elizabethan - chapter 2.1 Flashcards
(66 cards)
what influenced the explosion of cultural achievement int eh elizabethan era
humanism in europe
how did the elizabethan golden age happen
- queen and court set fashions that were then copied by others
- londons population grew
- the gentry became more important
- gentry had disposable income and wanted to spend conspicuously in order to impress others and earn promotion
-> this meant that artists, builders, musicians and writers did well, as their work was in demand - the invention of the printing press meant new ideas could now spread at greater speed
- as new grammar schools and university colleges were set up the curriculum broadened and the english became better educated
what flourished during the elizabethan golden age
english literature, through poetry, prose and drama
-> affordable stories called ‘chap books’ were sold by street pedlars
when science started to develop in the elizabethan era, which areas of science were of great interest
planets
the workings of the human body
what was the gentry class
a group of people who did not work with their hands for a living, but did not belong too the titled nobility
what were the main reasons for the rise of the gentry
the tudors suspicion of the ‘old’ nobility
- the tudors had deliberately marginalised the nobles, who they saw as a threat, by granting very few new titles and excluding them from government
- this left a vacuum which the gentry filled and they became very powerful politically
- many of the key councillors promoted by elizabeth (eg. cecil, walsingham, hatton) came from the gentry class
- the gentry also dominated the house of commons, and they gained power locally through their work as Justices of the Peace
the dissolution of the monasteries by henry VIII
- the monasteries had owned about 1/4 of all land in england
- their dissolution had made more land available to buy than ever before
increasing wealth
- growth in trade and exploration, together with population growth, rising prices and enclosure, all helped many gentry families make their fortunes
- they were therefore able to use all their money to establish estates, to build grand houses and to educate themselves
what did the gentry’s money help happen during the golden age
helped to fuel the cultural achievements of elizabeth’s reign as they were keen to sponsor architectural, artistic, intellectual and literary endeavours, as this helped to affirm their new status in society
why did fashions change during the elizabethan golden age
the wealth of the gentry helped to drive the development of new clothing fashions
the wealthy used their money to buy expensive clothes int he latest styles
why was fashion so important
it was an important status symbol
what law was passed due to the importance of clothes
new Sumptuary Laws, called the Statutes of Apparel, were passed in 1574
-> these laws strictly controlled the clothes people were allowed to wear depending on their social rank
what was the period of building and new architecture ideas called
the ‘Great Rebuilding’
why were a lot of new houses built during the elizabethan golden age
to impress and host elizabeth while she was on progress
how did strong government impact the design of houses
residences no longer had to include defensive features, such as moats and drawbridges
decorative gardens could now be built
who was the leading architect during the golden age and what did he do
Robert Smythson
he was responsible for designing and building some of the most famous elizabethan houses, such as Longleat House in Wiltshire and Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire
what were new buildings often made of
stone or brick
what had rising food prices led to
increased profits for landowners
what were houses that used the latest styles
status symbols
what were elizabethan houses heavily influenced by
the Italian Renaissance architecture from places such as Florence
what did many elizabethan houses look like
architects focused on symmetry and size
many houses had intricate chimney stacks and expensive leaded glass in large mullioned windows
often houses were built with an ‘E’ shaped floor plan, perhaps in honour of the queen
however, many manor houses continued to be less classically influenced and built in a more functional style, such as the timber-framed Wattle-and-Daub Speke Hall near Liverpool and Churche’s Mansion in Cheshire
internally, how were new houses different from earlier designs
- the rooms were now very light, because of the extensive use of glass
- bedrooms were placed upstairs for the first time
- the medieval great hall was no longer popular
-> instead, elizabethan houses often had a long gallery on an upper floor, which was used for entertainment and to display art collections - downstairs, although there were still no corridors, the area was divided into separate rooms with their own windows and fireplaces, which gave families more privacy than they had previously had
- the houses were far more comfortable than before
-> decorative plasterwork ceilings, oak-panelled walls, impressive fireplaces, tapestries, libraries of books
what was the long gallery used for
entertainment and to display art collections
what was theatre like when elizabeth became queen
there were no theatres in the country
so-called mystery and miracle plays, based on Bible stories and the lives of saints, had been popular since the middle ages, but they ere performed on temporary platforms in open places, such as market squares and inn yards, not in permanent theatres
groups of actors would tour the country to perform, but the government did not like them
-> actors were thought to be a threat to law and order, and acting was not considered to be a respectable profession, with actors being thought of as no more than beggars
what law did the parliament pass about actors in 1572
passed a law that said actors were to be punished as vagabonds
which religious group strongly disapproved of the theatre and why
puritans
on religious grounds, associating it with the Ancient Romans and thinking it the work of the devil
