religion Flashcards
why was religion a big issue for elizabeth
- reformation of henry VIII had made england protestant, but many catholic practices were still followed
- during edward VI reign england became very protestant
- during Marys reign england became catholic again and over 300 protestants were burned
-> when she died she left a scarred and religiously divided country for elizabeth
elizabeth’s religious settlement
- elizabeth was protestant but also practical
- she set about a compromise to bring together catholic and protestant faith in a ‘religious settlement’
- elizabeth allowed priests to marry, services were held in english and she brought back the book of common prayer
- she declared herself ‘governor’ rather than ‘head’ of the church
- elizabeth allowed catholics to worship in their own way in private
- church services were designs to allow people of either faith to understand and participate in their own way
what was life like for most catholics under elizabeth
- when elizabeth came to the throne, many catholics feared protestant retribution for the burnings of mary’s reign
-> instead they found elizabeth was determined to bring the country back together - england was protestant but catholics could still attend church ad see many of the catholic traditions
- services were written to avoid anything that would cause direct conflict for catholics
- recusancy fines for catholics that refused to attend protestant services were very low
- catholics kept their own beliefs private and in return the government wouldn’t not seek out disobedience
when did pope issue the papal bull
27th april 1570
what did the pope do in the papal bull
excommunicated elizabeth from the catholic church and told catholics to rebel against her and end her rule
what did the pope aim to do with the papal bull
stir up rebellions against elizabeth
what law was passed in 1581 to ensure catholics wouldnt rebel
made it treason to attend a catholic mass
- fines were introduced for those who failed to attend church services
what second law was passed in 1585 to ensure no catholic rebellions
treason to have a catholic priest in your home
- priests were executed and noble catholic families faced the loss of their lands and wealth if their loyalty to the queen was in doubt
what did the 1593 law state
catholics could not travel more than 5 miles from their homes
when was the ridolfi plot
1571
when was the northern rebellion
1569
when was the throckmorton plot
1583
throckmorton plot:
- led by sir francis throckmorton
- plan was to assassinate elizabeth and replace her with mary stuart
- once elizabeth had been killed, there would be an invasion by french catholics and an uprising of english catholics
-plot also involved the spanish ambassador - when the plot was discovered, throckmorton was executed and Mary was placed under even closer guard
when was the babington plot
1586
babington plot:
- another attempt to murder elizabeth and put mary on the throne
- led by anthony babington
- the discovery of this plot led to mary’s trial and execution when it was found she knew about and agreed to this plot all along
why did elizabeth’s policy change
in the 1580’s
she felt at threat from catholics and there were many important catholic families who still held power
felt vulnerable as france and spain were catholic and the catholic church wanted england to return to catholicism
campions mission:
- the jesuits had spent the years since 1540 sending missionaries all over europe, spreading their religious messages
- in 1580 they began a mission to england
- Robert Parsons and Edmund Campion led the mission
- campion was disguised as a jewel merchant and began to preach to ordinary engle’s people
- news of his presence reached authorities and he became a wanted man
campion was caught
- was arrested on 14 july and taken to tower of london
- was held for four months and tortured several times
- found guilty of treason on 20th november 1581
- on 1st december he was hung, drawn and quartered
laws against catholics during her reign:
1571 LAW
- recusancy fines for catholics who didn’t take part in protestant services
- rich could afford to pay and law wasn’t enforced too harshly
- became illegal to own any catholic items, such a rosary beads
1581 LAW
- recusancy fines increased to £20
- law was strictly enforced
- high treason to convert to catholicism
1585 LAW
- any catholic priest who had been made a priest after 1559 was considered a traitor
- became legal to kill anyone who attempted to assassinate the queen
1593 LAW
- catholics could not travel more than 5 miles from their home without permission
mary: a threat to peace in england:
- many england protestants reacted to mary’s arrival in england with shock and fear
- saw a potential catholic queen and return to horrors of mary I reign
- opinion of parliament was clear: mary was a threat to the security of the protestant country
- number of privy councillors called for mary’s execution
-> elizabeth was hesitant as executing a queen may give her enemies ideas - mary was moved around the country as a prisoner for 19 years
- mary believed she was the rightful queen of england
mary: the final plot:
- the babington plot
- babington managed to get mary’s servants to hide coded letters in bear barrels that were taken to her room
- mary agreed to the plan
- however, mary’s servants didn’t work for her at all, they were spies for elizabeth
- when the code was broke it was clear mary supported a plot to kill the queen
- mary was arrested
mary: a queen on trial:
- october 1586, mary was put on trial
- mary argued her case strongly
- said that as a foreign queen, not an englishwoman, she couldn’t be guilty of treason
- she was sentenced to death on 25th october
- elizabeth was reluctant to kill mary
- worried if a rightful monarch killed another there would be terrible consequences
- concerned mary’s son or catholic spanish might seek revenge
- she signed the death warrant on 1st feb
did mary’s death solve elizabeth’s problems?
- without mary, catholics had no obvious alternatives for to replace elizabeth
- if elizabeth died, her successor would be James, the protestant king of scotland
- elizabeth had executed a queen, a dangerous idea that gave her less loyal subjects
- french and scottish kings expressed outrage but took no action
