Puritan Threat

Question 1

John Whitgift

Answer 1

• appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury following the death of Edmund Grindal
• this was part of her tough stance against Puritans in the 1580s
• he banned unlicensed preaching, and implemented imprisonment for those who refused to follow the riles through a new High Commission
• high profile Puritans, e.g. Anthony Cope, were imprisoned in the Tower of London
• printers circulating Puritan messages were punished

Question 2

Separatists

Answer 2

• didn’t want a national church
• rejected Church of England
• wanted parishes to establish their own churches based on Bible’s teachings
• small separatist groups were emerging by 1583
• their activities were illegal
• The Brownists were a Separatist group, led by Robert Browne
• the separatists also disliked the settlement
• they argued that the reforms were not enough
• they also stated that the 39 articles were Popish

Question 3

Presbyterianism

Answer 3

• this was even more extreme than the separatists
• they questioned the need for bishops
• criticised them and other things at religious meetings known as prophesyings
• Grindal was suspended from his role as Archbishop of Canterbury due to his encouraging of prophesyings

Question 4

the simplicity of the puritan services

Answer 4

• services were simple
• they rejected ceremonies
• wore simple clothing
• studied the bible very closely
• they didn’t agreed to wear the ceremonial robe of the church of England until 1568

Question 5

Martin Marprelate Tracts

Answer 5

• because of these tracts the separatist movement returned to prominence
• the tracts were angry attacks on bishops and the Church of England
• caused outrage among the public and authorities
• puritans tried to stay away from the tracts but were still associated with them

Question 6

response to separatists

Answer 6

• Act Against Seditious Secretaries (1593)

- set death penalty for those accused of being Separatists

Question 7

Origins of Puritans

Answer 7

• radical protestants
• during Mary’s reign, many protestants were persecuted or forced to flee
• those that fled would go to radical protestant countries, such as the Netherlands and Switzerland
• they then came back to England once Elizabeth came to power with radical protestant views

Question 8

Walter Strickland and his reform bill

Answer 8

• gentleman MP from Yorkshire
• set out a bill to reform the Book of Common Prayer in April 1571
• wanted to abolish surplices, deeming them as superstitious
• there was some support for his bill in the House of Commons, but none from any higher authority
• he was summoned to the Privy Council and accused of infringing on the queen’s royal prerogative
• he was barred from the house, but returned not long after due to an outcry
• the bill was never seen again

Question 9

Anthony Cope - ‘bill and book’

Answer 9

• MP who wanted Protestant reform
• he was sympathetic to Presbyterianism
• he proposed the ‘bill and book’ which stated that the new prayer book should be replaced by the Genevan Prayer Book
• the proposal got some support and was defended passionately by another MP, Throckmorton
• however, Elizabeth wasn’t impressed and sent for the bill and book
• Cope and 4 others were sent to the tower and the proposal disappeared

Question 10

Cartwright’s lectures

Answer 10

• Cambridge professor
• introduced to Presbyterianism
• he did a series of lectures in 1570 unfavourably comparing Elizabeth’s church with an ideal New Testament one
• stated that the role of bishops wasn’t reflective of traditional Biblical practices
• resentment for bishops was growing at the time, with steps failing to be taken towards a proper reformation of the church
• Cartwright’s academic freedom was taken away from as a result of his lectures, as well as his professorship

Question 11

Field & Wilcox and their appeal

Answer 11

• 2 ministers who presented an appeal to MPs in June 1572
• wanted superstitious practices to be removed
• wanted the Genevan church system to replace the Elizabethan one
• they met opposition from believers in the established authority
• they were both arrested and spent a year in Newgate prison
• however, their appeal, known as the Adomotion, had a wide readership and initiated a pamphlet war between detractors and supporters
• there was therefore some success for puritanism in this appeal, bringing the ideas into the forefront of debate