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Title
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"In Open Shew to the World" : Mary Stuart's Armorial Claim to the English Throne and Anglo-French Relations (1559-1561)
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Author
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Abstract
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| The importance of symbolic imagery in the construction of authority is well known. In combination with other titles of pretence, the public display of heraldry could provoke severe conflicts. As a result, early modern rulers were very anxious to safeguard the exclusivity of their armorial bearings, which were increasingly valued as material embodiments of sovereign power. Armorial claim-making affected the essence of rule and, accordingly, performed an alternative kingship. One of the most telling examples is the subversive use of the arms of England by Mary, Queen of Scots and her husband François (II) of France. Between 1559 and 1561, their public assumption of the English royal style and arms in ritual and daily politics unleashed a diplomatic controversy that stood in a long tradition of symbolic rivalry and heraldic appropriation. Yet, as this article argues, Marys usurpation presented a rather ambiguous claim to the Tudor throne, thereby maximising its political potential. In fact, the controversy exposed a pre-existing tension between dynastic partitioning and indivisible authority. To defend their view on the matter, the contesting parties developed a different argumentation about the historical origins of regal arms and their evolution from signs of mere lineage to marks of undisputed sovereignty. As such, this heraldic controversy was one of the main causes that brought France and the Elizabethan state to the brink of war. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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The English historical review. - London, 1886, currens
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Publication
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London
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Longman Group
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2017
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ISSN
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0013-8266
[Print]
1477-4534
[Online]
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DOI
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10.1093/EHR/CEX373
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Volume/pages
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132
:559
(2017)
, p. 1405-1439
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ISI
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000432445500001
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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