Key Issues

Concepts

Content

What problems faced Elizabeth I as a female ruler and how did she cope with them? : Contemporary opinions regarding female rulers, positive and negative views of the queen, the marriage question, the roles of the court.

Sovereignty

Legitimacy

The situation in 1558 – problems facing Elizabeth

Views about female rulers – especially after Mary

Elizabethan propaganda to counter negative views

How Elizabeth tackled issued related to being a woman – marriage in particular

To what extent was Elizabeth I able to maintain control over and manage her government and parliaments? : Government and Parliament: their functions and composition. The relationship between Queen, Privy Council and Parliament: co-operation or conflict? The significance and management of issues in dispute: the Church settlement, parliamentary privilege, the marriage question and the succession.

Government

Parliament

Council

Faction

Privy Council

How Elizabeth set out to stamp her authority

The composition of the Privy Council – her role in it. Her use of it. How far there was factionalism. How effective was it? What sort of tasks did it handle? Did it ever challenge her effectively?

The role of Parliament – was there opposition to her? How did she deal with problems with parliament, e.g. over fate of Mary, marriage, religion – how effective was she?

Did Parliament become more important? Is Neale thesis viable? Alternative theories.

What happened in her latter years? Monopolies etc

Why, and with what consequences, did Puritans challenge the Elizabethan Church? : Puritanism: the nature and extent of puritanism, Elizabeth’s attitude, the policies of successive archbishops of Canterbury, the puritans in parliament, the defence of the Anglican church (Hooker and Jewel).

Puritans

Anglicans

Who were the Puritans?

Where they a united force?

What were their tactics?

What were their different aims?

Were they a threat in parliament?

How did Elizabeth, her council and her archbishops deal with Puritanism?

Were they ever a real threat?

How serious was the threat posed by Roman Catholics to Church and state in the reign of Elizabeth I? : Catholicism: the nature and extent of catholic survivalism, changing reactions of government and parliament to England’s Catholics, the papal bull of 1570, the missionary priests, the Rising of the Northern Earls and the plots concerning Mary Queen of Scots.

Catholicism

Survivalism

Papal Bull

Missionary priests

How did Catholics react in 1558 and why?

Extent of Catholicism in England in 1558

Threat from Mary

How extensive / serious was catholic threat? – excommunication, Northern Rising, Mary and plots, missionary priests, Armada

How effectively did Elizabeth and her government deal with Catholicism?

How far did Catholicism survive?

Historical interpretations

Key Issues

Concepts

Content

The main causes of rebellion and disorder: faction, the succession, religion, enclosures.

Rebellion

Royal Authority

Enclosures

Faction

Examine the key rebellions under the Tudors and assess how far there were common factors, in terms of religion, crisis over the succession, religion and economic and social issues, or were there differing causes?

The frequency, nature and cause of localised disturbances.

Rebellion

How frequent rebellions and disturbances were and whether they tended to be localised and provoked by local, rather than national factors.

The maintenance of political stability and the response of Tudor governments to the threat of disorder.

Rebellion

How fare rebellions and revolts threatened the security of the Tudor dynasty

How governments dealt with unrest – consistency and differences in attitudes

Study of particular revolts : Simnel and Warbeck, the Cornish Rising, the Pilgrimage of Grace, Ket's Rebellion, Wyatt's Rebellion, the Rebellion of the Northern Earls, Essex's Rebellion.

Rebellion

Key focus will be on the main rebellions in order to reach an overall assessment about the nature and extent of Tudor rebellions.