Timeline of the English Reformation

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Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
c. 1328	Birth ofJohn Wycliffe inYorkshire.	Ordained in September 1351,Master of Balliol College in 1360, Warden ofCanterbury College in 1365 and Rector ofSt Mary's, Lutterworth from 1374, John Wycliffe is earliest known teacher of evangelical ideas in England and a translator of the Bible into the vernacular Middle English. He is popularly known as themorning star orstellamatutina of theEnglish Reformation and both he and his followers (theLollards) were much invoked by later reformers. While Lollard influence on the Henrician Reformation was negligible, nevertheless Wycliffe's writings did influenceJan Hus who in turn influencedMartin Luther. The Lollards are also a key topic ofFoxes Book of Martyrs and their story did much to solidify the self understanding of the 16th century reformers.
1348-1350	TheBlack Death ravages England.	Considered to have been a major influence on the ideas of both Wycliffe and many other proto-Protestants.
c. 1377	Wycliffe publishedDe civili dominio	A scathing attack on church property and tithes. Set out Wycliffe's ideas ofdominion, the notion that the church should not have any property and that no member of its clergy should exercise political or judicial power.
1377	Wycliffe is censured byPope Gregory XI who orders church authorities in Oxford and London to begin an inquisition.
1377, 19 February	John Wycliffe summonsed by William Courtenay, Bishop of London, for an examination of heresy. In attending he was accompanied and supported byJohn of Gaunt,Henry Percy,Earl Marshal of England, and four theologians representing the four majormendicant orders (Franciscans,Dominicans,Carmelites, andAugustinians). The session ended in aporia over a question of etiquette, as to whether Wycliffe should stand or sit to answer questions.	The event showed how useful Wycliffe's theories might be to the aristocracy who had good political reason to support reformers undermining the power and wealth of the church. The English monarchs also had a strained relationship with theAvignon Papacy and its supporters, theFrench monarchy, because of the ongoing conflict of the100 Years War. For these reasons and others, in the early days of Wycliffite Lollardy many of the institutions of secular authority were supportive. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, was a strong supporter of Wycliffe in the early days as too wasJoan of Kent. In 1382 the Mayor of Leicester personally attended the sermon of the Lollard William Swinderby. The ideas Wycliffe was under investigation for would return as a major theme of the 16th century reformation when the idea of a secular requisition of church property would again prove popular with authorities.
c. 1378	Wycliffe publishedDe veritate sacrae scripturae	Suggested that only theological conclusions with direct scriptural backing ought to be accepted. A momentous publication foreshadowing the idea ofsola scriptura which would dominate the later reforms of the 16th century.
c. 1379	Wycliffe publishedDe Eucharistia	An attack on the doctrine oftransubstantiation and its lack of scriptural warrant. Wycliffe maintained a firm belief in thereal presence but rejected the use of Aristotelian metaphysics to explain it. His convictions were closer to Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, or the modern Church of England after theOxford Movement than those of the 16th century reformers.
1381, 30 May	Peasants' Revolt begins.	Originating from dissatisfaction with taxes and rigid class hierarchy this rebellion did much to spread Wycliffite and more general Lollard thought among the ordinary population.
1381, 13 June	John Ball preached his famousBlackheath sermon during the Peasants Revolt.	John Ball's career suggests that Wycliffe was merely the first man of rank in the university to express more widespread discontent.
1382, May 21	Earthquake Synod atBlackfriars, London condemns Wycliffe's teachings
1382, 17 November	Anti-Wycliffe Synod at Oxford	Wycliffe defiantly reasserts his positions in a famous oration and is exiled to his Rectory atLutterworth on theLeicestershire,Warwickshire boundary.
1382	Englands firstHeresy Act passed as a result of a request fromPope Martin IV and repealed the following year.	It required mayors and magistrates to burn those found guilty of heresy by a bishop. A highly controversial act it was repealed the following year due the objection of members of the House of Commons showing the widespread opposition to the bill among theburghers
c. 1383	Philip Repyngdon is deprived of his position at Oxford for defending Wycliffe's teachings.	Repyngdon was later madeAbbot of Leicester in 1394 andBishop of Lincoln in 1404 and was elevated to the rank of Cardinal. This shows that Wycliffe's thought had a wide influence even in the church hierarchy.
1384	Wycliffe's Bible probably completed around this time. Wycliffe also dies this year onHoly Innocents' Day (28 December)	Earliest complete translation of theLatin Vulgate into English.
1395	Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards presented to Parliament and posted on the doors ofWestminster Abbey andOld St Paul's
1399	Henry IV overthrewRichard II.	This brought an end to the relative tolerance of Lollardy.
1401	De heretico comburendo is passed by parliament which required forfeiture of all property, both for themselves and for their children, for all those found in position of copies ofWycliffe's Bible or some part of it.	A major blow to the Lollard movement.
1410, 1 March	John Badby burned at the stakeSmithfield for denying transubstantiation.
1414, 9 January	Oldcastle Revolt	Small popular uprising inspired by Lollard ideals.
1414, 30 April	Opening session of theFire and Faggot Parliament. Symbolically the Parliament was held at theGreyfriars monastery inLeicester, a town which had been stronghold of Lollardy, the seat ofJohn of Gaunt, standing around 15 mile north east of Wycliffe's home and grave atLutterworth.	The Parliament which passed theSuppression of Heresy Act in response to Lollardy. This act was used to justify the burning of many Lollards and many more radical reformers during the reign ofHenry VIII. It was one of the acts restored byMary I’sRevival of the Heresy Acts.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

Ordained in September 1351,Master of Balliol College in 1360, Warden ofCanterbury College in 1365 and Rector ofSt Mary's, Lutterworth from 1374, John Wycliffe is earliest known teacher of evangelical ideas in England and a translator of the Bible into the vernacular Middle English. He is popularly known as themorning star orstellamatutina of theEnglish Reformation and both he and his followers (theLollards) were much invoked by later reformers. While Lollard influence on the Henrician Reformation was negligible, nevertheless Wycliffe's writings did influenceJan Hus who in turn influencedMartin Luther. The Lollards are also a key topic ofFoxes Book of Martyrs and their story did much to solidify the self understanding of the 16th century reformers.

1348-1350

TheBlack Death ravages England.

Considered to have been a major influence on the ideas of both Wycliffe and many other proto-Protestants.

c. 1377

Wycliffe publishedDe civili dominio

A scathing attack on church property and tithes. Set out Wycliffe's ideas ofdominion, the notion that the church should not have any property and that no member of its clergy should exercise political or judicial power.

1377

Wycliffe is censured byPope Gregory XI who orders church authorities in Oxford and London to begin an inquisition.

1377, 19 February

John Wycliffe summonsed by William Courtenay, Bishop of London, for an examination of heresy. In attending he was accompanied and supported byJohn of Gaunt,Henry Percy,Earl Marshal of England, and four theologians representing the four majormendicant orders (Franciscans,Dominicans,Carmelites, andAugustinians). The session ended in aporia over a question of etiquette, as to whether Wycliffe should stand or sit to answer questions.

The event showed how useful Wycliffe's theories might be to the aristocracy who had good political reason to support reformers undermining the power and wealth of the church. The English monarchs also had a strained relationship with theAvignon Papacy and its supporters, theFrench monarchy, because of the ongoing conflict of the100 Years War. For these reasons and others, in the early days of Wycliffite Lollardy many of the institutions of secular authority were supportive. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, was a strong supporter of Wycliffe in the early days as too wasJoan of Kent. In 1382 the Mayor of Leicester personally attended the sermon of the Lollard William Swinderby. The ideas Wycliffe was under investigation for would return as a major theme of the 16th century reformation when the idea of a secular requisition of church property would again prove popular with authorities.

c. 1378

Wycliffe publishedDe veritate sacrae scripturae

Suggested that only theological conclusions with direct scriptural backing ought to be accepted. A momentous publication foreshadowing the idea ofsola scriptura which would dominate the later reforms of the 16th century.

c. 1379

Wycliffe publishedDe Eucharistia

An attack on the doctrine oftransubstantiation and its lack of scriptural warrant. Wycliffe maintained a firm belief in thereal presence but rejected the use of Aristotelian metaphysics to explain it. His convictions were closer to Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, or the modern Church of England after theOxford Movement than those of the 16th century reformers.

1381, 30 May

Peasants' Revolt begins.

Originating from dissatisfaction with taxes and rigid class hierarchy this rebellion did much to spread Wycliffite and more general Lollard thought among the ordinary population.

1381, 13 June

John Ball preached his famousBlackheath sermon during the Peasants Revolt.

John Ball's career suggests that Wycliffe was merely the first man of rank in the university to express more widespread discontent.

1382, May 21

Earthquake Synod atBlackfriars, London condemns Wycliffe's teachings

1382, 17 November

Anti-Wycliffe Synod at Oxford

Wycliffe defiantly reasserts his positions in a famous oration and is exiled to his Rectory atLutterworth on theLeicestershire,Warwickshire boundary.

1382

Englands firstHeresy Act passed as a result of a request fromPope Martin IV and repealed the following year.

It required mayors and magistrates to burn those found guilty of heresy by a bishop. A highly controversial act it was repealed the following year due the objection of members of the House of Commons showing the widespread opposition to the bill among theburghers

c. 1383

Philip Repyngdon is deprived of his position at Oxford for defending Wycliffe's teachings.

Repyngdon was later madeAbbot of Leicester in 1394 andBishop of Lincoln in 1404 and was elevated to the rank of Cardinal. This shows that Wycliffe's thought had a wide influence even in the church hierarchy.

1384

Wycliffe's Bible probably completed around this time. Wycliffe also dies this year onHoly Innocents' Day (28 December)

Earliest complete translation of theLatin Vulgate into English.

1395

Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards presented to Parliament and posted on the doors ofWestminster Abbey andOld St Paul's

1399

Henry IV overthrewRichard II.

This brought an end to the relative tolerance of Lollardy.

1401

De heretico comburendo is passed by parliament which required forfeiture of all property, both for themselves and for their children, for all those found in position of copies ofWycliffe's Bible or some part of it.

A major blow to the Lollard movement.

1410, 1 March

John Badby burned at the stakeSmithfield for denying transubstantiation.

1414, 9 January

Oldcastle Revolt

Small popular uprising inspired by Lollard ideals.

1414, 30 April

Opening session of theFire and Faggot Parliament. Symbolically the Parliament was held at theGreyfriars monastery inLeicester, a town which had been stronghold of Lollardy, the seat ofJohn of Gaunt, standing around 15 mile north east of Wycliffe's home and grave atLutterworth.

The Parliament which passed theSuppression of Heresy Act in response to Lollardy. This act was used to justify the burning of many Lollards and many more radical reformers during the reign ofHenry VIII. It was one of the acts restored byMary I’sRevival of the Heresy Acts.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
1485, 22 August	Death ofRichard III and acclamation ofHenry VII as King at theBattle of Bosworth Field inLeicestershire.	Henry's usurpation of Richard ended 331 years ofPlantagenet rule, concluded theWars of the Roses by uniting the two subsidiary Plantagenet Houses ofYork andLancaster through his marriage toElizabeth of York, and thereby initiated theTudor dynasty. The Tudor monarchs would come to enable the English Reformation, chiefly Henry VI's sonHenry VIII and his grandchildrenEdward VI andElizabeth I.
1485, 16 December	Birth ofCatherine of Aragon toFerdinand andIsabella at theArchbishop’s Palace of Alcalá inMadrid.	Fourth daughter and sixth child of the celebratedCatholic Monarchs, the founders of the united kingdoms ofCastile andLeon, the forerunner of the modernKingdom of Spain, and theSpanish Empire. Catherine was aHabsburg, the younger sister ofJoanna and later aunt of Joanna's sonCharles V. In 1496 she would be betrothed toArthur, Prince of Wales, son ofHenry VII forming an alliance between England and Castile and Leon. Following Arthur's death, her betrothal was switched to Henry VII's other son,Prince Henry, who married her after becoming king Henry VIII. The couples difficulties with fertility partly precipitated the Annulment Crisis of the late 1520's and early 30's and the ensuing English Reformation of the mid 1530's on.
1486, 19/20 September	Birth ofArthur, Prince of Wales toHenry VII andElizabeth of York atWinchester Cathedral Priory.	His espousal to the infantPrincess Catherine brought her to England and his untimely death in 1502 at just 15 years old will lead to both his younger brotherHenry's accession to the English throne and his espousal and marriage to Catherine.
1489, 2 July	Birth ofThomas Cranmer atAslockton,Nottinghamshire.	FutureArchbishop of Canterbury and principal leader among the reforming churchman during both the Henrician and Edwardian reformations. Martyred byMary I.
1491, 28 June	Birth ofPrince Henry atGreenwich Palace.	The future King Henry VIII, the monarch whose marital difficulties withCatherine of Aragon will lead him to overthrowPapal Supremacy in the Church of England. His reforms will be responsible for the deaths of many thousands ofCatholic martyrs and rebels opposing his reforms and over 60Protestant martyrs pushing for further reform.
c. 1494	Birth ofWilliam Tyndale inGloucestershire.	Became a leading theologian of the early English Reformation through his workThe Obedience of a Christian Man and its first major Bible translator since John Wycliffe responsible for theTyndale Bible translations.
1496	Catherine of Aragon's hand secured forArthur, Prince of Wales, son ofHenry VII.	Brought Catherine of Aragon to England.
1499-1500	The celebrated humanist and renaissance thinkerErasmus made his first visit to England (seeErasmus: First visit to England).	The Renaissance Humanist scholarDesiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam was a pillar of theNew Learning, a key inspiration for many reformers and, while remaining a faithful Roman Catholic, articulated many of the criticisms of the Pre-Reformation Church that they shared. Notably he visitsOxford andCambridge Universities where his ideas spread.
1501, 14 November	Arthur, Prince of Wales marriesCatherine of Aragon atOld St Paul's Cathedral in a nuptial mass celebrated byHenry Deane, Archbishop of Canterbury.
1502, 2 April	Arthur dies oftuberculosis atLudlow Castle inShropshire.	Arthur’s death lead to the accession of his younger brotherPrince Henry following Henry VII's death, his brother's betrothal and eventual marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and in turn the annulment crisis, the Henrician Reformation, and the subsequent Edwardian and Elizabethan reforms.
1503	Henry VII, fearful of the loss of Catherine's substantialdowery, has her betrothed to his younger son,Prince Henry, later Henry VIII.	This precipitates the later annulment crisis
1503, December	Julius II issues a formalPapal Dispensation permitting the marriage between Catherine and Henry to allay fears around the legality of marrying a brothers widow.
1509, 22 April	Henry VII dies andHenry VIII accedes to the throne.	As a result of Henry VIII's marital problems and at the suggestion of reformers close to him he secured the independence of theChurch of England from the rest of theLatin Church and the end ofpapal supremacy in England and Wales. This only had consequences for church property and monastic communities while Henry lived and he held back reform ofsoteriology oreucharistic theology until his death in 1547. After his death the Royal Supremacy enablesThomas Cranmer and other radical churchmen under his sonEdward VI to undertake a full Protestant reformation of theestablished church.
1509, 11 June	Henry VIII marriesCatherine of Aragon in the Church of the Observant Friars atGreenwich Palace.	Henry and Catherines failure to produce a healthy male child surviving past infancy precipitated the annulment crisis and the overthrow ofPapal Supremacy in theChurch of England.
1509, 24 June	Coronation of Henry VIII and Queen Catherine atWestminster Abbey.
1510, 31 Jan	Queen Catherine miscarried a daughter.	First of Queen Catherine's 6 pregnancies and the first of her 4 failed pregnancies.
1511, 1 Jan	Queen Catherine gave birth to a son atRichmond Palace and he was namedPrince Henry, Henry VIII's firstborn legitimate son.	A major step in securing the otherwise fairly weak Tudor succession. Second of Queen Catherine's pregnancies.
1511, 22 Feb	Prince Henry dies at Richmond Palace and was buried inWestminster Abbey a few days later on the 27th.	A major blow to Henry and Catherine both personally and constitutionally. Prince Henry will prove to be the only surviving male birth produced by Henry and Catherine and in time his death and the subsequent still births of more sons brought about both Henry's paranoia that his marriage to Catherine was cursed by God due to her earlier marriage to his late brother Prince Arthur and his desperation to seek an annulment and a new bride.
1511	Agnes Grebill burned forLollardy together with four other female Lollards atChelmsford inEssex.	Shows that Wycliffite sympathies still lingered before the explosion of theNew Learning andLutheran ideas.
1513, September	Queen Catherine gave birth to a stillborn son.	Third of Queen Catherine's pregnancies and her second failed pregnancy
1514, November	Queen Catherine gives birth to a stillborn boy.	Fourth of Queen Catherine's pregnancies and her third failed pregnancy.
1516	First edition ofErasmus's Greek New Testament published.	Had an enormous impact on biblical translation both into English and other languages.
1516, 18 February	PrincessMary born atGreenwich Palace.	The future Queen (1553–1558) who would reverse the Edwardian and Henrician Reformations restoring the Church of England to full communion with the Pope and earn the title "Bloody Mary" for her execution by burning of over 300 Protestants. Fifth of Queen Catherine's 6 pregnancies and the only child to survive into adulthood.
31 October 1517	Martin Luther posts his95 Theses on the door of a church inWittenberg, Germany, formally beginning theProtestant Reformation	Luther's protest was a landmark moment for all of Europe. In England news of his protest and his theology ofsola fide andsola scriptura had a significant impact, especially inCambridge and in towns where the ideas ofLollardy had remained strong.
1518, 10 November	Queen Catherine gave birth to a stillborn daughter.	The last of Queen Catherine's 6 pregnancies and the fourth failed pregnancy. This final failed pregnancy and Catherine's age (she turned 33 a month later on the 16th) pushed Henry to despair of his marriages success.
c. 1521	A group ofCambridge University reformers begin meeting at theWhite Horse Inn to discuss Luther and other theories of reformation coming from the continent.	According toJohn Foxe William Tyndale,Miles Coverdale,Thomas Cranmer,Hugh Latimer,Robert Barnes,Thomas Bilney,Matthew Parker,Nicholas Shaxton, andJohn Bale were among those who attended. Recent scholarship has suggested that the White Horse Inn meetings of Foxes account may be laterhagiography. However it is the case that a large number of Cambridge students all present in the 1520s played significant roles in later reforms.
1521	Assertio Septem Sacramentorum was published as Henry's own work.Pope Leo X rewards him by granting him the titleFidei Defensor or "Defender of the Faith"	The publication of this intensely orthodox work constrained Henry's commitment to reformation in the years ahead.
c. 1523	Reformation in Zürich under the leadership ofUlrich Zwingli.	Together withLutheranism,Zwinglianism was to have a major impact on the ideas of English reformers, whose thoughts represented a middle way,"via media" between the two.
1524, May	William Tyndale excommunicated.
1525	Cardinal Wolsey suppresses 29 monasteries aided byThomas Cromwell.	Provided a papally approved orthodox precedent for the later more widespreadDissolution of the Monasteries.
1525	TheNew Testament of theTyndale Bible (in English) is published inWorms, Germany.	Althoughbanned in England, Tyndale's work heavily influenced subsequent approvedBible translations.
1525	Reformation in Strasbourg.	Lead byMartin Bucer, this reformation came to be perhaps the most influential of all those in city states of theHoly Roman Empire andSwiss Confederacy on the English reforms. The reformed church in Strasbourg cut a middle way,"via media", betweenMartin Luther's developing sacramental high church Protestantism andUlrich Zwingli's low church views. Bucer would have a direct influence on Cranmer's reforms of theChurch of England under Edward VI, during which time he came to England and remaining until his death, in Cambridge in 1551. He a direct hand in the composition and editing of theBook of Common Prayer.
1525, Summer-Autumn	Henry VIII meetsAnne Boleyn and falls in love with her.	The king had previously conducted an affair withMary Boleyn, Anne's older sister. The combination of the repeated fertility problems Henry had experienced with Catherine of Aragon and his infatuation with Anne will lead to the king suing for annulment to the Pope and undertaking ecclesiastical and constitutional reform when his case is refused.
1525, 24 December	Robert Barnes O.E.S.A, Prior ofCambridge Austin Friars, preached what is considered the first sermon of the Protestant reformation in England at Midnight Mass in theChurch of St Edward King and Martyr, Cambridge.	First open deed of the growing Protestant movement atCambridge University.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

1485, 22 August

Death ofRichard III and acclamation ofHenry VII as King at theBattle of Bosworth Field inLeicestershire.

Henry's usurpation of Richard ended 331 years ofPlantagenet rule, concluded theWars of the Roses by uniting the two subsidiary Plantagenet Houses ofYork andLancaster through his marriage toElizabeth of York, and thereby initiated theTudor dynasty. The Tudor monarchs would come to enable the English Reformation, chiefly Henry VI's sonHenry VIII and his grandchildrenEdward VI andElizabeth I.

1485, 16 December

Birth ofCatherine of Aragon toFerdinand andIsabella at theArchbishop’s Palace of Alcalá inMadrid.

Fourth daughter and sixth child of the celebratedCatholic Monarchs, the founders of the united kingdoms ofCastile andLeon, the forerunner of the modernKingdom of Spain, and theSpanish Empire. Catherine was aHabsburg, the younger sister ofJoanna and later aunt of Joanna's sonCharles V. In 1496 she would be betrothed toArthur, Prince of Wales, son ofHenry VII forming an alliance between England and Castile and Leon. Following Arthur's death, her betrothal was switched to Henry VII's other son,Prince Henry, who married her after becoming king Henry VIII. The couples difficulties with fertility partly precipitated the Annulment Crisis of the late 1520's and early 30's and the ensuing English Reformation of the mid 1530's on.

1486, 19/20 September

Birth ofArthur, Prince of Wales toHenry VII andElizabeth of York atWinchester Cathedral Priory.

His espousal to the infantPrincess Catherine brought her to England and his untimely death in 1502 at just 15 years old will lead to both his younger brotherHenry's accession to the English throne and his espousal and marriage to Catherine.

1489, 2 July

Birth ofThomas Cranmer atAslockton,Nottinghamshire.

FutureArchbishop of Canterbury and principal leader among the reforming churchman during both the Henrician and Edwardian reformations. Martyred byMary I.

1491, 28 June

Birth ofPrince Henry atGreenwich Palace.

The future King Henry VIII, the monarch whose marital difficulties withCatherine of Aragon will lead him to overthrowPapal Supremacy in the Church of England. His reforms will be responsible for the deaths of many thousands ofCatholic martyrs and rebels opposing his reforms and over 60Protestant martyrs pushing for further reform.

c. 1494

Birth ofWilliam Tyndale inGloucestershire.

Became a leading theologian of the early English Reformation through his workThe Obedience of a Christian Man and its first major Bible translator since John Wycliffe responsible for theTyndale Bible translations.

1496

Catherine of Aragon's hand secured forArthur, Prince of Wales, son ofHenry VII.

Brought Catherine of Aragon to England.

1499-1500

The celebrated humanist and renaissance thinkerErasmus made his first visit to England (seeErasmus: First visit to England).

The Renaissance Humanist scholarDesiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam was a pillar of theNew Learning, a key inspiration for many reformers and, while remaining a faithful Roman Catholic, articulated many of the criticisms of the Pre-Reformation Church that they shared. Notably he visitsOxford andCambridge Universities where his ideas spread.

1501, 14 November

Arthur, Prince of Wales marriesCatherine of Aragon atOld St Paul's Cathedral in a nuptial mass celebrated byHenry Deane, Archbishop of Canterbury.

1502, 2 April

Arthur dies oftuberculosis atLudlow Castle inShropshire.

Arthur’s death lead to the accession of his younger brotherPrince Henry following Henry VII's death, his brother's betrothal and eventual marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and in turn the annulment crisis, the Henrician Reformation, and the subsequent Edwardian and Elizabethan reforms.

1503

Henry VII, fearful of the loss of Catherine's substantialdowery, has her betrothed to his younger son,Prince Henry, later Henry VIII.

This precipitates the later annulment crisis

1503, December

Julius II issues a formalPapal Dispensation permitting the marriage between Catherine and Henry to allay fears around the legality of marrying a brothers widow.

1509, 22 April

Henry VII dies andHenry VIII accedes to the throne.

As a result of Henry VIII's marital problems and at the suggestion of reformers close to him he secured the independence of theChurch of England from the rest of theLatin Church and the end ofpapal supremacy in England and Wales. This only had consequences for church property and monastic communities while Henry lived and he held back reform ofsoteriology oreucharistic theology until his death in 1547. After his death the Royal Supremacy enablesThomas Cranmer and other radical churchmen under his sonEdward VI to undertake a full Protestant reformation of theestablished church.

1509, 11 June

Henry VIII marriesCatherine of Aragon in the Church of the Observant Friars atGreenwich Palace.

Henry and Catherines failure to produce a healthy male child surviving past infancy precipitated the annulment crisis and the overthrow ofPapal Supremacy in theChurch of England.

1509, 24 June

Coronation of Henry VIII and Queen Catherine atWestminster Abbey.

1510, 31 Jan

Queen Catherine miscarried a daughter.

First of Queen Catherine's 6 pregnancies and the first of her 4 failed pregnancies.

1511, 1 Jan

Queen Catherine gave birth to a son atRichmond Palace and he was namedPrince Henry, Henry VIII's firstborn legitimate son.

A major step in securing the otherwise fairly weak Tudor succession. Second of Queen Catherine's pregnancies.

1511, 22 Feb

Prince Henry dies at Richmond Palace and was buried inWestminster Abbey a few days later on the 27th.

A major blow to Henry and Catherine both personally and constitutionally. Prince Henry will prove to be the only surviving male birth produced by Henry and Catherine and in time his death and the subsequent still births of more sons brought about both Henry's paranoia that his marriage to Catherine was cursed by God due to her earlier marriage to his late brother Prince Arthur and his desperation to seek an annulment and a new bride.

1511

Agnes Grebill burned forLollardy together with four other female Lollards atChelmsford inEssex.

Shows that Wycliffite sympathies still lingered before the explosion of theNew Learning andLutheran ideas.

1513, September

Queen Catherine gave birth to a stillborn son.

Third of Queen Catherine's pregnancies and her second failed pregnancy

1514, November

Queen Catherine gives birth to a stillborn boy.

Fourth of Queen Catherine's pregnancies and her third failed pregnancy.

1516

First edition ofErasmus's Greek New Testament published.

Had an enormous impact on biblical translation both into English and other languages.

1516, 18 February

PrincessMary born atGreenwich Palace.

The future Queen (1553–1558) who would reverse the Edwardian and Henrician Reformations restoring the Church of England to full communion with the Pope and earn the title "Bloody Mary" for her execution by burning of over 300 Protestants. Fifth of Queen Catherine's 6 pregnancies and the only child to survive into adulthood.

31 October 1517

Martin Luther posts his95 Theses on the door of a church inWittenberg, Germany, formally beginning theProtestant Reformation

Luther's protest was a landmark moment for all of Europe. In England news of his protest and his theology ofsola fide andsola scriptura had a significant impact, especially inCambridge and in towns where the ideas ofLollardy had remained strong.

1518, 10 November

Queen Catherine gave birth to a stillborn daughter.

The last of Queen Catherine's 6 pregnancies and the fourth failed pregnancy. This final failed pregnancy and Catherine's age (she turned 33 a month later on the 16th) pushed Henry to despair of his marriages success.

c. 1521

A group ofCambridge University reformers begin meeting at theWhite Horse Inn to discuss Luther and other theories of reformation coming from the continent.

According toJohn Foxe William Tyndale,Miles Coverdale,Thomas Cranmer,Hugh Latimer,Robert Barnes,Thomas Bilney,Matthew Parker,Nicholas Shaxton, andJohn Bale were among those who attended. Recent scholarship has suggested that the White Horse Inn meetings of Foxes account may be laterhagiography. However it is the case that a large number of Cambridge students all present in the 1520s played significant roles in later reforms.

1521

Assertio Septem Sacramentorum was published as Henry's own work.Pope Leo X rewards him by granting him the titleFidei Defensor or "Defender of the Faith"

The publication of this intensely orthodox work constrained Henry's commitment to reformation in the years ahead.

c. 1523

Reformation in Zürich under the leadership ofUlrich Zwingli.

Together withLutheranism,Zwinglianism was to have a major impact on the ideas of English reformers, whose thoughts represented a middle way,"via media" between the two.

1524, May

William Tyndale excommunicated.

1525

Cardinal Wolsey suppresses 29 monasteries aided byThomas Cromwell.

Provided a papally approved orthodox precedent for the later more widespreadDissolution of the Monasteries.

1525

TheNew Testament of theTyndale Bible (in English) is published inWorms, Germany.

Althoughbanned in England, Tyndale's work heavily influenced subsequent approvedBible translations.

1525

Reformation in Strasbourg.

Lead byMartin Bucer, this reformation came to be perhaps the most influential of all those in city states of theHoly Roman Empire andSwiss Confederacy on the English reforms. The reformed church in Strasbourg cut a middle way,"via media", betweenMartin Luther's developing sacramental high church Protestantism andUlrich Zwingli's low church views. Bucer would have a direct influence on Cranmer's reforms of theChurch of England under Edward VI, during which time he came to England and remaining until his death, in Cambridge in 1551. He a direct hand in the composition and editing of theBook of Common Prayer.

1525, Summer-Autumn

Henry VIII meetsAnne Boleyn and falls in love with her.

The king had previously conducted an affair withMary Boleyn, Anne's older sister. The combination of the repeated fertility problems Henry had experienced with Catherine of Aragon and his infatuation with Anne will lead to the king suing for annulment to the Pope and undertaking ecclesiastical and constitutional reform when his case is refused.

1525, 24 December

Robert Barnes O.E.S.A, Prior ofCambridge Austin Friars, preached what is considered the first sermon of the Protestant reformation in England at Midnight Mass in theChurch of St Edward King and Martyr, Cambridge.

First open deed of the growing Protestant movement atCambridge University.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
c. 1526-7	Henry VIII sure of intentions to separate from his Queen,Catherine of Aragon.	This intention arose from repeated fertility problems with Queen Catherine, especially her failure to produce a surviving baby boy, and his growing infatuation withAnne Boleyn, who insisted on marriage before sleeping with him. It initiated first a series of attempts to secure anannulment of the marriage by existing Papal and English Ecclesiastical methods and when these failed the summoning of theReformation Parliament, a series of anti papal and anti clerical laws, and ultimately theAct of Supremacy. The process would also see the fall of two of Henry's chief ministers,Cardinal Wolsey andThomas More.
1527, 6-8 May	Sack of Rome by supposedly mutinous and unpaid troops ofCharles V,Catherine of Aragon's nephew. Occupation continued until July and resolution between theHoly See and theHoly Roman Empire wasn't reached until June 1528.	A catastrophic event in the history of Rome during which the city was desecrated andPope Clement VII was besieged in theCastel Sant'Angelo. This put the Papacy at mercy of theHoly Roman Empire and theHabsburg Dynasty, of whichCatherine of Aragon was a member, especially during the crucial period of the Clement's embattlement between the beginning of the siege and his departure from the Castel in December 1527. During treaty negotiations, Charles V did much to dissuade the pope from accepting Henry's annulment arguments, towards which he had previously expressed some openness to Cardinal Wolsey.
1527, 17-27 May	Series of secret meetings held at York Place (later thePalace of Whitehall) to examine justifications for anannulment of Henry and Catherine's Marriage.	The meetings were between the Archbishops of York and Canterbury, Cardinal Wolsey andWilliam Warham, and Henry himself and represent the first formal proceedings of the King's attempt to secure a separation from Catherine. Their discussions centered on the legitimacy ofJulius II'sdispensation for Henry and Catherine's marriage issued in 1503 and the relative importance in canon law of two contradictory Biblical verses. These were a verse of theKedoshim from theBook of Leviticus:"if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless"; and it's contrary, from a text known as theYibbum in theBook of Deuteronomy:"If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her." The outcome of the debates was inconclusive however Wolsey was instructed to continue proceedings towards an annulment.
1527, 22 June	Henry summoned his Queen to inform her that their marriage was illegitimate. Catherine sobbed but had been forewarned of his intentions and defended her position saying she would await the judgement of the church.	The two were already estranged by this point and had likely ceased all marital intimacy in around 1524.
1527, November	Group of theological, ethical, biblical, and canon law scholars gathered atHampton Court Palace to discuss the legitimacy of the King Henry and Queen Catherine's marriage.	This made the hitherto private annulment scandal (known asThe Kings Great Matter) a matter of public knowledge.
1528	William Tyndale publishedThe Obedience of a Christian Man, a central text of the English Reformation.	An apology forCaesaropapism, this text came into Henry's hands at a moment of personal conflict with church authority and thereby struck a chord with the monarch. While abhorring most of Tyndale's theology the arguments inObedience came to inspire Henry's policy of overturningPapal supremacy in theChurch of England and establishing Royal Supremacy (caresaropapiam) in its place. Tyndale for his part would later state his opposition to Henry's separation from Catherine of Aragon.
1529, 31 May	Opening session of the Blackfriars Legatine Court, aLegatine council held atLondon Blackfriars chaired byThomas Wolsey, acting in the capacity ofPapal Legate to England, andLorenzo Campeggio, theCardinal Protector of England.	The court was convened to formally rule on the legitimacy ofJulius II's 1503dispensation and consequently the relative importance of Leviticus 20:21 and Deuteronomy 25:5 (quoted above). In the course of its sessions it would hear pleas from both Henry and Catherine.
1529, 22 June	Queen Catherine gave a famous speech to her husband in defense of her position to the Legatine Court and, refusing to recognise any authority except the Pope's alone, immediately left the great hall at Blackfriars in protest.	The speech drew much sympathy entered the annals of English history as one of the great speeches of the Tudor Age.
1529, 18 July	Clement VII issues a revocation of the right to rule on the annulment dispute from the Legatine Court to Rome. His order would take around two weeks to arrive in London.	Effectively ends all English hopes of a solution to theGreat Matter by recourse to Papally approved channels and, from Henry's perspective, necessitated the summing of theReformation Parliament and both its initial campaign ofanti clerical and anti papal sanctions and it's later reforming legislation.
1529, 30 July	Closing session of the Blackfriars Legatine Court afterCardinal Campeggio had declared a summer adjournment on the 23rd.	The court ended without resolving the question and before it reconvened Clement VII's writ of revocation arrived.
1529, 9 August	Writs issued summoning the Fifth Parliament of Henry VIII's reign to help solve the Annulment Crisis. It will come to be known as theReformation Parliament.	Likely the result of the arrival of Clement VII's revocation of the case to Rome. This marked the beginning of a targeted campaign ofanti clerical and anti papal sanctions which gradually evolved into a campaign of reformation legislation as Henry came under the influence of less conservative ministers and grew more impatient for his marriage to Anne.
1529, 1–4 October	Marburg Colloquy	Synod to discuss the differences betweenLutheran andZwinglian positions on theReal presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Will define the essential opposition between the soft Lutheran and hard Reformed eucharistic theologies. While the English church will tend to an even more conservative view than Luther under Henry VIII it will adopt a generally Reformed theology under Edward. Elizabeth will reintroduce certain prayers that allow alatitudinarian toleration of both parties leading to the modern Church of England's essential division on the eucharistic question (seeEucharist in Anglicanism.
1529, 9 October	Wolsey charged under theStatute of Praemunire (seepraemunire). He was thereby made acivil outlaw in England and was obliged to forfeit personal property.	Wolsey's charge of praemunire and subsequent outlawry was the legal mechanism whereby the king disbarred him from his seat in theHouse of Lords and acquired his significant personal estates, most notablyHampton Court Palace and York Place (laterWhitehall Palace). Its use in this case effectively defined the Papacy and other structures of theLatin Church as foreign to England (contrary to most hitherto existent opinion) and foreshadowed theStatute in Restraint of Appeals. This marked the momentCardinal Wolsey fell from favour as Henry'schief minister.
1529, 26 October	Thomas Wolsey removed as Lord Chancellor.	An l consequence of hisoutlawry.
1529, 3 November	State Opening of the first session of the Fifth Parliament of Henry's reign (known to history as theReformation Parliament).	The first session of the assembly responsible for most of the legislation underpinning the Henrician Reformation, most notably theSupplication against the Ordinaries, theStatute in Restraint of Appeals, theAct Concerning Ecclesiastical Appointments and Absolute Restraint of Annates, theAct Concerning Peter's Pence and Dispensations, and most importantly Henry'sAct of Supremacy. It sat for an unusually lengthy total of nine sessions and was dissolved only in spring 1536.
1530	William Tyndale published The Practice of Prelates declaring his opposition to Henry's divorce proceedings and his belief that the Kings marriage to Catherine of Aragon was valid in Protestant eyes.	Shows that the authenticreformed tradition did not approve of Henry's justification for supremacy (securing an irregular annulment). Henry in his turn did much to suppress radical reformed thinkers and maintained a highly conservative theological position in the Church of England once he had secured supremacy.
1530	Thomas Cromwell, (pronounced Cromell) part of the inner ring of Henry'sPrivy Council. He had previously been in the service of Cardinal Wolsey of whom he remained deeply fond until his own execution a decade later.	Chief bureaucratic architect of the Henrician Reformation. He would come to be responsible for drafting the legal framework that overturned papal supremacy and established royal supremacy over theChurch of England. He later oversaw the dissolution of the monasteries.
1530, 23 February	Thomas Hitton executed by burning atMaidstone inKent.	Considered to be the first execution of a Protestant of the new Continentalreformed model (as opposed to Lollards) in the English reformation.
1530, April	Cardinal Wolsey returns to his episcopal seat atYork.	A response to both personal health problems and his homelessness in London following his charge of praemunire including his forfeiture of property and loss of place in both thePrivy Council andHouse of Lords.
1530, Summer	Writs ofPraemunire issued against 15 churchmen - includingWilliam Warham,John Fisher,John Clerk, andJohn Stokesley - who had recognised the Legatine Court of 1529 or appealed to Papal authority by other means.	Placed them in a state of civil outlawry under which their personal property was forfeited to the Crown and they were prevented from speaking in theHouse of Lords. The use of praemunire in these cases effectively defined the Papacy and other Roman Catholic structures as foreign to England and foreshadowed theStatute in Restraint of Appeals which in 1533 would strengthen the existingStatute of Praemunire.
1530, 29 November	Cardinal Wolsey died atLeicester Abbey ofdysentery on his journey to London and imprisonment in theTower.	His unfortunate illness likely spared him the fate of execution. His lost grave at Leicester Abbey (dissolved in 1538) is commemorated by a 20th century memorial.
1531	Henry revives ancient claim of English monarchs to theBritish imperium maius.	A revival of an ancient royal claim to supreme authority over both secular and ecclesiastical matters within the realm. This claim challenged papal jurisdiction and invoked the right of secular rulers to govern religious policy. Part of a series of strategies initially mustered to help in the Annulment Crisis but which ended up enabling the Reformation.
1531, 19 August	Thomas Bilney executed byburning atLollards Pit inNorwich,Norfolk.	One of the many Protestants executed for maintainingreformed theology during Henry's reign.
1532	TheDuke of Norfolk and theDuke of Suffolk fall from royal favour.	The temporary fall from favour of Norfolk and Suffolk weakened the conservative pro papal faction at court, reducing opposition to Henry VIII’s religious and political reforms. Their diminished influence cleared the way for reformers like Thomas Cromwell to shape the Reformation.
1532, January	Supplication against the Ordinaries.	A formal petition to the King, debated and passed by theHouse of Commons, designed to give the appearance of widespread public unease and popular opposition to clerical privilege. It accused bishops of abusing judicial powers, particularly through harsh use of excommunication and church courts, and claimed the clergy placed foreign (papal) interests above those of England and demanded greater royal and parliamentary control over ecclesiastical authority. This was one of the key early acts of theEnglish Reformation Parliament and precipitated theSubmission of the Clergy accepted shortly after by theConvocation of Canterbury.
1532, May	Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates	Reduced the annual payment ofannates to the papacy to just 5% of their original amount. Parliament threatened that it would withdraw all payments if Rome would not grant the King his annulment within one year. One of the key early acts of theReformation Parliament, it was significantly strengthened by the laterAct Concerning Ecclesiastical Appointments and Absolute Restraint of Annates which reserved all annates to the crown and thePeter's Pence Act 1533 which ended another key kind of payment from the English faithful to Rome.
1532, 15 May	Submission of the Clergy accepted by theConvocation of Canterbury.	A formal act in response to theCommons Supplication Against the Ordinaries, by which the senior clergy of theProvince of Canterbury of theChurch of England acknowledged that they would no longer enact or enforcecanon law without the King’s licence. By this submission, they surrendered their independent legislative authority, right of appeal to Rome, autonomy over ecclesiastical courts, and control over benefices and church property disputes, subordinating the legal and institutional life of the Church to the Crown. It is widely recognised as the moment the crisis begun in 1526 widened from the question of Henry's annulment to wider church reform.
1532, 16 May	Thomas More resigns asLord Chancellor of England and the informal position of Henry'schief minister.	A resignation on principle against a perceived overstep of royal authority, a breaking of the coronation vow to protect the church's liberty. Due to More's fame as a humanist scholar and corespondent ofErasmus, his resignation deeply humiliated the king but also cleared one of the key supporters ofpapal supremacy out of thePrivy Council opening the way for the further rise ofThomas Cromwell.
1532, June	Act in Conditional Restraint of Appeals.	An act of parliament that limited appeals to the Pope in ecclesiastical court cases, requiring that such appeals only proceed with the king’s permission. One of the key early acts of theReformation Parliament, it was significantly strengthened by the laterAct in Restraint of Appeals.
1532, August 22	William Warham, last pre-reformation Archbishop of Canterbury, dies atHackington inKent.	Died, like Wolsey, still under charge ofpraemunire. His death opened the way for the appointment ofThomas Cranmer as Archbishop the following year.
1532, December	Anne Boleyn falls pregnant.	Increased the urgency for Henry to marry Anne, both because it proved her fertility and to avoid the scandal of an illegitimate baby. Consequently, this increased the urgency to secure an immediate annulment, precipitating first the actions of the newly appointed Archbishop Cranmer, in contravention of papal rulings, and, in November 1534, the formal severance from Rome. It also proved that the couples claim to chastity awaiting marriage was, by this stage at least, false.
1533, 25 January	Henry VIII marriesAnne Boleyn atWhitehall Palace. The nuptial mass celebrated byThomas Cranmer,Archdeacon of Taunton and soon to beArchbishop of Canterbury.[1]	Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn without papal dispensation directly contravened canon law and papal authority bringing at least the married couple and Archbishop Cranmer into formalschism. It prompted Parliament to pass theStatute in Restraint of Appeals enabling Cranmer to formally declare Henry's marriage to Catherine illegitimate without fear ofappeal to papal jurisdiction, which he did atDunstable Priory later in the spring. When news reachedClement VII in July, he excommunicated Henry and Cranmer.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

c. 1526-7

Henry VIII sure of intentions to separate from his Queen,Catherine of Aragon.

This intention arose from repeated fertility problems with Queen Catherine, especially her failure to produce a surviving baby boy, and his growing infatuation withAnne Boleyn, who insisted on marriage before sleeping with him. It initiated first a series of attempts to secure anannulment of the marriage by existing Papal and English Ecclesiastical methods and when these failed the summoning of theReformation Parliament, a series of anti papal and anti clerical laws, and ultimately theAct of Supremacy. The process would also see the fall of two of Henry's chief ministers,Cardinal Wolsey andThomas More.

1527, 6-8 May

Sack of Rome by supposedly mutinous and unpaid troops ofCharles V,Catherine of Aragon's nephew. Occupation continued until July and resolution between theHoly See and theHoly Roman Empire wasn't reached until June 1528.

A catastrophic event in the history of Rome during which the city was desecrated andPope Clement VII was besieged in theCastel Sant'Angelo. This put the Papacy at mercy of theHoly Roman Empire and theHabsburg Dynasty, of whichCatherine of Aragon was a member, especially during the crucial period of the Clement's embattlement between the beginning of the siege and his departure from the Castel in December 1527. During treaty negotiations, Charles V did much to dissuade the pope from accepting Henry's annulment arguments, towards which he had previously expressed some openness to Cardinal Wolsey.

1527, 17-27 May

Series of secret meetings held at York Place (later thePalace of Whitehall) to examine justifications for anannulment of Henry and Catherine's Marriage.

The meetings were between the Archbishops of York and Canterbury, Cardinal Wolsey andWilliam Warham, and Henry himself and represent the first formal proceedings of the King's attempt to secure a separation from Catherine. Their discussions centered on the legitimacy ofJulius II'sdispensation for Henry and Catherine's marriage issued in 1503 and the relative importance in canon law of two contradictory Biblical verses. These were a verse of theKedoshim from theBook of Leviticus:"if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless"; and it's contrary, from a text known as theYibbum in theBook of Deuteronomy:"If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her." The outcome of the debates was inconclusive however Wolsey was instructed to continue proceedings towards an annulment.

1527, 22 June

Henry summoned his Queen to inform her that their marriage was illegitimate. Catherine sobbed but had been forewarned of his intentions and defended her position saying she would await the judgement of the church.

The two were already estranged by this point and had likely ceased all marital intimacy in around 1524.

1527, November

Group of theological, ethical, biblical, and canon law scholars gathered atHampton Court Palace to discuss the legitimacy of the King Henry and Queen Catherine's marriage.

This made the hitherto private annulment scandal (known asThe Kings Great Matter) a matter of public knowledge.

1528

William Tyndale publishedThe Obedience of a Christian Man, a central text of the English Reformation.

An apology forCaesaropapism, this text came into Henry's hands at a moment of personal conflict with church authority and thereby struck a chord with the monarch. While abhorring most of Tyndale's theology the arguments inObedience came to inspire Henry's policy of overturningPapal supremacy in theChurch of England and establishing Royal Supremacy (caresaropapiam) in its place. Tyndale for his part would later state his opposition to Henry's separation from Catherine of Aragon.

1529, 31 May

Opening session of the Blackfriars Legatine Court, aLegatine council held atLondon Blackfriars chaired byThomas Wolsey, acting in the capacity ofPapal Legate to England, andLorenzo Campeggio, theCardinal Protector of England.

The court was convened to formally rule on the legitimacy ofJulius II's 1503dispensation and consequently the relative importance of Leviticus 20:21 and Deuteronomy 25:5 (quoted above). In the course of its sessions it would hear pleas from both Henry and Catherine.

1529, 22 June

Queen Catherine gave a famous speech to her husband in defense of her position to the Legatine Court and, refusing to recognise any authority except the Pope's alone, immediately left the great hall at Blackfriars in protest.

The speech drew much sympathy entered the annals of English history as one of the great speeches of the Tudor Age.

1529, 18 July

Clement VII issues a revocation of the right to rule on the annulment dispute from the Legatine Court to Rome. His order would take around two weeks to arrive in London.

Effectively ends all English hopes of a solution to theGreat Matter by recourse to Papally approved channels and, from Henry's perspective, necessitated the summing of theReformation Parliament and both its initial campaign ofanti clerical and anti papal sanctions and it's later reforming legislation.

1529, 30 July

Closing session of the Blackfriars Legatine Court afterCardinal Campeggio had declared a summer adjournment on the 23rd.

The court ended without resolving the question and before it reconvened Clement VII's writ of revocation arrived.

1529, 9 August

Writs issued summoning the Fifth Parliament of Henry VIII's reign to help solve the Annulment Crisis. It will come to be known as theReformation Parliament.

Likely the result of the arrival of Clement VII's revocation of the case to Rome. This marked the beginning of a targeted campaign ofanti clerical and anti papal sanctions which gradually evolved into a campaign of reformation legislation as Henry came under the influence of less conservative ministers and grew more impatient for his marriage to Anne.

1529, 1–4 October

Marburg Colloquy

Synod to discuss the differences betweenLutheran andZwinglian positions on theReal presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Will define the essential opposition between the soft Lutheran and hard Reformed eucharistic theologies. While the English church will tend to an even more conservative view than Luther under Henry VIII it will adopt a generally Reformed theology under Edward. Elizabeth will reintroduce certain prayers that allow alatitudinarian toleration of both parties leading to the modern Church of England's essential division on the eucharistic question (seeEucharist in Anglicanism.

1529, 9 October

Wolsey charged under theStatute of Praemunire (seepraemunire). He was thereby made acivil outlaw in England and was obliged to forfeit personal property.

Wolsey's charge of praemunire and subsequent outlawry was the legal mechanism whereby the king disbarred him from his seat in theHouse of Lords and acquired his significant personal estates, most notablyHampton Court Palace and York Place (laterWhitehall Palace). Its use in this case effectively defined the Papacy and other structures of theLatin Church as foreign to England (contrary to most hitherto existent opinion) and foreshadowed theStatute in Restraint of Appeals. This marked the momentCardinal Wolsey fell from favour as Henry'schief minister.

1529, 26 October

Thomas Wolsey removed as Lord Chancellor.

An l consequence of hisoutlawry.

1529, 3 November

State Opening of the first session of the Fifth Parliament of Henry's reign (known to history as theReformation Parliament).

The first session of the assembly responsible for most of the legislation underpinning the Henrician Reformation, most notably theSupplication against the Ordinaries, theStatute in Restraint of Appeals, theAct Concerning Ecclesiastical Appointments and Absolute Restraint of Annates, theAct Concerning Peter's Pence and Dispensations, and most importantly Henry'sAct of Supremacy. It sat for an unusually lengthy total of nine sessions and was dissolved only in spring 1536.

1530

William Tyndale published The Practice of Prelates declaring his opposition to Henry's divorce proceedings and his belief that the Kings marriage to Catherine of Aragon was valid in Protestant eyes.

Shows that the authenticreformed tradition did not approve of Henry's justification for supremacy (securing an irregular annulment). Henry in his turn did much to suppress radical reformed thinkers and maintained a highly conservative theological position in the Church of England once he had secured supremacy.

1530

Thomas Cromwell, (pronounced Cromell) part of the inner ring of Henry'sPrivy Council. He had previously been in the service of Cardinal Wolsey of whom he remained deeply fond until his own execution a decade later.

Chief bureaucratic architect of the Henrician Reformation. He would come to be responsible for drafting the legal framework that overturned papal supremacy and established royal supremacy over theChurch of England. He later oversaw the dissolution of the monasteries.

1530, 23 February

Thomas Hitton executed by burning atMaidstone inKent.

Considered to be the first execution of a Protestant of the new Continentalreformed model (as opposed to Lollards) in the English reformation.

1530, April

Cardinal Wolsey returns to his episcopal seat atYork.

A response to both personal health problems and his homelessness in London following his charge of praemunire including his forfeiture of property and loss of place in both thePrivy Council andHouse of Lords.

1530, Summer

Writs ofPraemunire issued against 15 churchmen - includingWilliam Warham,John Fisher,John Clerk, andJohn Stokesley - who had recognised the Legatine Court of 1529 or appealed to Papal authority by other means.

Placed them in a state of civil outlawry under which their personal property was forfeited to the Crown and they were prevented from speaking in theHouse of Lords. The use of praemunire in these cases effectively defined the Papacy and other Roman Catholic structures as foreign to England and foreshadowed theStatute in Restraint of Appeals which in 1533 would strengthen the existingStatute of Praemunire.

1530, 29 November

Cardinal Wolsey died atLeicester Abbey ofdysentery on his journey to London and imprisonment in theTower.

His unfortunate illness likely spared him the fate of execution. His lost grave at Leicester Abbey (dissolved in 1538) is commemorated by a 20th century memorial.

1531

Henry revives ancient claim of English monarchs to theBritish imperium maius.

A revival of an ancient royal claim to supreme authority over both secular and ecclesiastical matters within the realm. This claim challenged papal jurisdiction and invoked the right of secular rulers to govern religious policy. Part of a series of strategies initially mustered to help in the Annulment Crisis but which ended up enabling the Reformation.

1531, 19 August

Thomas Bilney executed byburning atLollards Pit inNorwich,Norfolk.

One of the many Protestants executed for maintainingreformed theology during Henry's reign.

1532

TheDuke of Norfolk and theDuke of Suffolk fall from royal favour.

The temporary fall from favour of Norfolk and Suffolk weakened the conservative pro papal faction at court, reducing opposition to Henry VIII’s religious and political reforms. Their diminished influence cleared the way for reformers like Thomas Cromwell to shape the Reformation.

1532, January

Supplication against the Ordinaries.

A formal petition to the King, debated and passed by theHouse of Commons, designed to give the appearance of widespread public unease and popular opposition to clerical privilege. It accused bishops of abusing judicial powers, particularly through harsh use of excommunication and church courts, and claimed the clergy placed foreign (papal) interests above those of England and demanded greater royal and parliamentary control over ecclesiastical authority. This was one of the key early acts of theEnglish Reformation Parliament and precipitated theSubmission of the Clergy accepted shortly after by theConvocation of Canterbury.

1532, May

Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates

Reduced the annual payment ofannates to the papacy to just 5% of their original amount. Parliament threatened that it would withdraw all payments if Rome would not grant the King his annulment within one year. One of the key early acts of theReformation Parliament, it was significantly strengthened by the laterAct Concerning Ecclesiastical Appointments and Absolute Restraint of Annates which reserved all annates to the crown and thePeter's Pence Act 1533 which ended another key kind of payment from the English faithful to Rome.

1532, 15 May

Submission of the Clergy accepted by theConvocation of Canterbury.

A formal act in response to theCommons Supplication Against the Ordinaries, by which the senior clergy of theProvince of Canterbury of theChurch of England acknowledged that they would no longer enact or enforcecanon law without the King’s licence. By this submission, they surrendered their independent legislative authority, right of appeal to Rome, autonomy over ecclesiastical courts, and control over benefices and church property disputes, subordinating the legal and institutional life of the Church to the Crown. It is widely recognised as the moment the crisis begun in 1526 widened from the question of Henry's annulment to wider church reform.

1532, 16 May

Thomas More resigns asLord Chancellor of England and the informal position of Henry'schief minister.

A resignation on principle against a perceived overstep of royal authority, a breaking of the coronation vow to protect the church's liberty. Due to More's fame as a humanist scholar and corespondent ofErasmus, his resignation deeply humiliated the king but also cleared one of the key supporters ofpapal supremacy out of thePrivy Council opening the way for the further rise ofThomas Cromwell.

1532, June

Act in Conditional Restraint of Appeals.

An act of parliament that limited appeals to the Pope in ecclesiastical court cases, requiring that such appeals only proceed with the king’s permission. One of the key early acts of theReformation Parliament, it was significantly strengthened by the laterAct in Restraint of Appeals.

1532, August 22

William Warham, last pre-reformation Archbishop of Canterbury, dies atHackington inKent.

Died, like Wolsey, still under charge ofpraemunire. His death opened the way for the appointment ofThomas Cranmer as Archbishop the following year.

1532, December

Anne Boleyn falls pregnant.

Increased the urgency for Henry to marry Anne, both because it proved her fertility and to avoid the scandal of an illegitimate baby. Consequently, this increased the urgency to secure an immediate annulment, precipitating first the actions of the newly appointed Archbishop Cranmer, in contravention of papal rulings, and, in November 1534, the formal severance from Rome. It also proved that the couples claim to chastity awaiting marriage was, by this stage at least, false.

1533, 25 January

Henry VIII marriesAnne Boleyn atWhitehall Palace. The nuptial mass celebrated byThomas Cranmer,Archdeacon of Taunton and soon to beArchbishop of Canterbury.[1]

Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn without papal dispensation directly contravened canon law and papal authority bringing at least the married couple and Archbishop Cranmer into formalschism. It prompted Parliament to pass theStatute in Restraint of Appeals enabling Cranmer to formally declare Henry's marriage to Catherine illegitimate without fear ofappeal to papal jurisdiction, which he did atDunstable Priory later in the spring. When news reachedClement VII in July, he excommunicated Henry and Cranmer.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
1533, 18 March	Thomas Cranmer,Archdeacon of Taunton, appointedArchbishop of Canterbury byHenry VII. His decision was formally confirmed by a rubber stamping vote of the monks ofCanterbury Cathedral Priory a few days after.	An appointment motivated by the urgent need to secure annulment following Henry's clandestine marriage toAnne Boleyn on 25 January. Cranmer was aCambridge-educated reformer—student atJesus, later fellow atMagdalene—he was shaped by theWhite Horse Group, by his early experience of falling in love and marrying while on the path to priesthood and academia, and by his contact with continental reformers during his travels on diplomatic missions for the Crown. So long as Henry lived, largely maintained conservative theology in accordance with the King’s taste within theChurch of England. In this capacity, he solemnised theannulment between Henry andCatherine of Aragon without regard to the earlier papal refusal to try to save the king from possible charges of polygamy following his marriage to Anne. After Henry’s death in 1547 and the accession of his nine-year-old son,Edward VI, he would become the principal force behind, and architect of, theEdwardian Reformation, rapidly implementing a moderate but firmlyreformed theology as the orthodoxy of the Church of England by means of theBook of Common Prayer,Book of Homilies andForty-two Articles.
1533, 30 March	Cranmer consecrated bishop inLondon at eitherLambeth Palace Chapel orSt Mary Aldermanbury. His enthronement inCanterbury Cathedral followed on April 4.	This was the moment Cranmer took his oath to the papacy as part of theliturgy of episcopal consecration, although neitherClement VII nor any of his successors granted the usual approval of appointments to the Archbishopric of Canterbury. His oath was frequently used against him both as a criticism including during his trial for heresy.
1533, March-April	Statute in Restraint of Appeals. Accepted by Parliament in the first week of April, granted Royal Assent on April 15.	This bill formed part of a strategy to establish the legal foundation ofHenry VIII’s marriage toAnne Boleyn, enabling the courts of theChurch of England to issue anannulment of Henry's marriage toCatherine of Aragon in formalschism withHoly See and the rest of theLatin Church. It removed theright to appeal from all subjects of the crown who wished to dispute the ruling of an Englishchurch court in theappellate court of theRoman Curia. This meant no one could either initiate proceedings to challenge the annulment or express public support for any ruling Rome might happen to make on its legitimacy. It was superseded the following year by theAct of Supremacy, which acknowledged full Royal Supremacy over the Church of England.
1533, 12 April	Thomas Cromwell madeChancellor of the Exchequer.	Cromwell was gradually becoming Henry VIII'sChief Minister taking up the position ofSecretary of State andMaster of the Rolls the following year. He would be a principal architect of the legislation that secured monarchical supremacy over the Church of England and theDissolution of the Monasteries.
1533, 23 May	ArchbishopThomas Cranmer, formallyannulled Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon during a session of an extraordinaryarchiepiscopal court sitting atDunstable Priory inBedfordshire.	The proceedings of this court were enabled by theStatute in Restraint of Appeals, passed by Parliament a month earlier. It is the ruling which brought about a formalschism between theChurch of England and theHoly See. The choice of setting was deliberately nearAmpthill Castle, where Catherine of Aragon was living. She refused to recognise its judgement and maintained the legitimacy of her marriage to Henry until her death a few years later, in 1536. The ruling of the ecclesiastical court would be backed up by a ruling of Parliament in March the following year, when theAct of Succession ruled thatPrincess Mary was abastard.
1533, 4 July	John Frith executed byburning atSmithfield.
1533, 9 July	Pope Clement VII excommunicated Henry VIII and his advisers (including Thomas Cranmer) for the marriage to Anne Boleyn.	The write of excommunication included a caveat that it would be automatically void if the King separated from Anne before September. It was Henry VIII's first formal excommunication by the papacy.
1533, 7 September	Princess Elizabeth born atGreenwich Palace.	The future Queen (1558–1603) who would restore the Henrician and Edwardian Reformations and establish theElizabethan Settlement, the foundation of the modern Church of England.
1534, March	Act Concerning Ecclesiastical Appointments and Absolute Restraint of Annates.	The bill achieved two ends: firstly, established the monarch's unilateral authority to appoint all bishops and abbots, reducing papal influence on English ecclesiastical offices; secondly, it ended the payment ofannates to the Pope, redirecting them to the English Crown. In its first capacity, it legitimised the appointment of Archbishop Cranmer without papal approval and all subsequent royal appointments to English bishoprics. In its second capacity, it strengthened theAct in Conditional Restraint of Annates passed by parliament in 1532.
1534, March	Act Concerning Peter's Pence and Dispensations.	Abolished the Kingdom of England's payment ofPeter’s Pence and prohibited subjects of the crown from accepting papal dispensations and privileges unless approved by the King.
1534, March	First Act of Succession.	The act achieved two key ends. Firstly, it enforced universal recognition of the royal marriage by a universal publicOath of Succession for all clergy, secular officials, and university academics, as well as any subject called upon to take the oath, with dissenters suffering punishment forHigh Treason. This was a momentous step, the first time the ordinary common men of England were required to take an oath as a whole body. Secondly, the act altered the line of succession following the logic ofannulment. An annulment is the formal recognition that a given marriage is illicit, that it never existed, and that therefore all children produced by it are illegitimate. In the case of Henry and Catherine of Aragon it followed thatPrincess Mary was abastard, excluded from theroyal succession. Her title of Princess was discarded in favour of Lady Mary. Thirdly, it removed all previous legislation implying the dependence of the English succession on the Pope for its legitimacy and forbade the opinion to subjects.
1534, 20 April	Execution ofElizabeth Barton(The Holy Maid of Kent) together with her confessorEdward Bocking OSB and 6 of her supporters in the churchyard ofSt Sepulchre-without-Newgate in theCity of London.	One of the key popular voices against Henry’s annulment and marriage to Anne. Her death marked a stark warning against dissent to the King’s policies.
1534, November	First Act of Supremacy.	This act above all others formalised theChurch of England'sschism from theHoly See and the rest of theLatin Church by clearly acknowledging the principle ofRoyal Supremacy and the full rejection ofPapal Supremacy. Firstly, the act recognised that the English monarch was"of the Church of England in Earth, under Jesus Christ, Supreme Head", allegedly an ancient principle and title revived rather than an entirely new constitutional role. Secondly, it rejected all papal authority over either the Church of England'secclesiastical courts, strengthening the earlier acts, or its ruling on its religious doctrine, a fundamentally new step. Thirdly, the act required all clergy and secular officials - this time extended to all local borough officers and all school teachers - as well as any subject called upon to take the oath, to swear a newOath of Supremacy formally affirming their assent to the principle of Royal Supremacy in the Church of England.
1534, November	Treason Act.	Essentially the legislative framework for persecuting those who objected to the Act of Supremacy and the principle of the Royal Supremacy as traitors by expanding the definition of treason to include denial of the King’s supremacy over the Church. It made refusal of theOath of Supremacy or speaking against the King’s religious authority a capital offence. Thus all Roman Catholic's going forward would be punished by eitherbeheading for nobility orhanging, drawing, and quartering as traitors while all radical Protestants would by punished by burning under the old unrevised Heresy Acts passed against the Lollards.
1534, November	Act of First Fruits and Tenths.	Required that the remaining clerical levies paid by the English parish clergy to theHoly See should henceforth go to the monarch. The last revenue stream from England to the Roman Catholic Church.
1535	Bishop Gardiner'sDe Vera Obedientia published
1535	TheCoverdale Bible, compiled byMyles Coverdale published inAntwerp.	The first complete Modern English translation of the Bible (not just the Old Testament or New Testament), and the first complete printed translation into English. Coverdale's translation of the Psalms was adopted by Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer and remained for centuries the translation of the psalter prescribed for liturgical use in the Anglican church.
1535	Cranmer appointsHugh Latimer,Edward Foxe,Nicholas Shaxton to episcopacy.
1535, May	Humphrey Middlemore,William Exmew, andSebastian Newdigate, allCarthusian monks of theLondon Charterhouse, locked up for seventeen days. Ten more starve.
1535, 22 June	John Fisher executed.
1535, 6 July	Thomas More executed.
1535, 31 August	Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII and places the English Church underinterdict.	This marked Papal acceptance and formalisation of the Church of Englands succession from communion with the Roman Catholic Church until the death of Anne Boleyn when it looked like England may return to Catholicism. Henry VIII's second excommunication.
1536	John Calvin publishes hisInstitutio Christianae Religionis.	The most complete work of early Protestant systematic theology, the ideas contained in theInstitutes, known asreformed theology orCalvinism, were those generally favoured in the Church of England from Henry's death until the reign of Charles I, even until the 19th century. Most of the central teachings of both theForty-two and theThirty-nine Articles of Religion and the Eucharistic theology implied by theBook of Common Prayer show clear inspiration from Calvin directly, especially on the question of predestination.
1536 (date unknown)	William Tyndale executed for heresy nearVilvoorde on the continent.
1536, January	Anne miscarries again.
1536, 16 April	Royal Assent given to theFirst Suppression of Religious Houses Act.	This act initiated the first round of theDissolution of the Monasteries condemning all houses with an income of £200 or less. The act was proposed on the pretext of the corruption of these institutions and suggested that the evicted religious would be joined to the larger houses. In practice these houses were also soon suppressed by a further1539 Act and thereligious life entirely suppressed in the Church of England until the revival ofAnglican religious orders in the 19th century. Another pretext of the act was provision for charity. In practice almost all of the proceeds were used for military expenditure.
1536, April	'Reformation parliament' dissolved.
1536, 19 May	Anne Boleyn is executed onTower Green within the precincts theTower of London and buried in theChapel of St Peter ad Vincula.
1536, 21 May	Genevan Reformation.	The reforms of John Calvin are institutionalised. Will do much to impact theScottish Reformation and theWestminster Assembly during the later English Civil War.
1536, 30 May	Stephen Gardiner marries Henry VIII andJane Seymour.	Jane will give birth toPrince Edward, Henry's long-awaited son and heir.
1536, June	Second Act of Succession	Annulled Henry's marriage to the late Anne Boleyn retrospectively and excludedPrincess Elizabeth from theroyal succession by declaring her abastard. Also reassertedLady Mary's illegitimacy and exclusion. It gave Henry the right to personally grant the right of succession by means of his will. It also made all denials of its claims guilty ofHigh Treason.
1536, July	Ten Articles adopted.	This was the first formulation of the doctrine of the Church of England after the separation from Rome. AffirmedTransubstantiation, prayers for the dead, theintercession of the saints, and justification by both faith and works.
1536, 18 July	Act Extinguishing the Authority of the Bishop of Rome passed.	Reaffirmed the end of Papal Supremacy first expressed by the Act of Supremacy.
1536, 1 October	Pilgrimage of Grace begins.	Part of the popular reaction to theDissolution of the Monasteries.
1536, 4 October	Pilgrimage of Grace led by 18 members of the gentry.	Part of the popular reaction to theDissolution of the Monasteries.
1536, 13 October	York taken by 10,000 'pilgrims'.	Part of the popular reaction to theDissolution of the Monasteries.
1536, 8 December	Duke of Norfolk offers pardon to rebels.
1537	Bishops' Book published.
1537	John Rogers produces theMatthew Bible.
1537, January	Bigod's Rebellion, a further phase of the Pilgrimage of Grace, led by SirFrancis Bigod.	Part of the popular reaction to theDissolution of the Monasteries. 216 Catholic rebels and leaders executed.
1537, 12 October	Prince Edward born to Jane Seymour atHampton Court Palace.	Henry VIII's long desired male heir. The boy will come to be known as 'England's Josiah' (from the Old Testament reformerJosiah) as a result of the more radically Protestant reforms his ministers undertook in his short reign (1547–1553).
1538	Exeter Conspiracy.	Supposed pro papal plot against Henry VIII.
1538, autumn	The much revered holy images of theRood of Grace,Our Lady of Cardigan,Our Lady of Doncaster,Our Lady of Ipswich,Our Lady of Walsingham, andOur Lady of Willesden were burned by Cromwell at his home in Chelsea.	This was some of the earliest notable iconoclasm in the Church of England. Most art would remain in place in parish churches during Henry's reign and only the most famous of images, those which attracted pilgrimage, were regarded as blasphemous.
1538, 22 November	John Lambert burnt to death for heresy.
1538, 17 December	Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII a second time after the sentence had been lifted following Anne Boleyn's execution. The English Church again placed underinterdict.	This marked the final Papal acceptance of the Church of England's succession from communion with the Roman Catholic Church until Mary I Catholic restoration. Henry VIII's third and final papal excommunication.
1539, 28 June	Six Articles (1539).	Affirmed traditional doctrine.
1539, 28 June	Royal Assent given to theSecond Suppression of Religious Houses Act.	Leads to the second wave of theDissolution of the Monasteries.
1539	Taverner's Bible published.
1539	Publication of theGreat Bible compiled byMiles Coverdale.	This is the first English translation of the Bible to be authorised for use in parish churches.
1540, 6 January	Henry marriesAnne of Cleves.
1540, 9 July	Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves is annulled.
1540, 28 July	Thomas Cromwell is beheaded.
1540, 30 July	Simultaneous execution of evangelicalsRobert Barnes, William Jerome andThomas Gerrard byburning at the stake for heresy against theSix Articles withThomas Abel,Richard Fetherstone andEdward Powell byhanging, drawing, and quartering fortreason againstRoyal Supremacy atSmithfield.	An execution of threerecusant Roman Catholics for treason and the man who had preached the first openly evangelical sermon in Cambridge in 1525 (Robert Barnes) and two evangelical companions for heresy. A summary of Henry's uniquevia media and the oppressive consequences of his idiosyncratic reformation for both religious progressives and conservatives.
1543	The King's Book is published.	A high point of the resurgence of conservative religious policies rolling back of many of the reformist elements of theBishops' Book of 1537. Notably the seven sacraments are reasserted.
1543	Prebendaries Plot. Cranmer is arrested on grounds of heresy.	An attack on the chief reforming figure in the English episcopate.
1544	Bishop Gardiner is targeted.
1545	First Dissolution of Colleges Act.	First wave of thedissolution of chantries.
1546, 16 July	Anne Askew burned for heresy.
1546	'Creeping to the Cross' added to the list of forbidden practises.
1547, 28 January	Henry VIII dies.	Henry's death and Edward's accession opened the way for a far more radical reformation. He was buried with full catholic ceremonial and had commissioned manyRequiem masses to be sung.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

1533, 18 March

Thomas Cranmer,Archdeacon of Taunton, appointedArchbishop of Canterbury byHenry VII. His decision was formally confirmed by a rubber stamping vote of the monks ofCanterbury Cathedral Priory a few days after.

An appointment motivated by the urgent need to secure annulment following Henry's clandestine marriage toAnne Boleyn on 25 January. Cranmer was aCambridge-educated reformer—student atJesus, later fellow atMagdalene—he was shaped by theWhite Horse Group, by his early experience of falling in love and marrying while on the path to priesthood and academia, and by his contact with continental reformers during his travels on diplomatic missions for the Crown. So long as Henry lived, largely maintained conservative theology in accordance with the King’s taste within theChurch of England. In this capacity, he solemnised theannulment between Henry andCatherine of Aragon without regard to the earlier papal refusal to try to save the king from possible charges of polygamy following his marriage to Anne. After Henry’s death in 1547 and the accession of his nine-year-old son,Edward VI, he would become the principal force behind, and architect of, theEdwardian Reformation, rapidly implementing a moderate but firmlyreformed theology as the orthodoxy of the Church of England by means of theBook of Common Prayer,Book of Homilies andForty-two Articles.

1533, 30 March

Cranmer consecrated bishop inLondon at eitherLambeth Palace Chapel orSt Mary Aldermanbury. His enthronement inCanterbury Cathedral followed on April 4.

This was the moment Cranmer took his oath to the papacy as part of theliturgy of episcopal consecration, although neitherClement VII nor any of his successors granted the usual approval of appointments to the Archbishopric of Canterbury. His oath was frequently used against him both as a criticism including during his trial for heresy.

1533, March-April

Statute in Restraint of Appeals. Accepted by Parliament in the first week of April, granted Royal Assent on April 15.

This bill formed part of a strategy to establish the legal foundation ofHenry VIII’s marriage toAnne Boleyn, enabling the courts of theChurch of England to issue anannulment of Henry's marriage toCatherine of Aragon in formalschism withHoly See and the rest of theLatin Church. It removed theright to appeal from all subjects of the crown who wished to dispute the ruling of an Englishchurch court in theappellate court of theRoman Curia. This meant no one could either initiate proceedings to challenge the annulment or express public support for any ruling Rome might happen to make on its legitimacy. It was superseded the following year by theAct of Supremacy, which acknowledged full Royal Supremacy over the Church of England.

1533, 12 April

Thomas Cromwell madeChancellor of the Exchequer.

Cromwell was gradually becoming Henry VIII'sChief Minister taking up the position ofSecretary of State andMaster of the Rolls the following year. He would be a principal architect of the legislation that secured monarchical supremacy over the Church of England and theDissolution of the Monasteries.

1533, 23 May

ArchbishopThomas Cranmer, formallyannulled Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon during a session of an extraordinaryarchiepiscopal court sitting atDunstable Priory inBedfordshire.

The proceedings of this court were enabled by theStatute in Restraint of Appeals, passed by Parliament a month earlier. It is the ruling which brought about a formalschism between theChurch of England and theHoly See. The choice of setting was deliberately nearAmpthill Castle, where Catherine of Aragon was living. She refused to recognise its judgement and maintained the legitimacy of her marriage to Henry until her death a few years later, in 1536. The ruling of the ecclesiastical court would be backed up by a ruling of Parliament in March the following year, when theAct of Succession ruled thatPrincess Mary was abastard.

1533, 4 July

John Frith executed byburning atSmithfield.

1533, 9 July

Pope Clement VII excommunicated Henry VIII and his advisers (including Thomas Cranmer) for the marriage to Anne Boleyn.

The write of excommunication included a caveat that it would be automatically void if the King separated from Anne before September. It was Henry VIII's first formal excommunication by the papacy.

1533, 7 September

Princess Elizabeth born atGreenwich Palace.

The future Queen (1558–1603) who would restore the Henrician and Edwardian Reformations and establish theElizabethan Settlement, the foundation of the modern Church of England.

1534, March

Act Concerning Ecclesiastical Appointments and Absolute Restraint of Annates.

The bill achieved two ends: firstly, established the monarch's unilateral authority to appoint all bishops and abbots, reducing papal influence on English ecclesiastical offices; secondly, it ended the payment ofannates to the Pope, redirecting them to the English Crown. In its first capacity, it legitimised the appointment of Archbishop Cranmer without papal approval and all subsequent royal appointments to English bishoprics. In its second capacity, it strengthened theAct in Conditional Restraint of Annates passed by parliament in 1532.

1534, March

Act Concerning Peter's Pence and Dispensations.

Abolished the Kingdom of England's payment ofPeter’s Pence and prohibited subjects of the crown from accepting papal dispensations and privileges unless approved by the King.

1534, March

First Act of Succession.

The act achieved two key ends. Firstly, it enforced universal recognition of the royal marriage by a universal publicOath of Succession for all clergy, secular officials, and university academics, as well as any subject called upon to take the oath, with dissenters suffering punishment forHigh Treason. This was a momentous step, the first time the ordinary common men of England were required to take an oath as a whole body. Secondly, the act altered the line of succession following the logic ofannulment. An annulment is the formal recognition that a given marriage is illicit, that it never existed, and that therefore all children produced by it are illegitimate. In the case of Henry and Catherine of Aragon it followed thatPrincess Mary was abastard, excluded from theroyal succession. Her title of Princess was discarded in favour of Lady Mary. Thirdly, it removed all previous legislation implying the dependence of the English succession on the Pope for its legitimacy and forbade the opinion to subjects.

1534, 20 April

Execution ofElizabeth Barton(The Holy Maid of Kent) together with her confessorEdward Bocking OSB and 6 of her supporters in the churchyard ofSt Sepulchre-without-Newgate in theCity of London.

One of the key popular voices against Henry’s annulment and marriage to Anne. Her death marked a stark warning against dissent to the King’s policies.

1534, November

First Act of Supremacy.

This act above all others formalised theChurch of England'sschism from theHoly See and the rest of theLatin Church by clearly acknowledging the principle ofRoyal Supremacy and the full rejection ofPapal Supremacy. Firstly, the act recognised that the English monarch was"of the Church of England in Earth, under Jesus Christ, Supreme Head", allegedly an ancient principle and title revived rather than an entirely new constitutional role. Secondly, it rejected all papal authority over either the Church of England'secclesiastical courts, strengthening the earlier acts, or its ruling on its religious doctrine, a fundamentally new step. Thirdly, the act required all clergy and secular officials - this time extended to all local borough officers and all school teachers - as well as any subject called upon to take the oath, to swear a newOath of Supremacy formally affirming their assent to the principle of Royal Supremacy in the Church of England.

1534, November

Treason Act.

Essentially the legislative framework for persecuting those who objected to the Act of Supremacy and the principle of the Royal Supremacy as traitors by expanding the definition of treason to include denial of the King’s supremacy over the Church. It made refusal of theOath of Supremacy or speaking against the King’s religious authority a capital offence. Thus all Roman Catholic's going forward would be punished by eitherbeheading for nobility orhanging, drawing, and quartering as traitors while all radical Protestants would by punished by burning under the old unrevised Heresy Acts passed against the Lollards.

1534, November

Act of First Fruits and Tenths.

Required that the remaining clerical levies paid by the English parish clergy to theHoly See should henceforth go to the monarch. The last revenue stream from England to the Roman Catholic Church.

1535

Bishop Gardiner'sDe Vera Obedientia published

1535

TheCoverdale Bible, compiled byMyles Coverdale published inAntwerp.

The first complete Modern English translation of the Bible (not just the Old Testament or New Testament), and the first complete printed translation into English. Coverdale's translation of the Psalms was adopted by Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer and remained for centuries the translation of the psalter prescribed for liturgical use in the Anglican church.

1535

Cranmer appointsHugh Latimer,Edward Foxe,Nicholas Shaxton to episcopacy.

1535, May

Humphrey Middlemore,William Exmew, andSebastian Newdigate, allCarthusian monks of theLondon Charterhouse, locked up for seventeen days. Ten more starve.

1535, 22 June

John Fisher executed.

1535, 6 July

Thomas More executed.

1535, 31 August

Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII and places the English Church underinterdict.

This marked Papal acceptance and formalisation of the Church of Englands succession from communion with the Roman Catholic Church until the death of Anne Boleyn when it looked like England may return to Catholicism. Henry VIII's second excommunication.

1536

John Calvin publishes hisInstitutio Christianae Religionis.

The most complete work of early Protestant systematic theology, the ideas contained in theInstitutes, known asreformed theology orCalvinism, were those generally favoured in the Church of England from Henry's death until the reign of Charles I, even until the 19th century. Most of the central teachings of both theForty-two and theThirty-nine Articles of Religion and the Eucharistic theology implied by theBook of Common Prayer show clear inspiration from Calvin directly, especially on the question of predestination.

1536 (date unknown)

William Tyndale executed for heresy nearVilvoorde on the continent.

1536, January

Anne miscarries again.

1536, 16 April

Royal Assent given to theFirst Suppression of Religious Houses Act.

This act initiated the first round of theDissolution of the Monasteries condemning all houses with an income of £200 or less. The act was proposed on the pretext of the corruption of these institutions and suggested that the evicted religious would be joined to the larger houses. In practice these houses were also soon suppressed by a further1539 Act and thereligious life entirely suppressed in the Church of England until the revival ofAnglican religious orders in the 19th century. Another pretext of the act was provision for charity. In practice almost all of the proceeds were used for military expenditure.

1536, April

'Reformation parliament' dissolved.

1536, 19 May

Anne Boleyn is executed onTower Green within the precincts theTower of London and buried in theChapel of St Peter ad Vincula.

1536, 21 May

Genevan Reformation.

The reforms of John Calvin are institutionalised. Will do much to impact theScottish Reformation and theWestminster Assembly during the later English Civil War.

1536, 30 May

Stephen Gardiner marries Henry VIII andJane Seymour.

Jane will give birth toPrince Edward, Henry's long-awaited son and heir.

1536, June

Second Act of Succession

Annulled Henry's marriage to the late Anne Boleyn retrospectively and excludedPrincess Elizabeth from theroyal succession by declaring her abastard. Also reassertedLady Mary's illegitimacy and exclusion. It gave Henry the right to personally grant the right of succession by means of his will. It also made all denials of its claims guilty ofHigh Treason.

1536, July

Ten Articles adopted.

This was the first formulation of the doctrine of the Church of England after the separation from Rome. AffirmedTransubstantiation, prayers for the dead, theintercession of the saints, and justification by both faith and works.

1536, 18 July

Act Extinguishing the Authority of the Bishop of Rome passed.

Reaffirmed the end of Papal Supremacy first expressed by the Act of Supremacy.

1536, 1 October

Pilgrimage of Grace begins.

Part of the popular reaction to theDissolution of the Monasteries.

1536, 4 October

Pilgrimage of Grace led by 18 members of the gentry.

Part of the popular reaction to theDissolution of the Monasteries.

1536, 13 October

York taken by 10,000 'pilgrims'.

Part of the popular reaction to theDissolution of the Monasteries.

1536, 8 December

Duke of Norfolk offers pardon to rebels.

1537

Bishops' Book published.

1537

John Rogers produces theMatthew Bible.

1537, January

Bigod's Rebellion, a further phase of the Pilgrimage of Grace, led by SirFrancis Bigod.

Part of the popular reaction to theDissolution of the Monasteries. 216 Catholic rebels and leaders executed.

1537, 12 October

Prince Edward born to Jane Seymour atHampton Court Palace.

Henry VIII's long desired male heir. The boy will come to be known as 'England's Josiah' (from the Old Testament reformerJosiah) as a result of the more radically Protestant reforms his ministers undertook in his short reign (1547–1553).

1538

Exeter Conspiracy.

Supposed pro papal plot against Henry VIII.

1538, autumn

The much revered holy images of theRood of Grace,Our Lady of Cardigan,Our Lady of Doncaster,Our Lady of Ipswich,Our Lady of Walsingham, andOur Lady of Willesden were burned by Cromwell at his home in Chelsea.

This was some of the earliest notable iconoclasm in the Church of England. Most art would remain in place in parish churches during Henry's reign and only the most famous of images, those which attracted pilgrimage, were regarded as blasphemous.

1538, 22 November

John Lambert burnt to death for heresy.

1538, 17 December

Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII a second time after the sentence had been lifted following Anne Boleyn's execution. The English Church again placed underinterdict.

This marked the final Papal acceptance of the Church of England's succession from communion with the Roman Catholic Church until Mary I Catholic restoration. Henry VIII's third and final papal excommunication.

1539, 28 June

Six Articles (1539).

Affirmed traditional doctrine.

1539, 28 June

Royal Assent given to theSecond Suppression of Religious Houses Act.

Leads to the second wave of theDissolution of the Monasteries.

1539

Taverner's Bible published.

1539

Publication of theGreat Bible compiled byMiles Coverdale.

This is the first English translation of the Bible to be authorised for use in parish churches.

1540, 6 January

Henry marriesAnne of Cleves.

1540, 9 July

Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves is annulled.

1540, 28 July

Thomas Cromwell is beheaded.

1540, 30 July

Simultaneous execution of evangelicalsRobert Barnes, William Jerome andThomas Gerrard byburning at the stake for heresy against theSix Articles withThomas Abel,Richard Fetherstone andEdward Powell byhanging, drawing, and quartering fortreason againstRoyal Supremacy atSmithfield.

An execution of threerecusant Roman Catholics for treason and the man who had preached the first openly evangelical sermon in Cambridge in 1525 (Robert Barnes) and two evangelical companions for heresy. A summary of Henry's uniquevia media and the oppressive consequences of his idiosyncratic reformation for both religious progressives and conservatives.

1543

The King's Book is published.

A high point of the resurgence of conservative religious policies rolling back of many of the reformist elements of theBishops' Book of 1537. Notably the seven sacraments are reasserted.

1543

Prebendaries Plot. Cranmer is arrested on grounds of heresy.

An attack on the chief reforming figure in the English episcopate.

1544

Bishop Gardiner is targeted.

1545

First Dissolution of Colleges Act.

First wave of thedissolution of chantries.

1546, 16 July

Anne Askew burned for heresy.

1546

'Creeping to the Cross' added to the list of forbidden practises.

1547, 28 January

Henry VIII dies.

Henry's death and Edward's accession opened the way for a far more radical reformation. He was buried with full catholic ceremonial and had commissioned manyRequiem masses to be sung.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
1547, 28 January	Edward VI accedes to the throne aged 9	EdwardsCouncil of Regency, headed byEdward, Duke of Somerset asLord Protector, allows ArchbishopThomas Cranmer to undertake a far more radical reformation than had been possible under Henry VIII. Thanks to these reforms the boy will come to be known as 'England's Josiah' (from the Old Testament reformerJosiah).
1547, August	A visitation of parish churches is undertaken and theRoyal Injunctions are implemented.	Rosaries are outlawed along withreligious processions
1547, December 24	Second Dissolution of Colleges Act	Second wave of thedissolution of chantries
1547	TheFirst Book of Homilies introduced.	Cranmer's attempt to standardise Protestant doctrine across the English church through prescribed parish sermons.
1547	The Italian reformers and refugeesPeter Martyr Vermigli andBernardino Ochino arrive in England at Cranmer's request to take up academic positions.	Part of a wave of notable continental reformers who sought refuge in Edwardian England and came to influence its universities. Peter Martyr particularly would influence the form of the Book of Common Prayer.
1549, 21 January	TheFirst Book of Common Prayer is introduced byThomas Cranmer inConvocation and theAct of Uniformity imposed its use in all churches.	This made theBook of Common Prayer the only lawful form of public worship afterWhitsunday later in the same year. It was the first of several such acts that would be passed by parliament in the course of the reformation.
1549, 7 April	John Knox licensed to minister in the Church of England and made parish priest ofBerwick upon Tweed.	Knox will later go on to take a number of posts and preach frequently in the Chapel Royal. His challenge of Cranmer's compromises with conservatives lead to the composition of theBlack Rubric in 1552. In the 1560s he will come to be the principal leader of theScottish Reformation.
1549, 25 April	Martin Bucer, the German Lutheran reformer arrives in London as a refugee accompanied by the scholarPaul Fagius. Welcomed with honour by Cranmer and Edward VI	Part of a wave of notable continental reformers who sought refuge in Edwardian England and came to influence its universities.
1549, 9 June	Whitsunday 1549 was the first time the new English service from theBook of Common Prayer was read out in parish churches.	A series of popular revolts followed.
1549, June–August	ThePrayer Book Rebellion in theWest Country against the imposition of the new liturgy, especially amongstCornish speakers who knew no English.	Part of the popular reaction to theAct of Uniformity and thePutting away of Books & Images Act. Around 5'000 Catholic rebels killed.
1549, June	Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire rising in reaction to the introduction of the Book of Common Prayer and toland enclosures.	Part of the popular reaction to theAct of Uniformity.
1549, July–August	Kett's Rebellion, the Norfolk wave of reactions to land enclosure and liturgical reform.	Part of the popular reaction to theAct of Uniformity.
1550, 1 February	Putting away of Books and Images Act orders the removal of religious books and the destruction of images in churches	Leads to one of the worst waves oficonoclasm in English history. All parish churches see their statues and roods desecrated and their wall paintings overpainted.
1550	John Ponet consecratedBishop of Rochester by Thomas Cranmer. Later transferred toWinchester.	One of a number of noted Protestant minded clerics made bishops of the Church of England under Edward VI.
1550, 2 May	Joan Bocher burned at the stake for preaching theAnabaptist heresy.	One of just two radical Protestants executed under Edward.
1550, 24 July	French Protestant Church of London andDutch Church, Austin Friars established, the later in the church of the dissolvedLondon Austin Priory.	Two of a wave ofStranger churches established for foreign Protestant refugees.
1551	George van Parris burnt for heresy, a member of the Dutch Stranger Church.
1551, 8 March	John Hooper consecratedBishop of Gloucester by Thomas Cranmer.	Refused consecration initially because ofvestments controversy. One of the most radical of the Protestants made bishops in the Church of England during the Edwardian Reformation.
1551, 30 August	Myles Coverdale consecratedBishop of Exeter by Thomas Cranmer.
1552	TheSecond Book of Common Prayer is enforced by theAct of Uniformity 1552.	Heavily revised to emphasisereformed eucharistic theology.
1553, 19 June	Cranmer'sForty-two Articles are made normative for all the English clergy by the Privy Council.	This formulation of doctrine, its first thoroughlyreformed formulation, survived as the teaching of the Church of England only a few months.
1553, 6 July	Edward VI dies aged 15, leaving the throne to his Protestant cousin,Lady Jane Grey and excluding both his half-sisters in an attempt to secure the continued reformation of the Church of England.	Edward's death marks the point of most radical reform the Church of England ever experienced until the time ofThe Interregnum. It resulted in the restoration of full communion with the papacy to the Church under Mary I and the comparatively conservativeElizabethan Settlement when Protestantism was restored under Elizabeth.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

1547, 28 January

Edward VI accedes to the throne aged 9

EdwardsCouncil of Regency, headed byEdward, Duke of Somerset asLord Protector, allows ArchbishopThomas Cranmer to undertake a far more radical reformation than had been possible under Henry VIII. Thanks to these reforms the boy will come to be known as 'England's Josiah' (from the Old Testament reformerJosiah).

1547, August

A visitation of parish churches is undertaken and theRoyal Injunctions are implemented.

Rosaries are outlawed along withreligious processions

1547, December 24

Second Dissolution of Colleges Act

Second wave of thedissolution of chantries

1547

TheFirst Book of Homilies introduced.

Cranmer's attempt to standardise Protestant doctrine across the English church through prescribed parish sermons.

1547

The Italian reformers and refugeesPeter Martyr Vermigli andBernardino Ochino arrive in England at Cranmer's request to take up academic positions.

Part of a wave of notable continental reformers who sought refuge in Edwardian England and came to influence its universities. Peter Martyr particularly would influence the form of the Book of Common Prayer.

1549, 21 January

TheFirst Book of Common Prayer is introduced byThomas Cranmer inConvocation and theAct of Uniformity imposed its use in all churches.

This made theBook of Common Prayer the only lawful form of public worship afterWhitsunday later in the same year. It was the first of several such acts that would be passed by parliament in the course of the reformation.

1549, 7 April

John Knox licensed to minister in the Church of England and made parish priest ofBerwick upon Tweed.

Knox will later go on to take a number of posts and preach frequently in the Chapel Royal. His challenge of Cranmer's compromises with conservatives lead to the composition of theBlack Rubric in 1552. In the 1560s he will come to be the principal leader of theScottish Reformation.

1549, 25 April

Martin Bucer, the German Lutheran reformer arrives in London as a refugee accompanied by the scholarPaul Fagius. Welcomed with honour by Cranmer and Edward VI

Part of a wave of notable continental reformers who sought refuge in Edwardian England and came to influence its universities.

1549, 9 June

Whitsunday 1549 was the first time the new English service from theBook of Common Prayer was read out in parish churches.

A series of popular revolts followed.

1549, June–August

ThePrayer Book Rebellion in theWest Country against the imposition of the new liturgy, especially amongstCornish speakers who knew no English.

Part of the popular reaction to theAct of Uniformity and thePutting away of Books & Images Act. Around 5'000 Catholic rebels killed.

1549, June

Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire rising in reaction to the introduction of the Book of Common Prayer and toland enclosures.

Part of the popular reaction to theAct of Uniformity.

1549, July–August

Kett's Rebellion, the Norfolk wave of reactions to land enclosure and liturgical reform.

Part of the popular reaction to theAct of Uniformity.

1550, 1 February

Putting away of Books and Images Act orders the removal of religious books and the destruction of images in churches

Leads to one of the worst waves oficonoclasm in English history. All parish churches see their statues and roods desecrated and their wall paintings overpainted.

1550

John Ponet consecratedBishop of Rochester by Thomas Cranmer. Later transferred toWinchester.

One of a number of noted Protestant minded clerics made bishops of the Church of England under Edward VI.

1550, 2 May

Joan Bocher burned at the stake for preaching theAnabaptist heresy.

One of just two radical Protestants executed under Edward.

1550, 24 July

French Protestant Church of London andDutch Church, Austin Friars established, the later in the church of the dissolvedLondon Austin Priory.

Two of a wave ofStranger churches established for foreign Protestant refugees.

1551

George van Parris burnt for heresy, a member of the Dutch Stranger Church.

1551, 8 March

John Hooper consecratedBishop of Gloucester by Thomas Cranmer.

Refused consecration initially because ofvestments controversy. One of the most radical of the Protestants made bishops in the Church of England during the Edwardian Reformation.

1551, 30 August

Myles Coverdale consecratedBishop of Exeter by Thomas Cranmer.

1552

TheSecond Book of Common Prayer is enforced by theAct of Uniformity 1552.

Heavily revised to emphasisereformed eucharistic theology.

1553, 19 June

Cranmer'sForty-two Articles are made normative for all the English clergy by the Privy Council.

This formulation of doctrine, its first thoroughlyreformed formulation, survived as the teaching of the Church of England only a few months.

1553, 6 July

Edward VI dies aged 15, leaving the throne to his Protestant cousin,Lady Jane Grey and excluding both his half-sisters in an attempt to secure the continued reformation of the Church of England.

Edward's death marks the point of most radical reform the Church of England ever experienced until the time ofThe Interregnum. It resulted in the restoration of full communion with the papacy to the Church under Mary I and the comparatively conservativeElizabethan Settlement when Protestantism was restored under Elizabeth.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
1553, 10-19 July	The 9 day reign ofQueen Jane Grey. She was publicly acclaimed as Queen of England in London on 10 July byEdward VI's ministers lead byJohn Dudley.	This short reign was an abortive attempt on the part of Edward's Protestant council to avert the accession of Mary and Elizabeth Tudor and a feared restoration ofRoman Catholicism. It was also likely a means of preserving the political power of those ministers.
1553, 12 July	Princess Mary arrived atFramlingham Castle where she stayed as troops gathered to support her from across Suffolk and key nobles declared their support for her over Jane.
1553, 14 July	ThePrivy Council withdrew their support from Jane offering it to Mary.	Doomed Jane's claim in the succession crisis.
1553, 19 July	Queen Jane Grey was deposed and arrested by the Privy council and Mary was acclaimed Queen. Mary was sent for atFramlingham and arrived in London in late July.	Established Mary as monarch and ensured the temporary Roman Catholic restoration in England, Wales, and Ireland.
1553, late July	Nicholas Ridley,Bishop of London, is arrested (July 1553) and formally deprived of his see following his refusal to conform to restored Latin liturgical rites restored by the Privy Council in anticipation of the wider Restoration of Roman Catholicism.
1553, 23 August	Stephen Gardiner,Bishop of Winchester, madeLord Chancellor.	First of Mary's two Lord Chancellors, both Bishops, responsible for advising her and implementing her religious and secular policies.
1553, 1 September	Miles Coverdale,Bishop of Exeter, is deprived of his see because he was married.
1553, 14 September	Thomas Cranmer arrested atLambeth Palace and taken into custody at theTower of London	Cranmer was the principal object of Mary's displeasure due to his central role in securing the annulment of the marriage between her father and mother,Henry VIII andCatherine of Aragon back in 1533 and his role asArchbishop of Canterbury in overseeing theEdwardian Reformation and the compilation of theBook of Common Prayer.
1553, 1 October	Coronation of QueenMary I inWestminster Abbey. The service was celebrated byStephen Gardener due to the Archbishop of Canterbury's imprisonment.
1553, 5 October	John Taylor,Bishop of Lincoln, is formally deprived of his bishopric for refusing to hear Mass and rejecting papal supremacy; removed from Convocation and Parliament on 5 October.
1553, December	First Statute of Repeal nullifies all religious legislation passed under Edward VI	Returned religious policy to the one in place during her father's reign and undid all Cranmer's reforms during Edward's short reign. The Book of Common Prayer was banned, theSarum Rite was restored, and parish churches were encouraged to resume processions and restore desecrated iconography.
1554, 26 January	Start ofWyatt's rebellion in protest at Mary's planned marriage toPrince Philip of Spain.
1554, 12 February	Execution ofLady Jane Grey.	Largely a response to Wyatt's rebellion and fear of an alternative possible monarch for rebels to rally round. Mary saw Jane as an innocent victim of the machinations of Edward's Protestant councilors.
1554, 19 March	John Hooper,Bishop of Gloucester andWorcester, is deprived of his two episcopal sees.
1554, 14 April	Hugh Latimer,Bishop of Worcester, is examined by papal commissioners on 14 April 1554 and deprived of ecclesiastical office for rejecting transubstantiation and papal authority.
1554, 25 July	Mary marries her cousinPhilip II of Spain,King of Spain, inWinchester Cathedral. Thenuptial mass was celebrated bySteven Gardener. Philip nominally became King of England in acoregency with Mary, although the marriage contract scrupulously stipulated that all political power rested with Mary and Philip never underwent a ceremony of coronation.	Firmly bound the Kingdom of England toHabsburg Spain and its ally theHoly Roman Empire against theKingdom of France. Due to the many executions of Protestant for heresy under the coregency, it will do much to inflame later English and Protestant anti Spanish sentiments known as theBlack legend.
1555, 13 November	Thomas Cranmer officially deprived of the See of Canterbury.
1554, 20 November	CardinalReginald Pole returns to England
1554, 30 November	Mary persuades Parliament to request Reginald Pole, thePapal Legate, to seek Papal absolution for England's separation from the Catholic Church.	Signals the beginning of the return of the Church of England to communion with the See of Rome
1555, 16 January	Second Statute of Repeal, also known as the See of Rome Act, removes all religious legislation passed since 1529	Formally ended the schism, reestablishedPapal Supremacy over the Church of England, and returned the nations Dioceses and Parishes to full communion with the rest of theLatin Church.
1555, 16 January	Revival of the Heresy Acts restored the death penalty for those that denied the principles of Catholicism.	More than 300 people would be executed during Mary's reign, mostly by burning at the stake, earning her the title of Bloody Mary, even though Queen Elizabeth and King Henry executed many more people during their reigns
1555, 4 February	John Rogers burned at the stake atSmithfield.	First of the Marian Martyrs, editor of theMatthew Bible and Royal Chaplain to Edward IV.
1555, 9 February	John Hooper, formerBishop of Gloucester, burned at the stake inGloucester.
1555, 1 July	John Bradford burned at the stake at Smithfield.
1555, 16 October	Hugh Latimer, formerBishop of Worcester, andNicholas Ridley, formerBishop of London, were burned at the stake in Oxford. Cranmer was a witness to their deaths.	Among Latimer's dying words was the famous line:"Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."
1556, 21 March	ArchbishopThomas Cranmer burned at the stake in Oxford.	The story of Cranmer's death and those of all the Protestant martyrs become ideologically very potent in future years thanks to their faithful willingness to suffer andFoxes Book of Martyrs which popularised them.
1556, 22 March	Reginald Pole consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury.	He would prove to be the last Roman CatholicPrimate of All England.
1556, 27 June	The 13Stratford Martyrs were all burned at the stake for heresy at eitherStratford, London or Stratford le Bow (nowBow, London).	Witnessed by upwards of 20'000 people.Stratford Martyrs Memorial erected during 19th century.
1558, 17 November	Mary I dies and her half-sisterPrincess Elizabeth accedes. Cardinal Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury dies the same day leaving the key clerical position conveniently open for a Protestant replacement. Philip's English title lapses with the death of his wife.	Initiates the Elizabethan reformation, the final end of Roman Catholicism as thestate church in England. Widely celebrated as Elizabeth's accession and the liberation of England from the Pope for the next 300 years. The 17th of November comes to be known asQueene's Day.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

1553, 10-19 July

The 9 day reign ofQueen Jane Grey. She was publicly acclaimed as Queen of England in London on 10 July byEdward VI's ministers lead byJohn Dudley.

This short reign was an abortive attempt on the part of Edward's Protestant council to avert the accession of Mary and Elizabeth Tudor and a feared restoration ofRoman Catholicism. It was also likely a means of preserving the political power of those ministers.

1553, 12 July

Princess Mary arrived atFramlingham Castle where she stayed as troops gathered to support her from across Suffolk and key nobles declared their support for her over Jane.

1553, 14 July

ThePrivy Council withdrew their support from Jane offering it to Mary.

Doomed Jane's claim in the succession crisis.

1553, 19 July

Queen Jane Grey was deposed and arrested by the Privy council and Mary was acclaimed Queen. Mary was sent for atFramlingham and arrived in London in late July.

Established Mary as monarch and ensured the temporary Roman Catholic restoration in England, Wales, and Ireland.

1553, late July

Nicholas Ridley,Bishop of London, is arrested (July 1553) and formally deprived of his see following his refusal to conform to restored Latin liturgical rites restored by the Privy Council in anticipation of the wider Restoration of Roman Catholicism.

1553, 23 August

Stephen Gardiner,Bishop of Winchester, madeLord Chancellor.

First of Mary's two Lord Chancellors, both Bishops, responsible for advising her and implementing her religious and secular policies.

1553, 1 September

Miles Coverdale,Bishop of Exeter, is deprived of his see because he was married.

1553, 14 September

Thomas Cranmer arrested atLambeth Palace and taken into custody at theTower of London

Cranmer was the principal object of Mary's displeasure due to his central role in securing the annulment of the marriage between her father and mother,Henry VIII andCatherine of Aragon back in 1533 and his role asArchbishop of Canterbury in overseeing theEdwardian Reformation and the compilation of theBook of Common Prayer.

1553, 1 October

Coronation of QueenMary I inWestminster Abbey. The service was celebrated byStephen Gardener due to the Archbishop of Canterbury's imprisonment.

1553, 5 October

John Taylor,Bishop of Lincoln, is formally deprived of his bishopric for refusing to hear Mass and rejecting papal supremacy; removed from Convocation and Parliament on 5 October.

1553, December

First Statute of Repeal nullifies all religious legislation passed under Edward VI

Returned religious policy to the one in place during her father's reign and undid all Cranmer's reforms during Edward's short reign. The Book of Common Prayer was banned, theSarum Rite was restored, and parish churches were encouraged to resume processions and restore desecrated iconography.

1554, 26 January

Start ofWyatt's rebellion in protest at Mary's planned marriage toPrince Philip of Spain.

1554, 12 February

Execution ofLady Jane Grey.

Largely a response to Wyatt's rebellion and fear of an alternative possible monarch for rebels to rally round. Mary saw Jane as an innocent victim of the machinations of Edward's Protestant councilors.

1554, 19 March

John Hooper,Bishop of Gloucester andWorcester, is deprived of his two episcopal sees.

1554, 14 April

Hugh Latimer,Bishop of Worcester, is examined by papal commissioners on 14 April 1554 and deprived of ecclesiastical office for rejecting transubstantiation and papal authority.

1554, 25 July

Mary marries her cousinPhilip II of Spain,King of Spain, inWinchester Cathedral. Thenuptial mass was celebrated bySteven Gardener. Philip nominally became King of England in acoregency with Mary, although the marriage contract scrupulously stipulated that all political power rested with Mary and Philip never underwent a ceremony of coronation.

Firmly bound the Kingdom of England toHabsburg Spain and its ally theHoly Roman Empire against theKingdom of France. Due to the many executions of Protestant for heresy under the coregency, it will do much to inflame later English and Protestant anti Spanish sentiments known as theBlack legend.

1555,

13 November

Thomas Cranmer officially deprived of the See of Canterbury.

1554, 20 November

CardinalReginald Pole returns to England

1554, 30 November

Mary persuades Parliament to request Reginald Pole, thePapal Legate, to seek Papal absolution for England's separation from the Catholic Church.

Signals the beginning of the return of the Church of England to communion with the See of Rome

1555, 16 January

Second Statute of Repeal, also known as the See of Rome Act, removes all religious legislation passed since 1529

Formally ended the schism, reestablishedPapal Supremacy over the Church of England, and returned the nations Dioceses and Parishes to full communion with the rest of theLatin Church.

1555, 16 January

Revival of the Heresy Acts restored the death penalty for those that denied the principles of Catholicism.

More than 300 people would be executed during Mary's reign, mostly by burning at the stake, earning her the title of Bloody Mary, even though Queen Elizabeth and King Henry executed many more people during their reigns

1555, 4 February

John Rogers burned at the stake atSmithfield.

First of the Marian Martyrs, editor of theMatthew Bible and Royal Chaplain to Edward IV.

1555, 9 February

John Hooper, formerBishop of Gloucester, burned at the stake inGloucester.

1555, 1 July

John Bradford burned at the stake at Smithfield.

1555, 16 October

Hugh Latimer, formerBishop of Worcester, andNicholas Ridley, formerBishop of London, were burned at the stake in Oxford. Cranmer was a witness to their deaths.

Among Latimer's dying words was the famous line:"Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."

1556, 21 March

ArchbishopThomas Cranmer burned at the stake in Oxford.

The story of Cranmer's death and those of all the Protestant martyrs become ideologically very potent in future years thanks to their faithful willingness to suffer andFoxes Book of Martyrs which popularised them.

1556, 22 March

Reginald Pole consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury.

He would prove to be the last Roman CatholicPrimate of All England.

1556, 27 June

The 13Stratford Martyrs were all burned at the stake for heresy at eitherStratford, London or Stratford le Bow (nowBow, London).

Witnessed by upwards of 20'000 people.Stratford Martyrs Memorial erected during 19th century.

1558, 17 November

Mary I dies and her half-sisterPrincess Elizabeth accedes. Cardinal Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury dies the same day leaving the key clerical position conveniently open for a Protestant replacement. Philip's English title lapses with the death of his wife.

Initiates the Elizabethan reformation, the final end of Roman Catholicism as thestate church in England. Widely celebrated as Elizabeth's accession and the liberation of England from the Pope for the next 300 years. The 17th of November comes to be known asQueene's Day.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
1559, 15 January	Elizabeth is crowned. Because of her Protestant views, only the low-rankingOwen Oglethorpe,Bishop of Carlisle, is willing to officiate.	The last Catholiccoronation of a British monarch.
1558-59	Elizabethan Religious Settlement, a compromise which secured a return to aReformed Protestantism but allowed some Catholic traditions such as kneeling for Communion and the sign of the cross to continue.	The Elizabethan Settlement finally established the norms ofAnglican doctrine around the principle of thevia media which, apart from duringThe Interregnum, has remained the bedrock of the Church of England's identity ever since.
1559, 31 March	Opening session of theWestminster Conference held inWestminster Hall to determine Elizabeth's religious policy.
1559, May 8	Act of Supremacy 1558 confirmed Elizabeth as Head of the Church of England and abolished the authority of the Pope in England.	Final schism between the Church of England with the Roman Papacy.Oath of Supremacy reimposed.
1559, May 8	Act of Uniformity 1558	Required attendances at church services and introduced the newly revisedBook of Common Prayer (1559).
1559, June-July	Thirteen Marian bishops—Nicholas Heath (Archbishop of York),Edmund Bonner (Bishop of London),Cuthbert Tunstall (Bishop of Durham),Thomas Thirlby (Bishop of Ely),John White (Bishop of Winchester),Thomas Watson (Bishop of Lincoln),Ralph Baynes (Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry),John Christopherson (Bishop of Chichester),Gilbert Bourne (Bishop of Bath and Wells),James Turberville (Bishop of Exeter),Thomas Reynolds (Bishop of Hereford), andDavid Pole (Bishop of Peterborough)—are deprived of office for refusing theOath of Supremacy or to conform to theBook of Common Prayer (1559).	These deprivations enabled a clean sweep of the hierarchy of the Church of England and most were replaced with Protestant refugees returning from exile.
1559, 1 August	Matthew Parker appointedArchbishop of Canterbury	The Second ProtestantPrimate of All England. The uncertain circumstances of his private consecration gave rise to theNag's Head Fable popular amongrecusants. He was the second of Englands ProtestantPrimates
1559-1560	Scottish Reformation	Lead byJohn Knox and theLords of the Congregation. Will do much to impact the Long Reformation in England once the crowns are united following Elizabeth's death. ThePresbyterian polity Knox established in theChurch of Scotland would be a significant source of inspiration for thePuritans of the Church of England.
1560	Geneva Bible published in Switzerland	Published by SirRowland Hill. Although never authorised for use in England, it was the first English Bible to be divided intoverses and became popular withDissenters.
1563	First publication of a revision of Cranmer'sBook of Homilies.	An edited reprint of Cranmer's earlier Book of Homilies, this book provided prescribed sermons to ensure doctrinal unity across the Church of England.
1568	Bishops' Bible published	A compromise between the vigorous butCalvinist Geneva Bible and the Great Bible, which it replaces in parish churches.
1569, 9 November—1570, 21 January	TheRising of the Northern Earls against Elizabeth in an attempt to installMary, Queen of Scots as monarch of England.	Intensifies anti Catholic reprisals and strengthens Elizabeth's position.
1570, 27 April	Pope Pius V excommunicates Elizabeth I in thebullRegnans in Excelsis declaring her a heretic and threatening those who obeyed her laws with excommunication.
1571, August	Ridolfi plot to overthrow Elizabeth I and restore state Catholicism.	A plot by theDuke of Norfolk,Roberto di Ridolfo, and several European Catholic dignitaries including the Pope and the King of Spain to replace Elizabeth withMary, Queen of Scots.
1571	TheThirty-nine Articles of Religion finalised and accepted as the Church of England's principle doctrinal statement.	The mature theological expression of theElizabethan Settlement. These articles, a revised edition ofCranmer'sForty-two Articles of Religion, were appended to the Book of Common Prayer. Apart from a period duringThe Interregnum, this has remained the Church of England's core statement of faith (aside from the threeEcumenical Creeds) ever since and still plays a fundamental role in Anglican doctrine today.
1571	First publication of a newBook of Homilies.	Like Cranmer's earlier Book of Homilies, this book provided prescribed sermons to ensure doctrinal unity across the Church of England. It was largely written byMatthew Parker and designed to be supplement the previous editions.
1572, 2 June	Execution ofThomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk for his role in theRidolfi plot.
1572, 22 August	Execution ofThomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland inYork for his role in theRising of the Northern Earls.	One of the Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation, he was subsequentlybeatified byPope Leo XIII on 13 May 1895.
1572, 24 August	St Bartholomew's Day Massacre begins in Paris.	Sends shockwaves throughout Protestant Europe and sparks a wave ofHuguenots seeking refuge in England from French Catholic persecution.
1574	Peter Baro, a French Huguenot refugee was appointedLady Margaret's Professor of Divinity at theUniversity of Cambridge.	A proto-Arminian, this marked a new departure in English Protestant theology.
1575, 17 May	Matthew Parker dies.
1575, 29 December	Edmund Grindal enthroned asArchbishop of Canterbury.	The third ProtestantPrimate of All England. A radical Protestant (seepuritans) he caused significant controversy during his brief tenure.
1578, January	Elizabeth I tries to haveEdmund Grindal deprived of office.	Grindal was pushing for morepuritanical reforms in the Church of England in relations to vestments, kneeling, and the use of the sigh of the cross. He resigns in 1583.
1581	Robert Browne attempted to set up a separatistPuritan congregation in Norwich to avoid the governmental norms of aChurch of England parish. He failed and went into exile.	In exile Browne published many works espousing his progressive ecclesiology. These works inspired a radical puritan movement known as theBrownists. A majority of those onboard theMayflower were Brownists. They are considered an antecedent to the later post Civil WarIndependents who became the modernCongregationalists. Browne's teachings are still explicitly looked to by theCongregational Federation and would come to be implicitly adopted by modernNon-denominational Christians.
1581, 1 December	Edmund Campion was executed byhanging, drawing, and quartering atTyburn.	The leader of the earlyJesuit mission to English recusants and hidden Catholics, his execution is among the most notable of the many hundreds who died for their Catholic faith.
1583, 14 August	John Whitgift appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.	The fourth ProtestantPrimate of All England.
1583	Elizabeth I commissionsJohn Whitgift to reorganise theCourt of High Commission. Part of this involved the appointment of the firstEcclesiastical Commission of the Church of England.	RepressedPuritan extremism of the kind typified by Genevan and ScottishPresbyterian minded reformers such asEdmund Grindal andThomas Cartwright and Separatists suchRobert Browne. Initiated many more proceedings against Puritan Church of England priests who conscientiously objected to certain surviving Catholic elements in Anglican liturgy (the use of thesign of the cross, the rigid liturgical form of theBook of Common Prayer, and the deliberately ambiguous words Elizabeth's1559 version (which has survived in today's1662 version) used to try and reconcile both widespread belief in thereal presence and the firmlyspiritualist ormemorialist Puritans). Principal moment of Elizabethan ecclesiastical authoritarianism in Puritan eyes.
1583, November	TheThrockmorton Plot is uncovered.	One of a series of Catholic plots to overthrow Elizabeth I and replace her withMary, Queen of Scots.
1586, 25 March	Margaret Clitherow, Catholic housewife, shopkeeper, and schoolmistress, executed by being crushed to death on the banks of theRiver Ouse inYork.	One of the manyrecusant martyrs of the Elizabethan age.
1586, July	TheBabington Plot is uncovered by government spies.	Mary, Queen of Scots is implicated along with a few other Catholic nobles. This plot encourages the already fierce persecution ofrecusants.
1587, 8 February	Mary, Queen of Scots is executed
1588, 8 August	The Spanish Armada is defeated by the English fleet, aided by high winds
1593, 6 April	Henry Barrowe,Separatist preacher, leading reformer, theologian, and friend ofRobert Browne hanged with two companions, John Greenwood, and John Penry atTyburn.	Part of the reprisals against Puritan separatists that characterised the later religious policy of Elizabeth I.
1595, 29 April	William Barret preaches a landmark sermon criticisingCalvinist predestination atGreat St Mary's inCambridge.	A key moment in the development ofAnglican Arminianism, which will become the dominant theological position of the Church of England in the years of Charles I.
1595	Lambeth Articles drafted and accepted by bishops. Queen Elizabeth refused to approve them meaning they were never accepted by as teaching in the Church of England.	Expressed an extreme form ofCalvinist predestination.
1597	Irish Rebellion led byHugh O'Neill,Earl of Tyrone
1601, February 27	Anne Line executed by hanging andRoger Filcock S.J, andMark Barkworth O.S.B executed byhanging, drawing, and quartering.	Among the Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation.
1603, March 24	Elizabeth I died. Succeeded byJames VI and I.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

1559, 15 January

Elizabeth is crowned. Because of her Protestant views, only the low-rankingOwen Oglethorpe,Bishop of Carlisle, is willing to officiate.

The last Catholiccoronation of a British monarch.

1558-59

Elizabethan Religious Settlement, a compromise which secured a return to aReformed Protestantism but allowed some Catholic traditions such as kneeling for Communion and the sign of the cross to continue.

The Elizabethan Settlement finally established the norms ofAnglican doctrine around the principle of thevia media which, apart from duringThe Interregnum, has remained the bedrock of the Church of England's identity ever since.

1559, 31 March

Opening session of theWestminster Conference held inWestminster Hall to determine Elizabeth's religious policy.

1559, May 8

Act of Supremacy 1558 confirmed Elizabeth as Head of the Church of England and abolished the authority of the Pope in England.

Final schism between the Church of England with the Roman Papacy.Oath of Supremacy reimposed.

1559, May 8

Act of Uniformity 1558

Required attendances at church services and introduced the newly revisedBook of Common Prayer (1559).

1559, June-July

Thirteen Marian bishops—Nicholas Heath (Archbishop of York),Edmund Bonner (Bishop of London),Cuthbert Tunstall (Bishop of Durham),Thomas Thirlby (Bishop of Ely),John White (Bishop of Winchester),Thomas Watson (Bishop of Lincoln),Ralph Baynes (Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry),John Christopherson (Bishop of Chichester),Gilbert Bourne (Bishop of Bath and Wells),James Turberville (Bishop of Exeter),Thomas Reynolds (Bishop of Hereford), andDavid Pole (Bishop of Peterborough)—are deprived of office for refusing theOath of Supremacy or to conform to theBook of Common Prayer (1559).

These deprivations enabled a clean sweep of the hierarchy of the Church of England and most were replaced with Protestant refugees returning from exile.

1559, 1 August

Matthew Parker appointedArchbishop of Canterbury

The Second ProtestantPrimate of All England. The uncertain circumstances of his private consecration gave rise to theNag's Head Fable popular amongrecusants. He was the second of Englands ProtestantPrimates

1559-1560

Scottish Reformation

Lead byJohn Knox and theLords of the Congregation. Will do much to impact the Long Reformation in England once the crowns are united following Elizabeth's death. ThePresbyterian polity Knox established in theChurch of Scotland would be a significant source of inspiration for thePuritans of the Church of England.

1560

Geneva Bible published in Switzerland

Published by SirRowland Hill. Although never authorised for use in England, it was the first English Bible to be divided intoverses and became popular withDissenters.

1563

First publication of a revision of Cranmer'sBook of Homilies.

An edited reprint of Cranmer's earlier Book of Homilies, this book provided prescribed sermons to ensure doctrinal unity across the Church of England.

1568

Bishops' Bible published

A compromise between the vigorous butCalvinist Geneva Bible and the Great Bible, which it replaces in parish churches.

1569, 9 November—1570, 21 January

TheRising of the Northern Earls against Elizabeth in an attempt to installMary, Queen of Scots as monarch of England.

Intensifies anti Catholic reprisals and strengthens Elizabeth's position.

1570, 27 April

Pope Pius V excommunicates Elizabeth I in thebullRegnans in Excelsis declaring her a heretic and threatening those who obeyed her laws with excommunication.

1571, August

Ridolfi plot to overthrow Elizabeth I and restore state Catholicism.

A plot by theDuke of Norfolk,Roberto di Ridolfo, and several European Catholic dignitaries including the Pope and the King of Spain to replace Elizabeth withMary, Queen of Scots.

1571

TheThirty-nine Articles of Religion finalised and accepted as the Church of England's principle doctrinal statement.

The mature theological expression of theElizabethan Settlement. These articles, a revised edition ofCranmer'sForty-two Articles of Religion, were appended to the Book of Common Prayer. Apart from a period duringThe Interregnum, this has remained the Church of England's core statement of faith (aside from the threeEcumenical Creeds) ever since and still plays a fundamental role in Anglican doctrine today.

1571

First publication of a newBook of Homilies.

Like Cranmer's earlier Book of Homilies, this book provided prescribed sermons to ensure doctrinal unity across the Church of England. It was largely written byMatthew Parker and designed to be supplement the previous editions.

1572, 2 June

Execution ofThomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk for his role in theRidolfi plot.

1572, 22 August

Execution ofThomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland inYork for his role in theRising of the Northern Earls.

One of the Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation, he was subsequentlybeatified byPope Leo XIII on 13 May 1895.

1572, 24 August

St Bartholomew's Day Massacre begins in Paris.

Sends shockwaves throughout Protestant Europe and sparks a wave ofHuguenots seeking refuge in England from French Catholic persecution.

1574

Peter Baro, a French Huguenot refugee was appointedLady Margaret's Professor of Divinity at theUniversity of Cambridge.

A proto-Arminian, this marked a new departure in English Protestant theology.

1575, 17 May

Matthew Parker dies.

1575, 29 December

Edmund Grindal enthroned asArchbishop of Canterbury.

The third ProtestantPrimate of All England. A radical Protestant (seepuritans) he caused significant controversy during his brief tenure.

1578, January

Elizabeth I tries to haveEdmund Grindal deprived of office.

Grindal was pushing for morepuritanical reforms in the Church of England in relations to vestments, kneeling, and the use of the sigh of the cross. He resigns in 1583.

1581

Robert Browne attempted to set up a separatistPuritan congregation in Norwich to avoid the governmental norms of aChurch of England parish. He failed and went into exile.

In exile Browne published many works espousing his progressive ecclesiology. These works inspired a radical puritan movement known as theBrownists. A majority of those onboard theMayflower were Brownists. They are considered an antecedent to the later post Civil WarIndependents who became the modernCongregationalists. Browne's teachings are still explicitly looked to by theCongregational Federation and would come to be implicitly adopted by modernNon-denominational Christians.

1581, 1 December

Edmund Campion was executed byhanging, drawing, and quartering atTyburn.

The leader of the earlyJesuit mission to English recusants and hidden Catholics, his execution is among the most notable of the many hundreds who died for their Catholic faith.

1583, 14 August

John Whitgift appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.

The fourth ProtestantPrimate of All England.

1583

Elizabeth I commissionsJohn Whitgift to reorganise theCourt of High Commission. Part of this involved the appointment of the firstEcclesiastical Commission of the Church of England.

RepressedPuritan extremism of the kind typified by Genevan and ScottishPresbyterian minded reformers such asEdmund Grindal andThomas Cartwright and Separatists suchRobert Browne. Initiated many more proceedings against Puritan Church of England priests who conscientiously objected to certain surviving Catholic elements in Anglican liturgy (the use of thesign of the cross, the rigid liturgical form of theBook of Common Prayer, and the deliberately ambiguous words Elizabeth's1559 version (which has survived in today's1662 version) used to try and reconcile both widespread belief in thereal presence and the firmlyspiritualist ormemorialist Puritans). Principal moment of Elizabethan ecclesiastical authoritarianism in Puritan eyes.

1583, November

TheThrockmorton Plot is uncovered.

One of a series of Catholic plots to overthrow Elizabeth I and replace her withMary, Queen of Scots.

1586, 25 March

Margaret Clitherow, Catholic housewife, shopkeeper, and schoolmistress, executed by being crushed to death on the banks of theRiver Ouse inYork.

One of the manyrecusant martyrs of the Elizabethan age.

1586, July

TheBabington Plot is uncovered by government spies.

Mary, Queen of Scots is implicated along with a few other Catholic nobles. This plot encourages the already fierce persecution ofrecusants.

1587, 8 February

Mary, Queen of Scots is executed

1588, 8 August

The Spanish Armada is defeated by the English fleet, aided by high winds

1593, 6 April

Henry Barrowe,Separatist preacher, leading reformer, theologian, and friend ofRobert Browne hanged with two companions, John Greenwood, and John Penry atTyburn.

Part of the reprisals against Puritan separatists that characterised the later religious policy of Elizabeth I.

1595, 29 April

William Barret preaches a landmark sermon criticisingCalvinist predestination atGreat St Mary's inCambridge.

A key moment in the development ofAnglican Arminianism, which will become the dominant theological position of the Church of England in the years of Charles I.

1595

Lambeth Articles drafted and accepted by bishops. Queen Elizabeth refused to approve them meaning they were never accepted by as teaching in the Church of England.

Expressed an extreme form ofCalvinist predestination.

1597

Irish Rebellion led byHugh O'Neill,Earl of Tyrone

1601, February 27

Anne Line executed by hanging andRoger Filcock S.J, andMark Barkworth O.S.B executed byhanging, drawing, and quartering.

Among the Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation.

1603, March 24

Elizabeth I died. Succeeded byJames VI and I.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
1603, spring	Millenary Petition presented toJames VI and I	Request for a further reform of theChurch of England alongPuritan Calvinist lines as had been done to theChurch of Scotland, although not requesting the controversial but popular hope for a deposition of the bishops of the Church of England in favour of fullPresbyterian polity. Signed by 800-1000 priests of the Church of England and lead to theHampton Court Conference, which almost entirely rejected its demands and lead to the ejection of nearly 300 Puritan clergy from their vicarages and rectories.
1603, 11 July	James VI of Scotland and I of England crowned King of England atWestminster Abbey
1604, January	Hampton Court Conference	The first major discussion of church policy in the reign of James I.Book of Common Prayer (1604) published and a new Bible translation commissioned, what would become the King James Version
1604, 29 Feb	John Whitgift,Archbishop of Canterbury, dies in office.
1604, 9 October	Richard Bancroft nominated Archbishop of Canterbury	Fifth ProtestantPrimate of All England.
1605	Lancelot Andrewes madeBishop of Chichester.	Subsequently, madeBishop of Ely in 1609 andBishop of Winchester in 1619. A key proponent ofArminianism in the Church of England hierarchy balancing out the hegemony of the Calvinists.
1605, 5 November	Gunpowder Plot foiled	Leads to an increase in antirecusant persecution. It also results in the popular English celebration ofGuy Fawkes Night, a major instrument of Anti-Catholic propaganda in the country even till the present day.
1606, 30–31 January	Guy Fawkes and other Gunpowder Plotters,Everard Digby,Robert Winter,John Grant,Thomas Bates,Thomas Winter,Ambrose Rookwood andRobert Keyes are executed
1606, 3 May	Henry Garnet, leader of theJesuit mission to English recusants and hidden Catholics, was executed as a traitor byhanging, drawing, and quartering atSt Paul's Cross in theCity of London.	Executed for refusing to reveal details of the Gunpowder Plot learned under theseal of the confessional.
1606-1607	Scrooby Congregation ofSeparatists emigrates to the Netherlands seeking religious freedom.	This congregation would later return to England as a result of events in theEighty Years' War before departing again to the New World on theMayflower in 1620. They would become known asAmerica'sPilgrim Fathers.
1609	Plantation of Ulster
1610, 2 November	Richard Bancroft dies in office.
1611, 4 March	George Abbot nominated Archbishop of Canterbury.	Sixth ProtestantPrimate of All England.
1611	King James Bible completed and published.	The text rapidly became the standard English Biblical translation used in Britain and it's growing colonial empire, used by both Anglicans and nonconformists alike. It remained in use across theAnglosphere as the principle biblical translation well into the 20th century and it's singular authority is still maintained by aKing James Only movement widespread among some conservative Protestant denominations in America, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
1612	Thomas Helwys established the firstBaptist church in England atSpitalfields in London.	The first congregation of the modern Anglo-American Baptist movement and the forerunner to the modernBaptist Union of Great Britain. Helwys was inspired by DutchMennonite churches and the wider continentalAnabaptist movement.
1612, 18 March	Bartholomew Legate burned to death atSmithfield	Last person to be burnt to death in London. He has been characterised as anAnabaptist, aUnitarian, and the father of theSeeker movement.
c. 1614-1623	TheSpanish match controversy.	A long running series of negotiations planning a marriage betweenCharles, Prince of Wales and theSpanish Infanta Maria Anna, the daughter ofKing Philip III. The putative marriage was part of a planned peace treaty between Catholic Spain and Protestant England. It provoked significant opposition among England's House of Commons thanks to memory of the Catholic restoration and Protestant martyrdoms under the co-regency ofPhilip II andMary I and the more recentAnglo-Spanish War of 1585-1604 including the infamousSpanish Armada of 1588.
1616	Thomas Helwys dies from maltreatment in prison.	A major figure in the foundation of the EnglishBaptists and theGeneral Baptist (i.e. antiCalvinist baptists).
1618, 13 November	Synod of Dort opening session.	A highly significant council in the history ofreformed theology whose delegates would write theCanons of Dort, still considered normative by all Calvinist churches. Notably the Church of England was uncontroversially included and James I had been invited to send delegates with full voting rights. These wereGeorge Carleton,Bishop of Llandaff,Joseph Hall,Bishop of Norwich, andJohn Davenant,Bishop of Salisbury as well as the scholarSamuel Ward to represent the Church of England.
1620, 16 September	TheMayflower set sail fromPlymouth.	The ship contained a group ofPuritan dissenters, predominantlyBrownists and members of theScrooby Congregation, who became known as thePilgrim Fathers. These were a key early wave of English settlers in the history of North America and would be the forerunners of many moredissenting colonists.
1624, July	Birth ofGeorge Fox atFenny Drayton,Leicestershire	Fox would become the founder and principal early leader of theReligious Society of Friends (Quakers).
1625, 27 March	KingJames VI and I of England and Scotland dies.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

1603, spring

Millenary Petition presented toJames VI and I

Request for a further reform of theChurch of England alongPuritan Calvinist lines as had been done to theChurch of Scotland, although not requesting the controversial but popular hope for a deposition of the bishops of the Church of England in favour of fullPresbyterian polity. Signed by 800-1000 priests of the Church of England and lead to theHampton Court Conference, which almost entirely rejected its demands and lead to the ejection of nearly 300 Puritan clergy from their vicarages and rectories.

1603, 11 July

James VI of Scotland and I of England crowned King of England atWestminster Abbey

1604, January

Hampton Court Conference

The first major discussion of church policy in the reign of James I.Book of Common Prayer (1604) published and a new Bible translation commissioned, what would become the King James Version

1604, 29 Feb

John Whitgift,Archbishop of Canterbury, dies in office.

1604, 9 October

Richard Bancroft nominated Archbishop of Canterbury

Fifth ProtestantPrimate of All England.

1605

Lancelot Andrewes madeBishop of Chichester.

Subsequently, madeBishop of Ely in 1609 andBishop of Winchester in 1619. A key proponent ofArminianism in the Church of England hierarchy balancing out the hegemony of the Calvinists.

1605, 5 November

Gunpowder Plot foiled

Leads to an increase in antirecusant persecution. It also results in the popular English celebration ofGuy Fawkes Night, a major instrument of Anti-Catholic propaganda in the country even till the present day.

1606, 30–31 January

Guy Fawkes and other Gunpowder Plotters,Everard Digby,Robert Winter,John Grant,Thomas Bates,Thomas Winter,Ambrose Rookwood andRobert Keyes are executed

1606, 3 May

Henry Garnet, leader of theJesuit mission to English recusants and hidden Catholics, was executed as a traitor byhanging, drawing, and quartering atSt Paul's Cross in theCity of London.

Executed for refusing to reveal details of the Gunpowder Plot learned under theseal of the confessional.

1606-1607

Scrooby Congregation ofSeparatists emigrates to the Netherlands seeking religious freedom.

This congregation would later return to England as a result of events in theEighty Years' War before departing again to the New World on theMayflower in 1620. They would become known asAmerica'sPilgrim Fathers.

1609

Plantation of Ulster

1610, 2 November

Richard Bancroft dies in office.

1611, 4 March

George Abbot nominated Archbishop of Canterbury.

Sixth ProtestantPrimate of All England.

1611

King James Bible completed and published.

The text rapidly became the standard English Biblical translation used in Britain and it's growing colonial empire, used by both Anglicans and nonconformists alike. It remained in use across theAnglosphere as the principle biblical translation well into the 20th century and it's singular authority is still maintained by aKing James Only movement widespread among some conservative Protestant denominations in America, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

1612

Thomas Helwys established the firstBaptist church in England atSpitalfields in London.

The first congregation of the modern Anglo-American Baptist movement and the forerunner to the modernBaptist Union of Great Britain. Helwys was inspired by DutchMennonite churches and the wider continentalAnabaptist movement.

1612, 18 March

Bartholomew Legate burned to death atSmithfield

Last person to be burnt to death in London. He has been characterised as anAnabaptist, aUnitarian, and the father of theSeeker movement.

c. 1614-1623

TheSpanish match controversy.

A long running series of negotiations planning a marriage betweenCharles, Prince of Wales and theSpanish Infanta Maria Anna, the daughter ofKing Philip III. The putative marriage was part of a planned peace treaty between Catholic Spain and Protestant England. It provoked significant opposition among England's House of Commons thanks to memory of the Catholic restoration and Protestant martyrdoms under the co-regency ofPhilip II andMary I and the more recentAnglo-Spanish War of 1585-1604 including the infamousSpanish Armada of 1588.

1616

Thomas Helwys dies from maltreatment in prison.

A major figure in the foundation of the EnglishBaptists and theGeneral Baptist (i.e. antiCalvinist baptists).

1618, 13 November

Synod of Dort opening session.

A highly significant council in the history ofreformed theology whose delegates would write theCanons of Dort, still considered normative by all Calvinist churches. Notably the Church of England was uncontroversially included and James I had been invited to send delegates with full voting rights. These wereGeorge Carleton,Bishop of Llandaff,Joseph Hall,Bishop of Norwich, andJohn Davenant,Bishop of Salisbury as well as the scholarSamuel Ward to represent the Church of England.

1620, 16 September

TheMayflower set sail fromPlymouth.

The ship contained a group ofPuritan dissenters, predominantlyBrownists and members of theScrooby Congregation, who became known as thePilgrim Fathers. These were a key early wave of English settlers in the history of North America and would be the forerunners of many moredissenting colonists.

1624, July

Birth ofGeorge Fox atFenny Drayton,Leicestershire

Fox would become the founder and principal early leader of theReligious Society of Friends (Quakers).

1625, 27 March

KingJames VI and I of England and Scotland dies.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
1625, 27 March	Charles I crowned King of England, Scotland and Ireland.	Charles, a committedHigh Churchman tolerant of his wife's open Roman Catholicism, in many peoples eyes did much to reverse the reformation and these policies together with his autocratic personal rule spark theEnglish Civil War and the widerWars of the Three Kingdoms.
1632	Publication ofHistriomastix byWilliam Prynne.	A significant piece of puritan polemic against theatre, dancing, and the celebration of Christmas.
1633, 4 Aug	George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, dies in office.	A "sincere but narrow minded Calvinist" his death lead the way for the ascendancy of the ritualism,Laudianism, andArminianism of theHigh Church party.
1633, 6 Aug	William Laud appointed Archbishop of Canterbury	Seventh ProtestantPrimate of All England. A committedHigh Churchman andArminian he attracts an enormous amount of controversy for his reforms which help spark the Civil War. He ends up dying a martyr of High Church Protestantism.
1634	Great Tew Circle begin meeting.	A leading group of anti Puritan churchmen and men of letters who did much to further the theology ofAnglican Arminianism and the culture ofLaudianism.
1637	William Prynne,John Bastwick andHenry Burton, noted Puritans and antiLaudian writers, were convicted ofseditious libel by theStar Chamber and sentenced to bepilloried,cropped, andbranded.	Heightened William Laud's unpopularity.
1637, 23 July	Jenny Geddes leads a riot when Charles II's newScottish Prayer Book was first used in a public liturgy atSt Giles' Cathedral inEdinburgh.	The Edinburgh riot and the other riots across Scotland is often considered the first trigger of theWars of the Three Kingdoms.
1639-1640	Bishops' Wars inScotland where Charles I would try to defend the Scottish episcopate.	First of theWars of the Three Kingdoms
1641, May	Root and Branch petition set before parliament	A popular call for the abolition of the bishops of the Church of England and the establishment of a presbyterate.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

1625, 27 March

Charles I crowned King of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Charles, a committedHigh Churchman tolerant of his wife's open Roman Catholicism, in many peoples eyes did much to reverse the reformation and these policies together with his autocratic personal rule spark theEnglish Civil War and the widerWars of the Three Kingdoms.

1632

Publication ofHistriomastix byWilliam Prynne.

A significant piece of puritan polemic against theatre, dancing, and the celebration of Christmas.

1633, 4 Aug

George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, dies in office.

A "sincere but narrow minded Calvinist" his death lead the way for the ascendancy of the ritualism,Laudianism, andArminianism of theHigh Church party.

1633, 6 Aug

William Laud appointed Archbishop of Canterbury

Seventh ProtestantPrimate of All England. A committedHigh Churchman andArminian he attracts an enormous amount of controversy for his reforms which help spark the Civil War. He ends up dying a martyr of High Church Protestantism.

1634

Great Tew Circle begin meeting.

A leading group of anti Puritan churchmen and men of letters who did much to further the theology ofAnglican Arminianism and the culture ofLaudianism.

1637

William Prynne,John Bastwick andHenry Burton, noted Puritans and antiLaudian writers, were convicted ofseditious libel by theStar Chamber and sentenced to bepilloried,cropped, andbranded.

Heightened William Laud's unpopularity.

1637, 23 July

Jenny Geddes leads a riot when Charles II's newScottish Prayer Book was first used in a public liturgy atSt Giles' Cathedral inEdinburgh.

The Edinburgh riot and the other riots across Scotland is often considered the first trigger of theWars of the Three Kingdoms.

1639-1640

Bishops' Wars inScotland where Charles I would try to defend the Scottish episcopate.

First of theWars of the Three Kingdoms

1641, May

Root and Branch petition set before parliament

A popular call for the abolition of the bishops of the Church of England and the establishment of a presbyterate.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
1642	English Civil War breaks out	Arose as a reaction against Charles I's autocracy, the unpopular High Church reforms ofWilliam Laud, and the growing discontent withepiscopal polity in the Church of England.
1643	Westminster Assembly of Divines worked to restructure the Church of England.	This might be called the attempted Puritan or Presbyterian Reformation.
1644	Directory for Public Worship published by the Westminster Assembly	Intended as a replacement to theBook of Common Prayer and the Royalist assumptions and Catholic traditions it's liturgy required parish congregations to assent to.
1644	Westminster Confession of Faith published by the Westminster Assembly	to replace theThirty-nine Articles as the Church of England's doctrinal statement, the most progressively Protestant doctrinal statement in its history. It was never formally adopted by parliament in England and was firmly rejected by the reaffirmation of the Thirty-nine articles required by theAct of Uniformity 1662. It remains a fundamental text in Reformed Churches, bothPresbyterian andCongregationalist, across the world today. In Britain it remains a central text in theChurch of Scotland, theestablished church north of the border, theUnited Reformed Church, and theCongregational Federation.
1644, October	First London Baptist Confession published.	The first major confession of faith put forward by EnglishBaptists defining a position against both the Presbyterian Westminster Assembly and continental Anabaptist radicals.
1645, 10 January	Execution of ArchbishopWilliam Laud.	Notedhigh churchman and figure of hatred for puritans.
1645	The Form of Presbyterial Church Government published by the Westminster Assembly	A comprehensive program for replacingepiscopal polity withpresbyterian polity in the Church of England. It was modelled on the structure ofDutch and theSwiss Reformed Churches. It was adopted the same year it was published by theChurch of Scotland and remains the foundational text of Scottish church government. In England, like the Westminster Confession, parliament failed to pass it as law for the Church of England. Many of its structures were implemented during the interregnum across England but without legal support and with the 1650 repeal of the Act of Uniformity attendance was never a requirement and many local parishes, both royalist ones and those more radical than the Presbyterian Westminster Assembly, rejected it.
1646, October	Parliament passes an ordinance abolishing bishops and archbishops in the Church of England	Temporarily replaces the historicallyEpiscopal polity of the Church of England with aPresbyterian polity. In practice, in more radical areas and areas where Royalist loyalties remained strong, this led to a completely anarchiccongregational polity with some parishes choosing more radical liturgical forms and the majority persevering with the Book of Common Prayer.
1648	John Owen publishedThe Death of Death in the Death of Christ.	A defence of the CalvinistDoctrine of Particular Redemption upheld by theWestminster Confession againstArminianism,Amyraldism, andUniversalism. Together withRichard Baxter'sAphorisms of Redemption, which asserted the contraryDoctrine of Universal Atonement, the text would be the foundation of the conservative position in a major rift which still characterises most of the nonconformist churches of Britain to this day.
1648, 6 December	Pride's Purge of theLong Parliament ofPresbyterian and Royalist sympathising MP's to the remainingIndependents of theRump Parliament.	This ends the possibility of the Puritan Presbyterian reformation so long hoped for byCalvinists within the Church Of England and planned by the Westminster Assembly. It also leads to a period of comparative leniency shown to Independent congregations and radical forms of Protestantism.
1649, 30 January	Execution of Charles I	The Regicide sent shockwaves through the nations consciousness, emboldened appetites for religious progress, and precipitated a royal martyrs cult among the Royalists.
1649, 9 February	Eikon Basilike published.	Initiation of the cult ofKing Charles the Martyr among royalists which then spread to the rest of the Church of England following The Restoration.
1649	Richard Baxter published hisAphorisms of Redemption.	A response toJohn Owen'sDeath of Death in the Death of Christ advocating the contraryDoctrine of Universal Atonement. Baxter's and Owen's works came to represent the foundational texts of two distinct camps of thought that still dominate both the nonconformist and Anglican churches to this day.
1650, May	Act of Uniformity 1558 repealed by theRump Parliament by theAct for the Repeal of several Clauses in Statutes imposing Penalties for not coming to Church	The end of compulsory attendance in the established Church of England. Although a new Act of Uniformity was imposed in 1662 the habit of universal attendance in the parish church was effectively ended by this repeal withQuakers,Baptists,Congregationalists, and, after the Restoration, thePresbyterians too, often refusing to observe the 1662 legislation (seehistory of the Puritans from 1649).
1652, 13 June	George Fox preaches onFirbank Fell to a group of over a thousand spiritual seekers.	This sermon is considered one of the foundational events of theHistory of Quakerism. TheQuakers (or the Religious Society of Friends as they later came to call themselves) represent the most radical surviving nonconformist church to emerge from the Civil War and the religious liberty of theInterregnum. Fox's message was founded on a teaching that God dwells in each person and so is immediately accessible to all without any need for either clergy, sacraments, or even necessarily scripture (Fox affirmed that interior mystical experience, while accessible without any biblical knowledge, would agree with the Bible if genuine).
1655, 15 January	John Biddle'sUnitarianTwofold Catechism condemned by theFirst Protectorate Parliament and blasphemy prosecution is considered.	The question of the blasphemy of other sects was raised by this measure and many came to Biddle's defence, not in support of his anti Trinitarianism or hisArianism, but because his prosecution would have left all dissenters vulnerable to prosecution.
1656, 24 October	James Nayler entered the town ofBristol in the manner of theChrists triumphal entry.	The event caused outrage, Naylor was imprisoned, and theQuaker movement was severely shaken and disgraced. It initiated a cooling in Quaker radicalism which enabled it to survive the restoration.
1658, 3 September	Death ofOliver Cromwell.	Leads to an immediate constitutional crisis which continues for the following year and ends with theStuart Restoration and the reestablishment of the episcopate of the Church of England as it had existed prior to the Civil War.
1658, 12 October	Opening session of theSavoy Assembly. It met for 11 or 12 days.	Drafted theSavoy Declaration, the foundational doctrinal statement ofCongregationalism and their formal schism from the other Presbyterian Puritans. The Congregationalists would become one of England's leading nonconformist groups.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

1642

English Civil War breaks out

Arose as a reaction against Charles I's autocracy, the unpopular High Church reforms ofWilliam Laud, and the growing discontent withepiscopal polity in the Church of England.

1643

Westminster Assembly of Divines worked to restructure the Church of England.

This might be called the attempted Puritan or Presbyterian Reformation.

1644

Directory for Public Worship published by the Westminster Assembly

Intended as a replacement to theBook of Common Prayer and the Royalist assumptions and Catholic traditions it's liturgy required parish congregations to assent to.

1644

Westminster Confession of Faith published by the Westminster Assembly

to replace theThirty-nine Articles as the Church of England's doctrinal statement, the most progressively Protestant doctrinal statement in its history. It was never formally adopted by parliament in England and was firmly rejected by the reaffirmation of the Thirty-nine articles required by theAct of Uniformity 1662. It remains a fundamental text in Reformed Churches, bothPresbyterian andCongregationalist, across the world today. In Britain it remains a central text in theChurch of Scotland, theestablished church north of the border, theUnited Reformed Church, and theCongregational Federation.

1644, October

First London Baptist Confession published.

The first major confession of faith put forward by EnglishBaptists defining a position against both the Presbyterian Westminster Assembly and continental Anabaptist radicals.

1645, 10 January

Execution of ArchbishopWilliam Laud.

Notedhigh churchman and figure of hatred for puritans.

1645

The Form of Presbyterial Church Government published by the Westminster Assembly

A comprehensive program for replacingepiscopal polity withpresbyterian polity in the Church of England. It was modelled on the structure ofDutch and theSwiss Reformed Churches. It was adopted the same year it was published by theChurch of Scotland and remains the foundational text of Scottish church government. In England, like the Westminster Confession, parliament failed to pass it as law for the Church of England. Many of its structures were implemented during the interregnum across England but without legal support and with the 1650 repeal of the Act of Uniformity attendance was never a requirement and many local parishes, both royalist ones and those more radical than the Presbyterian Westminster Assembly, rejected it.

1646, October

Parliament passes an ordinance abolishing bishops and archbishops in the Church of England

Temporarily replaces the historicallyEpiscopal polity of the Church of England with aPresbyterian polity. In practice, in more radical areas and areas where Royalist loyalties remained strong, this led to a completely anarchiccongregational polity with some parishes choosing more radical liturgical forms and the majority persevering with the Book of Common Prayer.

1648

John Owen publishedThe Death of Death in the Death of Christ.

A defence of the CalvinistDoctrine of Particular Redemption upheld by theWestminster Confession againstArminianism,Amyraldism, andUniversalism. Together withRichard Baxter'sAphorisms of Redemption, which asserted the contraryDoctrine of Universal Atonement, the text would be the foundation of the conservative position in a major rift which still characterises most of the nonconformist churches of Britain to this day.

1648, 6 December

Pride's Purge of theLong Parliament ofPresbyterian and Royalist sympathising MP's to the remainingIndependents of theRump Parliament.

This ends the possibility of the Puritan Presbyterian reformation so long hoped for byCalvinists within the Church Of England and planned by the Westminster Assembly. It also leads to a period of comparative leniency shown to Independent congregations and radical forms of Protestantism.

1649, 30 January

Execution of Charles I

The Regicide sent shockwaves through the nations consciousness, emboldened appetites for religious progress, and precipitated a royal martyrs cult among the Royalists.

1649, 9 February

Eikon Basilike published.

Initiation of the cult ofKing Charles the Martyr among royalists which then spread to the rest of the Church of England following The Restoration.

1649

Richard Baxter published hisAphorisms of Redemption.

A response toJohn Owen'sDeath of Death in the Death of Christ advocating the contraryDoctrine of Universal Atonement. Baxter's and Owen's works came to represent the foundational texts of two distinct camps of thought that still dominate both the nonconformist and Anglican churches to this day.

1650, May

Act of Uniformity 1558 repealed by theRump Parliament by theAct for the Repeal of several Clauses in Statutes imposing Penalties for not coming to Church

The end of compulsory attendance in the established Church of England. Although a new Act of Uniformity was imposed in 1662 the habit of universal attendance in the parish church was effectively ended by this repeal withQuakers,Baptists,Congregationalists, and, after the Restoration, thePresbyterians too, often refusing to observe the 1662 legislation (seehistory of the Puritans from 1649).

1652, 13 June

George Fox preaches onFirbank Fell to a group of over a thousand spiritual seekers.

This sermon is considered one of the foundational events of theHistory of Quakerism. TheQuakers (or the Religious Society of Friends as they later came to call themselves) represent the most radical surviving nonconformist church to emerge from the Civil War and the religious liberty of theInterregnum. Fox's message was founded on a teaching that God dwells in each person and so is immediately accessible to all without any need for either clergy, sacraments, or even necessarily scripture (Fox affirmed that interior mystical experience, while accessible without any biblical knowledge, would agree with the Bible if genuine).

1655, 15 January

John Biddle'sUnitarianTwofold Catechism condemned by theFirst Protectorate Parliament and blasphemy prosecution is considered.

The question of the blasphemy of other sects was raised by this measure and many came to Biddle's defence, not in support of his anti Trinitarianism or hisArianism, but because his prosecution would have left all dissenters vulnerable to prosecution.

1656, 24 October

James Nayler entered the town ofBristol in the manner of theChrists triumphal entry.

The event caused outrage, Naylor was imprisoned, and theQuaker movement was severely shaken and disgraced. It initiated a cooling in Quaker radicalism which enabled it to survive the restoration.

1658, 3 September

Death ofOliver Cromwell.

Leads to an immediate constitutional crisis which continues for the following year and ends with theStuart Restoration and the reestablishment of the episcopate of the Church of England as it had existed prior to the Civil War.

1658, 12 October

Opening session of theSavoy Assembly. It met for 11 or 12 days.

Drafted theSavoy Declaration, the foundational doctrinal statement ofCongregationalism and their formal schism from the other Presbyterian Puritans. The Congregationalists would become one of England's leading nonconformist groups.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
1660, 29 May	Arrival ofKing Charles II in London and theRestoration of the Monarchy. Thereafter commemorated asOak Apple Day	Reestablished the monarchy under the rule of the executedCharles I's eldest son. Restored theChurch of England toepiscopal polity.
1661, 15 April	Opening session of theSavoy Conference	Conference of High Church Anglican and Puritan divines convened to seek unity between the Presbyterian and Episcopal positions on polity.
1661, 20 November	Corporation Act 1661 came into law.	Required all officers of all cities and boroughs and all MP's of England and Wales to be regular communicant members of the Church of England. Part of theClarendon Penal Code.
1662, 19 May	1662 Act of Uniformity came into law.	The1662Book of Common Prayer came into use and theThirty-nine Articles of 1570 were restored as the Church of England's principal confession of faith. This version of the Prayer Book remained the Church of England's only authorised liturgy well into the 20th century.Oath of Supremacy reinstated though enforced with less severely out of concern for royalistrecusant Catholic's and the growing number ofProtestant nonconformists. Part of theClarendon Penal Code.
1662	TheGreat Ejection	As a result of the Act of Uniformity a great many puritan clergy loyal to the Westminster Confession were ejected from their various livings
1664, 16 March	First Conventicle Act came into law.	Forbade allConventicles ofdissenters. This made attendance at allBaptist,Presbyterian,Congregationalist, andQuaker assemblies for worship illegal and punishable by several months imprisonment or a large fine for those who could afford it of £5 for first time offenders and £10 for second time offenders. For third time offenders and for the Quakers who refused to take the oath before testifying thentransportation was imposed. Part of theClarendon Penal Code and a response to both the dissenting congregations who broke from parish worship during the Interregnum and to new congregations that emerged following the clergy who had been deprived of their livings as part of theGreat Ejection.
1665, 9 October	Five Mile Act 1665 came into law.	An intensification of the persecution of nonconformist clergy requiring them to vacate their homes. Part of theClarendon Penal Code
1667	First publication ofJohn Milton'sParadise Lost. A revised edition followed in 1674.	One of the many Puritan literary works of the Restoration period and one of the most revered works in the English language. An account of the fall of Satan and the Angels and Adam and Eve.
c. 1668-9	James, Duke of York, heir presumptive to Charles II and future James II, secretly converted toRoman Catholicism and received theRoman Catholic Eucharist at an unknown date between 1688 and 1689	James's conversion to Roman Catholicism, though hidden until he ceased to attend Church of England services in 1678, would cause theExclusion Crisis, theGlorious Revolution, and the legislation preventing Roman Catholics from acceding to the crown of the United Kingdom, or marrying a reigning monarch or heir presumptive still in place today.
1670, 11 May	Second Conventicle Act came into law.	Moderated the anti dissenter legislation of 1664 and made all instances of attending or holding such assemblies amerceable by fines of between 5 and 40 shillings.
1672, 15 March	Charles II issued theFirst Declaration of Indulgence relieving Catholics from the Penal Laws they had hitherto endured.	The declaration sparked outrage among many Anglican royalists and the provisions it made were quickly reversed by the First Test Act the following year.
1673, 4 February	First Test Act came into law.	Required all persons in any public office, civil, military or religious, to take the oaths of supremacy and allegiance, to make a declaration disavowingtransubstantiation, and to receive Holy Communion in consecrated in accordance with the rites of the Church of England within three months of admittance to office.
1677	Second London Baptist Confession first drafted and published.	A revision of theSavoy Declaration with an appendix on why the Baptist's believepaedobaptism to be a heresy andbelievers baptism as true orthodoxy.
1678	Part I of thePilgrims Progress published byJohn Bunyan. It had been written during his imprisonment atBedford in the 1660's.	This text became one of the core devotional works of English Protestants, both nonconformist and Anglican, and one of the best loved works in the English language. Describes the progress of a Christian soul through the process of redemption and fidelity to Christ.
1678, 1 December	Second Test Act came into effect.	Required that all peers and members of theHouse of Commons should make a declaration against transubstantiation, invocation of saints, and the sacrificial nature of theMass. The effect of this was to exclude Roman Catholics from both houses, and in particular the "Five Popish Lords" from theHouse of Lords, a change motivated largely by the allegedPopish Plot.
1679-1681	TheExclusion Crisis.	An attempt to secure Protestant monarchy by removingJames, Duke of York from the line of succession when his conversion became public knowledge.
1684	Publication of Part II ofJohn Bunyan'sPilgrims Progress.	Second part focused on the journey of Christian women and children specifically.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

1660, 29 May

Arrival ofKing Charles II in London and theRestoration of the Monarchy. Thereafter commemorated asOak Apple Day

Reestablished the monarchy under the rule of the executedCharles I's eldest son. Restored theChurch of England toepiscopal polity.

1661, 15 April

Opening session of theSavoy Conference

Conference of High Church Anglican and Puritan divines convened to seek unity between the Presbyterian and Episcopal positions on polity.

1661, 20 November

Corporation Act 1661 came into law.

Required all officers of all cities and boroughs and all MP's of England and Wales to be regular communicant members of the Church of England. Part of theClarendon Penal Code.

1662, 19 May

1662 Act of Uniformity came into law.

The1662Book of Common Prayer came into use and theThirty-nine Articles of 1570 were restored as the Church of England's principal confession of faith. This version of the Prayer Book remained the Church of England's only authorised liturgy well into the 20th century.Oath of Supremacy reinstated though enforced with less severely out of concern for royalistrecusant Catholic's and the growing number ofProtestant nonconformists. Part of theClarendon Penal Code.

1662

TheGreat Ejection

As a result of the Act of Uniformity a great many puritan clergy loyal to the Westminster Confession were ejected from their various livings

1664, 16 March

First Conventicle Act came into law.

Forbade allConventicles ofdissenters. This made attendance at allBaptist,Presbyterian,Congregationalist, andQuaker assemblies for worship illegal and punishable by several months imprisonment or a large fine for those who could afford it of £5 for first time offenders and £10 for second time offenders. For third time offenders and for the Quakers who refused to take the oath before testifying thentransportation was imposed. Part of theClarendon Penal Code and a response to both the dissenting congregations who broke from parish worship during the Interregnum and to new congregations that emerged following the clergy who had been deprived of their livings as part of theGreat Ejection.

1665, 9 October

Five Mile Act 1665 came into law.

An intensification of the persecution of nonconformist clergy requiring them to vacate their homes. Part of theClarendon Penal Code

1667

First publication ofJohn Milton'sParadise Lost. A revised edition followed in 1674.

One of the many Puritan literary works of the Restoration period and one of the most revered works in the English language. An account of the fall of Satan and the Angels and Adam and Eve.

c. 1668-9

James, Duke of York, heir presumptive to Charles II and future James II, secretly converted toRoman Catholicism and received theRoman Catholic Eucharist at an unknown date between 1688 and 1689

James's conversion to Roman Catholicism, though hidden until he ceased to attend Church of England services in 1678, would cause theExclusion Crisis, theGlorious Revolution, and the legislation preventing Roman Catholics from acceding to the crown of the United Kingdom, or marrying a reigning monarch or heir presumptive still in place today.

1670, 11 May

Second Conventicle Act came into law.

Moderated the anti dissenter legislation of 1664 and made all instances of attending or holding such assemblies amerceable by fines of between 5 and 40 shillings.

1672, 15 March

Charles II issued theFirst Declaration of Indulgence relieving Catholics from the Penal Laws they had hitherto endured.

The declaration sparked outrage among many Anglican royalists and the provisions it made were quickly reversed by the First Test Act the following year.

1673, 4 February

First Test Act came into law.

Required all persons in any public office, civil, military or religious, to take the oaths of supremacy and allegiance, to make a declaration disavowingtransubstantiation, and to receive Holy Communion in consecrated in accordance with the rites of the Church of England within three months of admittance to office.

1677

Second London Baptist Confession first drafted and published.

A revision of theSavoy Declaration with an appendix on why the Baptist's believepaedobaptism to be a heresy andbelievers baptism as true orthodoxy.

1678

Part I of thePilgrims Progress published byJohn Bunyan. It had been written during his imprisonment atBedford in the 1660's.

This text became one of the core devotional works of English Protestants, both nonconformist and Anglican, and one of the best loved works in the English language. Describes the progress of a Christian soul through the process of redemption and fidelity to Christ.

1678, 1 December

Second Test Act came into effect.

Required that all peers and members of theHouse of Commons should make a declaration against transubstantiation, invocation of saints, and the sacrificial nature of theMass. The effect of this was to exclude Roman Catholics from both houses, and in particular the "Five Popish Lords" from theHouse of Lords, a change motivated largely by the allegedPopish Plot.

1679-1681

TheExclusion Crisis.

An attempt to secure Protestant monarchy by removingJames, Duke of York from the line of succession when his conversion became public knowledge.

1684

Publication of Part II ofJohn Bunyan'sPilgrims Progress.

Second part focused on the journey of Christian women and children specifically.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
1685, 6 February	Death ofCharles II and the accession of his brother the Duke of York who becameJames II	James II was aRoman Catholic. His accession sparked a crisis of public confidence leading the way to the 1688Glorious Revolution.
1687, 4 April	James II issues aSecond Declaration of Indulgence in England following its issuance in Scotland on the 4th of February.	Assured toleration for the practices of all Christian denominations including theBaptists,Congregationalists,Quakers,Presbyterians, and most controversially theRoman Catholics. Due to its ill defined terms it theoretically extended to all religious practice both Christian and non Christian. It caused a shockwave in the Protestant establishment helping to instigate theGlorious Revolution which immediately reversed its rulings. It also did much to prefigure the irreduciblereligious pluralism of modern Britain.
1688, April 27	Second issuance of theSecond Declaration of Indulgence.	Most Church of England parish priests refused to read the text at Sunday worship and it triggered a widespread negative reaction leading in the short term to theTrial and Acquittal of the Seven Bishops and thereafter theGlorious Revolution.
1688, 29-30 June	TheTrial of the Seven Bishops —William Sancroft (Archbishop of Canterbury),Francis Turner (Bishop of Ely),John Lake (Bishop of Chichester),Thomas Ken (Bishop of Bath and Wells),Thomas White (Bishop of Peterborough),William Lloyd (Bishop of St Asaph),Jonathan Trelawny (Bishop of Bristol) — held inWestminster Hall.	Tried for seditious libel after petitioning againstJames II'sDeclaration of Indulgence. Their acquittal became a key event leading to theGlorious Revolution.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

1685, 6 February

Death ofCharles II and the accession of his brother the Duke of York who becameJames II

James II was aRoman Catholic. His accession sparked a crisis of public confidence leading the way to the 1688Glorious Revolution.

1687, 4 April

James II issues aSecond Declaration of Indulgence in England following its issuance in Scotland on the 4th of February.

Assured toleration for the practices of all Christian denominations including theBaptists,Congregationalists,Quakers,Presbyterians, and most controversially theRoman Catholics. Due to its ill defined terms it theoretically extended to all religious practice both Christian and non Christian. It caused a shockwave in the Protestant establishment helping to instigate theGlorious Revolution which immediately reversed its rulings. It also did much to prefigure the irreduciblereligious pluralism of modern Britain.

1688, April 27

Second issuance of theSecond Declaration of Indulgence.

Most Church of England parish priests refused to read the text at Sunday worship and it triggered a widespread negative reaction leading in the short term to theTrial and Acquittal of the Seven Bishops and thereafter theGlorious Revolution.

1688, 29-30 June

TheTrial of the Seven Bishops —William Sancroft (Archbishop of Canterbury),Francis Turner (Bishop of Ely),John Lake (Bishop of Chichester),Thomas Ken (Bishop of Bath and Wells),Thomas White (Bishop of Peterborough),William Lloyd (Bishop of St Asaph),Jonathan Trelawny (Bishop of Bristol) — held inWestminster Hall.

Tried for seditious libel after petitioning againstJames II'sDeclaration of Indulgence. Their acquittal became a key event leading to theGlorious Revolution.

Date	Event	Significance to the Reformation in England
1688-89	TheGlorious Revolution	The Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689 firmly and finally establishedProtestantism as the national faith underWilliam III andMary II. The revolution led to the passing of theToleration Act 1689, which granted limited freedom of worship toNonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Protestants, thoughRoman Catholicism andUnitarianism remained excluded. The requirement of allegiance to the new monarchs caused a schism in theChurch of England, as several bishops and clergy—known as theNonjurors—refused theoath of allegiance and were deprived of office. The revolution also effectively ended any prospect of a Catholic monarch in Britain, as enshrined in the subsequentBill of Rights 1689 and later reinforced by theAct of Settlement 1701.
1689, 3-12 September	Second London Baptist Confession ratified by a synod representing 100 Calvinistic orParticular Baptist conventicles.	The Confession had been drafted over a decade previous in 1677. This assembly reaccepted it as an orthodox and biblical formulation of Baptist doctrine and thereafter came to represent the principle doctrinal statement of the English Baptists.
1690, February–May	Nine bishops —William Sancroft (Archbishop of Canterbury),Thomas Ken (Bishop of Bath and Wells),Francis Turner (Bishop of Ely),John Lake (Bishop of Chichester),Thomas White (Bishop of Peterborough),Thomas Cartwright (Bishop of Chester),Robert Frampton (Bishop of Gloucester),William Lloyd (Bishop of Norwich),William Thomas (Bishop of Worcester) — are deprived of office for refusing to take the1689 Oath of Allegiance toWilliam III andMary II.	These deprivations marked the beginning of theNonjuring schism, as the ejected bishops and their supporters maintained loyalty to the exiled Stuart dynasty and continued episcopal succession outside the established Church.

Date

Event

Significance to the Reformation in England

1688-89

TheGlorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689 firmly and finally establishedProtestantism as the national faith underWilliam III andMary II. The revolution led to the passing of theToleration Act 1689, which granted limited freedom of worship toNonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Protestants, thoughRoman Catholicism andUnitarianism remained excluded. The requirement of allegiance to the new monarchs caused a schism in theChurch of England, as several bishops and clergy—known as theNonjurors—refused theoath of allegiance and were deprived of office. The revolution also effectively ended any prospect of a Catholic monarch in Britain, as enshrined in the subsequentBill of Rights 1689 and later reinforced by theAct of Settlement 1701.

1689, 3-12 September

Second London Baptist Confession ratified by a synod representing 100 Calvinistic orParticular Baptist conventicles.

The Confession had been drafted over a decade previous in 1677. This assembly reaccepted it as an orthodox and biblical formulation of Baptist doctrine and thereafter came to represent the principle doctrinal statement of the English Baptists.

1690, February–May

Nine bishops —William Sancroft (Archbishop of Canterbury),Thomas Ken (Bishop of Bath and Wells),Francis Turner (Bishop of Ely),John Lake (Bishop of Chichester),Thomas White (Bishop of Peterborough),Thomas Cartwright (Bishop of Chester),Robert Frampton (Bishop of Gloucester),William Lloyd (Bishop of Norwich),William Thomas (Bishop of Worcester) — are deprived of office for refusing to take the1689 Oath of Allegiance toWilliam III andMary II.

These deprivations marked the beginning of theNonjuring schism, as the ejected bishops and their supporters maintained loyalty to the exiled Stuart dynasty and continued episcopal succession outside the established Church.

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Timeline of the English Reformation

Background

Lollardy

Background events 1485-1525

Annulment Crisis

Henrician Reformation

Edwardian Reformation

Marian Restoration

Elizabethan Reformation

Long Reformation

Reign of James I

Reign of Charles I

Civil War and Interregnum

Restoration & reign of Charles II

Reign of James II

Post Glorious Revolution

See also

External links