Of Kings, Queens, Scholars, and Faith
Below is a brief overview of the politics and religion up to and during the time of Christopher Marlowe. It sets the stage for how and why his educational experience unfolded as it did, why it was possible for him to have a job as a spy during graduate school, why he chose to engage with certain ideas in his plays, and how they were received during his life and immediately following his death.
The Monarchy and Religion
Since the reign of King Henry VIII, religion and politics in England were controversial and intertwined topics. Frustrated by the lack of a male heir, Henry sought have his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled so he could remarry and try again. Because the Queen was the aunt of the Pope, no such annulment was granted. Although wildly simplified here, thus began England’s separation from Rome and the birth of the Church of England. (It will also be important that this wife is Spanish, and the daughter of famed rulers Ferdinand and Isabella.)
Henry VIII's remarrying strategy ultimately worked and he had a son with his third wife. King Edward VI succeeded him on the throne. But upon Edward's death, Henry's daughter by his first wife, Queen Mary I, became ruler of England. Mary was determined to bring the Catholic Church back to England. She married Phillip II, who later became King of Spain and Portugal. (At this time, the territory also included The Netherlands and a portion of France. Queen Mary is known as "Bloody Mary," largely for her persecution of Protestants in England.
Queen Elizabeth sought to bring some peace to the Protestant/Catholic warring, and through the Act of Supremacy and Act of Uniformity, she restored the Anglican Church and became its Supreme Governor. This compromise retained some Catholic traditions, and therefore never really satisified either the Catholic-heavy House of Lords or the Protestant-heavy House of Commons. But it did seem to keep an overt conflict with Spain at bay for a while. Covert attempts to kill Elizabeth I would continue, however, and the Queen's efforts to root out the traitors in England and abroad formed the basis for Marlowe's spy work while at Cambridge.
Elizabeth was succeeded by James VI of Scotland, now also James I of England. Scottish Protestants were skeptical of him not because of his desire to reinstate the Catholic Church, but because of a preference for male companions. Knowing he would need to take a wife to be seen as a legitimate King, James married the daughter of the King of Denmark. Trips between Scotland and Denmark were plagued on multiple occasions by bad weather, but he became convinced witches had cast a spell on the voyages. This was the catalyst to what was to become an obsession for King James to hunt down ‘witches’ throughout the country, inspired by what he believed was an attempt through sorcery to kill him. James's belief in the divine right of kings put him at odds with parts of the Protestant Church, as did an effort to arrange marriage between his son Charles and another daughter of another King of Spain--which deal included a provision from the Spanish that the persecution of Catholics be relaxed. More religious compromise for political purposes.
Royal Shakespeare Company: "As James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) outlines in his Demonologie, the process for making a deal with the Devil varied depending on whether the would-be necromancer was a witch or a magus, and contracts were formed in different ways. Broadly speaking, female witches sealed their diabolical pact with sexual intercourse and allowed demonic spirits (usually in animal form) to suck their blood, leaving a devil’s mark on their bodies. A male magus signed an official contract in his own blood."
Such a tradition is important to Doctor Faustus, as this is how Faustus seals his deal with Mephistopheles. But in one of Marlowe's steps to create Faustus as an inept and too-cocky intellectual, his blood congeals and Mephistopheles must help him. It also sets the stage for why the appearance of demons at all is both a religious and political issue.
No Place Like London
The Map of Early Modern London project has created an interactive edition of the Agas map where you can traverse the city to find may different streets, categories of buildings, and more. Click the image above to visit the map, and then select the categories you wish to explore. (The image above is a snapshot demonstrating how the highlighting works.)
The Church
Catholicism and Protestantism are the two largest religions in the Western world. Both religions are part of Christianity, meaning they share some common beliefs, but there are also some notable differences. Protestantism contains many factions. Three of the key movements of Marlowe's day are shown below, next to a map which shows their prevalence in Europe and England.
Map of Protestantism in Marlowe's Day. Click to enlarge
Protestantism's first break from the Catholic Church came in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed the famous 97 Theses on a church door in Wittenberg. Calvinism, named for John Calvin, was a key part of the reformation's second generation beginning in the 1550s, directly impacting Marlowe and Doctor Faustus.
Like Calvin, Luther believed that God chose those who were saved, but he forecasted the Arminians with his belief that man is condemned by his own sinfulness, and not due to predestination. Luther was also more tolerant of religious art. He valued the image of the cross (like Catholics). Calvin feared that representation of God in art would lead to a worship of idols..
Two other distinctions are worth notice. Luther took communion literally and genuinely believed in the idea that the host and wine were the body and blood of Christ. Calvin revered them, but as symbols. Lastly, because Luther’s main concerns were spiritual and not how those ideas might inform the larger functioning of society, he took a far more relaxed view of the role of the government in the affairs of the church. Calvin had a very particular view of when and how government should be involved in spiritual matters, as discussed below.
CALVINISM 101
BASICS OF CALVINISM
John Calvin was a Protestant reformer. Born in France in 1509, his most important work as a theologian took place while living in Geneva, as a leader of the Second Protestant Reformation. Calvin’s opposition to the Roman Catholic Church comes from a simple belief—all that is necessary to attempt to know and understand God is the study of scripture. Faith alone, and not the Catholic idea of faith and good works. Secondary interpretations provided by priests are both unnecessary and unhelpful. The most important tenet of Calvinism, though, is double predestination, which contends that some persons are predetermined by God to go to hell, while others are predetermined to go to heaven, regardless of the actions (good or bad) of these persons while on Earth.
CALVINISM AND GOVERNMENT
"The fundamental difference between church and civil government, according to Calvin, is governance. The church is governed by Jesus Christ, the only King. He governs by his Word and Spirit. Church governance is spiritual, with the explicit objective to lead people to glorify God with their lives. On the other hand, God also instituted earthly powers and governments, which have the power of the sword. The objective of this governance is to maintain law and order. Calvin was of the opinion that the “law” should be based on the Ten Commandments. Governments did not need to invent new laws, only to interpret and apply the perfect law which is to be found in Scripture. Only mad people would dispute the legal right and status of governments and kings.
Calvin also believed that the government has the duty and calling to protect and promote public religion and worship. Government should also encourage Christians and church leaders to live in peace with one another. The basis of temporal justice is the law of God. God’s governance (theocracy) becomes visible in church discipline (spiritual, internal governance) as well as the application of law and order by governments (external civil governance). These two institutions are clearly distinguishable but are both important for the maintenance of order and the spread of God’s kingdom. Calvin’s understanding of theocracy does not imply that the functions of church and government are interchangeable. The church must never take on the function of a temporal government. Government, however, needs to listen to the preaching of the gospel by the church, subject itself to God’s kingdom and govern in accordance with God’s will as found in Scripture.”
-Professor Wim Dreyer, “Calvin on Church and Government”
CALVIN AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
Calvin’s first major writing was published two years after Henry VIII took the throne. And while he would have supported separation from the Catholic Church, King Henry VIII’s position as head of the church ran afoul of his beliefs for two reasons—he placed himself atop the new Church of England, which should never have a secular head, and because it was ultimately a political and not spiritual decision. Thus began a complicated relationship between Calvin and England.
Upon the ascension of Queen Mary, Calvin was known to welcome many fleeing Protestants, dubbed “Marian exiles,” in Geneva. He was supportive of Queen Elizabeth 1’s efforts to reinstate the Church of England, but also frustrated both by the compromises in the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity.
Like with her father, Elizabeth leveraged faith in God for political reasons. Protestantism was supported by a significant portion of the House of Commons, making the return of the Church of England a domestic political advantage. But the overwhelming Catholicism of the House of Lords meant such a religious settlement could never pass into law. In a second successful effort, Elizabeth became the Supreme Governor of the Church, an improvement over being its Supreme Head (Henry VIII's title), but this still took place through an act of Parliament. This mean that while Calvinists, the more extreme Puritans, and other reformers could continue to push for further reforms, it would take another government intercession for them to be realized.
The religious settlement had international political advantages as well. The preservation of certain Catholic traditions kept England from squaring off against Spain, the most powerful country in Europe at the time.
Calvinism and Arminianism
Calvin's idea of DUAL PREDESTINATION was difficult for some Protestants to accept. It states that God determines whether a person will be saved or not before they are born, and nothing can be done to change that fate. Some worried this also made God responsible for creating evil. Jacobus Arminius was one such theologian. He is chiefly responsible for the section of Protestantism that believes people do retain a role in their fate.
"Salvation is accomplished through the combined efforts of God (who takes the initiative) and man (who must respond) – man’s response being the determining factor. God has provided salvation for everyone, but His provision becomes effective only for those who, of their own free will, “choose” to cooperate with Him and accept His offer of grace. At the crucial point, man’s will plays a decisive role; thus man, not God, determines who will be recipients of the gift of salvation."
Arminianism was a hotly contested idea, ultimately pushed out of acceptable Protestant beliefs. But the debate raged while Marlowe was at Cambridge. And if his spy duties took him to Antwerp, he would have had great exposure to Arminianism in a country where it was widely accepted.
John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius
FOOD FOR THOUGHT?
How does our understanding of Faustus as a character change if he is Calvinist or if he is Arminian?