A2 FP1, Mary I's religious policies

Question 1

What problems did Mary face in implementing Legislation?

Answer 1

• Protestantism had attracted adherants in London and other parts of the South
• Reformed CoE was protected by statue law
• Many members of the political elite, upon whom mary relied, benefited financially from the acquisition of monastic lands and had no desire to surrender them
• Mary faced a dilemma in that relying on parliamentary legislation to reverse the royal supremacy meant accepting that statue law was superior to Canon law.

Question 2

What and when was the first act of repeal?

Answer 2

First Act of Repeal, 1553, repealed Edwardian legislation and in December Mary gave up the title “Head of the Supreme Church.”. Married clergy deprived of their livings.

Question 3

How many protestants fled the country and when?

Answer 3

1554, 800 protestants flee the country and when the royal injunctions were issued, 243 priests lost their posts and 10-25% of clergy were deprived of their livings.

Question 4

What and when was the second statue of repeal?

Answer 4

The second statue of repeal, 1555, undid all anti-papal laws from the Henrician reformation and undid the reformation itself (all acts from 1529).

Question 5

How many protestants were burnt at the stake for heresy during Mary’s reign?

Answer 5

Roughly 280 protestants were burnt at the stake for heresy during Mary’s reign, of which the most famous were the Oxford Martyrs : Latimer, Ridley, Hooper (1555) and Cranmer (1556).
Bulk of the sufferers were from fairly humble backgrounds, suggesting that protestantism meant something on a personal level.

Question 6

What was the impact of the burning of heretics?

Answer 6

• Within a year of Mary’s accession, the senior clergy had been purged of its protestant elements.
• Cranmer’s execution was significant as he had been an introductory force in protestantism.
• Raised questions about why people were willing to die for protestantism.
• Damaged Mary’s population, Foxe’s book of Martyrs worsened her reputation during Elizabeth’s reign (1563).

Question 7

What was the extent to which Mary had transformed the religious situation by 1558?

Answer 7

The bulk of the country remained Catholic by sentiment, more could have been achieved however there was delay in properly restoring church infrastructure and divisions between the crown and papacy did not help (mary refused to acknowledge the superior papal authority of William Peto over Cardinal Pole after Pole’s dismissal in 1557).