Spanish Armada - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

The preparations of the Armada and the Battle of Gravelines form the backdrop of two graphic novels in Bob de Moors "Cori le Moussaillon" (Les Espions de la Reine and Le Dragon des Mers'). In them, Cori the cabin boy works as a spy in the Armada for the English.

The Armada and intrigues surrounding its threat to England form the backdrop of the films Fire Over England (1937), with Laurence Olivier and Flora Robson, and The Sea Hawk with Errol Flynn.

The Battle of Gravelines and the subsequent chase around the northern coast of Scotland form the climax of Charles Kingsley's 1855 novel Westward Ho!, which in 1925 became the first novel to be adapted into a radio drama by BBC.

In golf, Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal, who had a Ryder Cup record of 11–2–2 as a team—the best record for a pairing in the history of the competition—came to be called the "Spanish Armada".

The Battle of Gravelines is the climax of the 2007 film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age starring Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen.

Australian band "Paper Boat Armada" take their name from the stories of "The invincible Spanish Armada"

In the twentieth season of The Simpsons, an episode depicts the reason for the Armada's attack as Queen Elizabeth's rebuff of the King of Spain. Homer Simpson (as Walter Raleigh) accidentally sets the only English ship on fire; then collides with the Armada, setting all their ships on fire, creating victory for England.

The Final Jeopardy! response on 20 May 2009 on Jeopardy! was "The Spanish Armada". The clue was "It was the 'they' in the medal issued by Elizabeth I reading, 'God breathed and they were scattered.'"

Winston Graham wrote a history of "The Spanish Armadas" and a historical novel, The Grove of Eagles, based on it - the plural "Armadas" referring to a lesser-known second attempt by Philip II of Spain to conquer England during 1598, which Graham argued was better planned and organized than the famous one of 1588 but was foiled by a fierce storm scattering the Spanish ships and sinking many of them.

Several science fiction writers have published variant descriptions of how history might have proceeded had the Spanish Armada won, including John Brunner ("Times Without Number", 1962), Keith Roberts ("Pavane", 1969) and Harry Turtledove ("Ruled Britannia" 2002).