MTC Religious Reform

• What suggests England had become legally protestant under Edward?

  • 1547 Dissolution of the Chantries: 2,374 chantries shut down as they were superstitious (prayed for the souls of the dead)
  • 1549 Book of Common Prayer: outlined liturgy - services to be in English, clerical marriage was allowed, prayers for the dead were banned. 1549 Act of Uniformity made this official liturgy
  • 1552 Second Book of Common Prayer: removed all elements of Catholicism and clearly established the Eucharist in terms of consubstantiation. Made official basis of church services with the 1552 Second Act of Uniformity
• What suggests England had not become legally protestant?

  • When the chantries were shut down their assets were seized - in reality they were shut down to raise money for war with France and Scotland rather than religious motives
  • The First Book of Common Prayer was deliberately worded ambiguously so that the Eucharist could be interpreted in terms of transubstantiation
  • Some extreme reformers like Hooper and John Knox still disapproved of the second book as people receiving the Eucharist still had to kneel and this was considered idolatrous
• What suggests England had become socially protestant under Edward?

  • Iconoclastic Riots in London, East Anglia, and Lincolnshire where radical Protestants destroyed stained glass windows, statues, and images
  • 19,000 copies of the Book of Common Prayer were still in circulation upon Mary’s ascension to the throne in 1553
• What suggests England had not become socially protestant under Edward?

  • 1549 Western Rebellion was religiously motivated - the rebels persuaded a priest to give a traditional Catholic mass before moving to join the forces from Cornwall - they were protesting the book of common prayer
  • The iconoclastic riots were organised and led by Protestant refugees - any action is superficial and not reflective of English population
  • Studies of wills show that only 2% of York was Protestant, 1% of the South-West, 27% of Suffolk, and 8% of Kent
• What suggests England had become legislatively Catholic under Mary again?

  • 1553 First Act of Repeal: undid all changes made under Edward
  • 1554 Royal Injunctions: restored catholic practices such as holy days and led to the deprivation of 10-25% of priests who had been married
  • 1554 Revival of the Heresy Acts made heresy a religious and civil offence equal to treason allowing Mary to execute around 289 Protestants including high profile bishops like Latimer and Cranmer
  • 1555 Great Act of Repeal reunited England with Rome and reinstated Papal authority
• What evidence suggests England had NOT become legislatively catholic again?

  • Parliament refused to restore church lands and attach any penalty for not attending mass - Protestantism was suppressed but Catholicism wasn't restored
  • The Heresy laws were originally defeated - Mary had to compromise, ensuring ex-monastic land would not be reclaimed by the crown
  • When the heresy laws were passed nearly 1/4 of all eligible peers had stayed away from parliament - changes were superficial and weren’t supported
• What evidence suggests England had become socially catholic again?

  • Mary sponsored Catholic preachers at St Paul’s Cross
  • Large crowds came to watch the burnings of Protestants - cherry-growers in Kent even supported them as it gave them the opportunity to sell their produce to crowds
  • Mary’s gov recruited laymen like Early of Derby and Sir John Tyrrell to hunt heretics
• What evidence suggests England had NOT become socially catholic again?

  • Most printers were Protestant and had fled England due to Mary's accession - prevented enough literature (e.g. hymn books) to revive Catholicism to produced
  • There is some evidence that people sympathised with those being burned - when Rowland Taylor was executed the streets were lined with people protesting his godliness
  • When Mary came to the throne there were 19,000 copies of the second book of common prayer in circulation allowing a protestant movement to exist underground