Coinage and State Formation in Early Modern English Literature

This book posits that coins and their (especially literary) representations were inextricably bound with several key factors for English state formation within the period. After surveying various definitions and histories of the “state” within the first chapter, this book identifies five major dimensions of state formation which correspond to the five chapters of the book: centralized institutional developments; the limits and extent of state and monarchical authority according to custom, reason and natural law; the development and expansion of a legal framework, in particular statute law, for moral regulation and upholding of state prerogatives; the political theology of state evident especially in the charisma of kingship; and the territorial boundaries of state authority, including their impact on intra-state relations. Most of the chapters marry an element of coinage and a literary text (or set of texts) to one of the key factors in English state formation.