All about history book of british rs 101

Elizabeth I Picture depicting the coronation of Elizabeth I in 1558 Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, who was executed after being found guilty of plotting against Elizabeth I practice would serve her well once Mary took the throne but not all players were as skilled in the game of thrones; Seymour was executed the following year When the staunchly Catholic Mary refused to convert, Edward began proceedings to remove both his sisters from the line to the throne, fixing his hopes on his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, instead However, the prince was seldom in good health during his short life, so it was no surprise that he died before the contract could be finalised and Mary became the new Queen of England Just as Edward had asked Mary to change her faith, the new queen was determined that her sister should convert She acquiesced without enthusiasm, but it was clear to both Protestants and Catholics that her true allegiance still lay with her father’s Church of England rather than the Pope’s Catholic Church Over the course of Mary’s reign, many conspiracy plots were designed to get Elizabeth onto the throne None of them succeeded, but they did almost manage to get her killed In 1554, Thomas Wyatt attempted a rebellion following the announcement that Mary would marry the Spanish king Philip The queen’s reprisal was brutal and swift, executing not only the ringleaders, but Jane Grey as well Elizabeth claimed ignorance, a trick she managed to successfully repeat a year later after another attempted rebellion in 1555, but her sister’s patience was wearing thin and Elizabeth was placed in the Tower of London, with some Catholic supporters clamouring for her execution Was a religious compromise met? The Church of England was one of compromise and middle ground While Elizabeth was a Protestant, she didn’t hold the puritanical beliefs of some of her council members She introduced the Act of Supremacy in 1558, which reaffirmed England’s separation from Rome and established her as the head of the Church Elizabeth understood the dangers of trying to impose religion and allowed Catholicism to continue, provided it took place in secret However, Leanda de Lisle reminds us that we should not forget Elizabeth’s willingness to crack down when necessary “Elizabeth’s conservatism and pragmatism has seen her described as a religious moderate, in contrast to the ‘fanatical’ Mary,” she explains “But as the new Protestant Queen of a largely Catholic country Elizabeth was necessarily moderate, and as her reign grew longer, she proved that, like Mary, she could be utterly ruthless when faced by a threat The hundreds of executions of villagers following the Northern Rebellion far exceeded anything her predecessors had done in similar circumstances; her later persecution of Catholics was also relentless and cruel It is a littleknown fact that she also burned heretics – namely Anabaptists – these were far fewer in number than Mary’s victims, but then there weren’t that many Anabaptists!" She executed both Protestants and Catholics for publicly disobeying the laws of the Church of England However, events in Europe show the English Queen in a much more favourable light Comparatively, Elizabeth was extremely tolerant The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in Paris showed the fervour with which Catholic Europeans detested Protestants She was also much more tolerant than many of her advisors Verdict Elizabeth successfully found a moderate middle ground in a very turbulent time during her reign, but would crack down mercilessly if the rules she had laid down were broken VS Catholic C of E 1 2 3 4 The services were held in Latin, countermanding the reformation’s ideal that everyone should be able to understand The English prayer book was banned Church furnishings were restored to their former lavish state and the buildings were now decorated completely with Catholic artwork Catholic Mass was reintroduced, and Holy Communion was now banned by law The clergy were not allowed to marry Priests who had married before the new law came into effect were given a choice of two options: leave their families or lose their job The image of the minister became much simpler They were not allowed to wear Roman Catholic vestments, such as the surplice All rood lofts, a screen portraying the crucifixion, a common feature in Catholic churches, were removed The Pope was not the head of the church The Bishop’s Bible, which was in English rather than Latin, was restored, opening it up to a wider readership There was a general removal of 'superstition', such as making the sign of the cross during communion Simplicity was what the Puritans strived for “ The queen's reprisal was brutal and swift, executing not only the ringleaders, but also Jane Grey” Elizabeth’s future prospects were looking anything but golden, and the next few months saw her walking a political tightrope Mary, desperate to provide her husband and her country with a Catholic heir to end the uncertainty surrounding the throne, announced that she was pregnant, but by 1558, it became clear that Mary’s condition was not pregnancy, but a devastating illness Her health broke quickly, and she died on 17 November of that year after begging Elizabeth to keep England Catholic once she took the throne Her wishes would not be fulfilled Elizabeth’s coronation was a stunning balancing act With countless eyes waiting for any hint of an overtly Protestant or Catholic gestures, Elizabeth managed to confound them all Instead, the emphasis was elsewhere: Elizabeth’s intention to restore England to a state of vk.com/englishlibrary prosperity The new queen knew that if she was to have any chance of surviving her early years she would need trusted and astute advisors, and chose William Cecil and Robert Dudley Cecil had worked for Edward, survived the reign of Mary and was fiercely loyal to Elizabeth In contrast, Dudley’s appointment and favour with the queen had nothing to with his abilities as a politician He had known Elizabeth since childhood and her affection for him had only grown stronger, and rumours abounded that she spent the nights as well as the days with him Cecil disapproved of Dudley and agreed with the majority of Parliament that Elizabeth should marry as soon as possible The eyes of France and Spain were fixed on England and it made sense for the queen to create a marriage alliance with one of these major powers for her and the country’s vk.com/bastau 101