Key issue 2: Religious changes 1547-1558

England 1547

• Death of Henry VIII (Catholic with teh monarch at the head of the church)   --> Edward VI is protestant
• Edward Seymour (Somerset) dominates the regency council after the death of Henry VIII 
• Changes to the ordinary English people's values and attitudes (they have previously been raised on Catholic values)

                       - Catholic churches are visually appealing + traditional

                       - protestant emphasis on preaching

• Have to convince the high ranking members of the church (Bishops) 

                       - Clergy, Somerset is protestant (moderate)

- Church of England was still Catholic without the pope as the head of the church (still support for traditional practices and changes resulted in unrest)

- Difficult to remove traditional catholic practices                                                                                                        ~Would have to win over the heart and minds of the English people                                                                                                                ~ Protestantism was less visually appealing (harder to convince)

Religous reform under Somerset proceeded slowly and cautiously 

• Old traditional practices were attacked and destroyed 
• Bishops were divided in their change
• Lower clergy opposed the change
• No fully reformed Church put in place

1547 Protestant reform

• Royal visitation (examined the state of the clergy and practices of the church)
• Book of Homilies placed in every church
• All clergy ordered to conduct their services in English 
• Iconoclasm, the removal of images and statues

Chantries Act 1547

• Economic reasons, used to raise money to fund the war against Scotland
• Religious reasons, to remove/attack superstition by removing them

Treasons Act

• Parliament repealed the Treason Act 
• Free to discuss more radical reform 
• Released more radical views, unrest and iconoclastic attacks

-Government was now in a stronger position to bring in more protestant measures due to

• The success of the campaign against Scotland
• Changes through the Act of uniformity 
• It would satisfy the moderate reformers

• Sacraments consisted of just communion, baptism, confirmation, marriage and burial 
• Clergy allowed to marry 
• masses for the souls of the dead not approved
• masses to be in the vernacular (English)

Success of Gov. attempts to introduce moderate protestantism 

• Difficult task as many of the clergy did not know the mass, prayers + Bible very well 
• However showed their willingness to improbve the Church

Religious changes under Nortumberland

• New ordinal (Jan 1550) universal procedure for the ordination of priests
• > led to the battle between Ridley and Cranmer + Hooper declined the part of Bishop of Gloucester
• Changes had already been made + attack on Catholics
• > july 1547: Royal injunctions ordered the removal of religious images
• >february 1548: All images to be removed
• >december 1549: Proclaimation orders the destruction of the remainder of images

- Conservative Bishops were deprived of their sees

- Gave the reformists a majority among the bishops 

- When parliament met in January 1552 the government was able to embark on a large-scale programme of protestant reform

- A new Treason Act was introduced, made it an offence to question the Royal supremacy or any beliefs of the Church

- Followed by a Second Act of Uniformity 

Reform was widespread across England with the mass population in support of the new religion

- Destroying of religious images, made the imposing of protestantism even clearer to the laity

- Second Book of Common Prayer, removed doubts about the changes from the First Book of Common Prayer, any other form of book was illegal

- There were steady but slow moves towards protestantism throughout Edward's reign, but major ones were only brought in during the last few years of his reign 

• Second Prayer Book 
• Act of Uniformity 
• Forty-Two articles
• Little time to impact + Forty-Two articles never became law due to Edward's death

- Changed in comparison with 1547

• Influence of the two protectors 
• influence of the protestant bishops
• overseas theologists e.g Martin Luther

- Officially a protestant nation

• Churches had been changed
• Altars replaced with communion tables
• New service used 

Hard to judge the extent to which the ordinary people of England welcomed protestantism, people did not welcome or oppose the changes (ignores Prayer book rebellion + London and East Anglia welcomed the changes) Fast restoration of catholicism meant protestant changes weren't that strong.

Edward  - Changing the prayer book to the English from Latin (Vernacular)                                                                  - Catholic mass is now illegal 

Mary   - Heresy laws (thought she was doing right by religion)                                                                      -               - Married Phillip (very catholic) helped bring back catholicism 

Political crisis? (yes)

• Somerset was only able to seize power through manipulating Henry's will
• The nature of the government changed under Somerset so that it was run through his household 
• The rebellions of 1549 resulted in the political elite abandoning their support of the government
• Somerset's overthrow in the autumn of 1549 created instability 
• The struggle for power between Northumberland + Catholic faction
• Lady Jane Grey affair resulted in the raising of armed forces
• Wyatt came close to toppling Mary

Political crisis (no)

• The legitimate monarch always triumphed
• the crown passed peacefully from Henry to Edward and from Mary to Elizabeth
• Even during factional struggles government continued 
• Henry VIII's will upheld
• Somerset's attempted coup was short lived
• The ruling elite supported the rightful monarch: Even in 1553 they supported Mary once Northumberland left London
• Iconoclasm - Destruction of Catholic art (statues and stained glass windows)

Mary

•  Fights with Edward in order to continue practicing Catholicism
• Mother = Catherine of Aragon (Spanish+devout catholic)

Proclamation on religion 16 Aug 1553

• Does not say she is forcing everyone to be catholic
• Waiting for Parliament before forcing any changes
• makes her seem tolerant + builds up support (prevents conflict + able to keep support)
• Works written in English are not allowed (people may come up with their own ideas)
• 16th Aug, just ascended to the throne (peaceful)

Mary not proceeding cautiously

• Devout Catholic, though Edward's early death was a sign from God to restore catholicism 
• Stubborn (abandoned Royal supremacy)
• Carries on having catholic mass even after Edward deems it illegal 
• > Oxford Chalices reappeared + August 23rd altar and cross was set up with mass being said

- Unsure whether support was due to her religion or the fact that she was the legitimate heir

• Failure to see that many had profitted from the disolution of the monastries ( unable to get monastries back + rebuild churches)
• Thought that God had let Edward die as a sign to change the religio in England 

- Undo the changes made since 1529

• Restore Papal authority 
• Restore traditional Catholic practices and belief in transubstantiation
• Re-establish religious houses that had been dissolved 
• End clerical marriage and restore the status of priests
• Secure a long term future for catholicism (by marrying and having children)
• Persecute those who did not agree with her views

Problems

• People (governing elite) do not like the power the Pope has over religion + Queen
• To provide an heir Mary would have to marry (foreign= power over court + wars)
• There were protestants that may not believe in Catholic practices
• Persecuting protestants may lessen her support as matyrs are made

Reservations of advisors

• Gardiner was uncertain about restoring Papal supremacy
• Concerns about trying to restore former monastic property
• Concerns Mary would proceed too quickly + provoke unrest (might threaten her position as queen)

Popularity at her Accession

• Mary was still catholic and hadn't completely changed with Edward's laws 
• Oct 1553, Parliament met but refused to repeal the Act of Supremacy (suggests anti-papal feeling)
• > passed Act of Repeal which undid the changes made under Edward, restored the religious situation of 1547 under the Act of Six Articles
• Mary used the Royal prerogative to suspend the Second Act of Uniformity + restored mass 

Signs of faction

- Wyatt's rebellion

• Took place before Mary had changed anything significant
• Reaction to the fears of the spanish marriage rather than religious changes 

Protestant reaction to catholicism 

• Early month of 1554 some protestants began to leave England for Germany or Switzerland
• > mostly gentry, clergy + more wealthy (around 800) + not an option for the less well off

Royal injunctions spring 1554

• Restoration of some traditional catholic practices (e.g Holy days, processions, ceremonies + also led to the deprivation of large numbers of married clergy)
• Protestant bishops were removed from their offices
• April 1554, parliament rejected the reintroduction of heresy laws, did not agree until promises were made that former monastic lands would not be restored to the church
• Parliament refused some of the religious changes (factional struggle between Pagett and Gardiner)
• Parliaments concern for the sanctity of property rather than opposition to the religious changes

Second Act of Repeal Nov 1554

• Repealed all religious legislation approved since 1529
• Mary forced to compromise with the land owners
  • Act protected the property rights of those who had bought church land since 1536
  • Mary forced to recognise parliaments authority in religious matters
  • prevents full-scale catholic restoration

- October 1555, Bishops Ridley and Latimer were burnt at Oxford

Burning of Cranmer 

• March 1556
• Seen as necessary to Mary as he ended her parents marriage + made her illigitimate + supported LJG
• Made a matyr for the protestant faith

Death of Gardiner

• November 1555
• Removed a restraining influence on Mary
• Initially encouraged the persecution of protestants (to scare extremists) , soon aware of the failure
• Followed by an increase in persections

- 274 Executions in the last three years of Mary's reign (believed it was her duty to remove heresy)

Burnings

• Large numbers in attendance (in London + other towns)
• Welcomed as a chance to make money
• Earlier in the day (had to move) due to the overwhelming number of people + disruptions
• Most took place in the south-east
  • greater concentratio of protestants
  • closer to London

Impact?

• Some argue that it did much to damage Mary's popularity
• Some argue it did little to harm or help the catholic cause

- Heresy laws were reintroduced in 1554 and burnings are continued from february 1555

John Rogers

• A Biblical translator who was burnt at the stake for translating the Bible into English
  • multiple copies, results in more people reading it and interpreting it for themselves (solascriptura)
  • vernacular, language of the country
    
  • against catholic values, was a protestant

John Foxe

• Suggests there was opposition to the Marian burnings + the burnings turned England protestant 
  • suggests the burnings converted those imprisoned by the dedication (research has challenged this view)

No

• Mary did not reign long enough for catholicism to hold in the public (new generation born into protestantism as their main religion)
• Changes made by Henry + Edward were not and could not be completely undone, resulted in long-term rejection of catholic churches
• New publications - catholic New Testament + new Book of Homilies (plan for catholic revival) > However, little time to make any impact on the people 
• Government tried to prevent the publication of protestant literature, not successful suggested books from Edward's reign allowed for protestants underground

Yes

• Cardinal Pole, regular visitations to check on clerical behaviour 
• New publications - catholic New Testament + new Book of Homilies
• Money was donated to help restore catholic churches destroyed in Edward's reign
• Took Elizabeth some time to restore protestantism and the Church of England, shows success in the Marian regime

- 1547 Catholic Doctrine, end of Henry VIII's reign

• 1547, Removal of catholicism 
  • iconiclasm (removal of icons) + Act of supremacy 

- 1548 Unofficial protestantism

• first Book of Common Prayer 

- 1549 Moves to protestanism

• first Act of Uniformity

-  1552 Fully protestant second prayer book

• 42 Articles, second Book of Common Prayer + second Act of Uniformity

- 1553 Death of Edward VIII

• legally protestant, Act of Repeal

- 1553 Removal of protestantism 

• arrest of Cranmer, Latimer, Hooper + Kidley

- 1554 Restoration of catholic doctrine + Papal supremacy

• royal injuctions, Heresy laws passed + Cardinal Pole returns to England 
• second Act of Repeal 

- 1555 Persecution 

• John Rogers becomes first protestant matyr
• Latimer + Ridley burned for heresy

- 1556 Reformed Oath

• Cranmer burned (showed alligence to the Pope)

- 1558 Death of Mary Tudor (catholic doctrine)

• Elizabeth returns the Church of England