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February 16, 2017

Bloody Mary in the Mirror

Winner of the Fall 2016 StMU History Media Awards for

Article with the Best Title

No one can say who history will choose to remember, or for what they will be remembered. Sometimes a lifetime of achievement can be forgotten because of a single misdeed. Few historic figures relate to this statement more than the English Queen Mary Tudor. Remembered today as a drink, or as a ghost story told by young children, Queen Mary was the first self-reigning queen of England during a time of radical religious change within her realm. The atrocities she committed during her reign would forever live on, and earn her the nickname Bloody Mary.

A portrait of Queen Mary I, the first regnant queen of England, by Anthonis Mor, Spain 1554 | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Mary Tudor was born in the year 1516 to King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Although he wanted a son, King Henry was very fond and proud of Mary, whom he showed off to many people in the castle and in the London markets. As he was showing her off to a French envoy, King Henry was heard shouting “By immortal God, Master Ambassador, this girl never cries!”1 Beginning at the tender age of six, Mary was offered up for marriage multiple times, including to her cousin Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, and to the son of King Francis I of France, and even to King Francis himself. She was crowned by her father as the first princess of Wales.

Because Catherine had not given him a son, King Henry sought to annul their marriage. However, at the insistence of Catherine, Charles V and papacy refused to grant Henry the annulment. Henry did not take kindly to their refusal and sought to distance himself from their ecclesiastical rule to establish his own.With his new adviser, Thomas Cromwell, a known Protestant, by his side, King Henry announced the Act of Succession, formally separating the England from the authority of Rome. He then enacted the Act of Supremacy, which placed him as the head of the new Church of England.2

Much of northern England discontented with the current state of affairs. Growing ever more restless with rising taxes, hardships, and now the separation from the Roman Catholic Church, many villages began to revolt. Cromwell sought to quell the rebellion by enacting the Pilgrimage of Grace. Many monasteries and places of worship were burned to the ground while the government issued the Ten Articles of Religion, religious rules that had to be practiced, many of which heavily favored Protestant traditions. These actions only led to further uprisings that eventually posed a threat to King Henry’s rule.3

Once again under the guidance of Thomas Cromwell, King Henry executed over two-hundred of the insurgents, effectively ending the uprising. A young Mary watched as her father sentenced his enemies to death, establishing his power and right to reign through force. This display of power would shape Mary and her eventual reign as monarch.4

Mary was very close to her mother growing up, and believed very deeply in the Catholic traditions and values instilled in her at a young age. After Catherine’s annulment, Mary quickly sided with her mother and developed a deep hatred of Henry’s new wife, Anne Boleyn. Angry that Mary chose to side with Catherine instead of him, Henry separated Mary from her mother, stripped her of her title,which she would never regain in her lifetime. After the birth of her new half sister Elizabeth, Mary became illegitimate in the eyes of the royal court and lost all right to the throne. She was forced to live in Elizabeth’s house, where she was hated and reviled by her step mother Anne Boleyn until her execution years later. Scholars believe Mary suffered from congenital syphilis, which she inherited from her father. This, coupled with the psychological stress she endured, caused her to spend the next several years in and out of severe illness.5

Portrait of Mary I (1516-1558). By Master John. Oil on panel, 1544. National Portrait Gallery | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

On 12 October 1537, Edward VI was born to King Henry and his third wife, Jane Seymour. Now Henry finally had a son who would succeed him upon his death, which happened in 1547. Under Edward’s rule, Protestantism was given Edward’s full sponsorship, and an English Reformation ensued, which brought a thorough-going persecution of all things Catholic. Despite this, Mary continued to practice her faith, holding mass in her private chapel, which was in open defiance of the many religious laws put in place at Edward’s behest. Edward’s rule, however, was short lived; he reigned only six years before dying of illness. Before he died, Edward altered the line of succession to ensure that Lady Jane Gray, a Protestant and grand-daughter of King Henry’s sister, would take the throne instead of his half-sister Mary. Lady Jane became queen, and Mary was forced to flee for her life from the castle. She was faced with a choice: flee the country, or try to oppose her rule.6

To the surprise of many, Mary garnered large support and loyalty from many subjects, including East Anglian nobility. In a matter of days she had amassed an army strong enough to oppose the English council and end the rule of the nine-day queen. At 37 years old, Mary Tudor ascended to the throne. In 1554 Queen Mary issued an order, which declared that queens held equal power to kings, effectively becoming the first regnant queen of England.7 As a monarch Mary worked ceaselessly in the name of her kingdom. It was said that she woke up at dusk to pray, then worked in government well passed midnight. Despite the struggles she had endured throughout life, and the cruelty she later become known for, Mary was described by many as kind and caring woman. She was known for interest in fine jewelry while still insisting she remained a simple woman, with an inclination towards gambling.8

Mary immediately worked towards reestablishing the papacy’s control over England. She began a reverse Reformation, undoing many of the religious laws in place and replacing them with new laws meant to reestablish Catholicism in England. Many disagreed with her efforts, and did not believe she had a right rule. Uprisings began as people defied many of the religious laws she put into place, practicing their faith in secret as Catholics had done only a few years ago. As her father had done before her, Queen Mary established her power and authority by executing all those who defied the new laws. Protestant prisoners were dragged from their cells, tied to stakes, and burned alive for all to see. Often times these prisoners were covered in hot tar to make the flames burn longer. Many of the people executed were young. Mothers were burned alongside their children. An estimated 294 were believed to have died under her rule9.

María Tudor, reina de Inglaterra y esposa de Felipe II. By Antonis Mor. 1554 | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

For Queen Mary, these executions were not just punishing those who broke the religious laws of the land, but a way of purifying England so as to restore it to its former state of communion with Rome. As she had witnessed from her father before her, public executions were also an efficient way to establish power and dominance over the people, great and small. This may have been a necessary power play, since many doubted whether she actually had the strength to rule, because she was a woman. These executions did produce the desire outcome; however, the people sacrificed to the flames soon became martyrs, and Protestant sentiment grew even stronger among its followers. Those who escaped her purge began referring to the queen as “bloody Mary,” because of all of the Protestant blood she had shed.10

Despite the loyalty she had garnered among her followers, many people still believed a queen would be too weak to rule on her own. Many members of her council had also served under Lady Jane as well, providing more obstacles for her to overcome. Mary knew she needed to produce an heir to ensure that Elizabeth would never ascend to the throne. She married King Phillip II of Spain, son of Emperor Charles V, a decision that many considered to be the worst in her reign. Sir Thomas Wyatt, a Protestant leader, staged a rebellion against the matter, led by many other prominent Protestants. Many years into their tumultuous relationship,Phillip convinced Mary to aid Spain in his war against France.  which she did, and it resulted in massive losses for the English navy.11

Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of England from 1554 to 1558 | The arms of Queen Mary Impaled with those of King Phillip II | Made with Inkscape | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Like her brother before her, Mary’s reign was short lived, lasting only five years. She died in the year 1558, after finally succumbing to illness.12 Elizabeth was then crowned reigning monarch, devoting her time as queen to rebuilding the Church of England. As her father had done before her, Elizabeth sought to establish a middle ground between the two warring religions. She instilled traditions from both Catholicism and Protestantism to establish peace among the people.

Though a trail blazer in every sense of the word, Queen Mary is instead remembered as the “Tyrant Tudor” reviled by many for the ferocious acts she committed in the name of her faith.13

  1. Neil Jones, “The Rise and Fall of Bloody Mary,” Britain 84, no. 2 (April 2016): 66.
  2. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, January 2016, s.v. “Henry VIII,” by William T. Walker.
  3. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, January 2016, s.v. “Pilgrimage of Grace,” by Sharon L. Arnoult.
  4. Niki Incorvia, “A Threshold of Genocide: Microgenocide in Mary Tudor’s Revenge on Protestant England and Catherine de Medici’s Massacre of the Huguenots,” International Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Society 5, no. 3, (September 2015): 54.
  5.  Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, April 2016, s.v. “1516–58 Mary I, Queen of England.”
  6.  Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2016, s.v. “Mary I.,” by Ann Weikel.
  7.  Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2016, s.v. “Mary I,” by Ann Weikel.
  8. Neil Jones, “The Rise and Fall of Bloody Mary,” Britain 84, no. 2 (April 2016): 66.
  9. Niki Incorvia, “A Threshold of Genocide: Microgenocide in Mary Tudor’s Revenge on Protestant England and Catherine de Medici’s Massacre of the Huguenots,” International Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Society 5, no. 3 (September 2015): 54–55.
  10. Niki Incorvia, “A Threshold of Genocide: Microgenocide in Mary Tudor’s Revenge on Protestant England and Catherine de Medici’s Massacre of the Huguenots,” International Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Society 5, no. 3 (September 2015): 54–55.
  11.  Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, April 2016, s.v. “1516–58 Mary I, Queen of England.”
  12.  Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, April 2016, s.v. “1516–58 Mary I, Queen of England.”
  13. Neil Jones, “The Rise and Fall of Bloody Mary,” Britain 84, no. 2 (April 3, 2016): 66.

Recent Comments

194 comments

  • Amelia Hew

    Despite the cruelty Queen Mary portraited in history events, it wasn’t her fault that she became this way. Being forced apart from her mother and hated by her father plus her stepmother afterwards at a young age has a huge influence on her development. Not only that, pressures from the court who questions or opposes her right to rule just because she was stripped from her title, making her an illegitimate child in their eyes pushed her into a deeper depth. For some reason, Queen Mary was often remembered as a tyrant and no one really realize her effort in making her country a better place for her people.

  • Maya Mani

    I heard about the tale of “Bloody Mary” when I was younger. Hearing about the rituals you should perform in the bathroom in order for her to “appear”, her story was even featured in various horror movies. Learning about the real life Queen Mary, provides a whole other perspective to the name and story. While she was quite cruel, I think observing her father’s actions at such a young age, while facing discrimination herself, influenced a lot of her actions.

  • Antonio Coffee

    I had known that Mary was regarded as a cruel queen but what I learned from this article is that she did a lot of other things as well. This most important of these that stood out to me was that she made it so that Queens had equal power to the Kings. This changed how England would be ruled for centuries to come, continuing even to our current day. It was also interesting to see how the decisions made by her father, King Henry, impacted her decisions later in life.

  • Engelbert Madrid

    Although Queen Mary wanted to restore the Catholic Church in England after the death of her father, I don’t think that killing people would restore that faith. Instead, it only leads to violence between both Catholic and Protestant faiths. Now I understand why she was remembered as “Blood Mary”. Unfortunately, she did not accomplish to restore the Catholic faith that she wished for England.

  • Eric Ortega Rodriguez

    Growing up, I would constantly hear stories about Bloody Mary but never really understood or looked into the topic. As a child, Mary Tudor saw executions with her father, which I would not doubt if that is what made her into such a rough individual especially with all the hardships she encountered growing up. Overall, great topic selection, since it is over something not very many people know about, with very good use of images. Good work.

  • Fatima Navarro

    I always heard of the :Bloody Mary’ saying and ‘game.’ But was not aware of the actual story of how it came to be. Maybe because by the time I migrated to the United States, I thought it was something national of Americans and not something from abroad. Surprisingly today, this article cleared the story of “bloody’ Mary” for me and now I know the background and context of it. Interesting story, and interesting woman. I wouldn’t call her evil, but I wouldn’t support her either. Regardless, knowing her story was engaging.

  • Hali Garcia

    I love learning about monarchs! I have always found it interesting to study different kings and queens of other countries and looking into what occurred during their reigns. When I was a kid I always thought Bloody Mary was a monster until I learned the who she really was. Now I know she was called “Bloody Mary” because of all the people who were killed during her reign.

  • Claudia Sanchez

    I could see why Mary would be remembered solely as “Bloody Mary” because of how catchy the name is. This article was really informative on the rule of Queen Mary while also being entertaining. Like the Article says, it was most likely witnessing her father’s approach ruling that influenced her decisions. That on top with the need to prove she could be a ruler.

  • Bianca-Rhae Jacquez

    I think that Mary wasn’t an “evil” person. She recreated the madness that she experienced at a young age due to her father. Her method of ruling seemed to mirror the atmosphere at which she saw when her father ruled. I think this article is very good. The title is extremely clever and the context of the article has somethings that many wouldn’t know about her life.

    • Christopher Metta Bexar

      Mary’s reign was much like her half brother and sister. But all three of them experienced fear and threats from outside ( some say their only protection until his death was their father Henry VIII).
      Both Mary and Elizabeth according to some historians had been declared bastards by Henry but yet had never been mistreated by their father. I agree with the article that perhaps Mary’s biggest mistake was marrying her Spanish relative and not trying to govern England as an enlightened monarch.
      As history will prove , Elizabeth was much more successful because she never repeated Mary’s mistake of trying to alienate the Catholics or the Anglicans.

  • Avery Mascorro

    Queen Mary seemed to be very vengeful for everything she had to endure. All the actions she took were related to the way she was treated and in the interested of protecting her bloodline in the throne. She didn’t seem to be a very wise leader and didn’t accomplish anything in the way of advancing England.

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