Date of Award

Fall 1980

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Committee Director

Douglas Greene

Committee Member

John W. Kuehl

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.H47W378

Abstract

Spectacle and pageantry played an important role in the monarchies of Elizabeth I and James I of England. Generally pageants served reciprocal purposes. It provided a way to let the realm view the state of the monarch's health and allowed the monarch to impress his subjects with royal grandeur. Additionally, it served as a vehicle for the manifestation of the public's desires concerning the direction which the country might move with the accession of a new monarch. Also, civic pageants provide the historian with an indication of popular like or dislike of a sovereign. In this thesis, a considerable amount of discussion is devoted to an elaboration of civic pageantry: what it was like and what it represented. Attention is also devoted to the recurring themes of the pageants.

Basic questions which this thesis addresses are: 1) how was pageantry important for Elizabeth I and James I, and 2) what does the manner in which they used and responded to pageantry tell the historian about them as monarchs and historical figures. Was the use of pageantry vital to the overall success of Renaissance sovereigns? How could the public use civic pageants to indicate popular desires and attitudes? These questions are answered in the next six chapters.

The final chapter concludes with the following observations. Pageantry was of vital importance in the Renaissance monarchies of both Elizabeth I and James I. Elizabeth was a master of creating a good public image; she had an acute sense of political savoir-faire which James lacked. Had James been more concerned with creating a favorable public image through the use of propaganda pageantry he doubtless would have had a more successful reign.

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DOI

10.25777/ms7c-ey66

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