4.2 Mary I - Religion and Society

Question 1

background to Mary’s religion?

Answer 1

• the Catholic counter-reformation was going on
• only around 20% of the population was Protestant
• she believed in papal supremacy over the monarch
• her firm Catholic position was seen through her marriage to Philip II

Question 2

what did Mary do in her first parliament and what were the effects?

Answer 2

• 1553
• used the first act of repeal to remove ALL religious changes from the reign of Edward and reverted it to the end of Henry VIII’s
• reformed bishops resigned from their posts like Latimer and Ridley
• around 800 people left the UK
• the only thing she can’t do of course is bring back the monasteries and she also doesn’t press the issue of the supremacy

Question 3

what did Mary do in her second parliament?

Answer 3

• she has gained confidence to make changes due to the new papal legate
• she issued the second act of repeal which took the position of religion back to 1529 before the reformation parliament
• so technically the act of supremacy is no more and the pope is restored
• seminaries were set up to train priests and new prayerbooks were issued

Question 4

what was the effect of a new pope coming in under Mary?

Answer 4

• in 1555 Pope Julius III died who was replaced by Paul IV who loathed Philip II due to Spanish interference in Italian affairs
• he removes reginald poles status as papal legate by accusing him of heresy in 1557
• he sends a new legate, William Peto, to England by Mary refused to accept his authority
• this meant there was no formal papal representation in England

Question 5

what were the effects of Mary’s burnings?

Answer 5

• 289 people were burnt at the stake
• prominent protestants were burnt like Latimer and Ridley but also ordinary people
• in fact the majority of those burnt were ordinary people suggesting protestantism was important enough for them to die for
• the burning of the preachers Rogers and Taylor in London attracted public sympathy
• it did not affect some areas at all like the north and was relatively concentrated but still tarnished her image a lot

Question 6

what harship was there under Mary?

Answer 6

• there had been population increase, inflation from the debasement of coinage and had been harvest failures
• there had also been harvest failures: in 1555 and 1556 there were food shortages and a strain on real wages, in 1557 and 1558 there was disease and the ‘sweating sickness’ that had the highest death toll since the black death
• economic issues affected everyone regardless of geography or class
• the issues also coincided with the war in France when Mary had to ask for higher taxes

Question 7

what financial reforms did Mary introduce?

Answer 7

• the court of augmentations, first fruit and tenths and the exchequer came under the control of Walter Mildmay
• he took steps to maximise crown revenue
• he drew up plans of recoinage to tackle debasement from 1556-8 but Mary dies before their implementation
• just before her death in 1558 they redrew the book of rates that decided custom rates

Question 8

how did counter-reformation culture shape Mary’s reign?

Answer 8

• things such as clerical abuses would no longer be tolerated
• there was an attempt to properly train them
• Cardinal Pole set up seminaries (training colleges for priests)

Question 9

overview of all religious change under Mary?

Answer 9

1553 - religious laws passed in Edward’s reign were repealed (first act of repeal
1553 - clerical marriage banned
1554 - heresy laws restored
1555 - act of repeal revoked papal supremacy
1555 - second act of repeal, this time of anti-papal legislation from reign of HVIII
1555 - burnings begin