Book contents
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Acknowledgements
- List of Figures
- Note on the Text
- Introduction: Elizabethan England and the German Question
- 1 The Elizabethan Settlement and Anglo-German Policy in the First Years
- 2 Foedus et Fractio, I: The Fortunes and Challenges of Anglo-German Diplomacy, 1560–76
- 3 Foedus et Fractio, II: The Formula of Concord and the Protestant League, 1577–80
- 4 Foedus et Fractio, III: The Confessional Realignment of Anglo-German Relations, 1580–6
- 5 Foedus et Fractio, IV: The Crescendo of European Conflict and the Changing of the Guard, 1587–92
- Conclusion: England and the Protestant Princes of the Empire
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
5 - Foedus et Fractio, IV: The Crescendo of European Conflict and the Changing of the Guard, 1587–92
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Acknowledgements
- List of Figures
- Note on the Text
- Introduction: Elizabethan England and the German Question
- 1 The Elizabethan Settlement and Anglo-German Policy in the First Years
- 2 Foedus et Fractio, I: The Fortunes and Challenges of Anglo-German Diplomacy, 1560–76
- 3 Foedus et Fractio, II: The Formula of Concord and the Protestant League, 1577–80
- 4 Foedus et Fractio, III: The Confessional Realignment of Anglo-German Relations, 1580–6
- 5 Foedus et Fractio, IV: The Crescendo of European Conflict and the Changing of the Guard, 1587–92
- Conclusion: England and the Protestant Princes of the Empire
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
Summary
Until the late 1570s, English policy towards the Protestants of the Holy Roman Empire maintained a loose alliance and mutual understanding. In 1577 the Formula of Concord created a toxic atmosphere for those Princes internationally inclined, as their opponents promoted its theological and political exclusivity and separated themselves from the Protestant International. The decade following was trial by ordeal for Elizabeth's German policy. Although long-standing relationships with multiple Princes did not emerge unscathed, the ideological bond among many European Protestants could not be broken. Additionally, during the 1580s some Lutherans previously supportive of Concordian condemnations began to lament their refusals of English overtures for a military confederation. With the Cologne War from 1583, the fight for survival reached the heart of Imperial politics. Equally important as a potential shift in favour of Protestant Electors, the conflict's international resonance finally got the attention of Augustus of Saxony, long one of the most crucial to garnering wide support for the cause in France and the Netherlands.
After Augustus's death in 1586, Elizabeth's fundamental policy towards Protestant Germania did not change so much as its implementation adapted to circumstances. As before, when generational shifts brought swings in emphasis, during the late 1580s and early 1590s further adjustment maintained a consensus of anti-Catholicism among English allies.
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- Information
- Anglo-German Relations and the Protestant CauseElizabethan Foreign Policy and Pan-Protestantism, pp. 113 - 146Publisher: Pickering & ChattoFirst published in: 2014