Early Modern Literature in History General Editors: Cedric C. Brown, Professor of English and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Reading; Andrew Hadfield, Professor of English, University of Sussex, Brighton Advisory Board: Donna Hamilton, University of Maryland; Jean Howard, University of Columbia; John Kerrigan, University of Cambridge; Richard McCoy, CUNY; Sharon Achinstein, University of Oxford Within the period 1520 1740 this series discusses many kinds of writing, both within and outside the established canon. The volumes may employ different theoretical perspectives, but they share an historical awareness and an interest in seeing their texts in lively negotiation with their own and successive cultures. Titles include: Andrea Brady ENGLISH FUNERARY ELEGY IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY Laws in Mourning Martin Butler (editor) RE-PRESENTING BEN JONSON Text, History, Performance Jocelyn Catty WRITING RAPE, WRITING WOMEN IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND Unbridled Speech Dermot Cavanagh LANGUAGE AND POLITICS IN THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY HISTORY PLAY Danielle Clarke and Elizabeth Clarke (editors) THIS DOUBLE VOICE Gendered Writing in Early Modern England James Daybell (editor) EARLY MODERN WOMEN S LETTER-WRITING, 1450 1700 Jerome De Groot ROYALIST IDENTITIES John Dolan POETIC OCCASION FROM MILTON TO WORDSWORTH Tobias Döring PERFORMANCES OF MOURNING IN SHAKESPEAREAN THEATRE AND EARLY MODERN CULTURE Sarah M. Dunnigan EROS AND POETRY AT THE COURTS OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS AND JAMES VI Andrew Hadfield SHAKESPEARE, SPENSER AND THE MATTER OF BRITAIN
William M. Hamlin TRAGEDY AND SCEPTICISM IN SHAKESPEARE S ENGLAND Elizabeth Heale AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND AUTHORSHIP IN RENAISSANCE VERSE Chronicles of the Self Pauline Kiernan STAGING SHAKESPEARE AT THE NEW GLOBE Arthur F. Marotti (editor) CATHOLICISM AND ANTI-CATHOLICISM IN EARLY MODERN ENGLISH TEXTS Jean-Christophe Mayer SHAKESPEARE S HYBRID FAITH History, Religion and the Stage Jennifer Richards (editor) EARLY MODERN CIVIL DISCOURSES Sasha Roberts READING SHAKESPEARE S POEMS IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND Rosalind Smith SONNETS AND THE ENGLISH WOMAN WRITER, 1560 1621 The Politics of Absence Mark Thornton Burnett CONSTRUCTING MONSTERS IN SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA AND EARLY MODERN CULTURE MASTERS AND SERVANTS IN ENGLISH RENAISSANCE DRAMA AND CULTURE Authority and Obedience The series Early Modern Literature in History is published in association with the Renaissance Texts Research Centre at the University of Reading. Early Modern Literature in History S e r i e s S t a n d i n g O r d e r I S B N 9 7 8-0 - 3 3 3-7 1 4 7 2-0 (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England
Shakespeare s Hybrid Faith History, Religion and the Stage Jean-Christophe Mayer Senior Research Fellow French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
Jean-Christophe Mayer 2006 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2006 978-0-230-00525-9 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-28197-8 ISBN 978-0-230-59589-7 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230595897 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mayer, Jean-Christophe. Shakespeare s hybrid faith : history, religion, and the stage / Jean-Christophe Mayer. p. cm. (Early modern literature in history) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-349-28197-8 1. Shakespeare, William, 1564 1616 Religion. 2. Christianity and literature England History 16th century. 3. Catholics England History 16th century. 4. Christian drama, English History and criticism. 5. Historical drama, English History and criticism. 6. Religion in literature. I. Title. II. Series: Early modern literature in history (Palgrave Macmillan (Firm)) PR3011.M39 2006 822.3 3 dc22 2006043227 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06
For Hélène, Jacqueline and Paul, Marie-France and Claude, with love
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Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements viii ix Introduction: Shakespeare s Hybrid Faith 1 1 Theatre, Witchcraft and the Crisis of Faith in King Henry VI, Parts 1 and 2 14 2 Acting the Insubstantial in King Richard III 40 3 Religious Conscience and the Struggle for the Succession in Richard II 59 4 So mak st thou faith an enemy to faith : Religion, Propaganda and Dreams of National Unity in King John 77 5 The Discovery of a Popish Plot? The Chamberlain s Men and the 1601 Essex Rising 102 6 Revisiting the Reformation: Shakespeare and Fletcher s King Henry VIII 130 Conclusion 152 Notes 156 Bibliography 207 Index 222 vii
List of Figures 1 Extract of PRO SP12/278/98 111 2 Close-up of allusion to the play [Henry IV] 112 3 Charles Percy to Mr Carlington, 27 December (1600), PRO SP12/275/146 114 viii
Acknowledgements Illustrations for the cover of the book and for Chapter 5 are reproduced by permission of the National Archives (UK). Some of the material used in Chapter 3 was previously published in Bulletin de la Société d Études Anglo-Américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles 59 (2004), edited by A. Crunelle Vanrigh, while part of Chapter 6 appeared in Reformation & Renaissance Review 5.2 (2003), edited by P. Ayris and published by Equinox. I am grateful to the editors and publishers of both these journals for permission to adapt this material here. This project would never have been completed without the warm and unfailing support of Charles Whitworth, Director of the Institute for Research on the Renaissance, the Neoclassical Age and the Enlightenment (IRCL) at the Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier, who encouraged me and kindly agreed to cover many of my research expenses. I am also greatly indebted to those among my colleagues, friends and family who read the manuscript, in part and for some, in whole, and came up with invaluable suggestions and useful corrections. These are: Jean-Marie Maguin, Nick Myers, Yves Peyré and Jacqueline Mayer, my mother. All remaining errors or misconceptions are of course my own. I should also like to thank Professor Cedric Brown and Professor Andrew Hadfield for believing in the project and for agreeing to publish the book in their series. I am especially grateful to Andrew Hadfield for his kind support both during and after the evaluation process. Special thanks are also due to Palgrave s anonymous external reader for the very generous report and all the extremely judicious suggestions, which I have tried to follow to the letter. My heartfelt thanks go to Jacqueline and Paul Mayer for their enthusiasm and constant support and to Marie-France and Claude Morzadec for looking after me so well during the writing of this book and for those wonderful Brittany vistas! Hélène Morzadec, my partner, was her usual self comforting and good-humoured. ix