bananafishtoday: You make a very, very interesting point in your post. Insightful...but I'm not going to tell you what it is!
She isn't a Bathory though, I can tell you that without spoiling things.
John Forseti: The title of the piece WAS suggestive, I agree!
Arakhor: No, this one is Clarice. You've definitely summed up things well. You shall see which is true....
Sather/Aliasing What an interesting comment....
Edgewise: I know...but then I always shout at the TV in horror movies "Don't go in there you stupid person!" For some reason they never listen....
Morrell8: The evidence is...suggestive, yes.
Sethanon: Yeah, but then things wouldn't be as fun! You'll see the answer in...a few updates.
Quicksabre/Loki: Very true. Any sudden departure would be...noticed.
Thanks for your kind words!
Chapter 18a – The Reformation
Summarised from Chapter 5 of ’Britannia Triumphant’ by Lady Mendenhall.
Queen Caroline inherited an untenable situation from her grandfather. The system of religious toleration allowed drastically reduced royal control and lead to the spread of strange and unusual sects. Some of these, such as the Istrians and Downers, begun to question fundamental assumptions about the state and monarchy itself.
Caroline was an intelligent woman, but she was also utterly determined to protect and extend the rights of the monarchy and England as a whole. Therefore, she had only two options. She could seek closer communion with Rome and vigorously suppress heresy by force. Alternatively she could break with Rome and work on the far harder task of converting the people of England and France to the new faith.
In the end Caroline took the momentous step of abandoning the old faith and converting to Protestantism. This was a major step in the history of the Reformation simply because no large state had taken up the new faith, only small German and Dutch city-states.
Why did Caroline do this? Why did she turn her back on a thousand years of religious tradition? Why did she convert to Protestantism?
That perhaps is the question most asked by people then as now. The answer is not simple, and comes in many forms.
Firstly, relations with the Papal states, so strong under early monarchs, had declined noticeably under Henry IV, and into Caroline’s reign. Unhappy at the tolerance given to heretics, angered at English refusals to join a crusade against the Turks, and chauvinistically opposed to a woman ruler, Pope Paul II very nearly excommunicated the Queen in 1529. So bad relations with the Pope was nothing new, but combined with other factors, it made the situation ripe for change.
Secondly, Church assets and properties controlled massive areas of England and France, and with so much wealth stored there it was a tempting target for seizure.
Thirdly, many people, especially in France, had become Protestant anyway, sometimes as a means of rebellion against the crown. Converting would nullify this, though would of course alienate the larger Catholic majority.
Fourthly, Caroline has a plan to fundamentally change the state. With the help of advisors such as Arthur Cabot she sought to change matters to be better for the overall majority of English people. However, this plan required land, it required money, and it required bargaining chips.
Fifth, Caroline had been married to Scottish noble John Lennox, himself a Protestant. Though he never held any control over her politically, it was clear that he wished for their children to be raised Protestant, even before the official conversion.
Lastly, personal issues may well have dictated matters. It is known that as the young Caroline was growing up she was tutored by a Catholic priest, Father Isaiah Blake. Evidence from first hand sources confirms that the Princess was, in some way, badly treated in this time. The details are too unpleasant to relate, but one particular incident when she was fourteen seems to have permanently turned her against the Catholic establishment, fairly or not.
And so, on the second of January 1532 the Queen went before parliament. Now twenty five and recently married to the Protestant John Lennox, the Queen was beautiful, and even more formidable than she had been before now. Her speech, considered one of her best, followed months of bargaining and negotiation so that the vote which followed was a foregone conclusion.
With the consent of nobles and parliament the Queen officially declared that she was the head of the English Church, and that she would be instituting changes to the religious sphere. It was a monumental gamble, and such directness caught everyone by surprise.
Why did chaos not ensue and the Queen fall? The reason is that the Queen had a plan. Shortly after her call to parliament she ordered that all church and monastic property be handed over to her. An inventory carefully prepared the previous year had ensured that she knew exactly what was where. In a stroke the crown’s assets doubled, her income and spread of territory also grew. However, the Queen’s plan was not to keep it. Instead she sold off fully half the lands at cheap prices not just to wealthy nobles, but to relatively humble yeoman and cottagers. The only catch was that the purchasers had to be Protestant. In a stroke she had created a loyal, Protestant class dedicated to following her. Parliament was also greatly enriched by these changes, as were the nobility. The Queen even took over the running of the old charities and hospitals with the remaining church lands to gain support from the common people.
In processions around London and large towns she was cheered by the people. Even the progress of a large comet, now known to be Saint-Saëns Comet, was turned to good use as a sign from God of his approval.
In short the English Reformation, combined with tolerance and generous incentives to convert was the start of something truly amazing. It would not be long however before new problems would arise to threaten this settlement.