medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
VK, the line between Late Medieval and Renaissance
is
not as clear as the names bestowed upon them make
it
appear -- particularly in England,.Shakespeare,
for
instance, is considered by many to be the last and
greatest
of the Medieval authors. The religious sphere is
quite
Medieval in outlook and practice...
You quite rightly point out that the battle was
won by the
lighter, more maneuverable, and faster English
ships with
their longer range canons... and superior
seamanship that
could made use of their knowledge of the weather
and the
Channel currents to drive the clumsy, heavy ships
of the
Aramada in the right direction. (I always have a
mental
image of a pack of fleet hunting hounds nipping at
the
heels of a bear... driving the animal into the
deadly arms
of the waiting nets.) Yet the we won by divine
favor
starts immediately.
"Divine favor" is political one-upmanship -- and
ancient at
that. We are back to the "my god is greater/better
than
your god" of the ANE and the MT. We are back to
the
shape of the law and god stands behind "our" ruler
...
(proof? the defeat of the Aramada) people should
look
at the portraits of Elizabeth I -- and the
iconography.
Very medieval, not to mention, ancient...
As for Elizabeth and the death of Mary,
Elizabeth's
letter to Lord Burghly of April 11, 1572 ("in my
oun
hand" -- another ancient leftover) states that she
considers the execution "EVIL."
Elizabethan martyrs? She didn't want it, but she
had no
choice. Yes, they were convicted under treason,
not
religion, but it was the who has "divine favor"
driving
it... for excellent political reasons.
risa
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of
medieval religion and culture
>
> Quoting "Ms Brenda M. Cook"
<[log in to unmask]>:
>
> In spite of the undoubted courage and skill of
> > the English sailors, the Armada was actually
defeated by the weather, and
> > the English saw this as divine favour.
> >
> --an oft repeated oversimplification. The
English actually had naval
> superiority--their canon outranged the Spanish.
The English made better use of
> the prevailing winds--a skill which comes from
superior seamanship. The storm
> merely wiped out the Spanish ships which
survived the English. The idea that
> God sent a storm to save the poor little English
Navy began almost as soon as
> the battle ended. --This information is in the
naval histories of the period.
>
> V. K. Inman --sorry, we're off into the
renaissance again!
> >
> >
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