What has Queen Elizabeth I done in the world of art during Renaissance Era?
Elizabeth was lamented, but the people were relieved at her death. A new age was born, and at first the signs were good, with the ending of the war against Spain in 1604 and lower taxes. Until the death of Robert Cecil in 1612, the government ran along much the same lines as before. James I’s rule, however, became unpopular when he turned state affairs over to court favorites, and in the 1620s there was a nostalgic revival of the cult of Elizabeth. Elizabeth was praised as a heroine of the Protestant cause and the ruler of a golden age. James was depicted as a Catholic sympathizer, presiding over a corrupt court. The triumphalist image that Elizabeth had cultivated towards the end of her reign, against a background of factionalism and military and economic difficulties, was taken at face value and her reputation inflated. Godfrey Goodman, Bishop of Gloucester, recalled: “When we had experience of a Scottish government, the Queen did seem to revive. Then was her memory much magnified.”E
