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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Mary I
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(1516–58)
Queen of England and Ireland from 1553, succeeding her brother Edward VI; daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon; married Philip of Spain (1554).
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Mary was treated harshly by her father, *Henry VIII, for resisting the annulment of his marriage to her mother; she then suffered in the intolerant atmosphere of the reign of her brother, *Edward VI, for remaining true to Roman Catholicism; and her accession to the throne was briefly frustrated by the incident of Lady Jane *Grey. Mary began her reign with leniency towards her enemies, but her determination to restore Roman Catholicism soon provoked resistance. An early affront was her marriage in 1554 to the heir to the throne of Spain, the future *Philip II. His arrival was closely followed by that of Cardinal *Pole, sent by the pope to absolve England and to receive her back into the Catholic fold.
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The next few years saw severe persecution of Protestant heretics, causing the queen to become known as Bloody Mary. Some 300 were burnt at the stake, including Nicholas *Ridley (1503–55) and Thomas *Cranmer. Their suffering, dramatically recorded in *Foxe's Book of Martyrs, became a powerful inspiration to later Protestants. The main external event of the reign was a brief war in 1557 against France, which was urged upon Mary by her husband and which ended with the loss of *Calais. She had no children and was succeeded by her sister *Elizabeth I (see the *royal house).
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