section 5 Flashcards
what did industrial britain think about the elizabethan period
nostalgia, ‘Merry England’
a golden age
what did industrial people imagine about the golden age
fine clothes, plenty of food, everyone got on well, cultural achievements- Shakespeare- enjoyed by all
sport in elizabethan england
football- played on streets between villages, most popular
bear-baiting- spectators bet on a pack of dogs attacking a tied up bear (widespread)
all saints days- Parish Ales
festivals of drinking, eating and dancing that lasted several days
christmas
eating, drinking, carol singing
lasted 12 days
May Day
danced around the maypole and watched plays
Harvest home
celebrated when all the crops had been harvested at the end of August
The alehouses (pubs)
Most common passtime for labouring poor and middling sort was drinking beer with friends
Places of gambling and prostitution
who were responsible for a decline in passtimes
puritan ministers who wanted people to live a purer christian life
how did Puritan ministers clamp down on popular passtimes
preaching sermons attacking festivities like parish ales
persuaded JPs to ban maypoles and introduce licences for selling ale
why did puritans want less pastimes- protecting the sabbath
Believed Sunday should be reserved for prayer, not drinking and dancing
why did puritans want less pastimes- stopping pagan practices
traditions such as May Day were pagan not christian
believed this distracted from christian religion
why did puritans want less pastimes- preventing violent disorder
crowds at festivities often became drunk and violent
not christian behaviour
why did puritans want less pastimes- preventing sex outside marriage
dancing and drinking at festivals such as May Day could lead to the sin if sex outside of marriage
what did elizabethans believe about witches
- could preform magic to cure illness, control the actions of others or recover stolen goods
- witches power came from devil
- have familiars: animals- cats and toads , which assisted their evil acts
1563 law against witchcraft
- death by hanging for using witchcraft to kill
- prison for damage to property
how many cases were there of witchcraft in 1580s
166
what happened to the number of cases of witchcraft during elizabeths reign
increased in the later years
how many cases of witchcraft were there in Essex in elizabeths reign
172
reasons for the persecution of witches- tension between villagers
- power for the powerless- explains confessions of witch craft
- lots of unexplained terrible things happen
reasons for the persecution of witches- attacks on women
- 90% accused of witchcraft were women
- patriarchal society- deal with women with no husbands to control them
reasons for the persecution of witches- puritans
- ministers encouraged persecution to get rid of magical beliefs
- Essex (lots of accusations) was a highly puritan area
how many theatres when Elizabeth became queen in 1558
none
where did actors preform when they toured the country
alehouses and parish ales
