The 4th Parliament of Queen Elizabeth I was summoned by

Queen Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

on 28 March 1572 and assembled on 8 May 1572. The Parliament was called, following pressure from the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, to discuss the consequences of the

Ridolfi plot The Ridolfi plot was a Roman Catholic plot in 1571 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. The plot was hatched and planned by Roberto Ridolfi, an international banker who was able to travel betwee ...

, a Catholic conspiracy which had attempted to put Elizabeth's cousin, Mary Stuart (Queen of Scots), on the throne of England in her place. Robert Bell was installed as the

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

. On 13 May 1572, at a joint committee of both Houses of Parliament (Upper and Lower), the Privy Council laid out their case against Mary, who was then under house arrest in the English Midlands under the charge of the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

. They alleged that she had claimed the English crown, attempted to force the Catholic

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

to marry her and incited rebellion in the north of England. Last, but not least, they contended that she had, with the help of

Roberto Ridolfi Roberto Ridolfi (or di Ridolfo) (18 November 1531 – 18 February 1612) was an Italian and Florentine nobleman and conspirator. Biography Ridolfi belonged to a famous family of Florence, where he was born. As a banker he had business connections ...

, the Pope’s secret agent, requested the

Duke of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes ( es, Duque de Alba de Tormes), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by G ...

(governor of the Spanish Netherlands) and

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

to invade the British Isles to overthrow Elizabeth. Parliament almost unanimously voted in favour of a proposal that Mary be executed, but Elizabeth turned down the idea in favour of simply removing Mary from the succession. She did however approve the execution of her second cousin

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, (Kenninghall, Norfolk, 10 March 1536Tower Hill, London, 2 June 1572) was an English nobleman and politician. Although from a family with strong Roman Catholic leanings, he was raised a Protestant. He was a ...

, for his part in the conspiracy. The bill against Mary, although passed by Parliament on 25 June, was eventually rejected by Elizabeth. Other debates on religious matters were stymied by Elizabeth's insistence that they must first be approved by the bishops. The only bill of any significance passed by the time the first session ended on 30 June 1572 concerned a revision of the 1563 Poor Law that had lapsed in 1571. The new legislation introduced compulsory levies for the poor, to be enforced by local, secular authorities. The second session (8 Feb 1576 to 15 March 1576) was more productive in terms of legislation, with 37 bills enacted, covering such things as measures to reduce unemployment and an Act against informers. A further statute was added to the 1572 Poor Law for "setting the poor on work and for the avoiding of idleness," a proposal first made by Sir Francis Knollys in 1571 in an attempt to finance a general welfare system. During the second session of Parliament,

Peter Wentworth Sir Peter Wentworth (1529–1596) was a prominent Puritan leader in the Parliament of England. He was the elder brother of Paul Wentworth and entered as member for Barnstaple in 1571. He later sat for the Cornish borough of Tregony in 1578 and ...

, a prominent Protestant leader, gave a passionate speech in favor of free speech, which resulted in his imprisonment by the House of Commons. The queen released him before the end of the session.Hulme, Harold. 1958. “Elizabeth I and Her Parliaments: The Work of Sir John Neale.” The Journal of Modern History 30 (3): 236–40. SirJohnPopham

The third and final session (16 Jan 1581 to 18 Mar 1581) was prompted by the activities of seminary priests and the Jesuit mission. Speaker Bell having died in the interim,

Sir John Popham Sir John Popham (1531 – 10 June 1607) of Wellington, Somerset, was Speaker of the House of Commons (1580 to 1583), Attorney General (1581 to 1592) and Lord Chief Justice of England (1592 to 1607). Origins Popham was born in 1531 at Hunt ...

was installed in his place. A total of 17 Statutes and 13 private measures received the royal assent, including an Act against sedition and a new Navigation Act. The session was then again prorogued (suspended) and only formally dissolved two years later on 19 April 1583.

Notable Acts of the Parliament

Rebellion Act 1572 The Rebellion Act 1572 ( 14 Eliz. 1. c. 1), full title ''An Act for the punishment of such as shall rebelliously take or detain or conspire to take or detain from the Queen's Majesty any of her castles, towers, fortresses, holds, &c.'', was an Ac ...

Escape of Traitors Act 1572 The Escape of Traitors Act 1572 ( 14 Eliz. 1. c. 2), full title ''An Act against such as shall conspire or practice the enlargement of any prisoner committed for high treason'', was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of England enacted during ...

Vagabonds Act 1572 The Vagabonds Act 1572 was a law passed in England under Queen Elizabeth I. It is a part of the Tudor Poor Laws and a predecessor to the Elizabethan Poor Laws. The 1572 act provided that justices of the peace were to register the names of the " ...

Ecclesiastical Leases Act 1572 The Ecclesiastical Leases Act 1572 ( 14 Eliz. 1. c. 11) was an Act of the Parliament of England. The whole Act was repealed by section 1(1) of, and Group 1 oPart IIof Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1998. Section 5 earlier partial ...

Hospitals for the Poor Act 1572 The Hospitals for the Poor Act 1572 ( 14 Eliz. 1. c. 14) was an Act of the Parliament of England. The whole Act was repealed by section 39(1) of, and Schedule 5 to, the Charities Act 1960. References *Halsbury's Statutes ''Halsbury's Stat ...

Poor Act 1575 The Poor Act 1575 was a law passed in England under Queen Elizabeth I. It is a part of the Tudor Poor Laws and a predecessor to the Elizabethan Poor Laws. The 1575 act required parishes to create “a competent stock of wool, hemp, flax, iron an ...

Common Informers Act 1575 The Common Informers Act 1575 ( 18 Eliz. 1. c. 5) was an Act of the Parliament of England. The whole Act was repealed by section 2 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1959. References *Halsbury's Statutes ''Halsbury's Statu ...

Benefit of Clergy Act 1575 The Benefit of Clergy Act 1575 (18 Eliz. I c.7), long title ''An Act to take away clergy from the offenders in rape and burglary, and an order for the delivery of clerks convict without purgation'', was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of Eng ...

Ecclesiastical Leases Act 1575 The Ecclesiastical Leases Act 1575 ( 18 Eliz. 1. c. 11) was an Act of the Parliament of England. The entire Act was repealed by section 1(1) of, and Group 1 oPart IIof Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1998. References *Halsbury's S ...

* Rochester Bridge Act 1575 *

Religion Act 1580 The Religion Act 1580 (23 Eliz.1 c. 1) was an Act of the Parliament of England during the English Reformation. The Act made it high treason to persuade English subjects to withdraw their allegiance to the Queen, or from the Church of England to ...

References

* {{cite web, url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/parliament/1572, title=4th Parliament of Elizabeth I, 14 Eliz. I, 18 Eliz. I, 23 Eliz. I, publisher= History of Parliament Online, access-date= 2 November 2017 1572 establishments in England 1572 in politics

Notable Acts of the Parliament

See also

References