War, Soldiers, and High Politics under Elizabeth I

Document Type

Contribution to Book

Publication Date

2016

Keywords

Literature, Shakespeare Studies and Criticism

Abstract

Recent scholarship has paid little attention to the ways in which royal policies might potentially be modified or challenged by those entrusted with their implementation, especially during wartime. Yet Shakespeare’s drama emerged in an era of war, in which soldiers shaped policy to an unusual degree, and Shakespeare and contemporary dramatists were deeply interested in the participation of soldiers in high politics. This paper explores that interest. It focuses on the efforts of Sir John Norreys to re-cast Elizabeth I’s aid to the Dutch Revolt into an explicitly Calvinist, anti-Catholic war (1578–86), and Sir Francis Vere’s achievement of unique authority and influence, in both England and the Netherlands, as a result of his being trusted by both the English and Dutch governments to command troops and promote their policies to their allies.

First Page

82

Last Page

102

Book Title

The Oxford Handbook of the Age of Shakespeare

Editor

R. Malcolm Smuts

Publisher

Oxford University Press

City

Oxford, UK

ISBN

0199660840

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199660841.013.6

First Department

Church History

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