Life in Elizabethan England

• Who were the gentry?

  They were wealthy landowners below the nobility, but they were not titled
• What positions did the gentry gain?

  Mps or JPs and they used these positions to gain more status
• How did the gentry increase their power?

  Dissolution of the monasteries meant more land for sale, they invested in land and trade too
• Positives about the gentry?

  Many gentry were well educated and ambitious - some studied law or became Justices of Peace
• How did the gentry show their wealth?

  Grand houses like Hardwick Hall

  Expensive clothing to look wealthy and cultured

  Sponsoring theatre companies and artists
• Why was the rise of the gentry a good thing in Elizabethan England?

  It influenced culture and architecture

  Showed the changes in society
• How did the gentry gain influence?

  They supported Queen Elizabeth or powerful nobles
• What did the 1601 Poor law do about vagabonds?

  Vagabonds were whipped back to their parishes
• What did the 1601 Poor Law do for the old?

  Created Almshouses where they could reside
• What did the 1601 Poor Law do for the able bodied?

  Gave them jobs
• Why was the dissolution of the monasteries a problem for the poor?

  It meant that poor people got less support from the church
• How much did the population increase?

  It increased from 2.4 million in 1541 to 4.1 million in 1600
• How did the theatre reflect Elizabethan beliefs?

  It reflected the Great Chain of Being by having the poor at the bottom and the rich at the top
• Why did Puritans not like the theatre?

  They thought it promoted bad behaviour like drunkenness
• What were two negatives of the theatre?

  It quickly spreaded disease and opened doors for crime like theft
• Two reasons why people liked the theatre?

  It distracted the poor from their problems

  People would think that they had something in common with Elizabeth as she also liked the theatre
• What were parish rules about the poor?

  Every parish had to register the poor and locals had to pay taxes to support their poor
• Details about the new houses?

  Built of stone or brick and designed to amaze all who saw them in terms of their scale and size. They reflected the wealth and stability of the new era
• What was the architecture in Elizabethan inspired by?

  Italian Renaissance
• Why did the gentry become so powerful?

  The tudors suspicion of the 'old' nobility (the tudors marginalised the nobles who they saw as threat by granting few titles and excluding them from government) left a vaccum for the gentry to fill
• What law was passed in 1574 and what did it contain?

  Status of Apparel, these laws strictly controlled the clothes people were allowed to wear depending on their social rank