Reflective Tag: While researching this topic on early modern views of civic order and rebellion through the lens of Henry IV, I learned the extent to which rebellion was ostracized. The most interesting thing to me is how they linked religion to rebellion. This made rebellion a crime against nature and was a brilliant move on the part of the monarchs. This effectively ensured that much of the time the people would police themselves and their own. Europe was extremely religious at the time and if you went against God you were on the extreme out. At the same time that monarchs were espousing these views through the lens of religion there was another group that countered with precedent and scripture that provided evidence that there were rightful times to rebel. I find it amazing how masterfully Shakespeare was able to layer these ideas into one short play told several hundred years before his own time.