Despite the ongoing work on Mary I, the perception of England’s first crowned queen regnant in still in transition. Schutte and Hower’s volume, the first of two, is another part of the lively scholarship which highlights the need for further interaction with Mary I and her legacy. This volume stretches from Theresa Earenfight’s contribution concerning Catherine of Aragon’s lessons of queenship to her daughter to Eilish Gregory’s analysis of the Marian legacy during the Popish plot. The work is divided into five themes; ‘Consort and Regnant’, ‘Rise and Representation’, ‘Constructing Kingship’, ‘Material Manifestations’ and ‘Memory and Myth’. Overall, this volume is thought-provoking, and the themes, though not new, have been reimagined.
It is worth noting that this volume was produced during the pandemic. Thus the contributors relied on digital resources and did not have the opportunity to engage with the full range of primary material which may have been otherwise utilised. To give one possible example of this, in chapter one, Earenfight confirms the argument that Catherine ensured her daughter was educated to be a queen consort if not regnant. Though this chapter is excellently written, Earenfight does not add anything substantially new for those who are already aware of Catherine’s role in shaping Mary’s queenship. However, this chapter is still an enjoyable read and is valuable to those who are not familiar with the relationship between mother and daughter.
In addition to Earenfight’s contribution, the other part of the ‘Consort and Regnant’ section is Baca’s exploration of the material aspects of Mary’s rule, an avenue that has begun to gain recognition among scholars. Baca’s chapter is notable for offering direct engagement with the physical attributes of queenship through the examination of the great seal. Baca argues that though Mary followed her brother and father’s portrayal by being enthroned, the fleur de lis sceptre found on the obverse of her first seal symbolises femininity for it is the queen’s sceptre. However, Baca’s discussion on the second seal design is potentially misleading: it does not state that the design was created in 1556, leaving the reader to possibly assume that the seal was produced soon after Mary’s marriage to Philip II of Spain (1554). Baca concludes with the view that on the seal Philip is shown to be the dominant partner, a view which is questioned by this reviewer. However, Baca admits she only examined one seal dating before her marriage which was damaged, and a nineteenth century drawing of the second. It is assumed the pandemic contributed to this unfortunate case for a wider range of samples of the great seal may have altered her analysis.
The second section examines first-hand accounts of the reign. Courtney Herber explores writers such as Antonio Guaras and G.F. Commendone to discuss Mary’s accession. Herber illuminates these characters in an engaging way by comparing their accounts. Valerie Schutte follows with a contribution on the ballads produced in 1553. Schutte begins by acknowledging the failure of academics to examine these sources due to the lack of interest. She successfully guides the reader through a number of pamphlets and ballads produced, exploring how they constructed the image of Mary as the chosen vessel for the restoration of Catholicism.
Part three examines the construction of kingship. Aidan Norrie focuses on the comparisons drawn between Mary I and female biblical figures. Norrie acknowledges that figures such as Judith were used as comparisons to Mary while various authors such as John Harpsfield praised the queen’s warriorship and piety. Norrie concludes the use of Deborah was the most powerful, and argues that Mary I was more akin to Deborah than her younger half-sister, Elizabeth I. Jessica S. Hower discusses the relationship between the queen and empire, examining another underexplored aspect of Marian England. After 1556, Mary was queen of the Spanish empire. Moreover, Hower argues that the Marian regime was ‘fundamental’ (p. 137) to a developing English desire for empire. Hower examines England’s relationship with Russia and West Africa to present Mary as a global queen. This chapter is eye opening and was a pleasure to engage with especially since Mary’s imperial presence is rarely commented on.
The section on ‘Material Manifestations’ contains chapters by Jane Lawson and Elizabeth McMahon, discussing gift giving and the queen’s wardrobe respectively. Lawson argues how the 1557 gift roll’s omittance of the king showed his disfavour. Lawson continues by examining the different types of gifts received. McMahon reveals Mary I’s awareness of the significance of clothing and how her fluctuating expenditure represented the varying levels of status throughout her life.
The final part examines Mary’s legacy. Strong illuminates the various responses to Mary’s wedding and its significance after the queen’s death. This chapter addresses successfully the foundations of the historical account concerning the legacy of Mary. Using many contemporary sources, Strong guides the reader through both the immediate reactions to the marriage, and its subsequent construction in Elizabethan propaganda. Strong offers an optimistic reading that the anti-Marian narrative is now successfully being challenged. This is an excellent contribution to the volume which makes a strong case. The final two chapters acknowledge the divergence between Catholic and Protestant memories of the queen. Carolyn Colbert examines three Catholic accounts of the queen, through which her association to the Virgin Mary was cemented. Eilish Gregory concludes the volume with her examination of how Mary’s memory was used to counter Catholicism in the late seventeenth century. Her focus on the Popish plot and the Exclusion crisis shows how deeply rooted the memory of Mary’s reign was in England. Gregory begins with connecting the unpopularity of Henrietta Maria with the unpopularity of Mary I, especially from the point at which Charles I asked his wife to be known as Mary. During the civil wars this association was used to attack the royal family. Gregory moves on to discuss the use of the figure of Mary I as a Catholic ruler to spread fear during the reign of Charles II: she observes that few tried to distances themselves from the propaganda. This exploration of the various attitudes to the former queen during this later period is well argued.
Overall, this first volume is an excellent addition to Marian scholarship as well as to a wider readership. It focuses on a number of themes rarely acknowledged and its structure is sound. Though some of the contributors have arguments which can be questioned, some of this may be put down to the conditions of research in the pandemic, when access to resources was significantly limited. Though this is an excellent volume, an overall conclusion, drawing together and reflecting on the insights of the different sections would have been appreciated.
