Catholic Threat Flashcards
How was the issue of Catholics addressed at 1559 Parliament?
25/27 bishops (other than Llandaff, Sodor and Man) refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and were sacked - this removed much Catholic opposition from the House of Lords
However, Liz did not deal with Catholics too harshly (did not want to make martyrs) and ordered Parker not to ask the Oath for a 3rd time (the penalty for refusing this was the death penalty)
How did the 1559 Penalties on the Laity and Clergy address the issue of Catholics?
Penalties for anyone who supported the Pope as Head of the Church with penalties ranging from loss of property to imprisonment
Penalties for persuading priest to perform RC mass with penalties ranging from a 100 mark fine (around £8,250 today) to life imprisonment
Penalties on clergy for not following the BCP with penalties ranging from 6 months imprisonment to life imprisonment
How did the 39 Articles attack Catholic doctrine?
Included declarations that ‘the Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England’ and that masses offered for souls were ‘blasphemous fables and dangerous deceits’ - these were issued in 1563 and became law in 1571
How did the 1563 Parliament address the issue of Catholics?
Oath of Supremacy extended
Act for the Assurance of the Queen’s Power passed which enforced penalties for denying the Oath of Supremacy ranging from loss of land, goods and imprisonment ‘at the Queen’s pleasure’ for the first offence to the death penalty for the second offence (this is more severe than initial penalties for not taking the oath, but the Queen told Parker not to ask for the Oath a second time to avoid making martyrs as she did originally)
What did the 1564 enquiry into JPs reveal?
Elizabeth’s settlement was not being enforced in Northern England due to defiant JPs (around half were not doing their job)
Why was Elizabeth’s policy towards Catholics in the 1560s moderate?
Personal toleration (did not want to make ‘windows into men’s souls’)
International situation (did not want war with Catholic Europe)
Inability to enforce her will on Catholics (JPs, areas like Lancashire still heavily Catholic)
Why did Elizabeth’s policy towards Catholics change from the late 1560s?
The new Pope Pius V was extremely anti-Protestant and anti-Elizabeth (while the old Pope had just hoped Liz would go Catholic)
Increased tensions with Spain made England’s Catholic population a threat (e.g. 1567 Alva in the Netherlands, 1568 Bullion Affair, 1568 Massacre of San Juan de Ulloa)
Dangers of English Catholics manifested in Revolt of Northern Earls
What happened in 1570 which made English Catholics far more dangerous to Elizabeth?
Pope Pius V issued a papal bull of excommunication
How serious was the papal bull?
Serious - meant that RCs no longer had to obey Liz as she was no longer the rightful queen in their eyes
Not serious - papal bull not widely published due to treason laws, most Catholics happy w/ via media, came too late to assist in NE
What was passed in 1571 to pacify the threat of Catholics?
3 treason laws (needed after papal bull, NE and Ridolfi plot)
- re-enacted terms of Henry VIII’s 1534 treason act
- made it treason to bring the papal bull into England
- made it an offence to leave England for more than 6 months without permission (aimed at Catholics who had gone abroad to plot)
What happened in 1574 that revived fears of Catholics among the government?
William Allen’s seminary priests (Catholic priests whose role was to provide spiritual relief to English Catholics) began arriving in 1574
By 1578, over 100 had come to England
How can we see that the threat from seminary priests was serious?
Elizabeth resorted to executing them (she had not executed anybody on religious grounds for her entire reign)
1577 - Cuthbert Mayne
1578 - two more executed
Who joined the seminary priests in 1580?
Jesuits, members of a militant Catholic monastic order
What did Edmund Campion do?
He entered England as part of a Jesuit group and started preaching, managing to minister to Catholics in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Lancashire
He published ‘Ten Reasons’, which questioned the validity of the Anglican Church
He was captured and executed in 1581
What did the Pope issue in 1580?
The papal pronouncement, which encouraged the assassination of Elizabeth
What Act was passed in response to the papal pronouncement?
The 1581 ‘Act to retain her Majesty’s subjects in their due obedience’ was passed which imposed several penalties:
- fine of 200 marks and life imprisonment for saying mass
- fine of £20!! (up from 12 pence in 1559) for recusancy
How did penalties for recusancy intensify in 1587?
Introduction of cumulative monthly fines and the forfeiture of two-thirds of the recusant’s estate
e.g. Lord Vaux of Harrowden had to pawn his Parliamentary robes
Why did the government become more anti-Catholic in the early 1580s?
Threats:
1583 Throckmorton Plot
1584 Parry Plot
1584 Assassination of William of Orange makes papal pronouncement far more threatening
What Act was passed in 1585 to combat Catholic threat?
Act Against Jesuits and Seminary Priests
Stated that any RC priest had to leave England within 40 days
Act contained the ‘Bloody Question’ (‘do you obey the queen or the Pope?’), which resulted in 21 executions of priests in 1588
How many priests were executed in total under the 1585 Act Against Jesuits and Seminary Priests?
123 from 1586-1603
Did Catholics stay loyal to Elizabeth during the Armada?
Yes, the majority do
What did William Allen do during the Armada?
William Allen wrote ‘An Admonition to the people of England’ which was meant to encourage English Catholics to rise in rebellion
In this, he called Liz ‘an incestuous bastard, begotten and born in sin’
What happened in response to Allen’s admonition?
Wright (an English RC) wrote a response to Allen’s admonition, saying that English Catholics should stay loyal to Liz as the Armada was not a religious war, but rather a war of aggression by a foreign power
What did missionaries do wrong in the 1590s?
Missionary activity at this point was focused mainly on London and the South East (ports), but this was a tactical error. Most Catholics were in the North and the West Country
Did Elizabeth’s policy towards Catholics work?
Yes, Catholicism went into decline by the end of her reign
By 1603, only 10% of the population had Catholic sympathies and only 2% were active recusants
Was the Catholic challenge serious?
Threatened Liz’s life - plots, rebellion, papal pronouncement etc…
Liz had to take a strong stance against recusancy (but this was not among the general population)
Jesuits and seminary priests (made tactical mistakes, internal arguments)
Example of internal disagreement between Jesuits and seminary priests?
Jesuits wanted Sp to invade Eng in the 1590s, but the seminary priests did not, as they were cautious about Philip’s aims
