Mary I Flashcards
Upbringing
First queen regiment in England since 12th C
1516 - Only surviving child of C & H
1516-1533 - Heir to throne of England, given a humanist educated and has princely education thanks to C
1518 - Betrothed to French Dauphine -> Treaty of London -> keep peace between England and France
1521 - betrothed to cousin Charles V
1524 - Proposal of betrothal to James V of Scotland
1527 - negotiations to marry into France (her hand used diplomatically, at this period is often separated from matter due to occurrence of C & H annulment)
1530s - Married annulled and Mary becomes a bastard -> Lady Mary -> She is outspoken and in a dangerous position with Thomas More being executed for saying less than what Mary said -> Elizabeth becomes heir and Mary placed under intense pressure to conform to father’s wishes
1536 - Threatened with execution, she accepts annulment and comes back to court
1543 - she is returned to succession alongside Elizabeth
1547 - Mary resists young brother’s reforms and continues to celebrate Catholic mass which annoys Edward
1450s - Mary has Charles V support and is an impressive land holder in England, wealthiest unmarried women
Edward cannot control Mary
Accession & Marriage
- Fights for crown with an army and takes throne from Lady Jane Grey
- When queen -> validates C & H marriage and is now legitimate to reign
- Mary did not attend privy council meetings except when it concerned her marriage
- Women needed to be married but didn’t want foreign rule
- Mary chose cousin Phillip II (son of Charles V -> interested in promoting an alliance with Spain as M was half Spanish -> had been supported by Spain and turns to Charles V for advice such as marriage and he suggests his son)
- Other choices: Edward Courtenay (Great grandson of Edward IV -> royal blood and was British so many favoured him), M did not like his reputation or lack of alliance with Spain
- Parliament tries to sway marriage choice (Mary ought to marry an equal, a queen can’t be ruled by someone beneath her, Phillip was the only choice she suggested.)
- Mary’s marriage differs from H who married anyone will nilly, even if they were below him
- Marriage Treaty (First son would inherit England as well as Hapsburg lands in Germany and Burgundy; Phillip would have no succession rights after Mary’s death; Phillip could style himself as King but had no regal rights, he would not choose the next king if they had no children; title but no power; England would not be involved in any Hapsburg wars (they were busy with wars, especially France)
- Phillip signed treat, but we now assume he didn’t read it properly as has problems with it later on. Phillip did not have very good English. This treat does not calm people who fear the marriage
Wyatt’s Rebellion
1554 - Rebellion against the marriage, members of parliament sough to cause uprisings to prevent marriage and to take crown from M & give it to Elizabeth would marry Courtenay. These members were found out and caused them to rush the plan, making it unsuccessful due to being unprepared and many conspirators flee.
Kent is only place where a significant amount rise up and is led by Thomas Wyatt
Mary appears at Guild Hall and gives rousing speech to her subjects and the defeated army
Wyatt and other rebels executed
Rebellion causes Jane Grey and Edward Dudley to be finally executed when they took no part in it, it’s Jane Grey’s father who is participate and says he will put Jane back on the throne causing Jane’s execution.
Courtenay flees the country and E is imprisoned in tower, interrogated and then released.
Catholic Restoration
- The marriage but also religion were reasons for the rebellion
1553 - Upon taking throne, M issues a proclamation that she would coerce any of her subjects into Catholicism until government had decided what religion the realm would be. - She compromises her desire to return Church lands as there would be resistance due to houses being built on it
- Abolishes Edward’s legislation
1554 - Arrival of Reginald Pole and the reconciliation of Rome (Pole had opposed H break with Rome in 1530s and Pole was grandson of George Duke of Clarence (Brother of Richard III and Edward IV) and so had potential claim to throne. H was concerned by Pole’s opposition and had his mother executed.) Pole arrives and is now a Cardinal and gives a speech to parliament on behalf of papacy, representing the Pope. Everything from 1529 is revoked, apart from lands which people could keep. - Essentially becomes a Catholic reformation
Resistance and Persecution
- Reformed Catholic Church
- Talks of Catholic English translated bible
- Difficulty undoing everything as resistance was inevitable and people had forgotten how to be a Catholic
- Hundreds left and sought refuge in other continents, waiting to see if the country would remain Catholic
- Cranmer and others remained and usually ended with execution. Cranmer was burned in 1556
- Protestants refused to attend mass
- 288-300 executions of heretic’s in her very short reign and they are mainly at the end of the reign and are very unpopular and divides M council and eventually they have to be removed from being held in public. As many saw this as murder and she was called ‘Bloody Mary’. Heresy was an infection that needed to be burned out of the system, they were required to repent to be reconciled to give them an option to escape the heresy inside of them.
- 1557, Pole is no longer Papal legion, as Pope revokes his title. Pole was in fact reported as a Lutheran, and M did not send for him as he would be tried for heresy in England. Pope and M did not agree on what should be done to Pole. It also showed how messy the Catholic reformation was, if a Lutheran was helping in the process.
War with France
1557 - England was in debt and councillors were keen to get England out of continental wars. Phillip stays in England for 1 year after marriage and then leaves to assist war with France but returns in 1557 to beg for England’s support. Marriage treaty rejects this, but England join war anyways, and Calais is lost to French -> symbolic loss & humiliation
Succession:
1554 - Physicians believe she is pregnant, but this is turns out to be a phantom pregnancy
1557-1558 - Happens again, but this time was potentially a tumour
1558 - Dies without an heir
Mary was seen as a female king, as a queen’s position was smaller than king, such as smaller throne and by natural law a female was less of a man.
