Queen, Government, and Religion 1558-69

• Nobility - belonging to the aristocracy
• Accession - becoming king or queen
• Monarch - king or queen
• Hierarchy - a system where things are ranked according to importance
• Divine right - the belief that the monarch's right to rule came from God
• Legitimate - born whilst the reigning king and queen were married
• Succession - the issue of who was going to succeed the throne after the existing monarch dies
• Reformation - the protestant movement across Europe challenging the teachings of the Catholic church
• Recusants - catholics who refused to attend church
• Vestments - highly decorated robes worn by priests in the Catholic church
• Crucifix - symbol of Jesus on the cross
• Clergy - religious leaders such as bishops and priests
• Privy council - a group of Elizabeth's closest advisors who also enforced her decisions and monitored JPs and Parliament
• Royal Court - the extended royal household who would entertain and advise her
• Elizabeth facts:

  • Ruled from 1558-1603
  • Well educated in politics and languages
  • Never married
  • Slow to make decisions
• Elizabethan society:

  • Hierarchy based on land ownership
  • Monarch, nobility, gentry, yeomen, tenant farmers, labouring poor, vagrants/vagabonds
  • Largest group were labouring poor
  • 90%of population in countryside
• Parliament - House of Commons and House of Lords. Granted extraordinary taxation and passed laws
• Sir William Cecil - Elizabeth's first Secretary of State
• Robert Dudley - a trusted advisor. Elizabeth sent him to the Netherlands in 1585
• Sir Francis Walsingham - in charge of her secret service and advised on foreign affairs. Became secretary of state in 1573
• Elizabeth's problems:

  • Legitimacy - catholics didn't believe in divorce of her parents
  • Gender - people didn't trust a female leader
  • Marriage - she never married for an heir etc
  • Finances - inherited debt from Mary 1's wars and sale of land
  • Religion - she was protestant but England was catholic
• Foreign threats:

  • Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots had a claim to the English throne
  • France - powerful Catholic country and held Calais (which Elizabeth wanted back)
  • Spain - Elizabeth rejected Phillip's proposal, could join forces with other Catholic countries
• Reformation:

  • Belief of Protestants that Catholic church needed to be reformed
  • English reformation - began in 1532 when Henry VIII created the Church of England
• Protestantism:

  • No Pope
  • Bible and services in English
  • Believed people should have a personal relationship with God
  • Plain decorations
• Catholicism:

  • Pope is head of the church
  • Bible and services in Latin
  • Priests wear special vestments
  • Churches highly decorated
• Religious problems:

  • Most bishops were Catholics
  • North was Catholic and South was Protestant
  • Puritans were radical protestants who hated Catholics
  • Most of population were Catholic
  • Elizabeth was a Protestant but had liked some Catholic ideas
• Religious settlement:

  • Act of Supremacy - made Elizabeth the official leader of the CofE and forced clergy to swear an oath to her
  • Act of Uniformity - all churches and services should be exactly the same, e.g bible in English, priests wear vestments
• Impact of religious settlement:

  • Only 1/28 bishops took the oath
  • Most people accepted it although some became recusants
  • Elizabeth didn't enforce it too strongly to avoid revolution and dissent
• Puritan challenge:

  • Crucifix controversy - Elizabeth wanted them but Puritans didn't. She was forced to give in as Puritan bishops threatened to resign
  • Vestment controversy - Elizabeth wanted them and Puritans didn't . She refused to back down and fired some
  • Puritan were highly educated and upper classes, but few in number (and didn't have a replacement) compared to Catholics
• Catholic challenge:

  • Counter-Reformation against Protestantism
  • Elizabeth chose to ignore the small disobedience e.g recusants
  • 1/3 of nobility were recusants
  • Big threats loomed e.g Revolt of Northern Earls and Catholicism in Europe
• Role of CofE in society:

  • Most people went to church once a week
  • Ran schools and social events
  • Guided morals and behaviour
• Mary Queen of Scots:

  • Elizabeth's cousin, so had a claim to the throne
  • Her second husband died and she and her new husband were suspected, so she was forced to abdicate to England
  • Elizabeth kept her in prison and believed killing her would go against god
  • Later Mary set up plots to kill her