WEEK 1 - Setting The Scene - Life In Elizabethan England

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What sense do you get of what life was like in Elizabethan England? Try to include information on: The population, entertainment, religion, superstition, money, jobs, medicine, theatre.

Elizabethan England was predominantly ruled by the rich and powerful. This was only representative of a small portion of the population however.  Most people who lived in the countryside were very poor. There was much more empty land around then. A quarter of England was uninhabited by humans. These areas were dangerous, there were no roads, tracks or paths and you would not be able to find shelter very easily. There are sometimes small thatched cottages dotted around but they were very rare. The sort of families that lived in these kinds of settlements were very poor. There might often be 7 or 8 people living in them. The cottages were always dark, 24 hours a day. Inside it is a basic layout, 1 room with an earth floor. In the middle there would be a single fire, that is always lit. There would be a small chimney-like opening in the roof to stop you from suffocating. The windows were just holes in the wall. There was no glass in them so they let in the cold constantly so they are normally small. People were much more vulnerable to diseases because of this. Candles were expensive and a poor family wouldn't afford them for light. A typical poor families possessions would consist of: a few pots, some spoons and ladles, a basket and a bench. They would sleep on the floor, or if you were lucky, on a thin straw mattress. 

Elizabethan England had a strict class divide, Your class was decided by what family you were born into (ascribed statues d and it was very hard, if not impossible to be able to move classes. Most people fell into three categories: Yeoman - A yeoman might own his own farm and employ workers. A husbandman - a husbandmen rents the land he works on. Labourer - a labourer would simply work for other people. For poor people looking for work it was difficult. Your best bet was to go around to lots of different farms to see if they had work. 

The main religion in the Elizabethan Era was Protestantism.This had been declared the national religion one year before Shakespeare was born in 1564. However, the Catholic church was still popular within some of the noble families. During her reign, Elizabeth was able to re-establish the English language mass and Protestant bible. Protestant communities could be found among the seaports and larger English towns. She did not persecute Catholics during the beginning of her reign, in an attempt to tone down the religious violence in the country. 

Elizabethan music was an important part of the entertainment industry to the people who lived in the Elizabethan Era. A lot of music were sung in villages and fields to ease the monotonous tasks that workers would be partaking in. The importance of music to the Elizabethans was reflected in the plays of William Shakespeare who makes more than five hundred references to music in his plays and poems.
The most famous Elizabethan theatre was Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Theatre's were as popular as cinemas and movie showings were in the the modern 20th century. Vast amounts of money was made and the inn-keepers increased their profits by allowing plays to be shown on temporary stages erected in the yards of their inns.+