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Writer's pictureStephanie Simon

Bloody Mary: Probably Should Have Been Fiery Mary

Updated: Jul 15, 2022


Queen Mary earns herself a metal-ass title




Religion can be nuts.


When queen Mary I of England took over the throne in 1553, she abandoned her father's rules of Protestantism, and, much to the dismay of the country's inhabitants, named Catholicism as the state religion. this lead to Queen Mary burning hundreds of heretics at the stake.


but burning people at the stake for heresy wasn't really that uncommon; to be fair, her father, King Henry VIII did the same thing and was much more in favor of cruel punishment in general.


It's likely that Mary partially gained such an infamous reputation for the gruesome treatment of protestants thanks to a book published by a man named John Foxe, This book had a detailed account of each and every martyr who died for his/her faith, as well as 30 intricate woodcut illustrations of the torture and executions that they endured.


Whether or not all of the information in the book is accurate is up in the air, but either way the work became a sensational success.


In her five year reign, Mary was documented to have burned around 300 accused Protestant Heretics alive, earning her the metal-ass, and yet somewhat misleading title of Bloody Mary.


Personally I would have placed a vote for "Fiery Mary", maybe even "Flamey Mary".


It's still debatable whether or not the urban legend of Bloody Mary has anything to do with Queen Mary. If you ever meet her in the mirror, please do ask.

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