Early Elizabethan England Flashcards
Who made up the court in Elizabeth’s Govenment?
Noblemen who acted as the monarchs advisors and friends, they could also be members of the privy council.
Who were the privy council?
Members of the nobility who helped govern the country
What did the privy council do?
Monitored parliament and the JP’s and oversaw the order and security of the country and they advised Elizabeth
Who were the JP’s?
Large landowners; appointed by the government who kept law and order locally and heard court cases
Who were the lord lieutenants?
Noblemen, appointed by the government; governed English counties
What did parliament do?
Advised the government; made up House of Lords and commons; noblemen and bishops
When did Elizabeth I become Queen?
1558
What was Elizabethan society based on?
Inequality and a social hierarchy; everyone knew their place
What percentage of the population lived in the country side?
90%
Who were the nobility?
Major landowners; lords dukes and earls
Who were the gentry?
People who owned smaller estates
Who were the yeoman farmers?
Owned a small amount of land
What did the Tenant farmers do?
Rented land from the yeomen and gentry
What did the homeless and the vagabonds do?
Moved from place to place looking for work
Who were the merchants?
Wealthy traders
How were households run?
The husband and father was the head of the household; expected to be obedient
How old was Elizabeth when she became monarch?
21
Why was Elizabeth’s legitimacy doubted?
The pope had refused to recognise her mothers marriage to Henry VIII
Who refused to acknowledge Elizabeth’s right to rule England?
The catholics
What type of Christian was Elizabeth?
Protestant
What type of Christian was MQS?
Catholic
Why did many people disapproved of a Queen regnant?
Christian traditions suggested that women should follow Men’s authority and many people didn’t like the idea of a Queen who actually ruled
What’s legitimacy?
It refers to weather a monarch is lawfully entitled to rule
Why didn’t she get married even though she was expected to?
As it would reduce her power as her husband would be expected to govern the country
Was Elizabeth well educated?
Yes
What were some of her character traits?
Confidence and charisma: Enabled her to win over her subjects and parliaments support
How much was she in debt by when she came to the English throne in 1558?
300,000
How can monarchs raise money; three ways?
Taxes; Rent and income from their own land; profits of justice (fines or property)
Pros and cons for Elizabeth raising taxes to get out of debt:
Pro: She could ask parliament for subsidies (special additional taxes)
Con: make her unpopular, cause unrest
How did Elizabeth get out of debt?
Hoarded her income and but her household expenses in half and sold land- she did get out of debt
Why was France a threat in 1558?
Wealthier and had a bigger population; MQS married to French king; catholics would rally to MQS in France invaded
Why was the fact France ended war with Spain a threat?
French military resources were no longer stretched by war with Spain; chance Spain and France, both Catholic countries, would unite against England
How did she deal with challenges from abroad?
-avoided war with France: gave Calais back by signing peace of Troyes (1564)
-Placing MQS in custody in England
Why was religion important?
-central to life in England
-going to Church, pilgrimages etc reduced time in purgatory
-Relgious festivals (holy days) marked the agricultural year
Why was the number of Protestants in England growing?
They were fleeing persecution in Europe
What did puritans want?
To purify the Christian religion by getting rid of anything that’s not in the bible
Name 3 Catholic beliefs:
-pope is the head of the Church
-transubstantiation- Bread and wine become Jesus
-7 sacraments
-priests are celibate
Name 3 Catholic PRACTICES:
-services in Latin
-priests wear vestments
-decorated churches
Name 3 Protestant beliefs:
- no pope
-personal and direct relationship with god
-only god can forgive sins
-2 sacraments
-priests can marry
Name 2 Protestant practices:
-Simple vestments
-Plain and simple churches
Name a difference in the practices of Protestants and catholics
Puritans whitewash churches and make sure they have no decor
When was the religious settlement?
1559
What was the aim of the religious settlement?
To establish a form of religion that would be acceptable to both Protestants and catholics
What did the Act of uniformity do?
Established the appearance of churches and how religious services were to be held; required eveyone to attend church
What did the act of supremacy do?
Made Elizabeth Supreme governor of the Church of England, all clergy and royal officials had to swear an oath of alliance to her
What did the 1559 book of common prayer introduce?
A set church service to be used in all churches, the clergy had to follow its wording during services or be punished
What were the aims of the religious settlement?
To be inclusive and accepted by the majority
What did the royal injunctions state?
All clearly were required to:
- teach the royal supremacy
- report those refusing to attend church to the privy council
-keep a copy of the bible in English - wear vestments
What sort of new church did the puritans want?
Their own church that wasn’t controlled by the queen; no bishops and no vestments
What did the puritans want to do that would make the world a more ‘godly’ place?
Banning ‘sinful’ such as gambling and cock-fighting
They wanted a simpler style of worship, what did this include?
Whitewashed churches, no ‘graven images’ (worship of religious idols)- including crucifix’s and statues as they were seen as ungodly and too catholic
Name 2 natures of the puritan challenge:
-crucifixes; placed in all churches not to upset catholics- puritans opposed this
-Vestments; clergy had to wear special vestments
What were puritans like in society?
Vocal group, openly anti-catholic and opposed to bishops
What was the puritan support?
Limited, the government ignored them
Who did the catholic church become extremely hostile towards in Elizabeth’s rule?
Protestants
What was the counter reformation?
The Catholic Churches attempted to reverse the Protestant deformation in Europe and to stop its spread
What did heresy involve during the counter reformation
Denying the teachings of the Catholic Church- can lead to execution
What’s a recusant?
Someone who practiced the Catholic religion in secret; tolerated to avoid rebellion
How many people in the nobility were recusants
1/3
What did the pope do that increased the Catholic threat of rebellion?
Gave instruction that catholics shouldn’t attend church and gave them permission to rebel
What was the papacy?
-declared Elizabeth was a heretic
-excommunicated her in the form of a papal bull
Who was MQS married to?
Francais II of Spain- French king
Where was MQS Queen of?
Scotland
Give 3 reasons why MQS was important
- Catholic; many catholics would be prepared to support her claim to the throne
-No concerns about her legitimacy; undermined Elizabeth’s claim to the throne
-centre of Catholic plots
Whose murder was MQS said to be involved with?
Her husband, Francis
Why did MQS’s arrival in England cause problems for Elizabeth?
-it encouraged rebellion
What were Elizabeth’s 4 options in what to do with MQS
1- help her regain her throne; anger Scottish nobility, Catholic monarch on mothers borer
2- hand her over to Scottish lords; could provoke France
3- allow her to go abroad; provoke French plot to overthrow her
4- keep her in England; Catholic plotters
Why did Elizabeth not make MQS her heir? Give 3 reasons
-upset English Protestants
-upset those on privy council
-in the event of her death it would cause a civil war
When was the revolt of the northern earls?
1569-70
Why did the northern earls rebel?
-wanted to make England catholic again
-lost a lot of influence in court
-Elizabeth’s refusal to name a heir caused uncertainty
