Alice W-S
Horace Greeley H. S.
May – June 2006
Essential Question:
How effective was
Henry VIII versus
his daughter
Elizabeth I in dealing
with domestic issues
in Tudor England?
King Henry Tudor VIII
• Born: June 28, 1491,
to King Henry VII and
Elizabeth of York.
• Coronated: June 24th,
1509 with his wife
Katherine of Aragon.
• Died: January 28th,
1547 at age 56
Young Life
• Henry was raised to be a pious and
devout Catholic
– He was awarded the title "Defender of
the Faith“ by the Pope after writing a
treatise denouncing Martin Luther's
Reformist ideas
• He did not enjoy his father’s stoic
and unexciting ruling style, instead
favoring exciting court life.
• Henry wrote much poetry
throughout his life
• The court life
initiated by his
father evolved into a
cornerstone of
Tudor government in
the reign of Henry
VIII.
• Henry loved the
extravegance and
excitement of the
court drama.
–
He spent much of his
time being
entertained by the
nobles and met the
last five of his wives
from his court.
Court Life
Henry’s Wives
Catherine of Aragon
(1509-1533)
Anne of Cleves
(1540)
Anne Boleyn
(1533-1536)
Catherine Howard
(1540-1542)
Jane Seymour
(1536-1537)
Katherine Parr
(1543-1547)
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
• Archbishop of York
• Wolsey was quite capable as Lord Chancellor,
but his own interests were served more than
that of the king
–
he still was subject to Henry's favor - losing Henry's
confidence proved to be his downfall.
• Led the Church in England after being given
powers by Henry to bypass the church
heirarchy.
• He fell out of power when he failed to get an
annulment from the Pope so that
Henry could marry Anne Boleyn.
The “King’s Great Matter”
• Though he and Catherine of Aragon
had been married twenty years,
Henry’s obsession with creating a male
heir made him seek an annulment of
his marriage.
• Cardinal Wolsey tried to obtain Pope
Clement VII’s permission, but was
unable.
• Henry created the Reformation
Parliament in 1529
Thomas Cromwell and
Thomas Cranmer
• Cromwell
–
–
–
Lord Chancellor
created new
government
departments to keep
track of revenue and
keep up to date
records.
Oversaw
Reformation
Parlaiment
• Cranmer
–
–
Archbishop of
Canterbury
dealt with and guided
changes in
ecclesiastical policy
and oversaw the
dissolution of the
monasteries.
Reformation
Parliament
• The break from Rome was accomplished
through law, not social outcry.
–
This step was only taken after an annulment from
the Pope was deemed impossible.
• 137 statutes in seven years
• Religious reform movements had already
taken hold in England, but continental
Protestantism had yet to find favor with the
English people.
• Henry was named the Supreme Head of the
Church of England
• 1536- all ecclesiastical and government
officials were required to publicly approve
of the break with Rome and take an oath of
loyalty.
The Acts
• An Act of Submission of the Clergy (1534)
– prevented the Church from making any
regulations without the King's consent.
• The Ecclesiastical Appointments Act (1534)
– required the clergy to elect Bishops nominated
by the Sovereign.
• The Act of Supremacy (1534)
– declared that the King was "the only Supreme
Head in Earth of the Church of England“
• The Treasons Act (1534)
– made it high treason, punishable by death, to
refuse to acknowledge the King as the Church
leader.
• Act of Succesion (1534)
– Rejecting the decisions of the Pope,
Parliament validated the marriage between
Henry and Anne.
Dissolution of Monasteries
• Monastic lands and possessions were
broken up and sold off.
– In the 1520s, some monasteries
were closed down to pay for colleges
like Oxford and Ipswich
– In 1535-6, another 200 smaller
monasteries were dissolved
– 1539, England's remaining
monasteries were all dissolved, and
their property transferred to the
Crown.
After the Break
• Henry became disillusion after
the break with the Catholic
Church
– Consequently, much of the
remainder of Henry’s reign is
relatively unexciting.
• Henry’s religious policies were
somewhat confusing, as he
considered himself a Catholic
until the end of his life.
The Laws in Wales Acts
• 1535-1542, England legally
annexed Wales, uniting England
and Wales into one nation.
• English became the official
language of Wales, to be used
in official proceedings.
The Royal Navy
• Henry is considered the father of
the Royal Navy
• He engaged in naval warfare during
his term and put a large investment
into building a succesful fleet,
creating dockyards and supporting
naval innovations
• He did not, however, leave a running
Navy for his succesors.
– There was no structured system
to continue the tradition.
Succession
• The Act of Succesion (1544)
– Henry gave the crown to his only surviving
son, Edward
• Edward was the first Protestant monarch
to rule England.
– In the event of a death without children,
Edward was to be succeeded Mary, his
daughter by his first wife.
– If Mary did not have children, she was to be
succeeded Elizabeth, his daughter by his
second wife, Anne Boleyn.
– Finally, if Elizabeth also did not have
children, she was to be succeded by the
descendants of Henry VIII's deceased
sister, Mary Tudor
How He Left the Country
• England was an impoverished country
torn apart by religious squabbles.
• However, Henry's reformation had
produced dangerous Protestant-Roman
Catholic differences in the kingdom.
The monasteries' wealth had been
spent on wars and had also built up the
economic strength of the aristocracy
and other families in the counties,
which in turn was to encourage
ambitious Tudor court factions.
Queen Elizabeth Tudor I
• Born: September 7,
1533 to King
Henry VIII and
Anne Boleyn, his
second wife.
• Coronated: January
15, 1559 at
Westminster Abbey
• Died: March 24, 1603 at age 69
'Proud and haughty, as although she knows
she was born of such a mother, she
nevertheless does not consider herself of
inferior degree to the Queen, whom she
equals in self-esteem; nor does she believe
herself less legitimate than her Majesty,
alleging in her own favour that her mother
would never cohabit with the King unless
by way of marriage, with the authority of
the Church.... She prides herself on her
father and glories in him; everybody
saying that she also resembles him more
than the Queen does and he therefore
always liked her and had her brought up in
the same way as the Queen.'
– the Venetian ambassador Giovanni
Michiel describes Elizabeth; spring 1557
Pre-Ruling Conflicts
• Before she became Queen,
Elizabeth, a Protestant, clashed with
her sister Mary and other Catholics.
– While her brother Edward was King,
Elizabeth was unrightfully implicated in
a plot to overthrow the young King by
his uncle Thomas Seymour.
– Then, in the Wyatt Rebellion of 1554,
Queen Mary accused Elizabeth of being
in the plot to overthrow her.
The Captivity of Elizabeth
• After the Wyatt Rebellion, Elizabeth
was locked up in the Tower of London
even though there was no
evidence against her.
• She was then moved to
the gate house at
Woodstock Manor in
Oxfordshire for one
year.
• She was let go at the bequest of
Mary’s husband, King Phillip of Spain.
Elizabeth’s Refusal to Marry
• Most thought that the Queen would marry
within her first year or so as Queen.
• Elizabeth valued the independence she had
and did not feel she needed a man to guide
her.
• It would have also been politically difficult
for her to choose a suitable husband.
• The Privy Council, whose job it was to
choose a husband for the Queen, was too
divided to ever agree on a suitable mate.
– This made it much easier for Elizabeth
to refuse any marriage suggestions or
proposals.
State of Affairs in 1558
'The Queen poor; the realm exhausted;
the nobility poor and decayed; want of
good captains and soldiers; the people
out of order; justice not executed;
justices of peace unmeet for office; all
things dear; excess of meat and drink,
and apparel; division among ourselves;
war with France and Scotland; the
French King, having one foot in Calais
and the other in Scotland; steadfast
enmity, but no steadfast friendship
abroad.'
– An anonymous contemporary
observer in 1558
'Semper Eadem'
('Always the Same‘)
• This was the motto of
Elizabeth’s reign, as her main
goal was to stabilize the
formerly struggling country.
Re-Establishing Protestantism
• After Elizabeth was named Queen,
she re-established the Protestant
Church in England.
• She herself believed in toleration of
all religions.
– She was often forced to take a harsher
stance on punishment of Catholics
because of the schism between the two
sects.
– ‘There is only one Christ, Jesus, one
faith… all else is a dispute over trifles.’
The Act of Supremacy
• Gave Elizabeth ultimate control of
the Church of England.
• Title of monarch
modified to "Supreme
Governor of the
Church in England".
• Also included an oath
of loyalty to the
Queen that the clergy
were expected to take.
– If they did not take it, then they would
lose their office.
The Act of Supremacy:
The Oath of Loyalty
“the Queen's Highness is the only
Supream Governor of this Realm, and
of all other her Highness Dominions and
Countries, as well in all Spiritual or
Ecclesiastical Things or Causes, as
Temporal; and that no foreign Prince,
Person, Prelate State or Potentate,
hath or ought to have any Jurisdiction,
Power, Superiority, Preheminence, or
Authority Ecclesiastical or Spiritual,
within this Realm;… from henceforth I
shall bear faith and true Allegiance to
the Queen’s Highness, her Heirs and
lawful Successors… So help me God,
and by the Contents of this Book.”
The Act of Uniformity
• Implemented in the summer of 1559
• Crux of Elizabethan Church, establishing a
set form of worship.
• The Prayer books of Edward VI were fused
into one, and were to be used in every
church in the land.
• Church attendance on Sundays and holy
days was made compulsory.
• The wording of the Communion was to be
vague so that Protestants and Catholics
could both participate,
• Had trouble getting passed through
Parliament.
– A large number of the Parliament,
extremists on both sides, opposed the
bill
Act of Uniformity
“…all and every person and persons inhabiting within
this realm, or any other the queen's majesty's
dominions, shall diligently and faithfully, having no
lawful or reasonable excuse to be absent,
endeavour themselves to resort to their parish
church or chapel accustomed, … upon every Sunday
and other days ordained and used to be kept as
holy days, and then and there to abide orderly and
soberly during the time of the common prayer,
preachings, or other service of God there to be
used and ministered; upon pain of punishment by
the censures of the Church, and also upon pain that
every person so offending shall forfeit for every
such offence twelve pence, to be levied by the
churchwardens of the parish where such offence
shall be done, to the use of the poor of the same
parish, of the goods, lands, and tenements of such
offender, by way of distress.”
Puritans
• Puritans put power in the local parish,
above anything else, which put it in direct
conlict with the monarchy.
• The Church of England was more
dedicated to England and the Queen than
to God, which troubled Protestants
• Elizabeth's government was able to keep
the Puritan movement underground.
– John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury,
adopted some reforms, but did not want to
create Puritan martyrs, as Mary I had
created Protestant ones.
– He was also more interested in establishing a
uniform clergy rather than debating
doctrine.
The Northern Rebellion
• In 1569, The Catholics of Northern England
started a rebellion with the hopes of taking
away the English crownfrom Elizabeth and
giving it to Mary, Queen of Scots.
• Led by two members of the Northern nobility:
– Charles Neville
– Thomas Percy
• Led to a Papal Bull set forth by Pope Pius V,
The Bull of Deposition (Regnans in Excelsis),
excommunicating Elizabeth.
– The Bull of Deposition was issued after the
putting down of the rebellion but it led
Elizabeth to stop her policy of religious
toleration.
• The Catholic powers of Europe were also
ordered to act against the unlawful queen as
she was a heretic and enemy of the true faith.
Political Skill
• Elizabeth’s approach to the
monarchy was drastically
different from any of her
predecessors because of her
willingness to listen to those
around her.
– She would change a policy if it
was unpopular.
– Her approach to politics was
serious, conservative, and
cautious.
Advisors
• Elizabeth was especially gifted at choosing
smart people to help her lead.
Sir William Cecil
Secretary of State
Sir Francis Walsingham,
The Queen’s Spymaster
Sir William Cecil
• Elizabeth and Cecil ruled England
almost side by side until his death in
1598.
• ‘This judgment I have of you that you
will not be corrupted by any manner of
gift and that you will be faithful to the
state; and that without respect of my
private will you will give me that
counsel which you think best and if you
shall know anything necessary to be
declared to me of secrecy, you shall
show it to myself only.’
Robert Dudley
• The handsome Robert Dudley
was appointed Master of the
Horse, a position that required
close contact with the Queen.
• Cecil and Dudley disliked each
other
–
–
They were both rivals for the Queen’s attentione.
two rival factions developed in court around the
two men
• It was clear from the beginning that Robert
Dudley was the queen's favorite
courtier. They were openly affectionate and
Dudley enjoyed flaunting the queen's favor.
Indecisive or Compromising?
• Many were annoyed
by the Queen’s
refusal to take
sides on the issue
of religion.
– Protestants felt
that she should be
more harsh in her
treatment of
Catholics and
punish their
religious worship
as crime.
• But by not
persecuting
Catholics, she
struck a balance
that lasted
through much of
her reign.
– She had to endure
much less political
struggle than her
siblings, who were
more extremist
towards either
side.
Privy Council
• The main job of the Council was to
give advice to Queen Elizabeth. The
Councilors did not always agree on
matters, but Elizabeth listened to all
sides of the argument, and then made
up her own mind about what to do. This increased
her power as she could always make the final
decision
• The Privy Council was part of a more localized
method of government which was very important
in Tudor England.
–
Royal representatives were situated in every county in
the country to make sure that the Queen’s wishes were
carried out.
• Elizabeth cut down the number of councilors in
her Council from the 50 the Mary had to 19 at the
beginning of her term.
–
She believed that too many people with different ideas
would only cause more problems than solve them.
Parliament
• The House of Lords
– The Queen had a more direct effect on
these members, as she appointed bishops
and created many of the positions.
• The House of Commons.
– Knights of the shire - each county sent two
representatives
– borough members - many towns had acquired
the right to elect members
• The consent of both houses and the Queen was
required to pass all laws.
• The Monarch summoned the Houses of
Parliament and could prorogue (temporarily
suspend) or dissolve Parliament at will.
• The Monarch appointed Bishops and created
peers, and so had a more direct influence on the
composition of the House of Lords than of the
House of Commons.
• Only Parliament could make law and levy taxes
Court System
• The Great Session (Assizes),
– held twice a year in each county
– The Assizes in particular had the
power to inflict harsh punishments.
• Quarter Sessions Court,
– held four times a year.
• Between them, these courts dealt with
most crimes, such as theft, witchcraft,
recusancy, murder, and assault.
• For less important crimes, there were
other courts such as the Petty Sessions,
Manor courts, or even town courts.
• The Church Courts were important in
dealing with religious or moral affairs.
Scotland
• Many believed that Mary,
Queen of Scots, a catholic, was
the rightful Queen of England.
• Since Mary too was a female
sovereign Queen, Elizabeth was
careful about how she
recognized Mary’s power
because she didn’t want to be in
the same situation.
• After Mary was forced out of Scotland and
fled to England, Elizabeth locked her up in
the Tower of London for 20 years.
• Although Elizabeth did not want to have her
cousin executed, she was forced to send
Mary to execution after the plot of
Babington was uncovered.
Succession
• On her deathbed, Elizabeth
passed the crown onto James of
Scotland.
– He was the son of Mary, Queen of
Scots, Elizabeth’s cousin
• Elizabeth felt comfortable in
giving the crown to James
because he had been raised by
Protestant minister with whom
Elizabeth had a correspondence.
How She Left the Country
• England was one
of the most
powerful and
prosperous
countries in the
world.
• It had proved
itself to be the
strongest Naval
force in the
World.
Conclusion
• Overall, Elizabeth was much better at
handling the conflicts between feuding
portions of the country.
– Elizabeth’s skills as a realpolitique
helped her manage the balance
between the Catholic and
Protestant sects.
– Henry was much more of a
traditional monarch and spent more
time on his social and romantic life
than on leading the country.
THE END