horitie, learning and wisedome, not to be handled before any audience, but of grave and discreete persons.(Chambers, 4, pp.263-4)An intriguing matter is the significance religion had in theater when Elizabeth I was enthroned. When Elizabeth came to the throne, the treatment of religion on the stage became an especially important issue. In 1559, Elizabeth gave an order prohibiting plays in derision of the Catholic religion, mass, saints, and God. The order was not heeded, and thus she gave another proclamation that firmly forbade political and religious problems to be discussed on stage stating, wherein either matters of religion or of the governance of the estate of the common weall shalbe handled or treated: being no meete matters to be written or treated upon, but by menn of aucthoitie, learning, and wisdome, nor to be handled before any audience, but of graue and discreet persons (Albright 95). Albright notes that in 1559, Elizabeth had to assure the Spanish Ambassador that her own religious faith had much in common with Catholicism. Albright also adds that Elizabeths active policy did not carry out that impression, raising the question of what her underlying reason could be in her divergent view of religion in theater. While Elizabeths decree was not perfectly enforced, it had a major impact in theater over the next fifteen years. Religious discussion, even that which did not oppose the belief of the sovereign, was an uncomfortable matter to be put on stage, for objection could always arise. Plays that criticized governmental policies toward other nations were always open to censure by authorities. In the time of Elizabeth, they were generally indirect (Dutton 7). Closely related with criticism of royal policies is satire on foreign nations. The satire was usually innocent, but when the three rival nations of England -Spain, France, and Scoteland were introduced, a more serious type of satire developed and the difficulty arose (Al...
