Early modern historians tend to concentrate on the violent interaction between the Tudor state and the inhabitants of Ireland. And with good reason: the extension of Tudor rule there saw brutality and warfare reach unprecedented levels, resulting in the destruction of the Gaelic political order. But the sixteenth century’s grim outcome has obscured the conciliatory policy pursued by Henry VIII...
Richard Beacon’s “Solon His Follie” & the Rhetoric of Civilization
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Richard Beacon’s Solon His Follie (Oxford, 1594) has stood at the center of efforts to construct a significant republican past for the British Isles prior to the actual experience of republican government during the Interregnum (1649–60). In this interpretation the preeminence of monarchy in late Tudor and early Stuart England did not preclude the development of quasi-republican modes...
Aegidius Hunnius’s Academic Funeral Sermons
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The funeral sermons Aegidius Hunnius (1550–1603) preached for members of the academic community in Wittenberg reveal both a learned and a warmly emotional piety. A leading figure in early Lutheran orthodoxy, Hunnius participated in the formulation of Lutheran confessional theology and in its defense against Calvinists, “papists,” and Anabaptists. During his tenure as professor and pastor in...
The Five Articles of Perth & James VI/I’s Religious Policies
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Recent pioneering work has rightly restored the reputation of James VI and I from “Whig” accusations of incompetence. Some historians regard King James’s religious policies as particularly successful. Others now argue that while James’s policies worked well in England, they were a disaster in Scotland, where a set of reforms known as the Five Articles of Perth polarized religious opinion. This...