Seperatists and Tolerance

All lies and jests

 Still a man hears 

What he wants to hear 

And disregards the rest 

    Begrimed cobblestones speckled the streets of the narrow city of London in the 16th century; they lead to a variety of experiences for the citizens of this city. It is vital to say citizens of this city, as it was claimed that “London is not said to be in England, but England to be in London”1. It was a rapidly growing city that enjoyed the glow that came from living in the Elizabethan Era, a time period lasting from 1558 to 1603. This was a time referred to as the “golden age” of England, a term C.S. Lewis used in his lectures. 

    People from every walk of life and all corners of the country bounded into London because of the greatness and opportunity that flowed out of it, “…you shall see walking the knight, the gull, the gallant, the upstart, the gentleman…the scholar, the beggar, the doctor, the idiot, the ruffian, the cheater, the Puritan, the cutthroat.”2 The plausible reason for this was it was right next to the royal palace and probably emitted a sense of security and wealth during a time of foreign uncertainty. English historian John Stow has this to say about the role of the court, “…As for retailers, therefore, and handycraftsmen, it is no marvel if they abandon country towns, and resorts to London; for not only the court, which is now-a-days much greater and more gallant then in former times…is now for the most part either abiding at London, or else so near unto it, that the provision of things most fit for it may easily be fetched from thence.”3

    With a new queen, stability was in place once again. Systematic religious persecution seemed to be at an end and a new church was established as well; the English Protestant church, or the Church of England. Catholicism still existed, but was not the dominate religion it formerly was. Still, this new Church and Elizabeth’s attitude of tolerance (her motto was “I see, and say nothing”) lead to religious schisms and feuds during her reign. For example, the separatists who attempted to distance themselves from the new Church of England and the crucial Martin Marprelate pamphlets that challenged the Church. 

     Now, we need to take a moment to expound the Martin Marprelate controversy. The religious atmosphere of the time was divided among the people; the queen supported the Protestant church and a separatist group was splitting away that followed the teachings of the French theologian, John Calvin. An unknown man utilizes the printing press to create tracts as an attempt to acquaint the people of England with the Puritan criticisms of the Catholic episcopacy. His identity is not officially known and he constantly moved from place to place to avoid detection. One location he was later discovered to be at was East Molesey, a town connected to London. He produced seven tracts in 1588 and 89, creating a controversy that greatly upset the government and Church. While religion had more freedom during this era, Puritan, or separatists, writings were illegal and controversial to the government. This controversy is part of the reason the Puritans traveled on the Mayflower a handful of decades afterwards. 

    Through his writings Marprelate would attack the bishop in a fluent and understandable way for the common person. In his first tract, “The Epistle”, he complained, “Our lord bishops…that swinish rabble, are petty antichrists, petty popes, proud prelates, intolerable withstanders of reformation, enemies of the gospel, and most covetous wretched priests.”4 These tracts continued and the Church lacked the ability to stop it. This resulted in the government using professional authors to write tracts in an attempt to counteract the damage already done by Martin Marprelate. While the actual Martin Marprelate was never discovered, the man who pressed and released the tracts was, John Penry. He was arrested and hung for rebellion in 1593, becoming an early puritan martyr. 

    This was not the end of the influence Marprelate had on England, he is considered one of the greatest prose satirists of the period.5 To augment his influence, one of the young writers hired to counteract him, Thomas Nashe, was greatly influenced and more accepted in the English literary world afterword. He and countless others owed much to the Marprelate tracts, a forerunner to other great satires and literature as a whole.

    Additionally, the fact Martin Marprelate remained unknown ignited conversation, prose and debate over who actually wrote the tracts. While John Penry was discovered as the owner of the printing press, he refused to be named as Marprelate. Then again, claiming to write illegal and seditious tracts against the Church of England is not always something one would want to take the credit for. William Pierce attempted to clear Penry’s name in his biography of Penry, concluding:

     “That Penry was not Marprelate is obvious enough to those who are familiar with their respective writings. Their styles are as distinct as the poetic styles of Tennyson and Browning. It is very clear that Penry is only an instrument in the hands of Marprelate.”6

   The story surrounding Martin Marprelate was fascinating, he responded to the disagreement he had with the Church of England and did it in a way that was new and effective. He printed challenges to the church, probably viewing himself as a modern Martin Luther; a man brave enough to challenge the status quo and emphatically agitate the Church in the process. The public response to his expositions on the Church seemed mixed, many people supporting his challenges and others believing he went too far. Even the separatist he aligned himself with did not fully support the controversy he stirred up, but they could not deny the importance and impact he had during this “golden age” of England. 

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[1] Platter, Travels (1937), p. 226.

[2] Dekker, Dead Tearme, p. D4.

[3] Stow, Survey (1908), I, p. 211-212

[4] Marprelate, "The Epistle" (1588), p. 10.

[5] Cambridge History of English Literature, III, p. 450.

[6] Pierce, John Penry: His Life, Times, and Writings (1923), p. 222