The Godly Woman in Elizabethan Iconography Author(s): John N. King Reviewed work(s): Source: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol.

38, No. 1 (Spring, 1985), pp. 41-84 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Renaissance Society of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2861331 . Accessed: 25/10/2012 07:40
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in Iconography* TheGodly Woman Elizabethan

byJOHN N. KING

handssymbolic mation.Characteristically hold books in their they of ofdivinerevelation, they or appearinbooksas representationsdiof ideal vineinspiration. Whilesuchrepresentation a piousfeminine in attempted apto was traditional Christian Tudor reformers art, saints and linked manyfemale to propriate devoutemotionality the and to theVirgin of Mary,bothas themother Christ as an allegorical insteadimages of Protestant figurefor Holy Church,Iproviding and womenas embodiments piousintellectuality divinewisdom. of grewup in celebration the Long before cultof thewise royalvirgin learned womenfor ofElizabethI, Tudor Protestants beganto praise reform. of to applying knowledge thescriptures thecauseofchurch when a of was ready-made Thus a tradition feminist iconography cameto thethrone playtheroleofVirgin to Protestant queenfinally assigned theBlessedVirgin.2 to Mothertraditionally abstracted their ideal of a godlyWoman of Faith The reformers WomanofProverbs, the from scriptural modelssuchas theVirtuous Five Wise Virgins,and the Woman Clothedwiththe Sun. These wereparticularly vehicles praising for Queen Elizappropriate types
* This article was prepared withsupport from Penrose the FundoftheAmerican a Philosophical Society, Huntington Library-NEH Fellowship, a grant photoand for graphic expenses from BatesCollege.Itis indebted throughout thegenerous to counof sel of GordonKiplingof UCLA and to his forthcoming book-length study the dramaturgy latemedieval of royal entries civictriumphs England, and in France, and theLow Countries. to anon. 'See Emile Male, Religious from Twelfth theEighteenth Art the Century, 2nded. (New York, i958), pp. I i6-i9; andMarinaWarner, trans., Alone ofAll Her Sex: TheMyth Cultofthe and Virgin Mary (New York,1976), pp. 206-23. The modern ofi/j,u/v,andvv has beenfollowed; use contractions abbreviaand The abtions expanded. are Londonis theplaceofpublication unless otherwise noted. breviation is omitted sig. fromsignature references. Exceptin indirect quotations, TheGeneva texts facsimile theI 56o edition with intro. scriptural arefrom Bible, of by LloydE. Berry (Madison,i969). 2Frances Yates,Astraea: Imperial A. The Theme the in Sixteenth Century (Londonand The Destruction in Boston,1975), p. 79; andJohn Phillips, Reformation ofImages: ofArt England, I535-1660 (Berkeley Los Angeles, and 1973), p. 205. See Stephen Greenblatt, Renaissance Self-Fashioning: More Shakespeare From to (Chicago,i980), p. i68.

Renaissance Reforand of Lthroughouttheliterature theEnglish

of womenproliferate mblematic figures godlyand faithful

[ 41 ]

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because hadbeen abeth, they applied inthe conventionally iconograor phyof medieval queens.Tudorapologists concealed skillfully a complex transformed to with relationshipimagery associated the when addressed unprecethe Virgin Maryas QueenofHeaven they of dented the of problem defending authority a regnant queen.BecauseElizabeth's further an virginity difficult complicated already political problem, apologists adapted medieval late iconography, which hailed queens consort intercessors imperious as with husbandto instead kings, offer emblematic as variations praised that Elizabeth a powerful monarch couldgovern theabsence anyconwho in of As a consequence Elizabethan iconography incorporates a complexstructuresymbols associated the of once with Virgin Mary, meand dievalqueens, many British kings. The political appealofthe as imageof Elizabeth restorer true of extraordireligion possessed nary force an during age in which ecclesiastical secular and power were inseparable. scriptural ofthe The figure True Woman furnished thequeenwith means self-dramatizationlegitimized a of that royal as authority a worldly manifestation extension theoverlordand of newdirection shipofGod. A major during Reformation the is the use oftheProtestant commitmentan idealofuniversal to literacy, which Biblereading thepart theentire encouraged on inof laity, menandwomen, defense the both in cluding of royal supremacy. in Royaliconography theearly ofherreign part continued along lines established the at Reformation ofHenry andhisboy court VIII where Bibletranslation the and vision the heir, of king the as fulfillment Old Testament of types monarchy prophecy for and (e.g., Moses,David,andSolomon) were more important the than classical andItalianate models kingship cameintovoguein thelast for that
3Prior theTudorage,withthepossible to exception theSaxonqueenSeaxburh, of thedisastrous attempt Empress by Matilda supplant to KingStephen II 39-48) pro(c. videsthesingle precedent government a British for by queen.Thepowerful lordswho controlled England thedeath EdwardVI failed their at of in attempt establishProtto a estant succession under LadyJane Grey (6-I9July 1553). Mary Tudor,whosemarriage negotiations withPhilipof Spainbegansoon after accession, her reigned a virgin as queenfor morethan year barely one (I9July1553-24July1554). E. Nealecomments J. in Queen Elizabeth (London,I934) that, prior Mary's to death, government a virgin by queenwas "unthinkable" 3I). Although (p. Marydoes furnishprecedent Elizaa for bethas a regnant queen,widespread discontent that with Catholic sovereign's Spanish and consort herexecutions Protestants notstrengthen of did Elizabeth's claimto governas an unmarried woman(seeNeale,pp. 43-44,63).

sort.3

THE GODLY WOMAN IN ICONOGRAPHY

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of century. Manyofthebiblical types applied decades thesixteenth the of VIII andEdward to Elizabeth recapitulate stylization Henry late as bearand Protestant princes-the VI, her father brother, pious as ersofthescriptural of and Book.Just Joemblems theSword the as Old monarch ruled a boy, who siah,theiconoclastic Testament was seenas a providential for reform during precedent religious Edward biblical Elizabeth's VI's minority, typology supported reign as another to norm government anadult of by male.4 exception the in terms, panegyrAlthough Elizabeth, wasseen Solomonic too, at of ics praising as a SecondDeborah thebeginning herlong her adaptation traditional of reign 58-i603) representedimportant an (I5 which queens royal as mediators. the As reiconography, presented and furnishes a posistorer Israel thesolefemale of Deborah Judge, in for history direct government a by tiveprecedent lacking British woman. iconography is Deborah powerful OnlyinlateElizabethan crowded by thebiblical out or mediator, Esther, bytheclassicized or figures Diana,Venus of virgo, Astraea.5
I

The Protestant in thepriesthood all believers of coalesced belief asin medieval withErasmian educational theories undermining Erasinferioritywomen. of sumptions concerning intellectual the when advohe muswent backtothepatristic counsel St.Jerome of
for age: its (1977), speaks ed. Faerie Queene, A. C. Hamilton 4Edmund Spenser's understand, womenwisely But vertuous to wereborne basehumilitie, Thatthey soveraintie. them tolawfull lift Unlessetheheavens etReConservatione De Humphrey, Religionis cited Hereafter as FQ. See alsoLawrence ed. of of Vera formatione (Basel, I559). In hisApology theChurch England, J.E. Booty in of settlement religion the placesElizabeth's Va., (Charlottesville, i963), JohnJewel such and of kings prophets theOld Testament of and tradition iconoclastic reforming and as Moses,Joshua, David, Solomon,Hezekiah, Josiah (pp. 1I 3, I I5). On theicoLiterature: Reformation N. seeJohn King,English court, of nography theReformation I982), pp. I84-96. This study (Princeton, Tradition of Protestant Origins the The Tudor driedup in themidthe opinionthatTudor courtpatronage questions traditional is which assumed of late only century to revive inthereign QueenElizabeth, sixteenth Portraiture and Icon:Elizabethan Jacobean in workssuchas Roy Strong'sThe English woodcuts of tradition Tudorroyalist (LondonandNew Haven, i969), p. I. The rich I48 Woodcuts I535 (193 ), p. vi, in assertion English EdwardHodnett's contradicts 1 declines after 53 5. that book illustration English . pp. 5SeeYates,Astraea, 29-87, passim
(V. V. 25. 7-9)

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of catedtranslation the Bible intothevernacular that"even the so lowliestwomen" could studythe scriptures theirown.6 The on Dutchhumanist conceived a series new "Vulgate"(i.e., "popuof of lar") translations available in the languageof ordinary men and women. It was thisprogram religious of education thatwas seized upon as one means of makingEnglanda Protestant after country HenryVIII's breakwithRome. The publicationunder royal patronage the first of authorized translation the Bible into English,after of of hundreds yearsof a for ideVulgateLatin,representedrevolutionary victory Protestant of ology. The presence botharistocratic commoner and women at thebase ofthetitle the pagefor Great Bible (ParisandLondon,1539) thussymbolizes Protestant the commitment universal to accessibility ofthevernacular Bible (Figure this I); anonymous workis influenced by Holbein'stitle page fortheCoverdaleBible.The woodcutimage symbolizescomplex relations among conceptsof authorship, auand thority, authorization, itnotonlyrepresents for official sanction of theBible translation, also theroyalcontrol but and over church statefromwhichit stems.The illustration inverts conventional the "movement" thededication of portrait, whicha patron in characteristically receives presentation ofa manuscript book from a copy or an or author translator. Suchillustrations portraying author an presentinga book to a patron aboundin medieval manuscript tradition.7 in HenryVIII's posture theGreat Biblewoodcutcombines of that bothartist patron he assumes quasi-authorial oftransand as the role VERB UM DEI to theflanking mitting figures ThomasCromwell of and Thomas Cranmer, who servedrespectively theking'schief as and minister as Archbishop Canterbury. of Cromwellfunctioned as theking'sagentin patronizing publication theBible translation. of The tinyscenein theupperright portrays HenryVIII as Moses reJohnC. Olin (New York, i965), p. 97. 7One exampleis theillumination depicting de Wavrin Jean his presenting Premier

6Desiderius Erasmus, Christian Humanism the and Reformation: Selected Writings, ed.

volume anchiennesnouvelles des et chroniques dangleterre to EdwardIV (British Library, MS Royal iS E. iv, fol. 14). The conventions manuscript of illumination carried are overintoearly printed books,as intheunique engraved frontispiecetheHuntington of Library copyofWilliam Caxton'sfirst book,histranslation RaoulLe Fevre's of Recuyellofthe Histories Troy of (Bruges, I475). HereMargaret, c. DuchessofBurgundy, is portrayed receiving text the from kneeling a author, possibly Caxtonhimself. Reproducedin Arthur Hind,Engraving England the M. in in Sixteenth Seventeenth and Centuries, vols. (Cambridge, 3 I952-64), I, plate.I

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the Wordfrom transcendent its author. claiming ceiving divine By an and source power, of toimplement external universal sovroyal thus validate ownauthority.8 could its reignty Medievalmonarchs were frequently as envisioned typesof scenetakes special on Moses,butthis meaning because ambivait the endorses Protestant lently commitmentthepriesthood all to of in believers a realm where monarch the maintained control over tight The enacts tense a religion. scene balance between freedom conand

of trol,fortherigidstratificationthiswoodcutreflects Henry'scautious retention traditional of doctrine and ritualduringthe early stagesof the EnglishReformation. Accordingly, women and the meninthecongregation theEnglish hear Biblefrom pulpit rather the thanreadit forthemselves. Theyarestill of passiverecipients scriptures thataretransmitted a priestly operating by elite under political from crown. instructions the The imperialiconography thisscene descendsfromancient of Christian tradition. thefourth By century Christian artists amalgamatedbiblicaland Roman symbolism, withtheresult thatChrist came to be portrayed an enthroned crowned as and emperor presiding over a courtmade up of angelsand saints.In latercenturies and Charlemagne hissuccessors appropriated imChristian-Roman ageryin orderto consolidate their authority overtheHoly Roman Empire.The illuminated frontispiece theAachenGospels(c. 975) of thuseulogizesEmperorOtto II by depicting him enthroned a as Christ-like between intermediary heavenandearth. The hierarchical levelsof thesceneportray, fromtop to bottom,theHand of God sanctioning Otto's majesty,the elevationof the emperortoward heaven,and hisveneration figures by seemingly symbolic theecof clesiastical nobleestates.9 and The GreatBibleinherits Imperial the concern legitimize to secular authority meansof divineright by argument, itswoodcuttitle but
8See Michel Foucault, Power/Knowledge, Colin Gordon (New York, i980), pp. ed. 93-94. On the manipulationof traditionaldedicationimages by royal apologists, see Elizabeth Hageman, 'John Foxe's Henry VIII asJustitia," Sixteenth CenturyJournal, I0, i (I979), 3 5-44. Additional information concerningtheiconographyof Figures i-6, 8ii may be found in King, EnglishReformation Literature, 52-54, i84-96, and 435pp. 379ErnstKantorowicz, The King's Two Bodies:A Studyin MediaevalPoliticalTheology (Princeton, i957), pp. 6i-65, and Fig. S. See also Andre Grabar, Christian Iconography: A StudyofItsOrigins(Princeton,i968), p. 4I.

THE GODLY WOMAN IN ICONOGRAPHY

47

of tradition manuscript the panegyric medieval pageadapts courtly and reading, discussion inorder sanction printing, to the publication, in of The of thescriptures thevernacular. expertise theProtestant for of press Tudorsin theuse andcontrol theprinting as a vehicle infor texts disseminating propagandistic andimages layreligious 10 The of conis a new structionmanifestly development. revision the as readers women both pagetoinclude scene gregational on thetitle todetexts of andhearers scriptural cametobeusedconventionally during the service introduced worship Protestant pict thoroughly the under VI, of heir, Edward andreestablished Queen reign Henry's
at Elizabeth after MaryTudor'seffort counterreformation. a and JohnFoxe's Actes MonuAccordingly, I 563 woodcutfrom court preacher, the ments portrays favorite ("The Book ofMartyrs") a Hugh Latimer,delivering sermonbeforeKing Edward froma in Palace (p. at wooden pulpiterected theprivygardens Whitehall woman focuses locationof thesolitary I353; Figure2). The central on attention her readingfromthe Bible duringthe sermon.The of appealfortheliteracy womenas well sceneembodiesan implicit for the as men so thatall people may understand scriptures themfrom second the of selves.The woodcutallegory EdwardVI's reign edition of the "Book of Martyrs"(I570) positionsthreeBibleas women at thesame locationat thebase ofthepulpit, yet reading the woman leads a smallboy witha hobbyhorse through another church door (p. I483; Figure 3). set Both of thesescenesarevariations a vignette intothelower of of of 4), left Foxe's title page (Figure wherethereligion theBook is who preaches divine Wordto a congrethe expoundedby a minister The inset beneath Tetragrammaton. parody the gationofthefaithful inverts the to theright Protestant by gospelworship portraying alin men legedlyfalseRoman service whichilliterate and womentell followed beads oppositea CorpusChristi by their procession rosary his of contrasts a throng vain worldlings (Figure5). Foxe's preface of whichhe styles stirring as accounts thereligious martyrologies, collecof men and women, withtraditional persecutions ordinary intheillustrationsofmiraculous saints' whichthepriest lives,from tionmight read.
'0SeeJoseph Martin, "The Marian Regime's Failureto Understandthe Importance 44 of Printing,"Huntington Library Quarterly, (i98I), 23I-47.

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THE GODLY

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Figure The Image of "True" Religion(title-page 4. and detail).Actes Monuments 563).By permission theHuntington of (i Library.

Figure5. The Imageof "False" Religion(title-page detail).Actes Monuand ments (i563). By permission theHuntington of Library.

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Theemblematic figures the of Godly Woman these in Tudor conscenes of gregational assimilate major two biblical types: Bride the Canticles the and Woman Clothed the (Rev.I2). Theuseof with Sun in suchmodels order construct to a feminine isa long-standing ideal for recur in astradition, they commonly thecomplex iconography sociated withthecultoftheVirgin Mary, wellas in civicpagas eantry celebrating medieval late queens types theBlessed as of Viris newin thesixteenth gin.What century theextension these is of emblems uniqueor special biblical for womenintogeneric types the symbolizing literacy pious and devotion to appropriateallwomankind. ofthese All figures eventually coalesce representations in of as QueenElizabeth a wiseandfaithful queen. The ancient tradition uponherDormition that and (death) Asinto sumption heaven Mary crowned Christ, whom was by with she as rules Regina the of Caeli,liesbehind praise many English queens. in MassinRemembrancethe Crucial texts the of Feast the of Blessed and liturgy the for Feast the link to Virgin the of Assumption her the Bride Canticles, wascommonly of who interpreted the during MiddleAgesandRenaissance an allegorical as figure HolyChurch. for St. in of on Accordingly Bernard Clairvaux, hiseighty-four sermons treats Bridevariously thechurch, individual the as the Canticles, soul,andthe Virgin Mary.1I The role of Mary appears into ambiguous because, assumed heavenand crowned Christ, serves as by she simultaneouslyhis and bride. vision the The of NewJerusalem dowager queen youthful asthe Bride the at wedding ofthe feast Lamb(Rev.21:2) further links moonat the Clothed with Sun,whohasthe the Marywith Woman her andwears crown twelve (Rev.12:i). Asa variant feet a of stars of theapocalyptic woman whoflees the into wilderness pursued the by reddragon, as Mary may seen a type HolyChurch be of under persecution agents Antichrist. of by Epithalamic imagery supplies anyet link other tothe in for found Christ's figures ideal womanhood nuptial parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matt.

the remains Although bride here mysteriously absent, those virgins

I Missale ad usumSarisburiensis (Rouen, I48 (Rostock, I). per CanticaCanticorum I554),

25:1-13).

suG2v-3v,and passim.See Sermones

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their whofill with aretypes wisdom their for in preparedlamps oil nessfor LastDay. the declared queens be to Becauselatemedieval royal iconography coronation and ritual types theVirgin of Mary QueenofHeaven, as as refractions pageantry queens for often praised them contemporary oftheSpouseofCanticles. Marian was approtypology particularly queens were exclusively conpriate prior theTudorage,because to Theywereviewed tradisorts whonever ruled their in ownright. as Virgin, governed tionally royal mediators who,liketheBlessed love. Civicpageantry indirectly means mercy a mother's by of or a role between king conferred them conventional asintercessor upon between Christ the andsubject mirrored that Mary's asmediator role Kingandindividual Christians.12 Thus in theearliest for queen, surviving pageantry an English of which part thei392 London is of of II, entry Richard Anne Bohethat miaformally the ofmediator a penitent for citizenry is plays role and Richard suingan offended sovereign mercy forgiveness. for commemorative in Latin how reports this stylMaydiston's poem confers of izedreconciliation between Richard theCity London and with whosepleading Ahauponthequeenthetype ofEsther, role the 7:2-6) furnishes major suerus behalf theIsraelites on of (Esther As Ribiblical model intercessiona godly for consort. a mediator, by as of the chard's of queenalsoappears a type St. Anne, mother the of celecontext pageantry Blessed Virgin. Despite "Protestant" the she the of intoLondon, was still brating 1533 entry AnneBoleyn 13 Anne. as Virgin Crowned as a type Saint and of praised the evenmore of of an VI, Margaret Anjou,consort Henry provides as instructive of mediator, Henry's reign example queenas royal in marks first of the recorded occurrence speeches civicpageants.
12Protestants werehostile theconception Maryas "mediatrix to of nostra interet ventrix Filium"(Peterof Blois, Sermones, in Patrologia ad completus. Series cursus I2, latina, J.P. Migne,22I vols. [Paris,i844-64], CCVII, 597).See Warner, ed. Myth and Cult, pp. 93, I22-24, I29, and chap. 8, passim; and GordonKipling's forthcoming and of entries civictriumphs. study royal 13 "Concordia:Facta Inter II RegemRiccardum et Civitatem Londinie,"ed. with intro., R. trans., notesby Charles Smith., and Ph.D. Diss. Princeton i972, 11.433-52, 465500, and pp. I04-I05, I07. See also Glynne Wickham, Early EnglishStages 1300 to I66o, 4 vols. (I959), I, 7I. NicholasUdall's verses thecoronation AnneBoon of leynarereprinted John in Nichols,The Progresses PublicProcessions Queen Elizaand of beth, vols. (I788-I805), I, ix-xi. 3

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The coronation their triumph following weddingon 23 April1445 Marof from VulgateBibleto present the used a variety tagphrases as of garet an embodiment Peace modelled upontheFourDaughters ofGod, theWiseandFoolishVirgins, BrideofCanticles, the the and Blessed Virginas Queen of Heaven. Like theVirginMary,whom she imitates, is seen as a mediator she who will bear a godlyroyal 14 (Civic triumphs honorofAnneBoleynwould pay herthe heir. in samecompliment.) Pageantry prepared the1456 royalentry for into Coventry againstressed Queen Margaret's intercessory by prerole her senting in thedragon-killing ofSt. Margaret, female role a variation of the traditional dragon slayerand Britishroyal icon, St.
15 George.

3 The Protestant beliefthatChristis thesole intercessor between of humanand divinecombined withthedoctrine thepriesthood of in all believers leadingto theTudor suppression devotional obof servances of involvingveneration imagesof the VirginMary and saints.Nevertheless iconotraditional iconography often survived in clastic albeit a "desanctified" form altered disguised that or attacks, its relationship medievalprototypes. to Biblicalfigures suchas the FiveWiseVirgins theWomanClothedwiththeSuncouldthereand be as fore treated generic of accessible anywoman, to examples faith forthereformers insisted sainthood all Chrisupon thepotential of tians. Medieval "royal theology"and pietistic topoi praising for monarchsdid survive, however,in linewiththeir claimto headhuman society little as "gods" or agents thedivine.Although of explicit references theBlessedVirginwereeffaced Protestants to by hostile to theMariancult,Elizabeth tookovermanyoftheVirgin's I epithets as partofan effort channel to in traditional devotional forms support of her regime. These titlesinclude Virgin,Bride, Mother,and Queen. Coincidencepermitted celebration thequeen's birthday of on September to supplant feast theNativity theBlessed 7 the of of on the Virgin thenextday. Similarly patriotic celebrations Acceson
forMargaret Anjou: A Medieval of 14GordonKipling,"The London Pageants ScriptRestored," MedievalEnglishTheatre, (1982), 11.9-i6, 36-40, 85-98, I48-55. 4 and Tudor 15Sydney Pageantry Early Policy i969),p. 54. Anglo,Spectacle (Oxford,

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sionDay, November17, displaced traditional the festival St. Elizof abethofHungary.16 The commonplace reading Revelation a prophecy theRefof as of ormation underlies Protestant the interpretationboththeWoman of Clothed withthe Sun and theBride of Canticles figures the as for in "true"church general anyfaithful or Christian, theapocalyptic for woman is seento fulfill millennial expectations discovered Cantiin cles.17 In thewoodcutsattheendofJohn Bale's commentary Revon elation,The Image BothChurches of (Antwerp, I545), theWoman c. ClothedwiththeSun appearsat theleft triumph in overtheSevenheadedBeast on whom theWhoreof Babylon-a demonicparody of theWoman of Faith-ridesat theright (Figure This emblem6). aticpostscript personifies contemporary religious turmoil, Bale's for glossesidentify dualistic the figures, respectively, the"poore peras secuted churche Christe, immaculate of or spowseofthelambe"and the"proudepaynted churche thepope."Just reformers of in as found the apocalyptic woman a typeforliving,contemporary the faith, Scarlet Whorewas readily to adapted polemical attack theChurch on of Rome through transformation hercrownintoa papal tiarain of woodcutsby Lucas Cranach, Hans Holbein,and other Reformation artists (Figure7). These dualistic imagesof the "true"and "false" women of Revelation,including thosein Bale's text,all descend fromAlbrecht Dfirer's pre-Reformation engravings Revelation for Alongsidetheuse oftheapocalyptic womanas a generic embodimentof faith, medievalsaints' imagery often survived fulfill to new the purposes during Reformation. Protestants however, The redid, turn sainthood itsearlyChristian to In association withmartyrdom. New Testament Greektheword [6gQTv,from which"martyr" is a denotes "witness," derived, one specifically who hasbeen"faithful untodeath"(Rev. 2: io). For reformers in sainthood inhered risking
16One prayerin Horae ad usumRomanum (Paris, I497) honors the Blessed Virginas "Imperatrix regina," "Excellentissima regina c[a]elorum," and "Mediatrix dei et hominum" (L7v). See also Roy Strong, The Cult ofElizabeth:Elizabethan Portraiture and Pageantry (1977), p. I25; and Robin H. Wells, Spenser's "FaerieQueene" and theCult of Elizabeth(i983), p. i8. or 17InThe Canticles Balades ofSalomon(I 549),William Baldwin interprets Song the of Songs in line with the contemporaryreading of Revelation as a prophecy of the ProtestantReformationby Martin Luther,Heinrich Bullinger,JohnBale, and many others.

c. (Nuremberg, 1498).

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of than to to rather theworking miritself testify one's faith, evenlife Jacolegendslike of in aclesemphasized medievalcollections saints' Caxton,I483). William (trans. Legend bus de Voragine'sGolden accountof woodcut of Anne Askew's first-hand The title-page underHenryVIII accordingly and herjudicial examination torture of of version theflight the as her presents experience a contemporary 8). (Figure WiththeBiblein woman intothewilderness apocalyptic beforethe Roman dragon her righthand, she standstriumphant wearingits papal tiara.As editorof thistextand theprobabledewith martyr the of Bale identifies Henrician John signer itswoodcut, of the through presence of theapostolictraditions theearlychurch symbolforthe Christian themartyr's palm and a book (an ancient of to FourEvangelists) comparisons Eusebius'account persecuand of tionsby EmperorDiocletian.The quillsymbolic theEvangelists Blanpalm frond. intothe emblematic may have been assimilated in modelforAnneAskew,is presented Ecclesiasdina,Bale's specific tica historia a typeoftheSpouseofChrist I .4i-56). as (5.

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Figure 7. The Whore of Babylon.

Figure8. AnneAskew and thePapal Dragon. The FirstExaminacyon of AnneAskew of (I1546). By peLmission theFolgerShakespeare Library TC (S 848).

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typology theexamination for follows imperial the Bale ostensibly icoin whichwas employed earlyChristian and torture martyrs, of durin martyrologies fashion thanthesensational rather nography, ing the laterMiddle Ages. His epigraphalso cites the Virtuous Woman of Proverbs3I:I0-3 I as model forwisdomand prophetic But a and "Favoureis disceytfull bewtye vaynethynge. a inspiration: She to the woman thatfeareth lordeis worthye be praysed. openeth "18 is and to hermouthe wysdome, inherlanguage thelawe ofgrace. wisdom,Elizabeth female Bale cites, additional as biblical modelsfor as and thewidow Anna,as well as Maryin hercapacity thehuman saint(I, B2v). rather thanmiraculous of mother Christ thathe Bale contends however,thatalthough It is remarkable, of from traditional livesto theexamples "themarsaints turns away (I, of or tyrs theprymatyve Apostleschurche" * 4), his woodcut of of recaststhe well-knowniconography St. Margaret Antioch. palm imagery goes beyondthemartyr's of The survival traditional to St. for dragon slayer, itis standard portray Margaofthemedieval the overor atop thedragonin precisely sameway Bale retstanding the In shows his martyr. a simpleexchange,Anne Askew defeats the witha book rather thanSt. Margaret's defense, signofthe dragon a too, carries book.)19 cross.(OftenMargaret, ofthe WhenBale edited de Godly Medytacyon Marguerite Navarre's Sowle(Weselin theCountyof Cleves, I 548),he pungently Christen as Elizabeth, an intellectranslator, Princess eulogizedtheyouthful trowho "hathstrongly tualdescendent AnneAskew,themartyr of den downe theheadoftheserpent, gonehencewithmostnoble and
2 18Examinations, vols. (Marburg [i.e., Wesel, in the County of Cleves], 1546-47). For a contemporarywoodcut showing Luther's quill reaching from Wittenbergto (St. of History theReformation Louis, i967), p. Rome, see Oskar Thulin, ed., Illustrated and p. Iconography, 49; and KurtWeitzmann,Late Antique 42. See also Grabar, Christian Book Illumination Early Christian (I977), plates 33, 35, 37, and 42. On Bale's role in the pp. Literature, design and transmissionof wood blocks, see King, EnglishReformation

97-98. Legend (1483), B5v-6v. Iconographic variationsof St. Margaret piercing 19Golden the dragon or issuing fromits back, and oftencarryinga cross, appear repeatedlyin stained glass windows, rood screens, carved pews, and manuscriptbooks of hours. Printed woodcuts of St. Margaret defeatingthe dragon illustratethe Golden Legend (Paris, c. (B6v) and the following Roman ritebooks of hours: Horae ad usumRomanum (Paris, 1497), usumRomanum Marie secundum virginis I489), liv; and Hor[a]e intemerate books of hours nIv. Those images adapt conventionalilluminationsfrommanuscript and the original Latin version of Voragine's LegendaAurea (forexample, Huntington
Library MSS HM io88, fol. 8v, and 3027, fol. 76v.

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seede vyctory overthepestyferouse of that of vyperouse worme not of her" The Rome,the gates helle prevaylynge agaynst (F6v). apin woodcut the as Woman of of pearance theprincess thetitle-page and Bibleinhand kneeling before Christ Faith, with (Figure an9),20 as in poetry pagof ticipates praise Elizabeth a learned queen the and Anne LakePrescott an of eantry herreign. proposes, moreover, inseems underlie to Bale'senumerationa lineof triguing that goal of British women the worthy preceding princess (F2v-6v). Following as of Bale Geoffrey Monmouth hisbiographical authority, includes many queens whogoverned their name served regents in own or as their sons'minorities-Gwendolyn, during Cordelia, Cambra, and Martia-aswellasHylda, opponent Saxon the of prelates isalso who in cited Bale's commentary theAskewexaminations. on Prescott that suggests Baleisoffering implicit praise support favor a and in of in role government the for only queen the in land during reign the of
Edward VI, the pious reformer Catherine Parr.21 Bale's sympathy forlearned and queensleadshimto include Beaufort LadyMargaret Elizabethof York, who wererespectively queenmother queen and consort HenryVII. to

4
The fundamental is issueofElizabethan political iconography the constitutional problemof thecapacity a queento govern.Except of forElizabeth'ssister, Mary,priorEnglishqueenswerealwaysconsorts;theyneverruled in theirown right.Elizabeth(and Mary) were, however,queens regnant. Elizabethan iconography had to transform traditional emblems celebrating queensas royalmediators in order to present the queen as an independent monarch.Even as Elizabeth refused emulate father brother "head" to her and though of the English church, her governorship thatbody necessarily of marshalled reformist The of ideologyin support herauthority. setat tlement religious of belief was thechief issuefacing Elizabeth the
20Acontemporarycourtportrait attributed William Scrots (c. I 546) similarly to depicts the princessholding herplace in a book (possibly theNew Testament)and standing beside a lecternholding what appears to be an open Bible. Reproduced in Strong, English Icon, No. i i. 21"The Pearl of the Valois and Elizabeth I: Margueritede Navarre's Miroir and Tudor England," forthcoming Silentbut the Word, MargaretP. Hannay (Kent, in for ed. Ohio, I985).

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beginning her of reign, herjoint and control both of church state and of fusion politics religion. ledtoa thorough and in John Aylmer, an early defense Elizabeth's of governmenta as her as idealwoman ProverbsI but woman, praises notonly the of 3 alsoas the recapitulation ofthree Testament Old heroines: Deborah, and 12Esther a traditional for was as Esther, Judith. type queens conas sorts mediators, in thepageantry Anne Bohemia, and for of but the ofDeborah use the andJudith represents toward a step resolving in victory HoElizabethan over iconographical problem. Judith, her for lofernes type militant (a Catholicism), Deborah, thesole and as female judgeandrescuer Israel of from pagan idolatry, embody triumphal powertraditionally relegated kings. defeating to In Israel's enemies under divine guidance, conform they moreclosely the to traditional ofkings leaders government warrather role as in and than the role subordinate ofqueens mediators. the as Like traditional regal of furnish Deborah Judith and types Moses,David,andSolomon, for models a godly kingdom ruled over a queen. by in Deborah particular the fuses mediatory symbolism medieval of queenswiththeclaimof kingsto ruleas divine agents little or as of "gods."TheHebrew prophetess,thedivinely inspired rescuer from Caananite is Israel idolatry governed forty who for years, a in befigure Elizabeth thetraditional roleofintermediary for regal This tween God andmankind rather between andpeople. than king biblical emblem government woman for claims by recapitulates to providential as governance going backtoMoses,whoserved a type VIII for for Bible(seeFigure Henry inthefrontispiece theGreat i). a as Deborahoccupied major placein royalist propaganda early as Elizabeth's the of on progress through City London I4JanuaryI 559, thedaybefore coronation. pageant her as The of figure Deborah a in crowned which Elizabeth the at conduit queen Parliament, greeted in Fleet Street, explicitly applied thenewqueen chief to the biblical for in with woman accordance precedent government a powerful by divine of scene providence (udges4-5).Thepolitical symbolism the was clarified the presence flanking for of by figures the three of and estates-twonobles,two clergymen, two members the
22An Harborowe[Harbor] for Faithfull and Trewe Subjectes, agaynst late blowne the Blaste,concerninge Government Wemen the of (Strasbourg[or London?], 1559), D2v, G3v. JohnKnox was an exception in the ill-timedwork thatprovoked Aylmer'scounterattack: The FirstBlast ofthe Trumpet the against Monstruous [sic] Regiment Women of (Geneva, I 558).

THE GODLY WOMAN IN ICONOGRAPHY

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commons-for represented they consultation the "for goodgovernof ment Israel" between English the Deborah Parliament. and Juxtaposition this of and scene theprevious tableau, itscontrast with be" presents tween "the & desolate florishing of states a commonweale, as Elizabeth a Protestant heroine willundothe who alleged injustices

23 ofherlateCatholicsister, Mary. Tudor reformers arguedthatElizabeth's accessionto thethrone came aboutas a direct of result divineintervention an apocalyptic in battle against Antichrist, they and this as a meansofshapused belief of ingpublicperceptions thequeenas a living embodiment Protesof tantgodlinessand zeal. Thus Foxe views herin thepreface the to "Book ofMartyrs" a New Constantine as ruling overan idealChristianempire(FigureIO). The ornamental initial of theemperor's C name (Bi) portrays ultimate the victory Crown over Tiara, for of Elizabeth-as theWomanofFaith, seated herthrone carrying on and theSwordofJustice-surmounts toppled the pope,who is entwined withdemonicserpents beneath feet.Occupyingthetraditional her placeofthededication this portrait, woodcutprobably to depicts, the of right thequeen,theauthor, hispublisher, and John Day, as wellas their sponsorat court: William Cecil,LordBurghley. The symbolicdimension thissceneimpliesthatimageshave of power.In thiscasetherepresentationauthority therealm polof in of iticsand religion-theautonomy affirmed theEnglishimperium for and church HenryVIII-and theability appealforpreferment by to and reward, whicharetheonlychannels powerin a courtly to society,areassociated thewoodcut.Although queenwas notoriby the ously reluctant extendpatronage, rewarded apologists. to she her Those who were loyal to herbefore came to thethrone, she espethe ciallyduring dangerous daysofhersister's reign, often received support through crownafter cameto power.Foxe and Bale the she bothreceived prebendaries through good offices suchfavorites the of of the queen as Cecil or MatthewParker, of Archbishop Cantereventhough Foxe alwayseschewed publiccareer. bury,24 a

23The Quenes MajestiesPassage through citie Londonto Westminster dayebefore the of the hercoronacion (155.8/9), D3v-4. Roy Strongobservesof thisentry, Splendour Court: in at Renaissance Spectacle Illusion(I973), thatin "spite of its reformist and ethic,theaesthetic remainedmedieval" (p. 25). Pageantryforthe 1578 royalentry into Norwich recapitulated the coronation tableau when fivecostumed women, includingDeborah (whom God had appointed "for thejudge of his elect") and Judith,greeted Elizabeth. See Nichols, Progresses, Anno 1578, pp. 13-i6. II, 24King,EnglishReformation Literature, 427, 435-36. FrancesYates offers evipp. no

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5.J

XFigure

Elizabethas Transla9. Princess m~m\1 tor. Marguerite Navarre,Godly de Meif: dytacyon Christen (I548). By ofthe Sowle of Lipermission theFolgerShakespeare
brary (STC 17320).

Figure IO. Elizabeth I as Emperor Constantine.Actesand Monuments (I563). By permissionof the Folger ShakespeareLibrary(STC I i222).

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praises C of The iconography thecapital inthe"Book ofMartyrs" the over churchand stateby fusing sword's tradiroyalauthority tionalmeaningofjusticewiththeimageof thedivineWord as the "Sword of the Spirit."The biblicalimagesof the Sword and the years theEnof in Book werecombinedas a royalemblem theearly when Hans Holbein's titlepage borderforthe glish Reformation HenryVIII armedwith CoverdaleBible (Cologne?,IS3S) portrayed before kneeling on the a sword as he confers translation theprelates of figures David withhislyreand St. him (Figurei i). The flanking the Paul armedwitha sword represent Old and New Testaments. typeforkingsin medievaland RenaisDavid was a commonplace when biblicaliconography Roy Strongignores sanceiconography. as imageoftheTudormonarch a this identifies definitive he correctly variantQf the Renaissanceemblem of the Emperorbearingthe refer hispowerinpeaceandwar.25The alluto SwordandBook that in to sionto Paul's Letter theEphesians theswordborneby thesaint royalpowerwiththe"sworde us, shouldalert however,to identify whichis thewordeofGod" (E15h. I7). 6: oftheSpirit,
seie d 13-IL'I0

w?.~~ ~~~ '.

._

...

..

ii. Bible S). Coverdale (IS13 Bypermission Title Page(detail). Figure Holbein

oftheBritish Library.

C initial repremenin thehistoriated of that dencein support herconjecture thethree resemclosely does,however, p. (Astraea, 43). The manattheleft the estates sent three (4V4V); and on ble JohnDay's woodcut portrait the last page of Actes Monuments I, in reproduced Hind,Engraving,plateI3a. and VIII (i967). pp. I4-I5. 25Holbein Henry

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Book or Bibleofevangelical The symbolic is kingship yetanother and political that Reformation traditional religious image apologists to freedof Catholic associations establish Protestant ones in their and place. Emperorssuch as Constantine, Justinian, Charlemagne theBible as a political in modeling on their used symbol imperium the idealofthewiseChristian the Augustinian ruler, "rexiustus pius" et who governsaccording Christian to and mercy principles ofjustice (De civitate V.24). During medievalconflicts dei, withthepapacy, idealwas infused withmillennial for renovatio this yearnings imperial and Davidic kingship.26 The title-page woodcutofJohn Dee's General RareMemorials and to Perfect ofNavigation Arte Pertayningthe is an expanded ver(I577) in sion of theC initial the"Book of Martyrs" (Figure12). Here the queenis againflanked three by menas shenavigates shipidentified a as EuropebyitsGreekinscription themythical and figure Europa of the riding bull. Occasion,personified a woman,stands theforas on tress,while the apocalyptic angel, St. Michael,descendswiththe Protestant emblemsof the sword ofjusticeas well as the royalist shieldof faith, whichbearstheemblemfrom Tudor battle the flag: thebloody Cross of Christ.The royalarmsabove thetitle and the Tudor rosesat either sideunderscore theseclaimsto dynastic legitiThe Tetragrammaton the upper in macy and imperialauthority. corner bestowsdivineblessings theship,whose mastsare on right surmounted thechi-rho Theseinitial Greek letters of by monogram. thename of Christwerefirst adoptedas an imperial emblemwhen added themto theRoman standard. EmperorConstantine Frances Yates rightly observes the that allegory urges Britain "seizeOccato sionby theforelock growstrong sea to strengthen and at Elizabeth's evento makeherthepilotof the 'Imperiall Monarchy'and perhaps "27 'Imperiall Ship'ofChristendom. WhentheBishops' Bible succeeded GreatBible as theofficial the
26SeeNorman Cohn, The Pursuit ofthe Millennium of (I957), p. I 5. On thetradition the emblematic book symbolic of the Bible, see Ernst R. Curtius, EuropeanLiterature and theLatin MiddleAges, trans.W. R. Trask (New York, I953), pp. 3 Io-i I. On the inclusion of imperial portraitsin biblical manuscripts,see Kantorowicz, King's Two Bodies,Figs. 5 and i6a-b. 27For explications of the political symbolism of this woodcut and its motto, "PLURA: LATENT: QUAM: PATENT" ("More thingsare concealed than are revealed"), see Yates, Astraea,pp. 48-5o; and MargeryCorbettand Ronald Lightbown, The ComelyFrontispiece: Emblematic The Title-Page EnglandI55o-i66o (London and in Boston, I979), pp. 48-56.

THE GODLY WOMAN IN ICONOGRAPHY

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titlepages of translation ElizabethanEngland, its iconographical as Biblesinusingthesovereign a nexus lookedbackto theHenrician The and ofauthorship, authority, authorization. woodforsymbols Elizabeth between of edition 568)portrays (i cutfrontispiece thefirst in (reproduced of female personifications Faithand Charity flanking I, Hind, Engraving, plate 33). The epigraphfromRomans i:i6, "Non me pudetEvangeliiChristi. VirtusenimDei est ad salutem beOmni credenti" of ("For I am notashamed theGospellofChrist, beleve"),makes to causeitis thepowerofGod untosalvation allthat of St. it clearthatthequeen completes Paul's triad TheologicalVirVisibleatthe the by tuesby personifying Hope brought gospelfaith. the sechurch, entire parish front Biblesavailableby law in every of familiar the to figures musthavebeenthoroughly riesofmonarchical as The and Englishpopulation imagesof royalpermission control. in woodcut allegory the i569 quartoeditionof theBishops' Bible a by and overchurch state fusing royalauthority (FigureI3) praises iconograwiththeroyalist of figure thequeenas theWomanofFaith monarthe phyoftheSword and theBook. Adopting conventional Holbeinto illustrate chicalpose established whoeverinstructed by in theCoverdaleBible (Figurei i), Elizabeth herroyalmagnificence in as personified thecorof is presented thesummation thevirtues and Mercy,Prudence, Fortitude. nersofthewoodcut:Justice, of intoMercy,thismodificaWiththetransposition Temperance to is oftheFourCardinalVirtues particularly appropriate Elization and Virtues ofJustice Mercy, the bethbecauseit associates Imperial of in the portrayed theactofcrowning queen,withemblems divine by at sidecarries swordlinked the ThusJustice herright revelation. "sacred as to by thereformers theHoly Spirit. Explained Spenser the pledge of peace and clemencie,"the sceptercarriedby Elizabeth by weightsthetableauin thefavorof Mercy,who is identified the at Fortitude virtue.28 Bibleinherhandas thepreeminent emblematic
28FQ, V.ix.30. examto The "Sieve Portrait" (c. I 58o) attributed Cornelius Ketel is an interesting ple of the redefinition a traditionalemblem fortemperance(or intemperance)as a of symbol forimperial majesty. This image of Queen Elizabeth as a Roman Vestal holding a sieve in her lefthand alludes to the legend of Tuccia, the vestal virginwho disproved allegations of unchastityby carryingwater in a sieve without spillinga drop (see Strong, Cult ofElizabeth, plate 3 and p. I 53). Contrast "Nimis Nequid" ("Not Too Much"), with its image of a woman pouring water througha sieve as an emblem and Moderne of Ancient of immoderation, in George Wither, A Collection Emblemes, (I635), Book 4, Illustration 34.

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RTI

F.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I

-;-

Americn RibeDLcityJibrri

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to possibly alluding Samson's carries broken a pillar, thelowerleft brodestructionthe of Philistine i6:29-30); whether TempleJudges The imageof fortitude. is kenor whole,thepillar thetraditional of Prudence the represents synthesis leavesbehind boughoflaurel symbolizing a just and inspiration, as sheholds serpent pagan divine wisdomby allusion Matthew to io:i6: "be ye therefore Christian The as innocent[i.e., harmless] doves."N wise as serpentes, and exbetween truth idealfemininity and spiritual heavyassociation "The the beneath cartouche the containing title tends intotheinset of figures Bible-reading holibible"(Figure The conventional I4). the in in title women front the of pulpit their have source the pagefor to as is Great Bible;all that newis theuse ofElizabethan opposed Henrician apparel.

(detailof FigureI3). Bishop's Bible (i569). By Figure I4. ElizabethI Enthroned of Bible Society Library. courtesy theAmerican of as -9Ontheemblematic ofan embroidered jeweled serpent an emblem use and (c. wisdomon theleft sleeveof Queen Elizabeth the"RainbowPortrait" i6oo) atin 28 of tributed MarcusGheeraerts, Strong, of to see Cult Elizabeth, platei, figure (detail the sleeve), and pp. 50-52. "Prudente Simplicitate" ("Simple-prudentin commonharmelessenesse") Wither's Collection Emblemes of portrays biblical this serpents placewitha caduceusmadeup ofa dove at thetopofa staff twotwining and Maior Fato") and (Book 3, Illustration See Book 2, Illustration ("Prudentia 17). 12 8 Diportraying Book 3, Illustration("Sapientia CustosRerum")for variant emblems vineWisdomor Prudence a serpent. as In TheArte English (Cambridge, of Poesie, Gladys Willcock AliceWalker ed. D. and her 1936), p. 243, GeorgePuttenham states Queen Elizabeth: we commending of "So ... usurpaMajestie wisedome likened totheSerpent.. because common for her by is the tion, nothing wiserthen Serpent."

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details theBishops'Bibletitle of All oftheiconographical pagecothe to alesceto identify queenwithdivine Truth, analogy theFour by Daughters of God derivedfromPsalm 85:8-13: Truth,Mercy, and Peace. The interpretation that of Righteousness Justice), (or Psalm as "a figure Christs of underthewhichshuldebe kingdome, to in perfite felicitie," according theheadnote theGenevaBible,easilypermitted Protestants applythetext theNew Israel Elizato to of bethanEngland.The imagery traditional well-known, is and however, throughmedieval literary works such as Piers Plowman, mystery plays(LudusCoventriae), moralities and (The Castle Perseof verance). Elizabethan royalapologists retained apocalyptic the associationsof a figurethathad been used frequently pageantry in for queenssuchas Margaret Anjou. Allusion theFourDaughters of to of God on thetitlepage of theofficially authorized Elizabethan Bible translation takeson a specialpolitical resonance becausepersonificationsof Mercy,Truth, and Justice, Peace traditionally pleadon behalf manbefore Trinity example, Egerton of the (for the Hoursinthe British Library [MS Egerton2045, fol.25]). Suchiconography was adaptedexplicitly defend to Elizabeth's authority a divineagent as and governor theChurchofEngland. of During theReformation warring creedsidentified Truthrespecwithtraditional When tively orthodoxy thenew Englishchurch. or Elizabeth appropriated the motto of her Catholic sister,Mary Tudor- Veritas Temporis Filia ("Truththe Daughterof Time")thisdevicewas reinterpreted present new queenas a defender to the of Protestantism. Thus herofficial Londonon 14 progress through 1559,thedaybefore coronation, January her carried before Elizabeth a masque-like representation thatmotto.The symbolic of topography of thispageantat theLittleConduitin Cheapsideinvolvedits stagingbetweentwo man-madehills,therespective of vegetation whicheither decaysor flourishes. opposed sitessymbolize the The transition from stateofthecommonwealth the under latequeen the to ("RuinosaRespublica") the anticipated gloryof Elizabeth's reign beneinstituta"). of an artificial betweenthese Out ("Respublica cave hillsemerged scythe-bearing playing a actor Father Time, who led a " as girlcostumed Veritas and wearing inscriptionTemporisfilia, the of thedaughter Tyme." Then thisgirl,cladin whitesilk,presented Elizabethwithan EnglishBible or " Verbum veritatis, woordeof the " trueth.

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and inthe that Although queen actors both participated fiction this was occasion spontaneous, pageant accounts showthat Elizabeth acin tively involved herself preparations suchspectacles, for selection to in and Her tabofcostumes, payments actors.30 collaborationthis and personits encounter between queen the the leau,with reflexive attributed her, butthefirst to is of of ified virtue instance thekind that The self-theatricalization wouldcharacterize entire her reign. seas to throne a rious political purpose dramatizing accession the of her that Protestant observation queenbearsout Stephen Greenblatt's was her "Elizabeth's exercise power closely of bound with useof up
"31 fictions.

was The queen's active participation Cheapside inthe tableau inand tended break to downanydivision the world symbetween real bolic ideals. hadalready as She identified herself Truth remarking by upon the portrayal Time at an earlier of pageant: "Tymehath me the brought hether [sic]."Bykissing embracing scripturesand a response wasactually that written the into scripted account apthat in a peared print onlytendaysafter event-she the provided living enactment theeulogistic of iconography incorporated so many into woodcuts her of reign:
Butsheas soone shehadreceived booke, as the kyssed andwith it, both her handes upthe held same, solaid upon brest, great and it her with thankesthe to citie therfore.

as Shestoodrevealed oneofGod'sFour and Daughters therestorer of "true"religion-astheunification temporal with of authority of word.32 knowledge the Comparison between Elizabeth's emblems pageantry and and those Mary of TudorandMary, QueenofScots, makes clear it that for apologists thereformist queenwereengaged an essentially in Protestant reinterpretation oftraditional royalist iconography. Their
30See David M. Bergeron, EnglishCivic Pageantry (Columbia, S. C., I558-i642 pp. I5 and 20. 31Renaissance Self-Fashioning, i66. An intriguing p. connectionbetween the figure of the Woman of Faithand theElizabethan Settlement Religion in I559 is suggested of by the inscriptionon Hans Eworth's portraitin the succeeding year of an unknown woman: "RATHER DEATHE / THEN FALSE OF FAYTHE." Reproduced in Strong,EnglishIcon. No. 33. 32Quenes MajestiesPassage, C2v-4. On the figureof Time the Revealer, see Erwin Panofsky,Studiesin Iconology: Humanistic Themesin theArtoftheRenaissance (Oxford,
I971),

1939), p. 83.

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of treatment MaryTudor's mottois a casein point.Although Mary for appliedthisslogan( Veritas Temporis Filia)as an argument thevathe lidityof Catholictradition, rescuedby Time fromoppression, Elizabethan pageant subordinates ecclesiastical tradition thefundato mentalProtestant commitment biblicalauthority.33 to Elizabeth's kissing and embracing theEnglishBible couldnotannounce of her religious sympathies moreboldly. Severalyearsearlier, however,Bishop Stephen Gardiner, Mary Tudor's Lord Chancellor,orderedthe censorship a decorated of nichein a crossthat was amongthedecorations thequeen'swedfor faBecauseitdepicted VIII bearing emblem the dingpageant. Henry miliar from symbolic the title pagesoftheCoverdaleand GreatBibles (Figuresi and ii), theEnglishBible,Gardiner it repainted had in orderto cover Verbum andreplace withan innocuous Dei it pairof gloves. The Marian regimethus redefined Tudor inheritance its from HenryVIII and EdwardVI, who was also present that in muall ral,to efface reference Protestant to alterations religion. acin The of ceptability a different tableauthatgreeting Philipand Maryat St. Paul's Cathedral shows thattheCatholicqueenhad no intrinsic obof jectionto portrayal theBible. The arming Veritas of withVerbum Dei there subordinated scriptures church the to tradition, theBifor ble was heldbyTruth alonewithout form royal of intercession.34 any Books symbolizing Reformation ideologyplayed a prominent roleinthemock"triumph" prepared theI56i entry MaryStufor of Thatspectacle artintoEdinburgh. inverted apotheosis the traditionallyusedin praiseofmedieval queensbypresenting Maryrather a as hellish thana heavenly governor mediator. enactment Its onlytwo Elizabethembraced scriptures London may have yearsafter the in to of a suggested members theaudience contrast between England's in "godly" queenand demonicgovernment Scotland a latter-day by Whoreof Babylon.A childcostumed an angelwas loweredon a as the deviceto present Scottish queenwith"ane bybill anepsalme and
33A I555 engraved portraitof Queen Mary bearing this motto is reproduced in Hind, Engraving, Plate 40b. On the polemical reinterpretations thisphraseduring I, of the reignsof Henry VIII and his daughters,see FritzSaxl, "Veritas Filia Temporis," in and Philosophy History:Essays Presented ErnstCassirer, Raymond Klibansky and to ed. H. J. Paton (Oxford, I936), pp. 204-209. See also Donald Gordon, "'Veritas Filia Temporis': Hadrianus Juniusand Geoffrey Whitney," Journal theWarburg Courof and tauldInstitutes, (I939-40), 228-40. 3 34Anglo,Spectacle, pp. 329, 337-38.

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buik"-thePsalms favorite ofEnglish Scottish text and (a Calvinists) andanEnglish Bible.Thesetexts rendered admonian dramatically the citizens Edinburgh their of to tionfrom Presbyterian Catholic a speculum that constitute ruler thescriptures inprincipis providing on her and struction howtogovern land subjects. In placeoftheshowoffealty as central traditional to pageantry, in II's for these texts example Richard London entry, scriptural symdivision a demand bolizepolitical and madeby subjects uponthe to their ruler countenance Protestant According faith. toJohn Knox, "forschame . . couldnotrefuise" Bible,butshe . thequeen the and frowned passed gift toa retainer the on notorious hisCatholic for The of orthodoxy. citizens Edinburgh wouldbe satisfied, however, with nothing than kind faith less the of symbolized the by neighboring English queen's embracing the Bible. The remaining of paginfernal eantrypredicted punishment Mary's allegedidolatry for whenit was eventually ignited a intoflames thatconsumed dragon a from scaffold. alllikelihood spectacle In hanging that alludedto the apocalyptic beast thatthe reformers identified withtheChurchof Rome, thusforcing Maryto playtheroleofitsrider, Whoreof the Babylon,who is consigned God to hellish by flames (Rev. I8:8).35
S

parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matt. 25:I-I3) and the

Traditional iconography praising for queens,and their Elizabethanredefinitions, gathered are together ThomasBentley's in encyclopediccollection scriptural of workson prayer, meditation, and ethical counselwritten either womenor fora female by readership: TheMonument Matrones 582). His division thecollection of (I of into sections entitled seven"Lamps of Virginitie" the conflates imagery of divinewisdom and spiritual illumination drawnfromChrist's

Book of Revelation.The parablecontrasts fivemaidenswho the filled their lamps withtheotherfivewhose lampswereempty; oil onlytheformer wereprepared meetChrist, Bridegroom, to the and celebrate apocalyptic the marriage feast. Instead thewordusedin of
35Anna Mill, Mediaeval J. PlaysinScotland (Edinburgh, I927), pp. i89-9i, and p. n 2. See also GordonKipling's forthcoming study royalentries civictriof and umphs.
i90,

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of Matthew,Xapatdg lamp" or "lantern"), pluralform the the ("oil Greektextof Revelation word XvXviain theoriginal refers literally to theseven-branched lampstand stoodin theouterroomofthe that Temple in Jerusalem. This lampstand Menorahappearsin Heor brew prophetic visionsof heaven.6But in placeof St.Johnof Patmos vision of seven lampstands correspondingto the seven churches Asia thatreplaced TempleforChristians of the (Rev. i:i I and 2o; 2:i), all Tudor translations Revelation of mention "seven golden candlesticks." The opposition theWoman Clothedwith of theSun to thegreat dragon, red whosesevenheadsparody vision the ofthesevenlampstands (Rev. I2), fuses withtheFiveWiseVirher ginsin a complexskeinof apocalyptic imagery, sourceofwhich the is theunionof theBridegroom and Spouse celebrated Canticles. in The sevencandlesticks Revelation related of and imagery from Canticlesare hardly Tudor, butBentley and hisillustrator assumecontemporary readings bothtextsas Reformation of in prophecies apsuchimagery Queen Elizabeth a figure providential plying to as for guidance and wisdom.37 The emblematic titlepages introducing first the fivesections of Bentley'scollection, of whichconcern all "praier and meditation," employiconographic lampsrelated theprophetic to lampstand. With theroyalarmsat thetop, thewoodcutat thebeginning volume of one (Figurei 5) praises Queen Elizabeth, recipient theauthor's the of as dedication, a contemporary embodiment theSpouse ofCantiof cles, who standsat thebottomcarrying Menorahand an open the Bible. The entire collection withitsemblematic images designed is as an appealforcourt patronage Bentley, student Gray'sInn.Alby a at lusionto theBride'svirginity a compliment Elizabeth is to and her unmarried statethatechoes thereference his titleto the "seven in severallLamps of Virginitie." The epigraph("Watch," "Praye," "Take Heed") similarly epitomizes concern preparedness the for associatedwiththecomposite figure theWomanof Faith.The upof per insetsflanking titleportray paradigmatic the the women, Eve and Mary,whilethelowerinsets portray FiveWiseVirgins the initially the greeting Bridegroom then and amongcelestial flames. The
36A. E. Harvey, Companionto theNew Testament (Oxford and Cambridge, I970), PP.
791-92.

37Forexample, see Dfirer'sengravingsforRevelation (Nuremberg, 1498) and note I7, above. The Geneva Bible includes an illustration a seven-branched of candlestand at Exodus25:3 I .

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vertuous "made by sundrie Queenes,"thewoodcutforthe"Second Elizabeth theupperleft at Lampe ofVirginitie" (Figurei6) associates withQueen Esther(Hester)from Old Testament theroyal the and authors contemporary of devotional worksdrawnout of thescriptures:CatherineParr and Marguerite Navarre.The enthroned de skeleton thebottomsymbolizes universality death, levat the of the elerof queens and commoners, as theskeleton just from the rising graveat thebase of thesucceeding woodcut(FigureI7) epitomizes theChristian of promise salvation. The title page ofthe"ThirdLampe" links Elizabeth, who still ocbiblical cupiestheplaceofhonorat thetopleft, thefamiliar to types forregnant The lasttwo illustrations queens: Deborah andJudith. varythe same formula. The "FourthLampe" associates queen the with the prophetesses Hulda and Anna. The inclusion Susanna, of whose unjustaccusation adultery for prefigured Christians for the tribulations the"true"church, of a suggests possible allusion Elizto Anne Boleyn,through abeth'smother, association withSt. Anne, the motherof Mary. Protestant apologists such as JohnFoxe and JohnAylmerrehabilitated HenryVIII's secondwifebecauseof her and allegedfriendship support reformers. of Praiseof AnneBoleyn as thedivineinstrument thebreakwithRome therefore for becamea conventional reformist compliment her daughter, reigning to the monarch.38 The "FiftLampe" includesElizabethamong biblical associatedwith spiritual renewaland resurrection: types Martha, Abishag,and thewidow ofZarephath. the tradition of Bentleydemonstrates existence a Reformation of in learnedqueens through sequential the publication the "Second de of Lampe" ofMarguerite Navarre's"A GodlieMeditation theinwardlove ofthesouletowards Christ Lord" in thetranslation our of Miroir l'amepecheresse de made by Elizabethas princess; two devo38Aylmerstates: "Was not Quene Anne the mother of this blessed woman, the and only cause of banyshingthe beast of Rome, with all his beggerlybagchief,first, for FaithfullSubjectes,B4v); see also Foxe, Actes and Monuments gage?" (Harborowe
(i563), 2A2v.

emblematic lampsand allusions scriptural to lampsproliferating divine illumination possithe throughout illustration symbolize and, vision. bly, prophetic to queen woodcuts Succeeding develop Bentley's complimentthe herwith women from Bibleandrethe byjuxtaposing outstanding centhistory. way of introduction prayers meditations By to and

THE GODLY

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or Parr; writings "last tional texts Catherine anda setofdeathbed by because (Dudley). particular Of interest words"byLady Jane Grey allusion theiconography theGodlyWoman the are of their to of queenwhose homiletic writings JaneGrey,the fourteen-day of imto the hegemony aborted reign intended preserve Protestant was EdwardVI: a prayer an uttered before execution, her posedunder devotional exhortation hersister to written a New Testament, into of as at time her verses, a version Psalm spoken a prayer the and of 5i death. of appeared a separate in edition yet Thesewritings originally had Man ofthe to another evangelical AnEpistle LadyeJanea Learned text, Christian image herself "a true of as (London?, 1554). Jane Grey's of assimilates experience that the her to woman"self-consciously ofCanticles the and Woman atwith Sununder Clothed the Spouse from whoore Babilon" Roman in tack "the or church. Similarly, of to as committing New Testament hersister a modelfortrue her (and to Grey's experience byexfaith, accommodates Catherine she readChristian) counsel apocalyptic the of tension ofanyfaithful that of Wise Virgins, "for lest lacke oyle iness from parable the the of Five like five wemen"(A2, A8v, B7-8).The yebeefounde the folishe B5, to the weaving so manyreferences theWiseVirgins, Woman of withtheSun,andtheSpouseofCanticles both into Jane Clothed
and theemblematic Monutitlepages of Bentley's Grey'swritings for ment the of iconography demonstrates wide currency traditional England.39 queensin Reformation Parr'splace of honorin theMonument an indirect Catherine pays to As Queen Elizabeth. HenryVIII's compliment herstepdaughter, for lastwifeand dowagerqueen,shedeveloped reputation learning a for and piety.More thananyone elseshewas responsible Elizabeth's humanistic educationin classicallanguagesand theBible, and the in meditations dedicated translation Marguerite's her of princess turn as to herstepmother a New Year gift.40 Catherine Bentley reprints
kisses theecin Christ's receiving as Marguerite a WiseVirgin 39Verses celebrating bridalcouchare contained Annae, Margaritae, in Janae, sororum stasyof theheavenly her of memorializing (Paris, i55o), thecollection 104 Latindistichs Hecatodistichon Duke of EdwardSeymour, of Protestant by deathprepared thedaughters staunchly "Pearl EdwardVI. See Prescott, of and Protector theRealmunder Somerset one-time oftheValois." K. 36, MS 4OBodleian Library, Cherry dated3i DecemberI544. See James Mcreginae, divae MargaritaeValesiae,Navarrorum Anglarum, mortem in heroidum virginum,

THE GODLY WOMAN IN ICONOGRAPHY

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the unto Parr'sPrayers Stirryng Mynd Heavenlye Medytacions (I 545) and The Lamentacion a Sinner 547) in the"Second Lampe." Drawn of (I respectively from Thomas'aKempis'ImitationChrist thescripof and manualsfunction supplements Bible as to tures,thesemeditative study. The designation thesetexts use in themeditations noble of for of in womenplacestheauthor thetradition Marguerite, theaffirand of mationin thelatter volumeof thedoctrine justification faith of by lendsa Protestant alone tenor Catherine's to thought McConica, (see pp. 229-30). Catherine's praise Henry of VIII as "our Moyses,"who hasled an Exodus outofthe"captivitie bondageofPharao"(i.e., and a thePope), impliesthathe initiated continuing of process religious reform (Lamentacion [I547], Ei). Such praiseincorporates royalist iconography descending fromthe titlepage forthe GreatBible, whichportrays kingin theupperright a latter-day the as Moses rethe ceiving Law from God (Figure The interplay i). between queenly textand kingly imagesuggests thatthesymbolic visionof England as God's electnation,Israel,was commonplace theReformation at court.When the reformers transferred typological this conceitto Queen Elizabeth, theycombined withthefavorite it comparison to Deborah, the woman who interpreted Law as theonly female the Judgeto succeedMoses andJoshua. of The existence a specialrelationship between Elizabeth her and is of at stepmother suggested theapotheosis Catherine found by Parr theend ofthe"ThirdLampe" (Figurei 8), whichmodifies royal the of iconography theFour Virtuesfoundin the I569 Bishops' Bible (compareFigureI3). At thesametimeit returns thefunereal to imagerycharacteristic pageantry latemedieval of for queens.The 1445 coronation of triumph Margaret Anjou, forexample,concludes of witha prophecy her gloriouscoronation Christafter of by death. Her assumption a heavenly as queen is modelledexplicitly the on BlessedVirginand the"mulier amictasole" (WomanClothedwith theSun) ofRevelation 2.41 I The elaborate woodcutoftheAssumption Catherine of Parrconunder and Politics HenryVIII andEdwardVI (OxConica,EnglishHumanists Reformation ford, I965), pp. 2I3-I6. " 41 11. for of "LondonPageants Margaret Anjou, ed. Kipling, 148-63.

THE GODLY

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tains,in clockwiseorderfrom upperleft, fourCardinalVirthe the tues personified women:Justice, as Prudence(or Wisdom),Fortitude, and-instead of Elizabeth's Imperial Virtue of Mercyin may refer the to Temperance.The mirror thehandof Prudence function prayeras a means of contemplation "speculation" of or Catherine (from Lat. speculum, "mirror"), operations concerned that Parrvitally.(Marguerite Navarre'sMiroir reflects soul.) the de also fulfillThe scene withinthe cartouche represents iconographic the mentoftheParableoftheFiveWiseVirgins theprophecy the of and Woman ClothedwiththeSun, portraying below thefalloftheRoParr. manBabylonat thetimeoftheascent intoheavenofCatherine while At thetopshereceives crownofglory theSpouseofChrist a as side trumpeting angelsand theWiseVirgins salute her.On either of Christ thetraditional are emblems theFourEvangelists-winged of ox andlion,cherub, eagle-and, abovehishead,thesevenlamps and ofRevelation alludedto in thesubtitle Bentley's of MonumentMaof trones. the of conAlthough praise learned queensmayhaveno apparent nectionto King David and King Solomon,who appearabove the to and WiseVirgins theleft right, bothfigures alludeto thepowerof divineinspiration wisdom referred in the emblemsof the and to as Evangelists well as thelampsin theMonument's woodcuts.David and Solomon are commonplace iconogtypes kingsin medieval for as raphy, wellas in courtly celebrating art Henry VIII andEdwardVI as monarchs sympathetic theReformation. to Many of theprayers and meditations throughout Bentley's collection drawndirectly are from Psalmssymbolized thelyre the by withwhichDavid accompai niedhisown songsofdivine praise (compare Figure i). The book in Solomon's hand alludesto his reputation the authorof biblical as Wisdom,and wisdom literature including Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, His Ecclesiasticus. allegedauthorship Canticles theSong ofSoof or lomon is particularly of becauseit supplies figure the the important role Spouse,which,as we haveseen,playssucha prominent inElizabethaniconography the Godly Woman. Separately of printed editionsof these"Books of Solomon" therefore the fostered mythof thewise and godlyruler. Bentley's praiseof Elizabeth theNew Solomonnotonlyrecaas pitulates mid-century praiseof EdwardVI as theYoung Solomon,

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thewise Christian rulerwho succeededDavidic HenryVIII, but it also identifies withtheBrideof Christ theChurch.(Henry, her or as of The too, was praised a type Solomon.)42 ambiguity suchimof when one notesthattheBrideof Christrefers ageryis clarified to the queens,who until mid-Tudor had period beenno morethan consorts,whereasthe New Solomon is characteristic kings.This of the doublingup of genderrolesreflects concept "theking'stwo of Elizabeth mirrors Spousein herregalcapacthe bodies,"43 whereby ityas womanatthesametimethat projects Solomonic she the roleof ruler. kingas a constitutional of Idealization Elizabeth a latter-day as Solomonbeganas early as the i 560 appealin theepistle theGenevaBible that fulfill of his she God's "spiritual exampleby erecting Temple"inEngland; Temthe ple of Solomon was a commonplace for figure the "true" church the during Reformation. the Accordingly section that Bentley entitled "The Kings Heast, or Gods familiar speechto the Queene" (Div) presents Elizabethas theDaughterof God, Brideof Christ, and millennial ruler underwhomEnglandas God's electnation will flourish injusticeand peace,whicharetraditional attributes Soloof mon's reignalong withhis fabulous wealth, wisdom,and devotion to true Mention theHeavenly of religion. Cityreflects long-standing "I apocalyptic imagery: will bringto passe thatthoushaltenjoiea stablepeace,and suretranquillitie, that and thoushaltseeJerusalem so flourishing long as thou doest live" (2E4v). Drawn out of the Psalms of David, "The Queenes Vow, or selfe-talke with God"
420n the royalisticonographyof David and Solomon at theTudor court,see King, EnglishReformation Literature, pp. i6i, 176-77. Hans Holbein's miniatureof Henry VIII as Solomon (c. 1535) may symbolize the subjectionof the churchto theking during the ReformationParliament,forhe receivesthe homage of the Queen of Sheba, a conventional type forthe church. See Queen's Gallery,Buckingham Palace, Holbein and theCourtofHenryVIII (London, 1978), No. 88. JamesI was also seen as theNew Solomon, as in FrancisBacon's dedicationsto CertaineConsiderations touching better the pacification Edification theChurch England and of of (i604) and Instauratio magna(i620), as well as thetextof A Briefe Discourse, Touching the Happie Unionofthe Kingdomes ofEngland, Scotland and (i603), C4. FlorenceSandlersets forth biblical bases forthe Stuartcultof sacralkingshipin "Icon and Iconoclast," in the Achievements theLeftHand: Essays on theProseofJohn of Milton,ed. Michael Lieb and JohnT. Shawcross (Amherst,Mass., I974), pp. i6o-84. 430n the redefinition this famous constitutional of toposduring Elizabeth's reign, see Marie Axton, The Queen's Two Bodies:Drama andtheElizabethan Succession (I977).

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the between human divine yet and in an(2E4) completes dialogue of other example prayer meditation and witha godly associated queen.
6

A memorial of portrait Queen Elizabeth Crispin by van de Passe the Elder (Figurei9) represents finalrevision the Woman of a of Faithas a royalicon. The Tudorarmsandthecomplete of regalia the gem-encrusted queen-crown, orb,andscepter-refer hersecular to and might authority just as the motto "Posui Deum Adiutorem Meum" ("I have madeGod myhelp") alludesto herroleas a divine instrument. personification theImperial Her of Virtues ofJustice and Peace mirrors biblical the iconography theSwordandtheBook to of her left,which are respectively termed"JUSTITIA" and "VERBUM DEL." Although conjunction theseemblemssuggests the of theequivalence ofJustice Mercy, reference "Misericordia" and the to in theinscription thequeen'sright at implies that latter theprethe is eminent royalvirtue. The capital inthis letters phrase, "Mortuaanno MlserlCorDlae" ("Died in theyearofMercy"),contain anagram an fortheyearofherdeath:MDCIII or i603. The balanced reference to thedateof herbirth Greenwich Id. Sept.or 7 September at (6 I533) to theleftcompletes portrait a symbolizing entirety herlife, the of frombirthto death,and a reignthroughout conceivedof as the worldlyembodiment the millennial of virtues Justice, of Mercy, and Righteousness, Peace. Thatthequeenwas bornon theeve ofthe of Nativity theBlessedVirgin then and diedon 24 March,theeve of Mary'sAssumption intoheaven,was to reformers incontrovertan ible markof providential intervention. Fittingly, royalemblem this recapitulates iconographical themesthatcan be tracedback to the coronationpageantry welcomingthe godly queen and to earlier praise of the pious princess.Even more than the apotheosisof Catherine Parr,thislifelike imageofElizabeth incorporates topos the ofresurrection secondlife a manner and in appropriate theimmorto of tality themonarch's royal The body.44 queenappears ifshewere as still aliveand at thecenter power. of
Bodies,chap. 7, passim.

44Wells, Spenser's "Faerie Queene," pp.

19-20.

See also Kantorowicz, King'sTwo

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THE GODLY WOMAN IN ICONOGRAPHY

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7 of The biblicaliconography theWoman of Faithand its royalist on the complement, Sword and theBook, had broadimpact thelitIn theAprilEcloguein The and artoftheElizabethan period. erature imagassimilates Calender 579),forexample,Spenser (I Shepheardes or and emblems Prudence Wisdominto of eryof theWise Virgins cites for praiseofElisa as a figure thequeen.E. K. 's commentary the for as and bay branches olive boughsborneby herretinue symbols bring the respectively and ofJustice Mercythat Virtues theImperial in of Conquerors"and government "Peace and triumphs "myghty zealously quietnesse" (glosses to 11.104, 123-24). Spenserinfuses and of pasbiblicallanguageintotheconventions language classical Elisa to the allusionsto CanticlesthatlinkEngland's toralthrough Spouse ofChrist.45 sevcontains of Queene The recurrent royaltypology TheFaerie Fidelia(thepersoniof eralvariations theWomanofFaithincluding and of fication Faith),Una, Britomart, Mercilla.Despite herbare of evenBelphoebeis a variation evankneesand noticeable breasts, Canin of Liketheportrait Cynthia theMutability gelicaltypology. imfusion paganDiana andbiblical of tos, sheembodiesa syncretist the to to dedication Elizabeth, Letter Raleigh,and Spenser's agery.46 idealized aboveall these hisvarious females, poemsmakeitclearthat different imagesofEngland'squeenandhervirrepresent Gloriana, tues. faith life symin The primacy Protestant devotional ofindividual lies bolized by thesefemaletypecharacters behindthe Redcrosse in Knight'sindoctrination theHouse of Holiness(FQ, I.x), where his tutorFidelia is older than her sistersSperanza ("hope") and the births The orderoftheir reflects Protestant Charissa("charity"). in accordance to withSt. Paul's Letter and of reordering charity faith that determined theelectare MartinLuther theRomans,whereby belief rather thanthosegood on spiritual justified thebasisofinward of worksin theoutwardworld thatwerethefoundation medieval
45L. StaleyJohnson, "Elizabeth, Bride and Queen: A Study of Spenser's April EcSpenser 2 logue and the Metaphors of English Protestantism,' Studies, (i98I), 8X-X83. 46FQ, IIiiia.2-28 and notes. A Dutch engravingof Elizabethas bare-breasted Diana Plate i oa. defeatingthe Pope is reproducedin Yates, Astraea,

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allesalvation theology. WhenSpenser designed Reformation the gory found Book One ("TheLegend Holiness"), patterned in of he for with Sun. the after Woman the Clothed Una, hisfigure Truth, an Herdemonic parody, harlot the Duessa,wears ostentatious papal and Whore Babylon.47 of tiara brandishes golden ofthe the cup The emblematic in of Book found earlier portraits female parishas ioners, Anne Askew, Catherine andElizabeth both Parr, princess
of in and queen survives some of Spenser's faithful women.Instead a and actually carrying Bible, Una characteristically proverbs voices admonitions drawnfrom scriptures. Reformation insistence the The on theaccessibility vernacular of of translations theBibleas thebasis is ofspiritual education typified by continuous allusion biblito both cal textsthroughout "The Legendof Holiness"and by therelation between two emblematicbooks. Although Redcrosse presents PrinceArthur with "his Saveourstestament" (evidently New the Testament), former the knight as yetunableto readand underis as standthescriptures a modelforhumanaction(I.ix.i9). He must first undergothe courseof instruction the House of Holiness, in whereonly Fidelia,bearing same "sacredBooke," can provide the in instruction fundamental truths: "Of God, of grace,ofjustice,of free will" (I.x. i9). Rather than undermining Protestant the notion of "everyonea priest"thisallegory personifies role of individual the in faith theunmediated relationship between believers God. and The description Mercillain Book Five ("The LegendofJusof the of tice")personifies Imperial Virtue Mercyas thedefining of trait Elizabeth'sgovernment an idealruler. as The description theenof throned queen and herregaliareduplicates imageof thedevout the queen in herpresence chamber, whichoften appeared woodcuts in and on coinsoftherealm:
Thusshedidsitinsoverayne Majestie, in Holdinga Scepter herroyall hand, The sacred of pledge peaceandclemencie, With which her highGod hadblest happie land, which withstand. did Maugreso many foes, her Butatherfeet swordwas likewise layde, rusted bright the Whoselongrest steely brand;
pareFigure 7.
47FQ, I .ii. I 3 andI.viii.I4. See also glosses Rev. I 7 intheGeneva to Bible,andcom-

THE GODLY WOMAN IN ICONOGRAPHY

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as or ayde, Yetwhen foes sought enforst,friends it dismayde. Shecould sternely that the draw, all world
(V.ix.30)

which thoroughly is majesty, imageofElizabethan This definitive and capitalC in Foxe's Actes Monuments familiar from illustrated the can back to and Crispinvan de Passe's memorial portrait, be traced Bibles and theBishops'Bible. Wilthetitlepages of theHenrician liamNelson treats swordas a symbol a peaceful for Mercilla's rusted of and godlyreign.48 Like all suchsymbols, course,theimageis an apparently of power,and likeElizabeth's idealizedfiction sovereign theBible during coronaher kissing and embracing of spontaneous the tionprocession, concealsthepolitical it deliberation lying behind by Duessa,who was thought outward of display royalmagnificence. JamesI of England)to be his mother, JamesVI of Scotland(later Mary Stuart,is condemned"for vyld treasons,and outrageous oft (V.ix.40). Whichsheagainst dredMercilla didframe" the shame,/ and Mercillaweeps, yetDuessa standscondemned dies. The queen its of Mercycan alwayswield herSword ofJustice, despite rust.49 of The multivalences Spenser's of the versecouldexplore dynamics not political powerin a manner possiblein visualiconsof royalauand to exploited thosepossibilities Elizabeth's thority, he evidently satisfaction: awardedhim an annuity fifty she of pounds (a munisum forthat age). ficent 8 to was opinionthat Reformation hostile the Despitethetraditional led literature thearts, attack traditional the on Catholic images to and
News, I 8 48"Queen Elizabeth, Spenser's Mercilla, and a Rusty Sword," Renaissance discipleof Spenser,does away I13-I7. Although Milton, a self-acknowledged with royalist associations in a work like Comus (i634), the Lady incorporatesthe Woman Clothed with the Sun as a figureforthe testingof Truthduringexile into the century Reforthe wilderness. Her temptationby Comus carriesinto the seventeenth mation use of the ideal woman as a typeforChristianwisdom and faith. as 49Thisimage is contradictory, JonathanGoldberg conjecturesinJamesI and the
(i965),

(Baltimore, Contemporaries andTheir Shakespeare, Donne, Jonson, Politics Literature: of

decorum thatdivides theofficial thetraditional i983), p. 4, only ifone misunderstands public actions from the private feelingsof the monarch. On this point see Kantoro-

passim. wicz,King'sTwoBodies,

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a countervailing of woodcutartthatanencouragement Protestant for miniatures the fashion emblematic ticipated late Elizabethan at thesame timethat justified imposition royalauthority it over the of and in bothchurch state.Politics patronage and intertwine theuse of thescriptural of for archetype theWomanof Faithas an argument universal literacy theparticipation womenindevotional as and of life to of equals to menprior theexpansion that imageintotheembodiment of imperialmajestyand the principle government of by woman. The conjunction powerful of in ideological forces resulted Bibletranslations printed and bookscelebratingProtestant a dynastic succession. The cultofElizabeth thelater in sixteenth century actuis ally a reincarnation the iconography late medievalqueensas of of well as a carefully orchestrated manipulation thedoctrine royal of of supremacy thecircleof courtiers, by writers, artists, preachers and who operatedundertheaegis of HenryVIII and Edward VI. The biblical style Reformation of kingship dominates early the iconograof phyofthereign Queen Elizabeth prior itseclectic to infusion into herveneration a classicized as virgin: Astraea, Diana, or eventheRomanVestal.
BATES COLLEGE