ABSTRACT
This Introduction establishes the context in which private honour manifested in Early Modern England by exploring how courtly masculinity was construed during the reign of Henry VIII, and how that representation underwent a change under Elizabeth I and then under James I. Henry VIII encouraged a form of masculinity that was closely entwined with military virtuosity as opposed to Elizabeth’s court, where attitudes towards masculinity had shifted to a more performative and ceremonial militancy (with more emphasis on the chivalric values of temperance, modesty and humility). In the case of James, his sexual preferences caused an aversion to the feminine attributes associated with private honour, and courtiers counteracted them by reintegrating the more aggressive traits of masculinity back into courtiership. An analysis of the performance of masculinity under these three different rulers builds a foundation of understanding how private honour coexisted with the more public martial displays of manhood, as exhibited by the same individual, and dependent on circumstance, audience and location.
