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Date of Graduation
Spring 2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Department of History
Advisor(s)
Michael J. Galgano
Abstract
This thesis explores the growing secularization in English government policies between the years 1570-1598. By examining international politics and domestic treason trials, the reader can see a clear change in the language used to describe Catholics by the Protestant English. Beginning with the Papal Bull, Regnans in Exchelsis, the Catholic persecution reached its zenith under Elizabeth in the 1570s. The treason trials of Edmund Campion, William Parry, and Mary Queen of Scots show how the 1580s was a period of secularization in domestic politics. Internationally, the changing alliances between England, the Netherlands, and France show how England slowly begins to form a closer bond with France despite their Catholicism. This bond is a reaction to the growing perception of the threat of Spanish invasion, rather than Catholic invasion.
Recommended Citation
Larson, Catherine, "Her Majesty's dignity: Secularization in the age of Reformation" (2015). Masters Theses, 2010-2019. 27.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019/27
