Page 38 - All About History 48 - 2017 UK
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Bloody Mary On Trial
Protestant burnings
display that Queen Mary had hoped to avoid.
Taken to the Palace of Whitehall for questioning, Shortly after Mary’s succession, she began to take
evidence against Elizabeth was not forthcoming. steps to restore the old religion to her land, and it
Convinced of her complicity in the rebellion, was not long before it became clear that those who
however, Mary was hopeful that a spell in the adhered to Protestantism were not safe. Many fled
Tower of London would break her resolve of abroad to avoid persecution, but for some this was
innocence. Though Elizabeth protested that simply not an option, and many were forced to pay
she was Mary’s “most faithful subject”, Mary the ultimate price for their beliefs.
was unmoved, and in March her half-sister was In February 1555, the first burnings of Mary’s
imprisoned. She remained there until May, when reign began: a total of 284 Protestants were
a lack of evidence forced Mary to release her. burned, 56 of whom were women. During the
This was not the end of the matter, however, reign of Elizabeth, the historian William Camden
and Elizabeth was sent to Woodstock under would write that Mary’s, “…days have been ill
house arrest, where she remained for nearly a spoken of, by reason of the barbarous cruelty of
year. Mary never trusted Elizabeth again, and the Bishops, who with a most sad spectacle, in all
was always suspicious of her. places polluted England by burning Protestants
The Wyatt Rebellion did not prevent plans alive.” It is interesting to note that Camden did not
for Mary’s marriage, however, and in July 1554, attribute the blame for the atrocities directly to
Philip landed in England. That same month, the Mary, but rather her advisers.
two were married in a magnificent ceremony at Mary proudly displays the La Much of the tarnish on Mary’s reputation,
Peregrina pearl, a gift from Philip
Winchester Cathedral. For Mary, the marriage however, has come from the martyrologist John
was the fulfilment of all of her hopes and Foxe. His Acts And Monuments highlighted the
she was in love. However, her feelings were there was no baby, and Mary was forced to admit suffering of the victims, and became the most
unrequited and though Philip treated Mary with so too. It was the first of two phantom pregnancies widely read book written in English after the Bible:
courtesy, the marriage was based on politics. she would suffer, dashing all of her hopes for a it damned Mary’s reputation. Burning was the
Nevertheless, by the autumn Mary believed Catholic heir to succeed her. To make matters rarest form of Tudor punishment, and executions
that she was pregnant, and proudly announced worse, Philip, the husband she loved so dearly, like these were designed to shock people into
her happy news. Despite showing many signs abandoned her on both occasions, leaving England conforming. In some cases it worked: Thomas
of pregnancy, by June 1555 it became clear that for the last time in 1557. Mary was now alone. Cranmer, former archbishop of Canterbury,
recanted his beliefs six times. In spite of this,
“The former archbishop of Canterbury Mary insisted that he must burn. She still bore
a deep grudge for the role he had played in the
recanted his beliefs six times. In spite unhappiness of her early life, but his death was
one of her greatest mistakes. Had he been spared,
of this, Mary insisted that he must burn” his recantation would have served as excellent
propaganda for the new regime. But dead, he was
a martyr. Cranmer was burned on 21 March 1556
at Oxford.
Death and legacy
In November 1558, Mary lay dying. Her husband
was far away, and she was childless and estranged
from her half-sister. Though she could not bring
herself to say her name, Mary had accepted that
25-year-old Elizabeth would succeed her. On 17
November, Mary died at Saint James’s Palace, and
Elizabeth’s succession was greeted with the wave
of popular enthusiasm that had greeted Mary just
five years earlier. Though Mary undoubtedly made
mistakes, notably the imprisonment of Elizabeth
and the burning of Cranmer, she also had
strengths. She had survived the many adversities
that had been placed in her path since childhood,
and had ultimately triumphed over her enemies
on many occasions. As queen she had asserted
her authority as the first female monarch to reign
supreme. With no template to work from, however,
it was easy for Elizabeth to capitalise on her
mistakes. Furthermore, had it not been for Foxe’s
Mary’s execution Acts And Monuments, she would not have earned
of Protestants has the nickname Bloody Mary, and she may have
coloured our historical
perception of her been remembered with greater sympathy.
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