Elizabethan England Key info - Part 2

Part two: Life in Elizabethan times • A ‘Golden Age’: living standards and fashions; growing prosperity and the rise of the gentry; the Elizabethan theatre and its achievements; attitudes to the theatre. • The poor: reasons for the increase in poverty; attitudes and responses to poverty; the reasons for government action and the seriousness of the problem. • English sailors: Hawkins and Drake; circumnavigation 1577–1580, voyages and trade; the role of Raleigh.

What was the great chain of being?

a clear hierarchy in Elizabethan England, with the poor at the bottom and the monarch at the top

What order was the great chain of being top to bottom?

the queen; the nobility; (the gentry;) merchants; yeomen and tenant farmers; craftspeople, labourers and servants at the bottom

How many noble families were there?

about 50 families

Who were the nobility?

dukes, earls and lords that owned huge areas of land that made them wealthy and powerful

How many gentry families were there?

about 10,000

Who were the gentry?

a group that grew in power under the tudors, owning an estate of a few hundred acres, might also be knights or lawyers

How many merchant families were there?

about 30,000

How did merchants become wealthy?

through trade

Who were yeomen?

those who owned their own land

How many yeomen and tenant farmer families were there?

about 100,000

About how much of the population consisted of craftsmen, labourers and servants?

about half the population, so around 500,000 families

For who mainly did living conditions improve?

gentry, merchants and many yeomen

How did living standards improve through chimneys?

this meant rooms could have proper ceilings and houses could be divided into upstairs and downstairs rooms

How did living standards improve through glass windows?

this meant the inside of homes could be lighter and warmer

How did living standards improve through glass diets?

yeomen and their families usually ate well whilst the gentry enjoyed fine wines and huge feasts

Why were craftspeople, labourers and servants forced into poverty?

due to bad harvests, rising prices and unemployment

What were labourers’ houses like physically?

small, no upper rooms, no chimneys, no glass windows and a bare earth floor

Why were labourers’ houses unhealthy?

harmful smoke from the fire filled the room as it could only escape through the thatched roof and the small shuttered windows made it dark inside

How did the gentry grow richer and powerful through patronage?

E preferred to give important jobs to talented members of the gentry and sideline any nobles she saw as a threat

How did the gentry grow richer and powerful through politics?

they dominated the house of commons (MPs) and helped run the local government as Justices of the peace giving them political power + influence

How much land had the monasteries owned before Henry VIII closed them down?

about ¼ of the land in England

How did the gentry grow richer and powerful through monasteries?

they bought monastery land cheaply and rented it out to farmers

How did the gentry grow richer and powerful through industry?

some found they could make more money by farming sheep or mining coal or making iron

How did the gentry grow richer and powerful through rising prices?

they helped farmers make bigger profits

How did the gentry grow richer and powerful through voyages?

some invested in overseas voyages, eg: Drake made a lot of money for those who invested in his expeditions

How did the gentry grow richer and powerful through marriage?

by marrying into a richer family you could acquire wealth

How did the gentry express their wealth and status through education (children)?

number of children going to school increased

How did the gentry express their wealth and status through education (university)?

a university education was increasingly seen as essential for a career at court

How did the gentry express their wealth and status through education (libraries)?

they were keen to show off their education by buying and displaying books in libraries in their homes

How did the gentry express their wealth and status through entertainment and feasting (wealth)?

held banquets, hunting and theatre

What was an elizabethan feast like (time)?

it could last for more than two hours

What was an elizabethan feast like (food)?

range of meats and fish served by servants, and guests would drink imported fine wines

How did the gentry express their wealth and status through education (market)?

they created a larger market for books and poetry

How did the gentry express their wealth and status through education (chap books)?

chap books were affordable stories sold on the streets of london and other major cities

How did the gentry express their wealth and status through education (writing)?

some nobles, gentlemen and even gentlewomen wrote their own poetry making references to Ancient Greece and Rome to show off their education

How did the gentry express their wealth and status through fashion?

ruff collars, lead based make-up and other fine clothes showed your position in society and the gentry pushed these fashions forwards by trying to show off their wealth

What were the sumptuary laws?

laws brought in to govern what groups of people were allowed to wear, in order to keep the social hierarchy intact

How did the gentry express their wealth and status through houses and architecture (construction fever)?

there was a wave of building as gentry families sought to impress the queen and others with grand houses

Why were the new houses built by the gentry more based on comfort?

because there was a strong government and so less defensive features were needed, resulting in houses being built more to impress than as fortresses to defend land

What did the italian renaissance-style architecture influence mean for new houses built by the gentry?

a focus on symmetry and style, expensive glass and decorative chimneys

How was the distribution of wealth like under Elizabeth?

14% of the wealth to 1% of the nobility

How did London’s population change over time?

it grew from 50,000 in 1520 to 200,000 in 1600

Why did ambitious nobles, the gentry and merchants flock to london?

because the royal court was mainly based in london and those who wanted patronage from the queen went to london in hope of earning important positions

How do the Swan and the Globe reflect the growing popularity of the theatre?

this can be seen through their size and how initially there were no theatres but by 1600 thousands attended the theatre regularly despite their wealth or lack thereof

What percentage of cloth exports went through London by the 1590s?

93%

How much money did a ticket for the pit/yard cost?

1 penny

How much money did a ticket for the gentlemen’s rooms cost?

4 pence

How much money did a ticket for the lords’ rooms cost?

5 pence

What was acting like when Elizabeth first became queen?

bands of actors travelled town to town

What were attitudes towards travelling actors like?

local councils saw them as threats to law and order and thought they should be punished as vagabonds

Who protected certain groups of actors and gave them financial support in London?

some powerful nobles such as Robert Dudley and Francis Walsingham

By 1600 how often were many Londoners attending the theatre?

at least once a week

Where were theatres usually built?

outside the city walls

Why were theatres usually built outside of the city walls?

because the authorities were worried about the large, noisy crowds that gathered at theatres

What do purpose-built theatres tell us about Elizabethan society?

they reflected an increase in demand for entertainment, particularly from the growing number of middle-class people in cities

What do the changing focus of plays from biblical to a wide range of genres tell us about Elizabethan society?

the greater level of education among the audience, thinking had been affected by the spread of cultural influences from europe

What does the censorship of plays and flattery of the queen tell us about Elizabethan society?

mirrors the wider pattern of propaganda such as portraits and progresses

What does the range of different classes present at theatres tell us about Elizabethan society?

it reflected how the gentry were becoming more powerful and in some cases become more powerful and wealthy than some nobles

What does the different ticket prices and hierarchy of positions at the theatre tell us about Elizabethan society?

that they still believed in a strict hierarchy based on the great chain of being and the social boundaries were kept very firm

What do the rich patrons funding acting groups tell us about Elizabethan society?

that the rich held power over the ‘golden age’ as patrons + increased value attached to education since the development of printing

What does theatres being seen as unhealthy places tell us about Elizabethan society?

it reflected how the fear of disease was very high

How did the fear of spreading disease affect vagabonds?

it was a reason behind the harsh punishment of vagrant beggars

What does the criticism of theatres from puritans tell us about Elizabethan society?

it reflected the number of puritans who held influence as MPs and Privy councillors

Why did the theatre become popular (content)?

themes were relevant to the audience + the wide variety appealed to everyone’s tastes

Why did the theatre become popular (playwrights)?

clever + dramatic stories, as well as loving Shakespeare’s comedies and plays about history

Why did the theatre become popular (influence)?

members of the royal court who became patrons hoped to impress those who attended plays + gain the approval of the queen

Why did the theatre become popular (attitudes)?

E loving the theatre changed others’ minds as they tried to gain her approval + potential for propaganda which helped with order

What positive messages did Shakespeare’s plays contain (social order)?

importance of keeping the social hierarchy in place

What positive messages did Shakespeare’s plays contain (power)?

the triumph of good over evil

What positive messages did Shakespeare’s plays contain (the Tudors)?

showed E’s family in a good light

Why did the theatre become popular (distraction)?

as there were many living in poverty, E’s government thought entertainment could distract them and make a rebellion less likely

Why did the theatre become popular (wealth)?

theatres were making a lot of money by the 1580s, so ppl were willing to invest their money as they saw that profits could be made

About how many people visited the London theatres each week by the 1590s?

about 15,000

What did city authorities fear that theatres would encourage within the city walls?

crime and disorder due to their bad reputation

What did the government fear about the theatres (crowds)?

that large crowds of poor could riot or join together to rebel against the government

What increased the government’s fears of riots in relation to theatres?

the performance of Richard II that preceded the Earl of Essex’s rebellion

In some towns what percentage of the population were classed as poor?

30%

How did the book written by Thomas Harman affect attitudes towards vagrants?

it helped stir up panic and bad feelings towards vagabonds

What were nobles’ attitudes towards the poor?

they felt a social duty to help them but they didn’t have enough money to help everyone

What were puritans’ attitudes towards the poor?

that the poor who didn’t have jobs were lazy and set a bad example for others so should be punished

What were gentry’s attitudes towards the poor?

they felt threatened and worried about the safety of their families

What were Justices of the peace’s attitudes towards the poor?

they were mainly worried about the crimes committed by beggars and the spread of disease

What were privy councillors’ attitudes towards the poor?

worried about rebellion

How did bad harvests lead to increased poverty?

food shortages led to increased food prices which the poor couldn’t afford so many starved

Why were the effects of bad harvests multiplied?

due to the increase in population and inflation (+ all the others)

How did the rising population lead to increased poverty (demand)?

it meant an increase in demand for food and so higher prices which were only made higher by the bad harvests

How did the rising population lead to increased poverty (jobs)?

more people looking for jobs but less available in farming and the cloth trade = increased unemployment

By how much did the population increase in the 16th century?

from 2.8m to 4.4m

By how much did the population change percentage-wise between 1550 and 1600?

increased by about 43%

How did exploration increase inflation?

silver was added in circulation from exploration of the americas

How did Henry VIII’s affect the currency?

he debased the currency by adding common metals to gold and silver coins

How did Henry’s debasement of the currency affect inflation?

it pushed prices up sharply as coins were worth less

How did inflation lead to increased poverty (wages)?

a mix of other factors such as population and bad harvests pushed up prices but wages stayed the same which led to poverty

How many monasteries did there use to be?

around 800

How did the dissolution of the monasteries lead to increased poverty?

less work and so hundreds of poor flocked to towns in search of jobs

What had been one of England’s largest industries before its collapse in the 1550s?

the cloth trade

How did the decline of the cloth trade lead to increased poverty?

many weavers and spinners lost their jobs which meant higher unemployment

How did wars with Spain lead to increased poverty (taxes)?

wars paid by taxes which hit the poor hardest

How did tensions with Spain play a part in the collapse of the cloth trade?

as the government banned trade with the spanish-controlled netherlands after the 1560s

How did the wars with Spain lead to increased poverty (soldiers + sailors)?

after wars soldiers and sailors were left unemployed and potentially injured