This thesis investigates popular religion in Essex during the English Reformation, and it assesses whether revisionist arguments that the Reformation was generally unwanted and was slow to take root apply there. Various sources, such as wills, churchwardens' accounts and court records, have been examined. These reveal that popular piety was strong on the eve of the Reformation, and that Lollardy influenced only a minority. Most people acquiesced to the changes in religious practice and church decor demanded by the Henrician and Edwardian governments, but this was due mainly to obedience and coercion, not conversion to the new teachings. By Edward's death there was a minority of convinced Protestants in Essex, mainly in the North of the county and along the Thames. For the majority, however, the result of the changes was uncertainty and confusion in religious matters. Victims of this unease included religious drama and the Church's sponsorship of popular festivals; both had been widespread throughout the early sixteenth century, but were severely curtailed by the mid-1540s. Mary attempted to restore Catholicism, and traditional piety did revive slightly during her reign, whilst traditional decor reappeared in Essex churches under the authorities' supervision; her reign also occasioned the death or exile of dozens of Essex Protestants. However, relatively few were committed to either set of doctrines, and confusion remained in matters pertaining to religion. During the early Elizabethan period traditional piety and decor mostly disappeared, but while the majority continued to exhibit Christian beliefs and principles, few were doctrinally Protestants. In addition, the environment which had allowed communities to put on plays in earlier decades continued to disappear, and an Elizabethan revival of communal religious drama failed. Thus by 1570 the old order was mostly destroyed, but the Protestant alternative still needed to be disseminated amongst the masses.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:332580 |
| Date | January 1992 |
| Creators | Hart, Ian James |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/110551/ |
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