Abstract
From 1585 until the end of Elizabeth I’s reign, England was at war with Spain. These eighteen years of continual warfare presented one of the most severe governmental challenges facing the Elizabethan regime. Several significant parts of war effort, primarily the defence of the realm by militia, were entrusted to the lord lieutenants in the counties, who supervised the raising of money for military purposes, levied troops and oversaw the regular mustering of the county’s trained bands. Appointed by the queen and aided by the deputy lieutenants who in the main were selected among the local gentries, the office of lord lieutenants became an important bridge between the court and the localities. This article tries to show how Sir Christopher Hatton, who was one of the queen’s favorites and served as the lord lieutenant of Northamptonshire during the Armada crisis in the late 1580s, managed to prepare in his county against the Spanish invasion. The intensive research on the military administration in a county presents important clues to assess how the lord lieutenant reconciled the demands of the central government and the local society in the face of the national crisis.
