Virgin Queen Flashcards
4 Reasons people didn’t think she should be queen
-Legitimacy
-Gender
-Marriage
-Character
why did people question her legitimacy
-As the daughter of Anne Boleyn, some catholics thought her claim to the throne was weak
-Henry had actually declared her illegitimate in 1536 but then changed his mind in 1543
why was gender a problem
many did not think women should rule
This is also seen as Mary I has not been popular
why was marriage a problem
Elizabeth advisors wanted Elizabeth to marry a powerful, well connected prince to strengthen her claim to the throne and provide an heir
Elizabeth did not like any of the suitors and decided to rule alone
What was her character like
- she was intelligent (she spoke 5 languages and had the best education in England)
-deeply religious
-She could get angry and struggle to make decisions quickly (sometimes this was good as she did not act rashly in war/rebellions)
When was the religious division
1558
what was the religious division
-Henry vIII’s reformation had divided the country
-In towns many were strict protestant (Puritans) and wanted to purify the protestant church by making more reforms
-BUT
-Especially in the countryside and the North of England, most were still catholic and still saw the pope as head of the church.
what was the religious settlement
Elizabeth wanted a single church to heal divisions
Features of the religious settlement (2)
-Act of Uniformity
-Act of supremacy
what was the act of uniformity
-one church
-everyone uses book of common prayer
-Bible in English
-churches could keep ornaments and vestments
What was the act of supremacy
-Elizabeth was the ‘Supreme governor’ of the church
-Everyone had to swear loyalty to her
What was the impact of the religious settlement
Most supported it as it was a compromise between Protestants and Catholics
- Protestants happy that the bible in English and that Protestantism is state religion
-Catholics happy that the decoration stayed and that Elizabeth Governor not head. Meant they could still recognise the Pope as head
BUT some on both catholic and protestant extremes were still angry
Nature and extent of puritan challenge
-some puritans did not think priests should lead services. it should be run by committees of ordinary people.
-Also disliked the decoration and vestments.
-some organised meeting criticising Elizabeth BUT did not pose a massive threat. Elizabeth had banned them after a while
Nature and extent of catholic challenge
-ROLE OF THE NOBILITY- many old powerful noble families were catholic especially in north and elizabeth needed them on her side to prevent a revolt
-PAPACY-april 1570 the pope issued a papal bull excommunicating Elizabeth. making her an enemy to the catholic church
-FOREIGN POWERS-France and Spain both catholic. After the Papal Bull both started to support plots against elizabeth. sent missionaries to england to try to convert people back to catholicism
