Elizabethan Era

1. Elizabethan Era

2. Elizabethan Religion and Beliefs • Elizabeth was different: as a Protestant, she was determined to protect her power as Queen • Many of Elizabeth’s subjects were confused by religious changes in England • In doing this in 1559, soon after her accession, she was helped by many who had opposed Mary and who had spend the previous years abroad to escape the Catholic government • Confirmed Protestants (influenced by the Reformation in Europe), believed in preaching, reading the Bible in English, and worship in unadorned churches

3. Education • Girls did not attend schools • All grammar schools taught in Latin and sometimes Greek • Shakespeare attended a grammar school • Only two out of every ten men were able to sign their names in the 1550’s • Out of the whole of England’s population, only 4,000 men were studying at Oxford or Cambridge Universities • Elizabethan England did not have many printing presses • Gentlemen could afford more expensive books • Giving schools money was considered a moral duty • In the 16th century, individuals made a mark or symbol instead of a signature • Sons of gentlemen could study law at one of the Inns of Court in London • The training could prepare them to be lawyers • Religious books were popular

4. Elizabethan Daily Life • They believed that the Queen was God’s representative • Elizabeth thought her family was above other people • Children’s behavior was based on passages in the Bible • John Lyster wrote A Rule on How to Bring Up Children • in 1529, a law started that when a person died, all of their possessions had to be listed in an inventory • If you weren’t rich enough, you would only live until the age of 42, but wealthy people lived longer • The royal court had to be moved to Window and visitors from the capitol were not allowed to hear • The people that could afford a doctor had to tolerate painful treatments and ineffective or harmful • People who couldn’t afford a doctor relied more on traditional / remedies and methods of healing based on superstition

5. Work, Agriculture, and Industry • In England, farming was separated • In the south and east, they farmed grain and live stock. In the west and north, they farmed sheep, cattle, and horses • There were also weavers • Many tools came in handy for building, farming, and domestic use • Leather goods were very common, and they also had metal and coal mines • After a war between France and England, times got more difficult • Illness and bad weather • They couldn’t trade with Roman Catholic countries • England traded goods with Russia, America, Morocco, and Persia • Lots of men combined their hunting

6. Crime and Punishment • Elizabethans had a strong fear of crime • Those who could read were branded with hot irons • Those who were given a second chance by the court were branded with hot irons to make sure that they didn’t use that excuse again • Serious crimes usually meant that the accused would be hanged • There were other punishments: put in the stocks (which held feet) or the pillory (held the arms) • Public display was important to punishment to shame the criminal and warn others • Offenders whipped • Pilloried • Hanged • Criminals and homeless were treated severely by the harsh laws of the period • Vagrants were generally whipped

7. Culture and Entertainment • William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow, and Ben Jonson wrote and acted histories, tragedies, and comedies in the Globe Theater • The entertainments enjoyed by groups in Elizabethan society depended on wealth and literacy • The Globe Theater is located in London • In every town and city, they started entertainment on the streets, in allies, and playhouses to entertain themselves and others • Shakespeare’s poetry was popular with nobility and gentry • Gambling with cards and dice, tennis, and bowling were entertaining