Enzo Acosta Cunanan

DPhil Research Topic

'Against … All Laws Human and Divine': The Discourses and Performance of Tudor Treason, 1495-1581

Supervisor: Steven Gunn

My doctoral research investigates the cultural, literary, and religious discourses surrounding treason cases in England from 1495, which saw the execution of Henry VII's step-uncle, Sir William Stanley, for treason, to 1581, which saw the execution of Edmund Campion, also for treason (the first Jesuit to suffer on such charges in England). As part of this, my thesis explores how such discourses were sites of rhetorical and interpretative conflict. Both the state and the accused sought to fashion their own ideas of treason based on pre-existing, yet always fluid, notions of different concepts, from gendered ideals of honour to perceived proto-national and, increasingly, confessional divides.

I also focus on how these ideas and rhetoric found their final, and most powerful, expression in Tudor treason executions. These were carefully stage-managed events that, nevertheless, were sites of fiercely contested interpretation. 'Reading' condemned traitors and their deaths was never straightforward, as the difficulty of even discerning treason was compounded by the inherent ambiguity of the verbal, behavioural, and bodily 'signs' expressed by every victim on the scaffold. This very often led to interpretations and discourses of their treason cases, which competed with the official government ones, and which were often subversive towards the latter. 

While a significant body of academic literature exists analysing Tudor treason, such as the works of G.R. Elton, John G. Bellamy, and more recently, Peter Lake and Michael Questier, there has yet been no proper academic study devoted to the written or (initially) oral discourses around treason in Tudor England. Neither has there been a detailed academic study of executions that analyses them as both performative and discursive phenomena. Such gaps hinder historians’ understanding of the development of treason as a cultural and social concept in early modern England.

My thesis adopts and recontextualises the methodology of the burgeoning sociolinguistic approach of ‘critical discourse analysis’ within a Tudor context to provide its analytical framework. Drawing on linguists such as Norman Fairclough, I will study how the Tudor state utilised the language of treason against its enemies. I will also, however, examine how third parties (e.g. chroniclers, pamphlet writers, civilian observers, etc.) and the accused themselves, despite their far more limited ideological resources, sought to promulgate their own conceptions of treason, promoting rival discourses that threatened to topple official government narratives from their hegemonic pedestal. The discursive orders of treason were always fragile and always open to contestation, reinterpretation, and redefinition.

Background

Born in Australia, I lived for nearly my entire life in Orlando, Florida before travelling to England for my BA. Before returning to Oxford for my DPhil research in October 2025, I graduated from the University of Cambridge (Hughes Hall) that July with an MPhil in Early Modern History, and from Oxford (University College) with a BA (Hons) in History in July 2024. At Cambridge, I presented a paper titled "Masculinity and Sexuality in William Thomas and Pedro de Ribadeneyra" at the graduate-led Workshop for the Early Modern Period in June 2025.

Research Interests

My research interests include:

• The political, cultural, and religious history of Tudor England
• Transnational diplomatic, cultural, and religious interactions between early modern England, Europe, and Asia, in particular, sixteenth-century Anglo-Spanish relations and literary encounters
• Cinematic and televised depictions of Tudor monarchs and consorts

In addition to early modern history, I have long-standing interests in classical/early modern literature, the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and ancient history, particularly ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. I have also been on the ITV quiz show University Challenge, representing University College, Oxford, and appeared twice on the American game show Jeopardy! Feel free to contact me!

I can be found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/enzo-cunanan-0ab1a318a, on Twitter at @CunananEnzo, and on Bluesky at @enzo.cunanan.bsky.social.