Queens and Power in Medieval and Early Modern England

6. Queen Solomon: An International Elizabeth I in 1569

6 Queen Solomon An International Elizabeth I in 1569 linda s. shenk As the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I and the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, reigned over their kingdoms in the 1560s, each watched the other with an ever-nervous eye. Not only were they rival monarchs (in religion and in claim to the English throne) but they were also queens who had to negotiate the deep-seated criticisms leveled against female rule. According to centuries of misogynistic thought, a woman in power violated natural and divine law: women were emotionally unstable, intellectually deficient, and morally corrupt. In 1567, Mary’s own Protestant counselors manipulated these stereotypes to justify rebellion, and Mary was led into confinement amid shouts of “Burn the whore!” When Mary fled Scotland and placed herself in English custody the following year, Elizabeth and her nation suddenly had the rival under their control—a situation that made Elizabeth and England powerful . . . and vulnerable. Mary’s overthrow substantiated anxieties regarding female rule, which, in turn, destabilized Elizabeth’s own sovereignty and laid England open to the threat of foreign invasion, particularly from 99 queen solomon Catholic France and Spain. To England’s advantage, however, Protestant Europe looked increasingly to England for leadership, and even Scotland’s new regent (and Protestant) government gave England supervision over its practices. At a crossroads, England prepared for both war and international predominance. Missives from top officials ratcheted up security at all ports; tracts were published to call English subjects to rally behind Crown and country; and most important for this study, Elizabeth was portrayed as a Protestant, learned queen—specifically as a new Solomon—in the prayer book Christian Prayers and Meditations, published in 1569 by the famous Protestant printer John Day. Throughout this prayer book, Elizabeth is repeatedly likened to King Solomon: in the frontispiece; in prayers written for her subjects to use in worship; and in a concluding section that presents Elizabeth as a wise queen who is skilled in key European languages (Italian, French, Spanish), the biblical language of Greek, and the international lingua franca, Latin. Although we have no autograph copy of these prayers to prove Elizabeth’s authorship, the editors of the work, Leah S. Marcus, Janel Mueller, and Mary Beth Rose, have noted that the foreign-language prayers contain many of Elizabeth ’s idiosyncrasies of composition, which adds to the likelihood that she was indeed the author.1 Even if Elizabeth did not write the final section of prayers, however, she clearly authorized this text: her royal coat of arms appears on the inside of both covers, and she was given a presentation copy, which is housed in the Lambeth Palace Library.2 In addition to the foreign-language pieces, a few vernacular prayers, also written in her royal voice, appear in earlier sections of the volume. These first sections contain prayers written for her subjects to use as part of their private devotions. Because many of the English prayers also appear in the prayer book Henry Bull compiled in 1569 (Christian Prayers and Holy Meditations), ฀100 linda s. shenk it is almost certain that Elizabeth did not write them. By including some of Elizabeth’s prayers within the same volume as devotional texts written for her subjects, Day’s Christian Prayers and Meditations presents Elizabeth as a true Solomon. She is both at prayer and leading the prayers of her nation. Choosing to depict Elizabeth as a Solomon in 1569 was a powerful and highly strategic act: it was designed to refute the inadequacies of Elizabeth’s authority as an unmarried queen and to portray her and her nation as stable, unified, and poised to assume leadership of Europe’s providentially sanctioned Protestant Church. Elizabeth was associated with Solomon frequently over the course of her reign; however, scholars have devoted only cursory attention to her connection with this persona, focusing more on her other biblical roles as Susanna, Esther, Judith, David, Joshua, Hezekiah, and Deborah. Studies by Margaret Aston, Susan Doran, John N. King, A. N. McLaren, Michele Osherow, Donald Stump, and Alexandra Walsham have made rich contributions to our understanding of how these figures provided crucial providential support for Elizabeth and her subjects to defend female rule while at the same time placing limitations on the queen’s sovereignty.3 Significantly, though, these biblical figures possessed authority over a single group of people, whereas Solomon—the...