Spenser's Twin Pillars of the Kingdom: Arthur, Elizabeth, and the Medieval Tradition of Translatio Studii et Imperii
type: CreativeWork
description: Translatio studii et imperii stood as the governing metaphor and principal method of medieval authors to explain changes in political power and romanticize the past. In this project, I examine medieval and early-modern conceptions of political power in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene and the medieval Arthuriana. Ultimately, I argue that Spenser's careful selection of medieval tropes from Arthurian romances and Chaucer’s poetry expresses a skepticism about the myth of Tudor origins the poet is often credited with popularizing.
abstract: Translatio studii et imperii stood as the governing metaphor and principal method of medieval authors to explain changes in political power and romanticize the past. In this project, I examine medieval and early-modern conceptions of political power in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene and the medieval Arthuriana. Ultimately, I argue that Spenser's careful selection of medieval tropes from Arthurian romances and Chaucer’s poetry expresses a skepticism about the myth of Tudor origins the poet is often credited with popularizing.
author: Mennella, Vincent
language: en
keywords: Edmund Spenser, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Faerie Queene, Historia regum Britanniae, Arthur, Elizabeth I, Translatio, Renaissance, Medieval romance, British poetry, Early-modern literature
date published: 11/9/2018
date modified: 2026-07-27T21:19:32Z
provider: Texas Digital Library
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Texas Digital Library

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11875/2548