The Reign of Elizabeth I
Summary
TLDRIn this lecture, Susan Doran discusses the early challenges faced by Queen Elizabeth I, including questions of legitimacy due to her birth out of wedlock and gender, religious conflicts in a predominantly Catholic House of Lords, and her precarious relationship with foreign powers. Despite these, Elizabeth successfully established her reign through a combination of luck, political savvy, and strategic alliances, navigating issues of religion, marriage, and economy to secure her position as a providential ruler.
Takeaways
- 👑 Susan Doran, a senior research fellow at the University of Oxford, discusses Queen Elizabeth I's early reign challenges.
- 🏰 Elizabeth faced legitimacy issues due to her official status as a bastard and the threat of Catholic pretenders like Mary, Queen of Scots.
- 🙅♀️ Her gender was questioned as a barrier to rule, with John Knox's 'First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women' arguing against female leadership.
- ⛪️ Religion was a significant hurdle, as Elizabeth sought a Protestant settlement in a predominantly Catholic England with a resistant House of Lords.
- 🔄 Elizabeth navigated religious tensions by choosing a middle way between different Protestant confessions, balancing Lutheran and Calvinist elements.
- 🤝 She managed foreign relations adeptly, securing Spanish support against French influence and maintaining economic ties with the Netherlands.
- 💍 The question of Elizabeth's marriage was a political issue, with her decision to remain single impacting her reign's dynamics.
- 💵 Financially, Elizabeth inherited a debt-ridden England, with the country facing significant economic challenges post-war with France.
- 👍 Despite numerous obstacles, Elizabeth's early reign was marked by success in legitimizing her rule and implementing her desired religious and political reforms.
- 🔮 Looking back at 1563, it appeared Elizabeth would continue to overcome the political challenges and solidify her position on the throne.
Q & A
Who was Susan Doran and what is her role in the lecture series?
-Susan Doran is a senior research fellow in history at Jesus College, the University of Oxford, and a fellow at St. Bennet's Hall, also at the University of Oxford. She is delivering a series of lectures on Queen Elizabeth the First.
What was the primary issue concerning Elizabeth's legitimacy when she took the throne?
-Elizabeth was officially a bastard, which raised questions about her eligibility to become the Queen of England. Additionally, there was the potential threat from a Catholic pretender, such as Mary Queen of Scots, who could claim the throne based on bloodline and not being born out of wedlock.
How did Elizabeth's gender impact her claim to the throne?
-Elizabeth's gender was a challenge to her legitimacy because it was a time when women were generally excluded from political power. John Knox's publication, 'The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women,' argued against female rulership.
What was the religious landscape of England when Elizabeth ascended to the throne?
-England was Roman Catholic when Elizabeth came to the throne. Her predecessor, Mary, had returned England to the Roman Church and introduced Catholic forms of worship, including the Roman Catholic mass.
What were the challenges Elizabeth faced in implementing her preferred religious settlement?
-Elizabeth wanted a Protestant form of worship, but the House of Lords was predominantly Catholic, with bishops appointed by Mary and mainly Catholic noblemen. Getting the religious settlement through Parliament was a challenge due to the need for parliamentary approval.
How did Elizabeth manage to get the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity passed through Parliament?
-Elizabeth used a combination of luck, good polity, propaganda, and coercion. She restricted the number of bishops attending the House of Lords and persuaded Catholic nobility to either not attend or support her Protestant settlement.
What was the nature of the religious settlement Elizabeth introduced?
-The settlement was a middle way between different confessions of Protestantism, retaining some Lutheran aspects like church ornaments and clergy vestments, but was closer to Calvinism in its doctrines, especially regarding the communion service and predestination.
How did Elizabeth's foreign relations impact her early reign?
-Elizabeth needed support from foreign powers, particularly Spain, to secure peace with France and to prevent French support for Mary Queen of Scots. She was successful in securing Spanish support and in preventing French troops from being present in Scotland, but her efforts in France were less successful.
What was the economic condition of England when Elizabeth became queen?
-England was in a rough economic state, with a significant debt of about 300,000 pounds after the war with France, and they had to pay high interest rates on at least part of that debt.
How did Elizabeth address the issue of her marriage during her early reign?
-The question of Elizabeth's marriage was put on hold during her early reign, as she focused on establishing her legitimacy and dealing with other pressing issues.
What was the theory of the king's two bodies and how did Elizabeth exploit it?
-The theory of the king's two bodies allowed for the acceptance of a female monarch by distinguishing between the office of kingship, which was male, and the natural body performing the role, which could be female. Elizabeth used this theory to strengthen her claim to the throne, often referring to herself in masculine terms related to her office.
Outlines
👑 Early Reign Challenges of Queen Elizabeth I
In the first lecture, Susan Doran discusses the initial problems faced by Queen Elizabeth I during her early reign. These challenges included questions about her legitimacy due to her being officially considered a bastard and the threat of a Catholic pretender, Mary Queen of Scots. Additionally, Elizabeth's gender was a point of contention, as some, like John Knox, argued against women holding political power. Religion was another significant issue, with Elizabeth being a Protestant in a predominantly Catholic England. She aimed to establish a Protestant form of worship, which was met with resistance from the Catholic House of Lords. Elizabeth also had to navigate her relationships with foreign powers, particularly Spain and France, while needing their support for various political and economic reasons. The lecture concludes with the mention of Elizabeth's marriage considerations and the dire state of the English economy, which was heavily in debt after the war with France.
🎓 Overcoming Obstacles: Elizabeth's Early Successes
Susan Doran details how Queen Elizabeth I successfully overcame the challenges of her early reign. Elizabeth managed to have her legitimacy accepted in England, partly due to luck, as there were no strong male candidates and the existing Catholic contender, Mary Queen of Scots, had little support. Elizabeth also leveraged the theory of the king's two bodies to strengthen her position as a female monarch. Regarding religion, Elizabeth employed propaganda and coercion to pass the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity through Parliament, establishing a Protestant settlement that was a middle way between different Protestant confessions. On the foreign relations front, Elizabeth used both luck and force, backing the French Huguenots and preventing French troops in Scotland, though her efforts in France were less successful. The lecture suggests that by 1563, Elizabeth had made a promising start to her reign, despite the numerous problems she faced.
🌍 Elizabeth's Foreign Relations and Economic Challenges
The final paragraph of the lecture script discusses Queen Elizabeth I's foreign relations and economic challenges. Elizabeth was able to maintain a delicate balance in her relations with foreign powers, particularly avoiding a French puppet on the English throne, which was not favored by Philip II. She also took a proactive stance in preventing French troops from being present in Scotland and supported the French Huguenots to counter a Catholic regime that could potentially threaten England and support Mary Queen of Scots. While her efforts in Scotland were successful, her involvement in France, specifically the New Haven expedition, did not go as planned. Economically, the lecture hints at further discussion on the state of the English economy, which was in a dire situation with significant debt and high interest rates after the war with France. By the end of this period, Elizabeth had demonstrated her ability to navigate and begin to address the complex political and economic issues of her reign.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Legitimacy
💡Catholic
💡Protestant
💡Mary, Queen of Scots
💡John Knox
💡Act of Supremacy
💡Act of Uniformity
💡Philip II of Spain
💡Calais
💡Economy
💡The King's Two Bodies
Highlights
Susan Doran, a senior research fellow at the University of Oxford, discusses the early challenges faced by Queen Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth's legitimacy as a ruler was initially questioned due to her being officially a bastard.
The threat of a Catholic pretender, Mary Queen of Scots, loomed over Elizabeth's reign.
Elizabeth's gender was a point of contention, with John Knox's work arguing against female rulers.
Elizabeth's religious beliefs conflicted with the predominantly Catholic House of Lords.
The Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity were crucial for establishing a Protestant settlement in England.
Elizabeth's approach to religion was a middle way between different Protestant confessions, not between Catholicism and Protestantism.
Elizabeth's foreign relations were complicated, needing support from Spain while being at odds with France.
The question of Elizabeth's marriage was a significant political issue of her reign.
England's economy was in a dire state, with a large debt and high interest rates post-war with France.
Elizabeth successfully established her legitimacy through a combination of luck and political strategy.
The theory of the king's two bodies was used to justify a female monarch, with Elizabeth often referring to herself as a prince.
Elizabeth's political savvy allowed her to navigate the religious landscape and pass key religious legislation.
Elizabeth's marriage was put on hold, a strategic move that influenced her reign.
Elizabeth's foreign policy was a mix of luck and strategic alliances, with varying degrees of success.
By 1563, Elizabeth had made a strong start to her reign, despite numerous political and economic challenges.
Transcripts
this is a series of lectures
on queen elizabeth the first and my name
is susan doran
and i'm a senior research fellow in
history at
jesus college the university of oxford
and a fellow at st bennett's hall
also at the university of oxford i'm
going to talk in this first lecture
about the problems elizabeth faced in
the early years of the reign
and how well she dealt with them the
first problem
despite the fact she took the throne
with relative ease and without having to
fight for it
was the problem associated with her
legitimacy elizabeth was officially a
bastard
and as such it could be said could not
become queen of england at the same time
there was the danger
that um there would be a pretender who
was a catholic
who could claim the throne on the basis
of bloodline
and on the basis of not being born out
of wedlock and the most obvious
candidate for that was mary queen of
scots
elizabeth's gender was also a reason why
her legitimacy might be
impugned john knox had just published
his very famous work the first trumpet
against the monstrous regiment of women
and in this he had
argued that women were excluded from
exercising political power
the second problem elizabeth faced was
her religion because even if she were
accepted as queen of england there might
and indeed there would going to be
problems
about getting through her preferred
religious settlement england was roman
catholic
when she came to the throne her
predecessor mary
mary had returned england to
the roman church and had introduced
catholic forms of worship notably
the roman catholic mass elizabeth was
undoubtedly a protestant
she did not want to see the english
church
being tied to rome and she wanted a
protestant form of worship this was
evident from all her actions when she
came to the throne but
how was she going to get that through
the
house of lords was predominantly
catholic there were all the catholic
bishops that
mary had appointed together with the
english noblemen who were mainly
catholic
so elizabeth was going to have trouble
getting through a religious settlement
because it needed to go through
parliament as all previous
religious settlements during the
reformation had
but the second problem was what kind of
religious settlement was elizabeth
going to introduce there had been two
prayer books
under edward vi one reflected perhaps a
more lutheran
confession of faith than the other
perhaps a more swiss reformed one
and there had been changes in european
theologians ideas about
religion and worship what was elizabeth
going to do
how was she going to choose with her
ministers what form
of protestantism would be introduced
and then of course there was a problem
of elizabeth's relationships
with foreign powers as a protestant
she could hardly hope for the
support and alliance of the two main
powers in europe spain
and france yet she needed the support
particularly
of spain england officially was still at
war
against france and elizabeth needed
philip ii to give her support
at the peace congress that was to be
held and hopefully
to get her to be able to to secure again
calais the last english possession in
france
which had been lost the previous january
to france elizabeth also needed
philip the second support against the
french king's
likely backing of mary queen of scots to
be queen of england because mary
was betrothed and very soon afterwards
married to the daughter
the french king's eldest son who would
become king of france in turn
and furthermore elizabeth's trade
relations were with
the netherlands the most important
trading partner of england during this
time
was antwerp and so elizabeth needed
the the king of spain to continue a good
solid political amity to allow
the economic relationship between the
two powers
to continue without any kind of
hindrance
the question of elizabeth's marriage was
also on the agenda
no one expected elizabeth to remain
single and the question was
who would she marry and finally there
was a problem of the economy
the english finances were in a really
rough state
after the after the war with france
perhaps england was about 300 000
pounds in debt which was a huge sum and
they had to pay
high interest rates on at least part of
that son
so elizabeth and her ministers had a lot
on their minds
when she first came to pi so how did she
deal with the problem how successful was
she
over the first few years of the reign
well she was extremely
successful in getting her legitimacy
to be accepted in england this was a
mixture of
luck and good polity luck because there
was actually
no male candidate who
was either catholic or even protestant
who was
close to in bloodline to henry viii
and the only candidate really who was on
the scene
was the catholic mary queen of scots
whose relationship with the king of
france
was such that really she had almost no
support
within england and philip ii too
preferred elizabeth to be on the throne
even though she was
a heretic to a french puppet since his
nation was almost always at war against
france
as far as her gender was concerned
elizabeth's
luck held out too because the arguments
against female monarchy were from
protestants who were ought to get
delighted to see a protestant sitting on
the throne of england
even if she were a woman and so john
knox
quickly retracted
elizabeth did however make some moves
herself
that made the possibility of people
accepting
a female ruler stronger
first of all she claimed that she was a
providential ruler that god
had chosen her to sit on the throne of
england
and the propagandists of the elizabethan
regime
went into gear to promote that notion
that elizabeth had been protected
during mary's reign where she had been
under threat of imprisonment and
possibly death
she had been protected by god and god
had chosen her to sit on the throne of
england
and there was another another kind of
argument that was used too
and exploited by elizabeth to make the
notion of a female monarch
more acceptable and that was the theory
of the king's two bodies
so that it could be accepted that the
office of kingship
was male even though the natural body
who was actually performing the role of
king
was female and elizabeth in her speeches
talked about herself very often as being
male in terms of her office
she referred to herself for example as a
prince
but at the same time she talked about
her vulnerabilities
as a woman whenever she needed to in
order to
attract the the support and protection
that she wanted to exploit from
particularly
her members of of parliament when it
came to religion
it was really good polity
that enabled her to overcome
the difficulty of getting a protestant
settlement through
using propaganda devices but
in particular coercion she was able to
restrict the numbers of bishops who
attended
the house of lords and at the same time
persuade many of the of the catholic
nobility either not to attend the house
of lords
or to vote in support of her protestant
settlement
so elizabeth through her determination
and through
the advice of her ministers and through
her own political savvy
was able to get the act of supremacy
and the act of view for uniformity
through
the first parliament of her reign the
settlement itself
has been described as a middle way but
we shouldn't
think that that meant it was a middle
way between catholicism
and protestantism and designed to be
such
in order to keep roman catholics on
board it was a middle way between the
the different confessions of
protestantism
it retained certain aspects that would
have been identified as lutheran
for example the ornaments of the church
the vestments that the clergy
were told to wear would have been
acceptable in the lutheran princetons
of germany but at the same time it was
also
calvinist particularly in the doctrines
associated
with the communion service and with the
the dogma associated with salvation
and predestination it was closer
in in its doctrine to calvinism rather
than anything else
when we come to our marriage of course
elizabeth was
put that on hold and when it came to her
foreign relations
she did well um partly
for luck as i said that philip ii didn't
want a french puppet on the throne of
england but she also
used force in order to prevent french
troops
uh being present in scotland and she
backed
the french huguenots in france in order
to prevent a
catholic regime that would attack
england and back mary queen of scots
the former was successful she was
successful in scotland but she was not
successful
in france and her fingers were very
badly burnt
in the expedition which is known as the
new haven
expedition when it comes to the economy
i'll be saying more about that
afterwards
but i think we can say that if we take
the 1563 as
as the end point elizabeth had made a
very good start
to the reign she still had lots of
problems but it looked as if as indeed
was to be that she would stay on the
throne
and that she would be able to overcome
many of the political problems
that were on the agenda
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