Using the stories of Richard Pate and others among the approximately two hundred Catholics who chose to become exiles from England rather than conform to Anglicanism during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, Frederick E. Smith seeks to fill in a neglected gap in Reformation-era historical studies. Smith's analysis explores several distinct areas regarding these émigrés: how exile shaped their religious identities, reconfigured old relationships and established new ones, and transformed them into agents of religious change, thus arguing that through exile these émigrés became agents of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. After demonstrating a strong command of the literature regarding this topic, Smith further argues that through their exile and thus their movement between the British Isles and the Continent of Europe, these English Catholics actually helped define Reformation-era English Catholicism.
The methodology employed by Smith was to employ a broad range of sources, including the correspondence of British government and foreign officials in the host countries of the émigrés as well as those of papal nuncios and Cardinal Reginald Pole, legal evidence such as wills, legal acts passed by the British government such as bills of attainder and chancery court suits, records of the Italian Inquisition, and printed manuscript tracts such as polemical defenses of Catholic doctrine. The author acknowledges that while neither the émigrés themselves nor their experiences were alike, their experiences share commonalities from which valid conclusions might be drawn.
In part 1, Smith details the story of John Christopher, seeking to explore why the émigrés chose to leave their homelands. However, he also acknowledges that the reasons exiles had for leaving England were complex and varied, recognizing that determining motives on the part of the historian can sometimes be affected even by polemical strategies employed by the object of their study.
In part 2, the author identifies the many challenges exiles faced as they sought to establish themselves in new countries, such as finding means of support, adjusting to different cultures, and being cut off from friends and family. The émigrés found it productive to undertake the study and translation of the works of the Greek and Latin church fathers. This practice not only aided the exiles in coping with their new existences but also provided them with ammunition to use against what they considered heretical practices in England. Ironically, the author concludes, the overall effect of these translation efforts was to produce a more irenic spirit in the exiles toward religious differences.
Part 3 explores the life of the émigrés after exile, bringing to light the truth that when the exiles were able to return home, their difficulties did not end. The author notes that of the two hundred or so exiles that left England during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, some fifty-seven returned to England during the reign of Mary Tudor. It had been thought previously that these returned home to more or less heroes’ welcomes. Although they may have been seen as honorable because of their adherence to the Catholic faith in Marian England, they nevertheless suffered from the stigma of being disloyal subjects. In this section, the author identifies the significant role played by Cardinal Reginald Pole as an agent of the Counter-Reformation in Marian England and as an agent of reconciliation between the exiles and their homeland. In their return, Smith also identifies key spiritual contributions these exiles made in Marian England, including a willingness to share a more interiorized piety among the English people, advocacy for the faith through spiritual literature and pious sermons, efforts to reform the clergy, and support for the revival of monasticism in England.
Part 4 sets forth the legacy of the exiles even as they were obliged to leave once again when Elizabeth I became queen. Smith notes that these émigrés prepared the way for a new crop of exiles and religious nonconformists under Elizabeth as well as leaving their mark through practices such as the emphasis on interiorized piety.
In the end, these exiles established the groundwork for English Catholicism after the accession of Elizabeth I, but their influence and legacy extended as well to the Continent, and their impact on history would not have existed without their experience as exiles. While the impact of their contribution to the Counter-Reformation might be subject to debate, this study provides a welcome addition to a topic not previously well examined.
