Smith, Harrison, and Historical Representations of the Authority of Tudor England Anonymous College

During the Elizabethan era of England, there were many concerns regarding the authority of England and why certain public figures possessed power and others did not. Through historical documents from the Elizabethan era we are able to determine what the social structure of Tudor England’s economy was like and how it was setup. Historians can look at these documents and first-hand accounts of the time period and confer the quality of life and how England’s authority was dispersed throughout the kingdom. Many documents, such as De Republica Anglorumdescribe the social structure and give insight into who retains authority in Elizabethan England.

Sir Thomas Smith, knight, Doctor of Law, and principal secretary to King Edward and Queen Elizabeth, wrote De Republica Anglorum. This book written between 1562 and 1565 mainly describes England as a mixed government, neither democratic or authoritative. He also describes it as a commonwealth, which he defines as a, “society or common doing of a multitude of free men collected together and united by common accord and covenauntes among themselves, for the conservation of themselves aswell in peace as in warre (Smith 57).” Thomas Smith goes into detail about the authority of the household...