Religion Flashcards
What was the major religion in England in 1603?
Protestant Calvinism
Why was there hostility to Catholicism at this time?
Reformation
burning of Protestants under Catholic ‘Bloody’ Mary I
war against Catholic Spain in Elizabeth’s reign (esp. Spanish Armada 1588)
Key differences between Catholicism and Protestantism:
Catholicism:
stayed as one form of religion
clear hierarchy
services are centralized (exactly the same worldwide)
belief in transubstantiation in mass
Bible written in Latin
believe in Saints
Believe in salvation through faith and good works
Protestantism:
has branched of into many different denominations over time
different in different denominations but Anglican structure similar to Catholicism
services depend on each individual subsection/branch preference
belief in consubstantiation in mass
Bible is vernacular
No Saints (no distractions from God)
Salvation through faith alone
What was the Conspiracy Mentality?
What were causes of the Conspiracy Mentality?
It’s essentially the idea that Charles kind of was the source of the paranoia within his own court in places
View of Charles developed inside and outside of court
Charles had favourites + was out of touch with views of PN
Outsiders from Court believed Catholics/Arminians (esp. also Charles’ marriage to Catholic Henrietta Maria) were in control of the King
Charles believed his difficulties with Parliament were an attempt by Puritans to attack his power
When were recusancy fines collected?
What were they?
May 1603
fines imposed on anyone who didn’t attend the compulsory Church of England service on a Sunday (usually Catholics or Puritans who disagreed with Protestant/ Calvinist services)
When was anti-Jesuit legislation passed?
Who passed it?
Why was it passed?
1604
encouraged by Parliament
Jesuits (religious order = seen as the aggressive arm of the Catholic Church) fought openly to convert Protestant countries to Catholicism under the Pope
When was the Gunpowder plot?
What was it?
> November 1605
> Catholic plot against the government (intended as the precursor to a Catholic uprising)
What was passed in response to the Gunpowder plot?
What was it?
> 1606 Oath of Allegiance
> Oath which meant Catholics had to swear loyalty to James I and not the Pope
What Parliamentary laws were passed in 1606?
What effect did they have?
> two severe anti-catholic legislation
James didn’t rigorously enforce them (lacked administrative drive and didn’t want to upset Catholic Spain after peace in Treaty of London) but after Gunpowder plot, Catholics just naturally became more passive
Richard Montagu
Who was he?
Parliament’s views?
Richard Montagu was an Anglican clerk + Chaplain to James I. He put forward an anti-Calvinist argument = wanted to find middle ground between Roman Catholic and Calvinist extremes.
Wrote ‘A New Gag for an Old Goose’
Parliament attacked Charles’ support of Richard Montagu.
What was Arminianism?
Religion close to Catholicism.
In James’ early reign what religion would he be described as?
What were his religious views towards the end of his reign?
How was this shown? (2 points)
In his early reign James was far more anti-Catholic
He moved later to be more towards Catholicism.
Allowed William Laud to have greater presence in theological debates at court
Didn’t censor Richard Montagu’s 1624 work ‘A New gag for an Old Goose’ = was a publicised Arminian work
William Laud
Who was he?
What did he try to do?
Parliament’s view of him?
How he impacted relationship of Charles and Parliament?
significant religious and political advisor for Charles I + Archbishop of Canterbury
tried to implement religious reforms attacking strict Protestant practices of English Puritans
accused him of popery, tyranny and treason
key instigators of conflict between Charles and Parliament
Millenary Petition
When was it? (Which king?)
What was it?
Example? (1)
1603 = while James travelled from Scotland to be crowned King
petition was a list of requests for more Parliament modifications to Church of England
Eg. Freedom of ministers not to wear ceremonial robes
Hampton Court Conference
When was it?
Why was it called?
Why was it important for James’ image?
What was the permanent achievement of the conference?
The Hampton Court Conference took place in January 1604. The conference was in response to the Millenary Petition so that the issues raised by it could be discussed in a formal setting.
Many of the signatories of the Millenary Petition were very well aware that James I had a passion for philosophical and ideological debate and he rose to their challenge by calling the Hampton Court Conference. Bishops and Puritans representatives were both invited.
Who was installed as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1604?
Bancroft
James’ attitudes towards Puritans:
When he became the King of both England and Scotland, James sought to keep the Church of England strictly under his monarchical rule and the power of episcopacy, previously established under Elizabeth.
King James held strong convictions on the Divine right of kings, and even wrote a book on the subject. To that end, he continued to suppress many of the important aspects of the Puritan movement, including the many Puritan’s Congregationalist and Presbyterian views of Church government. The King knew though that he needed the Puritans to strengthen the Protestant establishment in England, as well as every aspect of the nation’s prosperity and success.
To that end, King James supported and even advanced many of the Puritan pastors, academics, and gentry, just as Queen Elizabeth did, if and when they were willing to work with the Anglican establishment under the authority of the bishops. For this reason, the Puritan movement continued to grow and expand throughout England in remarkable ways under the reign of King James.
What was the belief behind personal monarchy?
The King had political power to make major decisions without consulting parliament.
What was the 1547 book of hostilities?
This reinforced the King as God’s lieutenant and highest master. This was read at church.
What belief did the book of hostilities reinforce ?
Patriarchalism where women are obedient to men, children to parents…
Why did England have less barriers to rule?
It was a small country. By 1603 there were medieval independent jurisdictions like the secular power of the prince.
Why was county allegiance stronger in France?
Regions like Brittany had representative assembly with different legal traditions such as customary and Roman law, and languages.
What example of control of information did kings have? What were differences between James and Charles in foreign policy?
Monarch appointed privy council advisors but could do what they liked with advice.
In the Thirty Years War, James didn’t want war with Spain but Charles II wanted to enter war.
What was absolute monarchy? What were arguments for and against? (James v Fortescue?)
A King could make their own laws and taxes. The 1530 break with Rome showed superior legislative authority for parliament as acts of Parliament exceeded Royal proclamations.
James 12 March 1610: while kings are god appointed they must stand by their oaths to prevent tyranny.
Sir John Fortescue in Praise of the Laws of England argued there was mixed monarchy with acts made within consent of nobility and gentry.
