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Marian restoration - Grade: A*
British History (University of Oxford)
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How successful were Mary’s efforts to restore Catholicism in England?
The traditionally damning view of Mary Tudor’s church, shaped by the work of John Foxe and later
protestant historians, is perhaps the greatest testament to the reality that, despite the promise of
Catholic renewal between 1553 and 1558, the queen’s efforts at restoring Catholicism in England
were ultimately unsuccessful. The two decades prior to Mary’s ascendancy to the throne saw a drastic
change in the relationship between the church and the state, whereby the advent of royal supremacy
gave the monarchy license to recast the long-standing institutions of the church in a new image
entirely. The penetrative impact of Protestantism on both the physical and metaphysical landscape,
delivered through novel means of communication triggered reappraisal of ideas that were previously
fundamental to the Catholic religious experience. Therefore, the successes of the Marian church
should not be judged on how close it came to restoring the Catholic experience on the eve of the
English Reformation. Instead, they should be judged against a backdrop of the material destruction of
the church, the confiscation of its property, the abolition of its sacraments, and a fractured political
base. Considering these challenges, it transpires that Mary did achieve extraordinary success in
energising a Catholic community which was in danger of being outmanoeuvred by an active and
somewhat explosive Protestant community of thinkers and political actors who, despite their minority
status, did capture the attention of the wider population. The successful rebuilding of parish worship
despite the lack of financial resources available demonstrate the incredible regenerative capability of
the Marian church, whilst her appointment of Cardinal Pole proved valuable in sharpening the
theological and intellectual backbone upon which the Church rested. Whilst there is no escaping the
damaging impact had by her handling of the incumbent Protestant population, this should not detract
from the reality that the reasons for her failure were largely political. Change in Mary’s England came
from above and the experience of the Tudor era shows that the church was largely obedient to the will
dictated by the royal government. Thus, it was her failure to find a successor to the throne that would
build upon the promising start she made that rendered her restoration a predominantly short-lived
phenomenon.
For there to be an authoritative framework whereby Catholicism could be restored in England, the
church was returned under the authority of the papacy which, despite contemporary debate, remained
the institution from which the Catholic church derived its highest spiritual authority. Although a
generation had passed between Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy in 1534 and Mary’s succession in
1553, English belief in the papacy had not evaporated and its importance was still appreciated.
Reform in the Catholic kingdoms had historically been executed by the papal legates, thus the arrival
of Cardinal Pole in November of 1554 ensured Mary’s restoration was afforded a greater sense of
credibility. Pole was a renowned humanist scholar who had been a strong advocate for reform at the
Downloaded by olinder seth ()
Marian restoration - Grade: A*
British History (University of Oxford)
Scan to open on Studocu
Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
Downloaded by olinder seth ()
, lOMoARcPSD|59658805
How successful were Mary’s efforts to restore Catholicism in England?
The traditionally damning view of Mary Tudor’s church, shaped by the work of John Foxe and later
protestant historians, is perhaps the greatest testament to the reality that, despite the promise of
Catholic renewal between 1553 and 1558, the queen’s efforts at restoring Catholicism in England
were ultimately unsuccessful. The two decades prior to Mary’s ascendancy to the throne saw a drastic
change in the relationship between the church and the state, whereby the advent of royal supremacy
gave the monarchy license to recast the long-standing institutions of the church in a new image
entirely. The penetrative impact of Protestantism on both the physical and metaphysical landscape,
delivered through novel means of communication triggered reappraisal of ideas that were previously
fundamental to the Catholic religious experience. Therefore, the successes of the Marian church
should not be judged on how close it came to restoring the Catholic experience on the eve of the
English Reformation. Instead, they should be judged against a backdrop of the material destruction of
the church, the confiscation of its property, the abolition of its sacraments, and a fractured political
base. Considering these challenges, it transpires that Mary did achieve extraordinary success in
energising a Catholic community which was in danger of being outmanoeuvred by an active and
somewhat explosive Protestant community of thinkers and political actors who, despite their minority
status, did capture the attention of the wider population. The successful rebuilding of parish worship
despite the lack of financial resources available demonstrate the incredible regenerative capability of
the Marian church, whilst her appointment of Cardinal Pole proved valuable in sharpening the
theological and intellectual backbone upon which the Church rested. Whilst there is no escaping the
damaging impact had by her handling of the incumbent Protestant population, this should not detract
from the reality that the reasons for her failure were largely political. Change in Mary’s England came
from above and the experience of the Tudor era shows that the church was largely obedient to the will
dictated by the royal government. Thus, it was her failure to find a successor to the throne that would
build upon the promising start she made that rendered her restoration a predominantly short-lived
phenomenon.
For there to be an authoritative framework whereby Catholicism could be restored in England, the
church was returned under the authority of the papacy which, despite contemporary debate, remained
the institution from which the Catholic church derived its highest spiritual authority. Although a
generation had passed between Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy in 1534 and Mary’s succession in
1553, English belief in the papacy had not evaporated and its importance was still appreciated.
Reform in the Catholic kingdoms had historically been executed by the papal legates, thus the arrival
of Cardinal Pole in November of 1554 ensured Mary’s restoration was afforded a greater sense of
credibility. Pole was a renowned humanist scholar who had been a strong advocate for reform at the
Downloaded by olinder seth ()
