1 “WHAT CEREMONY ELSE”? A COMMENTARY ON ENGLAND’S CATHOLIC COUNTER- REFORMATION Student: Antony Conlon Institute: Heythrop College, University of London. Degree: Ph D. 2 I declare that the research presented in this thesis is my own work. Signed: Date: 3 Abstract of Thesis Against a background of destroyed church interiors, alienation of their property, abolition of the Mass, economic failures, and political unrest, Mary Tudor and Cardinal Pole attempted to revive the lost world of Catholic England, ruthlessly destroyed during the previous twenty years. For Mary and Pole, the aims were imperative and never in any doubt. It reflected their belief that not only had the country lost its moral and religious compass; its identity as a nation had been threatened, deprived of the ecclesial and cultural sources from which its unity and integrity as a state had developed. History has often judged them harshly for the manner in which they set about their task. The historical sources that provide details of these years, both official and polemical, are sometimes ambivalent in assessment of motives as well as failure or success. They are either the record of a regime desperately and vainly enforcing an outmoded and alien religious settlement on an increasingly hostile population, or an account of the painful and painstaking birth pangs of a re-invigorated Catholicism, opposed by a small but determined and well- organised group. Opponents could be seen as typical of a general mood of rejection and growing revulsion at returning Catholic practice. It is also possible to note them as isolated examples of revolt by a minority favouring the new religion, against the generally accepted and increasingly successful revival of the traditional faith. The Marian religious project is defensible, as not only ultimately viable but also valid in terms of prosecution and planning for the time and place. Engaging with this Herculean task of reform, recovery and revival was an intelligentsia of spiritually innovative individuals, led by Cardinal Pole. Their inspiration and the dynamic of their agenda is ideologically linked to the nascent movement of reform begun in the pontificate of Paul III (1534-1550). Crucial to the Catholic revival in England was re- construction both materially and metaphysically of aspects of religion denounced or destroyed by the changes of Henry VIII and Edward VI. Properly equipped worship; the centrality of the Holy Eucharist; adequate priestly formation; catechetical instruction; clerical authority and Papal Supremacy were all emphasised and included in long-term plans for future development. The lost aspects of piety would all flow from these mainsprings of orthodoxy. All of these prerequisites formed elementary props in the strategies for reform of the Church worldwide during the latter half of the sixteenth century. The indigenous Catholic revival in Marian England lit a torch that led the way to this later initiative. Most of the observable results of what was achieved have long since been destroyed. Only the textual records reveal the extent of that loss. The long held historical narrative that defined Mary’s reign as a tyrannical imposition of an alien religion upon the English and Welsh has been countered by another more evidence-based, in recent decades. This study is another contribution to that debate. 4 Table of Contents Page no. Title Page: 1 Signed declaration of authorship: 2 Abstract of Thesis: 3 Table of Contents: 4 Acknowledgements: 6 Note on the text: 6 Bibliography: 7 Abbreviations: 15 Chapter I: A House Divided against Itself 16 1. A Bankrupt Inheritance 2. Perception and Potential 28 3. Images of a Catholic Queen 45 Chapter II: Religious Reaction to a Catholic Ruler 61 1. “The Mass is very rife”. 5 2. “For the good of the Kingdom and to bring it fully to true religion”. 97 Chapter III: The Road to Reunion and Revival 112 1. “Peter ceases not to knock”. 2. “De ecclesia reformanda”. 136 3. Grandeur and Obedience. 147 Chapter IV: Resistance and Retribution 164 1. “The plague of God justly come upon us”. 2. “The English Athaliah” 207 Chapter V: Restoration and Recovery 225 1. “De reformatione ecclesiae”. 2. “Our Jewel, our joy, our Judith”. 260 Chapter VI: Hostage to Fortune 286 1. “Magno dolore affecti sumus”. 2. “Veritas temporis filia”. 314 Appendix: Illustrations from Queen Mary’s Manual of Prayer. 332 6 Acknowledgements First of all, many and heartfelt thanks to my late supervisor Dr Maria Dowling, who had confidence in me from the beginning and despite her failing health made efforts to continue supportive and constructive throughout. Dr Laurence Hemming was also most encouraging during his time at Heythrop. Dr Richard Price of Heythrop College has been helpful and instructive during my time of research and writing. I wish to express grateful thanks for all their help and for the facilities provided by the librarians, archivists and other staff at the Institute of Historical Research, The Bodleian Library, The British Library, The Hampshire Records Office, The Berkshire Record Office, The Westminster Diocesan Archives, The Library of Westminster Cathedral, The Library of Westminster Abbey and the Archives of Winchester College. The Bibliotheca of the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and the constructive criticisms offered me by Professor Eamon Duffy and Dr Michael Questier have been immensely helpful in helping to arrive at a greater depth of analysis and research. Grateful thanks are due also to proof-readers, Ken MacNab, Jack Eyston and Catherine Bushell and lately Dr Andrew Nash. The assistance of the staff of the IT Department of the Oratory School, Woodcote, has been invaluable. Note on the text: Modern spelling has been used for all quotes from printed sources. 7 Bibliography Unpublished Primary Sources Bodleian Library Microfilm of Vatican Library MS Vat Lat 5968 British Library Cotton MS, Titus, C.VII, fol. 120 Cotton MS, Titus B II, fol. 160 Harleian MS, 284, fols.12l-128r Harleian MS, 444, fol. 27 Lansdowne MS. 1236, fol. 28 Lansdowne MS. 102, fol. 2 Lansdowne MS. 96, fol. 25 Additional MS 41577, fols. 161- 166 Guildhall Library Bishop Bonner’s Register, fol. 367 Mercers Company Acts of Court, ii, fol. 264r National Archives S.P. 14/190 E 164/ 31 Vatican Archives Vat Lat 5968 Westminster Cathedral Library Treasury MS no. 7 Berkshire Record Office, Microfilm The Churchwardens’ Accounts of St Lawrence, Reading, 1410- D.P. 97/5/2. 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