Early Elizabethan England Flashcards
What were the roles of the Church?
- Ran Church courts to resolve minor disputes on moral issues (marriage, sexual offences and slander)
- Controlled what was preached - priests needed a licence from the government allowing Elizabeth to ensure all clergy preached her religious and political idea
- Gave guidance to communities in times of hardship
- Legitimised power to the monarchy
- Enforced religious settlements
What did Elizabeth’s religious settlement aim to do?
To settle tensions and the divide between Catholics and Protestants so that the Church of England accommodated for both
When was Elizabeth’s religious settlement established?
1559
The Act of Supremacy
- Outlined that Elizabeth was the supreme governor of the Church of England
- Ecclesiastical High Commission helped maintain order within Churches and enforce her high power position
- All clergy had to swear an oath of allegiance to Elizabeth
- Anyone who went against the Church was also going against the Monarch
How many priests and bishops took the oath of allegiance?
8000 Priests and 1 Bishops, all other Bishops stepped down and were replaced
The Act of Uniformity
- Introduced a set form of service as outline in the Book of Common Prayer, clergy had to follow the wording so that services could be interpreted differently by Catholics and Protestants
- Churches had to have the same appearance
- Priests had to wear vestements
- Everyone had to attend Church or else were fined 1 shilling
- This ensured religious balance to prevent disagreements
The Royal Injunctions
- A set of instructions issued by Sir William Cecil to reinforce the Acts
- All clergy were to teach the Royal Supremacy
- Anyone who refused to attend Church was reported to the Privy Council
- Each Parish was to have a copy of the Bible in English
- No one was allowed to preach without a licence
- Pilgrimages were banned and vestements mandatory
Visitations
- Puritan Bishops visited Churches to ensure the settlements was being followed - the first visitations in 1559 resulted in up to 400 clergy being dismissed
- Demonstrated the importance of the settlement
When was the first visitation?
1559
How many clergy were dismissed at the first visitation?
Up to 400
How much were you fined if you didn’t attend Church?
1 shilling
What was the Crucifix contraversy?
Puritans believed crucifixes represented having idols which was distracting. Each Church had to display a crucifix. Puritan Bishop’s threated to resign - Elizabeth could not ignore their concerns as there wasn’t enough clergymen to take the place of the dismissed bishops
What was the Vestement controversy?
- Puritans believed that Priests were not above ordinary people so shouldn’t wear special clothing.
- By 1565 it was clear that not all clergy were following this instruction or conducting services properly
- In 1566 the Archbishop of Canterbury issued further guidelines for priests in the “Book of Advertisements” and held an exhibition to demonstrate clothing
When did the Archbishop of Canterbury issue further guidelines about Vestements?
1566
How many were invited to the exhibition?
110
