Religion, History and G. R Balleine – Part 4
(The Reformation in Jersey)
By Jason St John Nicolle
From "The Pilot", 1991
Part IV The Victory of Protestantism
SO the Court of Jersey History reconvenes once more; the jury take their seats, and Advocate Balleine rises to his feet.
Last month, the counsel for the defence argued that it would be wrong to assume that Jerseymen and women were dissatisfied with Catholicism on the eve of the Reformation, and I am prepared to accept that Islanders continued to spend time and money on ensuring the provision of anniversary masses, even as late as the 1540's.
"But so what? Whatever the popularity of pre-Reformation Catholicism, it did not prevent Protestantism from gaining a strong and almost immediate hold over the hearts and minds of Islanders. Their religious enthusiasm was simply transferred from the old faith to the new.
"It took but five years for the Reformed faith to achieve its victory. The official propagation of the new faith seems to have begun in 1548, when the first moves were made towards confiscating church property. The same year saw the start of the destruction of 'objects of superstition', such as wayside crosses, stained glass and statues, as well as a States' grant to two Frenchmen, Martin Langeois and Thomas Johanne, for 'teaching the people the pure and sincere word of God, according to the Gospel text.' They must have been effective teachers: less than two years later„ we find the King's Counsellors writing to thank the Island for 'earnestly following and embracing his Majesty's laws and proceedings in the order of the Divine Service and ministration of the Sacrament.'
"The re-imposition of Catholicism during the short reign of Mary, Edward's successor, merely served to underline the Island's commitment to the Reformed Faith. Some of the Island clergy resigned their livings rather than renounce their Protestantism. A Calvinist chronicler, writing in Jersey some thirty years later, tells of Islanders who used to cross over to Protestant churches in Normandy, having 'no wish to assist at Mass or in the Idolatry and Superstition of the Papists.' And on Mary's death in 1558, the Island lost no time in reasserting its Protestantism; within a year, the English government was commending its conformity to the new Elizabethan Church Settlement. By 1562, Jersey's Protestantism was being held up as an example to her recalcitrant sister Island.
"All in all, the evidence points to but one conclusion: the victory of Protestantism was complete by the early 1550's. So the prosecution has re-affirmed the case for a Reformation "from below"; how will the defence respond?
Was Protestantism really established in Jersey by the early 1550's? Let us consider the evidence on which the prosecution has based its case.
"We should not make too much of the letter of 1550, praising the Islanders for 'earnestly following and embracing' the new Protestant services. If the King's Counsellors were certain of the Island's commitment to the new faith, why does so much of the letter go on to deal with what the Islanders should do 'percase any scruple or doubt arise' amongst them? If they had already willingly embraced the new faith, why do the Counsellors finish up with a heavy-handed reference to the benefits of conformity: 'whereby his Highness in all your reasonable suits may be more and more inclined to be your good and gracious lord and we the readier to advance the same .. .'?
"We should always be suspicious of taking such public letters at their face value, especially when their authors have no first-hand knowledge of the situation they are describing. Fortunately we can compare the official version of events against a much more reliable source: the private correspondence which passed between the Duke of Somerset and Henry Cornish, his Lieutenant on the Island. Part of their correspondence has survived, and can be found amongst the Seymour Papers at Longleat House in Wiltshire. Two letters from 1549 show Cornish worried about the activities of certain preachers who were going about the Island persuading the 'poor and ignorant' that Catholicism would be restored. Catholic priests were still preaching against the new faith some three years later, when we learn from another source that such a sermon had caused a tumult at St Martin's.
"But what about all those Jerseymen who refused to accept the re-imposition of Catholicism under Mary? Is it not significant that the Calvinist chronicler can only come up with the names of some fourteen 'men of means' who did so, when the population of Jersey numbered about seven or eight thousand? And does not seem strange that there is no reference to underground Protestant churches in Jersey, tending the flame of the true faith during the Marian night?
"And did the accession of a young Protestant prince really affirm the Victory of Protestantism in his realms and dominions? If Elizabeth had died after short reign, or indeed at any time in the 1560's or 70' she would have been succeeded on the throne by Catholic — Mary Queen of Scots. Jersey's conformity might well be held up as an example by outsiders, but the Island authorities were bothered about Catholic sympathisers well into the 1560's, ordering destruction of Catholic service books and a public flogging for a man caught asserting the truth of the faith. In short, even twenty years after its introduction into Jersey, the Victory of Protestantism was far from complete.
At this point, the jury see Advocate Balleine rising on more to address the court. How will he respond to to arguments put forward by the defence? Unfortunately, they will have to wait another month to find out.
(The Reformation in Jersey)
By Jason St John Nicolle
From "The Pilot", 1991
Part IV The Victory of Protestantism
SO the Court of Jersey History reconvenes once more; the jury take their seats, and Advocate Balleine rises to his feet.
Last month, the counsel for the defence argued that it would be wrong to assume that Jerseymen and women were dissatisfied with Catholicism on the eve of the Reformation, and I am prepared to accept that Islanders continued to spend time and money on ensuring the provision of anniversary masses, even as late as the 1540's.
"But so what? Whatever the popularity of pre-Reformation Catholicism, it did not prevent Protestantism from gaining a strong and almost immediate hold over the hearts and minds of Islanders. Their religious enthusiasm was simply transferred from the old faith to the new.
"It took but five years for the Reformed faith to achieve its victory. The official propagation of the new faith seems to have begun in 1548, when the first moves were made towards confiscating church property. The same year saw the start of the destruction of 'objects of superstition', such as wayside crosses, stained glass and statues, as well as a States' grant to two Frenchmen, Martin Langeois and Thomas Johanne, for 'teaching the people the pure and sincere word of God, according to the Gospel text.' They must have been effective teachers: less than two years later„ we find the King's Counsellors writing to thank the Island for 'earnestly following and embracing his Majesty's laws and proceedings in the order of the Divine Service and ministration of the Sacrament.'
"The re-imposition of Catholicism during the short reign of Mary, Edward's successor, merely served to underline the Island's commitment to the Reformed Faith. Some of the Island clergy resigned their livings rather than renounce their Protestantism. A Calvinist chronicler, writing in Jersey some thirty years later, tells of Islanders who used to cross over to Protestant churches in Normandy, having 'no wish to assist at Mass or in the Idolatry and Superstition of the Papists.' And on Mary's death in 1558, the Island lost no time in reasserting its Protestantism; within a year, the English government was commending its conformity to the new Elizabethan Church Settlement. By 1562, Jersey's Protestantism was being held up as an example to her recalcitrant sister Island.
"All in all, the evidence points to but one conclusion: the victory of Protestantism was complete by the early 1550's. So the prosecution has re-affirmed the case for a Reformation "from below"; how will the defence respond?
Was Protestantism really established in Jersey by the early 1550's? Let us consider the evidence on which the prosecution has based its case.
"We should not make too much of the letter of 1550, praising the Islanders for 'earnestly following and embracing' the new Protestant services. If the King's Counsellors were certain of the Island's commitment to the new faith, why does so much of the letter go on to deal with what the Islanders should do 'percase any scruple or doubt arise' amongst them? If they had already willingly embraced the new faith, why do the Counsellors finish up with a heavy-handed reference to the benefits of conformity: 'whereby his Highness in all your reasonable suits may be more and more inclined to be your good and gracious lord and we the readier to advance the same .. .'?
"We should always be suspicious of taking such public letters at their face value, especially when their authors have no first-hand knowledge of the situation they are describing. Fortunately we can compare the official version of events against a much more reliable source: the private correspondence which passed between the Duke of Somerset and Henry Cornish, his Lieutenant on the Island. Part of their correspondence has survived, and can be found amongst the Seymour Papers at Longleat House in Wiltshire. Two letters from 1549 show Cornish worried about the activities of certain preachers who were going about the Island persuading the 'poor and ignorant' that Catholicism would be restored. Catholic priests were still preaching against the new faith some three years later, when we learn from another source that such a sermon had caused a tumult at St Martin's.
"But what about all those Jerseymen who refused to accept the re-imposition of Catholicism under Mary? Is it not significant that the Calvinist chronicler can only come up with the names of some fourteen 'men of means' who did so, when the population of Jersey numbered about seven or eight thousand? And does not seem strange that there is no reference to underground Protestant churches in Jersey, tending the flame of the true faith during the Marian night?
"And did the accession of a young Protestant prince really affirm the Victory of Protestantism in his realms and dominions? If Elizabeth had died after short reign, or indeed at any time in the 1560's or 70' she would have been succeeded on the throne by Catholic — Mary Queen of Scots. Jersey's conformity might well be held up as an example by outsiders, but the Island authorities were bothered about Catholic sympathisers well into the 1560's, ordering destruction of Catholic service books and a public flogging for a man caught asserting the truth of the faith. In short, even twenty years after its introduction into Jersey, the Victory of Protestantism was far from complete.
At this point, the jury see Advocate Balleine rising on more to address the court. How will he respond to to arguments put forward by the defence? Unfortunately, they will have to wait another month to find out.
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