4.3.5

Cult of Gloriana

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The Cult of Gloriana

Historians have argued over whether Elizabeth I had a cult of personality.

Who is Gloriana?

Who is Gloriana?

  • Elizabeth I received many names, several derived from the classical world.
  • These included Gloriana, Astraea, Cynthia and Belphoebe.
The Cult of Gloriana

The Cult of Gloriana

  • In 1977, Roy Strong argued that Elizabeth deliberately cultivated a certain image to enforce her power. He argued that a cult was developed. According to Strong, Elizabeth was an object of veneration and devotion.
  • Yates (1947): “The startling suggestion makes one begin to ask oneself whether the cult of the virgin queen, was, perhaps half-unconsciously, intended to take the place of the cult of the Virgin”.
The cult

The cult

  • Strong argues that Elizabeth constructed an image which rested on her virginity. Through presenting her own body as impenetrable, so was the body politic.
  • This, Strong suggests, inspired loyalty and helped Elizabeth secure control.
  • Efforts to control Elizabeth’s image can be seen in censorship of portraits which did not have the ‘mask of youth’. This was a standard visage based on the Darnley portrait. It stressed stability even though Elizabeth I was growing old. In 1596, the privy council ordered that the sergeant painter (George Gower) should destroy any ‘offensive’ portraits (i.e. did not conform to the standardised visage).
Revisionism

Revisionism

  • Strong’s thesis has been met with criticism and been revised.
  • Given Elizabeth’s disinterest in patronising the arts, it is difficult to argue that she was the sole architect of her image.
  • Elizabeth I’s image emerged through the interactions of Elizabeth and those around her.
  • Doran (2003): Elizabeth was an agent but not the sole author of her image.
  • Doran has argued that Elizabeth wanted to emphasise her position as a Protestant Queen. However, others stressed her virginity.
    • The struggle between Elizabeth’s gender and her position of authority is at the heart of her image.
Jump to other topics
1

Monarch & Government

1.1

Tudor Monarchs

1.1.1Henry VII1.1.2Henry VIII1.1.3Edward VI1.1.4Mary I1.1.5Elizabeth I1.1.6Succession Disputes
1.2

Changing Role of Parliament

1.2.1Parliament & Henry VII1.2.2Parliament & Henry VIII1.2.3Parliament After the Reformation
1.3

Principal Servants to the Crown

1.3.1Principal Servants to the Crown
2

Religious Changes

2.1

Tudor Monarchs & Religious Change

2.1.1The Henrician Reformation2.1.2Impact of Religious Change Under Henry VIII2.1.3Religious Change Under Edward VI2.1.4Religious Change Under Mary I2.1.5Elizabethan Settlement
2.2

Catholicism & Survival

2.2.1Popular Attitudes to Catholicism2.2.2Catholicism Under Henry VIII2.2.3Catholicism Under Elizabeth I2.2.4Catholic Nobility
2.3

Protestantism & Puritanism

2.3.1Protestant Influences2.3.2Protestantism Under Edward VI2.3.3Protestantism Under Elizabeth I
3

State Control & Popular Resistance

3.1

Tudor Control of the Country

3.1.1Councils3.1.2Role of Nobility3.1.3Justices of the Peace3.1.4Lord Lieutenant
3.2

The State & the Poor

3.2.1Reasons for Growth of Poverty3.2.2Punishments for Paupers3.2.3Role of Charities
3.3

Resistance to Tudor Rule

3.3.1Resistance to Tax & Subsidies3.3.2Uprisings Against Henry VIII3.3.3Uprisings Against Edward VI3.3.4Uprisings Against Elizabeth I3.3.5Decline of Popular Resistance
4

Economic, Social & Cultural Change

4.1

Patterns of Domestic & Foreign Trade

4.1.1Wool & Cloth4.1.2Exploration & Trade
4.2

Changing Structure of Society

4.2.1Population4.2.2Dissolution of Monasteries4.2.3Enclosure
4.3

Cultural Change

4.3.1Education & Literature4.3.2Impact of Religious Change4.3.3Patronage4.3.4The Arts4.3.5Cult of Gloriana
5

Historical Interpretations

5.1

Significance of Threats to National Security

5.1.1Spain5.1.2The Spanish Armada5.1.3Ireland
5.2

Court Politics

5.2.1Court Factions5.2.2Essex's Rebellion
5.3

Elizabeth & Parliament

5.3.1Conflict with Parliament
5.4

Social Distress in the 1590s

5.4.1Social Distress in the 1590s

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  1. 1
    When did the Privy Council order the sergeant painter to help destroy offensive portraits?Multiple choice
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The Arts

Spain