Today we mark two events that are related. On November 12, 1555, Mary I’s Parliament re-established the Catholic faith in England and was reunited with the Pope. It’s also the day of the death of Stephen Gardiner, who died on the very same day.
Stephen Gardiner worked under Cardinal Wolsey, and, being an astute politician, he managed to stay alive throughout the tumultuous years of the Reformation. He was always a conservative, though, and in Henry’s later years he was instrumental in plots against Katherine Parr and Thomas Cranmer. During the reign of Mary, he would become Lord Chancellor, and was responsible for many of the punishments against Protestants, though there is debate about how far he wanted to punish them.
It is fitting that on the day of his death, today in 1555, England also officially became Catholic again through an act of Parliament.
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 on the Reformation in England.
Suggested links:
Episode 089: Edward and Mary and Religious Whiplash
October is Reformation Month!
From the shop:
Early Christmas shopping gifts
Featuring: Ornaments collection
Ps. All products are made on-demand and can take a few weeks to ship.
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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.