Mary I gets a very bad press. Her reign, 1553-1558, is sandwiched between that of her more (in)famous father, Henry VIII, and her sister the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I. Both family members play a crucial role in determining the events and interpretation of the reign of England’s first queen regnant. Born the daughter of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Mary came to symbolise England’s Roman Catholic past after the Henrician schism. It would be the mission of her life to reunite her country with the Papacy and to restore its Church. For the Elizabethan propagandists, the burnings with which she has become so deeply connected, provided the perfect material to blacken her name in perpetuity.
This course will look beyond the centuries of propaganda to consider Mary’s reign afresh. Her marriage to Philip of Spain; her re-establishment of the Roman Catholic Church; and her methods of government all point towards considerable success despite her unprecedented position as a female monarch. Using the most recent academic research on the topic, we will consider how Mary I’s reign is fundamental to understanding the subsequent developments of the Elizabethan Age. Rather than being the ‘bloodiest’ Tudor, was Mary I merely the unluckiest?
Learning outcomes
- To understand the context of Mary I’s reign;
- To identify and evaluate the major historiographical changes relevant to the period;
- To examine and reconsider the realities of the Bloody Mary myth;
- To examine a variety of primary sources to assess the historical significance of Mary I.
