The changing political and theological landscape of early modern England stands as a complex topic. When examining the legacy of a changing kingdom from Catholicism to Protestantism and the subsequent religious and political conflicts, the context of these conflicts stands as significant. This paper argues that while the institutions of Protestant England viewed their actions in a secular manner in enforcing the supremacy of the monarch over the authority of the Pope as secular, the ensuing legislation and cultural shift represents a broader trend towards anti-Catholic persecution. Roy Williams explains.
A portrait of Queen Elizabeth I of England in her coronation robes. Source National Portrait Gallery: NPG 5175, available here.
By examining the legacy of priests, and lay Catholics who were targeted via anti-Catholic legislation, a broader narrative can be established in understanding the importance of anti-Catholicism as a nexus of political and religious perspective. From this examination of martyrdom as the connecting point between religious and political conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism, a larger trend of anti-Catholicism beginning with the cultural impact of John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs through events such as the destruction of the Spanish Armada in 1588, the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, and the Fatal Vespers incident in 1623 can be discerned. With the establishment of anti-Catholicism as an important factor in how English Protestants viewed themselves and the larger world around them in opposition to Catholics, the larger trend of anti-Catholicism and religious persecution is magnified. To understand these larger events and the larger trends over time it stands as significant to begin with the interrogation of the anti-Catholic laws of Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth I succeeded her Catholic predecessor Mary I in 1558 ushering in a more pronounced change towards Protestantism from the Catholic restoration Mary I had attempted. Elizabeth’s larger ideological perspective of Protestantism in opposition to Catholicism is reflected in the laws of her reign which stood as the cornerstone for anti-Catholic persecution. Elizabeth’s Supremacy Act of 1559 set the stage for larger conflict between Catholics and the authority of the monarchy in establishing the supremacy of the monarch over that of the papacy as the law of the land. Elizabeth declared herself Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and instituted an Oath of Supremacy, requiring anyone taking public or church office to swear allegiance to the monarch as head of the Church and State. Anyone refusing to take the Oath could be charged with treason. There were three levels of penalties for refusal to take the Oath of Supremacy. A first refusal to resulted in the loss of all movable goods. A second offence could mean life in prison and a loss of all real estate possessions. A third offence would result in a charge of High Treason and death.
The rejection of the authority of the papacy on secular grounds and the establishment of Elizabeth as the supreme governor of the church stands as one of the most significant aspects of the 1559 Act of Supremacy, “ 'I, A. B., do utterly testify and declare in my conscience, that the queen's highness is the only supreme governor of this realm, and of all other her highness's 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, has, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, superiority, preeminence, or authority ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm; and therefore I do utterly renounce and forsake all foreign jurisdictions, powers, superiorities, and authorities.”(1) This conflict between Elizabeth and the authority of the Pope stands as a significant development in the larger trends toward anti-Catholicism. Still however, the most daunting and broad aspect of the 1559 Act of Supremacy was the institution of an oath which forced all those in public life from ecclesiastical matters to political to swear an oath upholding the supremacy of Elizabeth. The oath was designed to be a form of enforcement which specifically targeted Catholics in challenging their beliefs in viewing the papacy as the supreme governor in ecclesiastical manners. This direct conflict with Catholics and the administration of justice in a manner which excluded Catholics from public and ecclesiastical life displays the first of many laws established in a larger trend towards anti-Catholicism, “And that it may be also enacted, that if any such archbishop, bishop, or other ecclesiastical officer or minister, or any of the said temporal judges, justiciaries, or other lay officer or minister, shall peremptorily or obstinately refuse to take or receive the said oath, that then he so refusing shall forfeit and lose, only during his life, all and every ecclesiastical and spiritual promotion, benefice, and office, and every temporal and lay promotion and office.”(2)
Act of Uniformity
Elizabeth’s Act of Uniformity of 1559 established another aspect of anti-Catholicism in attempting to both unify the Church of England as well as compel all subjects to attend Protestant church services. The Act of Uniformity established the grounds for recusancy in punishing those who did not attend Protestant church services with fines and censure, “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.”(3) Elizabeth’s Act of Uniformity established an interesting dynamic between Catholic families who could afford to pay the fine of twelve pence versus poorer families who could not afford the fines. In establishing this precedent, the fines for recusancy would increase as the larger trends of anti-Catholicism became fiercer. The larger legal condemnation of recusants would culminate in the Act Against Recusants of 1593 restricting the movement of recusants within five miles of their homes.(4) If recusants were caught further than this five-mile limit, their properties would be forfeit to the state.
Still however, it stands as significant to analyze Elizabeth’s Act against Jesuits and Seminarists of 1585 which set the stage for persecution of Catholic priests. The Act commanded all Roman Catholic priests to leave the country in 40 days or they would be punished for high treason, unless within the 40 days they swore an oath to obey the Queen. Those who harbored them, and all those who knew of their presence and failed to inform the authorities would be fined and imprisoned for felony. The significance of the Act stands in the escalation of conflict between Protestants and Catholics. Previous laws were much less severe in their treatment of Catholics, however, Elizabeth’s Act against Jesuits and Seminarists set up the potential for execution and martyrdom of Catholic priests who refused to comply, “And every person which after the end of the same forty days, and after such time of departure as is before limited and appointed, shall wittingly and willingly receive, relieve, comfort, aid, or maintain any such Jesuit, seminary priest, or other priest, deacon, or religious or ecclesiastical person, as is aforesaid, being at liberty, or out of hold, knowing him to be a Jesuit, seminary priest, or other such priest, deacon, or religious or ecclesiastical person, as is aforesaid, shall also for such offence be adjudged a felon, without benefit of clergy, and suffer death, lose, and forfeit, as in case of one attainted of felony.”(5) The trends of anti-Catholicism had become more severe and restrictive over the reign of Elizabeth, and it stands as significant to examine the larger political and cultural context which established this wave of persecution.
Context
In examining the broader trends toward anti-Catholic persecution, it becomes essential to analyze the larger political and cultural context over time. Though Elizabethan Anti-Catholic legislation was surely harsh, the realities of previous instances of Marian persecutions of Protestants stands as a significant indicator to Elizabeth’s Protestant reactions against Catholics. Mary’s persecution of Protestants who dissented against her attempted Catholic restoration can be viewed through the lens of John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs which established the framework for anti-Catholic perspective. John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs was first published in 1563 and provided a narrative emphasizing Protestant martyrs at the hands of Catholic cruelty. Foxe established a line of martyrs from English history, claiming the heretics of the Middle Ages for the Protestant cause. Foxe also began his narrative with the year 1000 depicting Pope Sylvester II as a sorcerer who conjured Satan inevitably portraying the Catholic church as being directly controlled by Satan himself.
By crafting a single narrative of English history in relation to Protestant martyrs being persecuted by the Catholic church, Foxe established a significant and defining framework for which English Protestants viewed themselves in opposition to Catholics. Foxe’s opposition to Catholicism stands as significant when contextualizing the nexus of political and religious conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism, “For as much as we are come now to the time of Quene Mary, when as so many were put to death for th e cause especially of the Masse, & the sacrament of thaltar (as they cal it) I thought it conuenient vpon thoccasion geuē, in the ingresse of this foresaid storie, first to prefixe before, by the way of preface, some declaratiõ collected out of diuers writers and autors, wherby to set forth to the reader the great absurditie, wicked abuse, and perilous idolatry of the Popish masse”(6) O.T. Hargrave describes Foxe’s exploitation of the Marian persecutions as a brilliant and influential example of Protestant propaganda, “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs masterfully exploited the Marian persecution, converting it, as Gordon Rupp put it, into the greatest single act of propaganda in history.”(7) The significance of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs lies in its influence on the creation of a proto-national mythology for English Protestants. From the philosophical and religious perspectives of Foxe, English Protestants crafted an identity in direct opposition to Catholicism whether domestic or foreign.
Foreign perspective
From the foreign perspective of English opposition to Catholicism, the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585-1604 stands as a significant political and cultural event in reinforcing anti-Catholicism as a defining factor of the English public consciousness. While the war was never formally declared and largely amounted to English privateering attacks on Spanish vessels, one event stands as particularly significant in understanding the larger English trends of anti-Catholicism. In 1588, King Phillip II of Spain ordered an invasion of England to depose Elizabeth I and reinstitute Catholicism as well as stop English privateering attacks on Spanish vessels. The invasion was repelled by the English, but the most significant aspect of the Spanish defeat came from the destruction of the Armada when they attempted to retreat home around the coast of Scotland and Ireland. Due to inclement weather, over a third of the Armada was destroyed and never returned home. In dispelling the national mythology of an overwhelming success, Lawrence Stone argues that the English campaign against the Spanish was one marked by lack of money, victuals, ammunition, and the prevalence of disease, “The English preparations against the Armada in 1588 take on an aspect rather different from the traditional and perhaps heroic tale that is handed down in the history books.”(8) While the repelling of the Spanish did not represent an overwhelming military victory, English Protestants seized on the opportunity to argue that God had repelled the Catholic invaders by crashing their ships into the rocky shores. Mathew Haviland details with exuberance, the destruction of the Spanish Armada as a sign of Gods grace and his protection of England against papists,
Two works of equall grace, but greater wonder,
The Lord hath done for us, past all mans reason;
When Papists did attempt to bring us under
By Spains huge Army and damn'd Percie's treason.
I, and my house these great things will remember,
And in remembrance sanctifie two days,
In August one, the other in November;
Both made by GOD for us to give him praise(9)
Haviland’s poem was published in 1636 and represents the culmination of Protestant attitudes towards Catholics as both an ecclesiastical and political threat to the sovereignty of England. In reexamining the events of the destruction of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Haviland also details another significant event in the larger trends toward English anti-Catholicism, the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
James I
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 represents a significant attempt by Catholic separatists to overthrow the monarch and parliament in hopes of reestablishing Catholicism as the religion of England. While there were previous plots at the life of Elizabeth such as the Ridolfi Plot of 1571, the Throckmorton Plot of 1583, and the Babington Plot of 1586, the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 stood as especially significant when understanding the context of English anti-Catholicism. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 stood as a Catholic reaction to the hopes that James I in succeeding Elizabeth I would reign in a manner more tolerant to English Catholics.
While James I was certainly a Protestant Calvinist, the reality that he was the son of Mary Queen of Scotts, a Catholic, stood as a hopeful prospect for English Catholics. When it became evident that James I would continue the broader trends of English anti-Catholicism and persecution, the hopelessness of the situation led some fanatics to attempt to assassinate James. Led by Robert Catesby and a handful of co-conspirators such as Thomas Percy, and Guy Fawkes, the Catholic traitors attempted to blow up the House of Lords on November 5th, 1605. They were discovered and subsequently charged with treason resulting in multiple executions and a broader crackdown on Catholics throughout England. Immediately after the assassination attempt James released a proclamation declaring the conspirators as “bitterly corrupted with the superstition of the Romish Religion.”(10) Mark Nicholls provides an intriguing perspective in understanding the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 within the context of English Catholic perspective, “Revenge was directed against erstwhile friends as well as professed enemies. Rather than suffering from inadequate support among the peerage, the energy and drive of the Gunpowder Plot depended on an us against them mentality, defensive, reactionary, at odds not only with the Protestant establishment but also with much of that sustaining powerhouse of English Catholicism, the conservative Catholic aristocracy and wealthier gentry.”(11) The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 stood as equally significant in nature to the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Once again, the forces of papists had been thwarted by providence in protecting the Protestant nation of England from Catholicism. It stands as a significant unification of the English Protestant ideologies which saw Catholicism as both a theological and philosophical threat as well as a political threat in being the religion of England’s enemies.
Fatal Vespers
A lesser known but equally intriguing event, the incident of the Fatal Vespers in 1623 displays another aspect of the larger trend of Protestant justification of Catholic suffering. The Fatal Vespers incident of 1623 was the collapse of a building in Black Friars in which a clandestine Roman Catholic Mass was being observed. The collapse resulted in 95 deaths including the two priests present at the Mass. Protestants utilized the disaster as a further display of God’s rejection of Catholicism. Some Protestants were careful to contextualize the event as a tragedy for those involved but also a justified occurrence ordained by God, “For the time, it was between three and foure of the clocke upon Sunday, which was the six and twentieth of October, according to the English computation, as they were hearing of a sermon, and celebrating after than Evensong(if God had not prevented it) according to the rites of the Roman Church.”(12)
In understanding the movement of perception and culture towards Catholicism, Alexandra Washam’s exploration of the Fatal Vesper event stands as a consequential moment in understanding the larger mythos and collective consciousness of the changing Protestant nation of England in reference to Catholicism. The Fatal Vespers disaster represents a cultural moment in which English Protestants amidst the uncertainty of a potential Habsburg alliance and warfare with Catholic Spain culminated in larger cultural reverberations of anti-Catholicism. Walsham points to the interrelation of popular royalism and anti-popery as a unifying cultural force in opposing Catholicism.(13)
The ease for which English Protestants were capable of justifying a tragedy in which Catholics died in mass numbers displays the broader trends of anti-Catholicism throughout English society. With the larger context of anti-Catholic legislation in tandem with larger political and national anxieties regarding England’s enemies, the Fatal Vesper incident provides an intriguing glance into the Protestant justification for Catholic persecution.
Legislation in context
In contextualizing the anti-Catholic legislation of Elizabeth with broader political and cultural events, the significance of the increasing tides of anti-Catholic sentiment become apparent. Without the Protestant English mythology created by John Foxe, subsequent events and conflicts between Protestants and Catholics would not be connective in nature. John Foxe’s polemical unity between theological and political perspective provides the framework for which all events between Catholics and Protestants would be perceived by English Protestants. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs establishes the nexus for which subsequent Catholic and Protestant interactions would gain their significance in a larger narrative regarding the perceived abuses and injustices of the Catholics wrought on Protestants. From Foxe’s creation of this proto-national mythology, the anti-Catholic legislation of Elizabeth provided the tools for which the kingdom could persecute Catholics who refused to conform to the English Protestant identity. In turning now to those Catholics who experienced persecution and martyrdom, the larger perspective can be contextualized within the lives of individuals who were affected by these broader trends.
When examining these larger changes throughout the law of England in reference to rising anti-Catholicism it becomes important to both contextualize the larger historiographical debates as well as the perspective from Catholic individuals who would be prosecuted according to these changing laws. While it is tempting to view the Catholic community in England following the Reformation as a larger continuation of medieval traditional pre-Reformation Catholicism, scholar John Bossy argues against such interpretations. Bossy points to a continental mission-driven direction in establishing England, a now Protestant nation, as a point of missions from Catholic authorities on the continent. In this regard, Bossy points to the Catholicism that persisted under the reign of Elizabeth I as both a dissident religious reaction to the workings of the Church of England as well as a continental missionary importation.(14) While this interpretation is important in understanding the English Protestant perspective in persecuting Catholicism, it does not take into account the theological continuation of early modern English Catholicism and the importance of the Pope as the supreme authority of English Catholics, rather than the monarch. This very tenet of political and theological perspective is essential in understanding the larger English Catholic perspective in relation to the concept of hierarchy. John Southworth, a priest who was tried under the Elizabethan Anti-Priest Legislation of 1585, detailed this very criticism of both the government of England as well as the theological subversion of its larger rejection of Catholic hierarchy, “The Angels in Heaven did rebel against God through pride, but how were they punished? Not all the whole Hierarchy of Angels destroyed, but they onely who offended; the other Angels remained still in glory. So I say, if any Catholicks shall offend the Law, and not shew themselves true obedient Subjects, let those who offend be severely punished, and not for one mans particular offence punish all.”(15) Southworth’s criticism established during his execution speech displays both aspects of the continuation of Catholic hierarchical traditionalism as well as a degree of dissidence in attempting to lobby for a larger liberty of conscience for Catholics throughout the kingdom.
Loyalty versus theology
In attempting to understand the issue of loyalty versus theology it becomes essential to consult the historiographical debates regarding these larger issues. While some scholars contend that the execution of priests stands as an obvious example of state violence exacted in the name of ideological and theological conformity, others argue that the lines were much more blurred and multidirectional than are perceived. Alexandra Walsham provides a framework for this nuanced perspective in attempting to explore the complex nature of persecution and toleration which existed in the world of anti-Catholicism. While the kingdom might have changed from Protestantism to Catholicism, the populace still bore many aspects of traditional beliefs established in the older Church. In this regard, Walsham argues that private consciences did not always match public behavior and many aspects of religion on the ground were treated differently than the larger attitudes established by the government.(16) While some Catholics stood in direct opposition to the political and theological changes present within the structure of England, others attempted to walk a fine line in retaining their religious liberty as well as standing loyal to the English monarchy. The Petition of the Catholic Laity of 1604 established both the grievances with which Catholic citizens believed they were held from the whole of public life due to anti-Catholic legislation as well as their utmost loyalty and reverence for the monarchy,
“We are but halfe men, if men at all, whome in these later dayes and times no man durst defend, countenance, conuerse with, or imploy, and (as your Maiestie hath well saied) we are in deede but halfe subjects, not that our bodies, mindes, willes, wittes, vnderstandinges, sences, memories, judgementes, intentions; or our breathes, bloudes, or liues are deuided, or deuouted to the supreame honour or seruice of any terrene creature, other then your Maiesty only.”(17)
The question of loyalty in the face of a changing political and theological continuum stands as one of the most consequential issues in attempting to understand the larger framework of anti-Catholicism.
In addressing larger questions of loyalty versus theology, the reality of persecution must be deconstructed through diverging frameworks. While the English Kingdom maintained its interests were solely rooted in the crime of treason based upon Catholic loyalty to the papacy rather than the English monarchy, this reasoning constituted an aspect of persecution.
Peter Lake and Michael Questier detail this divergence from both the perspective of the kingdom as well as the multidirectional nature of power which flowed through government, felon, and religious ideology. While outwardly it may appear that all power in these interactions between the government and those who were tried flowed from the direction of the government, Lake and Questier argue that these interactions were not unidirectional in nature.(18) Take for instance, the example provided earlier in the execution and final confession of John Southworth. While it appears the government had the power to monopolize violence and execute Southworth in the name of ideological and theological conformity, the reality that Southworth was allowed a position to argue his perspective in the form of dissidence against the government and the uniformity of religion points to a more nuanced and multidirectional flow of ideological power. The stage for which those executed in the name of religious uniformity were given to address their grievances or repent provides another way of analyzing the interactions between the government, the felon, and religious ideology within a larger continuum.
Protestant perspective
In exploring the larger debates of Catholic persecution, it stands as significant to understand the Protestant perspective in justifying the persecution of priests through the framework of the law. James Balmford details the divergence between what Protestants perceived as secular matters rather than religious, “It is not to be denied, that Priests are executed for affirming the Popes primacy, and reconciling to the pretended Church of Rome, &c. which are points of their supposed religion: But yet they are not executed for these (or like) points or partes as they be religious, but as they be trayterous, or dangerous to the state, in ciuill consideration. For, if Priests were executed for these, or like points, as they be religious, then the Church would proceed against them in Ecclesiasticall maner, before the secular power execute ciuill punishment.”(19) This perspective from Balford shows a willingness to view the persecution of priests from a secular perspective relating to the Acts of Supremacy, but also to display a justification for religious persecution, if necessary, in ecclesiastical matters.
While this position stood as the orthodoxy of anti-Catholic persecution throughout the period it was not the only perspective within the public realm of print. Cardinal William Allen professed a defense of the Catholic faith in the face of rising persecution and anti-Catholic laws throughout the Elizabethan period. William Allen’s perspective provided a grounded appraisal against the larger tides of anti-Catholicism. William Allen addresses Catholic persecution directly in attempting to walk a fine line of respecting the monarch but also in lobbying for a greater degree of religious tolerance for Catholics, “We are not so peruerslie affected (God be praised) as purposelie to dishonour our Prince and Countrie, for whos loue in Christ, so manie haue so meeklie lost their liues: or to reueale their turpitude, which we would rather couer (if it were possible) from the eyes of the world with our owne blood: but we set forth the truth of al thes actions, for the honour of our nation, which otherwise to her infinite shame and reproche, would be thought wholie and generallie to haue reuolted from the Catholique faith.”(20) The importance of William Allen’s address stands as a significant aspect of the difficult place Catholics found themselves as subjects in a Protestant kingdom. While some outwardly rejected the authority of the monarch and attempted to rebel through recusancy and mission efforts, others like Allen attempted to walk a fine line in recognizing the authority of the monarch while also defending their perspectives as Catholics.
Anti-Catholic sentiment
Another interesting example of anti-Catholic sentiment can be found in pamphlets relating to the arrest of the Jesuit priest Edmund Campion. In the writings of George Ellyot, the tides of anti-Catholic sentiment are presented clearly in opposition to the ministry and perceived treason of campion, “where like vagrant persons, (refusing to liuewithin the lawful gouernment of their coūtrey) they lead a loose life, wandring & running hither and thither, from shire to shire, and countrey to countrey, with such store of Romish relikes, popish pelfe, trifles & trash, as were able to make any Christian hearte (that hath seene the tryall of such practifes as I haue done) eue for sorrow.”(21) Campion, a English Catholic priest was running a clandestine ministry attempting to facilitate Catholic conversions in Protestant England. Upon arrest for treason as a priest, Campion was tortured and eventually hung, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn. The martyrdom of Edmond Campion stands as a significant aspect of the larger trends of anti-Catholicism established both in theological and political perspective throughout Protestant England.
Through the laws of Elizabeth I, the establishment of anti-Catholicism as a legal and political doctrine throughout England became exceedingly important. The Act of Supremacy of 1559 established Elizabeth as the supreme governor of matters both political and ecclesiastical, creating conflict between English Catholics and the government. The oath of allegiance set forth in the Act of Supremacy created an arm for enforcement in forcing Catholics to conform to the law of the kingdom whether they agreed to or not. Moving from the Act of Supremacy of 1559, the Act of Uniformity unified the Church of England within Protestant philosophy and forced Catholics to either conform to attending Protestant church services or pay fines as punishment for their disobedience. The waves of anti-Catholic legislation culminated in both the Act against Jesuits and Seminarists of 1585, which provided the tools for the persecution of priests, as well as a resolute offense against Catholicism as a continental missionary effort in attempting to win Catholic converts in Protestant England. The trends of rising anti-Catholicism are prevalent when considering the anti-Catholic legislation of Elizabeth’s reign. Elizabeth’s reign represents the most consequential and significant aspect of the broader trends toward anti-Catholicism and religious persecution in post-reformation England.
Still however, the larger political and cultural shifts emanating from John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs remains one of the most important determining factors in understanding English anti-Catholicism as a unifying proto national force. Foxe’s narrative, which established the mythology for English Protestantism, provided the fuel for both conceptions of English Protestant identity as well as persecutions of Catholics on both theological and political grounds. The overarching narrative of innocent Protestants persecuted by papal tyranny provides the grounds for all subsequent Protestant and Catholic conflicts and justifications for persecutions of Catholics. The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 builds into the larger national mythos in displaying the divine providence which protected England from the papist invasion of Catholic Spain. While the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 did not represent a decisive military victory, the reality of Spain’s defeat at the hands of stormy weather fueled a larger narrative of Protestant triumphalism against Catholic invaders. The defeat of the Spanish Armada in tandem with the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 as well as the Fatal Vespers disaster of 1623 provide an intriguing and convincing exploration of the conceptions of English proto nationalism tied directly to the currents of anti-Catholicism. While the political and cultural conceptions of Protestantism as a unifying force in the public consciousness of England exists as a significant aspect of the larger trends of anti-Catholicism and religious persecution, the importance of Catholic martyrs cannot be understated. The martyrdom of individuals persecuted through the theological and political framework of Protestant England remains one of the most significant factors in understanding the broader trends toward anti-Catholicism.
Conclusion
Through the writings of martyred priests, such as John Southworth and Edmund Campion, the reality of Catholic persecution can be discerned in a concrete and personal manner. The persecution of Catholic priests stemming from the Elizabethan Anti-Catholic legislation posits a significant aspect of understanding the connection between political and theological anti-Catholic trends. While many of the justifications for persecuting priests such as Southworth and Campion exist within a secular manner, the larger cultural and political changes throughout England point towards a complicated arc of anti-Catholicism based in a mix of political and theological ideology.Throughout this paper, multiple accounts of anti-Catholic sentiment and legal doctrine have been introduced in a manner which attempts to comprehend the nuances of anti-Catholicism as both a theological and a political motivator. While it is impossible to explore every aspect of anti-Catholic sentiment from the reign of Elizabeth onwards, the interrogation of primary and secondary sources provides a larger narrative in understanding the changing political, cultural, and theological consensus throughout England. In compiling this body of research, the goal of attempting to provide a counter narrative in the revisionist tradition remains the foremost objective. By countering the historical Protestant triumphalism of the post-Reformation age with an analysis of the wider currents of anti-Catholicism provides a deeper look at the English Protestant persecution of Catholics. Despite the presentation of the post-reformation Protestant triumph over Catholicism whether from a political or religious standpoint, from the reign of Elizabeth onward, broader trends pointed toward an age of English anti-Catholicism and religious persecution in the name of uniformity. The reality of English anti-Catholicism proves the reality of religious persecution from Protestants to Catholics as well as the institution of anti-Catholicism as a formative and powerful unifying force in the changing conception of English nationhood.
What do you think of anti-Catholicism in early modern England? Let us know below.
Now read Roy’s article on the 1914-23 Armenian Genocide here.
References
1 Elizabeth’s Supremacy Act, 1559, 1, Eliz.,C.1.
2 Elizabeth’s Supremacy Act, 1559, 1, Eliz.,C.1.
3 Elizabeth’s Act of Uniformity, 1559, 1, Eliz., C.2.
4 Elizabeth’s Act of Uniformity, 1559, 1, Eliz., C.2.
5 Act Against Jesuits and Seminarists, 1585, 27, Eliz., C.2.
6 John Foxe, The Acts and Monuments (London, 1563), 957.
7 O. T., Hargrave “Bloody Mary’s Victims: The Iconography of John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.” Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church 51, no. 1 (1982): 7–21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42973872.
8 Lawrence, Stone. “The Armada Campaign of 1588.” History 29, no. 110 (1944): 120–43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24401778.
9 Matthew Haviland, A Monument Of Gods Most Gracious Preservation Of England From Spanish Invasion (London, 1635), 1.
10 James I. By The King Whereas Thomas Percy Gentleman, And Some Other His Confederates, Persons Knowen To Be So Vtterly Corrupted With The Superstition Of The Romish Religion (London, 1605), 1.
11 Mark, Nicholls. “Strategy and Motivation in the Gunpowder Plot.” The Historical Journal 50, no. 4 (2007): 787–807. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20175128.
12 John Hauiland, The Fatall Vesper (London, 1623), 5.
13 Alexandra, Walsham.“‘The Fatall Vesper’: Providentialism and Anti-Popery in Late Jacobean London,” Past & Present 144 (1994): 36–87.
14 John Bossy, The English Catholic Community, 1570-1850 ( New York: Oxford University Press, 1976), 35-50.
15 John Southworth, The Last Speech And Confession Of Mr. John Sovthworth (London, 1679), 2.
16 Alexandra Walsham, Charitable Hatred: Tolerance And Intolerance In England, 1500-1700 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009), 23-30.
17 John Mogar, A Petition Apologeticall (England, 1604), 36.
18 Peter Lake and Michael Questier, “Agency, Appropriation and Rhetoric under the Gallows,” Past and Present 153 (1996): 65–107.
19 James Balmford, Priests Are Executed Not For Religion, But For Treason (London, 1600), 5.
20 William Allen, A True, Sincere And Modest Defence, Of English Catholiques (Rouen, 1584), 1.
21 George Ellyot, A Very True Report Of The Apprehension And Taking Of That Arche Papist Edmond Campion (London, 1581), 3.
Bibliography
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