Catholic Renewal and Protestant Resistance in Marian England

Vivienne Westbrook, Elizabeth Evenden, Vivienne Westbrook, Elizabeth Evenden

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9780754661627
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317169208
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

Mary Tudor's reign is regarded as a period where, within a short space of time, an early modern European state attempted to reverse the religious policy of preceding governments. This required the use of persuasion and coercion, of propaganda and censorship, as well as the controversial decision to revive an old statute against heresy. The efforts to renew Catholic worship and to revive Catholic education and spirituality were fiercely opposed by a small but determined group of Protestants, who sought ways of thwarting the return of Catholicism. The battle between those seeking to renew Catholicism and those determined to resist it raged for the full five years of Mary's reign.

This volume brings together eleven authors from different disciplines (English Literature, History, Divinity, and the History of the Book), who explore the different policies undertaken to ensure that Catholicism could flourish once more in England. The safety of the clergy and of the public at the Mass was of paramount importance, since sporadic unrest took place early on. Steps were taken to ensure that reformist worship was stopped and that the country re-embraced Catholic practices. This involved a number of short- and long-term plans to be enacted by the regime. These included purging the universities of reformist ideas and ensuring the (re)education of both the laity and the clergy. On a wider scale this was undertaken via the pulpit and the printing press. Those who opposed the return to Catholicism did so by various means. Some retreated into exile, while others chose the press to voice their objections, as this volume details. The regime's responses to the actions of individuals and to the clandestine texts produced by their opposition come under scrutiny throughout this volume.

The work presented here also offers new insight into the role of King Philip and his Spanish advisers. These essays therefore present a detailed assessment of the role of the Spanish who came with to England as a result of the marriage of Philip and Mary. They also move away from the ongoing discussions of 'persecution' seeking, rather, to present a more nuanced understanding of the regime's attempts to renew and revive a nation of worshippers, and to eradicate the disease of heresy. They also look at the ways those attempts were opposed by individuals at home and abroad, thereby providing a broad-ranging but detailed assessment of both Catholic renewal and Protestant resistance during the years 1553-1558.

PART I
Reform and Renewal

CHAPTER 2
Spanish Involvement in the Restoration of Catholicism during the Reign of Philip and Mary

Elizabeth Evenden

Then would she needes bryng in kyng Philip, and by her straunge Mariage with him, make the whole Realme of England subiect unto a straunger … With kyng Philip also came in the Pope and his Popishe Masse: with whom also her purpose was to restore agayne the Monkes and Nonnes vnto their places, neither lacked there all kynd of attemptes to the uttermost of her abilitie: and yet therin also God stopt her of her will, that it came not forward.¹

A number of years ago, when I read these remarks in the second edition of John Foxe’s Acts and Monuments (1570), they triggered my curiosity. At the time, I was cataloguing and writing biographies of everyone Foxe mentions in his account of Queen Mary’s reign, across all four editions of the book printed by John Day.² Books 10–12 of the second edition provided varying levels of information about individuals involved in the renewal of Catholicism in England and resistance to it during the years 1553–58.³ What made me curious was the paucity of references Foxe makes to Spanish involvement in the restoration of Catholicism. Philip hardly came to England alone, and Foxe’s text does make reference to some Spanish clerics active in England; yet it says little – if anything – about who these men were, exactly when they came to England, and in what capacity. Foxe clearly intended to say more about the Spanish than he eventually did (as I have discussed elsewhere), so his text raises questions that, for the most part, he leaves unanswered.⁴ For all the wealth of information Foxe provides about the restoration of Catholicism, the Spanish remain on the periphery of his narrative.

This chapter therefore seeks out surviving evidence (beyond that presented by Foxe) for Spanish involvement in the renewal of Catholicism in mid-Tudor England. In reality, the Spanish were deeply involved in the creation and implementation of key policies initiated to ensure a smooth but firm transition away from Edwardian procedures, towards a sustainable revival of Catholicism in all aspects of daily life. The key policies with which this chapter will be concerned are: 1) the day-to-day safety of priests (and other Spanish officials) in the face of English anti-Catholicism and xenophobia; 2) the suppression of acts of violence (and the maintenance of order) during public worship; and 3) the exposure and eradication of heresy. The analysis presented here is inspired by questions raised in a close reading of Foxe’s narrative. These policies are central to Foxe’s examination of how the Catholic Church in England attempted to maintain order, but the answers to these questions are provided from alternative sources.⁵

I claim nothing new in looking beyond Foxe as a source for the key events of Mary’s reign. Rather, this study seeks to provide answers to specific topics raised and examined by Foxe but about which he remains tacit on the depth of Spanish involvement. As John Edwards has recently observed, the revival of Catholicism during Mary’s reign was once seen as ‘a purely insular affair’, one essentially free of Spanish influence, perhaps precisely because of the dominance of Foxe as a source for the period.⁶ However, this perception is fast approaching extinction, and rightly so. Highlighting a number of important Spanish sources, John Edwards, William Wizeman and Alexander Samson (writing in English), and José Ignacio Tellechea Idígoras (writing predominantly in Spanish) have done much to uncover the reality of Anglo-Spanish relations during the sixteenth century.⁷ This chapter seeks to follow their lead, taking analysis of Foxe’s chosen topics beyond the pages of the Acts and Monuments and into the Spanish sources in order to assess fully Spanish involvement in the restoration of Catholicism in Marian England.

Ensuring the Safety of Priests and Spanish Officials

Philip and his entourage arrived in England on 20 July 1554, just five days before his marriage to Mary at Westminster Cathedral. His entourage included a number of Spanish clerics. Foxe details the arrival of Philip, and describes the marriage of Philip and Mary at some length; but, significantly, he does not go into detail as to who was in his party upon arrival.⁸ These men would provide spiritual support and advise the king in his new position. They – like Philip – had come to assist in returning England to the Catholic fold.

So who were the clerics who accompanied Philip at this juncture, about whose arrival Foxe remains silent? Identification of the individuals in this party is an extremely complex undertaking. However, after extensive research, Edwards has identified a number of key figures.⁹ Among them were Philip’s two royal chaplains: Don Pedro de Castro (the Bishop of Cuenca) and Dr Bartolomé Torres (who would later become Bishop of the Canary Islands). Don Fernando de Valdés (Archbishop of Seville, confessor to Charles V, and Inquisitor-General of Spain) also journeyed to England, to assist in spiritual counsel. Two Observant Franciscans (Fray Alfonso de Castro and Fray Bernardo de Fresneda) and two Dominicans (Fray Juan de Villagarcía and Fray Bartolomé Carranza de Miranda) came to assist this mission; another Dominican, Fray Pedro de Soto (also confessor to Charles V) joined them later, in May 1555.

To a certain extent, Philip’s hands were tied upon arrival. The marriage treaty was clear on what Philip could and could not do as Consort. When it came to the employment of foreigners it was emphatic:

he shall not promote, admit, or receive to any office, administration or benefice in the said realm of England and the dominions thereunto belonging any stranger or person not born under the dominion and subjection of the said most noble lady, Queen of England.¹⁰

But that is not to say that Philip’s Spanish clerics were not in England in some quasi-official capacity, to assist in the restoration of Catholicism, and that Philip could not aid this restoration. Indeed, he was at the heart of it. Also, Bartolomé Carranza, as I will demonstrate, appears to have been the most influential of his advisers, aiding this reform. In a telling response to questions presented during Carranza’s own, subsequent trial for heresy, during the 1560s, Philip’s favourite Portuguese courtier, Ruy Gómez de Silva, insisted that those questioning heretics worked on the queen’s orders: Carranza ‘se juntava con los que jazían el officio de inquisidor por mandado de la Reyna’ (‘met with those who worked as inquisitors by order of the queen’). In effect, he was returning to the role of ‘Inquisition consultor’ (a role in which he had excelled in Valladolid, on and off, since 1539); only this time it was for the English Church. Even if the legal ability of Philip to instruct these clerics in the administration of the Church was questionable, there is no doubt that it took place.¹¹

Swift Spanish involvement in thwarting any resistance to religious change would have brought with it inevitable risks – at best, verbal hostility, at worst, acts of physical violence. For Philip to involve himself personally in stamping out rebellious behaviour directly upon arrival would be potentially hazardous. It would be more prudent for Philip and his Spanish entourage to balance the need to return England to the Catholic fold with the need to gain a level of acceptance from the English, lest impediments be placed on the path to religious reconciliation.¹²

As a new and foreign king, Philip was advised to tread carefully and first establish accord with his English subjects. The emperor’s instructions, sent in advance of Philip’s arrival, urged ‘que se deje ver con frecuencia del pueblo; que demuestre no querer apoderarse de la administración’ (‘that he should be seen by the people frequently to prove that he does not want to take over the administration [of the country]’). Similarly, ‘convendrá hacer alguna demonstración con el pueblo, haciéndole esperar benignidad, justicia y libertad’ (‘it would be convenient to make a public appearance in which he shows kindness, justice, and freedom’).¹³

Philip and his retinue, despite assurances, must have wondere...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Notes on Contributors
• Series Editors's Preface
• Acknowledgements
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Prologue
• Part I: Reform and Renewal
• Part II: The Power of Print
• Part III: Enemies of the Marian Order
• Epilogue
• Bibliography
• Index