When Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, she inherited a tense political and religion tension that bordered dangerously close to civil war over Protestantism vs Catholicism in England. Historical basis for wars with France, the reputation of the Huguenots, and the painful English loss of Calais after ruling it for 150 years all played a role in the reception of small details, including the representation of France beside England in plays like William Shakespeare’s Henry V.

For the audiences of France, religion was a tumultuous topic with many people now Protestant by government decree, with parents, even Shakespeare’s own father, who had potentially closeted Catholic sentiments. As with many things, the context of religion vs government or something more casual was a giant ball of complicated emotions that caused playwrights like William Shakespeare to need to perform a balancing act to produce a show that would be popular, but not get him arrested in the process.

Here today to help us analyze the role of religion in England, the impact of Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement, and how the country received plays like Henry V, is our guest Dr. Jonathan Willis.