ABSTRACT
A study of the religious polemic of mid-sixteenth century England can give the impression that the period was one of unremitting religious conflict. Writers such as John Foxe and John Bale portrayed this conflict as one between the true and the false churches; they saw the world divided between the followers of Christ and the Antichrist, locked in conflict. This polemic has encouraged historians to regard the Reformation as a simple battle between Protestants and Catholics, judging each side according to their successes and failures. For centuries the history of the Reformation in England was considered to be the story of the conversion of England to Protestantism. Norris, Ward and Weldon cooperated at Court and in Berkshire, demonstrating that it was possible for the reformer, the conservative and the politique to live in peace and concord during the mid-sixteenth century. Political, social and cultural considerations could be equally important for the men and women of mid-Tudor England.
