Description
Book SynopsisIn sixteenth-century England Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex, enjoyed great domestic and international renown as a favourite of Elizabeth I. He was a soldier and a statesman of exceptionally powerful ambition. After his disastrous uprising in 1601 Essex fell from the heights of fame and favour, and ended his life as a traitor on the scaffold. This interdisciplinary account of the political culture of late Elizabethan England explores the ideological contexts of Essex''s extraordinary career and fall from grace, and the intricate relationship between thought and action in Elizabethan England. By the late sixteenth century, fundamental political models and vocabularies that were employed to legitimise the Elizabethan polity were undermined by the strains of war, the ambivalence that many felt towards the church, continued uncertainty over the succession, and the perceived weaknesses of the rule of the aging Elizabeth. Essex''s career and revolt threw all of these strains into relief.
Trade Reviewa nuanced study, essential reading on the rebellion and its aftermath; the confused and often terrifying political culture of late Elizabethan England; and the varied and over-confident followers who flocked to the Earl, believing that he had the power to solve their problems. * Andrew Hadfield, Times Literary Supplement *
... a must-read for everyone interested in late Elizabethan history and political culture. * Kinga Földváry, Sixteenth Century Journal *
an intellectual analysis of Essex's career, one based on a formidable range of research in a range of aspects of sixteenth-century political and intellectual history. It seems unlikely that a better analysis of this topic will be produced. * Neil Younger, English Historical Review *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The Essex Rising of 1601 ; 2. Justifying War ; 3. 'Profane pollicy'? Religion, Toleration, and the Politics of Succession ; 4. Physician of the State: Essex and the Elizabethan Polity ; 5. The Popular Traitor: Responses to Essex ; 6. Scholars and Martialists: The Politics of History and Scholarship ; Conclusion ; Bibliography
