Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for December 18.
Today is a big day in religious martyrs. Today in 1555 John Philpott, a Protestant martyr, was burned at Smithfield, as Mary I tried to bring England back into the Catholic fold. He had been guilty of writing letters to other Protestants encouraging them to stay strong in their faith. Twenty years later, in 1575, the Catholic Nicholas Harpsfield, who had been responsible for the persecution of Protestants like Philpott, during Mary’s reign. This century was tumultuous in England as both Protestants and Catholics believed that their way was Truth with a Capital T, and persecuted the other side. Interestingly, exactly 100 years after Philpott’s death, in 1665, lawmakers in England declare that Jewish people can come back officially, after the Edict of Expulsion in 1290. Perhaps the experience of going through a Civil War in the name of religion was making England a bit more mellow?
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where we did an entire series on the Reformation in England.