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THE PLACE OF TUDOR ENGLAND IN THE MESSIANIC VISION OF PHILIP II OF SPAIN1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2002

Geoffrey Parker
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Abstract

Messianic visions burgeoned simultaneously in Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the sixteenth century, directly involving sovereign rulers, and powerfully influencing international relations. This essay examines the propensity of Philip II (1556-98) to frame his policies in messianic terms, with special regard to England. It uses the Ridolfi plot (1570-1) and the Armada (1587-8) to show how the king disregarded strategic concerns, and failed to formulate fall-back strategies, because he expected God to provide a miracle to bridge the gap between means and ends. It also compares his vision with those of his Christian, Jewish and Muslim contemporaries.

Type
Research Article
Information
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , Volume 12 , December 2002 , pp. 167 - 221
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Historical Society2002

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References

1 I am very grateful for suggestions, references and corrections to Carter Findley, Matthew Goldish, Jane Hathaway and Matthew Keith at the Ohio State University; to Bethany Aram, Paul Arblaster, Cristina Borreguero Beltrán, Cornell Fleischer, Barbara Flemming, Jan Lechner, Patricia Seed, Sanjay Subrahmanyam and Robert Verdonk, who attended a symposium on ‘Messianic Visions’ sponsored in October 2000 at Antwerp by the Fundación Duques de Soria; and to Nicholas Canny, Pauline Croft, Wim de Groot, Norman Housley, Ann Jannetta, Santiago Martínez Hernández,  John Morrill, Glyn Redworth, Stafford M. Poole, Wendell Smith, Nancy van Deusen and, above all, Juan Tazón. Maurizio Arfaioli provided wonderful assistance in securing and interpreting some Italian sources at short notice. I also learned a lot from the excellent thesis of Luz María Santamarta Lozano, `Don Guerau de Spes en la Corte Isabelina: La documentación diplomática y el conflicto anglo-español (1568–1571)' (PhD thesis, University of Oviedo, 2001).