The Voices of Morebath: Reformation and Rebellion in an English Village [Paperback]

An instructive and at times deeply moving account of the effects of the Tudor Reformation on village life. Although the first half of the book may seem a little tedious in its introduction to the village, people and institutions of Morebath, it is ultimately necessary in understanding the remainder which moves historically through the Reformation period. The book gives a detailed insight into how bewildering it must have been for a conservative rural village to undergo the changes from Catholic to Protestant, back to Catholic under Queen Mary and finally to Protestant again under Elizabeth.

Thus ended the career of the parish priest of Morebath, there was he buried, between two religions, two social worlds, two distinct weltanschuung. Taken from his parish register, which gives full details of accounts with a full and interesting commentary by him ,Christopher Trychay, who served the parish from 1520 - 1574, this book gives an interesting account of the minutiae of parish life throughout the events of the 16th century.
I wonder whether it is possible to write of the Reformation without one's own loyalties being obvious, indeed other reviewers have clearly revealed their own, but Professor Duffy , himself a Catholic, certainly writes not only with considerable affection for the pre-Reformation world but also with some appreciation for the Elizabethan one which came to supplant it in England.

Many of us do not believe ,unlike our ancestors were led to believe by their historians -indeed Haigh when he first studied the opposition to the Reformation came to the conclusion that what he had been taught at school about its popularity was erroneous -that the Reformation was welcomed by the people of England, and have been puzzled as to how they accepted such a revolution. Looked at from the centre the answer is perhaps the power and luck of Queen Elizabeth and the relentless persecution , well detailed by Philip Hughes' "The Reformation in England Vol III True Religion Now Established " , of her Catholic subjects, but the localities have been more problematic, although even there as in the time of Thomas Cromwell it could be said that careless talk costs lives.(p 167). Duffy shows how gradually, after limited destruction under Henry VIII and massive destruction under Edward VI, restoration under Mary, and further destruction under Elizabeth, the Old Religion in Morebath gave way. Their parish priest stayed with them, no longer using the requiem vestments for which in his early days so much parish money had been saved, and obediently adopting the new ways. He "eased them into a slow and settled conformity to the new order of things"(p190).Under Mary he probably had looked back on the the Reformation as being "arrogant, destructive, and un-English, a disastrous rebellion against God and the faith of our fathers" but when it triumphed again he adapted to the change. He saw his duty as being to God and Morebath.

No doubt like many others, I was given this book as a Christmas gift, and was delighted to have such a readable, scholarly, and beautifully illustrated addition to my library.

The long awaited sequel and parallel text to The Stripping of the Altars - an intimate examination of the Reformation in a single Devon parish.

Duffy explores the period 1530-1580 through the churchwardens accounts, minute books, journals and bequests of the remote Devon village of Morebath. If you've already read his "The Stripping of the Altars", this book is like a detective story, trying to answer a single, biting question: if the Reformation in England was so unpopular with the common people, why did it succeed? He comes up with what looks like it might be the answer.

The opening chapters may be heavy going if you haven't already read "The Stripping of the Altars".