The English Reformation

The Religious Reforms of which Monarch, Edward VI or Mary I, had a greater Impact on the Elizabethan Religious Settlement?

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, University of Tubingen (Seminar für englische Philologie), course: Models of Monarchy from the Tudors to the Regency, language: English, abstract: After the death of Edward VI in 1553 his sister Mary Tudor succeeded him after the very short term of Lady Jane Grey. She was crowned Queen Mary I of England and Ireland and reined for a total of five and a half years. Mary I became known for restoring the papal authority over the English Church and the cruel Protestant persecutions which gained her the nickname Bloody Mary. This paper will explore Reformation among both Edward VI and his half-sister Mary I and will deal with the question whether Edward's religious reforms or those of Mary's were more successful/left a greater impact on the English church. The list of cited works is going to include A.G. Dickens with his renowned book The English Reformation who provides detailed accounts of the religious perception of the clergy and common people. Also I would like to mention Amos Blanchard's account of John Foxe's Actes and Monuments as he was a Marian contemporary who collected the accounts of executions of Protestant martyrs and published them in the Elizabethan era. Also I will draw on works by Lehmberg, Haigh and Doran. Some scholars, like W. R. D. Jones and Geoffrey Elton, claim that the reigns of both Edward and his sister Mary were also characterized by a mid-Tudor crisis. However, I decided to omit this topic as it offers enough material for a separate paper. The first chapter deals with Edward VI's reign over England. Therefore the chapter is split into three parts dealing with the three different Protectors during the under-aged king's reign. A special focus is set on the significant religious changes which they evoked during Edward's time. The second chapter concerns itself with the religious reforms during Mary's reign. Again it is divided into sub-chapters which tackle the difficulties with restoring popish authority over the Church of England and also the political resistance Maria experienced by the Council Members. As a conclusion I will then collect and reflect on the gathered data and assess that the reforms during Edward's reign had a greater impact on further religious development than Mary's. By the end of this paper I will have established the view that the reforms during Edward VI's reign were more successful than those of Mary I. For the future development I hope that further events of that time can be uncovered and that future leaders learn from these past mistakes.