Book contents
- Shakespeare, Violence and Early Modern Europe
- Shakespeare, Violence and Early Modern Europe
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Notes on Sources and References
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 ‘touching violence or punishments’:
- Chapter 2 ‘Undoing all, as all had never been’:
- Chapter 3 In the Realm of the ‘unthankful King’: Violent Subjects and Subjectivities in the Henry IV Plays
- Chapter 4 ‘Now thrive the armourers’:
- Chapter 5 ‘the childe of his great Mistris favour, but the sonne of Bellona’: The Conflict-Ridden Careers of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
- Chapter 6 European Afterlives 1600–1770
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 5 - ‘the childe of his great Mistris favour, but the sonne of Bellona’: The Conflict-Ridden Careers of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2022
- Shakespeare, Violence and Early Modern Europe
- Shakespeare, Violence and Early Modern Europe
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Notes on Sources and References
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 ‘touching violence or punishments’:
- Chapter 2 ‘Undoing all, as all had never been’:
- Chapter 3 In the Realm of the ‘unthankful King’: Violent Subjects and Subjectivities in the Henry IV Plays
- Chapter 4 ‘Now thrive the armourers’:
- Chapter 5 ‘the childe of his great Mistris favour, but the sonne of Bellona’: The Conflict-Ridden Careers of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
- Chapter 6 European Afterlives 1600–1770
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The 1590s witnessed enormous political success for Robert Devereux as he rose progressively from being a leading royal favourite and courtier, to military command in Europe (with varying success), to the Privy Council, and then to the title of Earl Marshall in 1597. Nonetheless, from the mid-1580s the Earl was exploring multiple routes by which he might showcase his various talents as warrior, spymaster, diplomat and court strategist in international conflicts. This chapter focuses upon the ways in which a pre-eminent courtier such as Essex gained access to power networks through military campaigning, acts of patronage and extravagant self-promotion. Paying particular attention to his elite identities as military commander, royal favourite and cabalist, this chapter explores how the Earl sought to eclipse Elizabeth herself on the European stage of power politics.
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- Shakespeare, Violence and Early Modern Europe , pp. 151 - 180Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022