James VI & I had a series of notorious male favourites. These affairs were almost certainly sexual. They diminished the majesty of the monarchy and raised the spectre of a sodomitical court and effeminized nation. It is a story of political intrigue coloured by sodomy, pederasty, and gender inst...

James VI & I had a series of notorious male favourites. These affairs were almost certainly sexual. They diminished the majesty of the monarchy and raised the spectre of a sodomitical court and effeminized nation. It is a story of political intrigue coloured by sodomy, pederasty, and gender instability as backdrop to the English Civil War.