Lifestyles of the Rich and Poor (ER)

Question 1

How many lived on the edge of starvation?

Answer 1

20-30%

Question 2

Who were the Nobles of Lords?

Answer 2

Great Landowners, earned £6000 per year

Question 3

Who was the Gentry?

Answer 3

Lesser landowners, earned £200

Question 4

Who were wealthy merchants and preofessionals?

Answer 4

Merchants: Bought and sold goods
Professionals: Middle class like doctors and clergy

Question 5

Who were Yeoman?

Answer 5

Owned property with a few servants

Question 6

Who were the Tenant Farmers?

Answer 6

Rented 10-30 acres of land

Question 7

Who were Cottagers?

Answer 7

Small gardens and small-scale industries

Question 8

Who were Skilled Artisans?

Answer 8

Men with a trade

Question 9

State the hierarchy in Elizabethan Society

Answer 9

Monarch
Nobles and Lords
Gentry
Wealthy Merchants//Professionals
Yeoman
Farmers
Cottagers//Skilled Artisans
Landless, unskilled labourers

Question 10

What did the dissolution of the monasteries do to certain land?

Answer 10

It freed up large areas for the rich to build houses on

Question 11

How did the improved houses of the rich differ from before?

Answer 11

Before:
They were made of stone and had been built mainly for defense to protect them from attack
They were poorly lit by narrow windows and wooden shutters, no glass
Great Hall was used for eating, working, entertaining and sleeping
Now:
Styled in the shape of an E or H
New building materials like brick allowed for the introduction of chimneys
Windows were made of glass and were large
Large fireplaces, lower ceilings (geometric patterns)
Timber framework with wattle and daub
Great Hall was used as the servants’ dining room or as a formal event venue

Question 12

What was the long gallery?

Answer 12

Provided an area for the owners to exercise in bad weather, listen to music, dance and an area for children to play games

Question 13

Name 3 of Elizabeth’s mansion houses

Answer 13

Hardwick Hall
Burghley House
Longleat House

Question 14

What were gardens used for before and after the remodelling?

Answer 14

Before: Primarily used for providing food
After: Pleasure purposes, food, geometric flower beds with paths spaced between them

Question 15

Name clothing of the nobleman fashion

Answer 15

Doublet
Stiffened ruff
Breeches
Stockings
Jerkin
Leather shoes

Question 16

Name clothing of the Elizabethan lady fashion

Answer 16

Petticoat
Gown
Stockings
Ruffs
Jewellery
Leather shoes

Question 17

What was the education of the rich?

Answer 17

Men: classic languages, hunting, hawking
Women: Singing, dancing, managing a household

Question 18

What was the education of the gentry?

Answer 18

Men: grammar schools, universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, careers in the church or in law
Women: how to manage house and staff

Question 19

What was clothing of the rich made of?

Answer 19

Silks, satins, velvets, lace

Question 20

Name features of the homes of the poor

Answer 20

Small homes
Huge families in one room (often shared with animals)
Earth floors
Thatched roofs

Question 21

What was the working day like for the poor?

Answer 21

Worked from around 5am to 5pm

Question 22

What was education like for the poor?

Answer 22

Little to no education, many were illiterate

Question 23

What was clothing like for the poor?

Answer 23

Practical opposed to fashionable
Didn’t own many clothes
Made from wool or leather

Question 24

What were the causes of poverty?

Answer 24

Rising inflation
Bad harvests (especially in 1556, 1596 and 1597)
Changes in farming methods
Rack-renting
Rural depopulation
Dissolution of the monasteries
Costly wars
Changes in the cloth industry

Question 25

How did changes in farming methods contribute to poverty?

Answer 25

Farmers switched from farming crops to keeping sheeps and enclosed common land, led to the unemployment of labourers

Question 26

How did rising population contribute to poverty?

Answer 26

Rise in population from 2.7 million in the 1540s to 4.1 million in 1601, higher demand for food, houses, jobs, etc

Question 27

Why did unemployed soldiers pose a threat?

Answer 27

They kept their weapons and could attack or threaten people for money

Question 28

What was the impotent poor?

Answer 28

Vagrants that were unable to work

Question 29

What was the able-bodied poor?

Answer 29

Vagrants that were able to work but unwilling

Question 30

Name 3 types of vagrants

Answer 30

Hooker/Angler
Doxy
Abraham man

Question 31

What was a hooker/angler?

Answer 31

Vagrant that carried a long wooden stick and stole items by reaching through windows with stick and sold them later

Question 32

What was a doxy?

Answer 32

A woman who would pretend to knit something in a bag, she would steal chickens by feeding them bread and carry them away in the bag

Question 33

What was an Abraham man?

Answer 33

Man that pretended to be mad, hoping that people would give them money through pity

Question 34

How did the poor laws help society?

Answer 34

Reduced threat of rebellion/unrest
Remained for 200 years
Government took responsibility for the poor
(Despite this, poverty still rose)

Question 35

What was the 1598 Poor Law?

Answer 35

1598 Act for Relief of the Poor: Overseers appointed to supervise the poor
1598 Act of Punishment for Rogues: Vagabonds banned from begging

Question 36

What was the 1601 Poor Law?

Answer 36

Legal framework to tackle poverty

Government realised they had responsibility towards the poor

Question 37

What was the 1563 Statute of Artificers?

Answer 37

Act that made it compulsory for boys to serve a 7 year apprenticeship

Question 38

What was the 1572 Vagabonds Act?

Answer 38

Act that punished vagrants such as whipping, boring through the ear and death penalty on 3rd offence

Question 39

What was the Act of Relief for the Poor?

Answer 39

JPs were to build 2 Houses of Correction in each county, those who refused were sent to the Houses of Correction