Elizabeths excommunication (AQA GCSE History): Revision Notes
Elizabeth's excommunication
What was Elizabeth's excommunication?
Elizabeth's excommunication in 1570 marked a crucial turning point in her reign. This religious declaration by the Pope established that Catholics posed a serious threat to both Elizabeth personally and her religious settlement in England. The excommunication created a fundamental problem of divided loyalty that would plague Elizabeth's government for decades.
The timing was particularly significant because it came during a period when Catholic opposition to Protestant rule was intensifying across Europe, with religious wars raging in France and the Spanish Netherlands.
This papal action transformed English Catholics from merely religious dissenters into potential traitors in the eyes of the state, fundamentally changing the relationship between the crown and its Catholic subjects.
Why Catholics were seen as a threat
Several factors made Catholics appear dangerous to Elizabeth's Protestant England. The primary concern was loyalty - Catholics owed their religious allegiance to the Pope in Rome rather than to Elizabeth as their queen. This created an impossible situation where English Catholics faced a choice between their faith and their country.
The fundamental issue was that Catholics could not serve two masters - they faced an impossible choice between obeying their queen or obeying their Pope, making their loyalty to England always questionable.
The broader European context made this threat seem more real. Religious wars were raging across the continent, with brutal massacres of Protestants occurring in France and the Spanish Netherlands. Many English Protestants feared that if Catholicism was restored in England, they would face similar persecution. The memory of Mary I's brutal treatment of Protestants during the 1550s, when many were burned alive as heretics, remained fresh in people's minds.
Catholics were also actively involved in plots and rebellions against Elizabeth's rule. The Northern Rebellion (1569) and various Desmond Rebellions in Ireland (1569-1573 and 1579-1583) showed that Catholic opposition could translate into armed resistance against the crown.
The papal bull of excommunication, 1570
On 25 February 1570, Pope Pius V issued a papal bull called "Regnans in Excelsis" (meaning "reigning on high"). This document was a direct attack on Elizabeth's legitimacy as queen and had several devastating consequences.
The bull declared Elizabeth a heretic - someone who openly disagreed with approved Catholic Church teachings. More seriously, it branded her as "the pretended Queen of England and the servant of crime," completely rejecting her right to rule.
Most significantly, the papal bull released all of Elizabeth's subjects from their allegiance to her. This meant that Catholics were no longer required to obey their queen according to papal authority, effectively making rebellion against Elizabeth religiously permissible.
From the Pope's perspective, Elizabeth's subjects were free to rebel against her without committing treason. Although Pope Gregory VIII suspended the bull in 1580, Pope Sixtus V renewed it in 1588, keeping this threat hanging over Elizabeth throughout much of her reign.
Consequences of the papal bull
The excommunication had immediate and long-lasting effects that shaped the rest of Elizabeth's reign. Most importantly, it encouraged Catholic states like France and Spain to believe they could legitimately make war on England and support plots to overthrow Elizabeth. Foreign Catholic powers now saw removing Elizabeth as a religious duty rather than merely a political choice.
The bull also encouraged further plots against Elizabeth, particularly those centred on Mary Queen of Scots as an alternative Catholic ruler. The papal declaration gave these conspiracies a religious justification that made them more appealing to Catholic participants both in England and abroad.
For Elizabeth's government, the excommunication created a security crisis: How could they distinguish between loyal Catholic subjects and potential traitors? This dilemma would lead to increasingly harsh measures against the entire Catholic community.
The excommunication effectively transformed what had been a religious minority into a perceived security threat, with far-reaching consequences for religious policy throughout Elizabeth's reign.
How treatment of Catholics worsened after 1570
Following the papal bull, Elizabeth's government began implementing much stricter policies against Catholics. The excommunication had effectively made every Catholic a potential security threat, leading to systematic persecution.
Examples of Catholic Persecution After 1570:
Religious Practices:
- The Mass was completely banned
- Devotional items such as rosary beads became suspicious objects
- Attending Catholic services became illegal
Financial Penalties:
- Recusants (Catholics refusing to attend Church of England services) faced heavy fines
- These penalties could bankrupt entire families
Treatment of Priests:
- Regular arrests and imprisonment
- Torture before execution as traitors
- Viewed as enemy agents from Rome
The treatment of Catholic priests became particularly brutal. They were regularly arrested, and many were tortured before being executed as traitors. The government viewed priests as enemy agents sent from Rome to undermine English loyalty.
Catholics found themselves under constant surveillance. For example, Francis Walsingham's spy network intercepted Catholic correspondence to uncover plots against Elizabeth. The community lived under the constant threat that their letters might be read and their activities monitored.
This persecution created a climate of fear among English Catholics, many of whom remained genuinely loyal to Elizabeth despite their religious beliefs. The papal bull had made their position almost impossible - they faced persecution from the state if they practised their faith, but risked eternal damnation if they abandoned it.
Timeline of key events
- 1569-1573: Northern Rebellion and First Desmond Rebellion show Catholic resistance
- 25 February 1570: Pope Pius V issues "Regnans in Excelsis" excommunicating Elizabeth
- 1570s-1580s: Period of greatest Catholic threat with multiple plots against Elizabeth
- 1579-1583: Second Desmond Rebellion in Ireland
- 1580: Pope Gregory VIII suspends the bull
- 1588: Pope Sixtus V renews the excommunication
Key Points to Remember:
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Elizabeth's excommunication in 1570 was issued by Pope Pius V in the papal bull "Regnans in Excelsis," which declared her a heretic and released her subjects from obedience to her
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The excommunication encouraged foreign Catholic powers to support plots against Elizabeth and made every English Catholic appear potentially disloyal
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After 1570, Catholics faced increasingly harsh persecution including banned masses, heavy fines for recusancy, and brutal treatment of priests
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The papal bull created a fundamental problem of divided loyalty that plagued Elizabeth's reign, as Catholics had to choose between their queen and their Pope
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The excommunication transformed a religious issue into a national security crisis that shaped English policy towards Catholics for the rest of Elizabeth's reign