knowledge organiser 5 Flashcards
what was the “merry England” interpretation?
imagined as a “golden age”, people wore fine clothes, everyone had plenty of food, people got on well with each other , cultural achievements such as William Shakespeares plays were enjoyed by all
what popular pastimes did Elizabethan England enjoy
1.sports football which was played in the streets, was the most popular sport, bear-baiting, people betting on a pack of dogs attacking a tied up bear, was widespread,
what other pastimes did they enjoy?
2.festivities, on saints days villages held parish ales, lasted 7 days, Christmas included eating and drinking and carol singing, lasted 12 days, May Day, people danced around the maypole and watched plays, harvest homes, celebrated once all the crops had been harvested at the end of August
any other pastimes?
- the alehouse (pub) the most common pastime for the labouring poor and the middling sort was going to the alehouse with friends to drink beer, also places for gambling and prostitution
what was closed down? and why?
alehouses were closed down, parish ales stopped in many areas and maypoles were pulled down. the puritans
why did puritans do this?
puritan ministers wanted people to live purer christian lives
how did they clamp down on popular pastimes?
preaching sermons attacking festivities such as parish ales, persuaded justices of the peace to ban maypoles and introduce licences for selling ales
what drove puritan ministers to attack popular pastimes?
- protecting the sabbath, believed sundays should be for prayer and not drinking and dancing, 2. stopping pagan practices traditions such as may day were pagan and not christian, believed this distracted from the true christian religion, 3. preventing violent disorder crowds at festivals such as parish ales became drunk and violent, they believed this was not christian behaviour, 4. preventing sex outside of marriage, they believed that dancing and drinking at festivals such as may day led to the sin of sex outside of marriage
how many theaters were there when Elizabeth became queen in 1558?
there were non
how did actors preform when there were no theatres?
toured the country preforming in alehouses and parish ales
why did puritan ministers oppose the theatres?
because plays encouraged unholy behaviour and distracted ordinary people from prayer and bible reading
what happened after the government began arresting actors as vagrants?
they began forming theatre companies
why did London city authorities oppose the theaters?
because they feared crowds of spectators would spread the plague or commit crimes
popular playwright, popular plays and theatre?
shakespeare, romeo and juliet, macbeth, the globe
where did the queen invite William Shakespeare to preform?
at the royal court
why did the ordinary people love the theatre?
because it provided cheap entertainment
what did the Elizabethans believe about witches?
could preform magic to cure illness, control the actions of others, or recover stolen goods
how did people believe witches get their power?
came from the relationship with the devil
what were witches believed to have?
familiars: small animals such as cats and toads that assisted with their evil acts
what was the 1563 law against witches?
death by hanging for using witchcraft to kill, prison for damage to property
how many cases of witchcraft was there in the 1580s?
166 cases
how many cases in Essex during Elizabeths reign?
172 cases
what interpretations do historians think were the reasons of witches?
- tensions between villagers, power for the powerless: explains confessions, lots of unexplained terrible things happened, 2. attacks on women, 90% of the accused were women, patriarchal society, persecuting witches was a way to deal with women who did not have husbands to control them, 3. puritans, puritan ministers encouraged persecution to get rid of magical beliefs, Essex a hot bed of witchcraft was a highly puritan area
What was the galleries?
was a covered raised area of seating entry was 6 pence
what was the yard?
where the poor stood (known as groundlings) to watch plays entry was one penny
what was the stage?
was raised and jutted out into the center of the theatre
