The Elizabethan Era

1. The Elizabethan Era A brief overview

2. Renaissance • French word meaning “rebirth” • Occurred throughout Europe • 14th – 16th centuries • Intellectual advances • Economic boom • In England, also known as the ElizabethanEra during Queen Elizabeth’s reign (1558 – 1603)

3. Every day life • High society, nobles and their “obligations” • Elizabethan progresses and their expenses • House structure changed • More timber used • Built less for defense • Beds! • Straw mattress to feather bed • 4 poster beds = Bequeathed in wills

4. Family Life • Husband • Farmer • Tradesman • Wife • Head of household • Managed children, servants, house • Typically 3 – 5 children • Wealthy families as many as 12 • Children leave as teens • Farm hands • Domestic servants • Apprentices

5. Food • Prepared over open fire • Vegetables • Garlic, eggplant, asparagus, onions, leeks, peas, cabbage, lettuce, parsnips, radishes, spinach, carrots, beets, artichokes • Fruits and nuts • Apples, plums, lemons, oranges, apricots, almonds, melons, strawberries, limes, grapes, hazelnuts, pomegranates • Meat and fowl • Beef, pork, chicken, duck, rabbit, goat, deer, boar, badger, hedgehog, pheasant, trout, cod, salmon, perch, eels

6. Food • Most homes do not have an oven • Prepare food in home, pay to have it cooked or baked • No meat on Fridays or Saturdays (fishing industry) • Elaborate meals • Breakfast very informal meal (just to break the fast) • Main meal is dinner, 11 o’clock (lasted 3 hours) • Small supper around 6 o’clock

7. Literature and the Arts • Latin = language of literacy • Plays performed on inn courtyards • Open air in the center or pit • Performed during the day • Difficulty lighting stage • Unsafe travel at night • No females performed in productions • Female roles performed by young boys

8. Theaters This is a picture of the stage of the Globe Theater as it has been rebuilt (completed in 1997).

9. Theaters A view of the gallery from the side The groundling area

10. The Plague • The Bubonic Plague (also known as the “Black Death”) • Epidemics in 1535, 1545, 1563, 1589, 1603 • Devastated 30 – 60% of the population of Europe • Almost 100% mortality rate • Spread most rapidly in cities • High concentration of population • Very unsanitary • Rats • Fleas • People moved to the countryside • Economic depression

11. The Plague Watchmen Death Cart Labourers • Kept watch over “infected” houses • No one in or out (death warrant for all inside) • Sustenance through lowered pail • Cart away bodies of victims • Put in pits • Very well compensated • High mortality rate • Worked at night

12. The Plague • Symptoms and development: • Buboes (groin, neck, armpits) • Fever and vomiting blood • Red rash (flea bites) • Death within two to seven days of contraction

13. Ring around the rosy Ring a-round the rosy Pocket full of posies Ashes, ashes! We all fall down! • Ring around the rosy: rosary beads give you God's help. • A pocket full of posies: used to stop the odor of rotting bodies which was at one point thought to cause the plague, it was also used widely by doctors to protect them from the infected plague patients. • Ashes, ashes: the church burned the dead when burying them became to laborious. • We all fall down: dead.

14. Medical Care • Physicians • University training (usually Italy or France) • Usually only cared for the wealthy • Dealt more with theory than actual practice • Surgeons • Treated wounds • Amputated limbs • Set broken bones • Learned most in the battlefields • Apothecaries • Dispensed drugs and herbal remedies • Most people used – not enough physicians for all

15. Elizabethan Dress • Sumptuary Laws • Used by Elizabeth’s sister and father before her • Dictated what people could own, wear, use • Clear distinctions between classes • Clothing • Colors confined to class, social status, wealth • Fabrics determined by place in society • Easy way to identify rank and privilege! • Not very strictly enforced • Could result in fine and jail time if not followed

16. Elizabethan Dress • Women • Dressing could take as long as half an hour • Depended on age, social status, taste, body type • Smock – to protect • Stockings • Corset • Spanish farthingale (skirt hoop) • Bumroll • Kirtle and forepart • Partlet (shirt) • Gown and sleeves • Shoes

17. Elizabethan Dress • Men • Chemises • Clothing adorned with lace and frills • Cravats • Silk stockings • Lengthened britches (ornately decorated) • Thigh-high boots • High decorative emphasis • Hats • Broad • Sometimes trimmed with gems

18. Marriages • Boys can marry at 14, girls at 12 • Not advised until 22, and 18 • Bethrothal • Marriage was not for love (considered foolish) • Bride to be taken care of by man (husband’s property) • Children are expected • Parents and friends find suitable match (older and wiser)

19. British Renaissance • Included the Reign of Elizabeth I • 400% increase in London population • Increased interest in the arts (especially theater!) • Advances in medicines and sciences • Humanity comes under the microscope • Time of promise, prosperity