在王權的相關研究中，女王的王權是一特殊但邊緣的議題。不過這個議題在英格蘭十六世紀下半葉，卻是最重要的政治辯論主題之一。從瑪麗一世(英格蘭第一位女王)開始，英格蘭新舊教徒便從各自的宗教立場出發，對此發表過許多議論。當時辯論的主軸，即聚焦於最基本的問題上：女性可否擁有合法的統治權？這個辯論在1559 年之後雖沈寂過一段時間，但1567 年蘇格蘭瑪麗女王流亡到英格蘭後，女性統治權又再度成為顯著的議題。雖然瑪麗在1587 年被處決，相關的討論仍持續至1590 年。在這段期間出現的作品，均集中於這兩位同居一國之內的女王：伊莉莎白與蘇格蘭瑪麗女王。 本文選擇了四部作品加以討論，各有兩部為兩位女王辯護。四部中一部為新教徒所作，另外三部為天主教徒所作。然不論其宗教立場為何，為女王辯護者均利用性別理論以達成其現實政治、宗教目的，而非為提昇女性的一般地位而作。此外，由於受到當時王位繼承紛爭的影響，他們對女性繼承權以及女王位繼承者的特殊身份尤加強調。本文之研究指出，這些作品在內容與論述上有著高度的相似性，顯示當時某些性別觀念與政治理論，在宗教對立的年代，卻跨越了宗教的界線，為新舊兩教的辯護者所分潤。

Female rulership is a special but marginal topic among studies of kingship. However, it became one of the most critical political themes during the second half of the sixteenth-century in England. At least from the reign of Mary I, the first English queen regnant, a vociferous debate on female rulership was conducted by both Catholics and Protestants. The pivotal question in this debate was the very basic issue: could women legally hold the right of governing? Although the debate cooled down for a while after 1559, the emergence of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, in 1567, prompted a renewed discussion of female rulership. This continued until 1590, although Mary had been executed in 1587. All the tracts concerning female rulerhsip in this period focused on the two queens—the ruling Queen Elizabeth and the exiled Queen Mary—living in the same kingdom. This essay examines four of the most famous tracts, two for each queen. One was written by a Protestant, while three were by Catholics. Nevertheless, regardless of their religious beliefs, all the authors aimed to achieve their political or religious aspirations by making use of gender theory, rather than promoting women’s rights in general. At the same time, they all paid great attention to the right of women’s succession by blood and the specific status of female heirs, since their works were produced under the context of the controversy of succession during Queen Elizabeth’s reign. The arguments of the four tracts demonstrated a noteworthy phenomenon that similar ideas on gender and politics cut across religious lines and were shared by Protestant and Catholic apologists in an age of religious contention.

Elizabeth I; Queen of England; Mary; Queen of Scots; female rulership; English Reformation