BC Elizabethan England c1568–1603 Flashcards
Elizabeths family
mom - Anne Boleyn who was executed
dad - Henry 8th
sister - Mary 1st
brother - Edward
Elizabeths backround
she was the middle child and the most unlikely to reach the throne so was not taught how to be a queen. She was educated and brought up in the royal household and learned quickly that the court could be a dangerous place if she was not careful with what she did, said and who she trusted
her mother was executed when she was 2.5 years old
she was very clever and shared some tutors employed to teach her brother
she had a very difficult childhood
what was court life like?
the royal court and government were different.
the court was made up of all the officials, servants and advisors (including privy council) that surrounded the monarch
the court was the center of power and also the source of latest trends and fasion.
what is patronage
patronage was a way that elizabeth could ensure loyalty from courtiers
she could award monopolies, titles, land and other powerful position in exchange for obedience and support
lord lieutenants
appointed by the queen
responsible for running a particular area of the country
responsible for raising a military to fight if needed
many also served on the privy council
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
several in every county
responsible for maintaining order and enforcing law
parliment
made up of the house of lords and the house of commons
had influence over tax and was responsible for passing laws
the queen could choose when to call parliment and whether or not to listen to them
privy council
responsible for day to day running of the country
queen chose members
if the council was united on an idea it was very difficult for the queen to ignore them however queen picked opposites to avoid this
led by secretary of state
most important privy council members
william cecil - he wanted to avoid war and was elizabeths most trusted advisor
francis walsingham - spy master
christopher hatton - helped to organise progresses and was incharge of judges and law courts
Robert Dudley - he was personally responsible for Elizabeths safety
problems Elizabeth faced
succession
foreign policy
mary queen of scots
religion
taxation
ireland
problems Elizabeth faced: succession
she was the last child of Henry 8th and had no children of herself so the next heir was uncertain
because of this she was encouraged to marry and have children as soon as possible
problems Elizabeth faced: Religion
recently there had been multiple changes of religion in england which had caused instability and violence
many catholics did not believe that Elizabeth should be queen as she was illagitamat
puritans were also a threat as they would break the balance between catholics and protestants
pros for elizabeth marrying
create allience with foreign country or guarentee the loyalty of a powerful english family
produce an heir to continue the tudor line
cons for elizabeth marrying
loss of authority to a foreign leader or englishman, by not marrying elizabeth and england kept independance
giving birth was very dangerous
her past experience of marriage had been very bad with her father
elizabeth could use proposition of marrige as an incentive when talking to foreign leaders
relations with parliment
parliment saw it as their job to find a husband for elizabeth, who disagreed, and banned parliment from talking about the matter
elizabeth banned them from having freedom of speech
majority of parliment were protestants which agreed with elizabeth however there were some puritans who tried to pass laws
parliment recognised that the way to fix the poor situtation was to help them not punish them however elizabeth did not realise this until much later
overall elizabeth tightly controlled parliment and only really used them to gather taxes
she only called them 13 times in 45 years
essexs rebellion
after his victory against spain he got into an argument with elizabeth and he was placed under house arrest for being disrespectful
later the queen sent him to ireland to deal with a rebellion where he failed to defeat the rebels and also went against the queens orders and made a truce
he then returned to england and stormed into the queens bedroom where she wasn’t wearing her proper clothes
he lost his sweet wine monopoly which made him angry and as he had nothing left to lose, he started to plot a rebellion
in feb 1601 he took 4 privy councellors hostage and marched to london house with 200 supporters
robert cecil, essexs rival, labled him a traitor and so his supporters left releasing the hostage. essex was then was arrested and sentenced to death.
this shows how even late in her reign elizabeth would not tolerate any challenges to her authority
what was the rise of the gentry
before elizabeth, all of the wealth was held by the nobility. the stability that elizabeths period brought meant that people could make money from trade. the gentry grew as a result and began to fill powerful positions
elizabeth also did not like the old nobles so she did not give them any power which created a power vacuum allowing the gentry to gain power
henry 8th dissolved all monosteries which meant there was loads of land to buy
what were the male fasions of elizabethan england
doublet (long sleeved shirt with ruffles at the end)
silk stockings
trunkhose
jerkin (colourful velvet jacket)
ruff (strip around neck)
cloak
sword
beard
what were the female fasions of elizabethan england
farthingale (petticoat)
ruff (strip around neck)
undergown
gown
over gown
dyed hair with wig
heavy white makeup
black teeth
small hat
what were the architecture trends of elizabethan england
heavily influenced by italien renaissance
symetry
lots of chimneys
lots of leaded glass in large mullioned windows
long gallery in uppper floor
what were the attitudes towards theatre
at the start of her reign, there were no theatres and the government did not like actors so passed a law in 1572 saying that all actors had to be licensed which made the actors organise and 4 years later the first theatre opened.
the theatre became very popular and there was room for everyone as poor people went in the pit and richer people were in the stands
there was a cheap activity for the poor and an oppertunity for the rich to show their culture
achivements of theatre
during her reign, the first theatre opened and in total 7 major theatres in london were opened by the time she died
what was the golden age
art
peace, power, pride
science + technology
education
literature
buildings
theatre
exploration
why was there an increase in poverty during elizabeths reign
flu outbreak - killed many people including farm workers
population increase - grew from 2.8-4m which made landlords increase rent as more demand
farming - several bad harvests, farmers started to farm sheep for wool instead as it was better paying
actions of previous monachs - henry 8th dissolved monosteries which left many people without work as well as shutting down a place for the poor to go
attitudes towards poor
they were split into 2 groups - deserving and undeserving poor
deserving poor were the poor people who it wasn’t their fault (young children, disabled) and so they got help from the government
undeserving poor were poor people who were dishonest or beggers, they were fit but too lazy to find work. these people were punished if caught. (hung if caught 3x)
these poor would pretend to be sick or injured in order to try and gain sympathy
responses to the poor
local councils tried to help by experimenting with collecting alms and setting up workhouses to provide work
elizabeth did not want to admit that poverty was a national problem so was reluctant to do anything with small laws (not doing much) being passed in the 1560s-70s, until 1601 where the act of relief of the poor being passed
what was the 1601 poor law
each parish has a compulsory poor rate which provided materials, work or aprenticeships, relief for the deserving poor, an ensure that parents and children looked after each other
Francis Drake
puritan (hated catholics)
anti-spanish
circumnavigated the globe
stole many spanish goods in raids
was crucial in defeating the armada in 1587
john hawkins
african slave trader - 3 expeditions in 1560s selling to central america in the slave triangle between england, africa and america
developed better fighting galleons which helped england beat spain
circumnavigation of the globe
1577-80
december 1577 - takes 5 ships to raid spanish ports in the americas
september 1578 - sails through the straits of magellen (first englishman to do so) loses 2 ships
remaining ships sail up west coast of americas raiding spanish ports
june 1579 - with only his ship remaining, drake lands in north america claiming it for queen elizabeth
march-june 1580 - navigates cape of good hope around south africa
september 1580 - returns to plymouth and knighted
walter raleigh
made multiple explorations into americas
tried to colonise the americas however was unsuccessful as the attemps didn’t last as the first time they returned due to lack of food and the second time they vanished without a trace
impact of voyages
englishmen were allowed to raid spanish ports and ships making money
established trading systems such as with the east (asia) (turkey) (middle east) and in africa with slaves enables things to be produced more cheaply
john hawkins also helped design the better english ships as he was attacked inspiring him. these ships allowed england to beat the spanish armada in 1587
england formed colonies
catholic beliefs
pope is head of church
church and bible in latin
priests should not marry
highly decorated churches
bread and wine transform into jesus
priests are ordinary people who link with God
protestant beliefs
monarch is the head of the church
bible and church in english
priests can marry
plain churches
bread and body only represent jesus
ordinary people connect with God through prayer
northern rebellion
2 nobles rebelled after the duke of norfolk was not allowed to marry mary. earl of westmorland and northumberland took control of Durham cathedral and held an illigal catholic mass. they then marched south with 4600 men but the rebels disbanded when loyal earl of sussex raised an army against them
1569
elizabeths excommunication
pope issed a special message (papel bull) saying elizabeth was not the true queen and called english people to not obey her laws. he also excommunicated elizabeth (telling people to not listen to her).
the pope was hoping for a rebellion however it didn’t happen
ridolfi plot
1571
involved italien ridolfi and duke of norfolk again. there would be a rebellion that coincided with an invasion of foreign catholics from netherlands. elizabeth would be murdered and mary would replace her and marry duke of norfolk. this plot was discovered and stopped.
throckmorten plots
led by francis throckmorten and the plan was to assasinate elizabeth and replace her with mary. there would be an uprising of english catholics with a foreign invasion from france.
when the plot failed throckmorten was killed
missionaries
newly trained catholic priests (jesuits) were sent to england (normally from france and spain) to convert the protestants to catholic
puritanism
they were very strict protestants who wanted to remove all catholic elements from english church
they studied the bible, wanted plain clothing and simple services
jesuit
a person who is a specific type of catholic and priests
Elizabeths response to catholic threats
1571 - rescueancy fines for catholics who did not take part in protestant services
1581 - increased rescueancy fines to $20 which made it impossible for people to just pay the fine. also became high treason to convert to catholic
1585 - any catholic priest who was made a priest after 1559 was considered a traitor and so faced death
1593 - catholics could not travel more than 5 miles from their house without permission from the authorites
Elizabeths response to puritans
banned unlicesed preaching and forcing church attendance with recusancy fines
new high commision with the power to fine and imprision puritans who refused to follow the rules
punishments for printers who spread puritan messages
crack down on high profile puritans
Elizabeths response to jesuit threat
elizabeth ordered Campion (a jesuit) to be arrested and tortured and killed
1585 - act against jesuits which called for them to be executed and driven out of england
mary queen of scots backround
elizabeths cousin as her grandmother was henry 8th sister
catholic
become queen of scotland in 1542 at 8 days old
married to heir of the french throne 1558 and was briefly the queen of 2 countries
as elizabeth had no children mary was heir to the english throne and catholics believed she was the rightful queen
after her husbands death she returned to scotland which had become more protestant
1567 having been accused of the murder of her second husband, lord darnley, mary fled fled to england and her son james was made king of scotland.
what threat did mary QOS pose
as she was catholic, many english protestants were worried that she might directly lead or inspire a rebellion against elizabeth
the idea of her as queen reminded the people of mary 1sts reign.
babington plot
1586, a young rich catholic named anthony babington planned to kill elizabeth and rescue mary and make her queen
babington needed to know if mary supported his plan, so sent a coded message to mary via her servents. she replied backing it. walsingham however had set this method of communication with the servants, and so he read every letter sent and waited until there was sufficient evidance to have mary arrested to do something. this clear evidance meant that elizabeth had no choice and had to have mary killed
mary QOS execution and impact
october 1586, mary was put on trial in court of 36 noblemen including walsingham and cecil.
mary defended herself very well
she was found guilty and sentenced to death on 25th october
elizabeth did not want to sign marys death warrant as she didn’t want to kill a fellow monarch and her cousin
she was also concerned about the reaction of catholic spain and france
she signed the death warrant on 1st of Feb 1587 after pressure from the privy government
mary was killed 7 days later
without mary the catholics had no clear alternative monarch so the plots stopped.
there was outrage from france and spain but no action
james king of scotland accepted elizabeths apology and was next in line to the english throne
elizabeths treatment of mary
elizabeth was suspicious of mary as mary could easily raise a army to try and overthrow elizabeth and so she was kept under close guard and moved around england for 19 years
they never actually met however sent letters to communicate
reason for conflict with spain
Papal bull - 1570 pope excommunicated Elizabeth and called for all catholics to challenge her rule and King Phillip was catholic
Religous difference - England was protestant whereas spain was catholic
Marrige - king phillip was married to Mary 1 and during this time he was joint monarch of England. In 1559 he also proposed to Elizabeth who rejected him and so tensions grew
Actions of sailors - Francis Drake and other english sailors spent years raiding spanish ships and ports and stealing treasures from spanish colonies. Elizabeth also encouraged this
Netherlands - Phillip also ruled netherlands and in 1566 there was a protestant uprising to which phillip sent troops however this led to greater resistance from rebels
although Elizabeth wanted to avoid war with spain, she agreed to send money to support the protestants as well as allowing volonteers to go and help fight. she also let rebel ships use english ports. this all angered phillip
in december 1585 elizabeth agreed to send english troops to support.
this turned to war as privy councellors called for military action, phillip did not like when mary QOS was killed and the netherlands help.
events of spanish war
The spanish fleet ran into storms early so had to go back for repairs. Then when passing England on the way to the netherlands, English ships destoryed 3 spanish ships.
On the night of 7th August 1588, 8 old english ships were filled with tar and oil and set on fire. The ships then drifted to the spanish fleets. This caused panic and so the spanish crashed and ran aground. This attack successfully broke the tight formation allowing england to properly attack.
The next day, they engaged in battle (battle of Gravelines). England had the advantage as they had broken the spanish formation and spain also had to sail into the wind. England also had more manouvable ships. Spain were provoked into firing when they were out of range. Their guns were also hard to reload and took up lots of space on the boats. English ships were much better designed and so they easily sunk the spanish ships without losing a single ship.
The wind also played a huge part in england winning as the wind stopped spanish ships from meeting up with the rest of the fleet in the netherlands. This meant that the armada had to go all of the way around scotland and ireland causing many ships to wreck. There were also storms which further depleted spanish resources and destroyed more ships.
tactics and technology used
the seas were dominated by england, spain and france
Henry 8th spent a fortune on building a huge navy to protect england. During Elizabeths reign, under the command of john hawkins, the navy continued to grow. at the same time Phillip was also trying to make his navy even larger.
english ships were much lighter, faster, more manouvable than the spanish fleet. England also kept their distance using light, long range guns to attack from a safe distance. Elizabeth picked Lord Howard to lead as well as having assistance from Francis Drake, John Hawkins and Martin Frobisher who were all very good. England only had 20,000 part time soldiers and 34 battle ships with approximately 160 other regular ships. she also did not know where spain would attack so had her troops split and spread out
The spanish ships used short range guns and grapple hooks to board enemy ships. Spain were hoping to sail up the english channel to meet the rest of their fleet in the Netherlands and then sail together and capture southern english ports. They would then land and march to london whilst english catholics would help and rebel. Phillip picked Duke of Medina because of his rank and this was a bad decision as he was not very good. Spain had loads of resources and 130 ships with 2500 guns and 30000 troops.
A new type of triangular sail (lateen) had been invented which allowed for much faster travel and new ships allowed for greater speed and manouverablilty. More powerful cannons had been invented as well making it possible to shoot at enemy ships from further away. Ships now were also built specifically for battle instead of simply travelling to the battle site. The astrolobe had been invented as well allowing for greater accuracy when planning voyages.
defeat of the armada
spain were completely destroyed only making it back with 60 ships and 10,000 troops. For england national pride was boosted and victory was seen as a sign from God that protestantism was good. England also learnt the importance in guns in naval battles. The 2 countries continued to fight in the later years with several unsuccessful attacks from both sides. England continued to help rebellions in Netherlands + raid spanish ships and ports. King Phillip continued to stir up catholic trouble in England.
Bess of Hardwick childhood
she was born at a small manor house at hardwick (derbyshire) around 1527
her father owned a few hundred acres
it was a practice in tudor times for teenagers from lower gentry were sent to live with richer, more influential families - it is thought that bess may have joined the Zouche family after her fathers death
Bess’s husbands
first married Robert Barlow (her distant relative) but he died 18 months after their marrige but he left Bess with enough money to have a comfortable lifestyle.
next in 1547 she married Sir William Cavendish. They have 8 children. He died in 1557 and left Bess with a large estate at Chatsworth (derbyshire) but also large debts.
by 1559 Bess had married Sir William St Loe becoming his third wife. He owned many properties in Devon and Cornwall and was a favourite coutiers of Queen ELizabeth. He died in 1565 leaving Bess with lots of money.
Her last husband was George Talbot where they married in 1567. Talbot was the Earl of Shewsbury and the head of one of the richest and oldest families in England. Talbot had inherited a large amount of money and used it to own large estates of farmland, coal mines, glassworks, iron foundries and ships.
Bess’s marrige with George Talbot
they started off well however arguments about how much money should be spent remodelling Chatsworth cracked their marrige
Talbot also had to look after Mary, Queen of Scots for 16 years for Elizabeth which caused more problems in their relationship.
some evidance also shows Talbots eratic behavior might have contributed also to marrige issuses.
in 1584 their marrige had completely broken down and they were arguing over money and ownership of Chatsworth which Talbot wanted to keep as his family home
In 1583, Bess had bought Hardwick Old Hall (the house she grew up in) and from 1585 to 1596 she enlarged and remodeled it however Talbot disagreed about how much to spend on it.
Talbot died in 1590 and left Bess very rich and she could spend it however she liked (second most rich women in England behind Queen)
what was Bess like
she was intelligent and ambitious for herself andn family + was respected and well liked. She had influential friends such as William Cecil, Robert Dudley and Sir Francis Walshingham. She had a strong friendship with the Queen even though they occasionally had falling outs. The Queen said “there is no lady in this land that i better love or like.”
Bess was also a buisness women and was determined to invest her large amount of money (which she recieved when Talbot died) into property (Harwick Hall), farming (sheep + cow), mines and quarries (provided raw materials for HH such as lead, glass and bricks). She was also clever enough to make sure that people who she leant money to would repay her even if their investment did not work. She also sold her raw materials to others as this was at the start of the English building Boom
HH designers
Influences for the design came from Bess, family, friends and the craftsmen who worked there.
all craftsmen had great repuations and so showed off Bess’s status even more as she was able to use these great people.
Robert Smythson - architect as he was already well known for his work at Longleat House (wilshire) and Wollaton Hall (nottingham)
Thomas Accres - marble carver (worked at Wollaton Hall with Smythson) who was inspired by Dutch design and fashion. He did most of the marble work including marble chimney + doorway in the best bedroom in the great high chamber. Was a full time employee of Bess’s.
Abraham Smith - plasterer (worked at Wollaton Hall with Smythson) who was a full time employee of Bess’s.
John Ballechouse - French painter (worked with Bess at Chatsworth)
Features of HH
Both the inside and outside of HH was designed to show off the latest fashions + technologies and wealth and status of Elizabeth
lots of chimneys + fireplaces
E shape to please Queen Elizabeth
withdrawing room (inspired by Flemish designs)
no longer built like a castle from medieval period
no longer built around a central courtyard from medival period (one of the first houses to not have one in England)
showed symmetry, balance and order
lots of windows increasing in size closer to the top of the building
loggia on east and west side (covered walkway) inspired by italien renaissance
materials for HH
lead - used in roof and windows and was produced at Bess’s foundries at Winster, Aldwark and Bonsall to the west of Hardwick
Timber - came from trees on the estate
slate
Glass - came from Wingfield glassworks which she inherited from Talbots will
stone - came from quarries on the estate
clay (for bricks) also came from Bess’s land
Iron - came from her ironworks at Wingfield
HH became a showcase for local craftsmen and local materials
Glass at HH
famous saying “hardwick hall, more glass then wall”
glass was a status symbol and so the very large windows covering all walls shows Bess’s status
the windows got larger towards the top of the house reflecting the the great chain of being and the Divine plan for the universe with the “lowest” in society at the bottom of the house (servants) and the “highest” at the top (Bess and any royal visitors.
the windows provided lots of natural light and gave amazing views which made the house even more impressive. Smythson also added bay windows which allowed more places to admire the views and somewhere for private conversations
Bess had large windows to illuminate her room and provide amazing views from her bedroom.
lead demand
there was an increase in demand for lead in the 1560s as there was an increase in double row roofs . This increase in demand caused lead to technological improvements such as smelting mills with waterwheel powered bellows and tall chimneys. By 1600, Derbyshire lead smelters were producing 10x the amount as in 1572.
Approach to HH
you enter the grounsd through a gatehouse which is a reminder and a symbolic link with medival times.
The approach to the hall had been designed to impress with its grandeur and wealth.
as you approached the house appeared teasingly in and out of view building suspense however there was no mistaking that it is a great house of style and imagination.
On top of every tower there were Flemish inspired crests enclosing Bess’s initials E.S (elizabeth Shewsbury) showing off who owned the house.
inside HH
the house was designed so the impressive approach through the grounds continued through the house. There was a long and magnificent processional route wound from the hall on the ground floor to the main staircases to the formal receiving rooms on the second floor and then onto the best state rooms on the third floor.
On the top floor there was also the high great chamber with the state withdrawing room next to it. THis then leads to the best Bedchamber and the long gallery
this route takes many turns and also shows all of the best part of the house and the best views
Great Hall
The great hall was going out of fashion in the ELizabethan period as in medival england the lord of the manor carried public life + duties in the hall however it was less important in the ELizabethan era.
Even though there was an increasing popularity for houses designed around 2 rows of rooms, many still included a hall (including HH as the entrance way was through the great hall)
the Great Hall in HH was designed as a large space to impress visitors as they entered. Smythson used the double pile to allow him to rotate the hall 90’ and place it in the middle of the house running east to west and front to back. This new design allowed the hall to be more practical , warmer and less smokey due to wall fireplaces.
also had a grand staircase instead of a smaller spiral one
the servants ate and socialised here as it was on the groud floor
Long gallery
long gallery was rising in popularity. It was often linked to a main living room. The gallery was on the second floor at HH and ran down the entire east side of the house (more than 100 feet) providing excellant views of the countryside and symmetrical gardens. The long gallery was a status symbol with the longer the more impressive.
could be used as a place for inside exercise as well as to display artwork and some of bess’s tapestries.
Gardens and grounds
in medival times the gardens of the house would have been used for hunting however that was no longer neccasary as the nobles wanted to have larger gardens closer to their homes which were used for pleasure and relaxation.
The gardens were usually laid out in symmetrical patterns with squares or quarters. some may include shaded areas, ornamental ponds, aviaries or and artificial lake. The gardens at HH were designed and laid out at the same time the new hall was built and followed symmetrical fashions at the time. There also was an orchard as it supplied the house with herbs, fruit and vegtables
furnishing at HH
The furnishings were practical as well as showing off her wealth and status to any visitors. Bess had more private areas of HH which were more relaxed and comfortable as well to let her relax in private.
The furnishings were not too financially extravagent however they still were luxurious and kept up with the fasions of the time. Bess was sensible with her money and reused old items where possible and spent carefully when she needed to.
She had a collection of richly decorated turkish carpets on which fine needle work matched her best pieces of furniture. She also enjoyed embroidery and textiles so instead of having wooden panneling, she covered the walls with fine tapestries. These were silk or metal thread in the high status rooms and wool in the lesser rooms.
she also had a passion for french style. She had 6 beautiful french stools.
many of bess’s best pieces had been bought from Chatsworth when she was married to Cavendish who had influenced her style.
by 1601 she had collected 97 paintings, 67 of which were portraits as she appreciated the power that they had by being able to illustrate messages or ideas. The portraits were able to emphasise her status and legacy. As well as this she used heraldry to show status and continuity of her family. this was done especially in the high status areas of the house. She even paid £5 (132,400) to have the coat of arms changed to hers on one of her tapestries.
