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CONSTRUCTING A GODLY SOCIETY: THE TEMPLATE FOR A REFORMED COMMUNITY IN THE WRITINGS OF JOHN HOOPER (C.1500-1555) Brent James Brodie Doctor of Philosophy The University of Edinburgh 2016 SIGNED DECLARATION I, Brent James Brodie, hereby declare that this thesis represents my own composition and work. This work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. ______________________ ______________ Brent James Brodie Date ii Abstract Ever since John Hooper (c.1500-1555), the future Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester, made his famous stand against wearing vestments that placed him in opposition to the leading English clergy, he has been branded in the history of the English Reformation by many as a renegade and a radical. However, this thesis presents Hooper as one who saw himself as a conformist who sought to create the reformed community he desired within the established political and religious customs of his day. To explore this idea, this thesis examines how Hooper imagined a Protestant community for the kingdom of England or elsewhere. It identifies what Hooper considered to be the sources of God’s authority in the community; how that authority was exercised through officials within the community and through godly laws, strong clerical preaching and a universal commitment to vocation. It examines how the people should respond to leaders who brought the successful introduction of Protestantism to their community. Hooper’s vision was advanced in a series of tracts and letters written in Zurich and shortly after his return to England (1547-1551). They were composed at a time when Hooper enjoyed the greatest freedom to articulate his ideas in the company of his mentor, Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575), and refined through his tenure as a bishop in the Church of England. The reformed community that Hooper envisioned was one that was dependent upon a strong magistrate but also required the acceptance and participation of its members in fully embracing their own vocation and reform. Hooper strongly affirmed that leaders – both ecclesiastical and civil – had a duty to model their reformation in accordance with God’s Law, the Ten Commandments. He assumed that the people would abide by the authority of the Decalogue and practice the Protestant faith together. He also believed that living in such a community would usher in a period of peace and prosperity. Hooper’s zeal for reform was demonstrated by his belief that the Reformation required wholehearted embrace by everyone, but he was willing to operate within established English traditions, in order to see his Protestant beliefs realised within the community. iii Lay Summary John Hooper (c.1500-1555), one-time Protestant Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester, famously denounced clergymen who wore the priestly vestments that had been used by Catholic clergy. His public denunciation was ill received by other leading Protestant English clergy and ever since he has been branded by many in the history of the English Reformation as a renegade and a radical. However, this thesis presents Hooper as one who saw himself as a conformist who sought to create the reformed community he desired within the established political and religious customs of his day. To explore this idea, this thesis assesses how Hooper imagined a Protestant community for the kingdom of England or elsewhere. It identifies what Hooper considered to be the sources of God’s authority in the community; how that authority was exercised through officials within the community and through godly laws, strong clerical preaching and a universal commitment to their profession. It examines how the people should respond to leaders who brought the successful introduction of Protestantism to their community. Hooper’s vision was largely advanced in a series of tracts and letters written whilst he was in Zurich (1547-1549) and in the period after his return to England (1549-1552). Many of his ideas were composed at the time when Hooper enjoyed the greatest freedom to articulate his ideas in the company of his mentor, Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575), and later refined during his tenure as a bishop in the Church of England. The reformed community that Hooper envisioned was one that was dependent upon a strong magistrate but also required the acceptance and participation of its members in fully embracing their own profession and reform. Hooper strongly affirmed that leaders – both church and civil – had a duty to model their reformation in accordance with God’s Law, the Ten Commandments. He assumed that the people would abide by the authority of the Ten Commandments and practice the Protestant faith together. He also believed that living in such a community would usher in a period of peace and prosperity. Hooper’s zeal for reform was demonstrated by his belief that the Reformation required wholehearted embrace by everyone, but he was willing to operate within established English traditions, in order to see his Protestant beliefs realised within the community. iv Acknowledgements I would like to express my greatest thanks to my principal supervisor Professor Jane Dawson. Her leadership and commitment to my improvement have brought immense personal and professional benefits to me and she has helped me to see this project through to what I wanted it be. I also thank her for her patience and direction as I worked through the various stages of understanding Hooper. I would also like to thank my examiners, Professor Charlotte Methuen and Dr Sara Parvis, for their helpful suggestions and critiques. The New College Library and Special Research Collects staff have been most helpful to me in acquiring the necessary primary material and for helping me track down documents from Zurich. I am very grateful to them for their engagement. I am indebted to Dr Darren C. Marks who first introduced me to the theology of Heinrich Bullinger which eventually led me to John Hooper, and to the Rev. Dr R. Dale Dawson for encouraging me to pursue Church History. I would also like to thank Amy, Thomas and Robert for their assistance in proof- reading my chapters at various stages. A special thank you as well to my wife Rachel for her proof-reading, but also for her constant love, support and encouragement when I needed it most; without her I would not have been able to complete this thesis. Thank you as well to my parents James and Barbara for your encouragement as I followed my dream of pursuing a PhD. v List of Abbreviations AM Foxe, John. The Acts and Monuments of John Foxe: With a Life of the Martyrologist, and Vindication of the Work, edited by George Townsend. 8 vols. London: Seeley, Burnside and Seeley, 1843-1849. APC Dasent, John Roche, ed. Acts of the Privy Council, New Series, vols. 2-4: 1547-1554. London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1890-1892. BGAS Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucester Archaeological Society Cal. Pat. Rolls Brodie, R.H and H.C. Maxwell Lyte. Calendar of the patent rolls preserved in the Public Record Office. Prepared under the superintendence of the deputy keeper of the records for the reign of Edward VI 1547-1553. 5 vols. London: HMSO, 1924-1926. CSP Dom. Knighton, C.S. ed. Calendar of State Papers Domestic Series of the reign of Edward VI 1547- 1553. Revised edition. London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1992. CSP Sp. Hume, Martin A.S. and Royall Tyler, eds. Calendar of Letters, Despatches, and State Papers, Relating to the Negotiations between England and Spain, Preserved in the Archives at Vienna, Simancas, and elsewhere, vols. 9-11: Edward VI, 1547-1553. London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1912-1916. Ecc. Mems Strype, John Ecclesiastical Memorials of the Church of England: Relating Chiefly to Religion and its Reformation of it, under the reigns of King Henry VIII. King Edward VI. And Queen Mary the First. 7 vols. London: Samuel Bagster, 1816. vi EW John Hooper, Earlier Writings of Bishop Hooper: Together with His Letters and Other Pieces. translated by Rev. Charles Nevison. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1853. LW Later Writings of Bishop Hooper: Together with His Letters and Other Pieces, translated by Rev. Charles Nevison. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1852. ODNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, edited by H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Online edition, edited by David Cannadine, April 2016. OL Original Letters Relative to the English Reformation Written During the Reigns of King Henry VIII, King Edward VI and Queen Mary: chiefly from the archives of Zurich, edited by Hastings Robinson. 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press for the Parker Society, 1846; 1847. The First (-Fifth) Decade Bullinger, Heinrich. Bullinger’s Decades in Four Volumes, translated by H.I, edited by Thomas Harding. 4 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1848-1852. With the exception of the titles listed above, full bibliographical details are given on first mention with short titles employed thereafter.