Mary - Religious Changes 1553-1558

What evidence was there that people in England were happy to go back to Catholicism?

Mary's accession to the throne saw her greeted with great enthusiasm; bells were rung and parliament opened with a sung mass, even though it was officially still illegal. At Oxford chalices reappeared on 23 August 1553 an altar and cross were set up at St Nicholas Cole Abbey in London where a mass was said and this was followed by 6 more churches in London the next day. Large numbers of people turned up for Mary's coronation but this might have been a result of her being legitimate rather than her policies supported.

How did Mary's religious devotion cause her problems? Which prominent Catholics were worried about her approach?

Mary was a devout Catholic. Her religion had sustained her after the divorce of her parents and she had refused to conform during Edward's reign. She believed that Edward's death at a young age was a miracle and a sign that God was on her side and her religion was rightful. Mary failed to see that abandoning the Royal Supremacy and restoring papal authority would cause her issues as even strong Catholics had remained loyal to the King and had benefitted from the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Even Charles V (King of Spain) and Pope Julius III were concerned that Mary would go too quickly and provoke unrest that could threaten her position as Queen.

Religious policies under Mary

Start of her reign, she issued a proclamation stating that she intended to precede cautiously in religious matters, but few had doubts as to what her aims were:

- Undo the religious changes made since 1529

- Restore papal authority

- Restore traditional Catholic practices and belief in transubstantiation

- Re‐establish religious houses that had been dissolved

- End clerical marriage and restore status of priests

- Secure a long term future for Catholicism by marrying and having children

- Persecute those who did not agree with her views

What did the First Act of Repeal do? (OCTOBER 1553)

In October 1553 Parliament passed the First Act of Repeal that undid the changes made by Edward and restored the religious situation to the same as 1547 under the Act of the 6 Artciles. By the end of 1553 Mary had given up her title as Supreme Head of the Church. However parliament refused to repeal the Act of Supremacy suggesting some anti‐papal feeling but this might have been a negotiation tactic until they had guarantees over the land that they has gained.

Why, in Oct 1553, did Parliament initially refuse to repeal the Act of Supremacy that had made the monarch Head of the Church in England? What did they choose to do?

They refused to repeal act of supremacy partly because of anti Papist feelings but also as a way of showing Mary to go steady on reforms and recognise their importance to her success. However they did pass a law undoing all of Edwards reforms back to 1547 thus showing considerable loyalty to Mary. Also re introduced the conservative Catholic Act of 6 Articles which they knew would please their new Queen . These decisions together suggest parliament is more concerned with where the power is in England and less about Catholic doctrine.

What does royal prerogative mean and what did Mary use it to do?

Royal prerogative enabled the monarch to overrule virtually all laws if they so wished. Could not do with financial laws but pretty much everything else. A monarch who uses it a lot has to be very sure of loyalty and support. Abuse of this power could cause unrest. Mary used this power to suspend 2nd act of uniformity 1550 and to reintroduce Catholic mass. It did not cause unrest but her choice to marry Philip II of Spain did Wyatt rebellion. It might appear to have a religious/protestant aspect to the unrest but it was much more about power and fear of losing it to Phillip and his men. The rebellion took place before Mary actually tried to introduce too much religious change

Who were the Marian exiles?

There was, however, some religious opposition to Marys reforms. Read sources J and K, p132. The most obvious opposition came from 800 clergy , gentry and wealthy landowners who were radical protestants and their families in England. They fled England for Switzerland (Zurich), Germany (Frankfurt) and the Netherlands/Low countries. They took on the Latin name for Mary, the Marian Exiles. They immersed themselves in radical Protestant teaching whilst they were out of the country, readying themselves for the time they would return.

Why must we be careful about using the Wyatt Rebellion as evidence of religious unrest?

Mary used the Royal prerogative to suspend the Second Act of Uniformity passed by Edward and restored mass with no serious opposition. The Wyatt Rebellion of January 1554 is often used as a sign of displeasure at religious changes but the rebellion took place before Mary had carried out any significant religious changes and it was more of a reaction to fears of the Spanish marriage.

Why are the Marian exiles not evidence of widespread opposition to Mary?

During the early months of 1554 around 800 Protestants, mostly gentry, clergy and more wealthy, left England and went to Switzerland or Germany going into exile for Mary's reign. However this was not an option for the less well off and many radicals were willing to wait and see what developments took place at the start of Mary's reign.

How did Mary make use of the Royal Injunctions in spring 1554?

The Royal Injunctions allowed her to restore catholic practices such as holy days, processions and ceremonies. She also used them to deprive married clergy until they left their wives. She also sacked Protestant Bishops and replaced with Catholic. Mary had little opposition to this even from any of the individuals it affected.

Why did parliament initially block the passing of heresy laws?

In April 1554 parliament rejected the reintroduction and did not agree until promises were made that former monastic lands would not be restored to the Church. However this is more evidence of factional struggle between Gardiner and Paget because the laws passed just a few months later when Paget supported it. Parliament were more concerned with property than showing opposition to religious change.

(Parliament initially rejected Heresy Laws in April 1554 because they were trying to use it as leverage to get guarantees from Mary that she would not take the lands off them that they had got from Henry during the dissolution of the monasteries in 1530's and 1540's. Paget used his influence with Mary to guarantee this and got one over on his factional rival Gardiner. The issue of lands was also a cause for concern for powers oversees such as Habsburg Emperor Charles and the Pope who were concerned Mary was going too far too soon. Mary did eventually reassure Parliament by Nov 1554)

What did the Second Act of Repeal do? (NOVEMBER 1554)

The Second Act of Repeal was passed in November 1554 which repealed all religious legislation since 1529 but Mary was forced into a compromise with landowners. The Act protected the property rights of those who bought land since 1536. This shows that Mary was not able to put in place a full scale restoration of Catholicism as a large number of monasteries could not be reintroduced.

When were the heresy laws passed and when/ who was the first person who was burnt?

The heresy laws were passed in August 1554 and burnings continued from February 1555 when John Rogers, a bible translator, was burnt. Nearly 300 were burnt with 51 of those women.

Catholic Reform

Return of the Pole to England was followed by the introduction of a number of positive measures to increase the appeal of Catholicism:

- Bishops ordered to make regular visitations and check clerical behaviour.

-The London Synod, which stressed the importance of priests being resident and the ending of pluralism, was established.

- Pole ordered new publications, including Catholic New Testament and Book of Homilies

- He wanted seminaries in every diocese

Also attempts to control Protestant literature and increase the availability of Catholic works, with the sponsoring of sermons at St Paul's Cross and the publication of writings by writers such as Matthew Hogarde.

Who did Mary burn in Oct 1555 and March 1556? What was here motive for burning Protestants like this? Why could it be seen as a mistake?

Mary ordered Bishops Ridley and Latimer burnt for not recanting their Protestant Faith, followed by Cranmer. The motive behind Ridley and Latimer were religious, they refused to accept her Catholic doctrine and she had to set an example to others and be tough.She felt it would scare and intimidate others into cooperating. She also truly believed they were heretics and if their immortal soul was to reside in heaven it had to be purified in the fire.

Cranmers execution however was much more personal he had helped Henry divorce her mother and supported LJG as queen, despite his recanting 6 times, she refused to let him live. This suggest her motives were revenge. Her killing of 300 people for their faith created 'martyrs' and hardened the views of some to be more radical.She looked cruel. The 3 Bishops went to their death calmly and became Protestant heroes. That said, the Catholic faith was not really damaged by this.

Why must we be cautious when examining the impact of the burnings? (Foxe)

It is largely the work of John Foxe in his Acts and Monuments or Book of Martyrs that has informed our understanding of the burnings. Foxe's book suggests there was lots of unrest and opposition to the burnings but as he was an exile and writing in the reign of Elizabeth we must be cautious when using this as evidence.

Why can the burning of Thomas Cranmer be seen as an error by Mary?

In March 1556 Thomas Cranmer was burnt. For Mary, burning the man who had been the architect of her parents' divorce and had supported LJG was a necessity, it is not viewed as a mistake. Cranmer was old and had recanted his faith so was a sympathetic figure. He also withdrew these recantations when he knew he was being burned so there was no gain for the Catholic cause and the death lacked meaning.

Why was the death of Stephen Gardiner a key moment in persecution?

The death of Gardiner in November 1555 removed a restraining influence on Mary. He had initially believed that persecution would scare Protestants into submission but soon felt that the burnings were only hardening opposition to Mary. Gardiner's death was followed by 274 executions in the last 3 years of her reign.

Popular support

Seen in parishes, e.g. Morebath, Devon, where parishioners raised considerable sums of money to purchase vestments and other equipment needed to carry out Catholic services. Evidence suggests that Catholic worship returned speedily to most parishes, however, some churches were badly neglected during Edward's reign and it would take time to restore all the equipment. Yet, it was not this that was the greatest obstacle to Catholic restoration, but Mary's failure to produce an heir. The problems Elizabeth would have in establishing a Protestant Church is clear evidence to show how popular most of Mary's policies were.

Why were most burnings centred in the South East of England?

This was where much of Protestant support was under Edward plus in East Anglia(Norfolk and Suffolk). His reach had been weaker further North and West. It is also worth pointing out that London was centre of govt so authorities were especially keen to deal with the Protestant threat in area as opposed to Protestants in Midlands or further afield. Evidence sent from govt to JP's encouraging swift action support this to some extent.

To what extent did Mary have to force local JP's to carry out her orders and how much did the burnings damage Marys popularity?

Some suggestion that the delays in carrying out persecutions in some areas was due to distraction caused by war with France in 1557 or that their was genuine resistance and Mary had to force the law but in reality it was simply the inefficiencies of the legal system

(didn't want ti enforce Vagrancy laws and there were regular reminders to implement laws). JP's were unpaid and overworked and struggled to enforce all orders not just burnings.

The impact on Mary's popularity was neither positive or negative. It would have made her more unpopular with those she was already very unpopular i.e. radical protestants/Marian exiles. Equally just as popular with conservative Catholics.

What did Christopher Haigh state about the burnings?

Large audiences turned up for a whole range of reasons including macabre interest, big exciting event day out drinking and having fun/fighting even, particularly the London apprentices. Some went for business e.g Kent cherry growers had a captive audience to buy their produce. Became quite rowdy so often tried to keep burnings to early in day as crowds could get out of hand. Also worth remembering many locals reported the 'Protestant heretic' and the local authority carried out the execution

Christopher Haigh suggested that "the persecution of Protestants was not a success; nor was it a disaster. If it did not help the Catholic cause, it did not do much harm".

How far had Mary made England Catholic again by the end of 1554?

Almost entirely but not quite as none of the land lost by Catholic Church in the dissolution 1530's and 40's would be restored. Also Mary still had a number of Protestants in England and outside who were not ready or willing to give up on their Protestant faith, to the point they were prepared to die for it rather than recant.

To what extent was England a Catholic country by Mary's death in 1558?

Yes:

Mainly because she had a very strong base to build, unlike Edward

Cardinal Pole had ordered many visitations driving the counter reform and the London Synod which urged priests to be resident in their parishes and to push through new Book of Homilies and Catholic New Testament.....

Pole did begin to build seminaries for training Catholic priests in every diocese and used his connection at Oxford university to get the best and brightest. Foundations in place but..

Overall however, despite some problems, most reforms were accepted willingly and speedily by 1558. Large sums of money restoring the decoration/altars in Churches from local communities. Wouldn't spend so much if not willing..

No:

Much of the land lost in the Dissolution not returned and never would, so no major religious houses or monasteries to carry out the local work the Catholic Church used to do.

..but Cardinal Pole and Mary only had 5 years which was not long enough to ensure the reforms were deeply embedded in society

..Could not really get control of the extensive Protestant writings it was printed abroad and smuggled in e.g 19000 copies of Edwards 2nd PB

....However Mary did not leave a male heir. Whilst Catholicism was secure in 1558 and was welcome and popular , the shortness of her reign and lack of heir meant its long term future was insecure. That said it took the Protestant Elizabeth a very long time to secure her Religious aims.