Elizabethan England

• Elizabethan society had a clear idea of where everyone belonged in society with the monarch at the top, followed by the nobility, gentry, yeomen, tenant farmers, labouring poor, vagrants, and vagabonds.
• The gentry were people who owned the most amounts of land and had a lot of influence.
• The yeomen or yeoman farmers were men who owned smaller amounts of land or an estate where others worked.
• Tenant farmers rented land from the yeomen and then employed the next group down called the labouring poor.
• The labouring poor made up most of society and mainly carried out tough, physical work such as farming.
• In the towns, merchants were important people, followed by professionals such as lawyers and doctors.
• The husband and father was the head of the home and the wife and children were expected to be obedient to him at all times.
• It was expected that a person with power and wealth had a duty of care to the group of people below them.
• Priests were the most powerful figure in a local village with significant influence on people’s beliefs.
• The church had a responsibility to deal with crime and decide on punishments.
• Difficulties such as money, deaths, poor harvests or disease could be made better by visiting the local church.
• In the southern parts of England, especially close to London, people welcomed the Protestant religion and even took it upon themselves to violently remove and destroy the old Catholic statues of saints.
• The village church took control of weekly services, weddings, funerals, births, baptisms, and ran schools, summer fetes and celebrations during holy days.
• In some coastal port towns such as London, people with a wider range of religious beliefs were present, leading to issues such as poverty, vagrancy (begging) and disease.
• Most people accepted Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement and attended the new Church of England services, even though many of them still held on to some of the older Catholic beliefs they had grown up with.
• Church visitations also made sure that other professions had the correct licence, for example, teachers, lawyers and surgeons all needed permission to practice from Elizabeth’s government.
• The Ordinary People were mostly loyal to Elizabeth and accepted the new Church of England services, even though some families held on to some of the older Catholic beliefs.
• The local churches had a lot of power and influence over people.
• The Church of England helped to enforce the rules of the Religious Settlement by providing help in times of need, being at the centre of all towns and villages, and having Priests as the first person people would go to in a time of need.
• The local church collected money from the local people called a ‘tithe’, often 10% of a person’s income or their goods produced.
• Priests needed a license to preach from the government, meaning that priests would have to follow the ideas of the government or not be allowed their license.
• Church Courts were used in each village to deal with issues such as marriage, sexual offenses, wills and inheritance.
• The church had a responsibility to make sure the rules of the Religious Settlement were carried out by all clergymen, and any that did not could be punished with a fine or dismissal.
• Elizabeth could make decisions on her own such as declaring war on her own.
• These orders were called ‘proclamations’.
• The border between Scotland and England was difficult for the English to defend as it was a very long distance away from London and Elizabeth’s English troops found it difficult to travel there.
• Elizabeth could see the increasing tension between the Catholics and the Protestants and so she wanted to seek a 'Middle Way' or compromise.
• The Queen of Scotland could attempt to become the Queen of England.
• The Pope wanted a 'Counter-Reformation' - this meant he wanted to make all Europe Catholic again and stop the spread of the Protestant Church.
• Elizabeth believed more in the Protestant faith but wanted to be fair to both faiths.
• Spain was a strict, powerful, and wealthy Catholic country that supported the claim that Mary, Queen of Scots, had to be the rightful Queen of England.
• Mary of Guise, the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, spent time in Scotland but brought over French troops to help the fighting against England on the border.
• The Pope was even willing to offer support to countries such as Spain and France in their fight against Protestant England.
• When Elizabeth became Queen of England, she did not want to punish the Catholics for following their faith.
• Despite the poor communication methods and modes of travel between European countries, the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope, still had huge control and influence over the beliefs and actions of Catholics all over Europe.
• The Scottish army also had the help of the French army against England on the border.
• Elizabeth was worried that the Pope could influence Catholics all over Europe to challenge her as Queen of England.
• Before Elizabeth became Queen of England, there was a divide between the traditional Catholic Church and the Protestant Church.
• Mary, Queen of Scots, was heavily supported by Catholics in England, Scotland, France, and Spain.
• There were constant Scottish raids into England over the border which the English found difficult to defend.