Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Spectacles of state; 2. Rites of exclusion; 3. Rites of incorporation; 4. The invention of Britain; 5. The consort's body; 6. The revival of chivalry; 7. The dance of favour; 8. The Jacobean crisis; 9. The Caroline Reformation; 10. The Caroline crisis; Appendix: A calendar of masques and entertainments, 1603–41.

Promotional Information

Examines the masques and court festivals staged between 1603 and 1640, demonstrating how they reflected and influenced the Stuart kingship.

About the Author

Martin Butler is Professor of English Renaissance Drama at the University of Leeds.

Reviews

'… this book is so learned and teacherly at the same time - its panoply of historical discoveries and literary insights conveyed in such pleasurably readable prose - that it is hard to ask it for more. Butler writes in his introduction that 'It goes without saying that masques were complex events'. Alas, in masque criticism, this does not yet go without saying. Perhaps after this book, it will.' Lauren Shohet, Villanova University

'This ambitious and comprehensive book takes account of the large corpus of masques written and performed in the reigns of James I and Charles I. Its scope and attention to detail are likely to make it an indispensable resource.' Theatre Research International