Elizabethan Court: Corruption And Intrigue

Assess the view that the Elizabethan court was the centre of corruption and intrigue and little else:

The simplistic answer would be that the Elizabethan court (does) appear to be the centre of corruption and intrigue, however it was concerned with so much more; being the hub of culture, politics, and domesticity. The court surrounded the queen wherever she happened to be and everybody below her rallied for her attention and approval. The court could be made up of hundreds of people at any one time and very much adapted throughout the reign of Elizabeth I depending on a number of different factors (such as foreign policy). The most important members of her court were the chamber, the household, and the privy council. Although many people tried to influence and advise her, ultimately the royal prerogative over decision making was solely the queen’s. Both corruption and intrigue could be interpreted in various different ways; however, the dictionary definition for corruption is ‘dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery’. Within the court there were many different levels of power, however to some extent each individual had power over certain other court members. Intrigue could be defined in two different ways, one being ‘to arouse the curiosity or interest of; to fascinate’, the other being ‘to make secret plans to do something illicit or detrimental to someone’. Corruption and intrigue ran throughout the entirety of the court; from the highly important privy council who had to represent the country, to the …show more content…
The dominant argument amongst historians appears to be that corruption and intrigue was rife. However, it should be acknowledged that it varied throughout the reign due to a number of factors, which I aim to