Spenser's Twin Pillars of the Kingdom: Arthur, Elizabeth, and the Medieval Tradition of Translatio Studii et Imperii

Translatio studii et imperii stood as the governing metaphor and principal method of medieval authors to explain changes in political power and romanticize the past. In this project, I examine medieval and early-modern conceptions of political power in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene and the medieval Arthuriana. Ultimately, I argue that Spenser's careful selection of medieval tropes from Arthurian romances and Chaucer’s poetry expresses a skepticism about the myth of Tudor origins the poet is often credited with popularizing.