History 2403E Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Reformation In Switzerland, London Monarchs, John Calvin
2 May 2018
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February 6, 2018
Elizabethan and Jacobean England
- Monarchs need a religious landscape to be as peaceful as possible
o Spain – never really fragmented
▪ Deeply catholic
▪ Strong sense of crusader identity
▪ Church free of abuse, well run
o France – takes 3 decades of civil war
▪ Recognition that a degree of religious toleration is better than chaos
England is different
- Centralized power, unilateral methods
- Growth in power of representative bodies
o Checks and balances
o The power of representation that grows stronger, not the monarchy
- Henry VIII’s Heirs
o Edward VI – Rules from 1547-1553
▪ Mother is Jane is Seymour
▪ Came to power as a minor once his father dies
• Was a sick and weak child
▪ Regent takes control, his uncle the Duke of Sommerset
• Was a protestant, in contact with John Calvin (Swiss Reformation,
organized the new protestant faith)
• English church is directed more protestant lines
• Want to accomplish as much possible while Edward lives
▪ Program of church visitations
• Bishops assess the quality and faith of English people and the
clergy that serve them
o Tension among English citizens regarding if reform was a
good idea or not (
▪ Reform coming from numerous directions
• Confusion about whether they wanted more reform and what that
entailed
▪ Dies in 1553, an inconvenient time
• Protestanization of the church was dependent on his survival
o Mary I – Rules from 1553-1558
▪ Mother is Catherine of Aragon
• A Spanish princess
▪ Mary was raised as a Spanish catholic princess
▪ Divinely mandated to return England to Catholicism
• Not yet hardened to the Protestant fate, a relative state of flux
• Edward’s work can be undone
▪ First 2.5 years restore catholic beliefs and practices in England
• First thing done as crowned queen is publicly celebrating the mass
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• Had been outlawed – Edward had alters destroyed
▪ Purges government and administration – Got rid of protestants in positions
of council and power
▪ Enacted anti-heresy laws against protestants
▪ Restore pope as the official head of the church
▪ Barriers
• Wants land back from nobles but will not receive money
o Henry VIII made England a protestant country through
parliamentary decree, the steps along the road
o Created a powerful group of people with a vested interest in
not becoming catholic again
o Has to work through parliament while fighting
• Husband: Philip II of Spain
o English are terrified of him, fear of Spain and fear
Catholicism
▪ Will result in England be swallowed by Spanish
power
o Make it clear that Philip does not have the rights of the king
▪ has the title but not the power
o Crown falls to Mary’s children, and never to Philip
• Tactics – Bloody Mary
o Employed the stake to deal with protestant opponents
o A minimum of 280 of protestants are burned at the stake
during her reign
o Impact: radicalizes the struggle in the same way the St.
Bartholomew massacre did
▪ Kill or be killed
o Gives the cause martyr which give them power
▪ A source of inspiration and motivation for the
protestant cause
o Catholics – what happens if Mary decides you are not
catholic enough?
▪ Worry that she’ll turn on you
▪ Central government gets stronger – at your expense
▪ ‘Black Legend’
▪ Increasingly resistant to bring about real change
• some of which were catholic
o Elisabeth I – Rules from 1558-1603
▪ When she took power, situation was shaky
▪ Faced real challenges
• Daughter of a convicted felon
o Had technically been removed from the line of succession
o Legitimacy of coming to power
• Female
o The second female queen
o As a woman, may not be fit to rule
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o Ruling in the shadow of Mary
▪ Successes
• Clear sense of her limitations and what she can do
o Rule alongside her people and not from overtop
▪ At least perceived to do so
• Fashion a public perception of herself as an arbiter
o Uses her outsider identity as an advantage
o A fair and objective hearing
• Uses femininity to her advantage
o During the early years as queen, was the weak and
indecisive woman on the surface
o In the eyes of science and the law: incapable of logic, easily
overwhelmed, etc. – like a child
o Elisabeth withdrew from the frame and used time to make
bold and decisive decisions
▪ Exploits the weaknesses to dominate her court!
▪ Cultivation of the image of the Virgin Queen – a public perception of
herself
• A threat of civil war without a clear line of succession
• Realizes that as soon as she gets married, the cost is a loss of a
great deal of independence and power
• Needs to marry someone of equal or greater social rank
o Will take away her agency to rule
o For 11 years, toys with Philip II
• Finally says she is married to England
o My husband is my kingdom and you are my children
• Recognizes need to be seen, loved and adored by her people for a
supportive England
o To do so, had to have opportunity to see her and witness
her
• Presents herself as the embodiment of all what England is and
what it could be
o Hopes and dreams
• Creates opportunities for her people to publicly see her and gaze
upon her
o Persona of the ageless virgin queen
o Wore white makeup that hides lines or imperfections
o Dressed in beautiful ways
▪ 16thC English parliament steadily growing
o Increasing power of central-government everywhere
o England on the road to a constitution monarchy
▪ Any law and order comes from royal power and
parliamentary power working together
• Henry makes England Lutheran through parliamentary statue and
decree
o Jointly between crown and parliament
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