explain what was important about the golden age

Question 1

three reasons why golden age was important?

Answer 1

• rise of gentry
• development in architecture
• development in theatre

Question 2

why was the rise of the gentry important - in what ways did it change?

Answer 2

• used to be big class divide between rich & poor, had to be born into wealthy family, difficult to become rich
• increasing wealth - now new gentry class, growth in trade, exploration, etc made more people more rich
• dissolution of monasteries (1536)
• suspicion of “old nobility”

Question 3

why did increasing wealth help the rise of the gentry?

Answer 3

• growth in trade, exploration, population growth, rising prices & enclosure all helped gentry families make fortunes
• they were able to use money to establish estates, build grand houses, educate selves

Question 4

why did the dissolution of the monasteries (1536) help with the rise of the gentry?

Answer 4

• monasteries had owned about quarter of all land in england
• their dissolution made more land available to buy than ever before

Question 5

why did the suspicion of the “old nobility” help with the rise of the gentry class?

Answer 5

• tudors deliberately marginalised nobles by granting very few new titles, excluding them from government, saw them as threat
• this left vacuum which gentry filled & became very politically powerful
• gentry dominated house of commons, gained power locally through work as justices of the peace

Question 6

evaluate how far the gentry class changed

Answer 6

• didn’t exist before
• now a lot more people had more money, contributed to a lot more growth, very important
• if gentry class hadn’t existed, the developments in architecture/fashion/theatre probably wouldn’t either since less people would be able to afford it

Question 7

identify in what ways architecture changed

Answer 7

• “great rebuilding” boom & development of new ideas about architecture
• very different from gothic - symmetry, size, large mullioned windows
• architecture used as way to show off wealth & status, not just a space to live in anymore (middle ages)
• cheaper bricks so more chimneys, meant houses could be more than one story high & heated easier

Question 8

what does architecture say about elizabethan england?

Answer 8

• rise of gentry class: more people had more money, could build own houses to show off wealth & status
• stability of era shown

Question 9

identify ways theatre changed

Answer 9

• when elizabeth became queen no theatres in country, actors thought to be threat to law & order - no more than beggars, law said actors punished as vagabonds
• 1572: law requiring actors to be licensed - made actors seem more official; 4 years later first purpose built theatre opened
• by end of reign, 7 major theatres in london & 40 companies of actors