This thesis examines the legacy of Mary I (r. 1553-1558) from her death on 17 November 1558 until the restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660. Through this century, anti-Catholicism, anti-foreign sentiment, and sex and gender played significant roles in how later English regimes and subjects created, perceived, and perpetuated Mary’s legacy. Beginning with Elizabeth I’s reign (1558-1603) and continuing through the Jacobean (1603-1625), Caroline (1625-1649), and Republic (1649-1660) regimes, discussions in England about Mary I’s life and reign focused on Marian religious policy and Mary’s Catholicism, Mary’s marriage to Philip II of Spain and the perceived foreign influence which it introduced, and gendered interpretations of queenship and motherhood. Elizabethan, Jacobean, Caroline, and Republic authors re-interpreted Mary’s legacy in a way which both fit into and informed their understanding of their own era, transforming Mary’s legacy into one which reflects aspects of synchronic, diachronic, and dialogic memory. This thesis draws on tools of memory study, literary analysis, and sociological concepts to explain the creation, development, and perpetuation of Mary I’s legacy from 1558 until 1660.
- Mary I
- Queenship
- Memory
- Historiography
- Religion
- Gender
The Making of a Queen: The Effect of Religion, National Identity, and Gender on Mary I's Legacy in the English Historical Narrative
Strong, J. (Author). 19 Dec 2023
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis