Life in Elizabethan England

• The Great Chain of Being:

  1. The Monarch: Viewed as God's chosen ruler on Earth.
  2. Nobility: Dukes, Earls, Barrons, Viscounts. Held seats in House of Lords.
  3. Gentry: Landowners who ranked below nobility, Knights, Squires, Gentlemen.
  4. Merchants and Professionals: Gained wealth through trade or skilled services.
  5. Yeomen: Prosperous Farmers.
  6. Labourers and Artisans: Blacksmiths, Carpenters, Weavers. Worker for wages or small plots of land.
  7. Poor: The deserving and undeserving.
• Importance of the Great Chain of Being:

  • Social Stability: Everyone had a role and place in societ. Disrupting this order was a challenge to God's will.
  • Diving Right of Kings: Believed to rule by divine authority. Disobeying the queen was a political crime and sin.
  • Natural Order: Heirarchy was refleted in every aspect of life. (family roles - cosmos)
  • Punishment for Disruption: Rebellion or ambition beyond one's station were thought to result in chaos or divine punishment.
• Living Standards (The Aristocracy and Royalty):

  • Wealthiest members of society. (Royal family, nobles, gentry). Homes were large, well decorated, and furnished with luxorious items.
  • Aristocratic homes were built with stone with grand halls, ornate furnature, tapestries. Had large estates and gardens.
  • Had access to the best food and entertainment. (Banquets, feasts, hunting parties.) Employed large staff to maintain estates.
• Living Standards (The Middle Class):

  • Included merchants, artisans, and professionals (Doctors and Lawyers). Lived in towns and cities rather than countryside.
  • Homes were more modest but well-kept and furnished with wooden furniture, rugs, fine chin.
  • Able to afford comfortable meals but not extravagant feasts like nobility.
  • Had access to entertainment such as theatre performances and public events.
• Living Standards (Lower Class and Peasantry):

  • Majority of population belonged to the lower class and lived in rural areas. Homes were smal and made from wattle and daub, furnished very simply.
  • Lived in cramped, poorly constructed homes.
  • Limited access to food and lived subsistence lifestyle. Diet was basic. (Bread, porridge, vegetables, occasional meat/fish)
  • Education was not widely available to the lower class.
• Health and Hygiene:

  • Health standards varied considerably by class. Wealthy could afford better healthcare, often employing personal physicians. However medicine was rudimentary and plague and smallpox were common.
  • Hygiene was poor by modern standards. Bathing was infrequent and wealthy could afford perfumes and oils, poor had little access.
  • Public health issues, such as plague, were frequent and devastating for the poor.

  Would have been rennaisance period (Vesalius time).
• The Gentry:

  • Feudal system collapsed due to the Black death. Landowners started renting land.
  • Dissolution of Monasteries (1536) led to redistribution of land to merchants or lesser landowners. Formed the Gentry.
  • Renaissance lef to emphasis on education and intelectual development. Gentry family sent sons to grammar schools and universities.
  • Tudors were deeply distrustful of the nobility. Instead relied on Gentry to act as JPs. Seen as loyal, pragmetic, less likely to rebel.
  • Limited Retainers
  • Used bonds and recognizances.
• Fashion:

  Fashion in Elizabethan England symbolised status and wealth—strict laws governed who could wear what. Fashion was used to display social rank and clothing was a reflection of individual and social identity.

  • Noblemen wore Doublets, Elaborate hats (feathers and jewels).
  • Noblewomen wore gowns with tightly fitted bodices and full skirts. Often made from silk and had long sleeves, high collars, and lace.
  • Only nobility could wear garments made from fur or velvet.
  • Purple was reserved for royalty while red and gold were associated with nobility.
• Architecture:

  • Glass was expensive and only affordable for wealty.
  • Rich oak wood panneling hung with colourful tapestries.
  • Reidences didnt need defensive features like moats and drawbridges.
  • Very different from previous gothic styles. Greek and Roman influences came to fashion. Design was symmetrical and usually built around an E or H shape.
• Leading architect was Robert Smythsom who bult some of the most famous Elizabethan houses such as Longleat House in Wilthsire and Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire
• Medieval VS Elizebethan Architecture:

  Medieval:

  • Designed for defence and religious worship.
  • Influenced by Romanesque and Gothic styles. Emphasized verticality and light.
  • Windows were small and narrow with rounded/pointed arches.
  • Great halls has high cielings.

  Elizabethan:

  • Focus shifted to comfort and display.
  • Followed Tudor style incorperating renaissance details.
  • More windows. Illuminated interiors and showcased wealth of owner.
  • High ceilings remained in fashion but rooms were more comfortable and warmer.
  • Introduced the long gallery.
• Theatre Chronology:

  • 1540s: Performed in town squares or movable wagons.
  • 1550s: Religious censorship of theatre intensified, playwrights focused on politically safe themes.
  • 1570s: Law in 1572 frouping them with Vagabonds so introduced acting companies. Earl of Leicster sponsored group called Leiscter's men.
  • 1580s: Plays reflected events like the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
  • 1590s: The Globe Theatre built by the Lord Chamberlain's men became iconic venue for Shakespeare's plays.
• Why was theatre important?

  Great chain of being and propaganda:

  • Careful not to criticise Elizabeth and celebrated her reign.
  • E.g. King Lear: Reversal of family roles leads to tragedy.

  Social and Moral influence:

  • Challenged norms and pushed boundaries while entertaining audiences.
  • E.g. Romeo and Juliet: Love across class boundaries.
• How accessible was theatre?

  YES:

  • Cultural enrichment for all - served as a medium for cultural expression and education.
  • Social intergration - Theatres were communal spaces where individuals could gather.
  • Economic opportunites - Provided employment to individuals.

  NO:

  • Moral and religious concerns - Puritans criticized theatre for distracting people from religion.
  • Social heirarchy and disorder - Theatres were crowded and noisy and seen as threat to established social order.
  • Health and safety issues - Spread of plague was significant leading to temporary closures.
• The poor:

  • Impotent poor: Unable to work (elderly, widows, orphans and the physically/mentally ill). Elizabethans were sympathetic, and society's duty was to provide charity—poor laws aimed to support them.
  • Idle Poor: Capable to work but unwilling (vagrants beggars and lazy people). Met with hostility and suspicion, threat to social order. 1572 vagabonds act reflected this.
• Warning for common cursitors - Thomas Harman (1567)

  1. Clapper Dudgeons - Injured themselves by cutting skin and leaving wounds to fester to gain pity and alms.
  2. Counterfeit Cranks - Pretended to suffer from epilepsy or fits. Staged dramatic episodes to get money.
  3. Abram men - Feigned madness by wondering streets half-naked to be deserving of charity.
  4. Rufflers - Former soldiers, aggressive begging or theft under guise of seeking aid.
• Exploration:

  At the beginning of the 1400s, people believed the world was flat. Still many trade links beyond Europe, with silks, spice and cotton being in high demand. Trade became more difficult when the Ottomans expanded their empire in Eastern Europe. Placed a high tax on all goods that travelled through their empire. The Europeans needed to find alternative routes for trade which led to an increased interest in exploration. 

  Encouraged by the development of new technologies. E.g. Printing press, astroglobe, magnetic compass.
• Explorers:

  • Bartholemeu Dias (1488) - First european to sail around cape of good hope opening route to the East.
  • Christopher Columbus (1492) - First european to reach the Americas.
  • John Cabot (1497) - Explored North American coastline (Newfoundland?), Englands first claim to lands in North america.
  • Vasco de Gama (1499) - First european to sail around africa and across indian ocean, opening direct sea route to asia.
  • Ferdinand Magellan (1522) - First expedition to circumnavigate the globe, was killed in the philippenes.
• Sir John Hawkins:

  • He was one of the first Englishmen to engage in the transatlantic slave trade.
  • Rear Admiral in spanish armada.
  • Treasurer of the Navy from 1577. He reduced corruption, streamlined costs, and made the navy more efficient in its operations.
  • New design for english warships (faster more manouverable and better for combat)
  • He equipped ships with more cannons, allowing them to fire effectively in battles against larger Spanish galleons.
  • Introduced stricter discipline and improved the training of sailors, ensuring they were better prepared for battle.
• Sir Francis Drake:

  Drake was one of the most famous explorers, privateers, and naval commanders of the Elizabethan Age. Earned his reputation by raiding Spanish settlements and ships in the Americas. Elizabeth secretly supported his privateering activities.

  Circumnavigated the globe from 1577 to 1580. Brought him international fame and a knighthood from Elizabeth. His daring tactics and relentless attacks on Spanish forces made him a hero to the English and a feared enemy to the Spanish, who referred to him as “El Draque” (The Dragon).
• Drakes Exploration:

  • Dec. 1577: Left Plymouth.
  • April 1578: Drake revealed true purpose of voyage.
  • July 1578: Ashore at San Julian. 3 ships destroyed, remaining ships were Golden Hind, Marigold, and Elizabeth.
  • 21st August 1578: Enter stair of Magellan.
  • Loses other ships. Only The Golden Hind is left.
  • March 1579: Captured Cacafuego and took 362,000 pesos.
  • July 1979: Sails across Pacific ocean.
  • Nov-Jan 1580: Lands in Spice Islands and makes trade treaty.
  • Jan-Sept 1580: Sails around cape of good hope.
  • 26th Sept 1580: Landed in Plymouth.
• Exploration Consequences:

  • Expansion of trade networks.
  • Groeth of trade companies.
  • Introduction of new goods.
  • Slave trade.
  • Rise of merchant class.
  • Cultural exchange.
  • Migration and settlement.
  • Rivalry with spain and other piwers.
  • Naval dominence.
  • Colonial expansion
  • Improved navigation and cartogrophy.
  • Global awareness.