Elizabeth I character and aims Flashcards
How old was Elizabeth when she came to the throne?
Twenty five - she was much younger than Mary when she came to the throne
What was Elizabeth’s education like?
She was well educated and had learned from personal experience (including imprisonment in the Tower as a consequence of Wyatt’s rebellion and a tempestuous relationship with Thomas Seymour)
What were Elizabeth’s character strengths and weaknesses?
She was shrewd and proved a good judge of character
Her difficult existence as a Protestant during Mary’s reign, had made her cautious and, even as queen, she was reluctant to take final decisions
What did Elizabeth believe about God?
That he had saved her to be his queen and she derived much comfort from her faith
Although a Protestant with a firm belief in royal supremacy, she had conservative views in matter such as church ceremony
What were Elizabeth’s short-term aims on coming to the throne?
To consolidate her position
To settle religious issues
To end war with France
In what three ways did Elizabeth swiftly consolidate her power?
Mary’s councillors accepted Elizabeth’s succession, many of them personally assured her of their loyalty- Nicholas Heath (Mary’s Lord Chancellor and the Archbishop of York) announced Mary’s death and E was proclaimed queen in November - legally he had no right to do so as Mary’s death should have brought about the immediate dissolution of parliament but it showed the political elite approved of E’s accession. Within a few days 9 of M’s councillors rode to Hatfield to assure E of their loyalty so there would be no attempt of devout Catholics to attempt to deny the succession of E who had never accepted the validity of her father’s marriage to Anne Boleyn
William Cecil was appointed Principle Secretary - E also made some household appointments but didn’t make any further appointments as it made political sense to leave Mary’s councillors guessing about her intentions and speculating about chances of retaining royal favour
What was clear about religion when Elizabeth came to the throne?
That the English Church would again be broken from Rome, and that Elizabeth would seek to re-establish royal supremacy over the Church in England but it was less clear what form Elizabeth’s church would take
One of the major priorities of the regime = to decide on the form of religion the country would experience - two key aspects of this 1) legal status of the church and 2) the liturgical books to be used in church services
What was the Elizabethan Church Settlement of 1559 and what did it provide?
Provided the framework for E’s church creating a ‘via media’ between Catholicism and Protestantism
Essentially embraced two acts of parliament - Act of Supremacy and Act of Uniformity, issued a set of royal injunctions to enforce the acts and meet liturgical needs, publication of new book of common prayer… 39 articles also introduced in 1563 but not part of original settlement
What did the Church Settlement establish and when?
It was enacted in Elizabeth’s first parliament. January - April 1559 and not only established the royal supremacy but also set the way the church was to be organised and the content and conduct of service
What three religious policies were put in place in 1559?
Act of Settlement and Act of Uniformity
Act of Supremacy
Royal injunctions
What two religious policies were introduced in 1563?
New Book of Common Prayer (compromise between the Edwardian prayer books of 1549 and 1552)
Thirty nine articles (replacing the 43 articles of 1553)
What did the Act of Supremacy do?
Repealed the papal supremacy and Marian heresy laws.
Reinstated the religious/ Reformation legislation of Henry VIII’s reign and allowed crown to appoint commissioners to amend errors etc.
Made the queen ‘supreme governor’ rather than supreme head of the Church of England (ambiguous).
Demanded an oath of supremacy from all clergymen and church officials recognising the royal supremacy (enabling Elizabeth to remove Catholic clergy / Marian bishops who felt unable to take the oath).
What did the act of uniformity do?
Dealt with worship - demanded that everyone should go to church on Sundays and holydays or pay a fine of 12 pence for non-attendance.
Also specified that ornaments of the church and of ministers should be those that were in place during the second year of the reign of Edward (before the 1549 Act of Uniformity) - issues as many of the Calvinist clergy saw the ornamants as ‘popish’ so rejected strongly to them.
Established the new Book of Common Prayer and specified the use of this single book of common Prayer.
What was the 1559 prayer book?
A version of that of 1552 to make it more acceptable to traditionally minded worshipers.
The ‘Black Rubric’ included in the 1552 prayer book to explain away the practice of kneeling at the administration of the Eucharist, was omitted
What did the royal injunctions do?
Nominated visitors to inspect the Church and gave specific instructions such as:
The removal/suppression of ‘things superstitious’ from Churches - (Protestant in nature)
The purchase of an English bible and a copy of Erasmus’s Paraphrases by every parish church (as in 1547)
The celebration of the Eucharist as a simple Communion table (not an alter) = direction of reform
The suppression of Catholic practices (e.g. pilgrimages and the use of candles)
The requirement that any prospective wife of a clergyman had to produce a certificate, signed by two JPs to indicate her fitness to the role
Visitors nominated by Cecil to enforce them = strongly Protestant
What were the 39 articles?
Drawn up by the Church in convocation in 1563 (and confirmed by parliament in 1571) they sought to define the doctrine of the Church of England
What were the 39 articles based on so what did they support/say?
Based on Cranmer’s earlier articles, they broadly supported reformed doctrine e.g. they denied teachings concerning transubstantiation and said that ministers could marry
What was the significance of the settlement?
It was a compromise - not clear whether it was intended as an end itself or as a pre-cursor for further reform - some argue E saw it as final but some argue otherwise
What two extremes was Elizabeth placed under the pressure of during the reform?
A ‘Puritan Choir’ of radical clergymen and MPs who may have forced her to accept a more Protestant prayer book that she had really wanted
Catholic bishops and conservative peers in the House of Lords, who having accepted royal supremacy strongly opposed the uniformity bill (only passed in the Lords by 3 votes) , believing the settlement to be too Protestant
What did the Act of Supremacy give Elizabeth the opportunity to do?
Remove Catholic clergy that refused the oath - apart from Bishop Kitchen and the Bishop of Sodor and Man all Catholic bishops refused so this combined with existing vacancies enabled E to appoint 15 bishops (Including Thomas Parker ABoC and Richard Cox)
When the oath from the act of supremacy was issued to the lower clergy what was the response?
Only 4% refused to take it (about 200) in the period Nov 1559 - Nov 1564
When was the first visitation following the Act of Supremacy and what was created?
Began at the end of June 1559 to administer the Oath of Supremacy and to deliver the new Royal Injunctions on Religion - for this a commission of clergy and laymen was created (The Court of High Commission) - it was used to locate and prosecute people with Catholic sympathies
What was the controversial part of the act of uniformity?
The new Book of Common Prayer - based on the Edwardian books of 1549 and 1552 but with significant differences especially the wording to be used during a communion service
In what way was the new book a compromise?
It contained the possibility of pleasing Catholics and Lutherans who believed in the spiritual presence of Christ at communion and the Zwinglians who regarded communion as merely a way to remember the last supper
