THE ELIZABETHAN AGE

The English Elizabethan Era is one of the most fascinating periods in the History of England. The Elizabethan Era is named after the

greatest Queens of England - Queen Elizabeth I. The Elizabethan Era is not only famous for the Virgin Queen but also for the era itself -

Great Explorers, such as Sir Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh. The era of the very first Theatres in England - William Shakespeare, the

globe Theatre and Christopher Marlowe!

ELIZABETHAN ERA

WHO WAS ELIZABETH I?

Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called "The Virgin Queen", "Gloriana" or "Good Queen Bess", Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The daughter of Henry VIII, she was born into the royal succession, but her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed two and a half years after her birth. Under her rule England prospered, became a major power, encouraged the Arts and great literature by William Shakespeare, John Donne, Christopher Marlowe and Sir Edmund Spenser. Great explorers discovered new lands such as Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Richard Greenville. It was the Golden Age of England. Queen Elizabeth had lived a long life but her health was declining. Queen Elizabeth I died on 24 March 1603 (of blood poisoning) - she was nearly70 years of age. Arguably the greatest monarch that ever ruled England.

The Elizabethan Education- Grammar schools were available to the Middle classes. The development of printing produced more books and cheap pamphlets which were in the reach of most Englishmen. Between 1550 and 1570 many of England's famous schools and colleges were founded.

ELIZABETHAN LIFE

The Elizabethan Religion- The two major religions in Elizabethan England were the Catholic and Protestant religions. The convictions and beliefs in these different religions were so strong that they led to the executions of many adherents to both of these Elizabethan religions.The Elizabethan Medicine and Illnesses- Elizabethan Medicine was extremely basic in an era when terrible illnesses such as the Bubonic Plague (Black Death ) were killing nearly one third of the population. The underlying cause of many of the Elizabethan illnesses was the lack of sanitation, especially in large towns or cities such as London. There were open sewers in the streets which were also filled with garbage. This was occasionally removed and waste was dumped into the nearest river such as the Thames. Diseases were easily spread in this unsanitary environment where fleas, lice and rats all flourished. There was no running water, this was obtained from water pumps ( a main cause of the spread of typhoid ).

Elizabethan Women's Clothing - gowns, hats, corsets, underwear, collars, ruffs and shoes. Elizabethan Men's Clothing - doublets, breeches, underwear, collars, ruffs, hats and shoes.The Hair styles, Make-up, Jewelry and even suitable Wedding Dress has also been included. But the most alien concepts of the Elizabethan era was that, regardless of their wealth, Elizabethans were not allowed to wear what clothes they liked. Their clothing and items of apparel were dictated by the Elizabethan Sumptuary Laws which governed the style and materials worn!

The meaning of colors:• The symbolic meaning of the color red was of

fire and associated with power and importance - a color which stood out.

• The symbolic meaning of the color pink was joy and happiness.

• The color blue is closely associated with the state of servitude and was a popular color of clothes worn by servants.

• The symbolic meaning of the color yellow was renewal and hope.

• The symbolic meaning of the color green was renewal of life and nature.

THE ELIZABETHAN CLOTHES

THE ELIZABETHAN FOODElizabethan Food and Drink varied according to status and wealth. In the early Medieval era meat was a sign of wealth. But as the population rose, this was supported by improving agricultural techniques and inventions. The Elizabethan era also saw the introductions of different food from the New World.It was important that Elizabethan Food prepared for the nobility, especially for feasts and banquets had a great visual effect. Elizabethans enjoyed a variety of serving methods, colors and various 'props'. Peacocks were reared for consumption but their feathers were used to decorate cooked foods. Strange and unusual shapes were used in food presentation.

Elizabethan food was prepared by several cooking methods:Spit roastingBakingBoilingSmokingSaltingFried

THE ELIZABETHAN ENTERTAINMENT

Elizabethan Entertainment was extremely important to people who lived in the Elizabethan era. The lives of Elizabethans were hard, the mortality rate was high due to frequent outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague and life expectation was low. Elizabethan entertainment was popular whenever there was something to celebrate! A betrothal, wedding, victories and festivals. Court entertainment was regular, often a nightly occurrence combined with feasts, jousts and banquets often accompanied by music and dancing.

Types of Elizabethan Entertainment:There were many different types of Elizabethan Entertainment many of which are detailed as follows:

• Feasts - A large, elaborately prepared meal, usually for many persons and often accompanied by court entertainment. Often celebrated religious festivals

• Banquets - A ceremonial dinner honoring a particular guest• Fairs - The Annual Summer Fair was often a bawdy affair• Plays - Starting as plays enacted in town squares followed by the

actors using the courtyards of taverns or inns ( referred to as Inn-yards ) followed by the first theatres ( great open air amphitheaters built in the same style as the Roman Coliseum ) and then the introduction of indoor theatres called Playhouses

• Mystery Plays - Re-enacting stories from the Bible• Festivals - Celebrating Church festivals• Dancing - Elizabethan dances enjoyed by the Upper Classes,

Royalty and Nobility included the Cinque-pace, Galliard, Pavane, Roundel, Tordion and the Volta

• Jousts / Tournaments - A series of tilting matches between knights• Games and Sports - Sports and games which included archery,

bowling, cards, dice, hammer-throwing, quarter-staff contests, quoits, skittles and wrestling

• Animal Sports - Including Bear and Bull baiting. Dog and Cock fighting

• Hunting - Sport followed by the nobility often using dogs• Hawking - Sport followed by the nobility with hawks

A Elizabethan Tournament was a series of mounted and armored combats,

fought as contests, in which a number of combatants compete and the one that

prevails through the final round or that finishes with the best record is declared

the winner and is awarded the prize.

Elizabethan Tournaments

Elizabethan Bear & Bull Baiting

THE ELIZABETHAN SPORTS

Bull baiting was a contest in which trained bulldogs attacked tethered bulls. The bull, with a rope tied round the root of his horns, would be fastened to a stake with an iron ring in it, situated in the center of the ring. The rope was about 15 feet long, so that the animal was confined to a space of 30 feet diameter. The owners of the dogs stood round this circle, each holding their dog by its ears, and when the sport began, one of the dogs would be let loose. The bull was baited for about an hour. Bull-Baiting and Bear-Baiting was extremely similar, except that Bull-Baiting was more common in England due to the scarcity and cost of bears.

THE ELIZABETHAN MUSIC

Elizabethan Street MusicThe Medieval era of travelling minstrels and troubadours had passed with the coming of the bubonic plague. Strangers and travellers were looked upon with fear and suspicion. Travelling was discouraged by the Elizabethan government and licenses were required for any type of travel. Street, tavern and theatre musicians replaced the travelling minstrels. Wealthy Elizabethans hired musicians to play during dinner. Elizabethan street music was played at weekly markets and the occasional fairs. Elizabethan Feasts, Fairs and Festivals were all common occurrences and were celebrated during specific times of the year (most of which were dictated by the Church and religious festivals.) The instruments played to provide Elizabethan  Street music were light and easily carried. They included fiddles, the lute, recorders and small percussion instruments. The songs and ballads sang by the street musicians were the traditional favorites - a far cry from the sophisticated and refined music of the Elizabethan court.

Elizabethan Town Music - the 'Waits'There were official musicians in the large English towns who were called the Waits, equivalent to a town band. The Waits dated back to the early medieval era when they accompanied town watch. The Waits were supplied with high-pitched pipes or hautboys (similar to the modern oboe). These pipes became known as Waits Pipes and were first used to sound alarms. The role of the Waits gradually evolved into groups of musicians employed by the towns. The Waits were expected to compose and play music for important town and civic ceremonies and occasions. The Elizabethan Waits therefore provided free concerts for everyone, financed by the town. 

Elizabethan Church MusicElizabethan Church music was beautiful. Many of the Elizabethan composers not only composed music for the court but also the church. Elizabethan composers for the voice made use of two distinct styles which were called the Madrigal and the Ayer. The emergence of the madrigal ensured that ‘England first became sophisticated in the ways of Continental music.’ The early 1500's saw the high point of the unique English liturgical style. Church music included canzonets, ballets, madrigals and ‘sacred songs’. The style of Elizabethan church music is described as choral polyphony (polyphonic, counterpoint, contrapuntal), meaning more than one part. Thomas Tallis and William Byrd ( organist of the Chapel Royal ) were the chief Elizabethan composers of Elizabethan Church music providing the new Protestant Church of England with a wealth of Hymns that are still played today.

THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRE

The history of the theater is fascinating. How plays were first produced in the yards of inns - the Inn-yards. The very first theater and the development of the amphitheater! The Elizabethan Entrepreneurs ( the men with the ideas and the money!). The building, design and construction of a London Elizabethan Theatre. The plays, the playwrights, the politics and the propaganda all play an important part in the history of the Elizabethan Theatre. The Elizabethan Theatre was a booming business. People loved the Theatre! The Elizabethan plays and theatres were as popular as the movies and cinemas of the early 20th century. Vast amounts of money could be made! The inn-keepers increased their profits by allowing plays to be shown on temporary stages erected in the yards of their inns (inn-yards). Soon purpose-built playhouses and great open theatres were being constructed.