henry Bullingbrook had deposed Richard II. These narratives of Essex’s rising exemplify political and ideological divisions that had emerged over the course of the earl’s later career.
Alexandra Gajda
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199699681
- eISBN:
- 9780191739057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199699681.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter analyses the ideological contexts of Essex’s attitude towards the war with Spain. It is argued that the justification of aggressive anti-Spanish militarism in the 1590s was couched in a ...
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This chapter analyses the ideological contexts of Essex’s attitude towards the war with Spain. It is argued that the justification of aggressive anti-Spanish militarism in the 1590s was couched in a language far more secular than that of the 1570s and 1580s, and was framed to encompass the broadest confessional base of support for the war, condemning the Spanish as the scourge of Christendom. The earl’s aggressive militarism encouraged Hispanophobic condemnation of the secular tyranny of Philip II, which in itself promoted a deeper engagement with definitions of tyrannical government, and the general rights of subjects to resist tyrants. Divisions over the direction of the war also contributed to the earl’s downfall. Essex’s Apologie, written in 1598 to oppose propositions for a peace with Spain, contains the first sketch of Essex’s burgeoning belief that his domestic rivals were warming towards a dangerous pact to enthrone the Infanta.Less
This chapter analyses the ideological contexts of Essex’s attitude towards the war with Spain. It is argued that the justification of aggressive anti-Spanish militarism in the 1590s was couched in a language far more secular than that of the 1570s and 1580s, and was framed to encompass the broadest confessional base of support for the war, condemning the Spanish as the scourge of Christendom. The earl’s aggressive militarism encouraged Hispanophobic condemnation of the secular tyranny of Philip II, which in itself promoted a deeper engagement with definitions of tyrannical government, and the general rights of subjects to resist tyrants. Divisions over the direction of the war also contributed to the earl’s downfall. Essex’s Apologie, written in 1598 to oppose propositions for a peace with Spain, contains the first sketch of Essex’s burgeoning belief that his domestic rivals were warming towards a dangerous pact to enthrone the Infanta.
Alexandra Gajda
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199699681
- eISBN:
- 9780191739057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199699681.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Essex’s religious politics are examined. It is argued that the ecumenical views of Francis and Anthony Bacon influenced Essex’s attempts to style himself in the mid-1590s as the champion and patron ...
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Essex’s religious politics are examined. It is argued that the ecumenical views of Francis and Anthony Bacon influenced Essex’s attempts to style himself in the mid-1590s as the champion and patron of a broad base of confessional opinion. This policy was designed to enhance Essex’s likely influence over the succession. The patron of radical Puritans and conformist Protestants, Essex was especially encouraged to cultivate the support of ‘loyalist’ Catholics, who sought religious toleration. Of particular importance was Essex’s relationship with Thomas Wright, an ex-Jesuit priest for whom the earl gained an unprecedented guarantee of personal toleration in 1595. But Essex’s engagement with Catholic politics was damaged by the famous dedication to Essex of the notorious treatise about the succession, A conference about the next succession to the crowne of Ingland (1594/5). Almost certainly written by the Jesuit Robert Parsons, the Conference cast a long shadow over Essex’s subsequent history.Less
Essex’s religious politics are examined. It is argued that the ecumenical views of Francis and Anthony Bacon influenced Essex’s attempts to style himself in the mid-1590s as the champion and patron of a broad base of confessional opinion. This policy was designed to enhance Essex’s likely influence over the succession. The patron of radical Puritans and conformist Protestants, Essex was especially encouraged to cultivate the support of ‘loyalist’ Catholics, who sought religious toleration. Of particular importance was Essex’s relationship with Thomas Wright, an ex-Jesuit priest for whom the earl gained an unprecedented guarantee of personal toleration in 1595. But Essex’s engagement with Catholic politics was damaged by the famous dedication to Essex of the notorious treatise about the succession, A conference about the next succession to the crowne of Ingland (1594/5). Almost certainly written by the Jesuit Robert Parsons, the Conference cast a long shadow over Essex’s subsequent history.
Alexandra Gajda
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199699681
- eISBN:
- 9780191739057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199699681.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Chapter 4 examines Essex’s attitudes to the structure of the Elizabethan polity, in particular in relation to the decline of his career, before and after his fall from grace in October 1599, after ...
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Chapter 4 examines Essex’s attitudes to the structure of the Elizabethan polity, in particular in relation to the decline of his career, before and after his fall from grace in October 1599, after the earl’s failed attempt to suppress the rebellion in Ireland of Hugh O’Neill, earl of Tyrone. The origins of Essex and his followers’ conceptualization of his political rivals as evil counsellors are assessed, as are their increasing tendency to define Elizabeth’s government as a form of weak tyranny, as the earl became alienated from Privy Council, court, and queen. The chapter also analyses the origins of Essex’s powerful identification of his own virtue and welfare with the health of the Elizabethan polity, and his engagement with renaissance debates about the nature and constitutional role of the nobility. Finally, Essex’s opaque attempts to energize the Elizabethan ‘public sphere’ are reconsidered from the surviving, often ambiguous, textual evidence.Less
Chapter 4 examines Essex’s attitudes to the structure of the Elizabethan polity, in particular in relation to the decline of his career, before and after his fall from grace in October 1599, after the earl’s failed attempt to suppress the rebellion in Ireland of Hugh O’Neill, earl of Tyrone. The origins of Essex and his followers’ conceptualization of his political rivals as evil counsellors are assessed, as are their increasing tendency to define Elizabeth’s government as a form of weak tyranny, as the earl became alienated from Privy Council, court, and queen. The chapter also analyses the origins of Essex’s powerful identification of his own virtue and welfare with the health of the Elizabethan polity, and his engagement with renaissance debates about the nature and constitutional role of the nobility. Finally, Essex’s opaque attempts to energize the Elizabethan ‘public sphere’ are reconsidered from the surviving, often ambiguous, textual evidence.
Alexandra Gajda
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199699681
- eISBN:
- 9780191739057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199699681.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Chapter 5 examines contemporary responses to the decline of Essex’s career, both positive and negative. It reconsiders the substance of his fabled popularity, and the growing divisions between those ...
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Chapter 5 examines contemporary responses to the decline of Essex’s career, both positive and negative. It reconsiders the substance of his fabled popularity, and the growing divisions between those who were warily critical towards the earl’s behaviour and mentality, and those who adopted Essex’s own concept of his sufferings. Detractors, including his client and advisor Francis Bacon, were increasingly troubled by the earl’s public expression of unseemly attitudes towards political obedience, and the codes of virtue and honour to which he adhered. Meanwhile, surviving evidence of the attitudes of Essex’s more ardent partisans is surprisingly provocative in its defence of his rightful role in the polity, and even its description of the queen’s involvement in Essex’s plight. The vehement denunciation by queen and regime of Essex’s popular reputation prefigured the development of deeper suspicions of the earl’s instability and of his future ambitions.Less
Chapter 5 examines contemporary responses to the decline of Essex’s career, both positive and negative. It reconsiders the substance of his fabled popularity, and the growing divisions between those who were warily critical towards the earl’s behaviour and mentality, and those who adopted Essex’s own concept of his sufferings. Detractors, including his client and advisor Francis Bacon, were increasingly troubled by the earl’s public expression of unseemly attitudes towards political obedience, and the codes of virtue and honour to which he adhered. Meanwhile, surviving evidence of the attitudes of Essex’s more ardent partisans is surprisingly provocative in its defence of his rightful role in the polity, and even its description of the queen’s involvement in Essex’s plight. The vehement denunciation by queen and regime of Essex’s popular reputation prefigured the development of deeper suspicions of the earl’s instability and of his future ambitions.
Alexandra Gajda
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199699681
- eISBN:
- 9780191739057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199699681.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter defines the broader conclusions that can be drawn from the earl’s career and rising. It restates the importance of the role that political and religious ideas played in shaping the ...
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This chapter defines the broader conclusions that can be drawn from the earl’s career and rising. It restates the importance of the role that political and religious ideas played in shaping the events of the late 1590s and the earl’s revolt. It is argued that the religious tensions revealed by Essex’s involvement in succession politics were inherited by James VI on his accession to the English throne. It is argued that the ideas and concepts used by Elizabethans to define the monarchical state, and the roles and rights of subjects within it, were often drawn from highly negative literary paradigms: this represented a significant shift from the political culture of the earlier Elizabethan period, foreshadowing public discourse about the early Stuart monarchy, with ramifications for the ideological divisions of the seventeenth century.Less
This chapter defines the broader conclusions that can be drawn from the earl’s career and rising. It restates the importance of the role that political and religious ideas played in shaping the events of the late 1590s and the earl’s revolt. It is argued that the religious tensions revealed by Essex’s involvement in succession politics were inherited by James VI on his accession to the English throne. It is argued that the ideas and concepts used by Elizabethans to define the monarchical state, and the roles and rights of subjects within it, were often drawn from highly negative literary paradigms: this represented a significant shift from the political culture of the earlier Elizabethan period, foreshadowing public discourse about the early Stuart monarchy, with ramifications for the ideological divisions of the seventeenth century.
John McDonald and G. D. Snooks
- Published in print:
- 1986
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198285243
- eISBN:
- 9780191596636
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198285248.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
‘Tax assessments for the geld’ is concerned with whether the national tax called danegeld was arbitrarily imposed on the population as claimed by conventional wisdom. While arbitrary taxes—taxes that ...
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‘Tax assessments for the geld’ is concerned with whether the national tax called danegeld was arbitrarily imposed on the population as claimed by conventional wisdom. While arbitrary taxes—taxes that bear no systematic relationship to the capacity to pay—lead to revolts, the geld lasted about two centuries. By computerizing the DB data for Essex and Wiltshire, it was possible to statistically test, for both 1066 and 1086, the relationship between Domesday tax assessments on the one hand, and both (but separately) the income and total resources of lay and ecclesiastical manors on the other. Contrary to traditional wisdom, the results show that the geld was not arbitrary—a sign of rational government. Other historical issues are also clarified.Less
‘Tax assessments for the geld’ is concerned with whether the national tax called danegeld was arbitrarily imposed on the population as claimed by conventional wisdom. While arbitrary taxes—taxes that bear no systematic relationship to the capacity to pay—lead to revolts, the geld lasted about two centuries. By computerizing the DB data for Essex and Wiltshire, it was possible to statistically test, for both 1066 and 1086, the relationship between Domesday tax assessments on the one hand, and both (but separately) the income and total resources of lay and ecclesiastical manors on the other. Contrary to traditional wisdom, the results show that the geld was not arbitrary—a sign of rational government. Other historical issues are also clarified.
