Enzo Acosta Cunanan

DPhil Research Topic

“Against… All Laws Human and Divine”: The Discourses and Performance of Henrician Treason

Supervisor: Steven Gunn

My doctoral research investigates the cultural, literary, and religious discourses that surrounded treason cases in England under the reign of Henry VIII, from his accession in 1509 to his death in 1547. As part of this, my thesis explores how such discourses were sites of rhetorical conflict, as both the state and the accused sought to fashion their own ideas and self-identifications on a spectrum of "treason" to "loyalty". I also focus on how these ideas and rhetoric found their final, and most powerful, expression in Henrician treason executions, carefully stage-managed events which, however, were often still utilised by the condemned to either challenge or support the crown's intended message.

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, Karen Cunningham, there has yet been no proper academic study devoted to the written or (initially) oral discourses around treason in Henrician 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. By limiting my thesis to cases in Henry VIII’s reign, as it saw the rapid widening of what was legally defined as treason, my research thus focuses on a pivotal point in English legal and cultural history, one key to understanding later developments in English treason, like the Elizabethan state’s persecution of Catholics. My thesis will analyse around forty different cases of Henrician treason, ranging from famous individuals like Anne Boleyn in 1536 to humbler folk, like John Cowley in 1518. I will thus be able to trace not only the evolution of treason discourses across time, but also within different local and social groups. By examining the countless competing discourses around treason, as well as resulting “performances of the scaffold”, in Henrician England, I hope to fill a key gap in the academic literature regarding early modern treason and contribute to a fuller understanding of it among historians and literary scholars.

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.

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.