National and Local Identity: Maps and the English 'Country-House' Poem

One of the most striking uses of the map in late-sixteenth-century England appears in a picture by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger which is ostensibly a portrait of Elizabeth I [Plate 1]. Her white powdered face practically disappears amongst the elaborate dress and jewellery, and attention is drawn to a fan and gloves in her hands. The picture was painted in c.1592, and the queen is made to look a lot younger than her nearly sixty years. It is a highly eulogistic portrait, but also resonantly ...