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CHAPTER XI.

ELIZABETH (COntinued).

1571-1587.

Religious parties.-Trial and execution of Norfolk.-Massacre of St. Bartholomew; its consequences.-Sir Francis Drake.-Elizabeth's coquetry with the duke of Anjou.-Persecution of the catholics.-Affairs of Scotland.Danger of Elizabeth.-Dr. Parry.-The queen aids the Dutch.-Babington's conspiracy.-Trial of the queen of Scots.-Conduct of Elizabeth.-Execution of the queen of Scots.-Behaviour of Elizabeth after it.

THE important relations between the queens of England and Scotland have hitherto occupied our attention almost exclusively. We must now take a view of the state of religious parties in England and on the continent.

The first ten years of Elizabeth's reign were termed her halcyon days," as being free from disturbance domestic or foreign. From the moment of the arrival of the queen of Scots in England this tranquillity was at an end. Henceforth the authority, and even the life, of Elizabeth was assailed by conspiracies founded in religious fanaticism and renewed without ceasing.

In those days religion was a matter of paramount importance in politics, and the strength of parties in a state was to be estimated by the number and influence of those who agreed in religious sentiments. There were three parties of this kind now in England: the catholics, the churchmen, and the puritans, as those who affected an extreme purity in religion, and held that the reformation had not gone far enough, were named.

It is the opinion of Hume, that " of all the European churches which shook off the yoke of papal authority, no one proceeded with so much reason and moderation as the church of England." "The fabric," he adds, " of the secular hierarchy was maintained entire; the ancient liturgy

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STATE OF RELIGION.

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was preserved so far as was thought consistent with the new principles; many ceremonies become venerable from age and preceding use were retained; the splendour of the Romish worship though removed had at least given place to order and decency; the distinctive habits of the clergy according to their different ranks were continued; no innovation was admitted merely from spite and opposition to former usage. And the new religion, by mitigating the genius of the ancient superstition, and rendering it more compatible with the peace and interests of society, had preserved itself in that happy medium which wise men have always sought, and which the people have so seldom been able to maintain."

The advantages of this moderation were felt in the early part of Elizabeth's reign; the catholics in general made little scruple of attending the church service, where, though they might regret the absence of some things, there was little to offend them. Had they been left to themselves they would probably have been gradually weaned from their superstitions; but the court of Rome on the one hand, by sending missionary priests about to assure them that such conduct was impious; and the rigid intolerant puritans on the other, by urging measures of severity against them, equally contributed to make them remain in their old faith*.

The puritans, though as a party they first acquired strength in the present reign, may be regarded as coeval

* "From the first year of queen Elizabeth till the eleventh," says sir Edward Coke," all papists came to our church without scruple. I myself have seen Cornwallis, Bedingfield and others at church, so that then for the space of ten years they made no conscience nor doubt to communicate with us in prayer. But when once the bull of pope Pius Quintus was come and published, wherein the queen was accursed and deposed, and her subjects discharged of their obedience and oath, yea, cursed if they did obey her; then did they all forthwith refrain the church; then would they have no society with us in prayer: so that recusancy in them is not for religion, but in an acknowledgement of the pope's power, and a plain manifestation what their judgement is concerning the right of the prince in respect of regal power and place.”— Jardine's Criminal Trials, ii. 132.

with the Reformation. They were those men of an ardent, uncompromising (often self-sufficient) temper, who thought they could never recede too far from the church of Rome. The clerical habits, the surplice, tippet and square cap, retained in the Anglican church, were abominations in their sight; they viewed with equal horror the use of the sign of the cross in baptism, of the ring in marriage, of the organ in the divine service, and the practice of kneeling at the communion. When the excellent Hooper was to be raised to the see of Gloucester in Edward's reign he positively refused to put on the episcopal robes; and he was committed to the Tower according to the practice of the age. Bucer, Peter Martyr, and other foreign divines were consulted on the occasion. At length he consented to wear the robes at his consecration and during cathedral service, but only on these occasions. When the Marian persecution forced so many of the reformers to fly, they were received with great kindness by the Calvinists abroad, and this confirmed them in their desire for simple, anti-Romish forms. The more learned and pious portion of the clergy in Elizabeth's reign may be reckoned of this party; the better part of the protestant gentry belonged to it, as was evinced by the composition of the houses of commons; it was favoured by Leicester and Walsingham among the ministers, and Burleigh himself was not adverse to it. The puritans were in fact the main support of protestantism in England, and the most determined foes of the queen of Scots. But archbishop Parker unwisely employed persecution against them; they gradually receded from the church, and many of them maintained the supremacy of the spiritual over the civil authority in terms more befitting a Gregory or an Innocent than the asserters of the rights of conscience.

The church party was the weakest of the three. Its main supports were the queen herself and the primate. Elizabeth regarded her spiritual supremacy as the brightest jewel in her crown, and would not be dictated to on that head. She was also partial to the splendour of public

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worship, and she had a lurking tendency to some of the Romish doctrines. She long kept a crucifix with tapers burning before it in her chapel, she inclined much to the doctrine of the real presence*, and was with difficulty restrained from prohibiting the marriage of the clergy.

Such was the state of parties in England; in France and Flanders the protestants, though the minority, were numerous and active. Persecution to no small extent had been employed without effect against them; Charles V. had "hanged, beheaded, buried alive or burnt" 50,000 protestants according to Father Paul, 100,000 according to Grotius, in the Netherlands; and Francis I. and his successor had laboured to suppress the Reformation in France. In the summer of the year 1565 a meeting at the desire of the pope took place at Bayonne between Charles IX. and his sister the queen of Spain; the former was accompanied by his mother, the latter by the duke of Alva. Festivities occupied the day; at midnight Catherine and Alva it is said sat in secret conclave to discuss the mode of suppressing protestantism. To cut off its chiefs openly or secretly was Alva's plan. "One salmon's head," he would say," is worth a thousand frogs." The principle was agreed on between them; the mode was left to the course of events.

In 1568 Alva was sent with a large army to the Low Countries, where he exercised such tyranny and cruelty as eventually drove the people to insurrection. In France the protestants, named Huguenots †, were headed by the king of Navarre, the prince of Condé, the admiral Coligni and other nobles; the Guises were at the head of the other

*This throws doubt on the story of her eluding Gardiner in her sister's reign by these well-known verses :

"Christ was the word that spake it;

He took the bread and brake it,

And what that word did make it

That I believe, and take it."

†This word is said to be a corruption of the German Eidgenossen, i. e. Conjurati, associates.

party; the queen-mother and the king played them against each other. Recourse was frequently had to arms, and Elizabeth had on more occasions than one assisted the Huguenots with money, and even with men.

In the beginning of this year (1571) a parliament met after an interval of five years. The puritanic party were strong in it, and some members, especially Strickland and Paul Wentworth, ventured to express themselves very firmly in opposition to the crown. Though the question of the queen's marriage was left untouched, the greatest zeal was manifested for her person and authority, and the first act passed was one making it treason to affirm that she was not the lawful sovereign, or that the laws cannot limit and determine the right to the crown and the succession; to maintain that any person except the natural issue* of her body is or ought to be her heir or successor, was made an offence punishable by fine and imprisonment, and the second time by præmunire. It was also made treason to publish papal bulls, absolutions, etc.; to reconcile any one or be reconciled to the church of Rome. To import crucifixes, agnus Dei, or other popish trumpery, subjected the offender to the penalty of a præmunire.

The weak, ill-advised duke of Norfolk it was soon discovered was persisting in his treasonable projects. Mary's agent the bishop of Ross; Ridolfi, an Italian trader, the medium of communication of Mary and Norfolk with Alva and the pope; and the duke's secretary and two of his confidential servants, being arrested, it appeared from their confessions that a plan had been arranged that the duke of

*The employment of the word natural in this act originated, like the omission of lawful above-mentioned, in royal prudery. "But the papistical libellers put the most absurd interpretation on it, as if it was meant to secure the succession for some imaginary bastards by Leicester. And Dr. Lingard is not ashamed to insinuate the same suspicion."-Hallam, i. 202. In his last edition (viii. 458.) Lingard gives the history of one of these bastards who was entertained at the court of Spain in 1587. He says, that from the manner in which Philip treated him, he could not have regarded him as an impostor. He forgot, it seems, the pseudo-Richard IV. and his own exposure of Perkin Warbeck.