The poor and attitudes to poverty

• Away from the luxury of the monarchy in the Elizabethan era, life for ordinary people was often hard and the number of poor people increased during Elizabeth’s reign
• Unlike now, there was no welfare system or support for anyone who fell on hard times
• Poverty was mostly considered to be your own fault in Elizabethan times - the belief that you had a ‘divinely appointed’ position in society was reinforced every week at church and this attitude was widely held