Elizabeth I character and aims

Mary I death

she died in the early hours of 17 november 1558

act of supremacy 

Restored the monarch’s control over the Church. Elizabeth adopted the title “Supreme Governor” rather than “Supreme Head” to soften opposition. Required clergy and officials to take an Oath of Supremacy. Repealed Mary’s restoration of papal supremacy.

• Politically clever – allowed some Catholics to interpret the Queen's authority in secular rather than spiritual terms

• Reinforced royal control over the Church, aligning religion with state authority

dated 1558 but passed 1559

religion upon Elizabeth’s accession

while Catholicism remained influential at Elizabeth’s accession, especially in tradition and local practice, Protestantism had become entrenched in key power structures and urban centres. England was religiously fractured — not significantly more Catholic — and Elizabeth’s settlement was a pragmatic response to this contested landscape.

her education

studied a humanist curriculum: rhetoric, theology, history, logic, arithmetic, literature, music, foreign languages. Shows that by the time she comes to the throne she has intellectual tools to understand religion, politics, diplomacy

coronation

Coronation: 15 January 1559, chosen with astrological advice from John Dee to find favourable date. Shows thinking about legitimacy, symbolism.
- Symbolic acts immediately: e.g. refusing the monks’ torches at Westminster These gestures to signal religious direction & break from Mary’s Catholic restoration

Grand ceremony to emphasise her divine right to rule

key ministers

Key ministers: William Cecil appointed Secretary of State on Elizabeth’s accession (and later Lord Burghley) – deeply involved in all governance and religious policy
- Sir Nicholas Bacon Robert Dudley Francis Walsingham (though later more prominent),. These advisors gave her brains and networks within the Protestant / reformist community.

cautious

After Edward VI’s aggressive Protestant reforms, followed by Mary I’s Catholic restoration & persecutions (1553‑1558) there was religious trauma. Many desired peace, at least outward toleration. Elizabeth knew that making too radical a shift would provoke backlash.
Also fear of alienating powerful nobility, foreign powers.

pressure from catholicism

Elizabeth could not simply abolish everything Catholic: needed compromise. Thus, Settlement retains some church ornamentation, vestments, music; ambiguous wording in Communion; (some “superstitious” practices removed, but not all). Also the language “Governor” instead of “Head” of Church.
Also the fine for non‑attendance (recusancy) was mild at first, enforcement gradua

foreign catholics

Catholic powers: Spain, France, the Papacy. Also Scotland (Mary, Queen of Scots) was a Catholic claimant. Elizabeth needed to be careful: too radical risked provoking alliances against her or papal intervention; too Catholic risked alienating domestic Protestant support and foreign protestant states.

Royal injunctions

These were instructions to clergy: e.g. clergy must explain the Royal Supremacy, remove “superstitious” images, keep a copy of the English Bible in every church, preach regularly, use only the approved set liturgy, and limit pilgrimages, relics, shrines etc.

The Injunctions were a bureaucratic tool to enforce and standardize changes; they enforced conformity within liturgy. 1559 ✅ Protestant in attacking superstition and enforcing English Bible ❌ Catholic in retaining vestments and some visual traditions 👉 A practical compromise – not to provoke rebellion

Act of uniformity

1559

Mandated use of the 1559 Book of Common Prayer in all churches.Tried to balance Catholic and Protestant practices (e.g. vague wording on Eucharist). required citizens to attend their parish church

• Showed Elizabeth’s pragmatism: prioritised unity over full reform

• Allowed her to avoid civil unrest while steering England back to Protestantism

• enforced a consistent liturgy throughout the country 

thirty nine articles

1563

• ✅ Defined the doctrinal basis of the Church of England

• Based on Edward VI’s 42 Articles (1553), reduced and reworked

• 🔍 Protestant doctrine with Calvinist influence:

  • Denied transubstantiation

  • Emphasised justification by faith

  • Rejected purgatory, saints, relics

• Not legally binding until 1571, but key to Elizabethan religious identity

• Created a theologically Protestant Church, though structurally Catholic (bishops, cathedrals)

• Doctrinal change – more radical over time

why did elizabeth choose this moderate settlement

• Pragmatism and political necessity: The need to garner support, avoid resistance, maintain stability.

• Compromise between extremes: Too radical would alienate Catholics; too conservative would alienate Protestants

Elizabeth didn’t have the freedom to impose a radical reformed church; she had to manage multiple pressures, and the settlement reflects those constraints.

Act of exchange

1559

• Allowed Elizabeth to take land and property from bishops in exchange for other property

• Strengthened the Crown’s finances

• Undermined Catholic clerical resistance

• Gave Queen financial independence and leverage over the Church

• Shows how political control and religious policy worked together

treaty of Cateu- Cambresis

• 📜 Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis (April 1559) ended the war between France & Spain, and included England

• Calais would remain in French hands -England was forced to give up Calais, its last significant territory on the continent, which was a major blow to national pride and prestige.

The treaty also included agreements between England and France, which allowed Elizabeth I to be formally recognized as queen of England

Treaty of Edinburgh and the scottish crisis

1560

• Protestant lords in Scotland rebelled against the French-backed regency of Mary of Guise

• Elizabeth secretly supported them (despite reluctance)

• 📜 Treaty of Edinburgh (1560):

  • French agreed to withdraw troops from Scotland

  • Ended the Auld Alliance

  • Effectively placed Scotland under Protestant control (led by John Knox’s followers)

Significance:

• Big Protestant foreign policy success for Elizabeth

• Removed French military presence from Scotland

• Weakened Mary, Queen of Scots' power base

• Reduced the threat of a Catholic invasion from the north

Francis II dies

1560 Mary returns to scotland in 1561

• Mary becomes Queen of Scots in her own right, returns to a now-Protestant Scotland

• Still seen as a Catholic threat to Elizabeth

• Leads to long-term Anglo-Scottish tension

France war with religion

1562

• Catholics vs Huguenots (French Protestants)

• Elizabeth signs Treaty of Hampton Court (1562):

  • Supports Huguenots with money and troops

  • Wants to take Le Havre in return (like Calais)

BUT: Huguenots make peace with Catholics → Elizabeth is betrayed
→ English are forced out of Le Havre in 1563

Significance:

• Failed intervention damaged Elizabeth’s foreign policy reputation

• Made her cautious about military intervention abroad

• Strengthened her reluctance to support foreign Protestants in future

aims of the religious settlement

1. Establish religious uniformity – Create one national Church to end division.

2. Secure Elizabeth’s authority – Reassert monarch’s control over religion.

3. Avoid civil unrest – Prevent rebellion from Catholics or radical Protestants.

4. Balance between extremes – A “middle way” to satisfy as many as possible.

5. Reduce foreign threat – Present England as stable and united to Catholic powers.