Chapter 2 Flashcards
Character of James I
King or Scotland when he was 13 months (1567) and ruled the country since he was 17 on his own.
Intellectual, outgoing man who enjoyed debate/dealing with people/pragmatic - all enabled him to make the ill-defined English political system work
Points of Contact
Communication between Political Nation and the Crown.
Main points of contact was from the Court and Parliament.
Character of Charles I
Opposite to James I: he was shy + had speech defect..
He was unapproachable and uncommunicative with Parliament - in governing his actions went unexplained and others had it interpret them.
He had an inferiority complex that made him over stress his prerogative.
Because he was insecure he lacked his fathers political flexibility and was unwilling to compromise.
Could not understand that a different viewpoint was not an attempt of rebellion.
James I view on monarchy.
Firm believer of Divine Right of Kings: he was pragmatic so able to deal with the ambiguity of the balance between the royal prerogative and the parliamentary privilege. Basilikon Doron (1599): his theory of kingship. Saw himself as the 'peacemaker king' in his foreign policy and sought compromise and negotiation with the Political Nation in England while defending his prerogative.
Charles I view on monarchy
Tried to defend his prerogative but did so provocatively did to his limited self-confidence.
He was unwilling to negotiate and the nature of his court increasingly hampered dialogue with the Political Nation which lead to the undermining of his authority.
Privy Council
Kings selected advisers who met in private to shape the monarch’s wishes into policy and oversee their implementation.
Bedchamber
The monarchs private living space; the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber were courtiers who waited upon the monarch in these rooms; their duties included providing companionship to the monarch: in the Stuart Age; they were important figures at court and their access to the king meant they could enjoy great political influence.
factions
Competing groups in politics- in this case it was dissenting groups based on personal or family relationships that sought the favour of the monarch.
Patronage
Political success was based on establishing a network of support. Those furthest up the system could act as patrons to support ‘clients’ lower down the system. Through this support, the clients could gain advancement, and the patron could both show off his power and use his clients to carry out tasks appropriate to their place and connections.
The political aims all was to build and use a network of connections to move as close to the king as possible.
The court of James I
His court was lively and open and reflected the kings personality and enjoyment of life.
Noted for his open/physical interaction with his courtiers.
At its extreme, the court was criticised as drunken, immoral and debauched.
There was intellectual interests in his court like the patronage of Shakespeare.
Source of tension from early dominance of the Bedchamber by Scots - first Englishman to Bedchamber was George Villiers a new source of tension.
The court of Charles I
Saw his court as a microcosm of his state - a model of what could be achieved in the country.
Strict order imposed on his court and the fact it only included his supporters made it seem isolated from the rest of the country.
Dominated by Catholics/Arminians which caused tension as Catholicism was linked to absolutism seen in Spain/France and the PN was uneasy about an absolute monarch.
Charles I: Patron of the arts
Masques
Opposition to masques
Art
Main form of entertainment was the court masque which he and his wife participated in.
Usual theme was disorder in the land which the king and queen would turn into order,
The masque at Charles’ court was a reflection of the role the king felt he was bringing order to the country.
Opposition: William Prynne = pamphlet Histrio-mastix (Actor’s Tragedy) 1633 - as a Puritan he found women in plays sinful, ‘women actors, notorious whores’ (attack on queens role in them). Puritans found ceremony like this a link with Catholicism.
Charles had a big costly art collection made by Anthony Van Dyck which made Charles seem like an absolutist Catholic monarch.
George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham (1592-1628)
Favourite of James/Charles
Became prominent in 1616 as James liked him but from. 1620 he got closer with Prince Charles and in 1623, they travelled too Madrid to secure marriage between Charles and Maria which made them close.
When James died in 1625, Buckingham became one of the new favourites.
As Lord High Admiral he showed he could be a great administrator but was responsible for foreign policy failures.
Charles defended him when he was attacked by P in 1628 and was assassinated by a soldier.
He was not as sexual with Charles as he was with James.
He had a dominant role in royal patronage so people had to look to him for support.
