The Tudor Dynasty, Part 4, Queen Mary

BillJones

This is a groat or 4 pence of Queen Mary. To be honest I didn't want to sink a fortune into this British monarch's coin because she is my least favorite of all the British leaders. She was cruel, evil woman who punished people because of their religion. Her victims, which totaled something like 287 people, included the rich and the poor. One could understand taking revenge on protestant the clergyman who granted King Henry’s divorce from Mary’s mother, but when she had a simple peasant woman burned at the stake for her religious beliefs, her brutality went too far.

Execution by burning at the stake was particularly gruesome form of execution, especially the way Mary’s henchmen practiced it. In the early days, Mary’s henchmen didn’t know how to do it. The fires to too small and the victims suffered greatly. In attempt to relieve their suffering, some of the condemned hid a bag of gunpowder under their clothes hopping that when the flames reached it, an explosion would relieve their suffering.

There are some more interesting coins that show portraits of Mary and King Philip facing one another. It was my experience that the dealers who had these pieces wanted extremely high prices for them that were well over the catalog and auction results. I simply refused to pay those numbers and bought this piece for a lot less money. “It fills the hole,” and for this leader, that is sufficient.

Mary I, The Cruel Reactionary, 1553 - 1558
Mary I was very much her mother's daughter and some historians have described her as "a psychological mess." She was a devout Catholic and during her rule she did everything she could to restore the Roman Church as the British state religion. That included burning almost 300 Protestants at the stake, which was her chosen form of execution for heretics. One of her most prominent victims was Bishop Thomas Crammer who had granted Henry VIII's divorce from Mary's mother, Katherine of Aragon. That divorce also had Mary declared a bastard, which deprived her of her legal rights.

Mary objected to marrying any Englishman because the marriage vow required her to obey her husband. As queen she was not required to obey any man. Instead she decided to marry a foreigner, and her choice was King Philip II of Spain. That choice did not go down well with the British people because Philip was the leader of the strongest nation in Europe and a major rival of England. The British did not want to become a de facto province of Spain. Although Philip declared that he would have no claim the British crown if Mary died, he remained an unpopular choice as Mary's spouse.

Like her father Mary was determined to have an heir to her crown. Mary's attempts have a child were frustrated by the fact that she and Philip were often apart. She had two false pregnancies which resulted in disappointment. The second one turned out to be an abdominal tumor which ended her life.

As she lay dying, Mary acknowledged that her sister, Elizabeth, would be her successor. Much to Mary's regret, Elizabeth was a Protestant who would end Mary's drive to restore Catholicism as the official state religion. Mary's cruel religious policies insured that most future British monarchs would avoid links to the Catholic Church. It also probably had an effect upon America's founding fathers who noted the strife that resulted from the establishment of a state sponsored religion. The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right of U.S. citizens to practice the religion of their choice.

SaorAlba

King Philip in his albeit brief visits to England found Mary quite repulsive with foul smelling breath and quite unattractive. It is no wonder that their encounters did not produce an heir to the throne. The one important aspect of this marriage in contrast to what Philip said publicly in England at the time, he effectively felt as though he was given license for claim to the English throne by reason of his religious views. This of course would culminate later into failed attempts to launch an attack on England - the final instance in 1588 saw the ruin of the Spanish navy and the triumph of a remarkably scrappy but small English navy into a force to be reckoned with for ages afterward.

Whilst her eventual heir, Elizabeth, had her own peculiarities she would evolve into one of the most remarkable leaders of that age. Whilst she was a Protestant she tended to be remarkably tolerant of Catholicism as long as it was not practiced out in the open. There can be no doubt that out of the ashes of the previous reign, Queen Elizabeth's reign ascended like a phoenix.

BillJones

Yes, Mary was small and had perpetual bad breath. Other than the fact that she was a royal, she wasn’t much of “a catch.” If her propensity to have people put to death was any indicator, she also probably had a nasty temper to boot. I’m sure you are getting the idea now that I am not a Mary fan.

EVillageProwler

But let's ask ourselves: who doesn't like a Bloody Mary cocktail?

asheland

Great thread, Bill!

BillJones

I was wondering if anybody would like this thread. As you may have gathered, I am not a fan of Mary.

There was another Mary who ruled with William after the Glorious Revolution. So far as I'm concerned she was okay.

EVillageProwler

@BillJones said:
I was wondering if anybody would like this thread. As you may have gathered, I am not a fan of Mary.

There was another Mary who ruled with William after the Glorious Revolution. So far as I'm concerned she was okay.

The second Mary was the daughter of Charles II. Father was Catholic, but daughter was Protestant. William, of Orange, wasn't even British. Too bad Mary didn't reign long; the coins of W&M are frequently scarce to rare whereas the coins of William III are usually common even in nice grade.

BillJones

Just to clarify the issue, if you care, death by burning at the stake was due to affiliation, not burning. The idea was to have the flames consume the oxigen around the victim, not burn they to death.

Mary called herself "a Christian." Her policies were hardly "Christian."

Analyst

Mr. Jones: I am not a fan of Mary.

I would not say that I am a fan either. But, all the conflicts, which were often violent, between Protestants and Catholics from the 1400s to the 1600s cannot be blamed on Queen Mary I. There was much religious strife on the continent of Europe. Before passing judgement, it is important to understand the time period and also Mary's own personal history. To an extent, I discuss such issues in an article that I wrote years ago.

Rare English Gold Sovereign of Queen Mary I

BillJones

I am not blaming Queen Mary for all of the conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, but there is a difference between deaths that occur between combatants – members of the armed forces – and the willful execution of civilians. Mary stepped over the line big time.

As for the wars fought over religion, it’s one of the main reasons why I not a religious person. I believe that there is a Supreme Being, but when you start talking about picking the sword do in those who don’t share your religious beliefs or start using the government to force your belief on others, I’m out.