Elizabeth and religion Flashcards
(26 cards)
1
Q
What was the religious problems in 1558?
A
- By this time the country was split as many people in the south supported Protestantism whereas in the north it remained devoutly Catholic
- Mary had re-established ties with Rome and the Pope, so by 1558 the Catholic Church was once again in control but many Protestants saw this as a Protestant influence
2
Q
What was the situation in England in 1558?
A
- The Marian exiles that had left during the Protestant burnings under Mary, returned home, there was around 800 of them, and their time abroad had a massive impact on their mindset and they now had more radical views
3
Q
What was the foreign situation in 1558?
A
- England was still officially at war with France because in during Mary’s reign Phillip had drawn England into the Habsburg war, in January 1558, England were unable to hold onto Calais and eventually lost it
- When Mary was married to Phillip II, this made England and Spain strong allies however now that Mary had died, the alliance was now shaky
- In addition to the threat from France, it was a big and powerful Catholic country that supported Mary Queen of Scots, who had a very strong claim to the throne and was married to the heir to the French throne, and this meant that Elizabeth faced a serious threat of France invading England to put Mary on the throne
4
Q
What was the treaty of Cateau-Cambresis ?
A
- Signed in 1559
- and it was a peace agreement between France and Spain that officially ended the long series of wars between them
- England was involved too because they were allied with Spain
- Spain came out stronger and with more benefits from the Treaty because they were able to keep control of lots of territories in Italy
- England’s territory over Calais still remained lost but France agreed to return it after 8 years if England had not done anything to threaten them
- Losing Calais was a major humiliation for England as it made them seem weaker and more isolated in Europe
5
Q
How did the foreign situation in 1558 impact religious development in England?
A
- France and Spain were both Catholic superpowers and since England was isolated and weak, Elizabeth was aware that if she pushed for Protestantism too far , they may try to invade and overthrow her, this meant that Elizabeth had to be careful and not make England too Protestant too quick and it had to look moderate to ensure the Catholic powers did not get angry
- Mary Queen of Scots was a Catholic and was seen by many as the rightful queen of England and Elizabeth feared that France may try to invade her to put Mary on the throne so Elizabeth created Religious Settlement that would unite as many people as together and weaken Catholic support for Mary inside England
- Because Catholic countries were a threat, Elizabeth was in need for potential protestant allies so this made her establish Protestantism in England officially
6
Q
What was the Religious Settlement ?
A
- It was in 1559 and was Elizabeth’s plan to create a moderate form of Protestantism that most people could accept, so that she would not upset Catholics or Protestants
7
Q
What made up the Religious Settlement ?
A
- The act of Supremacy which, Made Elizabeth supreme governor of the Church, All clergy and officials had to swear their loyalty to her as supreme governor, the heresy laws were repealed and it was confirmed that England was no longer under the Pope’s authority
- The act of Uniformity which enforced the use of the 1552 Book of Common Prayer in all Churches, All must attend Church on Sunday or would have to pay a fine
- Another act was the Royal inunctions which ensured that clergy would wear distinctive dress, and music was encouraged at Sunday services
8
Q
Who were the Puritans?
A
- Puritans were extreme, radical Protestants
9
Q
What were Puritans view on the Religious Settlement ?
A
- They were not in support of ti as they thought the settlement was too Catholic
- They were not happy at the fact that Bishops could continue running the Church, Priests were wearing special vestments as they wanted plain clothing and Church decorations such as Crosses and candles
10
Q
What were the aims of the Purtitans?
A
- To remove all Catholic rituals and traditions from the Church of England
- They wanted to get rid of Bishops and replace them with elected Church Leaders
- Make services more plainer
11
Q
What is Presbyterianism ?
A
- Is a type of Protestant belief about how the church should be organised
- Instead of having Bishops, Presbyterians believe that the Church should be run by elected elders called presbyters
- This was a problem for Elizabeth because she wanted to stay in control of the Church through her Bishops and if this belief spreaded it would weaken her power over religion and over the country
12
Q
What was the Vestiarian Controversy ?
A
- It occurred in the 1560s and it was all about clothing, specifically about what priests in the Church should wear
- Elizabeth wanted Priests to wear special robes called vestments during Church , whereas Puritans thought these robes were too Catholic and they just wanted Priests to wear simple black clothes
- in 1566, Mathew Parker who was the Archbishop of Canterbury issued the “book of advertisements” where he agreed that Priests could wear vestments, however some puritan priests refused because they believed it went against true protestant beliefs
- As a result 37 Puritan clergy members lost their jobs for not following the rules
13
Q
What was the influence of puritan leaders?
A
- Puritan leaders had a aim to purify the Church of England from practices they viewed as corrupt or too similar to Catholicism
- Their influence led to a rise of many protestant denominations and helped shape the broader Protestant Reformation
- Were highly critical of Elizabeth Religious Settlement
14
Q
Who were some key puritan leaders?
A
- Edmund Grindal, who was Archbishop of Canterbury and encouraged prophesyings(small secret protestant gatherings) along side John Field
- Thomas Cartwright
- Robert Dudley
15
Q
What were the puritans attempts to change the Church?
A
- Vestiarian controversy
- Prophesyings which was organised by Puritan clergy and were secret meetings where ministers practiced preaching the Bible, this was meant to spread puritan ideas, However Elizabeth banned this in 1577
- Walter Strickland(1571) who was a puritan member of Parliament and he proposed a bill to change the Book of Common Prayer to remove all elements of Catholicism, there was some support for this but not from higher authority, as a result he was barred from the house
- Anthony Cope (1586-1587) who proposed the bill and book which would overturn the government and replace the Prayer book with a presbyterian style Church system, As a response Cope and 4 others were sent to the tower and the Hatton ensured that the book was not bought up again
16
Q
Who was Thomas Cartwright ?
A
- A leading academic critic at Cambridge who introduced Presbyterian teaching into England, in 1570 he gave a series of lectures where he contrasted the Elizabethan Church with the Churches shown in the New testament and highlighted that the role of the bishops and other officials in Elizabeth’s Church did not reflect Bible practice
17
Q
Who were the Separatists ?
A
- They were Puritans who were not ready to compromise and they were the most radical puritans
- They could not accept the services offered in the English Church so they set up their own
- They emphasised on completely breaking away from the Church of England and to create their own independent Church
- Key Separatists were Robert Brown who formed his Church in Norwich and then in the Netherlands in 1582
- And Henry Barrow and John Greenwood in the 1590s who ran a Church in London
- Their impact was limited however because Elizabeth’s government treated it very harshly
18
Q
Who were the Archbishops under Elizabeth ?
A
- Mathew Parker from 1559-1575
- Edmund Grindal from 1575-1583
- John Whitgift from 1583-1604
19
Q
What were the attitudes of each of the Archbishops of Canterbury under Elizabeth I?
A
- Mathew Parker, was former chaplain to Elizabeth’s mother Anne Boleyn and he was a moderate protestant. He was loyal to the religious settlement and was against radical puritans and enforced that the ministers stuck to the Prayer book and wore vestments
-Edmund Grindal, was a respected protestant, who went into exile during the reign of Mary I, He was sympathetic to Puritans but he believed that uniformity should be maintained, he clashed with Elizabeth over prophesyings as she ordered him to shut them down but he refused as he felt that was the preaching was beneficial and could improve educational standards, as a result he was confined to his house and suspended from his duties for several years - John Whitgift, A strong defender of the Elizabeth Church and was very loyal to the Queen, he cracked down hard on Puritans and he issued the 3 articles in 1584 which forced all ministers to accept the Prayer Book
20
Q
Why was Mary Stuart an issue for Elizabeth?
A
- Mary Stuart was a devout Catholic and was so hostile to the new religious settlement and arrived in England in 1568
- And she also had a strong claim to the English throne and as a Catholic figurehead she was a massive threat to the Elizabeth Church
- She had strong support from France since she was married to the French King Francis II and France has a Catholic monarchy thus they supported Mary’s claim, and they also saw it as a potential opportunity to make England part of French territory
21
Q
What the 3 Catholic plot ?
A
- Ridolfi in 1571, where Ridolfi led the plan to Assassinate Elizabeth and marry Mary Stuart to Thomas Howard, duke of Northumberland and make her queen, this was supported by Spain and the Pope however the plot got discovered and Norfolk was executed
- The Throckmorton Plot ( 1583 ) which was led by Throckmorton and was a plan for the Spanish invasion of England, supported by English Catholics and it was to put Mary Stuart on the throne, France also supported it, however the plot was discovered and Throckmorton was tortured and executed
- Babington Plot (1586), was led by Babington and was to assassinate Elizabeth and free Mary Stuart and launch a Catholic uprising and this was supported by Spain and the Jesuits, letters to and from Mary were intercepted and read by Walsingham and he immediately told Elizabeth and they were executed alongside Mary
22
Q
What was the Papal Excommunication ?
A
- In 1570
- The Pope Pius V issued a papal bull which excommunicated Elizabeth from the Catholic Church
- and it declared her a heretic and stated that the English Catholics did not have to obey her
- It was issued due to the Religious Settlement which rejected the papal authority
- Thus this led to a wave of anti Catholic laws and persecutions
23
Q
What was the government reaction to Catholic threat?
A
- Issued the treason act of 1571, which made it illegal to treason and to not attend Church, those who did would be fined
- Acts against Jesuits and Seminary Priests
- Executed key figures such as Jesuit missionaries and Catholic priests, Mary Queen of Scots
24
Q
Who were the Jesuits?
A
- The Jesuits emerged in the 1580s and they were member of the Catholic religious order called the Society of Jesus and their mission was to defend and spread Catholicism, especially in response to the Protestant reformation
- They also conducted Mass in private homes and helped the people resist the protestant Church
25
What were seminary priests ?
- Were English Catholic Priests trained in seminaries and like Jesuits were on a mission to restore Catholicism
- They were trained in Douai College which was found in France by William Allen
- They helped maintain Catholic faith in secret and produced pamphlets and books defending Catholicism and attacking the Church of England
26
What was the Northern rebellion?
- Was a Catholic uprising in 1569 against Queen Elizabeth led by nobles in the north of England who wanted to restore Catholicism and replace Elizabeth with Mary Stuart
- Took place in North of England mainly in Durham and Yorkshire
- Led by Thomas Percy and Charles Neville and their aim was to depose Elizabeth I and restore Catholicism and put Mary on the throne
- The rebel gathered around 6000 men and they captured Durham Cathedral and held a Catholic Mass which was open defiance
- Received little support and the rebellion was crushed by Elizabeth
- Around 800 were executed and it led to harsher treatment of Catholics
