Historians Influence On Elizabeth History

Account for the influence of the historian’s own context on their differing interpretations of Elizabeth history.

Historians interpret events differently due to the context from which they write, the purpose they are writing for, and also the sources that they consult; therefore, it is imperative to recognise the process by which perspectives influence historiography. The examination of Elizabeth is no exception; she has been subject to extraordinary and volatile oscillation. It is this underlying context that commands the purpose, bias and methodology to which Elizabeth’s history is formulated. This overriding feature of perspective is especially patent in the constructions of Elizabeth’s political and administrative leadership as chiefly

Neale, a highly respected 1940s English historian, came to the conclusion that the shift could be accredited to an organised group, the Puritan Choir “within the Commons to increase the parliamentary powers and privileges in face of stout resistance to the crown.”. He based his assumption on the evidence he gained from a pamphlet. Neale inaccurately used this source as he over exaggerated the significance of the organisation. Thus, Neale’s theory that Elizabeth had greatly influenced and changed the English system of government was deemed unreliable. He has a traditional view of Elizabeth’s role and gender due to his context. As a middle class, white man in the 1930’s where women were expected to confine to traditional gender roles. As Neale wrote his thesis on the Elizabethan Puritan choir in the 1930’s at a time where England was entrapped by the great depression it has affected his works in ways such as the notion that great times are to come, perhaps suggesting when Elizabeth II, who was 8 at the time, would bring another golden age. Another major event that would certainly have affected Neale’s works was that in the January of 1934 over ten thousand people attended a British union of fascists rally. Neale was the leading Elizabethan historian of his generation. In the opinion of fellow historian Patrick Collinson, Neale's biography of Elizabeth I "has yet to be

Bassnett also uses sources to highlight negative attributes of Elizabeth’s character. For example, Bassnett describes the queen as “vindictive” as a result of where it is described that she beat her maids and imprisoned those of her court who married without her consent. Bassnett’s narrative fails to address the sexism present in the incident, even by sixteenth century standards, and simply describes the facts of the