A People's Tragedy

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Eamon Duffy is a leading authority on the religion of medieval and early modern England. In his influential work, he explores the origins and developments of the English Reformation, emphasizing the practices and institutions that shaped ordinary people's religious experiences—elements that Protestant reformers dismissed as idolatrous. The first part of the volume investigates key institutions, notably the decline of pilgrimage to England's cathedral shrines and the dissolution of monasteries under Henry VIII, highlighted by the fate of the ancient Anglo-Saxon monastery of Ely. The title essay recounts the brutal suppression of the last Catholic rebellion, the Rising of the Northern Earls in 1569. The latter half delves into the evolving narratives surrounding the Reformation, including shifting Catholic views of Martin Luther, the role of Reformation historians in forming English national identity, and the surprising revival of pilgrimage to the medieval Marian shrine of Walsingham in the twentieth century. Duffy also examines how attitudes toward the Reformation have been depicted in fiction, notably through Hilary Mantel's compelling trilogy that portrays the political and religious dynamics of Henry VIII's era, including the complex figure of Sir Thomas More.