Editing Recusancy

{{short description|Religious nonconformism in Britain, 16th–19th centuries}}{{Citations needed|date=April 2024}}{{Catholic Church in England and Wales sidebar}}
[[File:Catholics in England 1715-20.svg|thumb|Map of the [[historic counties of England]] showing the percentage of registered Catholics in the population in 1715–1720<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/MN5014ucmf_0|title=The English Recusants: A Study of the Post-Reformation Catholic Survival and the Operation of the Recusancy Laws|last=Magee|first=Brian|publisher=[[Burns & Oates|Burns, Oates & Washbourne]]|year=1938|location=London|ol=14028100M|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>]]

'''Recusancy''' (from {{langx|la|recusare|translation=to refuse}}<ref>Burton, Edwin. (1911). [https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12677a.htm "English Recusants"], ''[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]''. New York: [[Robert Appleton Company]]; retrieved 11 September 2013 from ''[[New Advent]]''</ref>) was the state of those who remained loyal to the [[Catholic Church]] and refused to attend [[Church of England]] services after the [[English Reformation]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Collins|first=William Edward|author-link=William Edward Collins|title=The English Reformation and Its Consequences|publisher=[[BiblioLife]]|year=2008|page=256|isbn=978-0-559-75417-3}}</ref>

The [[Act of Uniformity 1558|1558 Recusancy Acts]] passed in the reign of [[Elizabeth I]], and temporarily repealed in the [[Interregnum (1649–1660)]], remained on the statute books until 1888.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=Spurr|title=English Puritanism, 1603–1689|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|year=1998|page=117|isbn=978-0-333-60189-1}}</ref> They imposed punishments such as fines, property confiscation and imprisonment on '''recusants'''.<ref>See for example the text of the [https://history.hanover.edu/texts/engref/er80.html Act of Uniformity 1559]</ref> The suspension under [[Oliver Cromwell]] was mainly intended to give relief to [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformist]] Protestants rather than to Catholics, to whom some restrictions applied into the 1920s, through the [[Act of Settlement 1701]], despite the 1828&ndash;1829 [[Catholic emancipation]].<ref>[[James Wood (encyclopaedist)|Wood, Rev. James]]. (1920) ''The Nutall Encyclopædia'', London: F. Warne, p.{{nbsp}}537.</ref>

In some cases those adhering to Catholicism faced [[capital punishment]],<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Malley|first=John W.|author-link=John W. O'Malley|title=Early modern Catholicism: Essays in Honour of John W. O'Malley, S.J.|publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |year=2001|page=149|isbn=978-0-8020-8417-0|display-authors=etal}}</ref> and some English and Welsh Catholics who were executed in the 16th and 17th centuries have been [[Canonization|canonised]] by the Catholic Church as [[List of Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation|martyrs of the English Reformation]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Alban Butler|author1-link=Alban Butler|author2=David Hugh Farmer|title=Butler's Lives of the Saints: May|publisher=[[Burns & Oates]]|year=1996|page=22|isbn=0-86012-254-9}}</ref>

Today, ''recusant'' applies to the descendants of Catholic families of the British [[gentry]] and [[aristocracy]].

==History==
After the [[English Reformation]], from the 16th to the 19th centuries those guilty of such [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformity]], termed "recusants", were subject to civil penalties and sometimes, especially in the earlier part of that period, to criminal penalties. [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]]s formed a large proportion, if not a plurality, of recusants, and it was to Catholics that the term initially was applied. Non-Catholic groups composed of [[Calvinism|Reformed Christians]] or [[Protestant|Protestant dissenters]] from the [[Church of England]] were later labelled "recusants" as well. Recusancy laws were in force from the reign of [[Elizabeth I]] to that of [[George III]], but were not always enforced with equal intensity.<ref>[[Roland G. Usher (historian)|Roland G. Usher]], ''The Rise and Fall of the High Commission'' (Oxford, 1968 reprint ed.), pp.{{nbsp}}17–18.</ref>

The first statute to address sectarian dissent from England's [[official religion]] was enacted in 1593 under Elizabeth I and specifically targeted Catholics, under the title "An Act for restraining Popish recusants". It defined "Popish recusants" as those {{Blockquote|convicted for not repairing to some Church, Chapel, or usual place of Common Prayer to hear Divine Service there, but forbearing the same contrary to the tenor of the laws and statutes heretofore made and provided in that behalf.}}

Other Acts targeted Catholic recusants, including statutes passed under [[James VI and I|James{{nbsp}}I]] and [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], as well as laws defining other offences deemed to be acts of recusancy. Recusants were subject to various [[civil disabilities]] and penalties under English [[Penal law (British)#English statutes on religious nonconformity|penal laws]], most of which were repealed during the [[Regency era|Regency]] and the reign of [[George IV]] (1811–30). ''The Nuttall Encyclopædia'' notes that [[English Dissenters|Dissenters]] were largely forgiven by the [[Toleration Act 1688|Act of Toleration]] under William{{nbsp}}III, while Catholics "were not entirely emancipated till 1829".<ref>[[James Wood (encyclopaedist)|Wood, Rev. James]]. ''The Nutall Encyclopædia'', London, 1920, p.{{nbsp}}537.</ref>

Early recusants included [[English Dissenters|Protestant dissenters]], whose [[Creed|confessions]] derived from the [[Calvinist]]ic Reformers or [[Radical Reformation|Radical Reformers]]. With the growth of these latter groups after the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] of [[Charles II of England|Charles{{nbsp}}II]], they were distinguished from Catholic recusants by the terms "nonconformist" or "dissenter". The recusant period reaped an [[Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales|extensive]] harvest of [[Forty Martyrs of England and Wales|saints and martyrs]].

Among the recusants were some high-profile Catholic aristocrats such as the [[House of Howard|Howards]] and, for a time, the [[Plantagenet]]-descended [[House of Beaufort|Beauforts]]. This patronage ensured that an organic and rooted [[English culture|English base]] continued to inform the country's Catholicism.

In the [[English-speaking world]], the [[Douay-Rheims Bible]] was translated from the [[Latin Vulgate]] by expatriate recusants in [[Rheims, France]], in 1582 (New Testament) and in [[Douai, France]] in 1609 (Old Testament). It was revised by Bishop [[Richard Challoner]] in the years 1749–52. After ''[[Divino afflante Spiritu]]'', translations multiplied in the Catholic world (just as they multiplied in the Protestant world around the same time beginning with the [[Revised Standard Version]]). Various other translations were used by Catholics around the world for English-language liturgies, ranging from the [[New American Bible]] and the [[Jerusalem Bible]] to the [[Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition|Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition]].

==Prominent historical Catholics in the United Kingdom==
===Recusant families===
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There were dozens of recusant families, some no longer extant. For example, the [[Howard family]], some of whose members are known as Fitzalan-Howard, the [[Duke of Norfolk|Dukes of Norfolk]], the highest-ranking non-royal family in England and hereditary holders of the title of [[Earl Marshal]], is considered the most prominent Catholic family in England. Other members of the Howard family, the Earls of Carlisle, Effingham and Suffolk are Anglican, including a cadet branch of the Carlisles who own [[Castle Howard]] in Yorkshire. Recusancy was historically focused in [[Northern England]], especially in [[Cumberland]], [[Lancashire]], [[Yorkshire]] and [[Westmorland|Westmoreland]]. A geographical exception was a branch of the Welds from [[Shropshire]] who migrated via London to [[Oxfordshire]] and [[Dorset]]. The three sons of Sir [[John Weld (merchant)|John Weld]] (1585–1622), founder of the [[Weld Chapel]] in [[Southgate, London|Southgate]], all married into recusant families and were technically "converts" in the 1640s. The eldest, [[Humphrey Weld (of Lulworth)|Humphrey]], began a lineage, referred to as the "Lulworth Welds".<ref name=HOP>{{cite web| url =https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/weld-%28wild%29-humphrey-1612-85|title=Weld (Wild), Humphrey (1612–85), of Lulworth Castle, Dorset and Weld House, St. Giles in the Fields, Mdx.| publisher= History of Parliament Online| access-date = 2 September 2020 }}</ref> They became connected by marriage to Catholic families across the kingdom, including the [[Baron Arundell of Wardour|Arundells]], [[Weld-Blundell family|Blundells]], [[Baron Clifford of Chudleigh|Cliffords]], [[Errington (surname)|Erringtons]], [[Joseph Gillow|Gillows]], [[Christopher Haydock|Haydocks]], [[Baron Petre|Petres]], [[Baron Teynham|Ropers]], [[Maria Howard, Duchess of Norfolk|Shireburns]], [[Maria Fitzherbert|Smythes]], [[Baron Stourton|Stourtons]], [[Throckmorton baronets|Throckmortons]], [[FitzHerbert baronets|Fitzherberts]], [[Vaughan (surname)|Vaughans]] and [[Vavasour family|Vavasours]].<ref name="Burke">''Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry'', Volume 2. H. Colburn, 1847. pp. 1545–1546 view on line [https://books.google.com/books?id=0NEKAAAAYAAJ&dq=Issue+of+Thomas+Weld%2C+Lulworth&pg=PA1545]</ref> The [[Baron Acton|Acton (also known as Dalberg-Acton and Lyon-Dalberg-Acton)]] family is another well-known recusant family.

===Individuals===
[[File:Cobbe portrait of Shakespeare.jpg|thumb|160px|right|[[William Shakespeare]] came from a family background of English Catholic recusants.]]
Although [[William Shakespeare]] (1564–1616) and his immediate family were conforming members of the established Church of England, Shakespeare's mother, [[Mary Shakespeare|Mary Arden]], was a member of a particularly conspicuous and determinedly Catholic family in [[Warwickshire]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ackroyd |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Ackroyd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2tq0gqtNuEEC |title=Shakespeare: the Biography |publisher=[[Chatto and Windus]] |year=2005 |isbn=1856197263 |location=London |page=29}}</ref>

Some scholars also believe there is evidence that several members of Shakespeare's family were secretly recusant Catholics. The strongest evidence is a tract professing secret Catholicism signed by [[John Shakespeare]], father of the poet. The tract was found in the 18th century in the rafters of a house which had once been John Shakespeare's and was seen and described by the reputable scholar [[Edmond Malone]]. Malone later changed his mind and declared that he thought the tract was a forgery.<ref>Quoted in Schoenbaum (1977: 49) "In my conjecture concerning the writer of that paper I certainly was mistaken".</ref> Although the document has since been lost, [[Anthony Holden]] writes that Malone's reported wording of the tract is linked to a testament written by [[Charles Borromeo]] and circulated in England by [[Edmund Campion]], copies of which still exist in Italian and English.<ref name="holdshak">[[Anthony Holden|Holden, Anthony]]. [http://www.hbgusa.com/books/64/0316518492/chapter_excerpt10046.html ''William Shakespeare: The Man Behind the Genius''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215022745/http://www.hbgusa.com/books/64/0316518492/chapter_excerpt10046.html|date=2007-12-15 }}. [[Little, Brown and Company|Little, Brown]] (2000).</ref> Other research, however, suggests that the Borromeo testament is a 17th-century artefact (at the earliest dating from 1638), was not printed for missionary work, and could never have been in the possession of John Shakespeare.<ref>Bearman, R. (''2003'') "John Shakespeare's Spiritual Testament, a reappraisal", ''[[Shakespeare Survey]] 56,'' pp. 184–204.</ref> John Shakespeare was listed as one who did not attend church services, but this was "for feare of processe for Debtte", according to the commissioners, not because he was a recusant.<ref>Mutschmann, H. and Wentersdorf, K., (1952) ''Shakespeare and Catholicism'', [[Sheed and Ward]]: New York, p. 401.</ref>

Another notable English Catholic, possibly a convert,<ref>Harley, John. (1998) "New Light on William Byrd", ''[[Music and Letters]]'', p.{{nbsp}}79 , pp. 475–488.</ref> was composer [[William Byrd]]. Some of Byrd's most popular ''[[motet]]s'' were actually written as a type of correspondence to a friend and fellow composer, [[Philippe de Monte]]. De Monte wrote his own motets in response, such as the "Super Flumina Babylonis". These correspondence motets often featured themes of oppression or the hope of deliverance.

[[Dorothy Lawson (recusant)|Dorothy Lawson]] was a Catholic noblewoman who used her autonomy, financial independence and social status as a widow to harbour priests in her household.<ref>{{Cite ODNB |title=Lawson [née Constable], Dorothy (1580–1632), recusant and priest harbourer |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-69034 |access-date=2024-10-19 |date=2004 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/69034}}</ref> She was a patroness of the [[Jesuits|Society of Jesus]], who met yearly at her home to discuss the mission in England, employed Catholic servants, held religious services for the local community,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Binczewski |first=Jennifer |date=May 2020 |title=Power in vulnerability: widows and priest holes in the early modern English Catholic community |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-catholic-history/article/abs/power-in-vulnerability-widows-and-priest-holes-in-the-early-modern-english-catholic-community/EABBCC91FF5731F00888290BFB6628CF |journal=British Catholic History |language=en |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=1–24 |doi=10.1017/bch.2020.1 |issn=2055-7973}}</ref> and visited recusants who were imprisoned in gaol for their beliefs. Her children were raised in the Catholic faith. Three daughters entered convents on the continent and a son attended a [[seminary]] in [[Douai]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-01 |title=Dorothy of Heaton - Heaton History Group |url=https://heatonhistorygroup.org/2019/09/01/dorothy-of-heaton/ |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=heatonhistorygroup.org |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The Jacobean poet [[John Donne]] was another notable Englishman born into a recusant Catholic family.<ref name="Schama">{{cite news|first=Simon|last=Schama|author-link=Simon Schama|title=Simon Schama's John Donne|date=26 May 2009|publisher=[[BBC2]]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo|access-date=18 June 2009}}</ref> He later, however, authored two Protestant-leaning writings and, at the behest of King [[James VI and I|James I]], was ordained into the Church of England.<ref>Kunitz, Stanley; Haycraft, Howard, eds. (1952). ''[[iarchive:britishauthorsbe00kuni|British Authors Before 1800: A Biographical Dictionary]].'' New York: Wilson. pp. 156–158. {{ISBN|978-0-8242-0006-0}}.</ref><!-- stop removing; reference link provided; see talk page -->

[[Guy Fawkes]], an Englishman and a Spanish soldier,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-06 |title=What do Catholics do on Guy Fawkes night? {{!}} Notes and Queries {{!}} guardian.co.uk |website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-18627,00.html |access-date=2024-10-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706132929/https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-18627,00.html |archive-date=2023-07-06 }}</ref> along with other recusants or converts, including, among others, Sir [[Robert Catesby]], [[Christopher Wright (plotter)|Christopher Wright]], [[John Wright (Gunpowder Plot)|John Wright]] and [[Thomas Percy (plotter)|Thomas Percy]], was arrested and charged with [[Gunpowder Plot|attempting to blow up the King and Parliament]] on 5 November 1605. The plot was uncovered and most of the plotters, who were recusants or converts, were tried and executed.

==Other countries==
The term "recusancy" is primarily applied to English, Scottish, and Welsh Catholics, but there were other instances in Europe. The vast majority of native [[Irish people|Irish]], while subjects of the [[British Crown]], rejected both the reformed [[Church of Ireland]] and the dissenting churches, remaining loyal to the Catholic Church, suffering the same penalties as recusants in [[Great Britain]]. The situation was exacerbated by land claims, paramilitary violence, and ethnic antagonisms on all sides.<ref>Burton, Edwin, Edward D'Alton, and Jarvis Kelley. ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia|1911 Catholic Encyclopedia]], Penal Laws III: Ireland''.</ref>

Recusancy in [[Scandinavia]] is not considered to have survived much past the period of the [[Liturgical Struggle]] until anti-Catholicism lessened towards the end of the 18th century and freedom of religion was re-established in the mid-19th century (although there were individual cases of Catholic sympathies occurring even in the 17th and 18th centuries). Notable converts were [[Christina, Queen of Sweden]],<ref>Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "[[wikisource:Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Christina_Alexandra|Christina Alexandra]]". ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''. New York: Robert Appleton Company.</ref> daughter of [[Gustavus Adolphus]]; and [[Sigrid Undset]], Nobel Prize-winning author of ''[[Kristin Lavransdatter]]''. The number of ethnic Swedes who are Catholic is fewer than 40,000, and includes [[Anders Arborelius]], a convert and the first Swedish Bishop since the Reformation. In 2017, he was made a cardinal.{{cn|date=December 2022}}

==See also==
*[[Cæsar Clement]]
*[[Catholic Church in the United Kingdom]]
** [[Catholic Church in England and Wales]]
** [[Catholic Church in Scotland]]
* [[Colleges of St Omer, Bruges and Liège]]
* [[Crypto-papism]]
* [[Dissenter]]
** [[English Dissenters]]
* [[Dowry of Mary]]
* [[List of Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation]]
* [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformism]]
* [[Papist]]
* [[Priest hole]]
* [[Roman Catholic (term)|Catholic (term)]]
* [[Catholic Church in Ireland]]
** [[Recusancy in Ireland]]

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|recusant|recusancy}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120314054016/http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hadland/tvp/tvpcontents.htm "Thames Valley Papists" (by Tony Hadland), ''Reformation to Emancipation, 1534–1829''] (published 1992; {{ISBN|0-9507431-4-3}}; the 2001 electronic version added illustrations)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012141720/http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hadland/tvp/agnussk.gif "Lyford Grange Agnus Dei"], Global Net, banned Papal medallion, hidden in roof timbers for 400 years, found in 1959.
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Recusant |volume= 22 |page= 967}}

[[Category:Recusants| ]]
[[Category:Anti-Catholicism in England]]
[[Category:Anti-Catholicism in Ireland]]
[[Category:Anti-Catholicism in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of the Church of England]]
[[Category:History of Catholicism in England]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic families]]