This book explores the strengths and weaknesses of the English state in the sixteenth century. It examines the relationship between monarchy and people in Cornwall and Devon, and the complex interaction between local and national political culture. Popular resistance to the Reformation, and the rebellions of 1497 and 1548-9, are set against the strategies employed by the crown to cultivate the allegiance of its subjects. Royal propaganda, both literary and visual, is identified as a key factor in the development of patriotism and the nation state. This book offers a fresh understanding of...