4. Catholics Were Not Necessarily Evil, And Protestants Were Not Always The Good Guys
Catholic bishops - including the Right Reverend Mark Davis of Shrewsbury and the Right Reverend Mark O'Toole of Plymouth - have slammed the portrayal of Thomas More as an opportunistic schemer. Although More certainly was ruthless in many ways - he happily allowed six Protestants to be burned alive for their religious beliefs - he has subsequently been canonised as a Catholic saint, and he did everything in his power to protect the traditional religion in England. Mantel has criticised Catholicism in the past - accusing the Church of "cruelty" and "hypocrisy" - and it is clear that her own views have influenced her portrayal of both More and Cromwell. More, the Catholic, is seen as backwards and vindictive whereas Cromwell, who agrees to Henry VIII's demands of a separation from the Church of Rome, is depicted as progressive, forward-thinking and liberal. In truth, perceptions of both probably lie somewhere in the middle. More was certainly not "saintly", but he was also not a vindictive schemer - he refused to acknowledge King Henry VIII's Church of England split because he was a devout Catholic. Cromwell on the other hand did show progressive, liberal thinking, but he was not wholly moral himself.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
