Queen Elizabeth I: Propaganda and the Cult of Gloriana
The Cult of Gloriana: Constructing the Image of Queen Elizabeth I
There were many means after cultivating the Cult of Gloriana – known as a royal progress – started in 1578 (no mere coincidence). The idea was simple: the queen was displayed on her progress. On her journey from one palace to another, she would be exhibited to the nation this way, as a kind of saintly figure, surrounded by courtiers in the best clothes, so that the queen could be contemplated from a distance. The message given: This is your queen, a kind of goddess, saint; this is the power that surrounds her. It was fully a total display of propaganda. It was a very effective method. It was uncommon for normal people to see the queen. The idea of magnificence of power. It was meant to give the nation confidence. The progress was the first mechanism, but it was not the only tool.
Arts as a Tool of Propaganda
Arts were also an effective tool (painting and literature).
Painting
1) PAINTING (difference of about 30 years between some of them) – she never appears to be old, not affected by the passing of time, not like a mortal being. Always painted using the same sort of profile. She always gives the same angle of face. Paintings usually contain sub-messages; they have to be interpreted.
- Woman with a Black Dress: Features an ermine (very rare and expensive animals, always associated with royalty – contemplated the cover, white symbol of purity) – This is your queen, a symbol of purity, virginity.
- “Rainbow Portrait” – with a red dress: Features eyes and ears (in the dress) – she hears it all and sees it all, no secrets for her. A warning to enemies – at least 4 plots to assassinate her – “I will discover all the plots” – a woman in full command of secrecy. She is holding a rainbow in her hands. A goddess.
- The Armada Portrait: The Armada coming from England on the left – This is your queen, our savior, the one responsible for the defeat of the Armada; she embodies total power, perfection. She holds the world in her hand – she is powerful.
- 65 years old: She stands between dark and light – she commands in the day and in the night, she dominates nature, the one who rules over the map.
Literature
2) LITERATURE
Walter Raleigh’s poem. Sermons – not attending Anglican services meant usually heavy fines or imprisonment – obligatory attendance – many sermons that deal with the perfection of the queen – pure propaganda with a purpose: the political situation. In the case of Elizabeth, she was destroyed by the myth itself. In the last 40 years of her life, she didn’t want to complete her decade, she wanted to live up to the myth – she appeared in public places in a mask – part of the myth. Her final days were a clear example of her personal problem – 10 days before her death, she completed her own shadow on the wall, she was standing in front of a fire, she asked for a mirror after 40 years, she contemplated herself in the mirror, dropped it, and never spoke a word again, remained silent and then she died. Eaten by being destroyed by the reflection of the mirror. She provably ended up believing that gigantic lie about her. Those who went as far as destroying the myth, as the Earl of Essex, ended up paying with his life. He started a rebellion against the queen and ended up dead. The destruction of the myth was considered treason.