King Richard II and the Legitimacy of Rule
             History shows that throughout the English Monarchy's existence the legitimacy to rule is an issue that arises with nearly every ruler. During Elizabeth's time this matter became even more apparent. Two essential matters accentuated this: the ruler's religion and gender. Elizabeth took the throne during an age of religious instability. Monarchs before her changed the sate religion regularly; swinging from traditional Catholicism to progressive Protestantism. Because the isle's top monarch represented not only the state, but the church as well, their influence was the highest in the land. The accepted belief of the time was that the king or queen was God's representative on earth; "To worship the kinge is to worshippe religion and God."
             Compounding Elizabeth's problems was her gender. For many of her time, the idea of a sole female ruler was quite alarming. Elizabeth's contemporary, John Knox, believed that "To promote a Woman to beare rule, superioritie, dominion, or empire above any Relme, nation, or Citie, is repugnant to Nature...it is the subversion of good order, of all equtie and justice." His statement not only emphasizes the nation's qualms with a female leader, but also the importance placed on natural order.
             The divine held the highest spot of the time's natural order. Following God was royalty. The Crown drew much of its power from the fact that it embodied divine power. Further strengthening the monarchy's base was the accepted fact that tampering with natural order would result in instability and chaos.
             In Shakespeare's King Richard II, the title character relies solely on his divine right and his preordained place in society to justify his rule and actions, using words and ceremony as his supports. Richard's counterpart takes the opposite belief pertaining to the King's...