Elizabeth I: Character and Aims Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Elizabeth I: Character and Aims Deck (30)
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1
Q

What does Norman Jones suggest / argue in relation to Elizabeth’s religious views?

A

He argues that Elizabeth was a Protestant and wouldn’t accept a Church separate from the State. She was however tolerant to Catholic behaviour.

2
Q

How old was Elizabeth when she became Queen?

A

25

3
Q

How was Elizabeth different to her sister Mary?

A

She was better educated, was a better judge of character and had a shrewder grasp at political processes. She learned much from her personal experience involving her relationship with Thomas Seymour

4
Q

How did Elizabeth let everyone know that she was very much in charge right from the start of her reign?

A

In 1559, Elizabeth told Parliament that ‘we hope to rule, govern and keep this our realm in good justice, peace and rest, in like wise as the king my father held you in.’

5
Q

What was Elizabeth determined to preserve during her reign?

A

She wanted to preserve the prerogative powers of the Crown, which meant that she insisted on taking the most important decisions.

6
Q

What were Elizabeth’s primary aims when she came to power?

A

To consolidate her position
To settle religious issues
To pursue a peaceful settlement with the French

7
Q

Who was William Cecil?

A

He was the first Baron Burghley who first enjoyed prominence under Somersetand managed to transfer allegiance to Northumberland. He had the trust of Elizabeth and managed her succession well. He served her as principal secretary and then as Lord Treasurer in 1572.

8
Q

What issues troubled England upon Elizabeth’s accession?

A

England had suffered a series of bad harvests, so food was sparse and expensive. The country had also suffered from a flu epidemic which brought the highest mortality rate since the Black Death. The political and religious situation was delicate. England had fought in a war with France which resulted in the loss of Calais.

9
Q

Summarise the 5 key features to Elizabeth’s consolidation of power

A

Her accession was helped by the acceptance from Mary’s key councillors. On 17th November, Nicholas Heath (Mary’s Lord Chancellor and the Archbishop of York) announced Mary’s death and proclaimed Elizabeth’s accession. However he had no legal right to do this, Parliament should have led to the dissolution of Parliament. This was significant, because it showed that Mary’s key councillors collectively assented to Elizabeth’s accession.

She appointed William Cecil principal secretary and some other household appointments. However she kept Mary’s councillors guessing about her intentions and speculating about their chances of retaining royal favour.

She took herself to the Tower to show herself to her subjects and to benefit from pageants which were organised on her behalf by the City of London.

She proceeded quickly to her coronation, based on astrological advice, on 15 January.

The Spanish ambassador, the Count of Feria, had been present several days before Mary’s death and tried to broker a marriage alliance between Elizabeth and Philip. Nothing came of this, but it showed that Phillip was unwilling to disrupt the smoothness of Elizabeth’s accession.

10
Q

Outline the 3 options that Elizabeth could chose for her initial religious policy

A

An Anglo-Catholic Church, a Church who’s doctrines and practices were essentially Catholic even though papal supremacy was rejected.
A moderate Protestant church, similar to that implied by the Act of Uniformity of 1549.
A more radical evangelical Church as implied by the Act of Uniformity of 1552

11
Q

Outline the key features of the Act of Supremacy, passed in 1559

A

The papal supremacy restored under Mary was rejected.
Reformation legislation under Henry VIII was restored.
Heresy law under Mary repealed.
Powers of royal visitation (under Henry VIII) were revived. So the crown could appoint commissioners to ‘visit, reform, order, correct and amend errors, heresies and abuses.
The queen was described as supreme governor of the church as opposed to supreme head (this was interpreted as a concession of Catholic opinion, a reflection of attitudes towards women and an assumption that only God could be head of the church.
An oath of supremacy was to be taken by clergymen and church officials. There were penalties for refusal

12
Q

What contentious amendments were made through the Act of Uniformity of 1559?

A

Both the 1549 wording and the 1552 wording derived from the beliefs of the Swiss reformer Zwingli were permitted.
The ‘Black Rubric’, included in the 1552 prayer book was omitted.

13
Q

Why were all Protestants not fully pleased with the Act of Uniformity?

A

The act specified that such ‘ornaments of the church and of the ministers thereof’ should be those that were in place during the second year of the reign of Edward VI (before the passing of the Act of Uniformity of 1549). Many returning Protestant exiles assumed this was a mistake, because many Calvinist clergy saw the ‘ornaments’ as ‘Popish’ and therefore objected strongly to them

14
Q

What were the royal injunctions?

A

They were a set of instructions about the conduct of church services and government of the Church issued in he queens name as supreme governor. Royal injunctions were previously used by the Crown to impose its will in relation to church practices

15
Q

What changes did the royal injunctions bring about?

A

The first emphasised ‘the suppression of superstition’ and the need ‘to plant true religion to the eradication of all hypocrisy, enormities and abuses’. They emphasised that the Eucharist be administered at a simple communion table rather than the alter. They called for the removal of Catholic practices such as pilgrimages, the use of candles and the use of Latin Bibles.

16
Q

How did the injunctions reflect Elizabeth’s personal views?

A

Elizabeth’s disapproval of clerical marriage was reflected by the need of prospective wives of the clergy to produce a certificate signed by two JP’s signifying their fitness of such a role. There was also a desire to persuade people to ‘forbear all vain and contentious disputations in matters of religion

17
Q

What is John Neale’s interpretation of the Elizabethan religious settlement?

A

He argued that the queen faced pressure from radical clergymen as well as allies in the House of Commons, the ‘Puritan Choir’.

18
Q

Outline the backlash to Neale’s thesis, as outlined by Haugaard, Hudson and Jones.

A

Haugaard argued that Elizabeth saw the settlement as final, rather than a precursor to further reform. Many of the subsequent religious controversies of Elizabeth’s reign therefore became easily explainable.
Hudson argued that Elizabeth and her ministers always intended the settlement should be firmly Protestant and there was never any serious intention to restore the first Edwardian prayer book, but appearances to the contrary had to be maintained to keep the support in conservative House of Lords.
Jones argued that Elizabeth and her ministers had wanted a complete religious settlement, but the political opposition they faced came from the Catholic bishops and conservative peers in the House of Lords as opposed to the Puritan Choir. Though they accepted the restoration of royal supremacy, they provided more opposition to the uniformity bill which was only passed in the Lords by three votes.

19
Q

What was the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis?

A

This was a peace treaty between England and France following the weakening in finance for England, France and Spain. A treaty was conducted at Château-Cambrésis in April 1559 in which England and France reached an agreement over Calais. France would retain Calais for eight years after which it would be restored to English control provided England had kept the peace in the meantime. If France failed to return Calais, they agreed to pay 500,000 crowns to England.

20
Q

What was the connection between Francis II (new King of France) and Scotland?

A

Francis’ wife was Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth’s cousin and the main Catholic claimant to the throne. This meant that a Catholic Guise was put in charge of France.

21
Q

Who was particularly upset by the French garrisoning of Scottish fortresses, and what did they request of Elizabeth?

A

John Knox was alarmed by the French garrisoning of Scottish fortresses. He was a radical Calvinist who was the leader of the Scottish Reformation and his political allies, the Lords of the Congregation, who were seeking power in Edinburgh. The Lords then requested assistance from their fellow Protestants south of the border

22
Q

Why was Elizabeth cautious in her response to the request from Scottish Calvinists?

A

Because her subjects were rebelling against sovereign authority and loathed Knox, who had written against ‘the monstrous regiment of women’.

23
Q

What was Cecil’s view on intervention, and what informed his view?

A

He strongly supported intervention because he sympathised with the religious predicament of Scottish Protestants and knew that England would be more secure without a French force north of the border. However, he also sought the removal of Mary, Queen of Scots, which would weaken her influence as a potential Catholic claimant to the English throne, and wanted to incorporate Scotland within a British State (he thought necessary for Protestant England)

24
Q

What arguments did Cecil use to persuade Elizabeth to intervene?

A

He played on her insecurity by pointing to the action of Francis and Mary in using the English royal coat of arms on their own heraldic device. He suggested his own resignation if Elizabeth didn’t support him

25
Q

Outline the chain of events from the initial intervention in 1559 to the Treaty to Edinburgh in July 1560

A

Initially the intervention was limited in money and armaments but towards the end of December 1559, the navy was sent to the Firth of Forth to stop French reinforcements landing. The Lords of Congregation were offered conditional support at the Treaty of Berwick in February 1560 and in March an army was sent north. The army and navy blockaded Leith (outside Edinburgh) where most of the French force was situated from land and sea. The siege failed, but other circumstances forces a French retreat (the French fleet was severely damaged by storm, and the regent Mary of Guise died. Cecil could secure favourable terms in the Treaty of Edinburgh

26
Q

What was the outcome of the intervention in Scotland?

A

The Lords of Congregation were accepted as a provisional conciliar government and, with the death of Francis II in December, the Guises fell from power, Mary Stuart’s influence on French policy came to an end and she had to return to Scotland. She then had to accept the political and religious power of her enemies. The interests of Scottish Protestants had been protected and the political influence of Mary had been significantly reduced. Elizabeth was aware that this occurred through good fortune (death of Francis II) and she would proceed more cautiously

27
Q

Who was Robert Dudley?

A

The first Earl of Leicester, younger son of Duke of Northumberland and childhood friend of Elizabeth. He survived the downfall of his father and became Elizabeth’s favourite over many years.

28
Q

What did Elizabeth promise French Protestants when conflict broke out between them and French Catholics?

A

Robert Dudley encouraged Elizabeth to put military pressure on the French Crown when it was in a weak state to ensure the return of Calais. She promised the Huguenot leader, the Prince of Condé, 6000 men and a loan of £30,000, with the control of the port of Le Havre as security

29
Q

Why did both sides in the French conflict seek to unite?

A

The Huguenot army was defeated and Condé captured; on the Catholic side, the Duke of Guise was assassinated. With both sides leaderless, the factions agreed peace terms and agreed to drive the English out of La Havre and force them to agree to the Treaty of Troyes.

30
Q

What was the impact of the Treaty of Troyes (both in practical terms and on Elizabeth’s attitude towards intervention in foreign countries)?

A

Elizabeth had lost both Calais (permanently) and the indemnity secured at Château-Cambrésis. This was a significant blow to Elizabeth’s prestige. She became more cautious of supporting the Protestant cause on the European continent: possibly too cautious in the case of her subsequent attitude to the Netherlands