CHAPTER 23: RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENTS AND THE 'GOLDEN AGE' OF ELIZABETHAN CULTURE

What were religious developments under Liz?

- From Elizabeth's perspective state of religion in 1563 was broadly positive as she achieved the settlement she wanted.

- Was concern among the clergy regarding the unreformed nature if the Church.

- Catholics although not subject to persecution found it difficult to pratice their faith in public.

- Key issue was whether the settlement was to be regarded as complete or whether there was scope for further change.

What was Puritanism?

- Thought the settlement wasn't complete.

- More extreme than moderate Protestants.

- Thought Elizabethan church was too Catholic in structure and ritual.

- Wanted to get rid of all papal elements. Didn't like Catholic vestments.

- Wanted to restore purity of faith; reliance on the Bible not Catholic tradition.

- Important influence in the 1560s and 1570s.

How did Puritans become a threat?

- 1570s - group of Puritans began to press for basic reforms in the government of the Church in Parliament - man most associated with these demands was Thomas Cartwright.

- They demanded:

- Name and office of archbishops should be abolished, Bishops should only have a spiritual role.

- Deacons should look after the poor.

- Government of each church should be the responsibility of its ministers.

- Ministers should be elected by their church congregation

What was the Vestiarian Controversy?

- Conflict between the Queen and the Puritans.

- Several figures in the Church decided they could not obey the rules on clerical dress in the Act of Uniformity and royal injunctions as it specified the wearing of Catholic dress.

- Queen forced the issue by dismissing prominent academic Thomas Sampson from his post at Christ Church College for refusing to wear the required vestments.

- Archbishop Parker and five bishops issue the 'Advertisements' in March 1566 which required the clergy to follow 'one uniformity.

- 37 London clergymen refused to clergymen refused to signify their support and were depreived of their posts.

- Showed the extent of the queen's determination to enforce the settlement and for conformity.

What was the Presbyterian movement?

- One aspect of the broader Puritan movement.

- Believed in further reforms of Church structure and worship.

- Grew out of Calvin's views in Church organisation and discipline, and it emerged partly in reaction to the Vestiarian Controversy.

- Questioned the scriptural basis for the authority of bishops and other aspects of the Church.

What were the two Admonitions?

- Author was John Field.

- Pamphlets that voiced criticisms.

- First one attacked the Book of Common Prayer and called for the abolition of Bishops.

- Second one provided a detailed description of a Presbytarian system of Church government.

What was the pamphlet war between Thomas Cartwright and John Whitgift?

- Cartwright and the Presbytarians belived that a Church was founded on 'supersticious' or 'popish' principles must be spiritually flawed and the 1559 settlement must be modified.

- Whitgift argued that the Presbytarians' attitudes was destructive and would split the Church.

What was support like for Presbytarians?

- Geographically narrow movement (confined to London, Essex, uni of Cam, Suffolk and parts of the East Midlands.

- Attracted high ranking support; Earl of Leicester and Lord Burghley.

- Both defended clergymen who fell foul of the authorities due to their alleged sympathy of the Presbytarian movement.

How did the Presbytarian movement grow?

- 1580s.

- Ideas for Church govt. through local assemblies and provincial and national synods were developed.

- Parliamentary chnages failed, despite efforts of Peter Turner in 1584 and Anthony Cope in 1587.

What were Whitgift's Three Articles?

1. Required Acknowledgement of the royal supremacy.

2. Acceptance that the prayer book was in line with the word of God.

3. Acceptance that the 39 articles were in line with the word of God.

- Whitgift wanted to destroy Presbyterianism.

- 2nd article was problematic for many clergy who thought the prayer book lacked scriptural justification.

- Whitgift backed down under pressure from councillors like Leicester and reduced the second article to a simple acceptance of the prayer book.

What was the impact of Whitgift's three articles?

- Forced Burghley's protege, George Clifford out of his post and Cartwright was refused a licence to preach.

- Whitgift caused despair among clergymen by treating radicals and moderates alike.

- Had the Queen's support but his policies were regarded by suspicion by her ministers.

How did Presbytarianism decline?

- By the 1580s it was in decline.

- Few Puritan clergy were prepared to break with the Church by refusing to accept the Three articles and the failure of Cope's Bill and Book in 1587 showed the futility of a parliamentary approach.

- Further weakened by the death of its key organiser, John Field, in 1589.

- No synod was held after 1589, and the reputation of the movement suffered on account of the satirical Marprelate tracts.

Who were the radical puritans (Seperatists)?

- Wanted to separate from the Church of England as they regarded it as incapable of sufficiently reforming itself to root out all supersitious practices and they wanted to create independent Church congregations.

- Opposed to the queen's status as Supreme Governor of the church of England.

How did separatism emerge?

- Movement emerged in the 1580s, Robert Browne became the leader of a significant congregation in Norwich but his challenge petered out and he went to exile in the Netherlands with some of his followers in 1582

- Browene returned to England and made peace with the authorities in 1585.

What was separatism like in London?

Henry Barrow and John Greenwood led Separatist movements in London (all were later executed); numbers were small but it was enough to alarm the authorities and led to the passing of an Act against Seditious Sectaries in 1593.

How was Separatism destroyed?

- Barrow, Greenwood and John Perry were executed.

- Why such harsh methods were adopted against such an insignificant movement is unclear.

- Vindictiveness on the part of Whitgift has been put forward as an explanation.

- Was destroyed.

How did Puritanism decline?

- Declined in the late 1580s because of the deaths of Leicester, Mildmay and Walsingham its political supporters at court.

- Defeat of Spanish armada reduced the perceived threat of Catholicism and reduced its attractions.

- Disapearance of Prebyterianism meant that Puritanism became more acceptable.

- Fundamentally Calvinist beliefs of the Church of England were reaffirmed in the Lambeth Articles of 1595 which proved acceptable to Puritans their opponent.

- 1559 Book of Common Prayer accepted by both as a basis for an acceptable form of worship.

Who were Catholics?

- Conformers - Went along with the settlement but were Catholic at heart.

- Recusants - more extreme refused to attend church because of new Protestant style of services.

- Both believed pope was head of the Church, structure of church hierarchy, didn’t believe in clerical marriage, pro-icons and images, conduct mass and believe in transubstantiation.

How was Catholicism eroded?

- Fines were rarely dolled out for lack of Church attendants.

- Much energy was spent on removing Catholic imagery from parishes and on searching for the hidden images.

- Mystery plays were abloshed due to their links with Chorpus Christi (Catholic festival/ doctrine of transubstantiation).

What were church papists?

- How most English Catholics survived.

- Outwardly conformed and obeyed the law by attending Anglican services.

Who followed the Catholic bishops?

Active minority followed those who had refused to conform to the Oath of Supremacy in 1559.

What happened to the Catholic intellectuals?

- Most went to exile, mainly in the Spanish Netherlands.

- Some priests became private chaplains to Catholic members of the nobility who protected them or comducted secret Catholic services.

- Known as recustants.

How did the Northern Rebellion impact Catholics?

- Provoked a punitive attitude towards Catholics.

- Liz excommunicated in 1570 and Pope called on all loyal Catholics to despose her.

- Placed English Catholics in an impossible position; forced to choose between loyalty to their Church and loyalty to their monarch.

What were the Penal Laws?

- Acts againts Catholics.

- 1571: Act made the publication of papal bulls to be treasonable.

- 1581: Parliament passes two severe Acts against Catholics, despite Elizabeth's intervention to modify the penalties: recusary fines are increased to £20 and higher fines are imposed for hearing or saying mass; attempting to convert people to the Catholic faith now a treasonable offence; treason to withdraw subject allegiance to the queen or the church - 4 Catholic priests executed in 1581, 11 in 1582.

- 1585: Parliament passes an Act against the Jesuits and seminary priest - any priest ordained by the Pope's authority now guilty of treason once he sets foot in England - 123 priests were convicted and executed under the terms of this act from 1586 - 1603.

How were the penal laws complemented?

- A savage increase in penalties with the fine for rescuancy being ste at £20 per month in 1581.

- In 1587 the law was tightened and any rescucant whp defaulted on their payment of fines could have 2/3s of their estate confiscated by the Exchequer.

- Persecution of rescucants hit its peak between 1588-92.

Why did Liz tighten anti-Catholic legislation?

- Partially in response to the international situation and the worsening of relations with Catholic Philip of Spain.

- Partly because of fear of a Catholic rebellion, made worse by the onset of Catholic missions of priests attempting to spread and uphold the Catholic faith.

How was the pressure against Catholics reinforced?

- The drafting of 'Bond of Association for the Preservation of the Queen's Majesty's Royal Person' by Burghley and Walsingham in response the Throckmorton Plot (Oct 1584).

- Anyone who took the oath was required to execute anyone who attempted to usurp the Crown or try to kill Liz.

What were the Catholic missions?

- 1568: a college was founded at Douai (Spanish Netherlands) in order to train new Catholic priests to be sent to England to keep Catholicism alive and win new converts.

- 1575: 11 of these 'seminary' priests had arrived in England.

- 1580: there were 100 in England.

- 1580-1585: 179 arrived in England.

How did Catholic missionaries operate?

- Dangerous work so they had to do it in secret.

- Worked in the country houses of Catholic aristocracy and gentry.

- Merely being a Catholic priest was sufficient (from 1585) to incur the death penalty.

What was the Society of Jesus?

- Began sending Jesuit priests to England in 1580.

- They combined high intelligence and organisational skills with a dedication to the cause of the restoration of Catholicism to England.

- The first Jesuits to become involved in attempting to re-Catholicise England were Robert Parsons and Edward Campion.

Why was the success of the missions limited?

- Catholic gentry were enabled to retain their faith, humbler Catholics were ignored.

- Educated priests associated more readily with their protectors than the 'ordinary people' and often became more like household chaplains.

- Catholicism thus became more like a 'country house' religion that a popular faith.

- Priests themselves had become divided as a result of a dispute over the leadership of the missionary movement, weakening the mission.

What was the English Renaisaance and the 'Golden Age' of culture?

- 'High culture' of the well off was transformed and popular culture developed.

- They were not mutuallye exclusive.

- Emergence of Shakespeare.

What was art like under Liz?

- Mainly flemish in origin, flourished.

- Formal portraiture was important, but no one had the skill of Hans Holbein.

- Portrait miniature became important (Isaac Oliver was popular).

What was archictecture like under Liz?

- Queen was reluctant to commission new buildings, courtiers and other wealthy individuals made up for this lack.

- Ex-Monastic land was often used for new buildings.

- Robert Smythson was the first named English architect.

What was literature like under Liz?

- Increase in educational opportunities led to an increasingly literate population.

- Increasingly sophisticated infrastructure for the productions of plays in London and companies of actors operated under the patronage of courtiers.

- Prose literature had a narrow leadership with the exception of Foxe's 'book of martyrs'.

What was art like under Liz?

- Music flourished, Elizabeth herself also a musician.

- Secular music also flourished especially at court.

- Renaissance convention laid down that courtiers should be musically skilled too.