ABSTRACT
‘I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king.’ 1 Powerful rhetoric has the ability to resonate through history. The opening quote, spoken by Elizabeth I over 400 years ago, is a prime example of the way well-chosen words can reverberate through the centuries. Monarchs were expected to protect the borders of their realm, demonstrate their power at court and beyond, and forge bonds with the people over whom they reigned. Rhetoric was an essential weapon in the arsenal of a monarch in order to project their strength, real or imagined, into the public sphere. This chapter pays special attention to two dominant tropes – that of the father and that of the warrior – and how these were utilized in royal rhetoric in particular. The image of a warrior and father were often intertwined, as they both implied the necessity of protecting a realm and its people. 2 That these images were shared by early modern European monarchs, bypassing their religious beliefs or political ambitions, can be demonstrated by drawing parallels between the uses of rhetoric to govern by different rulers. While focusing on how many times rulers won battles can help to examine their military prowess, this would not indicate the importance of projecting martial authority into the public sphere and what tools they used to do so.
