Propaganda and the Tudor State

Book excerpt: This book offers a fresh understanding of the substance behind the rhetoric of English Renaissance monarchy. Propaganda is identified as a key factor in the intensification of the English state. The Tudor royal image is pursued in all its forms: in print and prayer, in iconography andarchitecture. The monarchy surrounded itself with the trappings of majesty at court, but in the shires it relied on different strategies of persuasion to uphold its authority. The Reformation placed the provincial pulpit at the disposal of the crown, and the church became the main conduit of royalpropaganda. Sermons taught the duty of obedience, and parish prayer was redirected from local saints towards the sovereign as the symbolic core of the nation.Dr Cooper examines the relationship between the Tudor monarchy and its subjects in Cornwall and Devon, and the complex interaction between local and national political culture. These were years of social and religious upheaval, during which the western peninsula witnessed three major rebellions,and many more riots and affrays. A vibrant popular religion was devastated by the Protestant Reformation, and foreign invasion was a frequent threat. Cornwall remained recognizably different from England in its ancient language and traditions. Yet in the midst of all this, popular allegiance tomonarchy and nation survived and prospered. The Tudors were mourned and celebrated in towns and parish churches. Loyalty was fostered by the Duchy of Cornwall and the stannaries. Regional difference, far from undermining the power of the crown, was fundamental to its success in the westcountry.This is a study of government at the dangerous edges of Tudor England, and a testament to the unifying power of propaganda.