England is Heir to Rome
Multiple references are made to the Roman republic throughout the text. It doesn’t take a genius to connect “Roman republic” to “Republica Anglorum” though it helps to know the latter translates roughly to the English republic. What the author is doing here, in the midst of what will be the flowering of the British Empire—notably he avoids that particular term—is to insidiously make the suggestion that the comparison is obvious. Of course, there is one thing about the comparison which is not too obvious, but that arrives as a completely separate theme apart from establishing the idea in the mind of the reader of the destiny of England to become the next Rome.
Parliamentary Monarchy
The Roman republic had no monarch; no king or queen lording over all. That would come later, of course, with empire, but the comparison between the Roman republican and the Republica Anglorum quite obviously seems to come to a standstill at this point. And a pretty major point it is. But the author easily extricates himself from this trap by virtue of pursuing what is likely the one theme in his writing which keeps it viable in the discourse to this day. Though written earlier, the text was published in 1583 or roughly at the height of the power of Queen Elizabeth I. Despite this, the book is a somewhat radical assertion that England would best be served by a Parliamentary monarchy in which the power was not even equally balanced, but weighted in favor of the legislative body. Such would be the only possible means to avoid the inevitability of a British republic collapsing into an empire ruled by an all-powerful sovereign.
To be in England in Elizabethan Times
The book is an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to write a historically accurate story taking place I Elizabethan England. If ever one has cause to know how the job of coroner was handled, the information can be found here. What happened if a person was unjustly sentenced for a crime? What rights did wives possess within a marriage? The answer is not much, of course, but the intricacies of the details might be surprising. Common questions like what constitutes a commonwealth, what is a yeoman or esquire, and what is the difference between a constable and justice of the peace are all answered as part of the most vibrant theme of the text: what was like really like during age of Elizabeth?
