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England 1558–1603

The Catholic threat, the missionary priests and recusancy

  • 3 things to know
  • A2 Unit 2

Overview

Church papist and regnans in Excelsis.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Numbers

How great was the Catholic threat in reality?

Numbers

How did the government treat Catholics before 1570?

Numbers

What did the Treasons Act of 1571 make punishable?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What was a recusant?

    Model answer

    A recusant was a Catholic who refused to attend the services of the Church of England and paid the statutory fine for absence.

  2. 2

    What was a church papist?

    Model answer

    A church papist was a Catholic who attended the parish church often enough to satisfy the law while keeping the old faith privately. That is how most English Catholics survived the reign.

  3. 3

    How did the government treat Catholics before 1570?

    Model answer

    Before 1570 enforcement was deliberately mild, the fine for absence was small and rarely pressed, and the Crown hoped that Catholicism would simply die out with the older generation.

  4. 4

    What was Regnans in Excelsis?

    Model answer

    Regnans in Excelsis was the bull issued by Pope Pius V in 1570 excommunicating Elizabeth I, declaring her deposed and releasing her subjects from allegiance.

  5. 5

    Why did the papal bull of 1570 harm English Catholics?

    Model answer

    The bull forced Catholics to choose between their queen and their Church, and it allowed the government to argue that every Catholic was a potential traitor by definition.

  6. 6

    What did the Treasons Act of 1571 make punishable?

    Model answer

    The Treasons Act of 1571 made it treason to call the queen a heretic, schismatic or usurper, and a companion act made it treason to bring papal bulls into England.

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