A Perceived Profusion of Vice: Assessing a "Scandalous' Period C1615-1625

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Political scandals shock and delight, but how far are they the stuff of politics or a distraction from it? As'Partygate' demonstrated, reactions to scandals can shape politics, yet scandal and corruption arecontingent sets of perceptions. This project centres on an arena supposedly rife with corruption, sexualscandal and financial recklessness: the Court of King James I, c.1615-1625. What was corrupt then? Howsensitive were Jacobeans to 'corruption'? How did they perceive non-normative sexuality during abisexual king's reign? Combining political history, history of sexuality, literary criticism, anthropology andrecent political psychology experiments, this thesis establishes how different groups perceived the'corrupt' court and era. An interrelated aim is to problematise the decade's supposed surge of scandals.What was distinct about the political culture? The project makes a vital contribution to early modernstudies, and to ongoing debates over these ever-present themes.3. Description