Elizabeth K.O 4 Flashcards
What were gentry houses like in Elizabethan England?
Country houses with over 50 rooms that had glazed windows and highly decorated chimneys
What was gentry food and drink like in Elizabethan England?
They hosted feasts where servants served expensive food on silver platters. They had a rich, varied diet; exotic meats eg swan and pheasant, fish eg salmon, sweets eg sugar and marzipan and expensive wine
How did gentry make a living?
They did not work but made a living by renting out all of their land
What were homes of the middling-sort like in Elizabethan England?
Houses had around 10 rooms and over 2 floors. They had windows and Chimneys but were less decorated than gentry.
what was middling-sort food like?
They could afford a good diet of meat, fruit, bread and beer however couldn’t afford the luxuries
How did the Middling-sort make a living?
They were merchants, small business owners or independent farmers
What were houses of the labouring poor like in Elizabethan England?
Lived in small one-room houses with no chimney or glazed windows
What was labouring poor food like Elizabethan England?
Staple diet of bread relied on a good harvest and vegetables from garden could be made into pottage
How did the Labouring poor make a living in Elizabethan England?
Travelled around looking for seasonal work on farms
What was marriage like in Elizabethan England?
The gentry had their partners picked by parents but everyone else could marry who they liked
What type of society was Elizabethan England?
A patriarchal society where wives were expected to obey husbands although domestic violence was disproved of
What was forbidden by the church?
Sex before marriage and many couples instantly got married if they were pregnant. Same sex marriage and homosexual marriages had to be kept secret
Divorce in Elizabethan England
Divorce was very difficult although people were encouraged to remarry
Why were families quite small?
Women often had a lot of children but infant mortality rate was high
when did gentry children go to school?
parents paid for their school at age 7 onwards
did children work Elizabethan England?
Children aged 12 to 13 started to work in family homes as servants or as apprentices
Extended family in Elizabethan England
Elizabethans did not have a strong bond with extended family members as they often moved away from home so did not live by or with their extended family and turned to neighbours for help
what was poverty line like in Elizabethan England?
by 1580s 30% of the population lived in poverty
What were vagabonds/Vagrants?
Unemployed people who roamed from town to town looking for work
why did middling sort and gentry worry about vagabonds?
They thought they would commit crimes and spread the plague
What punishments were introduced to vagrants?
Vagrants caught for the first time were whipped and burned through the ear with a hot iron and if they were caught again they were hanged.
Did the vagabond punishments solve the poverty problem?
No because they didnt deal with the cause of poverty
what were the 2 categories that divided the poor after the 1601 poor law?
The deserving poor-people who wanted to work but couldn’t eg elderly and disabled
The undeserving poor- people who could work but didn’t eg criminals and lazy people
What were the deserving poor treated with?
poor relief (benefits)
apprenticeships for young people
What were the undeserving poor treated with?
Threatened with deterrents such as whipping and hard labour
How was the 1601 poor law paid for?
from a tax called the poor rate and managed by justices of peace
What caused poverty in Elizabethan England?
1 population increase from 2.4 mil to 4.1 mil
2 inflation increased price of wheat by 250%
3 failed harvests in 1595, 1596 and 1597 meant even less wheat
4 sheep farming became very profitable so even less wheat
what did the decrease in farming and increase in population mean?
Demand for wheat increased so people could not afford a stable diet
