EDUCATION AND LEISURE

• HOME EDUCATION

  • The majority of education for the nobility happened within their household
  • Noble parents would hire a private tutor for their children until the age of 12 or 13. In their early teens, noble children lived and learnt in the household of another noble family, until they turned 14 or 15
  • SUBJECTS: GIRLS: Latin and Greek, History, Philosophy, Government and Theology, BOYS: Latin and Greek, History, Philosophy, Government and Theology
  • SKILLS: GIRLS: Music, dancing, needlework, horse riding and archery, BOYS: Horse riding, archery, fencing, swimming and wrestling
• GRAMMAR SCHOOL - MIDDLING SORTS

  • 1560s, 42 new grammar schools opened
  • 1570s, 30 more grammar schools in England opened.
  • Boys from the age of 7 to 14 attended grammar schools
  • WHO COULD ATTEND? - Intelligent boys who came from the 'middling sorts'(lawyers, doctors, etc). Some lower class boys were allowed, girls were not allowed at all.
  • COST: The fees for grammar school depended upon the family's income. The lower-class boys had their place funded by donors to the school
  • SUBJECTS: Latin, Greek and French. Bible Study and History. The Philosophy, Literature and Poetry of classical scholars.
• GRAMMAR SCHOOLS - MIDDLING SORTS

  • SKILLS: Archery, Debating, Public Speaking, Chess, Wrestling and Running
  • STRUCTURE: The school day began at 6 or 7 am and ended at 5 pm. Students only received time off of school at Christmas and Easter. Students attended lessons from Monday to Saturday.
  • PUNISHMENTS: the teacher reporting behaviour to parents, the loss of break time, exclusion from school ,caning, expulsion from school in extreme cases
• GRAMMAR SCHOOLS - MERCHANTS AND CRAFTSMEN

  • Yeomen, tailors, carpenters, etc.
  • They focused on more practical skills like counting, writing and Geography, for future careers in trading
  • The sons of skilled craftsmen were often educated through apprenticeships
  • The children needed to learn the craft of their fathers to take over the family business
  • It was not compulsory to send children to school.
  • The children of merchants and craftsmen would learn a trade better through practical experience rather than school.
• PETTY SCHOOLS

  • WHO COULD ATTEND - Boys between the ages of 4 and 7. Some intelligent or wealthy boys would attend grammar school after Petty school
  • WHO RAN THE SCHOOL - A local teacher who ran lessons in their house
  • SUBJECTS - English Literacy, Basic Arithmetic, Bible Study
  • SKILLS - How to behave.
  • PUNISHMENTS - Harsh punishment including beatings for making mistakes in lessons
• DAME SCHOOLS

  • WHO COULD ATTEND - Girls between the ages of 4 and 7. It prepared girls to become wives and mothers
  • WHO RAN THE SCHOOL - In the house of a local educated woman
  • SUBJECTS - English Literacy, Basic Arithmetic, Bible Study
  • SKILLS - A bigger focus on household skills, for example preserving food, baking, brewing, sewing and methods to treat minor illnesses
  • PUNISHMENTS - Harsh punishment including beatings for making mistakes in lessons
• UNI

  • Two unis at the time:Oxford and Cambridge
  • WHO COULD ATTEND - Noble boys could attend university(14 or 15). Girls were not allowed. Some middle-class boys attended university. The sons of craftsmen & merchants could study a university apprenticeship
  • SUBJECTS - Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic. Mathematics, Music, Theology, Medicine, Astronomy and geometry. Most students chose to study law. The highest degree was a doctorate
  • SKILLS - To write in correct English and converse in French and Latin. Universities taught students conversational skills, good table manners, the skill of formal dancing
• SPORTS - NOBILITY

  • Hunting - To hunt animals on horseback with the use of hounds(both genders)
  • Hawking - To hunt animals using a trained hawk(both genders)
  • Fishing(both genders)
  • Fencing(men only)
  • Real tennis(men only)
  • Wresting(men only but in private)
  • Swimming(men only, women could in private)
• SPORTS FOR WORKING CLASS

  • Wrestling and swimming were popular sports for all classes of men
  • Working-class men would wrestle in public matches
  • The working classes also enjoyed hunting
  • They would hunt rabbits rather than deer
  • The main sport that the working classes played was football
  • Same aim as modern-day football - score a goal in the opponent's goal.
  • DIFFERENCES:
  • Picking up the football
  • Attacking another player. It was not uncommon for people to die during games
  • Having a larger number of players on your team than your opponents
  • The pitch in Elizabethan football was much larger
• SPECTATOR SPORTS - all classes

  BAITING:

  • Required a bear or a bull
  • The owner would file the bear's teeth and then tie the animal to a post
  • The organisers would release dogs to attack the bear or the bull
  • Spectators would bet a large amount of money on if the dogs would kill the bear or the bull

  COCK - FIGHTING:

  • Required two cockerels
  • The owners placed metal spurs on the cockerel's head
  • The organisers would place the two cockerels together to fight to the death using their spurs or their beaks
  • Spectators would bet a large amount of money on which cockerel would win
• ELIZABETHAN LITERATURE

  • Elizabethan exploration inspired writers 
  • Explorers published written accounts of their discoveries in the Americas
  • Writers created biographies on famous explorers like Sir Francis Drake
  • The preservation of the past was also important to Elizabethan writers
  • History was a popular genre in Elizabethan times
  • Humanism encouraged the translation of Ancient Greek and Roman texts into English
  • The upper classes liked creative writing. Poetry was the most popular format. Elizabeth wrote many poems
• THEATRE

  • TYPES OF PLAYS - Comedies were particularly popular. The plays usually contained rude humour. In 1588, people watched mystery plays. These plays acted out the stories of saints and passages from the Bible. Elizabeth's government stopped mystery plays to prevent violence between Catholics and Protestants as Protestants disapproved of mystery plays.
  • EXPERIENCE - Women were not allowed to act. Female parts were portrayed by boys. Theatre attracted all classes. Working classes paid one 'penny' to stand near the stage, the rich paid for seats, bad view of stage, best view of audience.
• THEATRE

  • The theatre's popularity made it a powerful tool for Elizabeth as she could use the theatre to spread political messages and warn of the dangers of religious conflict
  • Elizabeth's government introduced censorship of the theatre in 1572
  • Dudley, Earl of Leicester, gave financial and legal support to actors in London
  • He owned a theatre company called Leicester's Men in 1559
  • Elizabeth established The Queen's Men in 1583
  • From 1567, London allowed the building of theatres
  • The first purpose-built theatre was the Red Lion in Whitechapel