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?

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

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

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

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.

1Monarch & Government

1.1Tudor Monarchs

1.1.1Henry VII

1.1.2Henry VIII

1.1.3Edward VI

1.1.4Mary I

1.1.5Elizabeth I

1.1.6Succession Disputes

1.2Changing Role of Parliament

1.2.1Parliament & Henry VII

1.2.2Parliament & Henry VIII

1.2.3Parliament After the Reformation

1.3Principal Servants to the Crown

1.3.1Principal Servants to the Crown

2Religious Changes

2.1Tudor Monarchs & Religious Change

2.1.1The Henrician Reformation

2.1.2Impact of Religious Change Under Henry VIII

2.1.3Religious Change Under Edward VI

2.1.4Religious Change Under Mary I

2.1.5Elizabethan Settlement

2.2Catholicism & Survival

2.2.1Popular Attitudes to Catholicism

2.2.2Catholicism Under Henry VIII

2.2.3Catholicism Under Elizabeth I

2.2.4Catholic Nobility

2.3Protestantism & Puritanism

2.3.1Protestant Influences

2.3.2Protestantism Under Edward VI

2.3.3Protestantism Under Elizabeth I

3State Control & Popular Resistance

3.1Tudor Control of the Country

3.1.1Councils

3.1.2Role of Nobility

3.1.3Justices of the Peace

3.1.4Lord Lieutenant

3.2The State & the Poor

3.2.1Reasons for Growth of Poverty

3.2.2Punishments for Paupers

3.2.3Role of Charities

3.3Resistance to Tudor Rule

3.3.1Resistance to Tax & Subsidies

3.3.2Uprisings Against Henry VIII

3.3.3Uprisings Against Edward VI

3.3.4Uprisings Against Elizabeth I

3.3.5Decline of Popular Resistance

4Economic, Social & Cultural Change

4.1Patterns of Domestic & Foreign Trade

4.1.1Wool & Cloth

4.1.2Exploration & Trade

4.2Changing Structure of Society

4.2.1Population

4.2.2Dissolution of Monasteries

4.2.3Enclosure

4.3Cultural Change

4.3.1Education & Literature

4.3.2Impact of Religious Change

4.3.3Patronage

4.3.4The Arts

4.3.5Cult of Gloriana

5Historical Interpretations

5.1Significance of Threats to National Security

5.1.1Spain

5.1.2The Spanish Armada

5.1.3Ireland

5.2Court Politics

5.2.1Court Factions

5.2.2Essex's Rebellion

5.3Elizabeth & Parliament

5.3.1Conflict with Parliament

5.4Social Distress in the 1590s

5.4.1Social Distress in the 1590s

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