The Royal Supremacy in the Elizabethan Church

Originally published in 1969 this book considers the theoretical extent of the royal supremacy in the Elizabethan church and examines how far this supremacy was effective in practice. The first part considers the reactions of Catholics and of moderate and more enthusiastic Protestants, both clerical and lay, to a lay head of the English church and the second part investigates the limits of the queen's authority. The documents, which range from the formal Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity to the letters of individual gentlemen who were guiding their local congregations, reflect the discrepancy between theory and practice. No previous book of this nature tried to determine the limits of Queen Elizabeth I's powers in the localities in quite this way.

Claire Cross

Part 1: Introduction 1. The Royal Supremacy in Theory 2. The Royal Supremacy in Practice Part 2: Documents 1. The Royal Supremacy in Theory i) Protestant and Catholic Attitudes to a Lay Head of the Church ii) The Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity and the Comments of Protestant Ministers iii) The Erastian View of the Royal Supremacy iv) The Catholic Rejection of a Lay Supremacy v) The Qualified Acceptance of the Royal Supremacy by Presbyterians and Separatists vi) The Questioning of the Royal Supremacy by Clergy Within the Church Part 2: The Royal Supremacy in Practice i) Royal Intervention in the Church ii) Lay Intervention in the Church in Parliament iii) Lay Intervention in the Church in the Localities