courts Flashcards
what were the courts
the courts were a gathering of nobles and higher gentry favoured by the queen
what were the 5 main aspects of the court
the privy chamber, great hall, council chamber, banqueting house and the tilt yard
what happened when the queen was in the court at Whitehall
dances, plays, musical performances in the great hall, open air sermons in the main courtyard, jousting tournaments in the tilt yard and hunting expeditions in ST James park
what was the privy chamber
this was where the queen spent most of her time and this was where the ladies in waiting would look after the queen
what was the privy council
this was were a group of the queens most trusted courtiers met almost every day
what was the main job of the privy council
its main job was to offer the queen advice on matter like finance, trade, law enforcement and defence
how did Elizabeth stop her individual privy council members gaining too much power
limiting the council to about 19 members with just 7 or 8 members at most meetings, appointing councillors with different viewpoints and leaving herself free to decide between them, sometimes she attended small meetings herself, she showed fierce temper for no apparent reason, dismissing councillors from court if they offended her, discussing policies with courtiers who were not councillors, encouraging loyalty by flattering privy councillors and rewarding them with jobs that allowed them to grow rich and refusing to marry her beloved Robert Dudley (the earl of Leicester and who was a leading member of the privy council)
who were elizabeths secretaries of state
Sir Francis Walsingham and Sir William Cecil
when was Sir Francis Walsingham secretary of state
1572 to 1590
when was Sir William Cecil secretary of state
1558 to 1572 and 1590 to 1598
what was Sir Francis’s religion
he was a strong Puritan and he believed english catholics were a threat to the nations stability and must be speedily represses and he wanted to support Protestant rebels in Scotland and the Netherlands so that they would be allies against Catholic Spain
how did Elizabeth respond to sir Francis Walsingham
she admired his appetite for work and valued his complete loyalty and respected his direct honest advice. but was enraged when he spoke too directly eg she once threw a slipper at his head fro daring to criticise her and she was angered by his impatience in the early 1580s when she felt he was rushing her into repressing English Catholics and sending troops to aid Protestants in the Netherlands and she never warmed to him as a person but often took his advice
what was Sir William Cecil’s religion
he was a moderate Protestant but favoured Puritans more than Elizabeth did. also he was more ready to repress English catholics than Elizabeth was and also he tried hard to avoid involvement in foreign religious disputes as that could lead to expensive wars
how did the queen respond to Sir William Cecil
she was delighted by his classical education and she trusted him more than any other adviser and she also shared his cautious approach to decision making and desire to avoid expensive wars. however he was expected to work extremely long hours. but the queen refused to see him for months in 1587 when he believed he had effectively tricked her into executing Mary Queen of Scots
what was the rebellion of 1601
for years leading minister after Essex had been working to win the favour of James VI of Scotland who was next in line to the English throne and he hoped to be the new king’s leading minister after Elizabeth death. in January 1601 Essex started to gather large groups of supporters at his London home. the dangerous mix included courtiers who were out of favour and unemployed soldiers. in febuary he arranged for a production of shakespeare play Rochard II at the globe theatre in london and this included a scene where the king was forced to give up his throne. this scene seemed to be threatening Elizabeth so the queen sent 4 privy councillors to arrest Essex but he locked them in his house and took to the streets of London. he rode through the city to Whitehall with 300 supporters and clearly expected the mass of people to join him however they did not so the rebellion collapsed and he was arrested and on the 25th February 1601 he was beheaded for treason
