elizabethan - chapter 3.1

Question 1

what religion was elizabeth

Answer 1

protestant

Question 2

what had influenced elizabeth’s religion

Answer 2

her education had been influenced by protestants, such as her step-mother Catherine Parr and her tutor Roger Ascham

Question 3

when she became queen, how did elizabeth demonstrate her protestantism

Answer 3

by forbidding priests from performing the traditional mass in royal chapels, so rejecting the old catholic idea of transubstantiation

Question 4

what did elizabeth like about catholicism

Answer 4

certain elements, particularly church decoration and church music

Question 5

what were elizabeth’s aims when creating her religious settlement

Answer 5

they were more political than religious
- one aim was to heal divisions between catholics and protestant before they led to unrest and civil war
-> this had happened in both germany and france
-> the country was very divided - protestantism was quite strong in the south east of england, but catholicism was still very strong in the north and west

• another aim was to maximise her personal power and wealth by taking as much control over the church as she could
  -> this did not fit with remaining loyal to the pope in rome

Question 6

when was the act of supremacy passed

Answer 6

may 1559

Question 7

what did the act of supremacy deal with

Answer 7

elizabeth’s political aims regarding the church

Question 8

what did the act of supremacy state

Answer 8

• it established the break from rome and an independent church of england
• however, as a compromise, elizabeth chose the less controversial title of supreme governor rather than supreme head, which had been used by her father and brother
  -> she hoped this would pacify the catholics who still regarded the pope as ‘head’ of the church
• stated that the church would keep its existing, pre-reformation episcopal structure, with two archbishops (canterbury and york) and various bishops below them helping elizabeth govern the church
  -> this was a concession to the catholics, as all the european protestant churches had all got rid of this sort of hierarchy

Question 9

what did elizabeth make the clergy do

Answer 9

swear an oath of loyalty to her

Question 10

what did the Court of High Commission do

Answer 10

monitored people, and prosecuted those who seemed to be disloyal

Question 11

when was the Act of Uniformity passed

Answer 11

may 1559

Question 12

what was the aim of the act of uniformity

Answer 12

aimed to end quarrels between catholics and protestants by making it clear what the Anglican church believed in

Question 13

what followed the act of uniformity

Answer 13

it was followed by royal injunctions 2 months later, which outlined 57 rules to be followed, and then the Thirty-Nine articles in 1563

Question 14

what religion was the new church created

Answer 14

protestant

Question 15

what were the changes to the church

Answer 15

• a new book of common prayer was issued
  -> was moderately worded but contained radical protestant ideas
• the traditional catholic mass was abandoned
• the bible was written in english
• services were in english
• the clergy were allowed to marry
• old catholic practices, such as pilgrimages and saints’ images were banned
• however, the law did try to pacify english catholics
• although the law declared that the altar should be replaced with a communion table, to please the catholics the law also stated that ornaments such as crosses and candles could be placed on the table
• priests also had to wear traditional catholic-style vestments rather than the plain black ones worn by protestants

Question 16

how did the catholics react to elizabeth’s religious changes so what did elizabeth do

Answer 16

• they were unwilling to accept elizabeth as the Head of the Church
  -> those catholics who held public office (as MPs, JPs, judges, etc.) had their positions taken away from them
• attendance at the Anglican Church was made compulsory, but the pope ordered english catholics to not attend Anglican services

Question 17

what happened to those who followed the pope’s orders to catholics to not attend anglican church

Answer 17

recusants who followed the pope’s orders were fined a shilling a week

Question 18

what was the punishment for attending mass

Answer 18

fines

Question 19

what was the punishment for those found guilty of performing the ceremony of mass itself

Answer 19

death penalty

Question 20

what was happening in the Netherlands in 1568 to keep Catholicism alive in england

Answer 20

in 1568, a school for training seminary priests was founded by William Allen in Douala in the Netherlands
the aim was to train English Catholics as missionaries to go back to england and keep catholicism alive

Question 21

in 1569, what catholic rebellion happened

Answer 21

northern rebellion
some leading Catholic nobles, including the Dukes of Northumberland and Norfolk, led a rebellion in the north, aiming to depose elizabeth

Question 22

when did the pope excommunicate elizabeth and why was this important

Answer 22

1570
this was very important as it said that catholics no longer had to be loyal to the queen and directly ordered them to disobey her laws or be excommunicated themselves

Question 23

what was the result of the pope excommunicating elizabeth

Answer 23

elizabeth was increasingly threatened by catholic plots and assassination attempts

Question 24

what did elizabeth do as a result of her being increasingly threatened by catholic plots and assassination attempts

Answer 24

in response, a new Treason Act was introduced in 1571
this stated that denying elizabeth’s supremacy and bring the pope’s bull of excommunication into england could both be punished by death
also anyone who left the country for more than 6 months had their land confiscated
-> this was in an attempt to stop english catholics going abroad to train as missionaries

Question 25

what led to greater hatred and fear of catholicism in england

Answer 25

in 1572, the St Bartholomew’s day massacre in France occurred -> thousands of french protestants were killed in mob violence that, it was believed, was brought about by the Catholic government -> bloodshed in france and worsening relations with spain led to a greater hatred and fear of catholicism in england from the 1580s, a new catholic threat emerged that added to these feelings: the Jesuits

Question 26

who were the Jesuits

Answer 26

a religious group dedicated to serving the pope

Question 27

what did jesuits do

Answer 27

- they had rigorous training and were sent to england as educators - the idea was to gain influence over rich and powerful families and to turn them against the queen and the anglican church - once in england, they also helped to smuggle other priests into the country

Question 28

who was one of the first and most famous english jesuit and what did he do

Answer 28

Edmund Campion he was a brave and charismatic leader when he arrived in 1580, he first went to Lancashire, where catholicism was strongest later he moved to london, holding church services in the homes of important catholic families -> all this had to be done secretly, with campion wearing disguises and using ‘safe houses’ to avoid arrest

Question 29

what were some houses like so they could have a mass

Answer 29

some houses had so-called priest holes -> these were cleverly concealed rooms and spaces where priests could hide and where the illegal Mass could be celebrated

Question 30

who was important in creating a network of ‘safe houses’ for priests to use

Answer 30

Nicholas Owen, a Catholic carpenter

Question 31

which sisters were both involved in renting houses across the country for the priests to use

Answer 31

the wealthy Anne Vaux and her sister Eleanor Brooksby

Question 32

what further measures did the authorities introduce because they were increasingly worried about catholic activity

Answer 32

in 1581, the fine for recusancy was raised to £20 and any attempt to convert people to the Catholic faith was made a treasonable offence in 1585, Parliament passed the Act Against Jesuits and Seminary Priests -> this made becoming a priest treason and all priests were ordered to leave england in 40 days on pain of death

Question 33

who were pursuivants

Answer 33

officials who raided the ‘safe houses’ -> their searches could last for up to a week and result in the houses being torn apart

Question 34

when was the Jesuit, Edmund Campion, caught

Answer 34

within a year of his arrival

Question 35

who located Campion to capture him

Answer 35

he was successfully located by Walsingham’s spy network

Question 36

once captured, where was campion taken and what happened there

Answer 36

- taken to the tower of london - he was offered his freedom if he converted to protestantism, but he refused - even when tortured on the rack, he denied any plotting against elizabeth, but was still executed for treason in 1581

Question 37

which Jesuit managed to escape the tower of London and how

Answer 37

the priest-hole builder, Nicholas Owen helped to mastermind the escape of a Jesuit, John Gerard, from the tower of london in 1597

Question 38

in the 1590s, what further force was implemented to control the catholics

Answer 38

in 1593, large gatherings of catholics were made illegal catholics freedom of movement was restricted -> they were not allowed to travel further than 5 miles from their homes without the authorities permission

Question 39

by the end of elizabeth’s reign what percent of the country were estimated to be catholic sympathisers and what percent were actual recusants

Answer 39

- estimated 10% of the population were catholic sympathisers - 2% were actual recusants

Question 40

how was the pope to blame for the collapse of english catholicism

Answer 40

- he had forbidden catholics to attend church services, but few people were rich enough to become recusants because of the fines imposed by the gov - years later, the pope annoyed the english catholics by appointing a Jesuit, George Blackwell, as the ‘Archpriest’ of England, even though he was an unpopular choice - the pope and spain had also encouraged plots and rebellions against elizabeth -> although most english catholics did nor involve themselves in such activities, a few english catholics did commit treason by plotting with englands enemies -> this helped to reinforce the idea that catholicism was dangerous, unpatriotic, and ‘foreign’

Question 41

why were puritians unhappy with elizabeth’s religious settlement

Answer 41

- for them, the old Roman Catholic Church was corrupt and too many of its traditions were based on superstition, not the bible - they found the catholic parts of elizabeth’s ‘middle way’ was offensive -> in particular, they were angry about the continued existence of bishops and about the vestments worn by the anglican clergy

Question 42

why did puritans become a problem for elizabeth from the 1570s onwards

Answer 42

- there were many senior people at court, in the church and in parliament who were sympathetic to puritans - elizabeth’s favourite, Robert Dudley, was a puritan - influenced by calvinist ideas, which were becoming more popular in scotland, Thomas Cartwright delivered a series of lectures at cambridge university in 1570 -> he called for the abolition of bishops -> he also made no mention of elizabeth as ‘supreme govenor’ -> she was horrified at the suggestion that the church hierarchy should be removed, seeing the idea as being dangerous and a revolutionary threat to her own authority

Question 43

when and why were puritan printing presses destroyed

Answer 43

1572 after two pamphlets criticising the structure and beliefs of the church were published

Question 44

how did the queen feel about puritan ideas being debated in parliament

Answer 44

she was angered and rejected any bills proposed by puritans

Question 45

in 1576 what did the queen say, due to there being discussions about puritan ideas

Answer 45

MPs were no longer allowed to discuss religious matters without her permission

Question 46

what happened to the puritan Peter Wentworth when he challenged elizabeth when she said that MPs were not allowed to discuss religious matters without her permission

Answer 46

he was imprisoned

Question 47

who did the puritan threat lead to serious disagreements between and what happened

Answer 47

the queen and the archbishop of canterbury, Edmund Grindal - she was concerned about the practice of prophesying - there were prayer meetings where the bible was discussed and debated and where sermons were said -> essentially, they were training sessions for the clergy - however, elizabeth was concerned that such meetings were a dangerous opportunity for spreading puritan ideas around the country - when grindal refused to close them down, elizabeth had him placed under house arrest, where he remained for the next seven years, until his death

Question 48

who did grindal get replaced by

Answer 48

John Whitgift

Question 49

who was john whitgift

Answer 49

he was a strict anglican who ended prophesying

Question 50

what did john whitgift do and what did this show

Answer 50

he immediately issued the Three Articles (forcing all members of the clergy to swear absolute acceptance of the bishops), the Prayer Book and the Thirty-Nine Articles of 1563 -> the fact that 300 ministers were suspended as a result of this points to the mixture of opinions which existed within the elizabethan church

Question 51

what happened the same year as whitgift’s appointment

Answer 51

a Puritan called William Stubbs had his hand cut off for writing a pamphlet criticising elizabeth

Question 52

what did whitgift’s harsh approach lead to

Answer 52

it pushed a few puritans into breaking away from the anglicans altogether to become Separatists or Brownists

Question 53

who were the Brownists and what did they do

Answer 53

- they were named after Robert Browne, who was imprisoned after setting up a separate congregation at Norwich - later, scurrilous puritan pamphlets appeared, published anonymously in 1589 -> their coarse language and disrespectful tone shocked many and turned more people against the puritans -> it also gave the gov the excuse to attack the puritan further

Question 54

what law did the gov pass against the Separatist’s

Answer 54

in 1593, the gov passed the Act Against Seditious Sectaries, which allowed the authorities to execute anyone suspected of being a separatist

Question 55

what influencial book did Richard Hooke write that defended the ‘Middle Way’ and dismissed Puritan criticisms

Answer 55

The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity