Edwin sandys, archbishop of york 1577-88, 'Stiff-necked, wilful and obstinate': Conflict in the elizabethan church

In 1577, Edwin Sandys was promoted to become Archbishop of York. From the moment he arrived in the North he found himself embroiled in disputes. This article will demonstrate that Sandys was at odds not just with the Catholic priests engaged in reconverting the nation and their papist congregations, but also with those who should have been his natural allies. Sandys was in constant conflict with fellow Protestants who were engaged in the same tasks as him, namely creating a godly community in the North. Yet when examined in context, these quarrels sprang from a desire to secure the Church's property, safeguard the Church's reputation and to ensure that, as Archbishop of the province, he could genuinely fulfil what he saw as his duty, to educate the unenlightened.