Golden Age Flashcards
Who were 2 famous musicians in the Elizabethan era?
Orlando Gibbins and Thomas Tallis.
Why was there a ‘Golden Age’?
The explosion of cultural achievement was influenced by Humanism in Europe. The Queen and Court set fashion which were then copied by others. The importance of the gentry increased too.
How did the Gentry influence the Golden Age?
Their importance increased as London’s population grew. They had disposable income and wanted to spend conspicuously in order to impress others and earn promotion.
This meant that artists, builders, writers and musicians did well as their work was much in demand.
What invention meant that new ideas could spread at a greater speed?
The printing press.
What meant that the English became better educated?
New grammar schools and University colleges were set up to broaden the curriculum and the English became better educated.
What did English literature flourish through?
Poetry, prose and drama.
Name a highly successful artist:
Nicholas Hilliard
How did science change during the Elizabethan Golden Age?
The interest in planets and the human body increased
Who discovered that blood circulates the human body?
William Harvey
Who experimented with electricity and was also the Queen’s doctor
William Gilbert
What caused the Gentry class to grow so much during Elizabeth’s reign?
1) The Tudors’ suspicion of the ‘old’ nobility.
2) The dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.
3) Increasing wealth.
How did the Tudors’ suspicion of the ‘old’ nobility increase the power of the Gentry in the Elizabethan era?
The tudors had deliberatley marginalised the nobles, who they saw as a threat, by giving very few titles and excluding them from governement. This left a vacuum which the gentry filled and they became very powerful politically. Many of the key councillors promoted by Elizabeth came from the Gentry class, eg Cecil, Walsingham and Hatton. They Gentry also dominated the House of Commons and they gained power locally through their work as Justices of the Peace.
How did the dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII increase the power of the Gentry in the Elizabethan era?
The monasteries had owned about a quarter of the land in England, their dissolution had made more land available to buy than ever before.
How did increasing wealth increase the power of the Gentry in the Elizabethan era?
Growth in trade and exploration, together with population growth, rising prices and enclosure, all helped gentry families to make their fortunes. They were therefor able to use their money to establish estates, to build grand houses and to educate themselves.
What were the gentry keen to sponsor and why?
Architectural, artistic, intellectual and literate endeavours as this helped to affirm their new status in society.
The wealth of the gentry helped drive the development of what else?
New clothing fashions.
What was fashion important for?
A status symbol.
What laws were introduced about fashion and when?
The Statutes of Apparel Law, passed in 1574, strictly controlled the clothes people were allowed to wear depending on their social rank.
Name 3 men fashions:
-Trunk-hose (like a skirt, padded out with horse hair to make bulges and cut in strips to give a 2 tone effect)
-Doublet (long sleeved silk or satin shirt with ruffles at the end)
-Jerkin (a colourful, velvet jacket decorated with embroidery and fastened up at the front with buttons)
Name 3 women fashions:
-Farthingale (a petticoat with wooden hoops sewn into it)
-Heavy white makeup (lead-based and highly poisonous, but made fashionable by the Queen)
-Blackened teeth (also made fashionable by the Queen who’s teeth were rotten because of sugar consumption)
What item of clothing did both men and women wear?
A ruff (like a collar worn around the neck)
What was the development of new ideas in architecture known as?
The ‘Great Rebuilding’.
How did strong government have impact on architectural design?
Residences no longer had to include defensive features such as moats and drawbridges.
Who was the leading architect during Elizabeth’s reign?
Name 2 famous properties he designed and built:
Robert Smythson.
He designed and built Longleat House in Wiltshire, and Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.
What led to increased profit for landowners?
Rising food prices.
What were the houses that used the latest styles do?
Acted as a status symbol.
What were the latest and most fashionable architectural designs influenced by?
The Italian Renaissance architecture from places such as Florence.
Elizabeth houses were very different from previous ______ styles.
Gothic.
What were the 2 focuses from architects?
Symmetry and size.
What 2 new things were houses built with?
Intricate chimney stacks and expensive leaded glass in large mullioned windows.
However, what manor houses were built to be less classically influenced and with more functional style?
The timber-framed Wattle-and-Daub Speke Hall near Liverpool, and Churche’s Mansion in Cheshire.
