Elizabethan Era | Government, Religion, Way of Life (2024)

The Elizabethan Era is named after one of the greatest Queen’s of England – Queen Elizabeth I’s reign from 1558 – 1603.

See the fact file below for more information on the Elizabethan Eraor alternatively, you can download our 24-page Elizabethan Era worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Queen Elizabeth I

• Elizabeth I was born on September 7, 1533, the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
• When she was three years old, her mother was accused of adultery and incest (with her brother George Boleyn) and was beheaded at the Tower of London.
• When the king died, her older brother became King Edward VI who was soon replaced by their sister, Catholic Queen Mary I.
• Elizabeth became the queen at the age of 25 governing England with relative stability and prosperity for 44 years, from 1558 until her death in 1603.
• During her reign, Elizabeth I established Protestantism in England; leading to the persecution of the Roman Catholics and the Pope excommunicated the queen.
• However, this united her previously divided nation that helped create a new era called England’s Golden Age or Elizabethan England.
• She was able to avoid clashing with the superpower of the age, Spain, but eventually won against the Spanish during the infamous Spanish Armada in 1588.
• In the latter years of her reign, England’s hardship began from failed crops, unemployment, and inflation. Rebellions and riots also threatened the nation.
• They also never married so her death also marked the end of the house of Tudor — a royal family that had ruled England since the late 1400s.

Elizabethan Government

• The Elizabethan government was not without constant plots and conspiracies. She was targeted for assassination due to her religious affiliation. However, she survived all the plots.
• It was in her government that the English Navy was strengthened. Not only did it defeat the Spanish Navy, but also enabled the English fleet to prey on the Spanish merchant ships carrying gold and silver from the New World.
• Soon, the English monarchy looked into colonizing the New World. John Hawkins and Francis Drake were sent by the queen to pioneer large-scale colonisation.

Elizabethan Religion

• When Elizabeth ruled England, she immediately pronounced the immediate removal of the Catholic religion. Protestantism was reintroduced under her.
• The queen’s religious policies, such as the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity, consolidated the power of the church under her and regularized the practice of the faith.

Elizabethan Culture and the Arts

• Music in the Elizabethan Era also shifted in popularity from sacred to secular music and the rise of instrumental music. The queen herself loved dancing, music, and playing the lute. Well-known composers of this time were William Byrd, John Bull, John Dowland, Robert Johnson, John Taverner, etc.
• The painting was dominated by portraiture; in the form of miniatures, while elaborate textiles and embroidery dominated the decorative arts, and sculptures were usually found within the confines of tombs and architectural decoration.

Elizabethan Fashion

• In the Elizabethan Era, clothing was a sign of status. It dictated wealth and social status in the Elizabethan Class system.
• Elizabethan Sumptuary Statutes prohibit ‘excess of apparel’ to citizens who do not belong to a certain social hierarchy.
• For example, only earls could wear cloth of gold, or the eldest children have clothing privileges.

Elizabethan Pastimes

• Sports and leisure: The rich people in the Elizabethan era enjoyed tennis, fencing, jousting, and hunting through falconry and small games. Others preferred bear and bull-baiting, dog fighting, and co*ckfighting.
• Festivals and holidays:
  • Plough Monday – marks the beginning of the English agricultural year.
  • Candlemas – Christmas decorations were burned in candlelight and torchlight processions.
  • Shrove Tuesday – The day before Ash Wednesday where protestants participate in confession and absolution.
  • Others such as May Day, Midsummer, Lammastide, Michaelmas, St. Crispin’s Day, The Lord Mayor’s Show, Halloween, All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, and Accession Day.

Elizabethan Health and Diet

• The Elizabethan population had poor public sanitation. There were no sewers or drains and trash was thrown anywhere. Rodents and other pests thrived causing diseases such as smallpox, measles, malaria, typhus, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and chickenpox.
• Main cities suffered overpopulation as well so poverty and homelessness were quite common. The wealth gap was wide so only the richer families could send children to school, have better homes to live in, and have proper jobs.
• The availability of food was plentiful throughout the queen’s reign. However, diet still depended on social class. What was common in all households is that Elizabethan foods were usually cooked in an open flame. Pots, pans, cauldrons, and skillets were the common utensils used.

Elizabethan Architecture

• The era’s prosperity saw the rise of beautiful architecture that remains to this day.

Elizabethan Era Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Elizabethan Era across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching about the Elizabethan Era which is named after one of the greatest Queens of England – Queen Elizabeth I’s reign from 1558 – 1603.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

• Elizabethan Era Facts
• English Hierarchy
• The Golden Age
• Palace for a Queen
• Elizabethan Fashion
• Elizabethan Music
• Elizabethan Masques
• Elizabethan Recipes
• Shakespeare in the Era
• Becoming a Queen
• The Elizabeths

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Link will appear as - KidsKonnect, December 2, 2021