part 2: golden age Flashcards
(24 cards)
1
Q
structure within society
A
- queen at the top, responsible for governmental actions
- nobility (dukes, earls, lords), owned huge areas of land meaning wealth and power
- gentry (knight, JPs, MPs, become wealthy), growth of new group of wealthy people
- merchants, lived in towns and became wealthy through trade
- yeoman and tenant farmers, yeoman farmers owned lands, tenants rented
- craftspeople, labourers, servants
2
Q
elizabethan beliefs about the great chain of being
A
- believed god set out an order for everything
- god created a social order and chose where you belonged
- king/queen in charge as god put them there, only answerable to god so disobeying monarch was a sin
- kept people in their place
3
Q
describe nobility
A
- made up of richest people
- second only to the queen
- average income £6000 equivalent to £1 million
- had vast amounts of land passed down
- 14% of countries income was due to 1% of nobility
- born into or given title by queen
4
Q
describe gentry
A
- landlords of countryside
- lived on rents of their tenants
- did no manual labour
- filled important roles e.g JPs and MPs
- some had titles of knights
- lived in comfortable houses with servants, dominated house of commons
- not as wealthy or socially high class as nobility who descended from old, aristocratic families
- made money from trade as elizabethan england more stable
- grew as a result and became more powerful
5
Q
describe middling sort
A
- those who had more than poor but less than gentry
- houses may have chimneys, glass windows, number of rooms, two floors
- tradesman or craftsman in town who ran businesses or yeoman in countryside
- live a more comfortable existence
6
Q
why did the gentry become more powerful?
A
- tudors deliberately made nobility less powerful as they viewed them as a threat, so relied more on people from gentry to help run government
- gentry became richer by buying up land from monasteries after henry VIII dissolved them during reformation so rented out land and made money
- more trade and exploration, along with population growth and rising prices helped gain wealth
- spending of gentry helped create a new class of artists, writers, musicians and architects leading to a golden age
7
Q
describe the rise of the gentry
A
- before reign, almost all wealth held by nobility
- stability that Elizabethan period brought changed this
- people could make money from trade
8
Q
describe changing home of gentry
A
- no longer for defence based purposes but to display refined taste
- symmetrical with open courtyards unlike closed, secure ones
- lots of expensive glass displaying welath
- great chamber, not great hall
- number of rooms increased, increasing privacy
9
Q
how did gentry show off their wealth?
A
- education, number of children going to school increased, boys attended grammar schools before prestigious universities
- entertainment: held banquets, went hunting, visited theatre
- country houses
- fashion, fine clothes, white faces
10
Q
describe the importance of fashion
A
- clothes you wore reflected social status
- sumptuary laws passed to ensure people didn’t wear clothes above social rank
- rich elizabethans would buy expensive clothes made from luxurious materials
- important at royal court and courtiers spend vast amounts on clothes
11
Q
gentry fashions
A
- elaborate ruffs showed status for both
- decoration and jewellery showed high status
- trimmed beards showed a care in appearance
- tights and breaches
- expensive leather shoes
- sleeves, bodice, skirt, underskirt
- tiny waists
- white powdered face to show you didn’t work outside in fields
12
Q
design of the theatre
A
- uncovered pit where ordinary people stood to watch in noisy and exposed conditions
- similar to bear-baiting pits so if theatre wasn’t successful it could be converted to them
- no artificial lighting so plays held in afternoon
- social order kept in theatre with cheapest tickets for pit
- more expensive to watch from galleries, seated, covered areas for rich
- lord’s rooms most expensive seats
- trapdoors allowed dramatic entrances and exits
13
Q
why was the theatre so popular?
A
- cheap entrance fees so affordable
- new and exciting
- social event
- entertaining
- contemporary and relevant
14
Q
describe writers, actors and theatre troupes
A
- shakespeare successful playwright along with christopher marlowe
- play focused on themes of love, violence, magic, exploration, patriotism
- content of plays could influence thoughts of audience, form of propaganda
- acting an entirely male profession
- actors e.g richard burbage became very famous and would have parts written for them to play
- nobility invited actors to perform at country houses
- works performed by theatre troupes e.g lord chamberlain’s men
- elizabeth didn’t visited theatre but had actors visit her
15
Q
past attitudes to theatre and change
A
- actors considered to live immoral lives
- theatres outside of city walls
- by 1570s attitudes changed as gov thought it could be used to support social stability by providing entertainment for the poor
- by 1590s 150,000 were visiting the theatre a week
16
Q
james and richard burbage
A
- james was a carpenter and built ‘The Theatre’
- son was a famous actor
- leading member of Lord Chamberlain’s Men, played Hamlet and King Lear
17
Q
patrons
A
- someone who provided funding
- good way to impress queen who was fond of theatre
- Robert Dudley (Leicester’s Company) and Sir Francis Walsingham were patrons and had own theatre companies
18
Q
why was the theatre significant?
A
- showed how cultured elizabethan england was
- provided much needed entertainment to all
- gave elizabeth a valuable form of propaganda
- being a patron of theatre showed you were cultured and fashionable
- theatres controlled by monarch so held sway over content
- people who couldn’t read or write had an outlet after working
19
Q
opposition to the theatre
A
- fear of disease: beliefs that large gatherings would spread disease, closed for a time in 1593 due to fear of bubonic plague
- fear of crime: theatres had poor reputations so london authorities didn’t want them built inside city walls, seen as a place of immoral behaviour
- religion: puritans believed theatres were work of the devil, distraction from prayer, seen as sinful
- plots and rebellions: gov worried that large crowds could lead to plots or rebellions
20
Q
propaganda
A
- elizabeth and government controlled what was published
- people knew what elizabeth looked like from coins
- mystical images, expensive clothing and jewellery on her portraits
- any portraits she disliked were destroyed
21
Q
propaganda symbols
A
- heart: love for her people
- serpent: wisdom
- eyes/ears: sees/hears everything
- flowers: chastity and youth, still a capable queen
- rainbow: peace after a storm
- crown: truly a queen
- angel wings: messenger from god, heavenly knowledge
- pears: moon goddess
- long hair / low cut dress: virginity
- globe: power
22
Q
advances in the golden age
A
- theatre
- buildings
- literature
- exploration
23
Q
hidden secrets of golden age
A
- brutal blood sports popular
- life expectancy low
- used brutal punishments for crimes, public executions
- huge population divide, most barely survived
- astronomy, fate and alchemy popular
24
Q
positives of golden age
A
- many developments in science and technology
- importance of education recognised
- poems and plays
- portraits became popular
- breakthrough in navigation
