elizabeth i; character and aims

Question 1

How old was Elizabeth when she succeeded the throne?

Answer 1

25, considerably younger than Mary had been.

Question 2

What differences in character and experience were the between Elizabeth and Mary?

Answer 2

Elizabeth was considerably better educated, and had a much sharper grasp of political processes. She also had a more shrewder judge of character.

Question 3

What area of government did Elizabeth take an informed interest in?

Answer 3

The decision-making process.

Question 4

Why did Elizabeth insist on taking the most important decisions?

Answer 4

To preserve the prerogative powers of the Crown.

Question 5

What were some of Elizabeth’s key short-term aims?

Answer 5

• Consolidate her position
• Settle religious issues
• Pursue a peaceful settlement with the French

Question 6

When did Mary die?

Answer 6

In the early hours of 17th November 1558.

Question 7

Who had told Elizabeth that her accession had arrived?

Answer 7

Sir William Cecil.

Question 8

What were Mary’s councillors aware of when Elizabeth came to power?

Answer 8

That she did not share their religious views, with many guessing that their political careers were over.

Question 9

Why did Mary’s councillors make no effort to interfere with the lawful succession?

Answer 9

Mary had recognised that it’d be Elizabeth who would succeed her, and Philip had signified his own recognition of Elizabeth being the rightful successor.

Question 10

Why was Elizabeth succession difficult in other respects?

Answer 10

They had suffered a series of bad harvests, with food being scarce and expensive. The country had also suffered grievously from a flu epidemic. England had also fought a disastrous war against France and lost Calais. It was also clear that religion was going to change once more.

Question 11

What did Nicholas Heath, Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor, do on the morning of Mary’s death?

Answer 11

He announced Mary’s death to Parliament and proclaimed Elizabeth’s succession.

Question 12

What were the problems with Nicholas Heath’s announcement?

Answer 12

He legally had no right to do so. Parliament should have been immediately dissolved.

Question 13

Why was Nicholas Heath’s announcement a political move?

Answer 13

It showed that the political elite assented to Elizabeth’s accession.

Question 14

How many of Mary’s councillors rode to Hatfield to assure Elizabeth of their loyalty?

Answer 14

9.

Question 15

Who was appointed principal secretary?

Answer 15

William Cecil.

Question 16

What other appointments did Elizabeth make at the beginning of her reign?

Answer 16

Some household appointments, but she did not announce any further appointments in order to keep Mary’s chancellors guessing about her intentions, and speculating about their chances of retaining some royal favour.

Question 17

When did Elizabeth get coronated?

Answer 17

On 15th January 1559, 2 months after Mary’s death - a quick proceeding.

Question 18

How had Elizabeth gained some measure of international confirmation?

Answer 18

The Spanish ambassador had already visited Elizabeth several days before Mary’s death, and after her accession had tried to broker a marriage alliance between Elizabeth and Philip.

Question 19

What did the prospect of a marriage alliance from Philip of Spain demonstrate?

Answer 19

This showed that Philip was unwilling to do anything to disrupt the smoothness of Elizabeth’s succession.

Question 20

What were the 2 key aspects of forming the religion that the country would experience?

Answer 20

The legal status of the Church and the liturgical books to be used in church services.

Question 21

What were the possibilities that the new established church would be?

Answer 21

• ‘Anglo-Catholic’ Church, where doctrines and practices remained essentially Catholic but rejected papal supremacy
• Apparently moderate Protestant Church similar to that implied by the Act of Uniformity 1549
• More radically evangelical church as implied by act of uniformity 1552

Question 22

What did the Elizabethan settlement of 1559 create?

Answer 22

A ‘via media’, meaning middle way, between Catholicism and Protestantism.

Question 23

How was the middle way established?

Answer 23

Through 2 Acts of Parliament (the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity), issuing of a set of royal injunctions to enforce the Acts, to meet liturgical needs, and through the publication of a new Book of Common Prayer.

Question 24

What did the Act of Supremacy 1559 do?

Answer 24

It restored in law the royal supremacy in the Church which had been established in Henry VIII’s reign and then removed under Queen Mary.

Question 25

What changes were made under the Act of Supremacy 1559?

Answer 25

• Papal supremacy which had been restored by statute law under Mary was rejected
• Reformation legislation of Henry VIII’s reign was restored
• Heresy law under Mary was repealed
• Royal visitation powers of the Chuch were revived
• Described Queen Elizabeth as ‘supreme governor’ rather than ‘supreme head’ of the Church
• Oath of supremacy was to be taken by clergymen and church officials

Question 26

What did royal visitation rights of the Church allow to happen?

Answer 26

The Crown could appoint commissioners to ‘visit, reform, order, correct and amend all such errors, heresies, and abuses’.

Question 27

Why did Elizabeth change the title to ‘supreme governor’ of the Church?

Answer 27

Could have been due to misogynistic attitudes towards a woman being head of the Church, and/or a reflection of the assumption that only God could be the head of the Church.

Question 28

What did the Act of Uniformity 1559 do?

Answer 28

Specified the use of a single Book of Common Prayer, which was a modified version of the second and strongly Protestant book that Cranmer had introduced in 1552.

Question 29

What 2 modifications were made to the Book of Common Prayer?

Answer 29

• Variations in Eucharistic belief were possible in the 1549 wording and the 1552 wording derived from the beliefs of the Swiss reformer Zwingli, were permitted.
• The ‘Black Rubric’ which had been included in the 1552 prayer book to explain the practice of kneeling at the administration of the Eucharist, was ommitted.