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Abstract

This dissertation analyses the 1566 vestment controversy within the Elizabethan church. The controversy between the leadership of the church found in the monarch and appointed Bishops against non-conformists over the wearing of vestments such as the surplice during the administration of the sacraments. This is done through the study of the extensive existing historiography on the controversy and the wider English reformation, the use of private correspondence from both sides and the study of public pamphlets printed and published by various theologians which detail theological arguments for their respective sides. Using these sources I examine the relationship between non-conformists and the established church in the early Elizabethan period asking why some Protestants conformed to the commands of the monarch and church while others refused and rejected their authority.

I argue in this dissertation both for the importance of studying the vestment controversy when looking at the Elizabethan church/society and also that the divide between the two sides of this controversy, while both Protestant, is immense and goes much deeper than just a disagreement over the wearing of vestments.  I do this through the examination of the theological objections non-conformists had against the wearing of vestments and obeying the authority of the church. The study of these theological issues then allows for a wider consideration about how the non-conformist objection to vestments both reflect and impact wider Elizabethan society, such as finding their views on authority within the church are also mirrored in the authority of the monarch over the nation. This dissertation has found that a study of the Elizabethan vestments controversy allows for a view into the early modern understanding of clothing and material culture, a consideration of the nature of the early Elizabethan church and offers a window into the worldview of non-conformists from this period and how they related to wider society around them.

Course: History - BA (Hons) - C1087

Date Deposited: 2021-07-27

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13699.html