Shakespeare, Papal Temporal Power, Resistance Theory, Regicide, and Tyrannicide

• Published in: Reformation (Oxford, England) Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 17 - 33
• Main Author: Marotti, Arthur F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 02.01.2023
• Subjects: papal deposing power; regicide; resistance theories; Shakespeare and religion; Shakespeare's dramas; tyrannicide

The socioreligious context of Shakespeare's plays was shaped by the international contest for authority precipitated, first, by popes' exercise of their supposed deposing power in the 1570 and 1580 excommunications of Queen Elizabeth, and, second, by Protestant and Catholic theories of pol...