Elizabeth I
Early Life and Character
- Early years were traumatic - Henry VIII’s disappointed at Elizabeth’s birth as he
wanted a son, Anne Boyeln (mother) convicted of high treason and beheaded, when
Henry remarried Elizabeth was made illegitimate
- Catherine Parr took Elizabeth under her wing -> Elizabeth developed Protestant
beliefs
- 1544 - Elizabeth renamed in Succession Act which meant she was in line for the
throne after Edward VI and Mary I
- Thomas Seymour - married to Catherine Parr, flirted with Elizabeth, inappropriate
behaviour
- When Catherine Parr died, Seymour appeared to encourage rumours of him
marrying Elizabeth -> Duke of Somerset saw this as a direct challenge to his
own authority + Seymour was executed
- Elizabeth investigated but no need to execute an heir who was supportive of
the Kings authority and was Protestant
- Mary’s rule - after Wyatt's rebellion Elizabeth was arrested and taken to the Tower of
London but no evidence for execution
- Placed under house arrest for the rest of Mary’s life
- Character - better educated than Mary and has a significant grasp on the politics of
the country, keen to promote the bible in English, did not believe in transubstantiation
Accession + Consolidation of Power
Accession:
- William Cecil alerted Elizabeth of Mary’s death and of her succession - Mary had
recognised Elizabeth as her successor
- Cardinal Pole (Archbishop of Canterbury) died the same day -> meant that Elizabeth
had flexibility in choosing her own advisors
- Difficult succession? - England had just suffered a series of bad harvests meaning
food was scarce and expensive, devastating flu epidemic, delicate political and
religious situation, disastrous war against France leading to loss of Calais, endless
speculation surrounding new Queen’s marriage
- Path to the throne was eased by the willingness of Mary’s councillors to accept the
succession -> within a couple of days of Elizabeth’s accession being announced to
Parliament 9 of Mary’s councillors had written to assure their support and loyalty
- No attempt to deny accession
Consolidation:
- Elizabeth unwilling to announce most appointments of councillors so that she could
keep them speculating about their futures
- International support - Spanish ambassador, Phillip II of Spain keen for marriage
alliance
, - Coronation on 15th January - met with joy from most of the public, crowned and
anointed by Catholic bishop
The Religious Settlement 1559
Religious views:
- She was particularly conscious of the impression she made to others -> meant that
she did not just advocate one point of view
- Wanted to heal the divisions between Catholics and Protestants + maximise control
over the church
- Protestant? - Anne Boylen (mother) was sympathetic to Protestant reform, education
from tutors like Roger Ascham on Lutheran ideas, forbade priests in the Royal
Chapel to elevate the host (against transubstantiation)
- Catholic? - enjoyed some aspects of the Catholic Church like the crucifix and
candles
- Determined to establish stable church that most people could accept
Nature of the established British church:
- The Elizabethan settlement led to two acts of Parliament, royal injunctions used to
force the acts and the publication of a new book of Common Prayer, 39 articles of
religion also introduced in 1563
Influences on the religious settlement:
- Domestic - mixture of both Protestants and Catholics in England, royal proclamation
issued in December 1558 insisting there should be no preaching, many Catholic
bishops in Parliament + Catholic noblemen who formed a solid voting block
- This meant they could object to the attempt to bring back the Protestant
Prayer Book of 1552 and the idea of the church being headed by a woman
- North of England remained more conservative - however the settlement
became easier to pass when Elizabeth imprisoned two Catholic Bishops
- Foreign - England still at war with France + unable to rely on the support from Spain
and Scotland
- Scotland allied to France and Mary Queen of Scots next in line to English
throne -> Elizabeth had to be careful
- Peace of Câteau Cambrésis signed (1559) -> made the settlement easier as it
brought a series of wars between France and Spain to end and ended English
military involvement in France
Act of Supremacy 1559:
- Restored in law the royal supremacy in the church which had been established under
H8 but repealed under Mary I
- Reformation legislation of H8 reign restored, heresy law under Mary I repealed, Papal
supremacy repealed
- Act described Elizabeth as the supreme governor of the church rather than the head
-> concession to Catholicism
- All churchmen had to swear an oath of loyalty to their new supreme governor
, - Court of high commission set up to investigate those who refused to accept the
change of leadership
- Ultimately the act restored the legal position of the crown to act in matters relating to
the church
Act of Uniformity 1559:
- Specified there would be a single book of common prayer -> this would be a modified
version of the strongly protestant one written by Cramner in 1552
- Main modification - variations in Eucharist beliefs were allowed
- Ornaments of the church restored to what they had been before 1549
- Alter replaced by communion table -> but catholic artefacts could be placed
upon it
- Church kept a fairly Catholic appearance -> did aggravate some Calvinist clergy as
they saw ornaments as popish and objected to them
- To ensure there was uniformity of worship - attendance made compulsory, failure to
attend would result in fines, attendance to catholic mass was treated as a serious
offence
- Popularity? - only passed in the House of Lords by 3 votes
Royal injunctions of July 1559:
- Impossible to set out all of the regulations governing the reformed faith in a single act
of Parliament so a set of injunctions passed
- Cecil also nominated strong Protestants to enforce these injunctions
- First injunction emphasis suppression of superstition and the need to eradicate all
hypocrisy and abuses
- Eucharist was to be done at a simple communion table rather than an altar but altars
were not to be destroyed
- Parish churches required to purchase an English Bible as well as a copy of
Paraphrases by Erasmus
- Prospective wives of clergy had to produce a certificate signed by 2 JPs signifying
their fitness for such a role
- Preachers had to be licensed by a Bishop before they could begin preaching, also
had to preach at least one service a month to keep this licence
- Pilgrimages to be outlawed
1559 Prayer Book:
- Amalgamated the moderate language of the 1549 prayer book with the strong
Protestantism of the 1552 prayer book -> aimed to act as a compromise
- Strike a balance on transubstantiation - allowed for real belief in this
39 Articles of Faith 1563 (Made law in 1571)
- Welded together aspects of Protestantism and Catholicism -> mainly protestant as
many aspects of catholicism were condemned
Reactions to settlement:
- Around 400 of the clergy lost or resigned their livings as they would refuse to accept
the settlement
- Virtually all the bishops that Mary appointed rejected the settlement
Early Life and Character
- Early years were traumatic - Henry VIII’s disappointed at Elizabeth’s birth as he
wanted a son, Anne Boyeln (mother) convicted of high treason and beheaded, when
Henry remarried Elizabeth was made illegitimate
- Catherine Parr took Elizabeth under her wing -> Elizabeth developed Protestant
beliefs
- 1544 - Elizabeth renamed in Succession Act which meant she was in line for the
throne after Edward VI and Mary I
- Thomas Seymour - married to Catherine Parr, flirted with Elizabeth, inappropriate
behaviour
- When Catherine Parr died, Seymour appeared to encourage rumours of him
marrying Elizabeth -> Duke of Somerset saw this as a direct challenge to his
own authority + Seymour was executed
- Elizabeth investigated but no need to execute an heir who was supportive of
the Kings authority and was Protestant
- Mary’s rule - after Wyatt's rebellion Elizabeth was arrested and taken to the Tower of
London but no evidence for execution
- Placed under house arrest for the rest of Mary’s life
- Character - better educated than Mary and has a significant grasp on the politics of
the country, keen to promote the bible in English, did not believe in transubstantiation
Accession + Consolidation of Power
Accession:
- William Cecil alerted Elizabeth of Mary’s death and of her succession - Mary had
recognised Elizabeth as her successor
- Cardinal Pole (Archbishop of Canterbury) died the same day -> meant that Elizabeth
had flexibility in choosing her own advisors
- Difficult succession? - England had just suffered a series of bad harvests meaning
food was scarce and expensive, devastating flu epidemic, delicate political and
religious situation, disastrous war against France leading to loss of Calais, endless
speculation surrounding new Queen’s marriage
- Path to the throne was eased by the willingness of Mary’s councillors to accept the
succession -> within a couple of days of Elizabeth’s accession being announced to
Parliament 9 of Mary’s councillors had written to assure their support and loyalty
- No attempt to deny accession
Consolidation:
- Elizabeth unwilling to announce most appointments of councillors so that she could
keep them speculating about their futures
- International support - Spanish ambassador, Phillip II of Spain keen for marriage
alliance
, - Coronation on 15th January - met with joy from most of the public, crowned and
anointed by Catholic bishop
The Religious Settlement 1559
Religious views:
- She was particularly conscious of the impression she made to others -> meant that
she did not just advocate one point of view
- Wanted to heal the divisions between Catholics and Protestants + maximise control
over the church
- Protestant? - Anne Boylen (mother) was sympathetic to Protestant reform, education
from tutors like Roger Ascham on Lutheran ideas, forbade priests in the Royal
Chapel to elevate the host (against transubstantiation)
- Catholic? - enjoyed some aspects of the Catholic Church like the crucifix and
candles
- Determined to establish stable church that most people could accept
Nature of the established British church:
- The Elizabethan settlement led to two acts of Parliament, royal injunctions used to
force the acts and the publication of a new book of Common Prayer, 39 articles of
religion also introduced in 1563
Influences on the religious settlement:
- Domestic - mixture of both Protestants and Catholics in England, royal proclamation
issued in December 1558 insisting there should be no preaching, many Catholic
bishops in Parliament + Catholic noblemen who formed a solid voting block
- This meant they could object to the attempt to bring back the Protestant
Prayer Book of 1552 and the idea of the church being headed by a woman
- North of England remained more conservative - however the settlement
became easier to pass when Elizabeth imprisoned two Catholic Bishops
- Foreign - England still at war with France + unable to rely on the support from Spain
and Scotland
- Scotland allied to France and Mary Queen of Scots next in line to English
throne -> Elizabeth had to be careful
- Peace of Câteau Cambrésis signed (1559) -> made the settlement easier as it
brought a series of wars between France and Spain to end and ended English
military involvement in France
Act of Supremacy 1559:
- Restored in law the royal supremacy in the church which had been established under
H8 but repealed under Mary I
- Reformation legislation of H8 reign restored, heresy law under Mary I repealed, Papal
supremacy repealed
- Act described Elizabeth as the supreme governor of the church rather than the head
-> concession to Catholicism
- All churchmen had to swear an oath of loyalty to their new supreme governor
, - Court of high commission set up to investigate those who refused to accept the
change of leadership
- Ultimately the act restored the legal position of the crown to act in matters relating to
the church
Act of Uniformity 1559:
- Specified there would be a single book of common prayer -> this would be a modified
version of the strongly protestant one written by Cramner in 1552
- Main modification - variations in Eucharist beliefs were allowed
- Ornaments of the church restored to what they had been before 1549
- Alter replaced by communion table -> but catholic artefacts could be placed
upon it
- Church kept a fairly Catholic appearance -> did aggravate some Calvinist clergy as
they saw ornaments as popish and objected to them
- To ensure there was uniformity of worship - attendance made compulsory, failure to
attend would result in fines, attendance to catholic mass was treated as a serious
offence
- Popularity? - only passed in the House of Lords by 3 votes
Royal injunctions of July 1559:
- Impossible to set out all of the regulations governing the reformed faith in a single act
of Parliament so a set of injunctions passed
- Cecil also nominated strong Protestants to enforce these injunctions
- First injunction emphasis suppression of superstition and the need to eradicate all
hypocrisy and abuses
- Eucharist was to be done at a simple communion table rather than an altar but altars
were not to be destroyed
- Parish churches required to purchase an English Bible as well as a copy of
Paraphrases by Erasmus
- Prospective wives of clergy had to produce a certificate signed by 2 JPs signifying
their fitness for such a role
- Preachers had to be licensed by a Bishop before they could begin preaching, also
had to preach at least one service a month to keep this licence
- Pilgrimages to be outlawed
1559 Prayer Book:
- Amalgamated the moderate language of the 1549 prayer book with the strong
Protestantism of the 1552 prayer book -> aimed to act as a compromise
- Strike a balance on transubstantiation - allowed for real belief in this
39 Articles of Faith 1563 (Made law in 1571)
- Welded together aspects of Protestantism and Catholicism -> mainly protestant as
many aspects of catholicism were condemned
Reactions to settlement:
- Around 400 of the clergy lost or resigned their livings as they would refuse to accept
the settlement
- Virtually all the bishops that Mary appointed rejected the settlement
