October 06, 2006
Writers of early modern literature frequently used their works
of fiction to address the political issues of their times,
according to Assistant Professor of English
Brian C. Lockey, Ph.D. In his new book, “Law and Empire in
English Renaissance Literature,” available now through
Cambridge University Press, Professor Lockey specifically
addresses how early English writers tried to bring the tradition of
Roman law, which differed significantly from England’s existing
common law tradition, to their English readers.
These writers—usually more educated than the general
population---recognized and were sometimes fascinated by the
tension between the two legal systems. English law in effect at
that time did not address moral problems that arose when England
first became an aggressor nation and took its first steps toward
becoming an empire; Roman law, on the other hand, supported the
concept of empire building.
While such writers viewed Roman law to be“superior” to English
law, “they were not necessarily pro-Empire either,” Lockey
explains, “but were struggling with various concepts of political
morality.” Using narrative strategies, they attempted to educate
both the common man and their rulers on the subject. Along
the way, they provided a legal groundwork for English imperialism.
He examines works by Shakespeare, Spenser and Sir Philip Sidney,
among others, to prove his point.
In the book’s Introduction, Lockey states that “it was actually
writers of romance fiction who employed juridical standards in
order to evaluate acts of foreign intervention or conquest. They
intended their works of fiction to comment narratively on recent
international events in which English national identity was pitted
against the identities of European and non-European polities and
nations. In this respect, this book should be seen within the
context of recent literary criticism on the intersections between
Renaissance literature and various early modern discourses of
conquest, expansionism, empire, and colonialism.”
The author believes this discussion still has relevance today.
He’s interested in how nations justify their policies and attempt
to present them as ethical. “It’s important to understand how
through the years, nations have justified conquest and war as acts
of charity,” in which other nations are “civilized, liberated or
Christianized,” he states, pointing out that the first time England
thought of itself as an “Empire” was in Ireland, where they thought
they would “civilize” the native people. “That’s what happened in
the Renaissance, and a version of that is where we are again
today.”