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The ritual management of royal death in Renaissance England : 1570-1625
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Woodward, Jennifer (1994) The ritual management of royal death in Renaissance England : 1570-1625. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3216396~S15
Abstract
This thesis represents the most detailed investigation into English royal funeral ceremonies 1570-1625 yet undertaken. It builds on earlier scholarship dealing with the French royal funeral and with the social history of death and burial in early modern England.
When gathering my source material I consulted manuscript and early printed material at the British Library, the Bodleian Library, the Library of Westminster Abbey, the College of Arms and the Bibliothèque Nationale.
My approach is to consider royal funeral rituals in terms of performance. I endeavour to place each of the royal funerals in its immediate performance and broader cultural context. The evidence is analysed using an approach which seeks to take account of both the political and affective implications of ritual.
Preliminary chapters establish the form of the English heraldic funeral and the French royal funeral, and assess the impact of the English Reformation on funeral ritual. I go on to discuss the funerals of Mary Stuart, Elizabeth I, Prince Henry Stuart, Anne of Denmark and James I respectively. Included is a bridging chapter which briefly summarises the religious and cultural changes which took place under James I and their impact on funeral ritual. Royal funerals are seen as flexible rather than fixed. They were modified to meet changing political needs but such modifications were always in accord with broader cultural trends. My thesis demonstrates that royal funeral rituals were highly dependent on their performance and cultural contexts.
The Epilogue looks at the implications my research has for readings of stage representations of funeral ritual and funeral symbolism in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. I show that royal funerals formed an important aspect of playhouse audience experience. Dramatists exploited that experience to show the operative nature of funeral ritual performance and the potency of its symbols for political propaganda.
| Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CB History of civilization C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CR Heraldry D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GT Manners and customs H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races |
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| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Funeral rites and ceremonies -- England -- History -- 16th century, Funeral rites and ceremonies -- England -- History -- 17th century, Nobility -- England -- Heraldry, Renaissance -- England, Reformation -- England, Great Britain -- Kings and rulers -- Death and burial, England -- Social life and customs -- 16th century, England -- Social life and customs -- 17th century | ||||
| Official Date: | August 1994 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
| Theses Department: | Centre for the Study of the Renaissance | ||||
| Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
| Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
| Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Mulryne, J. R. | ||||
| Sponsors: | British Academy ; ERASMUS (Organization) ; University of Warwick. Centre for the Study of the Renaissance | ||||
| Format of File: | |||||
| Extent: | 2 volumes (xix, 439 leaves) : illustrations | ||||
| Language: | eng |
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