Elizabethan England - AQA GCSE Part Three Flashcards
What are the Catholic beliefs in England?
-The Pope should be head of the church.
-Protestantism is heresy and a monarch like Elizabeth I does not have infallibility in theological matters unlike the Pope, and thus cannot be head of the church.
-Priests must remain cellibate.
-They approve of iconography of saints, Mother Mary and Jesus Christ.
-They believe the body and blood of Christ is present in the sacrament of the Eucharist. (Some Protestant denominations do agree with this too however). The sacrament of the Eucharist is neccesary for salvation (amongst other sacraments).
-Masses should be in Latin, as well as the Bible.
What were Protestant beliefs in England?
-The monarch should be head of the church (Anglican) or there should be no head of the church (Reformed/Presbyterian).
-The Bible and services should be in English.
-Priests should be able to marry.
-Iconoclast (icons should be destroyed or removed).
-The body and blood of Christ is not present in the sacrament of the Eucharist and this sacrament is not neccesary for salvation.
Why was religion a major problem for Elizabeth?
When the divorce of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was denied by the Pope, he split from the true Catholic Church. He formed Anglicanism, though he remained Catholic in Theology, and Catholics weren’t persecuted.
During Edward VI’s reign, Protestantism was heavily pushed, Prayer books were installed and the Bible was translated into English.
After Edward’s death, Mary I reinstalled the Pope. She brought back Latin Mass and punished protestants. Almost 300 protestants were burned at the stake.
Elizabeth inherited, as a protestant, a heavily religiously divided country.
What were Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement?
Elizabeth was a practical Protestant, she set about a compromise to bring both branches together. She allowed priest marriage, services in English and brought back the book of prayer. She made herself governor instead of head to not annoy Catholics. She also allowed Catholics to practice their faith in private. Elizabeth appointed a moderate Protestant, Matthew Parker, as Archbishop of Canterbery.
What Catholic threats were there to Elizabeth between 1569 to 1574?
-1569 - Elizabeth refused to marry the Duke of Norfolk and Mary, Queen of Scots. This prompted Norfolk to hold an illegal Catholic mass at Durham Cathedral and bring the Duke of Northumberland and Earl of Westmorland towards London to replace the Queen. The Duke of Sussex raised an army and the rebellion stopped.
-1570 Pope Pius IV excommunicates Elizabeth, calling on English Catholics to rebel against her.
-1571 Italian Ridolfi conspires with Norfolk to replace Elizabeth with Mary, but the plan is intercepted and Norfolk is executed.
-1574 Backed by the Pope, Catholic priests were sent from the Netherlands to reconvert England to Catholicism.
What Catholic threats were there between 1580 and 1585?
-1580 - Jesuit priests arrive. Along with The Society of Jesus, they tried to reconvert England. They were treated harshly.
-1583 - Lead by Sir Francis Throckmorton, there was a plot to assassinate Elizabeth and replace her by Mary, Queen of Scots. This would be an invasion by French Catholics, lead by French Catholics.
-1585 - Any Catholic priests who had been ordained post 1559 was considered a traitor and faced death. It became legal to kill anyone attempting to assassinate the Queen.
What Catholic threats were there between 1586 and 1588?
-1586 - Antony Babington was messaging with Mary, Queen of Scots about trying to remove Elizabeth from power. This plot was intercepted by Sir Francis Walsingham and Mary, Queen of Scots was found guilty of treason and was executed.
-1588 - The King of Spain launched an attempted naval invasion of England after the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots and the growingly harsh laws.
What laws against Catholics were made by Elizabeth?
-1571 - Rescusancy fines for Catholics who didn’t take part in Protest Services were enforced. They could be fined or have property taken away. It became illegal to own any Catholics items like Rosary Beads.
- 1581 - Rescusancy fines for Catholics were increased to £20 (£6500 now), more than most could afford, or have property taken away from them. This law was strictly enforced and it now became high treason to reconvert to Catholicism.
-1585 - The act against Jesuits and Seminary Priests called for all Jesuits to be driven out of England. Many were arrested or executed.
- 1593 - Catholics could not travel more than 5 miles from their home without permission from the authorities.
Who were the Puritans?
Puritans were extreme protestants, unwilling to allow Catholics to keep their faith. People like John Calvin argued for the removal of all Catholic influence in the English church. Puritans hoped Elizabeth would remove Catholic influence but were dissappointed. Puritans preferred ordinary clothes but bishops wore similar clothes to Catholics, causing much conflict between the two. Presbyterians were the main group in this view.
Who were powerful Puritans in England?
Parliament held many powerful Puritan MPs, like Sir Peter Wentworth and Anthony Cope who tried to make the church less ‘Popish’. Robert Dudley was a Puritan. The most prominent was Sir Francis Walsingham. Puritanism had little support from the Protestant majority. John Field was another, whose open criticism of Elizabeth sent out of parliament for 8 years. Many Puritans avoided punishment as they were part of the inner circle of Elizabeth.
What threat did the Puritans pose?
In the 1570s, meetings known as Prophesying became popular, which was heavily condemned by Elizabeth. These meetings became places to criticise Elizabeth. The archbishop of Canterbury, Edward Grindal encouraged these meetings. Grindal was suspended as Archbishop. In 1580, a new separatist church was established in Norwich. Its leader, Robert Browne was arrested but later released. A second church was set up in 1592 in London and again, the leaders Henry Barrow and John Greenwood, were arrested. Unlike Browne, they were hanged.
How did Elizabeth respond to Puritanism?
In 1583, with royal support, the new Archbishop of Canterbury - John Whitgift introduced new laws to crack down on Puritanism. He banned unlicensed preaching and enforced attendance at Church with rescusancy fines enforced. Puritans who refused to comply were punished, like Thomas Cartwright in 1590 being imprisoned. Puritan priests like John Stubbs who had his right hand chopped off for criticisng marriage. Puritans in Elizabeth’s inner circle like Walsingham or Dudley were safe.
What was Mary, Queen of Scots’ royal backgrou d?
Mary was Elizabeth’s cousin, granddaughter of VIII’s sister. She was made Queen of Scotland in 1542 when she was 8 days old. She married to the heir of France in 1558 and was briefly Queen of France and Scotland. She claimed she was the rightful Queen of England too. She was sent to England and her son, James VI was crowned King of Scotland in 1567.
How was Mary, Queen of Scots, a threat to peace in England?
Many English Protestants reacted to Mary’s arrival with shock and fear, seeing a potential Catholic Queen, who could bring back Latin Mass and the Pope as the head of church. Parliament saw her as a threat too. A number of Privy Councillors called for Mary’s execution but Elizabeth was hesistant since it may stir up Catholic rebellions or invasion from Spain or France. She was kept in Sheffield Manor Lodge and treated like nobility.
What was the final plot involving Mary?
In 1586, there was a plot to make Mary, Queen of Scots, queen of England by killing Elizabeth. A young and rich Catholic, Antony Babington came up with a plan to kill Elizabeth. He and 5 other men would take her from Sheffield Manor Lodge and place her on the throne. Babington used a secret code to send messages to Mary. Due to spies their network, Sir Francis Walsingham was able to decipher the messages and reveal Mary’s involvement.
It was clear that Mary was guilty and was sentenced to death. Babington offered to pay £1000 to free himself. but this was rejected and the execution took place on September 20th 1586.
In October 1586, Mary was put on trial but 36 noblemen including Walsingham and William Cecil, both Puritans who hated Catholics. Mary pleaded her case strongly and said since she was a foreign Queen, she couldn’t commit treason.
Despitr evidence, Elizabeth was hesistant to kill Mary. She was worried it may invoke James VI of Scotland to go to war with Elizabeth or Philip II of Spain. She was however executed on 8th February, witnessed by the Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent. Elizabeth was reportedly angry with the execution and sent the privy councillor responsible to prison briefly out of shame.
