SPANISH AND ENGLISH IDEAS ABOUT RELIGIOUS IMAGES 1550-1660 By MARIA ELOINA VILLEGAS TENORIO B.A. Universidad Cuauhtemoc, 1994 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment Of the requirement for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy Department of History 2010 This thesis entitled: Spanish and English Ideas about Religious Images 1550-1660 written by Maria Eloina Villegas Tenorio has been approved for the Department of History ______________________________ Dr. Marjorie Keniston McIntosh, Committee Chair ______________________________ Dr. Robert Ferry, Committee Member ___________________ Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories and we find that the content and form meet acceptable standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline iii Villegas Tenorio, Maria Eloina (Ph.D. History) Spanish and English Ideas About Religious Images 1550-1650 Thesis directed by Professor Marjorie Keniston McIntosh This transnational study compares Catholic Spain and Protestant England as two countries that adopted opposing views on religious images in the early modern period. The Reformation questioned the value of and justification for the use of representations of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints found in medieval Catholic churches. This investigation focuses on how and why ideas about images written mostly by clergymen played themselves out differently in each country. The interaction of doctrine, official policy, audience, and practice is central to this analysis as it reveals the character of the religious culture of each country. This analysis argues that unlike Trent that considered the doctrine of images as non- essential, the Church of England viewed images as a key component of their fight against Catholicism because images symbolized all the external and ceremonial aspects that had to be reformed. Spanish Catholic writers showed their concern for possible misuse and the need to clarify this doctrine to the laity. While it is clear that the Spanish policy toward censorship to a great extent halted any debates with Protestants, the English Protestants, who did not face those limitations, chose not to debate directly with authors from other countries. The discussion about images reveals an essential difference in the religious cultures of Catholic Spain and Protestant England. While in England more complex discussions targeted a lay religious culture that was accustomed to reading and discussing a great deal of religious subjects, in Spain the writings on images were directed mainly at a clergy who, in turn, had to instruct the laity on the meaning and proper use of images. In Spain, confusion concerning the significance and role of images stemmed from the lack of clarity and detail in the decrees of the Council of Trent. It is likely that the iv Catholic Church only focused on explaining the areas of doctrine that were essential for salvation: the use of images was encouraged but not required. Despite the secondary importance of the doctrine of images in the eyes of the fathers of Trent, they seemed concerned by misuse. Spanish authors might have observed misuse of images, and thus they felt the need to clarify the doctrine of images to their readers to fill the vacuum left by Trent. The Spanish Church actively dealt with abuse and misuse of images through the Inquisition and archbishoprics. Most Spanish Catholic authors adopted a more conservative stance than Trent and seemed to emphasize the importance of understanding devotional practices. Occasionally, a few authors were explicit about the possible dangers of images and disagreed with traditional Church views. The program of censorship discouraged the clergy to debate controversial doctrine with the laity and to engage in direct confrontations with Protestants. While there were debates over predestination and the Immaculate Conception, no direct discussion about images took place because they were part of a doctrine of marginal significance. The Church of England offered a detailed doctrine of general principles without seeking to unify ideas. Images had been destroyed in the early years of the Elizabethan period, and thus divergence of ideas about them was allowed in order to facilitate the progress of reform. From this freedom of thought, a few views revealing toleration towards images emerged. The bans on publication focused on Catholics and Protestants were allowed to debate with their Catholic counterparts who were in exile. Eventually the rise to power of a group of high clergymen with an Arminian outlook during the reign of Charles I established a tacit new era of toleration of images, making illegal the works of Puritans who decried the return of symbols of Catholicism. The writings of English Catholics in exile demonstrate the different strategies used to advance their agendas in exile without openly criticizing the Queen. To their dual audiences of English Catholic and Protestants, these authors presented themselves as reformed Catholics with a conception of images different from the medieval church. v Acknowledgments The success of this work was possible with the financial assistance I received from the Consortium between American Universities and the Spanish Ministry of Education. The grant I was awarded provided the funds to do research in the National Library of Spain. I am grateful to Carmela Villa for opening her house to me during the research process. I will always be in debt with my advisor Marjorie McIntosh for giving me the opportunity to learn from a gifted historian and a teacher with a unique dedication and enthusiasm. She provided me with a role model that will guide my career and my life towards excellence. In her advisory capacity, Marjorie went beyond any customary practice to help in every step of my research and writing process. A number of University of Colorado faculty and staff members also provided essential assistance and support during this process. I thank the members of my thesis committee, Matthew Gerber, Robert Ferry, Anne Lester, and John Slater for their important insights into my topic. I am especially thankful to Scott Miller of the History Department for this advice, patience, and effort to make my long journey go smoothly. Graduate students of my department offered me on-campus and long distance support in the various stages of this project. I am grateful to the members of our informal Early Modern England dissertation-writing group. Susan Cogan and Anne Vonhof offered their thoughts and discussed the challenges we were all facing in a friendly atmosphere. I want to express my sincere gratitude to Susan Guinn-Chipman who kept her mind and heart always opened to my needs regardless of her own extremely busy schedule. Her phone conversations reminded me that I was part of CU-Boulder and made me feel that I was there. While away from my Alma Mater, I was lucky to find graduate students, scholars, and administrators who welcomed me. I thank the dissertation group of the Latin American history department of the University of California at Berkeley. The insights and emotional support provided by Brianna Levitt-Alcantara and Sylvia Sellers-Garcia were essential for my project. The conversation with fellow graduate students Luna Najera from Cornell University and Michelle Armstrong Partida from the University of Ohio were full of energy, curiosity, and camaraderie. The encouragement and insights of Luis Corteguera from the University of Kansas and Patrick Gerster from San Jose City College were very valuable. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my family and friends in Colorado, California, and Puebla who offered me emotional support. With my husband, Ricardo, I have created a debt I will never be able to pay. His loving support to help me throughout this intellectual journey was immense. He believed in me and celebrated my accomplishments like nobody had done before. Twenty years ago, he saw a sparkle of curiosity in my eyes and he helped it turn into a fire. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT I. Images and Unorthodoxy in the Late Middle Ages 38 II. Christian Humanism and Devotio Moderna 55 III. Status of Images from the beginning of the English Reformation to 1660 64 IV. Spain, before, during, and after the Counter-Reformation 76 3. IDOLS AND IMAGES BEFORE AND AFTER CHRISTIANITY 90 I. Ideas on the Concepts ‘Image’ and ‘Idol’ A. Early Modern Dictionaries and Spanish Catholic Views 92 B. Ideas by English Protestants, English Catholic Exiles, and Spanish Converts 101 II. Early Modern Ideas of the Practice of Idolatry in Pre-Christian Times 119 III. The Christian Encounter with Idolatry: Early Modern Views on Christian Use of Images and Idolatry 129 4. THE PROPER INTERPRETATION OF THE FIRST AND SECOND COMMANDMENTS 150 I. The Wording and Evolution of the text of the Ten Commandments: Early Modern Bibles 151 vii II. Early Modern Spanish Catholic Interpretations of God’s Message On Images 157 III. Perspectives by English Protestants. 172 IV. Ideas by English Catholic Exiles and Spanish Converts. 191 5. THE ROLE OF IMAGES IN WORSHIP 203 I. The Function of Images in Worship: Medieval Precedent and Spanish Catholic Views 204 II. English Protestants Views. 223 III. Ideas by English Catholic exiles and a Spanish Convert. 243 6. IMAGES FOR TEACHING, IMITATION, AND INTERCESSION 253 I. Images as Teaching Tools: Medieval Precedent A. Ideas by Spanish Catholic Authors 255 B. Perspectives by English Protestants, English Catholic Exiles, and a Spanish Convert. 267 II. Images as Models for Imitation: Early Modern Ideas. 281 III. Images in the Process of Intercession 291 7. THE MAKING OF IMAGES 307 I. Catholic Control and Regulation of Images after Trent 309 II. Images of God and Jesus Christ: Early Modern Ideas 311 III. Images of the Saints and the Virgin Mary 333 IV. The Role of the Image Maker 339 viii 8.