The Northern Rebellion of 1569: Faith, Politics and Protest in Elizabethan England

243 Pages·2007·1.85 MB·English

by  K. J. Kesselring (auth.)

The Northern Rebellion of 1569
AlsobyK.J.Kesselring
MERCYANDAUTHORITYINTHETUDORSTATE
The Northern Rebellion
of 1569
Faith, Politics, and Protest in Elizabethan
England
K.J. Kesselring
AssociateProfessor,DalhousieUniversity
©K.J.Kesselring2007
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2007 978-0-230-55319-4
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Contents
ListofMapsandIllustrations vi
Preface vii
Abbreviations x
Introduction 1
1 AnImpendingCrisis? 10
2 TheRebellionintheNorth 45
3 TheRebelsinScotland 91
4 TheAftermath 118
5 MeaningsandMemories 144
Conclusion 179
Notes 186
Bibliography 210
Index 225
v
List of Maps and Illustrations
Maps
2.1 TheRebels’Origins 63
2.2 KnownSitesofCatholicActivity 70
3.1 TheBorders 106
4.1 KnownSitesofExecution 126
Illustrations
1.1 AProvidentialWonder 12
5.1 The Rebellion of the Earls of Northumberland and
Westmoreland 167
5.2 ThePope’sBullAgainsttheQueen 168
5.3 TheDeliveranceswhichGodHathVouchsafedtoHis
Church 169
5.4 TheSufferingsofCatholics 172
vi
Preface
OnNovember17,1570,thebellsofOxford’sLincolnCollegerang.The
day had long commemorated the life of St. Hugh of Lincoln, but in
more recent years had also marked the anniversary of Catholic Queen
Mary’s death and the accession of her Protestant sister Elizabeth. As
the past year had witnessed a rebellion meant to restore the old faith,
Oxford’s mayor initially reacted with alarm to the tolling of the bells.
He first assumed the sound to be a dirge for the late Catholic Queen,
performed by the unregenerate traditionalists who dominated Lincoln
College.Whenchallenged,however,themenquicklyrepliedthatthey
rang the bells not as a lament for what was lost but as a celebration
oftheblessingsbroughtbytheircurrentQueen.Thinkingthisalovely
idea indeed, the mayor then ordered all the town’s bells rung with
like intent.1 Recorded only in 1610, the story may well be apocryphal;
nonetheless,itnicelyillustratesthewaysinwhichanactioncantakeon
vastly different meanings, possibly quite different than those initially
intended.Italsohintsatthecautiousmoodthatprevailedinthewake
ofthedangerousbutshort-livedNorthernRebellion,theoneandonly
domesticarmedrevoltagainstElizabeth’sProtestantestablishment.
MyinterestintheNorthernRebellionof1569wasfirstpiquedwhen
completing a project on the use of pardons in sixteenth-century law
and politics. After most of the period’s many rebellions, participants
engagedindramaticspectaclesofhumblesubmissionandlordlyclem-
ency.Afewleadersusuallysufferedexecution,butparadesofpenitents,
oftenwearingnoosesabouttheirnecks,receivedpardonsfromthesover-
eigntheyhadrecentlydefied.Aftertherisingin1569,incontrast,Queen
Elizabeth’s agents dispatched hundreds of rebels in hasty proceedings
conducted under martial law. The pardons for the remainder, when
they finally came, consisted of cash transactions with only a little of
thepaternalistpageantrythathadlongadornedtheresolutionofearlier
rebellions. What was different about this particular rebellion and its
context?
MyinitialimpressionwasthatthisuprisingindefenseofCatholicism,
happening at a time of intensified religious conflict and polarization
throughout Europe, ran up against a newly fervid anti-Catholicism at
court.Yetthispreliminaryspeculationclashedwithprevailingscholarly
interpretations of the rebellion, which depicted it as a “rising of the
vii
viii Preface
earls,”theproductofanelitepoliticalconspiracyandfeudalism’sdeath
struggle. In such accounts, the bulk of participants remained in the
shadows, supporting the rebellion because of “instinctive loyalty” to
their lords rather than any heartfelt commitment to the old faith. Yet
if this is all the rebellion was, why did Elizabeth exact such bloody
vengeance? And what are we to make of published court records that
seemtoshowparticipantsbothenragedandexuberant,deeplyengaged
rather than tepidly feigning support? What did motivate the 6000 or
so men who formed the rebel army, or the women and youths who
stayedbehindinthevillagesandtookthechancetorestoretraditional
services?
Thisbookattemptstoanswerthesequestions.Italsotriestoemulate
aspects of some of the better works on medieval and early modern
rebellions, such as the late R.R. Davies’s study of the revolt of Owain
Glyn Dwˆr and Richard Hoyle’s book on the Pilgrimage of Grace, in
beingwrittenforbothanacademicandageneralaudience.Afterall,the
rebellionoccurredatafascinatinganddangeroustimeofchange.Inits
day,itengagedthehopesandfearsofmanypeople,whoarguedheatedly
about its character and meaning. To borrow the words of sociologist
Philip Abrams, the rebellion of 1569 was an “event”: that is, “not just
a happening there to be narrated but a happening to which cultural
significance has successfully been assigned(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)An event is a moment
of becoming at which action and structure meet.”2 In looking at this
transformation from episode to event – the allocation of meaning to
action – we can throw light on the broader social, political, religious,
andculturalhistoryoftheday.Therebellionmarkedaturningpointin
Elizabethan history, and to understand why, we must explain not the
rebellionalone,buttherebellionasitactedonthemindsoftheQueen,
her councilors, her members of parliament, and her subjects at large.
Studying the rebellion can enhance our knowledge of popular politics,
the formation of religious identities, and processes of cultural change.
It is an event with a significance worth unpacking, but it is also an
interestingstory–onetowhichIhopeIhavedonejustice.
In writing this book, I have been fortunate to have the assistance
of many people. In the UK, Diana Newton and Simon Healy provided
encouragement, archival advice, and much hospitality. John Morrill,
Richard Hoyle, Helen Good, and Jane Dawson supplied useful counsel
at key stages in the research. On this side of the Atlantic, Bob Tittler
and Norman Jones offered valuable suggestions at the project’s incep-
tion. Mark Fissel not only gave advice on military matters but also
provided free copies of his books. Lisa McClain shared an unpublished
Preface ix
paper on Catholicism in the border region. My colleagues Cynthia
Neville and Gregory Hanlon gave generously of their time, Cynthia in
reading through the entire manuscript and acting as a source for all
thingsScottish,andGregintranslatingasetofItaliancorrespondence.
AseriesofstudentresearchassistantsincludingAmaniWhitfield,Karen
Peddle, James Flemming, Anne Cummings, and Heather Ward helped
in a variety of ways; Heather’s work on the maps that accompany this
bookwasespeciallyinvaluable.Participantsinavarietyofseminarsand
conferencesaskedgoodquestionsandgavegoodadvice.Thestaffpeople
at many libraries and record offices dealt patiently and generously
with my numerous requests. Jane Anderson, the archivist at Glamis
Castle,wentwellaboveandbeyondanyreasonableexpectationofaid,
altering her schedule to fit the needs of a transatlantic researcher and
even offering drives on rainy days. So, too, were the volunteers at the
Bowes Museum library and the staff at the Durham Dean and Chapter
andUniversitylibrariesparticularlyaccommodating.DalhousieUniver-
sity’sDocumentDeliveryoffice,asusual,providedpromptandpatient
responses to a host of requests. To all these, and to more unnamed,
Iofferheartfeltthanks.
I am grateful, too, for the financial support from the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada that funded the research
upon which this book is based. I thank the Marquess of Salisbury and
the Duke of Northumberland for permission to consult and cite the
microfilmedcopiesoftheirpapersattheBritishLibrary,andtheEarlof
StrathmoreforpermissiontousedocumentsinhispossessionatGlamis
Castle. I am indebted as well to the University of Chicago Press and
BlackwellPublishingforpermissiontoreprintinalteredformmaterials
that first appeared in the following articles: “‘A Cold Pye for Papistes’:
Constructing and Containing the Northern Rising of 1569,” Journal of
BritishStudies,43(2004),417–43;“MercyandLiberality:TheAftermath
ofthe1569NorthernRebellion,”History90(2005),213–35;and“Defer-
ence and Dissent: Reflections on Sixteenth-Century Protest,” History
Compass3(June2005),1–16.
Aboveall,IneedtothankToddMcCallumforhispatienceandencour-
agement.Hiscommentsonthemanydraftspresentedtohimwereoften
merciless but always helpful, and have made this a much better book
thanitwouldotherwisebe.
K.J.Kesselring
Halifax,2007