The beliefs in the Elizabethan century, the chain of being, love and marriage From Jana, Keno, Svenja and Rebekka

Content  The Great Chain of Being  Tudor London  Tudor England  Tudor Sports and Pastimes  Elizabeth I.  The Poor in Elizabethan England  Women and marriage in Tudor England

The Grat Chain of Being God Angels Humans Animals Plants Non living objects Kings Queens Nobles Merchants Peasants Father Mothers Sons Daughters Servants everything in the universe has a specific place Shakespeare believed in the Divine Order Plays revolve around beliefs desire to maintain God’s order

Tudors London  London was the biggest city in western Europe  Monarchs were Henry the VIII and daughter Elizabeth I.  City of future  Rich and poor live next together, hard punishments for crimes, put the heads onto the bridge for deterrence  Narrow and full streets, the probability that one get robbed was very high  rich travel by boat  Much entertainment: theatres, bear baiting, many inns and alehouses

Tudor England  Most important trading city of Tudor England  Main exporter of wool  Ever increasing population and a lack of a structured sewage system  all rubbish lands in the Thames  Big plague epidemic in 1665  Fire was a big problem because of wooden houses: city burned down in 1666  No police, Rich make the laws as judges  Executions were popular events

Tudor Sports and Pastimes  Kings or Queens decided on which sports and pastimes were allowed  Henry VIII liked especially hunting, Elizabeth I. liked especially bear-baiting and bear- gardens  Not everyone was allowed to participated in sports  working class has to work, the rich have no regulations  Heavily controlling  Football was well liked, but banned in 1540  1585 bear-baiting was banned, but Elizabeth ignored it because she loved it  Arena: poor standing, rich sitting  Elizabeth saw a great growth in the popularity of the theatre, she witnessed the career of Shakespeare and the popularity of globe theatre

Elizabeth I.  Queen from 1558 to 1603 in which year she died  Two important points:  Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1587  The Spanish Armada of 1588  Personality:  Intelligent, very educated, spoke Latin, French and German  Famous for her temper  Half-sister Mary became Queen in 1553, Elizabeth was locked up in the Tower of London because she was a protestant  As queen of England she took it nearly to the heights of its power  In her last years she was getting very unpredictable and dangerous  However, her reign is considered by some to an era of glory

The poor in Elizabethan England  Very harsh life  No welfare state  More poor than rich people, so there was the fear of an peasants revolt  Not easy to find a job  Concern about poor was at it greatest in Elizabeth’s time  Government made every parish responsible for the poor, landowners had to pay the so called Poor Rate which should help the people  Benefits:  Made the poor feel that something was being done for them  The poor done good work within the parish to help

 Three groups of poor:  Helpless Poor  old, sick, disabled and children  Able bodied group  people could work and also wanted it  Rouges and vagabonds  people who could work but preferred to beg or steal  Great increase in crime in Tudor England (mostly thieves)  Poor live in now called ghettos in the east, were punished when they were found in the rich places  Developed their own language  protection against the law  Poor in the countryside suffered because of enclosure

Women in Tudor England  Church told that girls were inferior, used bible to show that they are right  men and women believed it, because the priests say it was ordered by god  Protestant leader John Knox: Women were made to serve and obey men  Function in life: marry, have children, look after home and husband  Have to be obedient to men  Education:  Rich: learn things like managing a household, needlework and meal preparation  Poor: no real education, learn things from their mothers  General: teaching girls writing or reading was a waste of time  Clothes: long dresses which covered the hole body

Marriage in Tudor England  Young rich ladies have no choice over who they marry  Reason for marriage:  No legal age for marriage, many get married at the age of 14  Main function: bear a son to continue family line, not unusual to be pregnant every twelve months  Birth and be pregnant was dangerous (health, e.g. puerperal fever and post-birth infections)  Hair  Married women: have to hide their hair under a wood or veil  Not married: can wear it loose