Marian Protestantism Six Studies

The revival of Catholicism under Mary Tudor was a moment of supreme crisis for English Protestantism. Although the dismantling of the church polity that had been created under Edward VI left Protestants exposed and bewildered, their vigorous tradition, Andrew Pettegree argues, showed an unexpected resilience. Although many sought safety in flight abroad, and those who had to remain faced the uncomfortable choice between between conformity and martyrdom, the vitality of the English Protestants' own religion was preserved and a new church emerged at the Elizabethan settlement. This book presents six original studies which explore various aspects of this survival under Mary. Exiles, martyrs and conformists are all here considered as part of a rich and varied testimony to the strides that the evangelical cause had made in England in the previous two decades, culminating in the bold reforming experiment of the reign of Edward VI. The concluding chapters offer a reinterpretation of the events leading to the emergence of a new Protestant church in the Elizabethan settlement of religion, and justify a more generous assessment of the achievement of early English Protestantism.