Random stuff, and the end o' the year

So, next week is such a joke for me. I have to take one final, and then I'm done. It feels ....... way too anti-climatic.

Anyhow, I've looked at the leak of the 4e rules and am upset by the oversimplification of alignment more than anything else. (It's now Lawful Good, Good, Unaligned, Evil, Chaotic Evil; as opposed to the two-axis system) The rest of the system seems well thought, meticulous, and just different. I'm cautiously optimistic, it'll depend in no small part on the DM in question though.

I've been listening to Voodoo by D'Angelo a good bit. The rhythm section (Pino Pallidino on bass and ?uestlove on drums) is really just something else. Also on the Neo-Soul front, Erykah Badu - who's releasing the second half of her New Amerykah album in July has some kicking stuff too. I'm psyched

Here's a taste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4XI6LXCsH8&feature=related


Also, just 'cause, a paper on religion and the English Reformation from my Acting Shakespeare class. Be careful, it's lengthy:

Religion has always been an interesting point of humanity’s nature. Somehow it has played into everyone’s life, directly or not. A curious point of modern Religion is the nigh-ubiquitous presence of so many forms and ways of worship. It is easy to forget that in the past the availability of today’s religious world wouldn’t have existed. All sorts of ubiquitous religions today would have been not only unusual, but even bizarre in Elizabethan England. After all, religion didn’t only control its churches, but also made up parts of the political entities that were used to the ends of the empires. To us, through the lens of modern life, the changes between the Catholic and Anglican Churches in England might not seem extremely drastic, but at the time it made all the difference in the world for the English Empire.

Prior to Elizabeth I’s coronation England was in a period of fairly serious religious turmoil. Belief and the endorsement of the monarch were divided between the (Protestant) Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church because of the state of fluctuation between the two in the 30 year period preceding her reign. (1517 – 1564: The Reformation) To fully understand what caused this rift between the churches and why it was so vital for English supremacy during the time of Shakespeare, some crucial facts can be learned from the history of the relations between Britain and Rome, as well the Tudors that preceded Elizabeth on the throne before.

Henry VIII (Elizabeth’s Father) had formed the Church of England because of his desire for annulment of his marriage of his wife Catherine of Aragon (of Spain) on the grounds that she had previously been married to Henry’s brother Arthur (who had died shortly after the marriage). Henry probably wanted the marriage annulled because of her failure to produce a viable male heir, but instead Mary Tudor (to whom we will return). Also important was that Henry had little interest in having a Spanish political alliance longer than he had too. He cited a verse in Leviticus forbade the marriage of a sibling’s spouse to a surviving brother, saying that it had cursed the marriage to not bare any child of consequence. (The Reformation)

Pope Clement VII refused the request, most likely out of his fear of Charles V’s response (of Spain, brother to Catherine and had military control over all of Rome). He had already been held in his quarters, almost as a hostage. Clement tried to appease both sides; using the stated reason of the length of Henry’s marriage (18 years) to Catherine was highly unusual for annulment, and the couple’s marriage had obviously already been consummated, making it concrete. (1517 – 1564: The Reformation)

Henry decided to deny papal authority on the matter though because he still sought a male heir, this time by Anne Boleyn (an attendant to Catherine and Protestant). In 1534 the Church of England was solidified (certain overtures towards an individual national church of England had been taken previously however) with the passage of the Act of Supremacy (of 1534). (Queen Elizabeth I, Gloriana)

This law asserted that the head of the Church in England was the English Sovereign (Henry VIII) and that they alone had control over all religious affairs in the Kingdom. (The Reformation) Interestingly and conveniently enough the laity and the vested officials of the Church were cleared of any offense and given a chance to convert. Most took the opportunity as it was given another such law (Treason Act of 1534) made it an offense of treason to dispute the Act of Supremacy or associate at all with the Catholic Church. (1517 – 1564: The Reformation)

Some monks and nuns who enjoyed prosperous living were somewhat put-off by these changes. The fact that the monks and nuns were some of the richest and most powerful Catholics in England didn’t bode well for the new Anglican Church. Henry chose to dissolve most of the monasteries instead of having to deal with a constantly critical religious “aristocracy” that was propagated by the Catholic Church in England. (The Reformation)

This is actually a point that religion of the period had come to some consensus on, and was one of the major outcomes of The English Reformation that helped to make England a dominant empire entering the 1600’s. (The Reformation) Henry figured that the priesthood shouldn’t live an exceedingly affluent and influential life without having loyalty to the Crown, and thus the people of England. He figured that it was, after all, the priesthood’s duty to aid and help the populace. (Lace 62)

Thomas Cramer, a minister to Henry VIII compiled a report on the monasteries of the time, saying that the monks were lazy and remiss in their duties. His auditors used a particularly trick line of questioning. They would ask if the monks were honoring their vows, referring to vows of silence. If the monk refused to respond he, would be placed under arrest for contempt of the Crown. If he answered that he had kept his vow then his membership in the order was terminated. (The Reformation) Henry then went through several wives and the officials of the new Church debated dogma. (1517 – 1564: The Reformation)

Following the death of Henry VIII the crown briefly went to Edward VI, who was only 9 when he took the throne. During his 6 year reign the advisors to the crown argued of who would control England. The power of the Anglican Church only grew during this period, with it putting out the first Book of Common Prayer and formalizing its dogma. (The Reformation)

The Book of Common Prayer was an English language bible available to the public, much in line with Martin Luther’s concept of general priesthood. General priesthood was major tenant of Protestantism, stating that all baptized members of a church are priests and thus able to read, study, and interpret the bible. (The Reformation) Interestingly, Henry had the language of sermons and service’s changed to English and had the Bible printed in English (the precursor to the Book of Common Prayer) even though he banned the general public from reading it outside of church because of his interest in English scholars over students of Latin. (1517 – 1564: The Reformation)

These were practices that the Catholic Church did not endorse, because they thought Latin was the universal language. The Papacy had felt in this period that a person shouldn’t be allowed into the Priesthood unless they had extensively studied both Latin and the Bible, and both under the watchful eye of another, more senior member of the Church. (1517 – 1564: The Reformation) Even now in the Catholic Church reading the Bible outside of the presence of a clergyman isn’t explicitly banned it is somewhat frowned upon (in theory if not in practice at least, it is almost never an enforced rule) the logic being that it is not a large leap from reading scripture to misconstruing its meaning without the careful guidance of the Church’s officials. (The Reformation)

Following his death was the extremely brief installation (9 days) of his cousin, Jane Grey, a devout Protestant. (1517 – 1564: The Reformation) She was deposed, imprisoned and executed by Mary I, mostly because she was a potential rallying point for the people who wanted a Protestant monarch. Mary promptly took the throne, promptly converted the nation back to Catholicism in 1553 by repealing the Act of Supremacy. (Lofts 114)

Before long the monasteries and convents returned, but in ferocious support of the crown due to the presence of a Spanish Queen and Catholic government. It didn’t hurt that most of the ministers who were converting to Catholicism were converting back to Catholicism. This was a decision that they embraced in part due to the Mary’s rule but also because the Catholic Church had established history, dogma, leadership and methodology. (Lace 49) The widespread public in England supported the decision because the Catholic Church of the era had all the things listed above, all the things that the English one lacked. (Lofts 112)

Before long she acquired the appellation Bloody Mary because of how fiercely and doggedly she persecuted the Protestants in England at this time. The Tower of London acquired a reputation for holding not just criminals, but also holy men, generally given a last chance to atone before their execution, generally by burning at the stake. (Lofts 116)

Mary’s incendiary period of government came to a close in 1558 when she fell dangerously ill. The royal succession was called into question because of Elizabeth’s inheritance of the English crown wasn’t recognized because she was born of the unrecognized marriage between Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. (Queen Elizabeth I, Gloriana) Mary personally made the final decision from her deathbed, where she recognized Elizabeth as her heir. She died shortly after; marking the last time that a Catholic has ever enjoyed the office of the English Monarchy. (Lofts 117)

Elizabeth was crowned and soon made sweeping religious changes; albeit back to the more moderate Protestantism of Henry’s reign. She passed a new Act of Supremacy and Act of Uniformity concurrently in 1559, with lukewarm reception from the bishops. (1517 – 1564: The Reformation) These laws changed the national religion back to Anglicanism; the clergy had to swear their obedience to Elizabeth (who was declared the “Supreme Governor of the Church”.) The laws said that citizens must attend an Anglican sermon once per month. Lastly, all subsequent people in succession to the thrown must be baptized Anglicans, even to this day. (The Reformation)

There were a few differences between Elizabeth’s Anglican Church and Henry’s. First of all the punishment for “recusants”, or Catholics who refused to give up mass and attend an Anglican ceremony was surprisingly mild, just a small fine. (The Reformation) It is easy to overstate how draconian this may seem in a modern light. However in Eastern Europe that kind of freedom in thought wasn’t commonly found elsewhere, mostly because of the Spanish Inquisition. (1517 – 1564: The Reformation) Elizabeth herself was quoted as saying, “There is only one Christ, Jesus, one faith. All else is a dispute over trifles.” Again, a somewhat conservative statement if taken at face value today, but when taken in the context of the events and schisms surrounding the occasion of its utterance, it is exceedingly remarkable as one of the great libertarian sentiments of the era. (Queen Elizabeth I, Gloriana) Catholic bishops (posts that were given by Mary) in hiding were somewhat more doggedly pursued though because of the insecurity of Elizabeth’s post. Her council regulated the deportation of most bishops in Great Britain. (Lofts 120)

The major difference between Elizabeth’s Anglican Church and Henry’s was actually in the Bible though. Elizabeth changed Henry’s rule, figuring that study of the Bible should not only allowed by the widespread populace, but actually encouraged. (Lace 60) All around England people began to learn to read for the purpose of reading the Bible. The English Renaissance of Elizabeth’s and her descendant’s reigns that included the luminaries of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow, Francis Bacon, John Milton and Thomas Morley was in no small part because of the Tudor’s (and Elizabeth’s) indirect and direct support of the arts. (Queen Elizabeth I, Gloriana)

England’s stance as a dominant power in that age was the result of several factors. While there is no single overarching reason or cause for this success in statecraft and government of the age’s England, one cannot discount the contributing factors in this era. Much like the old adage “For Want of a Nail”, the events leading up to the creation of the Church of England and the English Reformation’s effects upon the outcomes of history’s flow are especially startling to think about. If it weren’t for a political marriage not yielding viable male heirs and if it weren’t for Charles V’s occupation of Rome, there probably would never have been a Church of England. If it hadn’t of been for the serendipity of Mary announcing Elizabeth’s succession the English Church might not have made it out of the footnotes of history books. If it weren’t for the Church of England there wouldn’t have been the explosion and the outpouring of culture that helped to establish England as an economic, military and cultural center in the world.

Works Cited

“1517 – 1564: The Reformation.” Anglican Timeline. Ed Friedlander. 10 Sept 2000

16 Nov. 2007 <http://justus.anglican.org/resources/timeline/06reformation.html>.

Lace, William W. World History Series: Elizabethan England. San Diego: Lucent Books 1995.

Lofts, Norah. Queens of England. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1977.

“The Reformation.” History Learning Site. Chris Trueman. Chris Trueman. 12 Nov 2007. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/reformation.htm>.

“Queen Elizabeth I, Gloriana.” Britannia History. 2007. Britannia.com. 17 Nov. 2007

<http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/e1r/gloriana.html>.