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Why Did Mary Treat Cranmer The Way She Did?

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History Homework – Mary 1) How did Mary treat Cranmer? Very harshly, she made him watch his friends die. And then she made him stay in nasty conditions in a prison until he signed to change his religion. But this was a trick and she burnt him anyway. 2) Why do you think Mary treated Cranmer the way she did? Partly for revenge: he let Henry divorce Catherine of Aragon (her mother) and this ruined her childhood. And partly to set an example. She was Catholic, he was Protestant and he was also the Archbishop of Canterbury so burning him would have a large impact. 3) Was she successful in her aims? Sort of. She didn’t manage to change his faith but she did manage to set an example and torture someone she hated. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury so him changing his faith could be very …show more content…

Explain why. Cranmer announced that he hadn’t changed his faith and that he was still a Protestant. He burned the “Hand that sins”, the one that he signed the paper changing his religion with. He had no regrets and was incredibly brave and defied Mary. He didn’t want to die in vain. But Mary made a foolish mistake by letting him speak. John Foxe’s “Book of Martyrs” was published in 1563 and copies were placed in the church by royal order. 5) What is the significance of the date of publication? Elizabeth was in power at the time and she was a Protestant Queen. As he could only write nice things about Protestantism, he may have given a biased account. The book was also published seven years after the burning of Cranmer. Also, Mary was dead. Foxe could say whatever he liked about her. 6) Where do you think Foxe’s sympathies lie, with Catholics or Protestants? Explain. Foxe’s sympathies lie with Protestants because he was a Protestant and Elizabeth was a Protestant Queen – He wouldn’t’ve been allowed to publish the book if it wasn’t from a Protestant perspective. 7) What effect do you think the book had in shaping opinions about

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