Early Modern Satire and the Bishops' Order of 1599

Abstract

The 1599 Bishops' Order prohibiting the publication of satire confirms satire's vigor in provoking re-evaluations of beliefs and values. The popularity of satire prior to and following the ban suggests that it served a social purpose. I argue that satire utilized classical models to transgress the limits of Christian exemplarity thus signaling a shift to an analytical approach to investigating and evaluating social/moral performance.