The Images of Power in the Public Space of Early Restoration England

Abstract

The article deals with the main features of the public representation of the power images during the early Stuart Restoration. The problem is studied on the material of the solemn entry of the English King Charles II into London on the eve of his coronation, April 22, 1661. Prior to this event, four triumphal arches were built in the city center, using the main symbols and allegories associated with the restoration of the monarchy. Based on a wide range of sources (official descriptions of celebrations, engravings, poetic works and diaries), the authors study the characteristic features of the power images of the early Restoration. Firstly, an important role in the construction of these images was played by the use of the heritage of the Antiquity, mainly of the works of Virgil. England was represented as the new Rome, and Charles II was seen as the new Augustus. Secondly, like the early Stuarts, Charles II sought to present his rule as a new “Golden Age” — the era of prosperity and abundance. The latter, according to the architects of the arches, came to replace the chaos, desolation and discord of the civil wars and of the Interregnum. The symbolism of the arches helps us understand, how the legacy of that period was refracted in official rhetoric and in the minds of the Englishmen of the Restoration era. Finally, the images on the triumphal arches reflected the plans and aspirations of the new government, being a kind of “manifesto” of the new monarchy.