Elizabeth I

Events of influence on upbringing

• H8 disappointed she wasn’t a boy

• Mother executed when she was under 3 for sexual misdemeanours

• Made illegitimate when H remarried

• No parental figure - raised by governors

  • but had stable environment w Catherine Parr who also helped shape her Protestant beliefs

• Legitimised by 3rd AoSuccession 1544

• Pursued (kind of) by T Seymour when only 14

  • he was arrested + executed for high treason (plotting to gain throne thru her)

  • Used to come to her bedchamber etc… - influenced decision to not marry?

• Arrested + put in ToL after Wyatt’s rebellion even tho not involved - Mary refused to see her

• Pressured to accept Cath mass but kept thoughts + beliefs Private - same when she was Queen

Character

• quick temper

• Charm

• Money savvy

• Educated + cultured (studied theology)

• Pride in appearances

Issues/circumstances that she inherited w the country in 1558

• responsible for continuation of the dynasty

• Size + composition of PC

• Issue of foreign alliances

• Religious situation - pendulum swing

Personal religious views

• Protestant leaning (grew up with Protestant/Lutheran teachers etc..) but not devoutly religious

  • but valued some traditional aspects of Cath (e.g. trad view that priests shouldn’t marry)

• Inherited difficult religious situation so careful not to give too much support either way

Religious influences from home

• high hopes from both Prots and Caths when she first took the throne

• London: ruling elite - prot

• HoC Prot but HoL

  • attempts to introduce bills in Parl wrecked by Mary’s cath bishops (e.g. bringing back BoP 1552

• PC largely Prot

• woman HoChurch unacceptable

• pop=majority Cath

religious influences from abroad

• war w France

• can’t rely on support from Spain

• north E, Scot etc deeply conservative

  • Scot allied w France (Queen=wife of F heir + next in line to E)

• peace of Cateau - Cambresis ended E fighting w F

• Netherlands needed for trade - in hands of Philip II

• pope - threat of excommunication

*basc can’t annoy Caths abroad

outline the steps of her Religious Settlement

AoSupremacy, May 1559

AoUniformity, May 1559

1559 Book of Prayer

Royal Injunctions, July 1559

39 Articles of Religion, 1563

AoSupremacy

May 1559

• monarch as Supreme Governor

  • maintain status while satisfying those who regard Pope as Head

• required oath of loyalty to ensure change accepted

  • treason to refuse oath

AoUniformity

May 1559

• rules abt Church appearance

• reinforced rules of 1st Prayer Book 1549

  • e.g. table instead of altar but w Cath artefacts

  • must go to church once a week or be fined 12 pence - incentive to get people on the fence on board

Prayer Book

1559

• set out single agreed doctrine

• fusion of 2 books of EVI’s reign

  • compromise on Cath + Prot belief esp abt bread + wine

  • dropped prayers against Pope from litany

Royal Injunctions

July 1559

• 57 instructions to set out regulations governing faith

  • licensed preachers

  • preach once a month or lose license

  • English Bible displayed in every church

  • pilgrimages outlawed

  • no more altars destroyed

39 Articles of Religion

1563

• definitive statement on meaning of Anglicanism

• made law in 1571

• welded together aspects of Prot + Cath traditions in a way that cld be accepted by everyone (except extremes on both sides)

impact of religious settlement on organisation of the church

• little change beyond leadership

  • similar system to Cath (e.g. 2 archbishops - canterbury + york)

  • esp compared to Prots in europe

reaction from home

Anglican supporters:

• welcome AoS in 1559

catholic opposition

• rejected by devout catholics - viewed E as illegitimate

puritanism criticism

• radicals believed it didn’t go far enough

  • but not very vocal

reaction from abroad

papal condemnation

• opposed changes - excommunicated in 1570 which encouraged Cath resistance

spanish hostility

• Cath spain under PII viewed settlement as a threat

  • armada

french ambiguity

• involved in own Wars of Religion - stayed neutral

overall judgement of settlement

• successful w general pop

• some pressure from extremes on both sides

• still remained wary of possible Cath threat

  • 6 priests killed in 1587

  • 1590-1603: 88 Caths (53 priests) for defying govt

• longevity of reign allowed church to settle

crisis of 1562

• E gets smallpox, death seems imminent

  • brings marriage + heir question back to forefront of Parl etc bc of the possible chaos if she dies without an heir (looming fear of LJG crisis all over again)

• clear she doesn’t want to marry

  • so Cecil directs focus on finding existing heir to ensure smooth succession

the 3 branches for possible heirs

Mary Queen of Scots (Stuart claim)

Margaret Douglas (Stuart claim)

Catherine + Mary Grey (Suffolk claim)

Mary Queen of Scots

Stuart claim

• Margaret (H7’s daughter) married James UV of Scot

  • granddaughter = M QoS (Q at 6 days)

• briefly Q of France but returned to Scot

• staunch Cath, fled to E after Scot upheaval in 1568

  • E keeps her locked up (she dk what to do w her)

• also marries Lord Darnley - also great-grandchild of H7 so strengthens (mostly her son’s) claim

Margaret Douglas

Stuart Claim

• Margaret’s 2nd marriage to EoAngus

  • daughter, also Marg, married EoLennox

  • weaker claim but more to some than MQoS bc she was English + Prot

Catherine + Mary Grey

Suffolk claim

• line of marriage of Mary, H7’s younger daughter, + DuSuffolk

  • daughter Frances married Henry Grey + had 3 daughters

  • oldest - LJG - executed

  • Cath + Mary both Prot and had claims

since all three not viable for diff reasons, who is left

James VI of Scotland

• claim through mother, MQoS, and father, Lord Darnley

• realised benefits of culitvating EI’s goodwill compared to allying w her enemies

  • allied w her in 1585-86 + proved himself by not engaging in foreign plots, helping mom escape prison for 18yrs or intervening (beyond formal complaints) abt mother’s execution in 1587

brief overview of Elizabethan England

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Poor Law - legislation in mid 16th C

• slow to act bc church, monasteries etc previously sufficient

• Govt measures = piece-meal and ill-thought out

  • 1552 attempts to reduce begging by making beggars register + be given license - whipped/fined if found w no license

• 1563: statute of artificers

  • attempt to reduce no. Of countryside vagabonds by

    • forcing potential workers to take on 7yr apprenticeships in fixed places to restrict movement

    • Aimed to fix wages + prices

  • JPs given power to enforce Act (punish + send back to parish)

• Mid-sixteenth: only idle and impotent poor

Poor Law - 1572

Poor Relief Act

• genuinely unemployed vs ‘idle poor’

• Donations to local authorities made compulsory to provide for deserving poor

Poor Law - 1576

Houses of Correction

• punishment for those who refused to work

Poor Law - 1597

Poor Law Act of 1597

• in 1590s inflation, poor harvest, rising taxation + effects of war with Spain reignited social issues

  • Food riots in London + southeast in 1595, east anglia 1596-7

• Act confirmed compulsory poor rate, required setting up of pauper apprenticeships to train boys until 24 + girls until 21, more houses of correction, alms house for ‘impotent poor’

Poor Law - 1601

Poor Law Act of 1601

• slightly modified 1597 Act

  • combined, amended + republished old law

Poor Law - effects

Limited

• more help provided by charitable giving

• But no rebellions like in mid century, food riots limited in scale + frequency

  • legislation arguably exaggerated/ indicates panic on PC’s part on scale of the issue

  • Stable society by standards of the time

Image making - royal progress

• at least 25 in her reign

• Leading families, met subjects to show human face of the monarch

• Spectacle: fireworks, street decor, royal procession

• Also helped her as she was low on money

Image making - Court extravagance

• toned it down

• Cultivated image as careful + hardworking

• Made it clear she would rather spend on public needs than palace

• But did not come at expense of looking less than Queen

  • separate wardrobes at Whitehall, Windsor Hampton court etc

  • Indulged in expensive fineries, esp Italian silks and satins

Image making - Giving to the poor

• 13 men at palace gates given small sum of money every day

• Giving to poor peaked at Easter

Image making - Courtly rituals

Emphasised them

• mealtimes, jousting tournaments, dances, masques etc

• Most important ones held on her anniversary

  • designed to focus attention on E as provider of honours + glory

• Whitehall: enclosed gallery for spectators

Image making - Marriage

• reluctance to marry spun as positive propaganda

  • ‘Virgin Queen’: reminded country that priority was politics

Image making - Paintings

• controlled representation by ordering all her paintings to be modelled on portraits supplied by her Sergeant Painter in 1563

  • production of unauthorised images prohibited + destroyed

  • Created standard image of queen across all paintings, across all decades - did not show fading looks (sign of waning strength)

Use of court to rule

• promoted legal men

• Brought courtiers who flattered + attracted her into govt

  • e.g. R Dudley

• Court included govt offices (PC, Chamber) + E’s personal household (roughly 1500)

Factions

• start of reign: Cecil had most sway at Court

  • rivals by 1560s

1. Dudley

   • made EoLeicester in 1564

   • Involved in plot with others at court to marry DoNorfolk + MQoS

     • culminated in Northern Rebellion

2. EoSussex

   • relation to established Howard family

   • PC, represented old aristocracy

     • only surviving dukedom of her reign

*E used factions to her adv unlike H8 who was controlled by them

Patronage

• appreciated need to gain + retain loyalty of important members of society

• Carefully bestowed favours to wide circle so goodwill maintained

  • similar to h7 method of ensuing loyalty earnt not expected

• Aim: ensure as many nobles/gentry bound through patronage in loyalty to the crown - so fewer plots

• Pensions + land

  • Land leased not sold (important to retain Crown lands after H8)

  • Most valuable = grant of office

Golden Age: pop vs elite culture

Popular culture: affects entire pop E.g.

• religious processions + rituals

• Festivals

• Vulgar entertainment (pillory, stocks)

Elite: for the few not the many, socially selective in impact

• sophisticated architecture (terraced gardens, furnishings, paintings..)

• Literary (Shakespeare, Marlowe)

• Navigation + exploration

• Music

Golden Age: Fine art

• influenced by Flemish models

• Formal portraiture e.g. Holbein under H8 overtaken by portrait miniature as most culturally important E painting

Golden Age: Architecture

• queens reluctance to commission new buildings made up for by rich courtiers (/other rich ppl)

• Emergence of 1st English architect

  • Robert Smythson

  • Worked on longleat, Wollaston Hall…

• Hardwick Hall

Golden Age: Literature

• increased educational opportunities - led to emergence of highly literate + sophisticated viewing/reading public

  • viewing plays by Shakes, Marlowe, Thomas Kyd

  • Companies of actors under patronage of courtiers (Shakes a member of one)

  • Competitive market (globe, swan)

  • Written to appeal to audiences across social classes

• Prose had narrow readership accept Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (wide readership amongst godly Puritans

Golden Age: Music

• flourished in several forms

  • E (musician herself) responsible for settlement for saving musical culture of English Cathedrals + Ox colleges threaten by Prot reformers who emphasised importance of Word of God rather than ‘beauty of holiness’

• 2 greatest Composers of E’s reign (Tallis + Byrd) wrote extensively for CofE

PC - personnel

• few pro-Cath courtiers installed by Mary

  • E mostly put in people who’d proven their loyalty to Tudor dynasty (by personal service or being from a well respected family)

• no of nobles significantly reduced + weren’t replaced with clergy like under M

  • core of professional men who’d gained her confidence

  • disad: excluding nobility + clergy created unrepresentative PC of the ruling elite, limited range of debate

PC - functions

traditional functions maintained but expanded to administer church + complex fp

1. advised monarch

   • could bring them into conflict with the Queen

2. administered public policy

3. co-ordinated work of diff elements of govt

4. acted as royal court of law

   • prerogative courts staffed by PC members

2 + 3 = most significant daily role

*delegates much more than H7 (H7 = centre of govt, E1 = top of govt)

PC - significance

depends on aspect of role

• age of personal monarch - Queen expected to take important decisions + have final say

  • Queen guarded this right e.g. to support revolt in Netherlands, dealing w MQoS (personal issue, personal monarch)

  • so limited influence

• but E not unreasonable

  • could be swayed by well-reasoned cases

  • threats of resignation from most trusted advisers e.g. Cecil to force military action against Scot in 1560

overall:

• important for functionality of country but secondary to Queen

  • could only be swayed by personal relationship not based on political power (e.g. Cecil 1560)

Cecil overview

• politically + administratively able

• shared E’s caution in policy

• Sec of State in 1590 after Walsingham death

• smooth correspondence w James I

• huge factions between between EoEssex

• only have patronage to friends

Walsingham overview

• E’s ‘spymaster’

• Principal Sec from 1573 to 1590

• wanted support for Huguenots of France

  • E later made him ambassador to France

• discovered various plots against E

• often agreed with EoLeicester in factions

• Cecil’s protegee

Dudley EoLeicester overview

• family riddled with scandal

  • Edmund and Epsom executed under H7

  • John + Guildford executed for involvement in LJG affair

• E’s ‘one true love’

• master of the horse

  • v involved in coronation, proximity gives him influence as personal monarch

• wanted to marry E but Cecil engineered scandal of Amy Rosbart’s death (he probs did it tbh)

• E tried to marry him to MQoS but refused

• apartments next to E’s in court

• kept his last letter to her before death (“his last letter”)

Hatton overview

• MP since 1571

• captain of E’s bodyguard in 1572

• very loyal to E

  • led 400 in prayer for her safety following armada on date of her accession

• among court that tried MQoS (very personal issue to E so reflects her trust in him)

• didn’t want her to marry Alecon

• her ‘mouton’

PC did not have that much influence

• influence on govt policy varied depending on aspects of its work

  • E took control of personal issues

• era of personal monarchy where Queen had significant decision-making power and E guarded this right closely

• limited influence in areas like succession, netherlands revolt, MQoS

PC did have influence

• E not unreasonable

  • could be swayed by well-reasoned cases

  • threats of resignation from most trusted advisers e.g. Cecil to force military action against Scot in 1560

JPs

• appointed from gentry/wealthy fams/ merchant elite

• maintain rule + order by settling disputes, punishing offenders + administering range of govt policies (e.g. Poor Laws)

• E continued trend of appt more

  • roughly 50 per county by 1600

how could it be argued JPs’ influence was limited

• had to live in communities they administered

  • some ignored unpopular policies

• some used their positions for personal profit against local rivals

Lord Lieutenant

• responsible for raising local militias under H8 but gained more roles under E

  • 1 per county permanently (from most important families so sometimes was someone on the PC)

  • responsible for raising troops, supervising work of JPs + report local events to PC

• Deputy L created in 1560 to share workload

hierarchy of govt

top: E

parliament, PC, agencies of govt

Lord Ls, JPs

Sheriffs, High Constable

Parish Constables

*PC have influence over all aspects of govt (regional bodies - CoNorth/Wales, financial depts - Treasury/Exchequer, royal courts - Star Chamber/High Commission)

• advise E

• attend Parl

• coordinated work of agencies of govt

• issued instructions + made appts to Lord Ls and JPs

parish constables role

• poor relief

• maintaining parish churches

• repair roads

• control pests

How did E use Parl

• only summoned 13 times in 46 year reign

  • asked for taxation 11 times + given all but 1 time

• aimed for short sessions (quick money)

  • only 10% MPs spoke in debates, roughly 47% voted

  • attendance declined according to length

• Parl under control of councillors - they nominate MPs

  • used Parl to pressure E into particular policy

  • but E used personality to charm + threaten (veto, arrest) to handle parl

• MPs vetted by council

use of Parl in comparison to use under other Tudor monarchs

did not change under E

• continued trend of using it for taxation + justifying policy change

ev for conflict between E + Parl

COPY FROM PPT

ev there wasn’t conflict between E + Parl

COPY FROM PPT

how did E maintain control of Parl

• isolated extremities through promises of moderate reform

• arranging business, esp at the committee

• making strong speeches to reps from Commons

  • myth of queenship/monarch

• directly intervening to preserve royal prerogative

• influencing choice of speaker

• imprisoning awkward members

• summoning, proroguing + dissolving sessions of Parl

• managing Parl’s time

• influencing through her councillors the choice of MPs

• having her councillors present in Parl

problems with royal finance

Puritan - overview, diff types

• radical Protestants

  • but not all united in what they want

  • Very anti-Catholic

Types:

• moderate:

  • accept structure of Church but pressed for doctrinal changes (reform of beliefs + practices - align with European church)

• Presbyterian

  • thorough reform of structure of church + simplifying of faith + ritual - established in Scotland

• Separatists

  • Broke away from national church to pursue own radical Prot reformation on parish by parish basis

Puritan attitudes to E and vice versa

• hard for E to appease them bc there’s no one change that would make them all happy

• But they had no intention of rebelling + overthrowing her (which benefitted her) bc she was Prot and the next legitimate heir was catholic MQoS - even further from what they want

How did Puritans try to sway her

Passive resistance:

• refuse to take office or take office with hopes of reform from within

  • didn’t desert the church completely because the essential, pure doctrine of the gospel was still there

• Made it clear to E in a joint statement of faith by returning exiles that they didn’t believe in rebellion

• Appealed to her in speeches/addresses

  • guilt trip - God will hold her responsible for errors in the church

• Made it clear they wouldn’t forsake their beliefs + anyone who acts against them is in need of repentance

• Prayed to be personally safe from corruption

Presbyterian demands in the 1570s

Led by Cartwright

• series of lectures on Acts of the Apostles

• Very significant teacher esp in regards to teaching young scholars

• Promoted calvinist structure to the church (abolition of bishops + archbishops)

• Little influence beyond his classroom but E viewed the call for abolition of bishops + archbishops as a threat to her position/authority as Sup Gov

  • saw rise of Presbyterianism in Scot + how they overthrew MQoS

• Most bishops shared E’s horror at the idea - shows widespread support for her religious settlement

• 39 Articles of 1563 formally approved by Parl as result

  • Parl + clergy’s confirmation of the settlement

John Field

1572 - published Admonitions to the Parl

• argued Presbyterian church structure is only one sanctioned by the Bible

• Additional pamphlet denounced book of common prayer as ‘Popish’

• Swiftly imprisoned

Vestiarian controversy

• puritans viewed clerical dress sanctioned by AoUniformity as too Cath

• Archbishop Parker under pressure from E tried to enforce uniformity

  • summoned puritan clergy Sampson + Humphrey to discuss refusal to wear official clerical dress

  • E demanded stricter action

• 1565: Sampson dismissed from position

• 1566: Parker issued Advertisements ordering clergy to adhere to dress code

• Meeting w London clergy: 37 refused so stripped of their licenses + removed from posts

Significance of Vestiarian controversy

• showed diff in Protestants

• Showed Queen’s willingness to support settlement + enforce it

  • Did not see an issue with her settlement so strictly enforces/reiterates rather than adapts

• But shows queen couldn’t always force her will

Archbishop Grindal

Prophesying

• meetings where puritan clergy practices preached + discussed bible

• E viewed them as a threat to her authority

  • ordered Grindal to end them

• Grindal refused - said they were important for improving preaching and did not harm the church

• E suspended him + put him under house arrest for last 7 years of his life

  • banned prophesyings herself

Attack on Presbyterianism - whitgift

• 1583: Grindal dies - replaced by strict Anglican + Puritanism opp John Whitgift

• W issued the Three Articles in 1583 requiring ministers to fully accept bishops, Bokke of Prayer + 39 As

  • caused uproar - 300 ministers suspended (but many later reinstated after complaints from local gentry)

• W enforced strict controls to end prophseyings + suppress presb practices

Attack on Presbyterianism - ‘classes’

• regional Puritan meetings for discussion + education - resembled structure of Presb church in Scot

• Some saw as response to Wh’s crackdown but most clergy accepted 3 As + remained in CofE

Attack on Presbyterianism - Parl of 1586-87

*during peak of plots involving Cath MQoS - may have viewed solution as going all the way in the other direction to Puritanism OR opp could be viewed as sign of E’s declining power + control as she grew older

• MP Anthony Cole proposed Calvinist Prayer Book w Presb church structure, replacing Book of Common Prayer

• Cope + supporters sent to ToL

• Generally little support for major changes to CofE

  • Puritanism strong in parts of the south-east but other areas stayed closed to Cath + no widespread support for a Presbyterian church in England

Separatist group 1

Brownists:

• Robert Browne est separatist congregation in Norwich

• briefly imprisoned but then left England + wrote ‘A Treatise of Reformation Without Tarrying for Any’

  • Argued CofE corrupted by Cath traces + lack of moral discipline

  • Called for true Christians to support separate gatherings for ppl w proper discipline

  • growing impatience of reform from within

• 1583: John Copping + Elias Thacker hanged for distributing Brownist pamphlets

Separatists group 2

Marpelate Tracks 1588-1589

• bitter attack on CofE - bishops used foul lang + abuse to make its case

• Pamphlets = anonymous + printed in London

• Puritans like Cartwright horrified + disassociated themselves but public opinion + reaction of local auth allowed PC to crush Puritanism as a whole (justification E needed for such action)

  • Cartwright + associated forced before Court of High Commission to reveal what they know abt remnants of prophesyings movement

  • Govt propaganda linked Puritanism to separatism and separatism to treason

  • 1593: parl persuaded to pass Act against Seditious Secretaries - allowed auth. To execute those suspected of being separatists

Catholicism in the first decade of E’s reign

Govt attitude:

• Cautious against Caths

• Fines/confiscation of land if found persuading priest to say mass (deliberately harsh fines)

• Imprisonment for a year for a priest found saying mass

Punishments following ‘59 settlement

• bishops refusing to swear oath removed from posts

  • but most parish priests swore the oath anyway

• Fine for non-attendance (though fines not really collected)

• Many clergy still retained Cath feature e.g. Latin mass

1563:

• greater penalty for lawyers + MPs refusing oath - 2 refusals=execution

• Say mass = execution

• But not fully enacted:

  • No priest executed for saying mass until 1577, no one asked to swear oath a second time

Overall judgement of Catholicism in 1st decade

Moderate

• Suppressed not eradicated

• Fines t restrictions - but inconsistently enforced

• Restrained harsher methods to avoid unrest

Events that caused e to change her altitude towards Catholics

1567:

• papal resistance to settlement - English Caths told not to attend Anglican services

• Sp DoAlba sent to Neth to stop rebellion against Sp Caths

  • 10,000 troops across channel raised fears that Spain may force E back into Cath

1568: Mary QoS arrives in England

• Cath contender for the throne

• Cath successor if no heir

• Traditional E hatred of Scot

• Could encourage Franco-Scot alliance against E

Essentially a human representation of every worst case scenario in terms of foreign policy esp

• seminary founded by William Allen in Douai Neth to train missionaries to support E Caths

1569:

• Cath rebellion at home (northern rebellion) lead by EoNorth + Westmorland

1570:

• excommunication

  • Caths no longer bound to E, not expected to be loyal to her, justifies attacks to her

1571:

• Ridolfi plot - kill E, replace with MQoS

  • legitimate bc excommunicated

1572:

• St Bartholomew’s Day massacre in Paris - Huguenots slaughtered by French Caths

Catholicism in the 1570s

Decline brought about by themselves not E:

• Papal actions

  • pope forbade church attendance - exposed Caths to fines, few could afford so had to choose loyalty to Rome or parish which was central to community

  • Beginnings of resentment: held Pope responsible for their fines

Foreign intervention/threats

• e.g. Ridolfi plot - no popular w E Caths - difference between E as illegitimate head of church and E as rightful monarch - acceptance of her authority not religion (like Mary I)

• Viewed themselves as E before they were Catholic - preferred and E Prot than a Sp Cath

stability

• most landowners happy with stability of E’s reign

  • lawfully gained through, verified by Parl - questioning her right of inheritance could q their right of inheritance of the land - MQoS could also claim it back in a AoResumption

  • Social stability always preferred (like under H7)

Arrival of missionary priests

‘New Catholic’ - specially trained priests from Europe (mainly Douai in Neth)

• created to train Caths in E to be priests

• 4 arrived in 1574

  • 100+ by 1590s

  • Moved in secret, living w Cath families

• 1580: Jesuits began to arrive

  • members of society of Jesus - focused on missionary work

  • First 2 = Edmund campion and Robert Parsons

  • Aimed to strengthen Cath despite govt repression

Cath Actions in the 1580s - 90s

late 1570s: Douai priests increased threat, deteriorating relations w Spain, presence of MQoS

1580:

• Edmund Campion arrives

1583:

• throckmorton plot - F Caths planned to invade E + support E Caths, funded by Spain + Pope

mid 1580s:

• mass still practised - esp amongst landed classes

• North, West Yorkshire etc remained Cath strongholds

• But little enthusiasm for plots + Cath overall declining

1588:

• E Caths reject calls to join the Sp Armada

  • evidence that E Caths no longer challenged E’s authority

Govt actions towards Caths in 1580s - 90s

1581: