Audio Season 1 Episode 4 (new) Series 1 Episode 4 - Bloody Mary, Revised and Updated.

© 20 26 The Rise of the Protestants., Author, Shaughan Holt.

Episode 4: Bloody Mary.

Since I first published this episode, I’ve gone back to the episode and incorporated your feedback.

As the series has grown, I've noticed a few areas that needed improvement or clarification, so I’ve updated parts of the original episode. The story and purpose are still the same, but I hope returning readers enjoy this updated version. If you’re new to the series, this is the starting point of our story.

The accompanying transcript also includes an epilogue with additional historical notes for those who would like to explore the story further.

The artwork is Portrait of Mary Tudor by the artist Antonis Mor, painted around 1554.

The oil-on-panel portrait shows Queen Mary I of England at about the age of thirty-eight.

The music is "The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation", based on Psalm 27 and performed as an Anglican chant.

It plays for around forty seconds at both the beginning and the end of the recording.

Episode notes:

After the death of Edward VI in July 1553, England entered another period of religious and political upheaval. Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen, but her reign lasted only nine days before Mary Tudor successfully claimed the throne.

On 1 October 1553, Mary was crowned at Westminster Abbey, becoming the first woman to rule England in her own right. A committed Catholic, Mary set about reversing the Protestant reforms of Edward VI and restoring England's relationship with Rome.

Her reign would become closely associated with the persecution of Protestants, with around 280 men and women burned for heresy. Among the most famous were John Hooper, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley and Thomas Cranmer.

At the same time, many Protestants fled abroad, while others continued to worship secretly in England. These years of exile, persecution and religious division would have a lasting influence on the future of English Protestantism.

This episode follows Mary's attempt to restore Catholic England, the resistance she faced, and the events that would help shape the next stage of the English Reformation.

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Requests regarding translation, licensing, or republication should be directed to: [email protected]

Your feedback matters, send me an email at [email protected], with any comments, suggestions, or criticisms.I read every message.

© 20 26 The Rise of the Protestants., Author, Shaughan Holt.

"All rights reserved. No part of this podcast may be reproduced, translated, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law".

Requests regarding translation, licensing, or republication should be directed to: [email protected]

Your feedback matters, send me an email at [email protected], with any comments, suggestions, or criticisms.

I read every message.

Series 1.

Episode 4.

Bloody Mary.

The year is 15 53.

Mary Tudor was about to become the first woman to rule England in her own right.

In January 15 53, fifteen-year-old King Edward VI became seriously ill, suffering from a persistent cough and fever.

As his health declined, attention increasingly turned to who would succeed him.

Under the succession arrangements established during Henry VIII's reign, Edward's Catholic half-sister Mary remained the rightful heir to the throne.

But Edward feared that, if Mary became Queen, she would reverse the Protestant reforms introduced during his reign and restore England to the Catholic faith.

Determined to prevent this, Edward attempted to change the succession.

He excluded both Mary and Elizabeth from the throne, and eventually named his Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, as his successor.

Mary Tudor was born on 18 February 15 16, at Greenwich, near London.

She was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

Mary was raised in the Catholic faith, and remained deeply devoted to it throughout her life.

Her childhood changed dramatically, however, when Henry decided to end his marriage to Catherine.

After the marriage was annulled, Mary was declared illegitimate and removed from the line of succession.

In September 15 33, Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, gave birth to another daughter, Elizabeth.

The breakdown of her parents' marriage, along with her father's break with Rome, profoundly affected Mary's life and beliefs.

Years later, as Edward VI's health failed, the question of who should succeed him grew increasingly urgent.

John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, had become the most powerful figure in Edward VI's government.

On 25 May 15 53, he arranged for sixteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey to marry his son, Lord Guildford Dudley.

Jane was the granddaughter of Henry VIII's younger sister, Mary Tudor, Queen of France.

This family connection gave her a place in the Tudor line of succession.

This Mary Tudor should not be confused with Henry VIII's daughter, also named Mary, who would later become Queen Mary I. .

Jane's marriage brought her even closer to the powerful Dudley family, at a time when King Edward's health was rapidly failing.

Born around 15 37, Lady Jane Grey was the eldest daughter of Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset, and Lady Frances Brandon.

She received an excellent education and became a committed Protestant at a young age.

Her Protestant faith made her increasingly important as Edward and his advisers sought to prevent the Catholic Mary from succeeding to the throne.

King Edward VI died on 6 July 15 53, at the age of fifteen, most likely from tuberculosis.

At first, his death was kept secret while Northumberland and his supporters prepared to place Jane Grey on the throne.

Meanwhile, Mary had already withdrawn to her estates in East Anglia, where she could count on strong local support.

From Kenninghall in Norfolk, she wrote to the Privy Council, declaring herself Edward's rightful successor and demanding that they recognise her as Queen.

Lady Jane Grey was publicly proclaimed Queen on 10 July 15 53.

She entered the Tower of London, where English monarchs traditionally stayed before their coronation.

But Jane's position was already becoming increasingly uncertain.

Support for Mary continued to grow, especially in East Anglia, where both local gentlemen and ordinary people rallied to her cause.

Her support was not exclusively Catholic.

Many backed Mary simply because they believed she was the rightful heir, regardless of religion.

Northumberland left London with his troops, hoping to suppress Mary's challenge.

But support for Jane quickly collapsed.

Members of the Privy Council abandoned her cause, and on 19 July they proclaimed Mary as Queen.

Jane's reign had lasted just nine days.

She appears to have accepted the loss of the Crown without resistance, hoping that she might simply be allowed to return home.

Instead, she remained in the Tower of London, no longer as Queen, but as a prisoner.

Jane's father-in-law, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was arrested and charged with high treason.

He was tried at Westminster Hall on 18 August 15 53, found guilty, and sentenced to death.

Shortly before his execution, Northumberland publicly returned to the Catholic faith.

Whether this reflected a genuine change of belief, or a final attempt to gain Mary's mercy and save his life, remains uncertain.

It made no difference to his fate.

On 22 August 15 53, he was beheaded on Tower Hill.

In September 15 53, Parliament formally recognised Mary as Edward's rightful successor and declared Jane Grey's claim to the throne invalid.

Mary was crowned Queen of England and Ireland at Westminster Abbey on 1 October 15 53.

The coronation ceremony was led by Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester.

Mary now became the first woman in English history to be crowned as a ruling monarch in her own right.

But her accession meant far more than simply the arrival of a new monarch.

After six years of Protestant reform under Edward VI, England now had a Queen determined to restore the Catholic faith.

Stephen Gardiner was a leading Catholic churchman and politician of the Tudor period.

Born around 14 83, he studied at Trinity Hall Cambridge, before serving Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

He later became Bishop of Winchester.

Gardiner supported Henry VIII's break from papal authority, but remained deeply conservative in his religious beliefs.

This frequently brought him into conflict with Protestant reformers, including Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.

During Edward VI's reign, Gardiner became one of the most determined opponents of the government's Protestant reforms.

His resistance eventually cost him both his position and his freedom.

He was deprived of his bishopric, imprisoned in the Tower of London, and remained there for the rest of Edward's reign.

Then, in 15 53, everything changed.

Mary's accession transformed Gardiner's fortunes almost overnight.

He was released from prison, restored as Bishop of Winchester, and appointed Lord Chancellor.

This made him one of the most powerful figures in the new government.

Gardiner was now set to play a major part in Mary's efforts to reverse Edward VI's Protestant reforms and restore Catholic worship across England.

Thomas Cranmer now found himself in an even more dangerous position.

As Archbishop of Canterbury, he had played a leading role in the Protestant reforms of Edward VI's reign.

But his connection with Mary went back much further.

Twenty years earlier, Cranmer had declared the marriage between Henry VIII and Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon, invalid.

This helped pave the way for Mary to be declared illegitimate.

Cranmer had also supported Edward's attempt to alter the succession, and had reluctantly accepted Lady Jane Grey as Queen.

So when Mary came to the throne, Cranmer was vulnerable for both political and religious reasons.

When rumours spread that he had restored the traditional Catholic Mass at Canterbury, Cranmer publicly denied them and defended the Protestant reforms introduced during Edward VI's reign.

In September 15 53, they arrested him and sent him to the Tower of London, where the Protestant bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were also being held.

Peter Martyr Vermigli was also in danger.

We discussed his influence on Edward VI's Protestant reforms in the previous episode.

As Mary began restoring Catholic worship, Vermigli could no longer remain safely in England.

Cranmer advised him to leave, and Vermigli was eventually permitted to depart.

By the end of 15 53, he had returned to Strasbourg, where he resumed his teaching.

Lady Jane Grey, meanwhile, remained a prisoner in the Tower.

On 13 November 15 53, Jane, her husband Guildford Dudley, and two of Guildford's brothers were put on trial at Guildhall in London.

Jane was charged with high treason for taking the Crown without lawful right and for signing documents as Queen.

She was found guilty and sentenced to death.

As a woman, Jane could legally have been sentenced to burning, although the Queen had the authority to commute the punishment to beheading.

At first, Mary showed considerable leniency towards Jane, apparently regarding her as a young woman who had been manipulated by more powerful figures.

Although Jane had been condemned to death, Mary did not immediately order her execution.

But events during the following months would change that.

Plans for Mary to marry Prince Philip of Spain, son of Emperor Charles V, faced considerable opposition in England.

In early 15 54, this opposition led to several planned uprisings.

The most serious was led by Sir Thomas Wyatt in Kent.

Known as Wyatt's Rebellion, the uprising aimed to prevent the Spanish marriage and soon became a direct threat to Mary's government.

Jane's father, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, joined the rebellion.

His involvement demonstrated that, while Jane remained alive, she could still become a figurehead for those who opposed Mary's rule.

Mary was no longer prepared to take that risk.

She ordered Jane's execution.

The year is 15 54.

On the morning of 12 February 15 54, Guildford Dudley was taken from the Tower to Tower Hill, immediately outside the fortress and one of London's principal sites for public executions.

He was executed there by beheading.

Afterwards, his body was brought back to the Tower.

It passed beneath the windows where Jane was being held, before being taken to the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula.

Later that morning, Jane was taken to Tower Green inside the Tower of London, where a scaffold had been set up for her execution.

Before she died, Jane admitted she had acted unlawfully by accepting the Crown, but she stayed firm in her Protestant faith.

Lady Jane Grey was then executed by beheading.

Jane and Guildford were both buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula inside the Tower of London.

The chapel, which means Saint Peter in Chains, became the final resting place, for several well-known prisoners executed at the Tower.

Three women who briefly held the title of Queen of England, are buried in the chapel: Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, and now Lady Jane Grey.

All three were executed in the sixteenth century, and buried inside the Tower of London.

Both Jane and Guildford were very young.

Guildford was likely about nineteen years old, while Jane was just sixteen or seventeen.

Eleven days later, on 23 February 15 54, Jane's father, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was also executed, for his role in Wyatt's Rebellion.

As Mary confronted political threats to her rule, her government also began dismantling the Protestant religious settlement established under Edward VI.

In March 15 54, Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer were transferred from the Tower of London to Oxford.

There, the three leading reformers were required to defend their religious beliefs in a series of public debates.

They were later imprisoned in Bocardo Prison, near St Michael's Church in Oxford.

Other Protestants chose to leave England rather than risk similar imprisonment or persecution.

During Mary's reign, several hundred English Protestants fled to continental Europe.

They became known as the Marian exiles, with the term “Marian” referring to the reign of Queen Mary.

Many established English congregations in places such as Wesel, Frankfurt and Strasbourg, as well as the Swiss cities of Zurich, Basel and Geneva.

During their years abroad, the exiles became far more familiar with the Reformed churches of continental Europe.

Geneva in particular exposed some of them to a form of worship and church organisation that differed greatly from both Catholic tradition and the English settlement they had known under Edward VI.

When the exiles eventually returned to England, many brought these ideas and experiences back with them.

But they did not always agree among themselves.

In Frankfurt, serious disputes developed over the form of worship the English congregation should follow.

Some wanted to continue using Edward VI's Book of Common Prayer.

Others, including the Scottish reformer John Knox, preferred a simpler form of worship influenced more strongly by the Reformed churches of continental Europe.

The dispute revealed important divisions within English Protestantism, divisions that would become even more significant after the exiles returned home.

The Marian Underground.

While many Protestants fled to continental Europe, others remained in England and continued to practise their faith in secret.

In London, a hidden Protestant congregation began meeting quietly in private homes, inns and other locations.

Its members continued to worship outside the restored Catholic Church, despite the considerable risks involved.

At first, the group appears to have numbered only around twenty people, but over time more than two hundred are believed to have joined.

These meetings were dangerous.

Members risked arrest, imprisonment and, in some cases, execution.

Despite continued persecution, the underground Protestant movement survived throughout Mary's reign.

Like the Marian exiles who had left England, these secret congregations helped preserve Protestant belief and worship during the years of Catholic restoration.

After Mary's death, Protestantism was restored under Elizabeth the First.

Mary now faced another urgent problem.

She was thirty-seven, unmarried and childless.

If she died without an heir, the throne would probably pass to her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth.

For Mary, securing a Catholic succession meant finding a husband and, if possible, producing an heir.

She chose Prince Philip of Spain, son of Charles V, the powerful Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain.

Philip was a committed Catholic, and the marriage offered Mary the chance to strengthen both her dynasty and England's ties with Catholic Europe.

But the proposed marriage caused considerable concern in England.

Even some of Mary's Catholic supporters, including Stephen Gardiner, were uneasy about the match. They feared the influence that Philip and the powerful Habsburg dynasty might gain over England.

Protestants were also deeply concerned, fearing that the marriage would strengthen Mary's efforts to restore Catholicism.

There was also widespread anxiety that England might become drawn into Spain's political and military struggles in Europe.

Another concern involved land.

Since Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries, large amounts of former Church property had passed into private ownership.

Many landowners feared that reconciliation with Rome might eventually threaten their possession of former monastic lands.

As we have already seen, opposition to the Spanish marriage helped fuel Wyatt's Rebellion in early 15 54.

The rebellion was defeated, but it showed just how controversial Mary's proposed marriage had become.

Despite the opposition, Mary remained determined to proceed.

Philip arrived in England in July 15 54 and met Mary for the first time at Winchester.

On 25 July, only two days after their first meeting, they were married at Winchester Cathedral.

Philip spoke little or no English, and the couple communicated mainly in Spanish, French and Latin.

For Philip, the marriage was primarily a dynastic and political alliance. It strengthened Habsburg influence and reinforced England's connection with Catholic Europe.

According to his aide, Ruy Gómez de Silva, Philip had agreed to the marriage "for no fleshly consideration", but for political and dynastic reasons connected with England and the wider interests of the Habsburg monarchy.

Mary had already begun reversing the religious changes introduced during Edward VI's reign.

She abolished the Protestant Book of Common Prayer and brought back the traditional Latin Mass and Catholic worship.

But restoring Catholic worship was only part of Mary's plan.

She also wanted to end the break with Rome that had begun under her father, Henry VIII, and return England to full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinal Reginald Pole played a central role in making this possible.

Pole was an English Catholic churchman and a distant relative of the Tudor royal family.

He had spent many years in exile after strongly opposing Henry VIII's break with Rome.

In November 15 54, he returned to England as the representative of Pope Julius the Third.

Later that month, Mary, Philip and both Houses of Parliament met at Whitehall.

Parliament formally asked for England to be reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church.

Acting on behalf of the Pope, Cardinal Pole granted absolution.

With this, England's separation from Rome was formally brought to an end.

After more than twenty years, papal authority was restored.

But the reconciliation could not simply undo everything that had happened since Henry VIII's break with Rome.

Most former monastic lands remained in the hands of their existing owners, helping to secure political support for the settlement.

Mary and Pole continued rebuilding Catholic religious life, removing Protestant bishops and restoring traditional Catholic discipline.

Pole also worked to improve clerical education, preaching and standards of discipline, in an effort to address some of the weaknesses that had helped Protestant ideas to spread.

As the year progressed, Mary's government became increasingly determined to suppress what it regarded as Protestant heresy.

In late 15 54, Parliament restored the medieval heresy laws that had been repealed during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI.

From January 15 55, anyone convicted of heresy who refused to renounce their Protestant beliefs could once again be sentenced to death by burning.

This marked the beginning of what became known as the Marian persecutions.

Edmund Grindal was among the Protestants who chose exile rather than remain in England.

Born around 15 19 at St Bees in Cumberland, he studied at Cambridge and became increasingly involved in Protestant reform during Edward VI's reign.

After Mary became Queen, Grindal left England and later joined the Marian exiles in Strasbourg.

He returned after Mary's death and went on to become one of the leading churchmen of Elizabeth the First's reign.

Eventually, he became Archbishop of Canterbury.

Thomas Cartwright was another young Protestant whose importance would become much clearer in the years that followed.

Born around 15 35, he studied at Cambridge University, where he came under the influence of Thomas Lever, the Protestant Master of St John's College.

When Mary became Queen, Lever left England and joined the Marian exiles.

Cartwright, however, remained in England.

By this time, he was already developing strong Reformed beliefs.

Under Elizabeth I, he would go on to become one of the most important figures in the rise of English Puritanism.

Another Cambridge scholar, John Whitgift, became a fellow of Peterhouse in 15 55.

He too would later rise to great prominence, eventually becoming Archbishop of Canterbury and one of Cartwright's strongest opponents.

While these younger Protestants were still at the beginning of their careers, others were already paying a far heavier price for their beliefs.

John Rogers became the first Protestant to be executed after the restoration of the heresy laws.

He had previously worked with William Tyndale in Europe.

After Tyndale's death, Rogers helped prepare the Bible published under the name Thomas Matthew, which we mentioned earlier.

When Mary became Queen, Rogers openly opposed the return of Catholicism.

He was arrested, convicted of heresy and burned at Smithfield in London on the 4th February 15 55.

His death marked the beginning of the Marian burnings.

The year is 15 55.

By this time, Thomas Cranmer had already been imprisoned for almost two years.

Earlier, he had been found guilty of treason for supporting Lady Jane Grey, but Mary had chosen not to have him executed.

Now he faced a new and even more dangerous charge: heresy.

On 12 September 15 55, Cranmer appeared before a special commission at Oxford, where he was required to answer charges concerning his Protestant teachings and his rejection of papal authority.

Cranmer refused to recognise the Pope's authority and continued to defend his Protestant beliefs.

The case was then referred to Rome, and in December 15 55 Pope Paul IV authorised Cranmer's removal from office.

He was formally deprived of the Archbishopric of Canterbury and handed over to the civil authorities for punishment.

Even then, Cranmer's case continued for several more months.

Before his fate was finally decided, two of his fellow prisoners, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, were also brought to trial in Oxford.

Both refused to abandon their Protestant beliefs, particularly their rejection of the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.

They were found guilty of heresy and sentenced to death by burning.

On 16 October 15 55, Ridley and Latimer were taken to a site outside Oxford's city walls, where they were bound to the stake and burned.

According to John Foxe's later account, as the fire was being prepared, Latimer encouraged Ridley with the words:

“Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; for we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.”

The Vestments Controversy.

One important disagreement among English Protestants concerned the continued use of traditional clerical vestments.

Some reformers regarded them as relatively unimportant, while others saw them as remnants of Catholic tradition with no clear support in Scripture.

Behind the argument lay a much bigger question: how far should the Reformation go?

The issue became especially important when John Hooper was chosen as Bishop of Gloucester.

Hooper objected to wearing the traditional vestments and to certain parts of the episcopal ceremony required for his consecration.

He therefore sought advice from Martin Bucer and Peter Martyr Vermigli.

Both understood his concerns, but argued that the issue was not important enough to divide the Protestant Church.

Hooper eventually agreed to conform and was consecrated Bishop of Gloucester on 8 March 15 51.

The dispute faded for a time, but returned during the reign of Elizabeth I.

It became one of the earliest major conflicts between the established Church and those Protestants who would later be known as Puritans.

Hooper’s religious beliefs had been strongly shaped by the years he spent in continental Europe.

In Zurich, he met the Swiss reformer Heinrich Bullinger and became a committed supporter of the Reformed tradition.

When Hooper returned to England in 15 49, he supported a form of Protestantism that sought to remove many traditions and practices still associated with the Catholic Church.

After Mary became Queen in July 15 53, his position became increasingly dangerous.

As one of the most prominent Protestant bishops of Edward VI’s reign, Hooper soon became a target of the new Catholic government.

Mary summoned him to London, and in September 15 53 he was arrested and sent to the Fleet Prison.

There, he remained for many months.

As Mary’s government reversed the Protestant settlement established under Edward VI, Hooper was deprived of his bishoprics.

His removal from office formed part of a wider effort to dismantle the Protestant leadership of the previous reign.

With the restoration of the heresy laws, Hooper’s beliefs now placed his life in serious danger.

Mary’s government also reversed Edward VI’s acceptance of clerical marriage and restored the Catholic requirement that priests remain celibate.

Hooper was a married man, and he had no intention of giving up either his wife or his Protestant faith.

Hooper was questioned further about his Protestant beliefs, particularly his rejection of the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.

He refused to recant.

As a result, he was condemned as a heretic and handed over to the civil authorities for execution.

He was sentenced to death and sent back to Gloucester, the city where he had once served as bishop.

On the morning of 9 February 15 55, Hooper was led through the streets of Gloucester to the place where the stake had been prepared.

A large crowd had gathered, including many who had known him during his years as Bishop of Gloucester.

Even at the execution site, Hooper was given one final opportunity to recant and save his life.

According to John Foxe, a pardon was placed before him.

Hooper refused it and, according to Foxe, replied:

“If you love my soul, take it away.”

He was then bound to the stake.

Foxe later described the execution as particularly long and painful.

The first fire burned badly because of strong winds and damp or green wood.

The fire had to be restarted several times, and Foxe claimed that Hooper remained at the stake for around forty-five minutes before he died.

Today, a memorial to John Hooper stands in St Mary’s Square, Gloucester, close to the traditional site of his execution.

Built in the nineteenth century, it commemorates the Protestant bishop who was burned there on 9 February 15 55.

The year is 15 56.

Early in the year, Cranmer signed a series of recantations and gradually appeared to abandon the Protestant beliefs he had defended for so long.

He acknowledged the authority of Mary and Philip, and eventually accepted papal authority and Catholic teaching.

For a time, Cranmer was moved from the harsh conditions of prison to more comfortable accommodation, where Catholic theologians continued to press him to recant.

By now, he was an ageing and increasingly isolated prisoner.

He had seen the Protestant Reformation he helped establish being dismantled, while several of his closest fellow reformers had already been executed.

Faced with prolonged imprisonment, intense theological pressure and the prospect of the same fate, Cranmer's resolve began to weaken.

On 14 February, he was formally degraded from clerical office, symbolically stripping him of his position as Archbishop of Canterbury.

But despite his recantations, the decision had already been made.

Cranmer would still be executed.

The final chapter of Cranmer’s life would take an extraordinary and unexpected turn.

While imprisoned and increasingly isolated, he continued to give way under pressure.

He abandoned the Protestant beliefs he had once defended, accepted papal authority and agreed with Catholic teaching on the Eucharist, including transubstantiation.

As a result, Cranmer received sacramental absolution and was once again allowed to participate in the Catholic Eucharist.

He then went even further, issuing another statement in which he rejected his earlier Protestant beliefs and acknowledged what he now described as his errors.

He may have hoped that these further recantations would save his life.

But Mary had no intention of granting him mercy.

Despite his submission, the order for his execution remained in place.

For Mary, Cranmer’s offences went far beyond religion.

He had helped bring about the annulment of her parents’ marriage, supported Edward VI’s Protestant reforms and backed Lady Jane Grey’s claim to the throne.

On 21 March 15 56, Cranmer was taken to the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford.

There, before a gathered crowd, he was expected to make one final public declaration of his Catholic faith.

Instead, Cranmer stunned those listening.

He publicly withdrew the recantations he had signed, rejected papal authority and denounced the Pope as an enemy of Christ.

Cranmer was taken from the church and hurried through Oxford to the site near Broad Street where Ridley and Latimer had been burned only a few months earlier.

There, he was tied to the stake and the fire was lit.

As the flames rose around him, Cranmer deliberately held his right hand in the fire.

This was the hand that had signed his recantations, and he had declared that it should be the first part of his body to suffer.

Cranmer died close to the place where Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer had been executed only months before.

Together, the three men came to be remembered as the Oxford Martyrs.

In the sixteenth century, St Michael-at-the-Northgate Church on Cornmarket marked the northern edge of Oxford.

Close by, a trench ran alongside the city walls and was used for the disposal of the city's waste.

Beyond it lay an area of open ground near what is now Broad Street.

It was here that Ridley and Latimer were burned in 15 55, followed by Cranmer the following year.

Today, a cross set into Broad Street near Balliol College marks the traditional site of the executions.

But these men were only a small part of a much wider campaign.

Around 280 Protestants were burned for heresy during Mary’s reign.

They included clergy, craftsmen, labourers, women and ordinary members of local congregations.

More than anything else, these executions shaped Mary’s later reputation as “Bloody Mary”.

Protestant writers such as John Foxe helped reinforce that image, and his accounts of the Marian martyrs became enormously influential after her death.

Yet Mary’s reign was more complex than the nickname suggests.

She restored England’s communion with Rome, brought back traditional Catholic worship and attempted a broader renewal of the Catholic Church.

But the revival of the heresy laws and the burnings that followed left a legacy that came to overshadow much of her reign.

Mary’s attempt to restore Catholic England would not survive her.

Her marriage to Philip produced no heir, and on 17 November 15 58, Mary died at St James’s Palace at the age of forty-two.

Her cousin, Cardinal Reginald Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury, died later the same day.

The throne then passed to Mary’s Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth.

England’s religious future was about to change once again.

Epilogue.

Transubstantiation.

Transubstantiation is the Roman Catholic belief that during the Eucharist or Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, even though they still look like bread and wine.

This change affects the substance, not the outward appearance, of the bread and wine.

During the Reformation, this issue became one of the main disagreements between Catholics and Protestants.

Martin Luther did not accept the Catholic explanation of transubstantiation, but he still believed that Christ was truly present in the bread and wine during Communion.

Some other reformers took their views even further.

Huldrych Zwingli saw the bread and wine mostly as symbols.

For him, they represented Christ's body and blood and reminded believers of the Last Supper.

John Calvin did not accept the Catholic teaching of transubstantiation or the idea that Communion was only symbolic.

He taught that believers really shared in Christ through the Eucharist, but that Christ's presence was spiritual, not physical.

These different views of Communion became major dividing lines during the Reformation, separating Catholics, Lutherans, Reformed Protestants, and other new Protestant groups.

In England, rejecting transubstantiation became a key test of Protestant faith during Queen Mary I’s reign.

Several well-known reformers, such as John Hooper, Nicholas Ridley, and Hugh Latimer, were condemned partly because they refused to accept Catholic teaching.

Clare College.

Clare College was founded in 13 26 and is the second-oldest college at the University of Cambridge.

It became Clare College in 18 56.

Clare College is known for its progressive values.

In 19 72, it was one of the first three colleges at Cambridge to admit women as undergraduates.