I think that in Edmund Spenser’s Fairy is represented as hope, charity, and faith. The reign of Queen Elizabeth is considered one of the greatest periods in English history. During her reign of forty years, she supported and attended many theatrical productions by famous authors such as Edmund Spencer, Christopher Marlow and William Shakespeare. Their works portrayed the way in which people lived during the Renaissance.
As we know from this epic poem, Queen Elizabeth I reined form 1558 until her death in 1603. In those forty years she became a powerful image of female authority. Elizabeths father, Henry VIII had been of royal Plantagenet stock, and had some Welsh blood from his father Henry VII. Her mother, Anne Boleyn, had been an English commoner whose ancestors had been Norfolk farmers and merchants. Her parents rose to prominence because of wealth and through a series of advantageous marriages with daughters of the nobility. After being married for seventeen years, the Spanish Princess, Katherine of Argon, had only given birth to a daughter, Mary, but had failed to provide Henry with the male heir he so desperately needed.
Henry, upset with Katherine, began to feel a passion for Anne Boleyn, but she had made it clear that she would not be his mistress. Henry had become involved in a serious controversy with the church over his divorcing Katherine, and eventually declared himself head of the Church of England. After having his marriage declared void he was able to marry Anne. He did this as soon as she became pregnant in 1533. Henry and Anne had anticipated that their child would be a son and were disappointed when it turned out to be a girl.
She was named after her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard. Elizabeth was a healthy baby and her parents were hopeful of providing her with a brother. After many unsuccessful pregnancies and one stillborn son Henry fell out of love with Anne and started having affairs. Anne was later charged with plotting to murder the king and with twenty-two counts of adultery.
After being found guilty and having her marriage annulled and her daughter declared a bastard, she was beheaded on May 19, 1536. In 1537, Henrys third wife gave birth to a son named Edward. Elizabeth faded more into the background, but was not neglected. Elizabeth was present at state ceremonies and was regarded as third in line to the throne.
Elizabeths last stepmother was Katherine Parr. She was the sixth queen of Henry VIII. She had expected to marry Thomas Seymour (brother to the late Queen Jane), but she caught Henrys eye. She brought both Elizabeth and her sister Mary to court. When Henry died, she became the Queen and took her household from court.
Because of the young age of Edward VI, Edward Seymour (who was another brother of Janes and therefore the young Kings uncle) became Lord Protector of England. Elizabeth went to live with Queen Dowager Katherine, but left her house after an episode with the Lord Admiral, Thomas Seymour, who was now Katherine husband. Just what occurred between these two will never be known for sure, but rumors at the time suggested that Katherine had caught them kissing. Katherine was pregnant at the time of the episode.
She later gave birth to a daughter. Katherine died not too long after. This left Thomas Seymour as an entitled bachelor once again. He was under arrest for an attempted kidnapping of King Edward and for plotting to marry himself to Elizabeth, who was an heir to the throne. Young Edward had never been a physically powerful child and eventfully contracted what was then called consumption. It is most likely that he had tuberculosis.
When it looked predictable the teenager would die without a successor of his own body, the fight for the tiara began. Her tutors claimed that she had intelligence, an acute mind and a remarkably good memory. She was fluent in Greek, Latin, French, and Italian. She studied theology and became a strong Protestant.
Her father died in 1547 when she was fourteen. Her brother, Edward, advanced to the throne and became King at the tender age of ten. Catherine Parr married Thomas Seymour. When Catherine died in 1549, Seymour was accused of wishing to marry Elizabeth in order to rule England. Seymour was beheaded for treason.
Edward, a Protestant, died in 1553 and was replaced by his older half-sister, Mary. Mary was a Catholic and was determined to restore Catholicism to England even if it took violence. Elizabeth and Marys relationship had not been easy and soon deteriorated when Mary began to suspect Elizabeth of being a secret Protestant. After her sister Mary died, Elizabeth took the throne at the age of twenty-five on November 17, 1558. Her character was something of a mystery to most people. She had learned early on to keep her own counsel, control her emotions, and behave discreetly, thus giving the lie to any rumors about her.
She could also be vain, willful, dictatorial, temperamental and imperious. Her sense of humor sometimes had a malicious edge to it, but not cruel. The need to economize had made her so careful with money she appeared to be parsimonious, not cautious. Elizabeth had appointed William Cecil, a friend she had known since her early teens, to be her chief advisor. He served Elizabeth for forty years. Elizabeth never married and it was said she refrained from marriage to gratify her lusts with numerous lovers.
No one knows if this was true or what exactly her attitude was towards marriage. For much or her reign Elizabeths subjects prospered economically. Landowners, who already had some wealth, prospered to the greatest extent. Even the lower classes benefited. However, this wealth would not last to the end of her reign. There was much hostility between the Spanish and English.
The Spanish particularly resented the English interference with their slave trade. By the mid 1580 s, it became apparent that a war between England and Spain was inevitable. It was widely anticipated that the Spanish fleet, the Armada, would sail to the Netherlands pick up the large Spanish army fighting there and transport the army to England. The Queens ships defeated the Armada. Elizabeths reign after the defeat of the Armada was beset by troubles.
Her control over her countrys religious, political and economic problems, as well as her presentation of herself began to show severe strains. Bad harvests, inflation, and unemployment caused a loss of public morale. Corruption and greed led to a popular widespread hatred for Elizabeth. Shortly before she died on March 24, 1603, she designated James VI of Scotland as her successor. Queen Elizabeth was one of England most powerful rulers and left a life long lasting impression.
Elizabeths reign also saw a flowering of the arts that would be impossible for almost any other period of English history to match. It was an era of expansion, not just politically but with the literary arts. Edmund Spencer, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare are great names not only in English literature, but also in world literature. Overly, Spenser described this period as changing, one that left lasting impacts. It was truly an era of expansionism in every possible way. Timeless Universal questions were asked and are still being answered.
The era flourished with literature and theatre that we still value today. The reign of Queen Elizabeth I is one of the most celebrated monarchs of not only English history but world history as well.