This page was published over five years ago. Please be aware that due to the passage of time, the information provided on this page may be out of date or otherwise inaccurate, and any views or opinions expressed may no longer be relevant. Some technical elements such as audio-visual and interactive media may no longer work. For more detail, see our Archive and Deletion Policy. Born into modest surroundings in Reading, William Laud became a leading hate figure for Puritans during the s and s.
His determination to promote and enforce a 'high church' style of worship created many enemies and contributed to his downfall. Laud was executed following an Act of Attainder in January Appointed Bishop of London in , he was also elected Chancellor of Oxford in and used his influence to turn the city into a Royalist stronghold. However, it was in his role as Archbishop of Canterbury- England's senior churchman- that Laud really incurred the Puritans' wrath.
Laud saw the Anglican Church as part of the Universal church and preferred forms of worship which emphasised the priest's special intermediary role, a view which brought him into conflict with those who believed in a priesthood of all believers and rejected anything which lacked biblical justification.
Using the Courts of High Commission and Star Chamber to enforce his beliefs, Laud removed theological opponents from church posts and persecuted those who encouraged nonconformity.
It was on Laud's orders that Prynne, Burton and Bastwick were mutilated for publishing Puritan attacks on the Laudian church. Laud's episcopalianism was viewed by critics as an essential complement to Charles' political absolutism, so Laud was opposed by critics on both political and religious grounds.
As soon as the opportunity presented itself, his enemies went on the offensive. In December , he was impeached on a charge of treason and detained in the Tower of London. The Lords acquitted him in but, in the midst of war, the Commons moved an Act of Attainder which they forced the Lords to pass.
Laud was beheaded on 10th January, A Covenanter who was nevertheless happy to accept a title from Charles. First he lost his parliament; then his throne; then his head. Find out more about the King of England during this bloody era. A head of state who wasn't born to the job? Cromwell led the country into new territory. An aristocrat-turned-rebel whose military setbacks derailed his career:. Coming round to the King's point of view was a change which would cost him his life.
Both were impeached for High Treason. Strafford was beheaded shortly thereafter. Laud suffered the same fate four years later, after languishing in the Tower of London. In both cases it proved difficult to prove treason; a bill of attainder from Parliament resulted in their conviction and execution.
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford The execution of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Stafford, May 12, , was by some estimates attended by as many as , He had been integral in trying to roll back the Reformation and impose an Anglo-Catholicism on England and Scotland.
Had Laud reinforced the Calvinistic Puritan movement and not pursued belligerent schemes to return the Church in a papal direction, there may never have been a Cromwell in England or Covenanters in Scotland — but then such speculation is unsafely questioning Providence. The trial of Archbishop Laud above ended without a verdict, having proved impossible to identify any specific act of treason.
Parliament eventually passed a bill of attainder under which he was beheaded on January 10, on Tower Hill, despite being granted a royal pardon. Image Credits: 1 William Laud Wikipedia. Search for:. Previous Next. Share this! Alexander Leighton William Prynne For many Scotsmen, this was perceived as an attack on their religion, intensifying their discontent with Charles as King and his constant intervention in Scotland. This attacked the Pope, removed many Anglican bishops and refused the new Prayer Book.
By , the threat of war with Scotland appeared increasingly likely. Unable to gather the troops capable of challenging this invading army, Charles was forced to call Parliament for the first time in eleven years, in order to secure funding for the conflict. King Charles I. Defenders of Parliament and Puritan leaders detested the Laudian reforms and blamed Laud for manipulating Charles and sought to seek revenge.
However, to the disappointment of many Parliamentarians, Laud survived the trial and was later beheaded at Tower Hill on 10th January after being found guilty of high treason. We English like to think of ourselves as gentlemen and ladies; a nation that knows how to queue, eat properly and converse politely.
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