Historical context: From the Renaissance (1485-1625) to the Puritan Age (1625-1660)

THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE - ESSENTIAL HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND

In 1485 the Tudor dinasty put an end to the War of Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York, the two
dynasties which claimed the succession to the throne. They started a period of prosperity, exploration, expansion, and
cultural development. The most important Tudor monarchs were Henry VIII (1509-1547), son of King Henry VII and
Elizabeth of York, and his daughter Elisabeth I (1558-1603), two strong rulers who paved the way to make Britain the
greatest Empire in history.
The Tudor dinasty:
• Henry VII (1485 1509); • Henry VIII (1509 1547); • Edward VI (1547 1553); • Mary I (1553 1558); • Elizabeth I (1558
1603)
Henry VII 1485-1509
• descended through his mother from a legitimised branch of the English royal House of Lancaster
• Ended War of Roses (civil war) with defeat of Richard III and marriage to a member from House of York (As
a consequence of the Norman invasion there had been continuous wars between Britain and France for the
possession of lands → the hundred years’ war 1337 – 1453. After that there was a war between the two rival
houses of Lancaster and York → the war of the roses 1453 – 1485).
• He increased the power of the monarchy in order to reduce the power of the barons and the aristocracy and
bring back order following the War of the Roses
• Under his reign, England saw a period of financial and governmental stability
• Laid the foundations of English naval power → England had its own merchant fleet and extended its military
power.
Henry VIII 1509-1547
• He introduced some of the greatest changes in English history, religion, and culture
• As an individual, being a patron of the arts, passionate about poetry, literature and music and a great
sportsman, he embodies the spirit of the Renaissance.
• He did not like the spread of Lutheranism in England and defended the Catholic Church against Luther.
• He was given the title of “Defender of the Faith” by the Pope in 1521 but when the Pope refused to grant him
a divorce from his first wife (Catherine of Aragon), he broke with Rome and declared himself Supreme Head
of the Church of England with the Act of Supremacy (1534). He established the Anglican Church, or Church
of England, and he married his second wife: Anne Boleyn. England was now a Protestant country with a
monarch as Head of Church and no longer the Pope as Head of the Church. The Bible and not the clergy now
became the source of truth → English Reformation
• Henry also wanted to curb the church’s power and wealth. In 1536 he dissolved many monasteries and
confiscated a large part of the church’s property
• He imprisoned or killed all those opposed him, including his chancellor Thomas More to death, accusing him
of treason
• Anne Boleyn gave him a second daughter, Elizabeth.
• She was tried and executed for treason in 1536 on charges including adultery, incest and conspiracy against
the king.
• Henry went on to have four more wives and one son, Edward, later Edward VI, from Jane Seymour.
Edward VI (1547 1553)
•The son of Jane Seymour and Henry VIII.
• Made Protestant doctrine more fully accepted but persecuted the Catholics.
• Used some of the confiscated wealth of convents to build schools.
• Replaced the old Latin with The Book of Common Prayer in English so now services were in English.
Mary I (1553 1558)
• The daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.
• Refused to abandon the Catholic faith and reintroduced the Catholic religion. She brutally persecuted the
Protestants, gaining the title of “Bloody Mary”.
• He married the Catholic Philip of Spain (Spain was one of the England’s greatest enemy at the time)
• When she died without an heir, England was in religious and political turmoil, which her successor Elisabeth I
strove to put right.
The elizabethan period (1558–1603) → is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of
Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). She reigned for 45 years. Historians depict her reign as a renaissance that inspired
national pride through classical ideals, international expansion, and naval triumph over Spain.
• Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s daughter. Since she never married, Elizabeth was known as the “Virgin Queen”.
• She had a strong personality, she had received an excellent education: she could speak French, Latin and Italian.
• Became queen of a divided nation, the majority of which was anti Catholic and anti Spanish. However, she
established once more the Church of England but was tolerant towards Catholics, granting them freedom of worship.
• She was excommunicated by the Pope, and there were different plots against her (also by her Catholic cousin Mary
Stuart, Queen of Scotland, finally executed in 1587).
• She went on royal progresses (travels around the country) to be seen and to get to know her people.
• Her reign is characterised by political, cultural, social and economic success and depicted as the highest point of
English Renaissance, “The Golden Age of England".
• During Elizabeth’s reign the nation became prosperous. Literature, music, drama and poetry flourished and
produced the greatest dramatist of all times, William Shakespeare.
Elizabeth I politics: “the Golden Age”:
• Recognised Spain as her main trade rival and enemy. English fleet defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.
• Expanded exploration and overseas trade. Under her reign England began to explore foreign lands and gained a
monopoly of trade in the East Indies.
• Laid the basis of England’s empire encouraging to colonise in the name of trade.

James I (1603-1625)
• Elizabeth died in 1603 without heirs.
• James VI of Scotland (son of Mary Stuart) became the first Stuart king in England with the title of James I.
• He based his rule on the theory of the divine right of kings (king as a representative of God’s will) and
governed alone, without Parliament.
• Summoned Parliament only to ask for money.
James I and the Puritans:
• James was protestant, and religion was the most urgent problem of his reign: the king discontented both the
Catholics, who expected more tolerance from the son of Mary Stuart, and the Puritans (extreme Protestants) who
wanted a reform of the doctrine
• Catholics were excluded from public life and fined if they refused to attend the Church of England.
• The Gunpowder Plot: in 1605 some radical Catholics plotted to blow up the king in the Houses of Parliament. The
attempt on his life failed and many Catholics were executed. The failure of the Gunpowder Plot is commemorated in
England on 5th November
• Extreme Protestants, called Puritans, disapproved of the rites and bishops of the Church of England. In 1620 a
hundred of them - the Pilgrim Fathers- decided to leave England to escape from James I’s religious persecutions. They
went to North America on the famous ship, The Mayflower, and created the first colony of New England, the
Plymouth Colony

THE RISE OF PURITANISM

Charles I 1625-1649
- He was in need of money to support a series of military expeditions against France: The House of Commons refused
to grant it so he dissolved Parliament trying to obtain money by illegal means and forced loans.
- 1628: The Parliament agreed to support the military expenses but asked the king to accept the Petition of Right
(taxes had to be approved by Parliament and no man should be imprisoned without a regular trial)
- he responds by dissolving the Parliament and ruling as an absolute king
- 1642 Civil War between the Royalists or Cavaliers, supported by the king and the Church of England, and the
Roundheads, supported by the Parliament and the Puritan dissenters led by Oliver Cromwell
- 1649 King Charles is executed and Cromwell establishes the Commonwealth, a sort of Republic, and makes himself
Lord Protector
- After Cromwell’s death the monarchy was restored (1660) and Charles II was the next king.
- Charles II restored the Church of England and granted freedom of religion to Puritans and Catholics
What is Puritanism?
- it’s a movement that arose within the Church of England in the 16th century
- no need of intermediaries (i.e. priests) between God and the individual
- it rejects any spiritual authority except that of the Bible
- extreme austerity and elimination of entertainment: the theatres were closed