Biblical Typology and Royal Power in Elizabethan Civic Entertainments

Abstract

A range of biblical figures were depicted or invoked across the entertainments staged for Elizabeth I of England while she was on progress. These biblical figures were used to counsel and critique Elizabeth, with the pageant devisers using a variety of typologies to present Elizabeth as a providential monarch, legitimise her actions (both religious and political), and exhort her to take further actions against Catholics, both at home and abroad. To explore the relationship between royal power and biblical typology in civic entertainments staged for Elizabeth, this article analyses the appearance of biblical figures in two civic entertainments: Elizabeth’s coronation procession on 14 January 1559, and the entertainments staged in Norwich during the 1578 East Anglian progress. Using these two entertainments as case studies, this article reveals the links between biblical typologies and royal power, and adds to our understanding of the way that early modern monarchs were counselled and critiqued through biblical types in a variety of mediums.