Authority in Tudor England
Your assignment is to discuss, compare, and contrast the three readings we have considered in the last part of our course. These are selections from:
- Sir Thomas Smith, De Republica Anglorum (written between 1562 and 1565, first published 1583)
- “A Homily Against Disobedience and Wilful Rebellion” (written 1569-1570, published in the Second Book of Homilies in 1571)
- William Harrison, The Description of England (first published 1577)
Your topic is authority in Elizabethan England. On the basis of these three writings, who has authority, what kind of authority is it, and why do they have it? What are the consequences of obedience and disobedience to authority? What reasons or justifications do the respective authors give for the authority they describe? Remember that you are reading three different writers, writing in different contexts and different parts of Elizabeth’s reign, so of course the respective readings do not always agree. In what ways do they agree, and in what ways do they disagree? You will need to discuss the background, and anything you have learned about the respective writers of these pieces, as part of your analysis.
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