Download Elizabethan England ~ Synopsis

Elizabethan England ~ Synopsis
I. General Information
1. Referring to the late 16th century.
2. Ironically, Elizabeth was Queen and in a position of power, while the man still
ruled the family.
3. Diseases were wide-spread:
a. Poverty, famine, and disease were killing thousands
b. Bubonic Plague was the #1 disease killing people, followed by small
pox and tuberculosis.
4. People left the countryside and traveled (on foot!) to London in hopes of
finding work and food.
5. London experienced a huge population growth during this time.
6. Education:
a. school was a luxury
b. only the richest people would “bother” to educate their daughters
c. men would go to school for careers in politics or the Church
7. Entertainment:
a. bear-baiting
b. cock fights
c. public executions
d. fights
e. the theatre
II. Astrology and Superstitions
1. Magical beliefs played a major role in daily life.
2. Religion was losing its footing:
a. attendance was poor
b. some people didn’t trust priests
c. attendees were loud and rude
3. Almanacs were extremely popular.
4. People believed in ghosts:
a. would appear just as they had left the world, even bloody and gory
b. people believed ghosts could also be the devil in disguise trying to
trick people into doing evil deeds.
5. People believed in fairies:
a. mean-spirited, life-sized creatures
b. blamed for making milk go sour or livestock sick
c. would pinch humans in their sleep if they found the human offensive
in some way. People would wake with bruises the next morning.
d. performed “practical jokes” (not funny jokes, though)
6. People believed in witches and wizards:
a. believed “old hags” were witches
b.
c.
d.
e.
witches were more sinister than fairies
witches were used as scapegoats for people’s ailments or bad luck
“white witches” provided remedies
wizards would act as local doctors
III. Women
1. no right to vote and few legal rights
2. domestic skills were the staple of a girl’s education
3. career options:
a. marriage
b. a wife’s job was to run the household and help her husband in
whatever he did
c. wet nurse
4. any freedom was given and taken by her husband
5. when married, woman lost all control of her property to her husband (even
clothes and jewelry)
6. Queen Elizabeth:
a. never married despite requests to do so
b. knew that marriage would mean a loss of her power
c. used her femininity as a means of control
d. “Like her woman subjects, Elizabeth dwelled in a male world, facing
the same traditional barriers of inferiority that all Elizabethan women
faced…”
e. the male world was more accepting of her because she was the
exception among females
IV. Family Life
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
most important foundation in Elizabethan society
death was the biggest home-breaker
1 out of every 5 children didn’t live to age 10
most people had lost a parent by the time they were 25
wet nurses:
a. upper-class women worried that breastfeeding would spoil their
figures and social lives
b. hired a wet nurse (woman who recently had a baby) to nurse their
child as well
c. one other job available to women
6. parents were obeyed in all matters
7. children of poor families were expected to labor and earn money
8. as a teenager, most left to live with another family under an apprenticeship
9. arranged marriage were NOT allowed
10. matchmaking parents would consider status of wealth and property
11. young brides were not common
V. Acting Companies
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
organized theatre just beginning
acting was considered a trade, but not a respectable one
actors treated very poorly
theatres became business enterprises and had competing companies
woman not allowed to act until 1660
young boys would play the women’s roles
The Globe Theatre was built for Lord Chamberlain’s Men and William
Shakespeare
most prominent theatres were in London
audience was often rowdy and loud
performed without elaborate costumes, scenery, or effects
actors had to literally create the world for the audience