Religious Developments And ‘Golden Age’ Flashcards
Was there acceptance of the via media?
The majority of the population supported the royal supremacy and after the legislation enacting the Elizabethan religious settlement of 1559
There was a broad acceptance of the ‘via media’
Most worshippers accepted the changes which occurred in their parishes as churches lost some of their statuary and plate, and plain Communion tables were erected.
Who were those who had strong religious convictions and actively worked against the settlement?
Recusants (catholics who paid fines regather than attend Anglican services)
Puritans (a new group, opposed to all catholic practises, which emerged in the 1560s)
What happened with religion from 1570?
When the pope excommunicated Elizabeth, English church became more Protestant and those who failed to conform could be punished. A puritan faction grew
Who was in the puritan faction?
Presbyterians - who’s ideas derived from Calvinism and who wanted to remove the bishops
Separatists - who were dissatisfied with the pace of Protestant reform and wanted to go further
How did the catholic faction become more active?
It linked up with movements on the continent for counter-reformation in the 1570s and 1580s
It supported the activities of English priests trained abroad and jesuits who came to England ro reconvert it
What reduced the perceived threat of Catholicism?
Harsh penal laws against catholics and the 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada
Helped puritans to reconcile themselves to the Elizabethan settlement in the later years of eliz’s reign
By the time the queen died in 1603, the religion was no longer a serious political issue and the ‘godly’ puritans were accepted within the church.
What aid puritans want?
Further reform to remove remaining ‘catholic’ practises
What was it like for the catholics?
They were tolerated until 1570
Increasingly persecuted after 1570 and practised in secret
Who were the separatists?
Small, extreme sect
Wanted to separate entirely from the established church
Puritanism?
Arose after the 1563 convocation of Canterbury failed to go further in its reform of the church
1566: the vestiarian controversy occurred when archbishop Parker issues his advertisements making certain vestments compulsory. This angered some Protestants (puritans), particularly in London, and some puritan ministers were deprived of their livings.
1583: Archbishop of Canterbury, john whitgift issued three articles. These demanded acceptance from the clergy of:
- the royal supremacy
- the prayer book
- the 39 articles
Few puritan clergy were prepared to break with the church by refusing the 3 articles
1595: the Lambeth Articles, approved by Whitgift, reaffirmed the fundamentally Calvinist beliefs of the Church of England and proved acceptable to both puritans and their opponents
Separatism?
The most extreme form of Puritanism
Its adherents wanted to separate from the Church of England altogether and create independent church congregations, without the queen as supreme governor
The movement emerged in the 1580s, but had only small followings, e.g. in Norwich and London
1593: act against seditious secretaries (members of sects which had separated from the Church of England) brought arrests of separatists
The leaders of the London movement were tried and executed for circulating ‘seditious books’
Presbyterianism?
A Puritan sub-set which developed after the Vestiarian controversy. It attracted some important supporters, including the earl of Huntingdon and the earl of Leicester. But was generally a fringe movement in London, south-east and parts of East Midlands
1572: parliament demanded greater reliance of the authority of sculptures and church government by ministers and elders rather than bishops (authors were imprisoned)
1583: some Presbyterians stood out against the 3 articles
1584 and 1587: bills in parliament to replace the book of common prayer with a new prayer book stripped of ‘popish’ elements. Neither bills were passed
Late 1580s: Presbyterianism declined as parliaments rejection of cope’s proposed prayed book suggested further reform was unlikely
Catholicism?
Initially, catholics were tolerated but:
- they had to pay recusancy fines if they failed to attend Anglican services (many outwardly conformed, despite their inner beliefs)
- all (except one) catholic bishops refused to conform to the 1559 other of supremacy
- many catholic intellectuals went into exile, some priests survived as private chaplains to catholic nobles
1571: following eliz’s excommunication (1570), the publication of papal bulls in England became treasonable
1575-85: catholic priests trained abroad came to England to uphold and spread Catholicism. They operated in secret from the country houses of catholic gentry
1580: Jesuit priests also arrived (later captured and executed in 1581)
1581: act to retain the Queen’s majesty’s subjects in their due obedience made:
- non-allegiance to the queen or Church of England treasonable
- saying mass punishable by a heavy fine and imprisonment
- the fine for non-attendance at church £20 per month
The missions had limited success
15 catholic priests were executed in 1581-82 and a further act in 1585 made it treasonable for catholic priests to enter England
Catholics became more of a ‘country-house religion’ than the popular faith it had been in the 1560s
What happened to arts and cultures in eliz reign?
Many aspects of English culture flourished in Elizabethan England. The patronage of the queen, courtiers, nobility and gentry ensured that the arts thrived.
Some courtiers such as sir Walter Raleigh even composed poetry themselves. Many of the arts celebrated the virgin queen
Plays, paintings and literature became propaganda for eliz - who was sometimes known as ‘Gloriana’
What happened to education in eliz’s reign?
Flourished
Around 30 grammar schools were established and increasing numbers of young noblemen attended oxford and Cambridge
