History Tudors (Chapter 4) - Elizabeth I and religion

Elizabeth succeeds to the throne (Date)

-November 1558

Parliament passes Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity (Date)

-1559

Matthew Parker appointed Archbishop of Canterbury (Date)

-1559

Mary Queen of Scots arrives in England (Date)

-1568

Northern Rebellion by Catholic earls (Date)

-Winter 1569

Elizabeth excommunicated (Date)

-1570

"An Admonition to Parliament" published (Date)

-1572

Arrival of first seminary priests (Date)

-1574

Edmund Grindal becomes Archbishop of Canterbury (Date)

-1575

Grindal confined to his house (Date)

-1577

First execution of a Catholic priest for treason (Date)

-1577

John Whitgift becomes Archbishop of Canterbury (Date)

-1583

Act against Jesuits and seminary priests (Date)

-1585

Execution of Mary Queen of Scots (Date)

-1587

Cope presents his "bill and book" in the House of Commons (Date)

-1587

Marprelate Tracts (Date)

-1588

Protestant position at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign

-Marian exiles were returning
-Around 800
-Very radical but not united

Catholic position at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign

-Bishops appointed by Mary were committed to their beliefs
-As members of the House of Lords, they defeated some of Elizabeth's early proposals

European centres of Protestantism

-Zurich
-Frankfurt
-Geneva

How did the foreign situation affect Elizabeth's religious settlement?

-Elizabeth believed it would be easier to negotiate peace with France if England was not aggressively Protestant
-Philip II was concerned about England falling to a Franco-Scottish alliance so was willing to protect Elizabeth
-Spain controlled the Netherlands, a key English trading partner

Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis (Date)

-April 1559

Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis (1559)

-Ended war with France
-France would keep Calais for 8 years, after which it would be returned to England
-Fears that the treaty could improve the Franco-Spanish relationship and lead to a joint invasion

Mary Queen of Scots

-Grew up in France
-Forced to flee to England after a rebellion by Scottish Protestant Lords

Elizabeth's religious background

-Illegitimate monarch in Roman Catholic eyes
-Continued to use an English bible throughout Mary's reign

Elizabeth's personal beliefs

-Showed a clear dislike of certain Catholic practices, such as transubstantiation
-Wished to retain some Catholic traditions, such as church music and rich vestments
-Had a personal dislike of married clergy

Transubstantiation

-Catholic belief that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ

Consubstantiation

-Protestant belief that the bread and wine symbolise the body and blood of Christ

Act of Supremacy (1559)

-Elizabeth was made Supreme Governor of the church
-Heresy laws were repealed
-Both kinds of communion authorised

Act of Uniformity (1559)

-Second Book of Common Prayer to be used in all churches
-All must attend church on Sundays
-Ornaments in the church should return to the end of Henry VIII reign
-Black Rubric omitted

Fine for not attending church

-1 shilling

Black Rubric

-Section of the Second Book of Common Prayer that denied transubstantiation

Elizabeth's Royal Injunctions

-Clergy should wear distinctive dress
-Music encouraged
-Images were not to be destroyed

Other minor points of the "Via Media"

-Taxes paid by the church to be paid to Elizabeth
-The monasteries that Mary had restored were dissolved
-Clergy could marry so long as bishops approved

Radical protestant concerns with Via Media

-Considered certain practices popish
-Concerned that one service per week was not enough
-Hostile to church hierarchy

Radical wing of Puritans

-Presbyterians

Vestiarian Controversy (Date)

-1565

Vestiarian Controversy (1565)

-A puritan priest was deprived of his position because he would not wear the surplice
-He did not want to be seen as different to the laity
-Won concessions from the Archbishop of Canterbury
-Archbishop declared that a "comely surplice with long sleeves" was the only obligation

Number of London preachers deprived for refusing to wear the surplice

-37

Strickland's proposals (1571)

-Abolishment of surplices, the ring in marriage and kneeling at communion
-Lack of support from higher authorities
-Suspended from parliament for infringing on the Queen's prerogative
-Allowed to return after an outcry from MPs

Cope's proposals (1586)

-The introduction of the Genevan Prayer Book
-End of Bishop's authority
-Defended by Throckmorton
-Elizabeth sent Cope to the tower

Thomas Cartwright (1570)

-Cambridge professor
-Introduced Presbyterian teaching to England
-Gave a series of lectures criticising the Elizabethan church for not following biblical practices
-Lost his freedom of speech and his professorship

Thomas Cartwright (Date)

-1570

"The Admonition to Parliament" (1572)

-Written by John Field and Thomas Wilcox
-Urged that the Genevan model should replace the current church
-Horrified all those in established authority
-Very wide readership
-Field and Wilcox were imprisoned

Imprisonment of Field and Wilcox

-1 year in Newgate Prison

Separatists

-Puritans who were not prepared to compromise
-Wanted to set up their own independent church
-Very little support

Evidence of the survival of Puritanism

-John Field was able to obtain a preaching license
-Some of Elizabeth's privy councillors supported ministers who were being threatened by bishops

Evidence that Puritanism was suppressed

-Lack of agreed Puritan doctrine
-Many Elizabethan citizens did not want to be subject to the rigorous moral standards
-Archbishop Whitgift enforced conformity

Whitgift's 3 articles

-Acknowledge royal supremacy
-Accept the Book of Common Prayer
-Accept the 39 Articles

Number of ministers who refused to accept Whitgift's 3 articles

-400

Reasons for collapse of Puritan threat

-Many key leaders died
-Defeat of Spanish Armada implied divine support for Elizabethan church
-Dissipation of Catholic threat meant people were not scared enough to support Puritans

Marprelate Tracts (1588)

-Series of pamphlets attacking bishops
-Used lurid terms
-Suspected printers were arrested and tortured
-Language used even shocked Puritan leaders such as Cartwright

Matthew Parker (Date)

-1559 to 1575

Edmund Grindal (Date)

-1575 to 1583

John Whitgift (Date)

-1583 to 1604

Elizabeth's 3 archbishops

-Matthew Parker (helpful)
-Edmund Grindal (less helpful)
-John Whitgift (very helpful)

Matthew Parker (1559-75)

-Remained in England during Mary's reign, so untainted by Genevan ideas
-Refused to give way to radical demands
-Forced to compromise over the Vestiarian controversy

Edmund Grindal (1575-83)

-Exiled during Mary's reign
-Disagreed with Elizabeth over the issue of prophesyings
-Confined to his house for 6 months but remained recalcitrant
-Eventually agreed to resign

Prophesyings

-Sermons on a biblical passage
-Used by Puritans
-Elizabeth disliked them

John Whitgift (1583-1604)

-Distinguished academic who remained in England during Mary's reign
-Had defended the Elizabethan church in the past, for example from "The Admonition to the Parliament"
-Established a Court of High Commission which questioned the clergy about their beliefs
-Elizabeth made him a member of the privy council

Elizabeth's options for dealing with the arrival of Mary Stuart

-Send her back to Scotland (Elizabeth would be blamed for her death or Mary would become a greater threat)
-Bring Mary to court (Mary could build up a faction of supporters and challenge for the throne)
-Confine her to house arrest (she would almost certainly continue to plot)

Rising in the North (1569)

-Led by Catholic Earls of Westmorland and Northumberland
-Proclaimed their intent to put forward Mary as claimant to the throne
-Defeated by the royal army
-Those involved were harshly punished

Catholic plots to replace Elizabeth with Mary

-Ridolfi plot (1571)
-Throckmorton plot (1583)
-Babington plot (1586)

Reasons for Mary Stuart's execution (1587)

-Repeated Catholic plots to replace Elizabeth with Mary
-Alliance between Spain and France who declared their joint intent to place Mary on the throne
-Strong pressure from parliament and privy council
-Friendly relationship with James VI meant Scotland would not protest over the execution

Babington plot (Date)

-1586

Number of Jesuits/seminary priests killed

-133

Seminary priests

-Trained in Douai
-Small in number, but enjoyed considerable success
-The execution of a seminary priest in Cornwall shows that the government recognised the potential threat of the priests

Increase in recusancy fines (1581)

-£20 per month

Act against Jesuits and seminary priests (1585)

-Made it treasonable to be an ordained Catholic priest in England after a 40-day grace period

Why was Catholicism weaker by 1589?

-Elizabeth's longevity
-Lack of support from European Catholics
-Execution of Mary
-Defeat of Spanish Armada
-Social pressure to conform