Polemic as Piety: Thomas Stapleton's Tres Thomae and Catholic Controversy in the 1580s

Author:

Sheils, William

Format:

Journal Article

Year:

2009

Journal Title:

Journal of Ecclesiastical History

Volume:

60

Issue:

1

Language:

English

Abstract:

This article examines the triple biography of Thomas the Apostle, Thomas Becket and Thomas More, published by Thomas Stapleton in 1588 and generally regarded as a work of pious hagiography. By focusing on the circumstances in which the book was written and published, the article demonstrates its polemical significance at a time of rapid political change in Catholic/Protestant relations in both England and Europe. Conceived as a Catholic alternative to the history of the Christian past produced by Foxe, Stapleton's book also addressed contested issues within Catholicism: how to deal with the Elizabethan regime, and the status to be accorded to recent martyrs. In answering these questions, Stapleton's views reflect the complexity of Catholic thought at this time, and its fluidity in response to the shifting political circumstances of the late 1580s.

Who (Jesuits):

Stapleton, Thomas, 1535–1598

What (Subjects):

Writings -- Hagiography

Controversies -- England

History -- Regional -- Politics

Where (Locations):

Europe -- UK -- England

When (Centuries):

16th century

Publisher URL:

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=3309688&fileId=S0022046907002485

Page Range:

74–94

ISSN:

0022-0469

1469-7637

DOI:

10.1017/S0022046907002485