History of the History of the English Reformation Essay
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A real difference in historical interpretation occurs during the 1970s as we see historians look out outward. They shift from looking at the central government to local cities and a greater emphasis is placed on the role of the people. Specifically in the writings of Steven G. Ellis and W. Stanford Reid, you see a focus on the impact of English Reform on the British Isles and the different strands of reform that develop. While a different strand of reformed thought was developing in Scotland, the evidence points to the fact that the populace was heavily involved in encouraging reform in the cities. For instance, Edinburgh had often been viewed as the political capital of the Scottish government and a town dominated by merchants with no
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If Mary had not intervened, the city council would have been composed exclusively of members of the kirk. Protestantism had taken hold of Edinburgh through its people and the influence of John Knox. One may question how other Scottish cities felt about the actions in Edinburgh. Were they looking to Edinburgh as an example for reform in their own towns? Scotland and England were not alone in their reaction to reform. Under the authority of the English monarchy, Ireland’s popular reaction and the Kildare rebellion were directly tied to the era of Henrician reform. The Irish were growing restless of their English masters and were led to rebel by the earls of Kildare. While the Kildare Rebellion began as just an anti-centralization protest, Ellis in “The Kildare Rebellion and the Early Henrician Reformation,” argues that it developed into an anti-Reformation movement identifiable with that in England. Ellis explains that the rebellion was growing in national importance and was seen as a legitimate threat to English authority. This anti-Reform was combined with distrust of Englishmen, resulting in many Irish kicking English people out of Ireland and executing those who refused to leave. Many local clergymen left to join the rebellion of their brethren as reflected in the number of empty benefice seats. The Irish also turned to