What was a Recusant in Elizabethan England?
Those who refused to attend Church of England services (recusants) were forced to pay a fine of a shilling a week for not attending church on Sundays or holy days.
What was the crime of recusancy?
The definition of recusancy was the refusal to submit to established authority. The Recusancy Law was originally directed the refusal of Roman Catholics to attend the services of the Church of England.
What did James I do to recusancy fines?
The recusant was to be fined £60 or to forfeit two-thirds of his land if he did not receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper at least once a year in his Church of England parish church. The Act also made it high treason to obey the authority of Rome rather than the King.
What are the Recusancy laws?
The definition of recusancy was the refusal to submit to established authority. The Recusancy Law was originally directed the refusal of Roman Catholics to attend the services of the Church of England. The word Recusant derives from the Latin word ‘recusare’ meaning to refuse.
What was the Recusancy Act 1587?
Recusancy Act 1587: 2/3rds of the land owned by a recusant was taken away. Even wealthy Catholics were now forced into debt. Act Restraining Recusants 1593: Catholics were forced to stay within 5 miles of their homes and banned from large gatherings. Why did the Catholic threat fade after 1588?
What are the two types of Catholic?
In addition to the Latin, or Roman, tradition, there are seven non-Latin, non-Roman ecclesial traditions: Armenian, Byzantine, Coptic, Ethiopian, East Syriac (Chaldean), West Syriac, and Maronite. Each to the Churches with these non-Latin traditions is as Catholic as the Roman Catholic Church.
What are recusancy laws?
What was the recusancy Act 1587?
What are the recusant rolls?
After 1592 a separate series of rolls called Recusant Rolls was created which continued until 1691 (previously recusancy was recorded in the Pipe Rolls). The Rolls could include other dissenters or nonconformists and show the fines and property or land surrendered by the accused.
Where can I find details of the fines for recusancy?
Local quarter session papers and pipe rolls should provide details of the fines. The first separate recusant rolls were compiled consisting mainly of Catholics and lasted up to 1691 (previously recusancy was recorded in the pipe rolls). The rolls recorded the punishments and fines of those who refused to conform to the Anglican doctrine.
What happens if you are a recusant in the Catholic Church?
Convicted recusants were ordered to receive Anglican communion once a year or face a fine or seizure of their property. Recusants were also barred from office and professions including the military. Informers were paid £50 for revealing a priest saying mass or persons attending mass.
Where can I find records of convicted Catholic recusants?
Between 1581 and 1592 recusancy became a matter for the Exchequer, so between 1581 and 1592 details of convicted property owning Catholic recusants appear in the Pipe Rolls ( E 372 ). Pipe Rolls also contain the accounts of fines and forfeitures of lands collected under the recusancy acts.