The Origins of Sectarianism in Early Modern Ireland

One of the striking features of Irish life in the first years of the seventeenth century was the speed with which both the Gaelic literati and the Catholic hierarchy accepted James I as the legitimate monarch of Ireland. Before granting recognition to James, however, the Catholic authorities had one major difficulty to overcome. After all, the peculiarities of the Irish scene with a Protestant monarch ruling over a Catholic people, was a complete contradiction of the solution proposed in Augsburg in 1555, cuius regio eius religio. If James was the de facto monarch, what were the obligations of his Catholic subjects vis-à-vis what was a heretical monarch according to the Catholic church?

The question was further complicated by James' own background. His mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was a Catholic. His wife, Anne of Denmark, had converted to Catholicism shortly before her husband's proclamation as king of England. There were even rumours, both at home and abroad, that James himself was about to become a Catholic, rumours that he did little to dispel, even if they had no basis in fact. English recusants were under the impression that James' accession to the throne of England would herald a new era of tolerance for Catholics. It is difficult to know exactly what promises James made during the negotiations prior to his succession and Antonia Fraser has drawn attention to his superb diplomatic skills in raising religious hopes without actually satisfying them.