Social History in Perspective General Editor: Jeremy Black Social Hiswry in Perspective is a series of in-depth studies of the many topics in social, cultural and religious history for students. They also give the student clear surveys of the subject and present the most recent research in an accessible way. PUBUSHED John Belchem Popular Rrulicalism in Nineteenth-Century Britain Tim Hitchcock English Sexualities, 1700~1800 Sybil M. Jack Towns in T wior and Stuart Britain Hugh McLeod Religion and Sociery in England, 1850~1914 Christopher Marsh Popular Religion in Sixteenth-Century England N. L. Tranter British Population in the Twentieth Century Ian D. Whyte Scotland's Sociery and &onomy in Transition, c.J50~c.1760 FORTHCOMING Eric Acheson lAte Medieval Economy and Sociery Ian Archer Rebellion and Riot in England, 1360~1660 Jonathan Barry Religion and Sociery in England, 1603~ 176 0 A. L. Beier Early Modern London Sue Bruley Women's Century qf Change Andrew Charlesworth Popular Protest in Britain and Ireland, 1650~1870 Richard Connors The Growth qf Welfare in Hanoverian England, 1723~1793 Geoffrey Crossick A Hiswry qf London .from 1800 w 1939 Alistair Davies Culture and Sociery, 1900~1995 Simon Dentith Sociery and Cultural Form in the Nineteenth Century Martin Durham The Permissioe Sociery Peter Fleming Medieval Family and Household in England David Fowler Youth Culture in the Twentieth Century Malcolm Gaskill Witchcrqft in England, 1560~1760 Peter Gosden Education in the Twentieth Century Harry Goulboume Race Relations in Britain Since 1945 S. J. D. Green Religion and the Decline qf Christianiry in Modern Britain, 1880~1980 Paul Griffiths English Social Structure and the Social Order, 1500~1750 Anne Hardy Health and Medicine since 1860 Steve Hindle The Poorer Sort qf People in Seventeenth-Century England David Hirst Welfare and Sociery, 1832~ 1939 Helen Jewell Education in Early Modern Britain Titles continued overletif list continued from previous page Anne Kettle Social Structure in the Middle Ages Alan Kidd The State and the Poor, 183 4-1914 Peter Kirby and S. A. King British Lining Standards, 1700-1870 Arthur J. Mcivor Working in Britain, 1880-1950 Anthony Milton Church and Religion in England, 1603-1642 Michael Mullett Early Modern British Catholics, 1559--1829 Christine Peters Women in Early Modern Britain, 1690-1800 Barry Reay Rural Workers, 1830-1930 Richard Rex Heresy and Dissent in England, 1360-1560 John Rule lAbour and the State, 1700-1875 Pamela Sharpe Population and Socie~ in Britain, 1750-1900 Malcolm Smuts Culture and Power in England John Spurr English Puritanism, 1603-1689 W. B. Stephens Education in Industrial Socie~: Britain, 1780-1902 Heather Swanson Medi£oal British Toums David Taylor Crime, Policing and Punishment Benjamin Thompson Feudalism or liJrdship and Politics in Medi£oal England R. E. Tyson Population in Pre-Industrial Britain, 1500-1750 Garthine Walker Crime, Lo.w and Socie~ in Early Modern England Andy Wood The Crowd and Popular Politics in Early Modern England Please note that a sister series, British History in Perspective, is available which covers all the key topics in British political history. PoPULAR RELIGION IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLAND HoLDING THEIR PEAcE CHRISTOPHER MARsH Lecturer in History Qyeen's University rif Belfast © Christopher Marsh 1998 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensii;tg Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WlP 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his rights to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 1998 by MACMilLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN 978-0-333-61991-9 ISBN 978-1-349-26740-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-26740-8 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 Published in the United States of America 1998 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC. Scholarly and Reference Division 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 978-0-312-21093-9 cloth ISBN 978-0-312-21094-6 paperback For Margaret Spujford and Patrick Collinson How came it to pass that you were so ready to distroy and spoil the thing that you thought well of? Qyestion put to a man who, in the mid-sixteenth century, had participated in the despoiling ofR oche Abbl!)l in Yorkshire (British Library Add. MS 5813, reproduced in A. G. Dickens (ed.), Tudor Treatises, Yorkshire Archaeolo gical Socie~ (1959) p. 125) CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix 1 Introduction 1 Two Snapshots and an Enigma 1 What is Popular Religion, and Does it Matter? 6 How Can We Study Popular Religion? 9 Historiographical Outlines (and Battle-lines) 12 The Narrative Outline 17 2 Layfolk within the Church 27 The Centrality qf the Church 27 Participation in Church Services: the Opportunities 31 Participation in Church Services: the Response 43 Church Materials 55 Church Office 69 Confession and Catechism 79 The People and their Clergy 86 3 Layfolk alongside the Church 96 Extra-liturgical Festivity 96 Attitudes to the Church Courts 107 Forms of Fellowship 112 Testaments qf Faith 128 Piety in Print 138 'Magical' Religion 146 V1l Vlll Contents 4 Layfolk beyond the Church 155 7he Distribution if Dissent 157 Beliefs 163 Behaviour 168 Continuities and Interconnections 177 Attitudes to Dissent 184 Dissent and Popular Religion 192 5 Conclusions: The Con1pliance Conundrum 197 7he Relative Popularity if Old and New 198 The Roots if Obedience 201 Riformist Tactics 204 Continuities 209 The Flexibility if Faith 211 Popular Religion through the Riformation 214 Glossary 220 Notes and Riferences 225 Select Bibliograplry 244 Index 253 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book draws many of its examples from the primary research of other historians, and I would like to express my gratitude to all the scholars whose work has come under the pilferer's eye. More specifically, I wish to thank those who have read the typescript or discussed portions of it with me: Scott Dixon, Ian Green, David Hempton, Patrick Collinson and Margaret Spufford. My wife, Katie, read it at least twice - a uniquely heroic effort. The Queen's University of Belfast and the Leverhulme Trust provided me with time and money, and the book would not have been written without their combined generosity. Finally, I would like to thank all of the students who have taken my 'popular religion' course during the last five years. They have helped to shape my thoughts more extensively than they will realise. I remember well the first tutorial I hosted in Belfast: a nervous young lecturer, convinced that his task would be to prevent sectarian bitterness from boiling over, encountered an equally nervous group of students, each of them deeply anxious to avoid offending the sensibilities of the other participants. I learnt more from them on that day than they ever learnt from me. Sectarian assumptions are, of course, present, but they are not alone.