Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for May 8.
Today in 1559 Elizabeth I signed the Act of Uniformity. This was part of the Elizabethan religious settlement and compromise which left no one fully happy – a sign of a good compromise if there ever was one.
The Act of Uniformity set out the order of prayer to be used in the English Book of Common Prayer, and it also stipulated that all people had to go to the English church once a week or be fined 12 pence, which is the equivalent to roughly about £11 in 2007 money – this was a large amount for the poor, just as it would be today.
After the act passed 14 bishops were let go, leaving their spots vacant. Matthew Parker was appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury as well.
The other major act that was part of the Elizabethan Settlement was the Act of Supremacy that confirmed Elizabeth as the Head of the Church of England.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is a series of episodes on the English Reformation.
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.