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Historical context of Shakespeare's plays
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English reformation summary
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Context The reformation was a time of triumph, chaos and conflict. During the early part of the 16th century, Martin Luther turned the world upside down, catapulting it into a bitter war between Catholicism and Protestantism. The reformers wanted change, they were tired of the corruption and abuses of the church and by the mid-16th century, Europe was engulfed in struggle and conflict. The Catholic Church, engaged in a reformation of its own, was fighting back. In France, Holland, and Scotland many protestants were suffering death or exile, while Germany was fighting in a merciless religious war known as Schmalkaldic War (1547). The reformation began in England in 1535 when King Henry VIII renounced the authority of the pope, after the …show more content…
Elizabeth was an avid supporter of Mary and refused to support a revolt led by Sir Thomas Wyatt. However, Mary was uneasy with Elizabeth. Mary was a devout Catholic and Elizabeth was protestant; Elizabeth also posed a potential threat to her throne. To rectify this, false charges were brought against Elizabeth, implicating her as part of the rebellion of Wyatt. She was thrown into prison in 1554, some even advocating for her execution. Elizabeth was released a year later, once she outwardly professed Catholicism. Upon the death of Mary, the young Elizabeth took the throne in 1558. At a time when England was torn by religious strife, economic insecurity and a horrible war with France; her education, shrewdness, popularity and diplomatic ability enabled her to rise to the …show more content…
Over the next 45 years a wave of prosperity swept through the land politically, religiously and economically; leaving it independent, harmonious, intelligent, and powerful. Although not without hardship along the way. The pope was adamantly opposed to Elizabeth and supported her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots (who had a legitimate claim to the English throne). Elizabeth saw the threat Mary posed and had her imprisoned and eventually executed. Mary’s execution sparked a war with Spain, which resulted in Spanish defeat. This too was a significant step for the advancement of the Protestant faith. Now England took the place of Spain as the great colonizer of the New World, establishing Protestantism as a force in international
The Reformation occurred all over Western Europe. It was mostly set in Germany where various parts of corruption in the Church happened. Martin Luther started the process of the Reformation, he was German so he understood how the Catholic Church took advantage and didn't think this was fair. The Catholic Reformation took place between 1450-1650 which was the biggest revolution in Germany, although the understanding of Luther's actions weren't taken notice of until he put the 95 Theses on the Church's door. Luther felt that Bishops and Priests didn't understand the bible correctly. Luther wanted the Reformation to help fix this by helping the uneducated and powerless. Some of the movement of this was
The Protestant Reformation was a period of time (1500-1700) where there became a change in Western Christendom. This reformation was caused by the resentment from the people because the Catholic Church abusing their powers for political and economic advances. In this time the church was selling pardons for sin and indulgences to forgive sins, decrease days spent in purgatory and save the dead from damnation. The reformation was when people became more aware with the back hand dealings with the church and men like Martin Luther and John Calvin created their own churches to what they believed was not corrupt unlike the church. Unfortunately there many consequences as far at the Roman Catholic church attempting to bring people back to the church,
Queen Elizabeth I was crowned queen of England when she as only 25 years old (Queen Elizabeth I - Biography). She became the third queen to rule England in her own right. The first was older cousin Lady Jane Grey who was voted out after nine days in office. Second, was older sister Queen Mary I who exacted anyone who disagreed with her beliefs involving religion. Both of them were disasters to the country (Queen Elizabeth - Facts). England was struggling with money, war, and religious strife but Queen Elizabeth I was ready to take that burden and return England back to its former
Elizabeth I took over the thrown of England in 1558, when her half-sister Mary had died. Elizabeth was an intelligent women who knew six languages. She believed in Protestant Faith and promised to build a Church that resembled some Catholic traditions. Elizabeth had acted like a fox in many ways. She was called the “Virgin Queen,” since she never engaged in marriage. She would flirt with people from different countries to make them in...
Her first order of business was to eliminate religious unrest. Elizabeth lacked the fanaticism of her siblings, Edward VI favored Protestant radicalism, Mary I, conservative Catholicism, which enabled her to devise a compromise that,basically, reinstated Henrician reforms. She was, however, compelled to take a stronger Protestant stance for two reasons: the machinations of Mary Queen of Scots and persecution of continental Protestants by the two strongholds of Orthodox Catholicism, Spain and France. The situation with Mary Queen of Scots was most vexing to Elizabeth. Mary, in Elizabeth's custody beginning in 1568 (for her own protection from radical Protestants and disgruntled Scots), gain...
In 1553, Mary I became the Queen of England. Mary married King Philip of Spain in order to secure Catholicism in England. Elizabeth unwillingly became the leader of Mary’s opposition, the British Protestants of the time. She attempted to force her younger sister, Elizabeth, into attending Catholic mass in order to set an example for her followers. Elizabeth was raised Protestant and didn’t want to convert, so she avoided mass by complaining of stomach aches. A man named Thomas Wyatt sent a letter informing Elizabeth that he was planning a rebellion in order to prevent the marriage between the two royals.
Historians' Interest in Elizabeth and Her Successors Elizabeth Tudor is considered by many to be the greatest monarch in English history. When she became queen in 1558, she was twenty-five years old, a survivor of scandal and danger, and considered illegitimate by most Europeans. She inherited a bankrupt nation, torn by religious discord, a weakened pawn between the great powers of France and Spain. She was only the third queen to rule England in her own right; the other two examples, her cousin Lady Jane Grey and half-sister Mary I, were disastrous. Even her supporters believed her position dangerous and uncertain.
The period immediately following the Protestant reformation and the Catholic counter reformation, was full of conflict and war. The entire continent of Europe and all of it's classes of society were affected by the destruction and flaring tempers of the period. In the Netherlands, the Protestants and the Catholics were at eachother’s throats. In France it was the Guise family versus the Bourbons. In Bohemia, the religious and political structures caused total havoc for over thirty years; and in England, the Presbyterians thought that the English Anglican Church too closely resembled the Roman Catholic Church. Religion was the major cause of the widespread turmoil that took place throughout Europe between 1560 and 1660.
Queen Elizabeth I was said to be one of the best rulers of England. Unlike rulers before her, she was a Protestant and not a Catholic. She was not stupid though. She did go to church and did everything that Catholics did to prevent getting her head cut off under the rules of her sister Mary. Elizabeth was very young when she came to rule. She was only 17 years old when her sister Mary died and she took over.
Elizabeth didn’t believe in the accusation and she refused to execute Mary. Secretly, Mary was found guilty and she was sentenced to be beheaded (Plaidy, Haws English Capti. par 1 Return to Scots par 1). Before Mary was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587, she wrote a four page letter to her brother-in-law Henry III King of France. Overall, Mary had a very complicated and hard life (Briley par
In the 16th century, Europe was a very busy place. After being in the dark ages for so long, a light had finally shone, and ideas that had been lost in the past for finally making their way back again. Europe was going to be a changed place, for so many different reasons. Although there were many of these big changes were taking place, the Protestant Reformation is the most influential one for it impacted everyone living in Europe, not just some.
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.
The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is one of the most complex movements in European history since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Reformation truly ends the Middle Ages and begins a new era in the history of Western Civilization. The Reformation ended the religious unity of Europe and ushered in 150 years of religious warfare. By the time the conflicts had ended, the political and social geography in the west had fundamentally changed. The Reformation would have been revolutionary enough of itself, but it coincided in time with the opening of the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans and the development of firearms as effective field weapons. It coincided, too, with the spread of Renaissance ideals from Italy and the first stirrings of the Scientific Revolution. Taken together, these developments transformed Europe.
Her half sister Mary I, the daughter of Henry’s first wife Catherine of Aragon then took the throne (Bush 28). Mary I was often called “Bloody Mary” because of the number of people she had killed while trying to reconvert England to Catholicism. Mary felt threatened by the fact that Elizabeth was Protestant, and supported by the people of England (Gale 1). Mary thought Elizabeth was plotting to overthrow her, although Elizabeth was innocent and ill she was still sent to the Tower of London. Although Mary still was n... ...
At the beginning of her rule, Elizabeth took on the Protestant Queen role, in order to reflect her deep religious beliefs, thus strengthening the morale of the growing Protestant population in England. The reign before Elizabeth brought about great