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Catholicism in England c.1550-1720
This may be helpful to some who appear to doubt the strength of hidden Catholicism in England in the period up to the start of LGDR. It has perhaps been assumed by mainstream historians that the Elizabethan persecutions and anti-Catholic laws effectively wiped out Catholicism in England. However, beliefs are not so easily changed and much of the period from 1550-1700 has been reassessed with new evidence uncovered by modern historians. The result of their research is fascinating. The period seems to divide into several overlapping sections, which I will post separately. I have included sources and tried to be as objective as the subject allows. For balance, someone might like to research the growth of Puritanism in England. I don't pretend this is an exhaustive treatment, just a few highlights to stimulate your own investigations. Any mistakes or oversights are, as usual, down to me
Elizabethan Martyrs
A fairly well studied period, where earlier sources have focused on the fate of senior nobles and priests. However, the stories of ordinary lay people persecuted for their faith during this period is very revealing. All those mentioned have been declared saints by the Roman Catholic church.
Although Catholicism was illegal, it was still practiced in large parts of the country with the consent and support of those communities Occasionally certain individuals went over the top in being open about their faith, e.g. Robert Bickerdyke of Knaresborough (d.1586), who was arrested for buying a priest a drink of ale. He was acquitted by his local jury much to the annoyance of the judge who illegally arrested him again, tried him in front of a different jury and hung him. Richard Gywn of Wrexham (d.1584) was a teacher, accused of composing “certain rhymes of his own making against married priests and ministers”, for which he was martyred. William Carter of London was accused of printing books (d.1584). More usual charges included assisting a priest or being found in the company of a priest. Margaret Ward of Cheshire (d.1588) after smuggling a rope into prison so a priest could escape. John Rigby of Lancashire was arrested when he appeared as a witness to defend his employer’s daughter who had been charged with recusancy (d.1600). Thomas Sherwood of London (d.1579) refused to reveal details of houses where mass was celebrated. Some were entrapped by Anglicans who claimed to want to convert to Catholicism. Others were simply betrayed: John Finch of Lancashire (d.1584) a lawyer of Inner Temple, was accused to being a priest, despite being married; he sought the protection of the Earl of Derby, but was then betrayed by that noble whose mother was in line to inherit the throne on the death of Elizabeth!
Much of the hostility at a local level was not officially sanctioned by the crown. The story of Margaret Clitheroe of York, a butcher’s wife, is particularly poignant. She refused to plead at her trial on a charge of harbouring a priest. So strong was the support for her in York that the 2 sergeants of the court who were ordered to carry out the sentence could not bring themselves to do it: they hired 4 beggars to kill her instead. After her execution, Queen Elizabeth wrote to the citizens of York to say how horrified she was at the execution and that she should not have been executed.
With all these deaths over a period of 50 years you would perhaps have expected Catholicism to indeed have been crushed, but far from it. Many major nobles had indeed become hidden Catholics, outwardly conforming to Anglican forms of worship, whilst maintaining a network of houses where priests could live and minister to Catholics. Others became Recusants whereby they paid a fine so they could avoid attending Anglican services. Underneath the façade the Catholic structure of English society was weakened, but still existed.
Last edited by The Real Louis of France on Tue Aug 21, 2012 3:36 pm; edited 3 times in total
