The arrival of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1568, had given hope to the Catholic earls in the north of England that Elizabeth could be replaced. They had been antagonised by the queen’s attempt to impose her rule upon them using the Council of the North, a body dominated by southern Protestants. The rebellion’s main achievement was capturing Durham Cathedral in November 1569, yet the armed forces under the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland were defeated and over 400 rebel troops executed, including Northumberland himself.
The pope’s excommunication of the queen was supposed to give strength to the rebellion, but news of this did not reach England until the rebellion was over. This act did, however, make the Catholic threat appear far more serious.
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