Religious Change

Question 1

what was the main aim of mary’s religious change

Answer 1

The major aim of Mary’s reign was to reinstate traditional Catholic doctrines, services and ornaments in the Church and to restore papal jurisdiction.

Question 2

problems facing Mary trying to restore catholicism

Answer 2

1. Protestant population had grown, particularly in London and the South
2. Reformed Protestant Church was protected in statute law
3. Many of the Political Elite had benefitted financially from the sale of Church Land

Question 3

Mary’s role in religious change

Answer 3

She believed the failure of N was a miracle and a sign that the English people wanted the old faith restored. She was less cautious than everyone else, some of the parliament protestant clergy were deprived of their livings and in some cases imprisoned. Foreign protestants were ordered to leave the country.

Question 4

how was Mary’s role seen as going too far

Answer 4

She was warned by Charles V and the pope not to act too rashly at first. Even Catholic Bishop Gardiner was initially unenthusiastic about restoring papal authority. She failed to understand the political implications of restoring Catholicism, it would mean the end of Royal Supremacy - RS was favoured by the ruling class as more power to the monarch meant less for foreigners and more opportunity for those loyal to the crown to gain power.

Question 5

what was the first religious act passed and when

Answer 5

First Act of Repeal 1553

Question 6

details of the First Act of Repeal 1553

Answer 6

1. All religious laws passed under Edward were repealed
2. The order of service at the time of Henry VIII in 1547 was restored - The Act of 6 Articles
3. All clergy who had married had to give up their wives or be deprived of their living
4. Cranmer, Popper and Ridley were arrested, this removed majority of the opposition from the House of Lords
5. Mary gave up the title as Supreme Head of the Church - Dec 1553
6. Back to 1529 religion except in practices - things like symbols, images, land were destroyed and couldnt ne re-established especially land and monasteries

Question 7

Mary’s contradiction

Answer 7

Using parliament to restore Religious religious change and repeal the Act of Supremacy - suggests that statute law is more important then canon law

Question 8

what was the second act passed by parliament and when

Answer 8

Second Act of Repeal 1554

Question 9

what delayed the passing of the second act of repeal

Answer 9

What delayed the process was the issue of what should happen to monastic lands which had been sold. The issue of church land prevented the Catholic Religious Settlement as it led to debates between Reginald Pole, the council and parliament who all felt that no foreigner should have jurisdiction over church property.

Question 10

who felt church land should be restored to the Church

Answer 10

Pope Julius III and his legate Reginald Pole felt the lad should be restored to the Church, though that would be politically impossible.

Question 11

what was eventually agreed over the issue of church lands

Answer 11

It was eventually agreed by Mary, that church land would not be returned in April 1554, she had to recognise the authority of parliament over matters of religion. She accepted its superiority over divine law

Question 12

details of the second act of repeal

Answer 12

Parliament passed the second act of repeal in 1555 which abolished doctrinal legislation passed since 15299 and all anti-papal legislation. This includes the Act of Supremacy 1534 and the Heresy laws, meaning that papal supremacy was restored in England.

Question 13

when did people start to get executed

Answer 13

1555

Question 14

Role of Reginald Pole

Answer 14

He was Archbishop from December 1555. He had very little administrative experience. His act of attainder was repealed in Nov 1554 and he returned to England. He attempted to reconcile the Church of England to Rome and was against letting people keep church land which he was met with opposition on from the nobles, landowning gentry and council.

Question 15

Reginald pole losing his role

Answer 15

Pope Julius III died in 1555 and was succeeded by anti-Spanish pope paul IV, this made England come into conflict with the papacy. Paul diminished pole as papal legate in April 1557 which was a blow to the Pope’s prestige and also meant that he could no longer act directly on behalf of the Pope in the suspension of the English Church. The pope accused Pole of heresy but Mary Refused to let him go to Rome to face charges. The pope named a new legate - William Peto but Mary refused to acknowledge Peto, this put her in conflict with the pope meaning she could not be properly rewarded for restoring the Catholic Faith

Question 16

change and continuity

Answer 16

Church land was not returned. Monasteries remained dissolved, Previous iconoclasm meant the church was physically different than before, paintings, statues, gold plates and windows were mostly left unrestored. Many traditions such as pilgrimages had disappeared - no humanist tradition under Mary as under Henry VII and Henry VIII

Question 17

what does Mary’s historical reputation rest on

Answer 17

Mary’s historical reputation has come to rest on the burning of Protestant Heretics. This policy earned her the name ‘Bloody Mary’

Question 18

how many were burnt and for what

Answer 18

289 protestants, 237 men and 52 women were burnt at the stake for heresy

Question 19

who were the famous people burnt

Answer 19

Some victims were famous, these included leading protestant churchmen - Archbishop Cranmer, Pooper and Ridley as well as Hugh Latimer a key preacher and former bishop of Worcester. Within a year of Mary’s succession the senior clergy had been purged of protestant elements.

Question 20

what happened once parliament returned heresy laws

Answer 20

Once parliament returned heresy laws, protestants who did not renounce their faith were burned at the stake as a warning to others in their local community. 21 clergymen and 8 gentry were burned but most were from humble backgrounds - this suggests that Protestantism was important to some people who did not simply benefit financially or politically from religious change - she did not do as much as her father did in the 1530s and 40s when faced with heresy

Question 21

what burnings prompted sympathy

Answer 21

Some burnings such as John Rogers and Rowland Taylor prompted widespread sympathy which led to martyrdom. The council started worrying about the effects of burning and they attempted to ban servants, apprentices and the young in general from attending burnings to decrease sympathy for those burnt - Stephen Gardiner

Question 22

death of Cranmer

Answer 22

The Death of Cranmer in 1556 who was burnt at the stake in the centre of Oxford was highly significant. He had been a guiding force behind the introduction of Protestantism from 1533 and when he had become Archbishop of Canterbury under Edward IV. Under Mary he recanted but stood behind his religious convictions, he was burnt for withdrawing his recantation.

Question 23

why did Mary regard Executions as necessary

Answer 23

Mary regarded executions as necessary to cleanse the country of Protestant heresy. Her advisers were less convinced. By executing her subjects in such a graphic way in their community, Mary turned many into martyrs and public heroes. Instead of frightening people back to Catholicism, the burnings raised questions about what was so powerful and important about Protestantism that people were prepared to die for it. This led to propaganda from English Protestants who fled abroad which associated Catholicism with intolerance and authoritarianism which helped undermine Mary’s popularity.

Question 24

how can the effects of burnings be overstated

Answer 24

It is possible to overstate the burnings, beyond London there is little evidence of strong reactions. The majority of what was written concerning it had been heavily influenced by the propaganda of Foxe and others in the reign of Elizabeth

Question 25

main book published against Mary’s religious change

Answer 25

Foxes Book of Martyrs was published in 1563.

Question 26

Foxes Book of Martyrs

Answer 26

Published in 1563 and was the most widely read book in England except for the Bible. Mary was condemned for her cruelty and ungodliness. He established Mary as Bloody Mary. Pictured and described the burning of Ridley and Latimer. ‘His short and all untouched by the Flame’ Foxe wrote, which suggests that God was on their side and would not allow them to suffer. Pictures from the book show Cranmer with his right arm in the flame. Foxe was an exiled protestant and his book was published under Liz

Question 27

Mary’s other religious reforms

Answer 27

Having achieved the reunion of England with the Catholic Church, government policy was divided into two distinct strands - education and persecution. To ensure that Catholicism took root emphasis was placed on better training and supervision of parish priests. Bishops were instructed to set up local training schools and to make regular visits to observe the work of priests in the area. National Decrees laid down the standards expected from priests and new editions of the Prayer Book and Bible were issued for guidance. Her policy was not purely repressive. Pole tried to ensure the quality of priests. Most of the new bishops whom Mary and he appointed took their pastoral responsibilities seriously and in a manner that was perfectly in accord with the spirit of the Catholic Reformation. Bishops were to oversee carefully the religious life of the parishes

Question 28

arguments that Mary was successful in restoring catholicism

Answer 28

No religious uprising - apart from Wyatt which was at the start
Little Opposition
Local enthusiasm - large sums of money raised at great speed to restore churches
Compared to the continent there were few burnings
Gave money to schools for the training of clergy
Mary choose academic bishops and those well experienced pastorally - the bishops visited their areas more than under - Edmund Bonner - Edward which strengthened community bonds

Question 29

arguments that Mary was unsuccessful in restoring catholicism

Answer 29

Damaged her reputation by producing protestant martyrs
The accession of Elizabeth saw Catholicism lost again, and all of Mary’s reforms were undone
The strained relationship between England and the Papacy, Mary and her council and Parliament
Delay in restoring church structure
Unable to restore physical attributes of the church