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“Bastard Children of Tyranny”: The Ancient Constitution and Fulke Grevilles A Dedication to Sir Philip Sidney*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Peter C. Herman
Peter C. Herman*
Affiliation:
San Diego State University
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Abstract

This essay proposes that Fulke Greville structured A Dedication to Sir Philip Sidney according to the principles of the Ancient Constitution. Greville departs from the standard view of Sidney in the early seventeenth century as a primarily literary figures by constructing his late friend as an avatar of the Ancient Constitution, and views Elizabeth and Essex in the same light. Greville’s redefinition of all three as exemplars of English constitutionalism directly results from the controversies surrounding James’ increasing absolutism. However, the question remains as to why in 1652 a Royalist would publish such a text, and the answer lies in how shifting political circumstances alters the interpretation of texts.

Type
Studies
Information
Renaissance Quarterly , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , Autumn 2002 , pp. 969 - 1004
Copyright
Copyright © Renaissance Society of America 2002

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Footnotes

*

I am grateful to Cynthia Bowers, Roger Kuin, Sandra Sherman, Paul J. Voss and Germaine Warkentin for their essential help in writing this essay. I also happily acknowledge my debt to Constance Jordan for gently urging me some years ago to read Pocock's The Ancient Constitution and the Fuedal Law. Her suggestion changed everything.

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