1688 GREAT BRITAIN JAMES II ERA ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM SANCROFT CAST SILVER MEDAL

Description

YOU ARE BIDDING ON 1688 GREAT BRITAIN JAMES II ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM SANCROFT CAST SILVER MEDAL
Eimer-288b; MI,i,622/37. Medal Cast in Silver. 50 mm. By George Bower. Archbishop Sancroft and the Bishops. Archbishop's bust right in cap and clerical robes.
Reverse
; Six medallions around a central one containing busts of the bishops. Faint contemporary gilding and some hairlines.
Following the exclusion crisis in the late 1670s over the fear of the rise of Catholicism, James II proposed the Declaration of Indulgence in 1687–the first step in establishing the freedom of religion in England. The ensuing protest however concerned the bill's lack of guarantee that the Anglican Church would remain as the established church, with many leaders within the clergy refusing to read the declaration. This act against the crown was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Sancroft, along with six other bishops (Bishop Henry Compton being included on this medal on account of his earlier dissent to Catholicism and removal from office by James), and resulted in their imprisonment in the Tower of London. Brought to trial before the Court of the King's Bench, the bishops were acquitted, serving as a precursor to James' deposition shortly thereafter by his nephew, the Protestant William III of Orange, in the Glorious Revolution.