Eliz Society Flashcards
Changes in Soc- Nobles
No dukedoms created after 1572
Indulged in massive house-building projects
Less opportunity to fulfil a military role
Changes in Soc- gentry
Growth in numbers
Landed incomes incr
Changes in Soc- bulk of population
Growing mercantile and professional classes in towns; with political influence; sometimes bought landed estates and entered ranks of gentry
Some families ‘married up’ incr Soc mobility
Widening gap between rich and poor (60% of pop at or below poverty line)
Decline in real wages
Incr in landless poor
Social discontent and rebellions
Mostly a period of Soc stab
Still relig div especially after excom
1570 led to intro of recusancy laws in 1593 who ref to go to Anglican services
Econ discontent led to sporadic riots. The ‘Oxfordshire rising’ 1596 provoked by high food prices… led by 4 men who seized weapons + marched on London
Resp harshly
Northern rebellion
1569-70
Took place mainly in Durham and the N Riding in Yorkshire 1569… subsequent rising in Cumberland in 1570
Reasons for Northern rebellion
Religious- north were more religiously conservative than the south and dislike the Elizabethan settlement
The presence of MQS in Eng gave hopes for an alternative future
Econ- the N was economically deprived, breeding resentment
Political- leaders resented their exclusion from their trad aristocratic role in the North
2 conspiracies that came together… court conspiracy- courtiers e.g Leicester that are ag the infl of Cecil want MQS put in suc to minimise threat
Earls MQS in suc, remove Cecil + reinstate RC’ism
Course of Northern rebellion
3800 foot soldiers, 1600 cavalry
Took Barnard castle
Suffered from a lack of objectives, disorganisation and poor leadership, did not gain mass support or foreign support.
The crown sent a force… earls disbanded to Scot
Restarted w/ 3000 troops near Carlisle but Rebs lose + flee again
Consequences of N’ern Reb
Govt ordered mass exec of the Rebs… N’lands 1572, w’morland exiled to sp N’lands… eliz ordered for 700 exec, MacCulloch says ev for approx 450 exec
Crown took over Rebs land
Reb revealed the gov’s lack of comprehension of the differences between N + S and of probs managing localities
Council of N reconstituted in 1572 under the E of Huntingdon (outsider owed infl to eliz)
Crown mostly relied on lord lieutenants and JPs who took resp for def and order
What ensured that arts thrived?
The patronage of queen, courtiers, nobility and gentry ensured art thrived
Many of the arts celebrated the virgin queen, play, paintings and literature became propaganda for eliz
Incr educational opportunities
Led to the emergence of a literate audience
Around 30 grammar schools created in eliz’s reign and incr amount of noblemen attended oxford and Cambridge- not nec to acquire a degree but perfect their cultural education
Paintings
Miniature paintings- the most distinctive feature of Elizabethan paintings, influential paintings included Hilliard and Oliver
Portrait painting- remained imp (sitters incl the queen, courtiers, and membs of gentry and mercantile classes)
Drama + Literature
Public theatres such as the globe and the swan competed for plays by dramatists such as Shakespeare and Marlowe, who also had plays performed at Court theatre companies e.g Lord Chamberlain’s men (for whom Shakespeare wrote), enjoyed the support of courtiers
Prose and poetry- prose literature less widely read, many Puritan’s read Foxe’s ‘Book of Martyrs’
Two most important writers were Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser. Sidney aimed to modernise the eng language; he also revived the sonnet in eng poetry
Music
Religious music- preserved by eliz in the face of prot reform, church music reformed by Tallis and Byrd (Byrd also composed in secret for cath patrons)
Secular music- flourished, especially at court incl madrigals e.g by Morley and Welles- notably the 1601 ‘Triumph of Oriana’ honouring the queen
Popular music- instrumental music and song thrived, official bands in many towns, ballad and drinking songs = pop
Country house building
Architects become more important
State of society by 1603
Remained Soc divided, w/ huge differences in living standards between the wealthy few and poor majority.
Nobility was subject to taxation, most ppl could be fed
The lives of the poor were still dependent on weather, orders and taxation demands from central gov and the localities
