How Current Papacies Shape How Claudius is Viewed (Part 20, Claudius Series)

Depending on who is pope at the time – either the time of the writing of a Shakespeare play, or a during a given production, or work of scholarship – the way people feel about Hamlet’s Uncle Claudius and his various sins or vices may vary greatly. 

Elizabeth I had been excommunicated by Pope Pius V (1570) [1]. Under Sixtus V, Rome encouraged Spain to launch three Armada invasions of England (1588, 1596, 1601). (How would you feel?)

During the English Civil Wars (1642 to 1651), in part about religion, Pope Innocent X (1644-1655) supported Ireland, against objections of the exiled Henrietta Maria, English Queen living in Paris. 

So before 1660, it was easier to connect Claudius and his sins and vices with Rome and a Catholic church that resisted reform. 

Fast forward to the 1800s: Charles Dickens publishes Oliver Twist (1837-1839), A Christmas Carol (1843), and Hard Times (1854); Marx and Engles publish Das Kapital (1867-1894), and Pope Leo XIII publishes Rerum Novarum (1891), which among other things upholds the rights and dignity of the poor and of labor. 

Fast forward to 1959: Pope John XXIII announces a Second Vatican Council (1962 to 1965), concluded under Pope Paul VI. In its liturgical reforms, it allowed the mass to be said in native languages instead of Latin, much as the Protestant Reformation had accomplished for Protestants centuries earlier. 

It became harder for audiences and scholars after 1891 to argue that the sins and vices of Claudius were associated primarily with a Catholic church that resisted reform, and easier to argue that as a villain, he merely had some kind of universal negative appeal. 

This matters greatly, because what motivated Shakespeare to name the uncle as “Claudius” in his own time may have tapped into strong anti-Roman sentiment in England, even among many Catholics there.

So if we think the main reason that Shakespeare named Hamlet’s uncle “Claudius” was merely because it was the English Renaissance – so things associated with ancient Rome were fashionable – we might miss what may have been one of Shakespeare’s main points.

INDEX on “Claudius” in Hamlet instead of “Feng” (Nov 19, 2024)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2024/11/index-why-claudius-not-feng-whats-in.html

NOTES: All references to Hamlet (and other Shakespeare plays) are to the Folger Shakespeare Library online versions: https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/hamlet/entire-play/

[1] This 1570 excommunication was later upheld by Pope Sixtus V (1588). To devout English Catholics, this released them from obligation to obey her as monarch. Catholics who wanted a legitimate monarch (in the eyes of Rome) may have felt encouraged to assassinate her.


IMAGES:
Top, L-R:

Portrait of Pope Pius V by Bartolomeo Passarotti and workshop (1529–1592).
Date: circa 1566.
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Public domain via Wikipedia:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bartolomeo_Passarotti_-_Pius_V.jpg

Portrait of Pope Sixtus V (painter unnamed), public domain via Wikipedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Pope_Sixtus_V.jpg

Portrait of Innocent X by Diego Velázquez (1599–1660).
Date: 1649-1650.
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome, Italy. Public domain via Wikipedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Retrato_del_Papa_Inocencio_X._Roma,_by_Diego_Vel%C3%A1zquez.jpg

Bottom, L-R:

Pope Leo XIII. Artist unnamed, from Vatican album of the Ecumenical Council, circa 1878.
Public domain via Wikipedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leo_XIII.jpg

Portrait of John XXIII (1881 – 1963), unknown photographer.
Date: between 28 October 1958 and 3 June 1963.
Public domain via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ioannes_XXIII,_by_De_Agostini,_1958%E2%80%931963.jpg

Pope Paul VI. Date: early 1969. Catholic News Service.
Public domain via Wikipedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paulus_VI,_by_Fotografia_Felici,_1969.jpg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YOU CAN SUPPORT ME on a one-time "tip" basis on Ko-Fi:
https://ko-fi.com/pauladrianfried

IF YOU WOULD PREFER to support me on a REGULAR basis,
you may do so on Ko-Fi, or here on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/PaulAdrianFried
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.

Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):

https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html

I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider FOLLOWING.
To find the FOLLOW button, go to the home page: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/
see the = drop-down menu with three lines in the upper left.
From there you can click FOLLOW and see options.