The Puritan threat Flashcards
Who were the puritans
Protestants who wanted to purify the church of all traces of the old catholic religion
Many fled abroad during Mary Tudor’s reign but began to return to England in 1558
What did the Puritans want?
Wanted plain and simple churches (all paintings, statues, stained-glass windows and organs should be removed)
Preachers should wear plain black gowns
Drunkenness, swearing and gambling must be stopped
Sunday was the Lord’s day so all sports and games should be banned on Sundays
What did the Puritans do in 1566
Puritan MPs demanded that priests should wear plain black gowns
How did Elizabeth deal with the Puritan’s demands for plain gowns
Archbishop of Cantebury issued new rules for Church
All priests must wear vestments
In London - 30 refused and were expelled from Church
What did the Puritans do in 1571
Walter Strickland (Puritan MP) wanted to introduce new Prayer book and ban vestments Campaign organised in London to support him
How did Elizabeth deal with Walter Strickland
Elizabeth closed Parliament before his ideas could be discussed
What did the Puritans do in 1575-1583
They organised prayer meetings (Prophesyings) to spread ideas
New Archbishop of Cantebury was a Puritan and liked these meetings
How did Elizabeth deal with the Prophesyings
She ordered Grindal to ban the meetings but he refused so she suspended him
Appointed John Whitgift as his successor who banned meetings and expelled 200 puritan priests for disobeying rules of the church
What did the Puritans do in 1583?
William Stubbs (Puritan) wrote a pamphlet criticising Elizabeth for holding marriage talks with a Catholic prince from France
How did Elizabeth deal with William Stubbs?
He had his right hand cut off
What did the Puritans do in 1586
Sir Anthony Cope (a Puritan MP) introduced a bill to abolish bishops and establish a new prayer book
How did Elizabeth deal with Sir Anthony Cope
Him and four of his supporters were imprisoned in the tower of London
What did the Puritans do in 1588-1589
Some issued a series of anonymous pamphlets called the Marprelate Tracts which contained strong complaints about the church and bishops
How did Elizabeth deal with the Marprelate Tracts
Many people were offended by the pamphlets so the puritans lost a lot of support
Puritans after 1590
Campaigns stopped in late 1580s
Most people supported CofE
John Field (most important puritan leader) died in 1588
Sir Francis Walsingham (one of biggest supporters at Court) died in 1590
