Reformation in Britain and Ireland

Surveys the Reformation in Britain and Ireland from the accession of Henry VIII (1509) to the death of Elizabeth (1603). Identifies the historiographical debates and the perspectives of modern scholarship. Assesses the condition of the late medieval church in respect of vitality, institutional disfunction, and reform. Provides a detailed examination of developments under Henry VIII including the king’s “great matter,” the enactment of royal supremacy, the formal break with Rome, and the emergence of a nascent evangelical group. Accounts for the rise of a more overt, official Protestantism under Edward VI, followed by the reverse actions of Mary I to place England at the forefront of Catholic attempts to stem Protestantism. Details the nature of the Elizabethan settlement and the challenges to it from Catholic and Puritan elements. The differing experiences of the reform in Scotland and Ireland are addressed. Consideration of doctrinal and liturgical developments. Assessment of the legacies of the Reformation.