Dynastic politics : five women of the Howard family during the reign of Henry VIII, 1509-1547
This thesis argues for the centrality of the Howard women to their family’s political fortunes by exploring key dynastic episodes, themes, and events of Henry VIII’s reign from a new female perspective. The Howards were England’s premier aristocratic dynasty during this period. However, existing narratives have prioritised the careers of the Howard men, notably the two Dukes of Norfolk and the Earl of Surrey. Here, the family’s women are foregrounded. They are not considered in isolation, but discussed alongside their male relations in order to create a fuller, more complex dynastic picture than currently exists. Themes of rebellion, dynastic identity, matriarchy, patronage, treason and religion are woven through events of familial and national importance, allowing new conclusions to be drawn regarding the Howard women and the Howard narrative itself; the way that aristocratic dynasties operated; the activities of women within the political sphere; and the relationship between this family and the Henrician state. This thesis draws its conclusions from new archival research into the activities of five Howard women: Agnes Tylney (c. 1477-1545) and Elizabeth Stafford (c. 1497-1558), the wives of the 2 nd and 3 rd Dukes of Norfolk respectively; Agnes’ daughters Anne, Countess of Oxford (c. 1498-1558) and Katherine, Countess of Bridgwater (d. 1554); and Elizabeth’s daughter Mary, Duchess of Richmond (c. 1519-1557). These five women cover three generations and two concurrent branches of the Howard family across the entirety of Henry’s reign. The thesis differs from traditional gender studies by focusing on women all from one family rather than those of particular court status or geographical
The attempted divorce of James Hamilton, earl of Arran, Governor of Scotland
This article examines the little-known 1544 attempt by James Hamilton, earl of Arran and then Governor of Scotland (future duke of Châtelherault) to divorce his wife, Margaret Douglas, eldest daughter of James Douglas, earl of Morton. It is concluded that Arran's failed divorce does not provide an explanation for his ‘godly fit’ of 1543, and that his actions were not motivated by the desire for an heir. Rather, Arran sought to maintain his children's legitimacy whilst gaining the freedom to take a new wife. The article explores the possibility that in this context, Margaret Douglas's poor mental health may have been a motivating factor behind the divorce attempt. Taking the failed divorce attempt as a starting point, the article moves on to re-consider the subsequent relationship between Arran and his wife's kin. It is argued that the marriage of Margaret's youngest sister, Elizabeth, to James Douglas, the nephew of the earl of Angus and future regent Morton, placed Arran and his brother-in-law in a posit...
PLEASURE, POWER, AND THE PURSUIT OF COMMUNISM: SOVIET YOUTH AND STATE-SPONSORED POPULAR CULTURE DURING THE EARLY COLD WAR, 1945-1968
art, with certain students accused of “showing political immaturity, failing to understand the Party’s positions on art.” This episode constituted part of a broader crackdown on abstract art by the Khrushchev administration from late 1962, precipitated the the Soviet leader’s derision of such art forms in December 1962 at the Manege exhibit. Such instances demonstrate the limitations of the top-level promotion of youth grassroots initiative, as the Khrushchev leadership reigned in youth autonomy when it threatened to go beyond the boundaries of the permissible. The dates cited above have particular resonance, since both 1957-58 and 1962-63 represent two periods when those at the top of the Party hierarchy moved away from pursuing a more pluralistic, tolerant policy course, due to anxiety inspired by both sharpening Cold War hostilities and domestic developments. In these periods, official rhetoric censured what it labeled as 639 TsAOPIM, f. 635, op. 13, d. 546, ll. 56-57. This is likely related to criticism of the Party associated with the fallout from the Secret Speech and the Hungary invasion. For more, see Polly Jones, “From the Secret Speech to the Burial of Stalin: Real and Ideal Responses to De-Stalinization,” in Jones ed., The Dilemmas, 41-63. 640 TsAOPIM, f. 6083, op. 1, d. 52, ll. 166-67. 641 Susan E. Reid, “In the Name of the People: The Manege Affair Revisited,” Kritika 6.4 (Fall 2005): 673716. 642 On these anxieties, see Dobson, Khrushchev’s Cold Summer, 156-88.