The ‘Mid-Tudor Crisis’: The Beginning of Elizabeth’s Reign, 1558–63 (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes

Religious Settlement of 1559

The Religious Settlement of 1559 represents Elizabeth I's attempt to resolve religious divisions in England by creating a moderate Church that could accommodate both Catholic and Protestant viewpoints. This settlement established the framework of the Church of England for centuries to come and shaped English religious identity throughout Elizabeth's reign.

Context and aims of the settlement

Upon her accession in November 1558, Elizabeth inherited a nation divided by religious conflict. Henry VIII's break with Rome, Edward VI's Protestant reforms, and Mary I's Catholic restoration had created instability and uncertainty. Elizabeth sought to end these oscillations by establishing a Church settlement that would:

• Avoid the religious warfare then tearing apart the German states and threatening France
• Satisfy the majority of the population who were less concerned with theological precision than with stability
• Establish royal control over the Church
• Create a Church that blended elements from both Catholic and Protestant traditions

The settlement achieved its compromise through careful wording and deliberate ambiguity on contentious theological points.

Act of Supremacy, 1559

Passed in May 1559, the Act of Supremacy re-established the English monarch as supreme authority over the Church, reversing Mary I's return to papal jurisdiction.

Supreme Governor was the title Elizabeth chose for herself, rather than "Supreme Head" used by Henry VIII and Edward VI. This represented a calculated compromise. The title had the same practical effect—Elizabeth controlled the Church—but the less assertive wording allowed those who still regarded the Pope as the rightful head of the universal Church, or those who believed no woman should hold the highest Church position, to accept Elizabeth's authority more easily.

The Act required all clergy to swear an oath of loyalty to Elizabeth as Supreme Governor. To enforce this requirement, commissioners were dispatched throughout England to investigate compliance. A new Court of High Commission was established to prosecute clergy whose loyalty remained suspect.

Organisation of the Church of England

The structural organisation of the Church changed little from the Catholic period. England retained its two archbishops—Canterbury and York—and bishops continued to oversee regional dioceses. This hierarchical structure differed markedly from Protestant churches in continental Europe, where congregations typically organised themselves with much greater independence.

Act of Uniformity, 1559

The Act of Uniformity (May 1559) established rules governing church worship and appearance. The Act mandated that practices established in 1549, during the first year of the Edwardian Prayer Book, should continue. This meant:

• The communion table (a more Protestant term) replaced the Catholic altar, though crosses and candles could still be placed upon it
• Priests wore specific vestments to conduct services, though these were not oriented towards Catholic practices
• The emphasis fell on the words spoken during services rather than the priest's appearance, reflecting the Protestant belief that true worship occurred through hearing God's word

The Act's framers demonstrated political acumen. They recognised that most English people cared less about theological disputes than about the familiarity of their worship services. Dramatic changes to church appearance would prove jarring, so the settlement introduced Protestant theology through moderate language rather than dramatic visual transformation.

Church attendance became compulsory under the Act. Those who failed to attend could be fined, though the fines remained small and were not usually enforced rigorously. Money collected was distributed to the poor. Attending Catholic Mass, rather than the Church of England's communion service, constituted a serious offence. Anyone caught saying Mass faced the death penalty.

Royal Injunctions of 1559

A single Act of Parliament could not address every detail of reformed worship. In July 1559, Elizabeth issued 57 Royal Injunctions—detailed instructions that supplemented the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity. These injunctions required:

• Preachers to obtain a bishop's licence before they could preach
• Preachers to deliver at least one service monthly or lose their licence
• Every church to display a Bible written in English
• The outlawing of pilgrimages
• The destruction of remaining altars

These measures demonstrated the settlement's Protestant character while avoiding the most extreme reforms.

1559 Prayer Book

The Book of Common Prayer issued in 1559 established a single, uniform set of doctrines and liturgy for the entire country, ending the quarrels between Protestants and Catholics over correct worship practices.

The 1559 Prayer Book ingeniously fused the two previous Protestant Prayer Books from Edward VI's reign:

• The 1549 book used moderate language closer to Catholic tradition
• The 1552 book employed more openly Protestant wording

By amalgamating these two texts, the Elizabethan Prayer Book struck a compromise that both Protestants and Catholics could hear elements they wanted when attending services.

The bread and wine controversy

A central theological dispute between Catholics and Protestants concerned what happened to the bread and wine during Mass or communion.

Catholics believed in transubstantiation—the doctrine that the priest literally transformed the bread into Christ's body and the wine into Christ's blood. Anyone consuming these elements took God's presence directly into themselves, achieving spiritual cleansing from sin and renewal.

Protestants rejected this interpretation. They believed the bread and wine functioned as important symbols of Christ's presence, creating a moment of spiritual intensity for the celebrant, but not that any physical transformation occurred.

Thirty Nine Articles of 1563

Parliament could not produce a comprehensive statement of Anglican faith in a single act. Following the initial settlement, the Convocation of the Church (an assembly of senior clergy) worked to produce a definitive statement of what "Anglicanism" meant.

The result, published in 1563 and made law in 1571, was the Thirty Nine Articles. These Articles remain the essential statement of belief in the Church of England. Like the rest of the settlement, the Thirty Nine Articles welded together elements from both Protestant and Catholic traditions, creating a doctrinal position acceptable to the widest possible range of believers.

Reactions to the settlement at home

Elizabeth hoped the settlement would calm religious tensions that had intensified since Henry VIII's reign. She had reason for optimism—reaction among most Catholics and Protestants to the changes remained muted.

Estimates suggest around 400 clergy lost or resigned their positions because they would not accept the settlement. All Catholic bishops appointed by Mary refused to swear the oath and were dismissed. This provided Elizabeth the opportunity to make fresh appointments, creating a Church leadership enthusiastic about her reforms.

By contrast, approximately 800 Protestants had fled abroad during Mary's reign. The minimal scale of refusal between 1559 and 1563 demonstrated that the settlement achieved considerable success in creating a broadly acceptable Church.

However, localised opposition appeared from the beginning. Some ministers simply ignored the new Book of Common Prayer, maintaining traditional Catholic worship practices. A 1564 survey of Justices of the Peace found only half could be relied upon to actively support the settlement. The strongest English reaction centred on financial aspects of the settlement and the seemingly minor issue of priestly vestments, rather than fundamental theological disputes.

Act of Exchange, 1559

The Act of Exchange (1559) allowed Elizabeth to treat the Church as a financial resource for the crown. The disastrous war against France under Mary, and problems with Scotland at Elizabeth's accession, had created a dangerous shortage of royal funds.

Elizabeth followed Henry VIII's precedent by diverting taxes traditionally paid to Rome into her own coffers. She also reinstated Mary's controversial policy of such taxation. Additionally, the Act of Exchange permitted Elizabeth to take over property belonging to bishops and force them to rent land from her.

Foreign reactions to the Church settlement

Elizabeth remained acutely aware that international responses to her religious settlement could prove dangerous. Both France and Spain were Catholic powers capable of threatening England.

In practice, neither France nor Spain showed much inclination to criticise the settlement. France became increasingly absorbed in civil war between Catholic and Protestant (Huguenot) factions. Philip II of Spain hoped Elizabeth might be persuaded to return the Church to Rome.

In 1559, Philip offered to marry Elizabeth. This represented more gesture than genuine proposal, designed to maintain hopes that Catholicism might be preserved in England. As the 1560s progressed, Elizabeth began to regard Spain as more threatening. During this decade, the international balance of power was destabilised by events that left English foreign policy uncertain.

The French-Scottish dimension

Events in 1559 complicated the international situation. Mary, Queen of Scots had married Francis, heir to the French throne. When Henry II of France died in a tournament celebrating the Peace of Câteau-Cambrésis, Francis and Mary became king and queen of France. This solidified the alliance between France and Scotland, creating a direct threat to Elizabeth.

Mary also claimed the English throne as Henry VII's granddaughter. If Elizabeth died without producing an heir, Mary stood as the rightful successor, assuming Henry VIII's last will was disregarded.

William Cecil persuaded Elizabeth to send limited arms and money secretly to the Scottish rebels. In 1560, a peace settlement—the Treaty of Edinburgh—was reached and French troops stationed in Scotland withdrew. After this treaty was signed, another complication arose when Francis II died suddenly.

Mary returned to Scotland as Queen but now as a widow. Her next marriage became a matter of intense English interest. She chose Lord Darnley, who had a distant claim to the English throne through his mother.

While Elizabeth's councillors worried about Scotland, in 1562 the French state collapsed into civil war between rival groups of nobles and their clients for control of the crown. Ten-year-old Charles IX had ascended the throne with his mother, Catherine de Medici, as regent. Catholic families, including the Guises, competed against Protestant Huguenot families, led by the Prince of Condé. Although a weakened France removed the immediate threat to England, it also decisively tipped the power balance towards Catholic Spain.

Elizabeth proved cautious in making decisions, but embraced the idea of intervening to support the Huguenots. Her favourite, Robert Dudley, enthusiastically backed the project, eager to present himself as a statesman. Elizabeth, Dudley, and other ministers hoped that in return for support, the Huguenot rebels might enable England to recover Calais as an English possession.

The Treaty of Hampton Court (September 1562) committed England to providing loans and military aid to the Huguenots. English troops, led by Dudley's brother, the Earl of Warwick, captured Le Havre. However, the focus then shifted from helping the Huguenots towards attempting to exchange Le Havre for Calais. The Huguenots became disillusioned, reached a temporary truce with the Catholics, and planned to expel the English from Le Havre. An outbreak of plague in Le Havre helped their cause, and the town surrendered in June 1563. The Peace of Troyes was signed in 1564 between the English and French governments.

Influence of the Council of Trent

The Council of Trent finally concluded in 1563, having begun nearly twenty years earlier in 1545. The council assembled Europe's leading Catholic clergy to discuss the Church's future. The council produced a series of hardline decrees ending any possibility of peaceful compromise with Protestants. It also reflected a broader reinvigoration of Catholicism within Europe—directed against both Protestants and Muslim Ottoman Turks threatening the western Mediterranean.

Philip II and the Netherlands

Philip II also ruled the Netherlands, which held immense importance for English trade. In 1563, Philip banned the import of English cloth to the Netherlands. Officially, this aimed to protect the Netherlands against plague infection from England, but the ban reflected annoyance that the balance of trade had shifted in England's favour. Elizabeth had turned a blind eye to piracy in the Channel and to English merchants spreading Protestant ideas in the Netherlands. Elizabeth responded by banning all imports from the Netherlands, but both sides eventually backed down and normalised trade relations in 1564.

During the first years of her reign, Elizabeth observed signs of a dangerously powerful Catholic Spanish monarchy behind these events. Her response involved searching for methods of containing Spanish might without overextending her limited resources. In the 1560s, Elizabeth was forced by circumstances to make war against Spain, but by that time she faced a country with the appearance but not the substance of a superpower.