When James VI of Scotland became James I of England, he did so as the son of Mary Queen of Scots, and brought with him a tumultous history and risk for civil war. In an example of the King’s extraordinary gift at diplomacy and unification, he also brought into England his ability to stabilize conflict and unite warring parties around his position as King. 

 

At 39 years old, when William Shakespeare was at the height of his career as a playwright in London, the new King would officially patronize Shakespeare’s company, and include the bard, the Burbages, and The Lord Chamberlain’s Men in his campaign to win the heart of England and unify the three nations. 

 

Here to help us explore the story of what it was like for William Shakespeare when Elizabeth died and King James came to the throne, as well as the religious reformations that defined the cultures of these nations, and divided the Scottish Kirk from the Church of England ideologically, is our special guest Dr. James Loxley. 

 

James Loxley is Professor of Early Modern Literature in the department of English Literature at Edinburgh. He has written widely on renaissance poetry and drama, with a particular focus on Ben Jonson and Andrew Marvell, and on the literature, politics and culture of the civil war period. His current research focuses on a collaborative project digitally mapping Edinburgh's literary cityscape, and a cultural history of the relations between England and Scotland in the early seventeenth century.

 

We are delighted to have him visit with us today to share with us the moment in Shakespeare’s life when he found himself finally under the official patronage of the English monarchy.