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No one can say who history will choose to remember, or for what they will be remembered. Sometimes a lifetime of achievement can be forgotten because of a single misdeed. Few historic figures relate to this statement more than the English Queen Mary Tudor. Remembered today as a drink, or as a ghost story told by young children, Queen Mary was the first self-reigning queen of England during a time of radical religious change within her realm. The atrocities she committed during her reign would forever live on, and earn her the nickname Bloody Mary.
Mary Tudor was born in the year 1516 to King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Although he wanted a son, King Henry was very fond and proud of Mary, whom he showed off to many people in the castle and in the London markets. As he was showing her off to a French envoy, King Henry was heard shouting “By immortal God, Master Ambassador, this girl never cries!”1 Beginning at the tender age of six, Mary was offered up for marriage multiple times, including to her cousin Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, and to the son of King Francis I of France, and even to King Francis himself. She was crowned by her father as the first princess of Wales.
Because Catherine had not given him a son, King Henry sought to annul their marriage. However, at the insistence of Catherine, Charles V and papacy refused to grant Henry the annulment. Henry did not take kindly to their refusal and sought to distance himself from their ecclesiastical rule to establish his own.With his new adviser, Thomas Cromwell, a known Protestant, by his side, King Henry announced the Act of Succession, formally separating the England from the authority of Rome. He then enacted the Act of Supremacy, which placed him as the head of the new Church of England.2
Much of northern England discontented with the current state of affairs. Growing ever more restless with rising taxes, hardships, and now the separation from the Roman Catholic Church, many villages began to revolt. Cromwell sought to quell the rebellion by enacting the Pilgrimage of Grace. Many monasteries and places of worship were burned to the ground while the government issued the Ten Articles of Religion, religious rules that had to be practiced, many of which heavily favored Protestant traditions. These actions only led to further uprisings that eventually posed a threat to King Henry’s rule.3
Once again under the guidance of Thomas Cromwell, King Henry executed over two-hundred of the insurgents, effectively ending the uprising. A young Mary watched as her father sentenced his enemies to death, establishing his power and right to reign through force. This display of power would shape Mary and her eventual reign as monarch.4
Mary was very close to her mother growing up, and believed very deeply in the Catholic traditions and values instilled in her at a young age. After Catherine’s annulment, Mary quickly sided with her mother and developed a deep hatred of Henry’s new wife, Anne Boleyn. Angry that Mary chose to side with Catherine instead of him, Henry separated Mary from her mother, stripped her of her title,which she would never regain in her lifetime. After the birth of her new half sister Elizabeth, Mary became illegitimate in the eyes of the royal court and lost all right to the throne. She was forced to live in Elizabeth’s house, where she was hated and reviled by her step mother Anne Boleyn until her execution years later. Scholars believe Mary suffered from congenital syphilis, which she inherited from her father. This, coupled with the psychological stress she endured, caused her to spend the next several years in and out of severe illness.5
On 12 October 1537, Edward VI was born to King Henry and his third wife, Jane Seymour. Now Henry finally had a son who would succeed him upon his death, which happened in 1547. Under Edward’s rule, Protestantism was given Edward’s full sponsorship, and an English Reformation ensued, which brought a thorough-going persecution of all things Catholic. Despite this, Mary continued to practice her faith, holding mass in her private chapel, which was in open defiance of the many religious laws put in place at Edward’s behest. Edward’s rule, however, was short lived; he reigned only six years before dying of illness. Before he died, Edward altered the line of succession to ensure that Lady Jane Gray, a Protestant and grand-daughter of King Henry’s sister, would take the throne instead of his half-sister Mary. Lady Jane became queen, and Mary was forced to flee for her life from the castle. She was faced with a choice: flee the country, or try to oppose her rule.6
To the surprise of many, Mary garnered large support and loyalty from many subjects, including East Anglian nobility. In a matter of days she had amassed an army strong enough to oppose the English council and end the rule of the nine-day queen. At 37 years old, Mary Tudor ascended to the throne. In 1554 Queen Mary issued an order, which declared that queens held equal power to kings, effectively becoming the first regnant queen of England.7 As a monarch Mary worked ceaselessly in the name of her kingdom. It was said that she woke up at dusk to pray, then worked in government well passed midnight. Despite the struggles she had endured throughout life, and the cruelty she later become known for, Mary was described by many as kind and caring woman. She was known for interest in fine jewelry while still insisting she remained a simple woman, with an inclination towards gambling.8
Mary immediately worked towards reestablishing the papacy’s control over England. She began a reverse Reformation, undoing many of the religious laws in place and replacing them with new laws meant to reestablish Catholicism in England. Many disagreed with her efforts, and did not believe she had a right rule. Uprisings began as people defied many of the religious laws she put into place, practicing their faith in secret as Catholics had done only a few years ago. As her father had done before her, Queen Mary established her power and authority by executing all those who defied the new laws. Protestant prisoners were dragged from their cells, tied to stakes, and burned alive for all to see. Often times these prisoners were covered in hot tar to make the flames burn longer. Many of the people executed were young. Mothers were burned alongside their children. An estimated 294 were believed to have died under her rule9.
For Queen Mary, these executions were not just punishing those who broke the religious laws of the land, but a way of purifying England so as to restore it to its former state of communion with Rome. As she had witnessed from her father before her, public executions were also an efficient way to establish power and dominance over the people, great and small. This may have been a necessary power play, since many doubted whether she actually had the strength to rule, because she was a woman. These executions did produce the desire outcome; however, the people sacrificed to the flames soon became martyrs, and Protestant sentiment grew even stronger among its followers. Those who escaped her purge began referring to the queen as “bloody Mary,” because of all of the Protestant blood she had shed.10
Despite the loyalty she had garnered among her followers, many people still believed a queen would be too weak to rule on her own. Many members of her council had also served under Lady Jane as well, providing more obstacles for her to overcome. Mary knew she needed to produce an heir to ensure that Elizabeth would never ascend to the throne. She married King Phillip II of Spain, son of Emperor Charles V, a decision that many considered to be the worst in her reign. Sir Thomas Wyatt, a Protestant leader, staged a rebellion against the matter, led by many other prominent Protestants. Many years into their tumultuous relationship,Phillip convinced Mary to aid Spain in his war against France. which she did, and it resulted in massive losses for the English navy.11
Like her brother before her, Mary’s reign was short lived, lasting only five years. She died in the year 1558, after finally succumbing to illness.12 Elizabeth was then crowned reigning monarch, devoting her time as queen to rebuilding the Church of England. As her father had done before her, Elizabeth sought to establish a middle ground between the two warring religions. She instilled traditions from both Catholicism and Protestantism to establish peace among the people.
Though a trail blazer in every sense of the word, Queen Mary is instead remembered as the “Tyrant Tudor” reviled by many for the ferocious acts she committed in the name of her faith.13
- Neil Jones, “The Rise and Fall of Bloody Mary,” Britain 84, no. 2 (April 2016): 66. ↵
- Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, January 2016, s.v. “Henry VIII,” by William T. Walker. ↵
- Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, January 2016, s.v. “Pilgrimage of Grace,” by Sharon L. Arnoult. ↵
- Niki Incorvia, “A Threshold of Genocide: Microgenocide in Mary Tudor’s Revenge on Protestant England and Catherine de Medici’s Massacre of the Huguenots,” International Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Society 5, no. 3, (September 2015): 54. ↵
- Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, April 2016, s.v. “1516–58 Mary I, Queen of England.” ↵
- Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2016, s.v. “Mary I.,” by Ann Weikel. ↵
- Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2016, s.v. “Mary I,” by Ann Weikel. ↵
- Neil Jones, “The Rise and Fall of Bloody Mary,” Britain 84, no. 2 (April 2016): 66. ↵
- Niki Incorvia, “A Threshold of Genocide: Microgenocide in Mary Tudor’s Revenge on Protestant England and Catherine de Medici’s Massacre of the Huguenots,” International Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Society 5, no. 3 (September 2015): 54–55. ↵
- Niki Incorvia, “A Threshold of Genocide: Microgenocide in Mary Tudor’s Revenge on Protestant England and Catherine de Medici’s Massacre of the Huguenots,” International Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Society 5, no. 3 (September 2015): 54–55. ↵
- Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, April 2016, s.v. “1516–58 Mary I, Queen of England.” ↵
- Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, April 2016, s.v. “1516–58 Mary I, Queen of England.” ↵
- Neil Jones, “The Rise and Fall of Bloody Mary,” Britain 84, no. 2 (April 3, 2016): 66. ↵
This Post Has 147 Comments
This was an interesting article. How Mary “punished” her followers just like her Father goes to show just how impressionable children can be. For a child to witness her Father order the death of innocent people can really leave a mark and ultimately determine who they grow to be.
I really enjoyed how detailed this article is. I had only brief information about how Mary Tudor got the name “Bloody Mary,” but the article has good details. It seems more that her father drove her to feel she needed to be tyrant and above him to prove herself as a strong Queen. It is really sad however how she slaughtered all those people in the name of her religion.
Mary Tudor did not have a perfect childhood even though she was in the royal family. Her father wanted to put an end to the marriage since Catherine did not give birth to a son. Then she gets a stepmom and she even dislikes Mary after giving birth to Elizabeth. Even her father stopped loving Mary because she chose to side with her mom. Many years later she got to rule and stand up for herself a bit.
Queen Mary Tudor’s reputation appears to be somewhat undeserved. She was brutal to her enemies, but she was not any worse than many other monarchs from her time. She seems to have been heavily influenced by both her parents. In her faith and values, Queen Mary was very similar to her mother, but in her political strategies, she was quite similar to her father. Her decision to marry King Phillip II of Spain certainly was a poor move. He caused significant political difficulties for her in England, and he convinced her to enter a damaging war with France. This was a very interesting article!
Only time I had herd about “Bloody” Mary was the scary stories I was told as a kid, saying it in the dark in front of a mirror. To think she had a very powerful control over her kingdom while she was queen. Burning anyone on the stake should they oppose the laws and even the religious ones. In a way, fear was often used to control and maintain loyalty from your subjects. A very well informed article, great work.
Queen Mary was born as a bright, loving person; however, her father’s alienation actions against her mother and her had formed a devil inside an innocent child. Besides, Queen Mary is an example of how her father’s actions had made huge impacts on her as she grew up as well as her way to rule England.
Originally, Queen Mary was believed to take throne, even though she was a woman, she desired to follow into her father’s steps. I believe that the separation of her mother and father made her bitter and mad, she was not a caring person anymore and she turned on hatred for Protestants. I believe that she was who she turned out to be because King Henry established a new rule in England and used hatred and force to get dominance, like Queen Mary did as well.
I am totally surprised and afflicted by the brutal way in which in ancient times protests were controlled. Mary Tudor, however, fought for a certainly just cause: the reinstatement of Catholicism. Although he had diverted and adopted the bloody decisions of his father, Mary had the talent to govern, this is a fact that must be recognized. For that century, definitely, Queen Mary broke any stereotype scheme, taking an incredible step towards the development of society as we know it.
This was a really neat and interesting article about Mary Tudor or more commonly known as Bloody Mary. I knew she killed a lot of people but I never knew that her family more or less disowned her and that she was treated poorly as a child. I think it is really neat how she changed the way things were run in England, queens had the same power as kings and that is still carried on to this day.
I learned about Queen Mary in history class and remembered it because I do like all about ancient kings and queens and how they ruled. After reading this article, I thin queen Mary was born as a caring and loving person but all the actions that her father took against her and her mother created that evil inside of her which she used to rule. She adapted the same evil rule of her father’s because she saw how effective it was and how thousands of people would bow before him because of the fear they had for him. I also feel sad for the people she killed, included children just because they had a different way to worship God.