Emperor: A New Life of Charles V

1561, there was a royal command to dismantle rood lofts. This did not finally happen at Great St Mary’s until 1571 and moreover, between 1561 and 1571, the rood loft appears to have disappeared and re-appeared before finally being taken down. As Professor William Sheils argues, it was the intrusion of national political concerns that may well have disrupted communities’ tendencies towards neighbourliness and co-operation. The traditional view of the Elizabethan church as concerned with puritan opposition underplays what this book emphasizes – the continuing importance of Catholic conservatism and non-conformity. The work Contested Reformations in the University of Cambridge, 1535-1584, is a work which updates the interpretation of Professor H.C. Porter in his Reformation and Reaction in Tudor Cambridge (Cambridge: CUP, 1958). The use of archival material in the new work is important, but nonetheless caution needs to be exercised. This work is at pains to emphasize examples of Catholic conservatism in Tudor Cambridge, and it is right to do so. Nonetheless, the picture of a Cambridge which supported Protestant reform should not be forgotten. The conservative ascendancy under Mary can be seen as an example of obedience to the Tudor state. What the book acknowledges is that national developments helped condition local reactions to reforming tendencies. With the accession of the Protestant Elizabeth, a Protestant trajectory could only be confirmed and strengthened, not denied.