Eliz Society Flashcards
Changes in Soc- Nobles
No dukedoms created after 1572
Indulged in massive house-building projects
Less opportunity to fulfil a military role
Changes in Soc- gentry
Growth in numbers
Landed incomes incr
Changes in Soc- bulk of population
Growing mercantile and professional classes in towns; with political influence; sometimes bought landed estates and entered ranks of gentry
Some families ‘married up’ incr Soc mobility
Widening gap between rich and poor (60% of pop at or below poverty line)
Decline in real wages
Incr in landless poor
Social discontent and rebellions
Mostly a period of Soc stab
Still relig div especially after excom
1570 led to intro of recusancy laws in 1593 who ref to go to Anglican services
Econ discontent led to sporadic riots. The ‘Oxfordshire rising’ 1596 provoked by high food prices… led by 4 men who seized weapons + marched on London
Resp harshly
Northern rebellion
1569-70
Took place mainly in Durham and the N Riding in Yorkshire 1569… subsequent rising in Cumberland in 1570
Reasons for Northern rebellion
Religious- north were more religiously conservative than the south and dislike the Elizabethan settlement
The presence of MQS in Eng gave hopes for an alternative future
Econ- the N was economically deprived, breeding resentment
Political- leaders resented their exclusion from their trad aristocratic role in the North
2 conspiracies that came together… court conspiracy- courtiers e.g Leicester that are ag the infl of Cecil want MQS put in suc to minimise threat
Earls MQS in suc, remove Cecil + reinstate RC’ism
Course of Northern rebellion
3800 foot soldiers, 1600 cavalry
Took Barnard castle
Suffered from a lack of objectives, disorganisation and poor leadership, did not gain mass support or foreign support.
The crown sent a force… earls disbanded to Scot
Restarted w/ 3000 troops near Carlisle but Rebs lose + flee again
Consequences of N’ern Reb
Govt ordered mass exec of the Rebs… N’lands 1572, w’morland exiled to sp N’lands… eliz ordered for 700 exec, MacCulloch says ev for approx 450 exec
Crown took over Rebs land
Reb revealed the gov’s lack of comprehension of the differences between N + S and of probs managing localities
Council of N reconstituted in 1572 under the E of Huntingdon (outsider owed infl to eliz)
Crown mostly relied on lord lieutenants and JPs who took resp for def and order
What ensured that arts thrived?
The patronage of queen, courtiers, nobility and gentry ensured art thrived
Many of the arts celebrated the virgin queen, play, paintings and literature became propaganda for eliz
Incr educational opportunities
Led to the emergence of a literate audience
Around 30 grammar schools created in eliz’s reign and incr amount of noblemen attended oxford and Cambridge- not nec to acquire a degree but perfect their cultural education
Paintings
Miniature paintings- the most distinctive feature of Elizabethan paintings, influential paintings included Hilliard and Oliver
Portrait painting- remained imp (sitters incl the queen, courtiers, and membs of gentry and mercantile classes)
Drama + Literature
Public theatres such as the globe and the swan competed for plays by dramatists such as Shakespeare and Marlowe, who also had plays performed at Court theatre companies e.g Lord Chamberlain’s men (for whom Shakespeare wrote), enjoyed the support of courtiers
Prose and poetry- prose literature less widely read, many Puritan’s read Foxe’s ‘Book of Martyrs’
Two most important writers were Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser. Sidney aimed to modernise the eng language; he also revived the sonnet in eng poetry
Music
Religious music- preserved by eliz in the face of prot reform, church music reformed by Tallis and Byrd (Byrd also composed in secret for cath patrons)
Secular music- flourished, especially at court incl madrigals e.g by Morley and Welles- notably the 1601 ‘Triumph of Oriana’ honouring the queen
Popular music- instrumental music and song thrived, official bands in many towns, ballad and drinking songs = pop
Country house building
Architects become more important
State of society by 1603
Remained Soc divided, w/ huge differences in living standards between the wealthy few and poor majority.
Nobility was subject to taxation, most ppl could be fed
The lives of the poor were still dependent on weather, orders and taxation demands from central gov and the localities
1563 Statute of Artificers
Aim was to reduce unemployment by making people take on 7 yr apprenticeship in a partic place, so as to stop movement of people
Aimed to fix wages and prices, so to slow down inflation
Gov was now accepting responsibility for issues like wages that had normally been regulated by the guilds in med times
JP’s enforce the act
Local people to contribute to poor rate, if they refused- could be imprisoned or fined £10 by JP
Idle poor who ref to work = whipped and sent back to parish of origin
Effectiveness depended on JP
1572 Vagabonds Act/ Poor Relief Act
Distinction made officially in law between the idle poor and deserving poor
Compulsory contributions made to poor relief. But the JP would assess weekly peoples ability to pay, so making it fairer, whilst ensuring there were funds for the poor
Overseers of the poor appointed in each parish to help organise poor relief
Punishment for vagabonds incr- hold bored in ear, branding and whipping for 1st offence, imprisonment for 2nd vagabond age offence, 3rd offence = execution
Some classes of ppl excluded from these punishments (deserving poor)
JPs were to count and keep records of number of poor in their area
Towns and cities had to find work for the able bodied poor
1576 Poor Relief Act
Aim to distinguish between deserving and undeserving poor
JP’s to provide able bodied w/ raw materials and wool to enable them to work by making things to sell
Those who refused to work or use raw materials were sent to prisons called houses of correction- learn a skill to make employable
other terms sim to 1572 act
1598 Poor Relief Act and Act for Punishment of Rogues
Confirmed the compulsory poor rate- everyone in parish would pay
Pauper apprenticeships were set up to train boys to age of 24 and girls to 21
More houses of correction were built so that abled bodied poor could be put to work, every county to have one
Deserving/ impotent poor were to be provided for in poor/ Alms houses
Vagabonds/ vagrants still whipped and returned to parish of origin- aim was to reduce social unrest
Tools provided to those who were able to work
Children of poor given apprenticeships
4 overseers were appointed in each parish to oversee poor law admin
In theory action was taken against enclosure but this didnt happen
1601 poor relief act
Confirmed and amalgamated the previous acts w/ some additions/ amendments e.g begging was forbidden
This became the system of poor relief until 1834 and the Victorian poor laws
Clear distinction between undeserving/ idle poor (the able bodied poor) and the helpless/ deserving poor that couldn’t worl
Wasn’t really an acceptance that many people were unemployed through no fault of their own
Causes for the Essex rebellion
1601
Essex opposed E’s nom of new LD of Ireland + turned his back on her =slapped
After Cecil’s death= reconcile Oct 1598- march 1599= LL Ireland= defeated + criticised
Course of Essex rebellion
Sept left post w/out permission to regain favour, burst into E’s bed chamber- charged w/ Malay in + put under house arrest = charged w/ treason summer 1600 patent for sweet wines= refused
Plan = seize Whitehall + Tower as milli bas- eliminate PC, control E
J5 succ = suspected, so planned demo in London- only 300 showed… forced back to house = threatened by artillery = 12 hours long
Consequences of Essex Reb
Beheaded Feb 1601… failed bc : not suff force- no power base, deserted by friends who saw the rising was not going to work, lacked feudal ties
Issues w/ Ireland
Eliz wanted to impose eng control in both relig and secular matters
1560 eliz proclaimed sup gov of church of Ireland. Ireland = mostly cath + spoke Gaelic and had customs and laws that were diff from eng
The behaviour of eng incomers + frequent use of martial law soured relations w/ the Irish lords
The troubles were a financial drain on the eng crown as well as destroying + impoverishing much of Ireland… leaving a legacy of bitterness among the native population
Rebellions in Ireland
1569-73 Reb against eng rule in the south
1579-82 Reb linked to Sp incursion in County Kerry… brutally suppressed
1595 E of Tyrone led to Reb in Ulster, linked to Anglo-span war
1598 Rebs victorious at the B of Yellow Ford; Tyrone and allies controlled most of Ireland ‘beyond the Pale’ (w/ Spanish sup)
1599 E of Essex sent to Ireland as Lord Lieutenant. Essex made truce with Tyrone (ag orders) and returned to court; on expiration of the truce, Tyrone moved south, hoping to link up with span army
1601 over 3000 sp troops landed in sup of rebellion; Rebs were defeated by the new Lord lieutenant Mountjoy
1603 peace concluded, following eliz death
Wales
By eliz reign, Wales was integrated into Engl, although some linguistic and cultural diffs remained
The council of Wales and the Marches cont to police the border so conflict there was no longer an issue
The welsh language was no longer used in the govt but the BCP + bible were trans into welsh… welsh dictionaries and grammars were published
Much of wales remained poor
