Maligned Mary 1

Instructions

TW/CW: blood, (literally) insane and creepy humans, mvrd3r -- 2nd point: executions-- Another reason people often accuse Mary of being “bloody” is because of her ruthless killing and executions of protestants and heretics. However, Mary was not responsible for as many executions as other rulers during her reign, and her reasons for executions were valid in the context of the 1500s. Mary executed an estimated 300 people during her five-year reign (“Killer King”). At the beginning of Mary’s rule in 1554, there was a rebellion against her, “yet she organized the defense of London and the uprising was put down with little bloodshed. Only about 100 of the ordinary rebels were executed” (O’Connor). Mary was not acting out of line from any other rulers at that time. For a ruler to have traitors executed would be completely warranted. This means approximately 200 citizens could have possibly been executed for heresy over the course of five years. Yet, in reality, the number was even less than 200. Not all of the citizens executed after the rebellion were for heresy. For example, on October 28th, 1555, two men were hung for robbery (“Diary: 1555”). There were many situations like this, when people would receive reasonable punishments for the crimes they committed, and many of the executed prisoners would face similar punishments today. As for the people she executed for heresy, Mary only used force and bloodshed as a last resort, and she did not act out of cruelty (O’Connor). The way people thought and acted concerning religion in the 16th century was very different from the way people think now. Religion kept society together and played a crucial role in the 1500s, and this meant that "religious diversity could not be tolerated: it would subvert a spiritually healthy commonwealth and an orderly government" (Weikel). Heresy was punishable by burning at the stake, and this was not only accepted by the people, it was expected. Mary believed that it was her duty, given by God, to restore Catholicism to England. It was the Pope who told her that she had to go further than simply the restoration of the Catholic faith and told her that she had to punish the citizens who did not convert to Catholicism (O'Connor). It was not in Mary’s original plan to punish those who chose to remain protestant, even though it was within the “context of a European drive against heresy and a belief system which saw religious truth as a matter of life and death” (Wooding). In fact, Mary was opposed to the idea but the Pope convinced her that she had to and that it was God’s plan. Lastly, other rulers who held power around the same time as Mary had a much higher death toll. Mary's father, King Henry VIII, executed roughly 57,000 people during his reign (“Killer King”), and Mary’s half-sister, Elizabeth, although there is not an exact number, executed many people for their faith as well (McIlvenna). King Henry and Queen Elizabeth both executed citizens for treason, heresy, or for not acknowledging the current monarch as head of the church against their faith. But what was even worse was that they executed people for personal gain and motives, which Mary did not. For example, according to Bynum, King Henry “executed people if they did not agree with him or if they made his life more difficult. He had personal motives and questionable morals.” Henry once executed his chief advisor, Cromwell, on account of heresy, but the real reason was that Cromwell helped plan Henry’s wedding to Anne of Cleves. Another monarch, Elizabeth Bathory, tricked peasant girls into working for her in the castle. Elizabeth would sadistically torture the girls to the point of death and then drink and bathe in their blood (Malathronas). Bathory killed approximately 600 girls this way. Mary Tudor I did not execute very many people at all, especially in the context of the time during which she reigned, and compared to other rulers. Executing people, especially for heresy, was normal and not considered cruel. Mary's use of force was limited, and her motives were religious rather than personal. Even if Mary somehow was out of line by doing this, it was a very small number of people, and she questioned the ethics of it as well.