Princely Education in Early Modern Britain

Aysha Pollnitz

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781107039520
• eBook ISBN: 9781316308912
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

In the sixteenth century, Erasmus of Rotterdam led a humanist campaign to deter European princes from vainglorious warfare by giving them liberal educations. His prescriptions for the study of classical authors and scripture transformed the upbringing of Tudor and Stuart royal children. Rather than emphasising the sword, the educations of Henry VIII, James VI and I, and their successors prioritised the pen. In a period of succession crises, female sovereignty, and minority rulers, liberal education played a hitherto unappreciated role in reshaping the political and religious thought and culture of early modern Britain. This book explores how a humanist curriculum gave princes the rhetorical skills, biblical knowledge, and political impetus to assert the royal supremacy over their subjects' souls. Liberal education was meant to prevent over-mighty monarchy but in practice it taught kings and queens how to extend their authority over church and state.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title
• Series information
• Title page
• Copyright information
• Dedication
• Table of contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 ‘Thys boke is myne’: how humanism changed the English royal schoolroom, 1422–1509
• Chapter 2 Chivalry, ambition and bonae litterae, 1509–1533
• Chapter 3 Erasmus’ Christian prince and Henry VIII’s royal supremacy
• Chapter 4 Educating Edward VI: from Erasmus and godly kingship to Machiavelli
• Chapter 5 Fortune’s wheel and the education of early modern British queens
• Chapter 6 Education and royal resistance: George Buchanan and James VI and I
• Chapter 7 Britain’s lost Renaissance? The Stuart princes
• Epilogue
• Bibliography
• Index