Notes on Elizabeth's Golden Age
Historiographical Approach: Historians label periods of remarkable achievement as Golden Ages; Elizabethan England from 1558-1603 is one such example.
Characterized by artistic flourishing, exploration, and a strong national identity.
Stability and innovative thought thrived under Elizabeth I's rule.
Unity and Success: Elizabethan England achieved unprecedented unity.
Defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, marking the beginning of naval dominance.
Fostered a strong sense of national identity and pride among the populace.
Romanticized Image of Elizabeth: The perception of Elizabeth as a mysterious and single monarch reinforces the allure of this era.
Known as the “Virgin Queen,” symbolizing dedication to her people and leadership.
Contributed to the era’s cultural legacy, influencing arts and literature for centuries.
Historical Context: This period contrasts sharply with earlier political chaos.
Preceding instability enhanced the perception of Elizabeth's reign as uniquely prosperous and culturally rich.
Key Questions
A. Leading artists of Elizabeth's reign, including their contributions and significance.
B. Cultural effects on upper classes, exploring how aristocratic patronage influenced literature and the arts.
C. Cultural effects on lower classes, focusing on the role of popular theater and literature in everyday life.
D. Analysis of Golden Age characterizations across different historiographical perspectives.
Criteria for a Golden Age Assessment
Creative Outcomes:
Outstanding achievements in arts and literature that set new standards of excellence.
National/international recognition of works, showcasing the impact on European culture.
Growth of new ideas influencing future artists, such as humanism.
Widespread interest in the arts and improvements in literacy, illustrated by public theaters and print culture.
Significant educational advances and wealth creation, broadening access to education and cultural products.
Leading Artists of Elizabeth's Reign
Art
Nicholas Hilliard: evaluated art of painting miniatures
Integrated perspective and illumination techniques for vivid depictions appreciated by the court.
Established a rich artistic tradition in England.
Music
Orlando Gibbons & William Byrd: Compositions included religious music reflecting Church of England practices.
Gibbons was noted for sacred music, Byrd for expressing complex emotions through music, establishing a unique English musical identity.
John Dowland and Thomas Campion: Contributed popular solo songs and lyrical compositions.
Their works bridged the gap between court and common audiences, achieving widespread appeal.
Drama
William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Wrote for both court and public audiences.
Notable works include Hamlet, King Lear, and socially reflective comedies.
Explored human experience with depth and insight.
Christopher Marlowe: Influential in developing the English stage.
Enduring works like Doctor Faustus raised questions about morality and ambition.
Thomas Kyd and Thomas Dekker: Explored tragedy and everyday life themes.
Their narratives provided relatability to diverse audiences and influenced Shakespeare.
Thomas Kyd - ‘Spanish Tragedy’ was one of the most popular plays of its time, prototype for other revenge tragedies, established principle of an eye for an eye.
Thomas Dekker - poverty stricken Londoner who was imprisoned several times for debt, employed by Phillip Henslowe in 1595 to write for the Admiral’s Company at the Rose Theatre, work well known for realistic portrayal of daily London life.
Literature
mainly bought and read by those at court.
Combined humanist and classical principles with political commentary.
Sir Philip Sidney: His works synthesized humanist ideals with political influences.
Notably in Arcadia (form of pastoral romance peppered with verse) conveyed message that a state is best preserved by a monarch whose powers are curtailed by noble classes, and lyric poetry, reshaping English literary development.
Architecture
Influenced by Elizabeth’s royal progresses; courtiers built grand estates to host her.
Examples include Kenilworth Castle built by the Earl of Leicester, Longleat House built by Sir John Thynne, and Holdenby House built by Christopher Hatton.
Characterised by size and symmetry.
Admired interiors were light and spacious while the grandest had brick chimneys, private living quarters, formal or state rooms, and a long gallery to walk and converse.
Poetry
Flourished - link between poetry and drama.
England already had a fine tradition of poets, e.g. Earl of Surrey and Thomas Wyatt
Edmund Spencer - outstanding poet, works include ‘Shepards’s Calendar’ and ‘My Faerie Queene’ which uses rich imagery and language to portray Elizabeth as both a queen and a woman
Fluid, gracious style influenced poets for the next three centuries.
Other poets include Sir Walter Raleigh and Robert Southwell.
Cultural Impacts on Society
Popular culture had become associated with the lower classes.
There were two cultures: ordinary pastimes and pursuits of majority.
Invention of the printing press and increase in education - created the gentleman.
Upper and middle classes saw their culture as superior, and as a means of enforcing social control over the lower class, and removing elements of Catholic ritual from their lives.
Making of a gentleman
Education: probably attended grammar school, curriculum modelled on leading schools such as St Paul’s, humanist principles, and classical Greek and Latin were studied to promote intellectual, spiritual and personal growth.
University degrees involved grammar, rhetoric and logic, with compulsory lectures in maths, music, theology, astronomy and geometry - only after could an Undergraduate specialise, likely in law.
Career: some were content with local prestige and influence, but many aimed to be invited to court, did this by entering royal employment either in central administration or at a local level.
Lifestyle: ability to speak and write ‘proper English’, working knowledge of French, Latin and Greek desirable, social conventions expected to be full of allusions to heroic exploits from classical literature (role models), expected to be well versed in social etiquette, and able to hold his own in hunting and dancing.
Hunting was a gentleman’s main passion - preferred to hunt deer but hawking close second, fencing, tennis, and bowls became popular.
Often revealed humbler roots, continuing to watch bull and bear baiting and cock-fighting.
Lived in a brick or a half-timbered building with chimneys - at least eight rooms and additional servant quarters, included the works of Erasmus, Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, The Book Named Governor (laid out instructions of what a gentlemen should be - paint or carve in secret), and The Courtier.
Walls likely to be covered in tapestry.
Access to court allowed them to watch tournaments, masques, and drama productions.
All studied music - said to develop character, insight into how things were brought together harmoniously in society.
Upper Classes
Cultural Division: New expectations for gentlemen to exhibit erudition.
Cultured elites separated from lower classes, influencing lifestyle aspirations.
Educational Advancement: Proliferation of grammar schools.
Enhanced social mobility among the gentry and created a more educated population.
Lower Classes
Huge inequalities - majority wanted pastimes which would allow them to escape from the poverty, disease, and natural disasters.
Cultural Participation: Engaged in popular culture (e.g., festivals, ballads) amid stark social hierarchies.
Demonstrated a vibrant communal life despite socioeconomic challenges.
Literacy and Knowledge: Mass distribution of literature became commonplace.
Storytelling emerged as a shared societal experience, accessible to all.
Appeal of William Shakespeare
References in his plays to all professions, e.g. law, medicine.
Capable of a wide and convincing range of emotions.
Players based Oort traditional and well-known stories and themes.
Emphasis on need for order and structure and stressed national pride and Christian values.
Language reached new heights - rich imagery stretched imagination and demanded intellectual concentration.
Draws considerably on images from the English countryside.
Review: Why Golden Age?
Leading personalities were Nicholas Hilliard (art), William Shakespeare (drama), Sir Phillip Sidney (literature), William Byrd (music) and Sir Edmund Spencer (poetry) as well as many others.
Cultural achievements had significant impact on educated minority.
Popular culture of lower classes borrowed from elitist culture while maintaining traditional bawdier persuits.
Shakespeare’s popularity and status due to ability to appeal to all classes - bridge between divisions.
Proliferation of works of art produced in this era.
Causes
Royal and noble patronage: royal support of the arts had great impact on growth of theatre - from 1570s Elizabethan court showed enthusiasm for plays, therefore companies of players formed under patronage of various noblemen.
1572 onwards actors had to secure patronage of a baron of the realm or a person of greater degree in order to gain a license from the Lord Chamberlain - gave the government control over what was performed.
Leading companies were: Earl of Leicester’s Players (1574), Queen Elizabeth’s Men (1583), Lord Admiral Howard’s Company (1583) and Lord Chamberlain’s Men (1594).
Theatres established in London under royal licence - first two public theatres (James Burbage’s Theatre and Henry Lanman’s Curtain) opened in Shoreditch in 1576 and 1577 and gave daily performances, except on Sundays.
When the lease on the theatre expired, Burbage’s son used the timber from it to construct the Globe in Southwark - produced most of Shakespeares plays.
Companies, including Queen Elizabeth’s Men from 1583 onwards also performed at court, in the stately homes of their patrons, and on tour throughout the country.
Invention of the Printing Press: first printing press set up in England in 1487 by Caxton - mainly published knightly romances and religious works.
Annual production of books climbed steadily - 107 in 1470s to 1040 in 1550s, which opened up world of learning to the laity and to the aristocratic and gentry classes who were able to afford them.
More people in London were literate than those living in the provinces because of their proximity to the printing presses.
Stimulated the desire to learn and read at the same time as the Renaissance encouraged the re-discovery of classics and the writing on new books for class markers.
Books now available to a larger audience than when they were manuscripts - even religious books were printed.
Government fearful of the spread of ideas which might challenge accepted views of authority so they maintained control over licensing and censoring the presses.
Potential to spread propaganda.
Expansion of education: ability to read and write became a highly desirable asset in Elizabeth’s reign.
Demand for education grew while schools were influenced by Renaissance ideas.
Humanism begins impacting on what was taught in schools.
Most schools believed in long hours spent studying, with strict discipline and short holidays.
Parish schools taught reading and writing in English while endowed grammar schools taught exclusively in Latin to prepare sons for university.
Sons of aristocracy tutored at home while some apprentices and servants learned to read or write from their masters.
1558 there were 2 universities in Sunderland - Oxford and Cambridge - but lawyers were trained in Inns of Court.
New colleges such as Gresham founded in London in 1597 offered a broader curriculum.
By 1593 half of the members of the House of Commons were university graduates.
The growth of London: London was the largest and wealthiest city in the country - position to subsidise artistic ventures and provide a large and enthusiastic audience.
London was where the court resided - chief patron of and inspiration for the cultural achievements.
First theatres built in London - also the centre of communication as home to both foreign ambassadors and merchants trading with Protestant and Catholic Europe and beyond.
Wealth and Stability: increase in contact of Europe promoted exchange of cultural ideas, while the increase in trade meant more money in merchant’s pockets.
Price rises enabled some to increase their income.
Expansion of education and emergence of an ideal Tudor Gentlemen encouraged those with money to invest in a certain lifestyle.
Development of uniquely English identity.
Humanism: intellectual movement which sprang out of the Renaissance and influenced thinking and education throughout Europe.
Encouraged greater interest in the classical world.
Christian humanists focused on the importance of experiencing faith rather than going through the rituals for the sake of appearances.
Essential for anyone involved in government or politics to have a sound knowledge and understanding of classical literature - grammar schools taught a curriculum based on humanist principles.
Courtiers owned copies of Cicero, Seneca and Tacitus.
Rediscovery of Greek and Roman culture led to classical and neo-classical plays being performed in court by schoolboys.
Beginning of Elizabeth’s reign humanist playwrights applied classical style to English themes, but this allowed emergence of plays with a classical structure and a real plot - retained English love for action and excitement.
Fundamentally important to growth of culture because it freed up writers and artists to produce new, exciting work - quick to see the potential of the printing press and education to bring their work to a wider audience.
The Protestant Reformation: ideals portrayed by life of Christ continued to inspire artists
Establishment of Elizabethan Church had impact on culture and learning.
Attack on superstition of the church led to growth of scientific and rational outlook - witchcraft, astrologers, and fortune tellers continued.
Attack on images and relics - church walls whitewashed and statues destroyed.
English bible encouraged literacy through use of vernacular and influenced literature.
Need to defend and explain new church produced some literature, e.g. Foxe’s ‘Book of Martyrs’ published in 1563, which ensured support for the Church, and showed the Queen as emperor, defeating the evil Pope.
Replacement of Roman Catholicism caused intellectual shockwaves and questioning of social order - conflict between this was central theme for many of Shakespeare’s plays.
Elizabethan beliefs: ‘The Elizabethan World Picture by E.W. Tillyard published in 1943
Elizabethan’s believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe and was surrounded by ten spheres that moved around it in perfect harmony.
Chain of being that began with God and descended through angels, to mankind, to animals, to plants, to minerals.
Mankind subdivided into groups - ranked from princes down to slaves.
Four elements (fire, air, water and earth) existed within hierarchical universe and human body - everything/one had a place to keep in order for universe to function perfectly.
These beliefs influenced Elizabethan culture, e.g. Byrd’s musical compositions were an attempt to bring the ‘music of spheres to life’, Spenser identified love as a key to keeping the four elements in unity, and Shakespeare emphasised the chaos that would follow when the natural order was overthrown.
Elizabeth’s image through the upper levels of society:
Court Ritual
Masques: often anti-papal, themes ranged from war against Turks to astronomy
Interspersed with mime and dancing and we’re regular evening entertainment at court.
Musical Evenings: Elizabeth’s love of music and dancing meant musicians were permanently employed at court, composers kept busy.
Achievements of reign usually marked with new ditty, e.g. ‘All English hearts rejoice and sing That fears the Lord and loves our Queen’ after that Babington Plot discovered in 1586.
Drama: classical plays performed at court in early years of reign usually by choirboys of St Paul’s.
Second half of reign her support of actors accelerated growth of drama - establishment of permanent theatres.
Leading playwrights not able to refer to Queen by name but managed to bless her reign - demonstrating chaos brought on by a weak ruler.
Miniatures: from 1586 became fashionable for courtiers to wear miniatures or jewelled cameos of Elizabeth.
Leading courtiers (e.g. Burghley, Drake, Hatton and Walsingham) commissioned portraits of themselves wearing these as signs of loyalty and devotion.
Royal Progresses: every summer Elizabeth and court undertook stately progress around the south east, staying in nobles and courtiers houses, lasting 10 weeks - see more of her people.
Encouraged nobles to vie with each other - build grandest houses and some founded their own companies of actors to stage plays and pageants (e.g. Earl of Leicester).
Tournaments: increasingly elaborate - Sir Henry Lee transformed Accession Day joust into spectacular pageant in which chivalrous knights performed heroic deeds to prove loyalty to Queen.
Chivalry: inspiration for much literature and poetry - Sir Phillip Sidney’s ‘Arcadia’ shows world of shepherd knights set in allegorical landscape.
Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’ knights set forth to champion forces of good over evil to ensure Astrea’s supremacy over political and religious divisions.
Noble Patronage of the arts: shared interests ensured mutually supportive relationship between Queen and nobles - by identifying with monarch, ruling classes could emphasise separateness and superiority to lower classes.
Elizabeth’s Image through lower levels of society:
Government Control.
Sermons: every week licensed clergy offered Homily of Obedience - prayers for Queen’s safety and thanks for blessing of her reign.
Annual Accession Day marked by prayers and all achievements celebrated with specially written prayers - Elizabeth was responsible for delivering England from ‘the danger of war and oppression, both of bodies by tyranny and of conscience by superstition, restoring peace and true religion’.
Images: popular demand of some images of the Queen - filled the place left by the prohibition of Catholic images of the Virgin Mary.
Domestic industry sprang up producing medallions, woodcuts, and engravings.
Portraits of Elizabeth showed youthful Queen - copied and widely distributed.
Government controlled images - 1563 proclamation said that only approved versions of Elizabeth’s portrait could be copied, Book of Ordinances in 1581, and in 1596 Privy Council destroyed any pictures which showed Elizabeth in unflattering light.
Printing Press: used by government to publish speeches, ballads, sermons, and pamphlets emphasising Queen’s glory and special relationship with her subjects.
Festivals: council encouraged festivals - semi-religious rituals which came to take place of Saints Days because they furthered cult of Gloriana and showed Elizabeth as Protestantism’s heroine.
Most important festival on Accession Day on 17th November.
In 1576 council added the date to the calendar of Church festivals.
Plays: licenses only awarded to playwrights on condition that their plays did not contain direct references to the Queen or Church of England.
Council, through office of Master of Revels, had power to close down theatres, and patronage operated as an effective form of control - e.g. Shakespeare unlikely to show Tudors in a bad light.
Loyalty: cult of Gloriana compensated for Elizabeth’s gender and lack of husband and child, while emphasising her achievements - ensured loyalty and love of her subjects.
Review:
Deliberately created image of royalty - imposed on her people by using communication methods of the day.
Presented the Queen and major events/policies in rosy glow - silence criticism of the regime.
Aim was to enhance political stability by winning support of her people and reducing opposition.