“All mens eyes are fixed vpon you”: Dedications of Printed Works to the Earl of Essex and the Creation of Essex’s Public Persona

• Alzada Tipton ^[1]
  1. [1] Whitman College

     Whitman College

     Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: Sixteenth century journal: the journal of Early Modern Studies, ISSN 0361-0160, Nº. 1, 2021, págs. 111-132
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This article analyzes dedications of printed works from 1577 to 1599 to the Earl of Essex. These dedications perpetuated and even shaped his public persona. Through the mid-1590s, the dedications built a picture of Essex as an exemplar of multiple virtues, describing him as embodying the many roles expected of a public man, prompted by the example of his father to serve England. Essex’s 1595 Accession Day device appears to have taken inspiration from this picture. This vision of Essex sees him as having a special destiny. After 1595, however, some dedications focus on Essex’s martial qualities but in a manner marked by late 1590s’ defensiveness and factionalism. These dedications connect to Essex’s 1598 Apologie, the earlier dedications suggesting its themes and the later ones responding to them. Thus, a necessary conclusion is that the dedications played a complex and substantial role in shaping Essex’s public persona of the 1590s.