Education And Leisure

Question 1

Early Elizabethan attitudes towards education

Answer 1

-No national system of education
-Education focused on practical skills
-Only 15-20% could read and write
-Mostly rich children attended schools
- People saw no need to provide education to the vast majority, especially the labouring classes

Question 2

Changing infleunces on education

Answer 2

• By the early 1500s, philosophers called Humanists were arguing that education was valuable and not merely a way of preparing people for a role in life. This meant educational opportunities gradually improved during Elizabeth’s reign.
• Protestants argued that people ought to be able to study the scriptures. This required people to be able to read, boosting literacy.
• The growth of the printing press meant books became less expensive, giving people more opportunities to read.
• The growth of trade in the Elizabethan era required ordinary people to be able to read, write and understand mathematics so they could record transactions properly. This encouraged more people to become literate.

Question 3

Changes in education 1558-88

Answer 3

• New grammar schools meant children were now educated independently of the Church. Scholarships allowed people from poorer backgrounds to receive an education.
• Literacy improved, especially in the towns. This was the combined result of the printing press, parish schools and the need to read the scriptures.

Question 4

Educating girls

Answer 4

Many girls received no formal education at all as it was felt that they would not need it. Girls from better off families attended Dame Schools run by wealthy women in their homes. Wealthy girls had private tutors.

Question 5

Features of Elizabethan education

Answer 5

Parish schools (up to age 10)
Grammar schools (for boys aged 10-14)
Petty schools (up to age 10)
Universities (ages 14 to 15 onwards)
Private tutors

Question 6

Parish schools (up to age 10)

Answer 6

Set up locally by the Church and run by the clergy. Taught basic literacy to the children of yeoman farmers and craftsmen.

Question 7

Grammar schools (for boys aged 10 to 14)

Answer 7

Provided an education independently of the Church and charged fees, although scholarships were available for poorer families. Attended by the children of the gentry, merchants, yeoman farmers and craftsmen. Boys were taught the Bible, debating, Latin, French, Greek and philosophy. The sons of yeomen farmers and craftsmen were taught reading, writing and mathematics.

Question 8

Petty schools (up to age 10)

Answer 8

Run privately from people’s homes. Attended by children of the gentry, merchants, yeoman farmers and craftsmen.

Question 9

Universities (ages 14 to 15 onwards)

Answer 9

In Elizabethan England there were two universities:
Oxford and Cambridge. There you studied geometry, music, astronomy, philosophy, logic and rhetoric (persuasive speaking used in law), medicine, law and divinity. The highest possible university qualification was the doctorate.

Question 10

Private tutors

Answer 10

Delivered education privately to members of the nobility, who often finished their education in the household of another noble family.

Question 11

What leisures/pastimes did the Nobility do?

Answer 11

Hunting
Fishing
Real tennis (men)
Bowls (men)
Fencing (men)

Question 12

What leisures/pastimes did Farmers, craftsmen and the lower classes do?

Answer 12

Football (men)
Wrestling (men)

Question 13

What spectator sports were there in Elizabethan England?

Answer 13

Baiting
Cock fighting

Question 14

Baiting

Answer 14

Involved watching animals fight to the death. Typically, dogs were encouraged to attack chained bears and bulls, and bets were made on the outcomes of fights.

Question 15

Cock fighting

Answer 15

Cockerels attacked each other using metal spurs and their beaks. In many small towns, special arenas were built for cock-fighting. Money was bet on the outcomes of these fights.

Question 16

Literature

Answer 16

• A lot of new literature was written during Elizabeth’s reign, although medieval literature, such as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, remained popular.

Question 17

Theatre

Answer 17

• Mystery Plays, popular with many Catholics, were replaced with new non-religious (secular) plays. These were shown in purpose-built theatres, such as the Red Lion,the Globe and the Rose.
• Comedies, performed by teams of professional players funded by wealthy noblemen, were very popular. Sponsors included the queen and the Earl of Leicester, and their performers were known as Queen’s Men and Leicester’s Men.
• All social classes attended the theatre, so purpose-built theatres had to be built to accommodate growing audiences.

Question 18

Music

Answer 18

• Many Elizabethans played instruments, including lutes (similar to guitars), spinets and harpsichords (similar to pianos).
• Musical performances were popular.
Musicians were paid to play at official functions or public events. Music was also played at fairs and markets, or on public occasions, in churches, taverns, barbers’ shops and on the streets. Wealthy families employed their own musicians (always men) to play during meals and feasts. Books of songs were also popular.
• Music was also written to accompany plays performed in public theatres.

Question 19

Dancing

Answer 19

• Dancing remained a popular pastime, as it brought together men and women, although the upper and lower classes did not dance together.