The English Catholics In The Reign Of Queen Elizabeth

Excerpt from The English Catholics in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth: A Study of Their Politics, Civil Life and Government; 1558-1580; From the Fall of the Old Church to the Advent of the Counter-Reformation; With Illustrations And here some pertinent questions may be put to me. Why, it may be asked, begin with Queen Elizabeth's acces sion, and not with her father's revolt from the Church? For the latter was the cause of the former, and, indeed, the origin of all the Subsequent troubles. Again, it may be asked, if you do begin with Elizabeth's long reign, why commence before the middle or end? For the new life of the Catholic party only began to throb and grow articulate in the latter decades. To this I would say that Henry's revolt is indeed the proper starting-point for a history of the Reformation taken as a whole; but Elizabeth's accession is better, if one is primarily considering the political and civic life of the post Reformation Catholics. Reform and counter-reform under Henry, Edward and Mary were transitory. The con structive work of each was immediately undone by their successor. But the work done under Queen Elizabeth, whether by Catholic or Protestant, lasted a long time. There have, of course, been many developments since, but they have proceeded on the lines then laid down. On the Catholic side the work of reorganisation began almost immediately after the first crash, though it was only in the middle of the reign that the vitality and permanence of the new measures became evident. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1920 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VIII CATHOLIC REACTION THROUGH WAR AND COURTSHIP (1579) Before we study the advent of the Counter-Reformation in England, we must advert to some other kinds of Catholic reaction, which were affecting our country. The action of the English Reformation on neighbouring lands had been most vigorous. No sooner had it conquered here than it attacked the old order in every adjacent country, and with an energy so impetuous, that its initial success was truly astonishing. Ireland seemed to collapse at once, with a suddenness hardly less wonderful than the eventually unconquerable resistance which followed. Scotland fell next; then France was divided and crippled for a whole generation; then the Spanish Netherlands were embroiled in trouble and turmoil unspeakable. All this had been accomplished in Elizabeth's first decade, though, of course, not entirely by her. In the second, the aggression, if less vehement, had been even more widespread; the English privateers carrying on the attack far and wide over the Spanish Main. To all this there was an inevitable and constant reaction through counter-attacks, diplomacy, literature, and the like. But the Kings of France and Spain, those chiefly affected by the English policy, would not, indeed could not, without an effort for which they were not prepared, declare war in return. They kept the peace, hoping to consolidate their power; though in the case of Spain it was clear that under continual aggression a lasting peace was impossible. By the year 1579 the reaction had reached this stage. France was endeavouring to get Elizabeth on to their own side by marrying her to the Duke of Anjou; while King Philip, as we have already heard, had got as far as allowing a papal expedition to be fitted out for...