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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2013
On the morning of 27 March 1625, in the full knowledge that King James I lay dying, Daniel Price preached on the significance of a monarch for the cultural flavour of a nation:
For, as all in Alexanders time, did affect Chivalry, because hee was a Souldier; and Poetry in Augustus time, because hee loved Poets; and Musicke in Nero's time, because hee was a Musitian; and Fencing in Commodus time, because hee delighted in Fencers; so all were forward in Christianity in Constantine's time, because hee loved Christians.
Price is comparing James with Constantine, and while contemporaries joked about their king's love of hunting, it was James' religious interests that had the greatest effect on England. This understanding of the cultural influence of a monarch lies behind the present study. Malcolm Smuts suggests that “The King's tastes and cultural interests need to be studied more carefully, but it seems unlikely that he will emerge as a major trendsetter even in many fields in which he took some interest.” This book is an attempt to assess the role of James in that aspect of English culture, religion, which most attracted his interest. I suggest that in this area James was a “major trendsetter”, or perhaps it is better to say that he was that “North Star” from which the religious culture of the period took its bearings.
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