Protestant Drama and the State in England 1535-75

One of the major vehicles for religious instruction and debate in the late Middle Ages was drama that reflected the doctrinal position of the Roman Catholic Church. During the forty years of religious turmoil of the English Reformation (1535-75), the reformers’ use of plays for propaganda purposes was a major factor in the government’s struggle to persuade the people to embrace the new religion, using a traditional tool of the old religion against it to achieve their ends. This article traces the twists and turns of this campaign from the early days of the Henrician reformation under Thomas Cromwell to the systematic suppression of community religious drama by Elizabeth’s ecclesiastical commissions.