After the reign of Mary in England, Elizabeth I ascended the throne. She began a period of religious tolerance and compromise. The English Protestant population gladly accepted her over the cruel rule of Mary I. However, certain individuals did not believe in the rule of a female. Elizabeth I constantly had to bear unfair treatment and criticism from males and the church. The population had mixed feeling on whether or not the queen should have absolute power over the land and over the church. The different beliefs about gender had no major effect on the reign of Elizabeth I and were greeted by her with extreme toleration. Elizabeth had to endure the beliefs that a female should not rule and attempts to influence her decisions, as well as stand up to the expectations of …show more content…
A Scottish reformer, John Knox, believed that “women are utterly forbidden to occupy the place of God’s law” (Knox). John Knox expressed strong opinions against Elizabeth’s domination of the Anglican Church. Even though John Knox was a Calvinist reformer, he confirmed the beliefs of the Catholic church on the participation of women in church affairs. Being a male, John Knox considered himself superior to females. Elizabeth simply ignored such claims and continued to rule her kingdom. Efforts to stop women from commanding also came from the Anglican Church. According to the bishops, women “must obey their husbands” and “perform subjection”. The Second Book of Homilies did not even mention the possibility of a woman ruling. Their beliefs had no effect on Elizabeth -- she even authorized the publishing of the book. Elizabeth, a person of high self-esteem, considered her above other women. Her primary title was the ruler of England and only then a female. The Anglican bishops supported female subordination according to the teaching of Christianity. Slightly annoyed with all the negativity towards her reign, Elizabeth decided to clear things