Persecution and reform

• Reasons for the Persecutions:

  • Marian persecution is historically seen as barbaric and a failure that alienated support for Catholicism.
  • 285 Protestants were burned between 1555 and 1558, leading to Mary’s nickname “Bloody Mary.”
  • John Foxe’s Actes and Monuments (Book of Martyrs) heavily influenced this view.
  • Revisionist historians (e.g., Eamon Duffy, Alec Ryrie) argue the persecution was a necessity to maintain Catholic uniformity.
  • Ryrie: All Tudor monarchs executed heretics to secure belief uniformity.
  • Heresy was serious; the Act of the Six Articles (1539) made heresy punishable by burning.
  • Mary’s regime used burning to emphasize the consequences of denying Catholic teachings, presenting it as a way to save souls.
  • High-profile figures (e.g., bishops like Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley) were used to demonstrate the error of Protestant beliefs.
  • Persecutions sometimes stemmed from personal vendettas from Edward VI’s reign.
• Extent of the Persecutions:

  • Arrests of prominent Protestants began in 1554, with the first burning in February 1555 (John Rogers).
  • Many Protestants fled abroad, but others chose to stay and face martyrdom.
  • 285 burned at the stake, with 30+ dying in prison.
  • Among the martyrs were both common people (e.g., Elizabeth Folkes) and high-profile clergymen.
  • Executions were public events, attracting crowds; priests attempted to convert condemned Protestants at the stake.
  • Mary held Cranmer responsible for past events (e.g., the break with Rome) and condemned him for supporting Lady Jane Grey’s claim to the throne.
  • Cranmer’s execution in 1556 became a Protestant triumph as he refused to recant before burning.
  • After Latimer and Ridley’s deaths (1555), Cranmer burned holding his recantation hand first in the flames.
• Impact of the Persecutions:

  • Around 400 Protestants sought exile, mostly in Geneva.
  • Historians debate the impact on local communities:
  • Susan Brigden: Communities were sympathetic and reluctant to hand over Protestants to authorities.
  • Jennifer Loach & Christopher Haigh: Burnings only occurred because people denounced others to the authorities.
  • The burnings peaked in summer 1557 but began to decrease by 1558.
  • Despite the brutality, Protestantism was controlled, as the loss of clergy weakened its ability to resist.
• Mary, Pole, and the Attempt to Reform Catholicism (1)

  • Historians debated whether Cardinal Pole and Mary’s Catholic reform efforts were effective. A. G. Dickens claimed they failed to engage with the Counter-Reformation, whilst recent scholarship suggests their policies were thoughtful and strategic.
  • The Counter-Reformation (1545-1563) aimed at a comprehensive church reform (e.g., seminaries, devotion, Jesuits).
  • The Jesuits were important in educating and converting the elite.
  • Pole and other bishops sought to reflect on the Edwardian Church and modernize Catholicism, not just restore pre-Henry VIII practices.
  • They used printing (e.g., Bonner’s A Profitable and Necessary Doctrine) to teach Catholic doctrine like transubstantiation.
  • Pole opposed indiscriminate Bible reading by the laity, aiming for teaching that encouraged piety and repentance.
• Mary, Pole, and the Attempt to Reform Catholicism (2)

  • Mary’s reign saw an increase in Catholic Primer demand (e.g., 35 editions of the Sarum Primer), indicating popular interest in Catholic doctrine.
  • Contrary to traditional views of Mary as reactionary, she promoted Humanism, Church reform, and biblical scholarship.
  • Pole’s Catholic reforms were hindered by the death of Pope Julius III in 1555 and the election of Pope Paul IV, who disliked Pole and the Habsburgs.
  • Pope Paul stripped Pole of his Legate title, which weakened his efforts to install bishops, leaving dioceses vacant by 1558.