Elizabethan England: 1558-1603

Architecture- Hardwick Hall

1521

• 1521-1607
• Bess of Hardwick started her life relatively poor, married 4 times, and was the second most powerful woman in England
• Hardwick hall is famous for it's glass infrastructure
• English Rhyme- 'Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall'

Progresses

1533

Royal visits to nobility.
-Led to financial gain for Elizabeth as the nobility gifted her with luxurious things.
- Propaganda which allowed the rest of the country to see her forming bonds with influential members of society
- Also allowed her to gain support amongst nobility.

Privy Council

1533

• the committee of ministers appointed to advise the monarch
• Elizabeth used the rivalry between members, like that between Dudley and Cecil, to encourage her privy council to come up with good ideas

Patronage

1533

• the use of wealth, power and influence to promote individuals who then owe their patrons loyalty
• Gained influential support for Elizabeth
• Quieted the nobility that had issues with her legitimacy as the monarch

Second Act of Succession

1536

• Declared Elizabeth to be illegitimate heir to throne, following Henry VIII's marriage to Jane Seymour

Anne Boleyn

May 19, 1536

• Mother to Elizabeth I
• Henry VIII created Church of England, a Protestant church, which caused England to be excommunicated
• Reformation sparked anger in country, people questioned Elizabeth's legitimacy
• Anne Boleyn executed on basis of adultery, witchcraft and treason
• Elizabeth seen as bastard child, with no real right to the throne in some peoples eyes

Seymour's Execution

1549

• charged for treason after outrageous flirtation scandal with Elizabeth, siblings in law

Literature

1550

• The Elizabethan Age was influenced by Elizabeth's actions, image, and court atmosphere • Elizabeth was a major patron of the stage, leading to the flourishing of drama • The first blank verse tragedies appeared in the 1560s, establishing an art form still heavily studied today. • The Privy Council, citing Elizabeth's love for plays, prevented this, allowing theatre closures during epidemics. • Elizabeth opposed shutting down theatres, allowing companies to practice before bringing them to her.

Poverty crisis

Period: 1550 to 1600

• rural poor - 7/8 in a small thatched cottage, one room, limited work, work day was dawn to sunset, 4 pence a day - enough for a loaf of bread, some meat, ale ( water was contaminated).
• hierarchy - yeomen ---> husbandmen- --> labourers
• urban poor - 1/2 population under 22, lots of crime and violence (more in a closer area, rich and poor closer together), penalty for any crime was death (5 methods), market once a week, people payed for others to light their fires.

Attitudes to the poor

Period: 1550 to 1600

• Impotent poor - unable to provide for themselves as they were too young, ill, old
• Idle poor - 'threat' to society, dishonest, 'vagabonds', too lazy to find work, 'Anglers', 'Clapperdudgeons', 'doxy', 'counterfeit cranks'

Local + Elizabeth's response to poverty

Period: 1550 to 1600

• Alms (charity) given to poor
• Almshouses (Workhouses, places to live), Hospitals
• Censuses carried out
• E refused to believe it was a National issue
• E carried out a recoinage which slowed inflation for a bit

Causes of Poverty

Period: 1550 to 1600

• population rose by 43% 1550-1560
• bad harvests
• many fled to cities which led to rack renting - led to evictions etc.
• closure of monasteries - used to be a key source of charity
• enclosure (privatisation of land) - people couldn't provide for themselves
• decline of cloth trade
• all led to inflation (exacerbated by Henry VIII reducing value of coinage to pay for wars)

Bloody Mary

1553

• After Lady Jane Grey, burning 300 Protestants in 5 years
• negotiated marriage with Philip II as heirless aside from Elizabeth, provoking 1554 Wyatt's rebellion
• Elizabeth in house arrest at Hatfield
• died in November, 1558

Accession of Elizabeth

1559

• took over after death of Mary Tudor
• coronation in Westminster Abbey, 15th January, 1559

Act of Supremacy

1559

• re-established England's break from Rome
• title of Supreme Governor rather than Supreme Head, pacifying Catholics?
• all clergy swore oath to her
• episcopal structure of churches maintained, retaining bishops + archbishops

Act of Uniformity

1559

• established Anglican church values, to prevent Catholic-Protestant fights
• Protestant, English, Book of Common Prayer created
• Catholic Mass, pilgrimages, saints' images banned
• Vestments to be worn by Protestants, ornaments allowed at table

Art

1560

• Elizabeth I's court painter, Nicholas Hilliard, was known for his miniature paintings. • Hilliard's style, influenced by Hans Holbein the Younger, focused on distinctive line and reduced shadow. • His Portrait of a Young Man, presumably Robert Devereux, showcased intricate patterning and fine line. • Portrait miniatures were highly personal, often depicting lovers or mistresses. • Isaac Oliver, who studied under Hilliard, became influential painters of miniature portraits.

Mary in Scotland

1561

• returns to Scotland during its Protestant Reformation
• had been brought up Catholic in France
• therefore at odds with her own people

Succession Crisis: Possible Heirs

1561

• Catherine Grey: Elizabeth was going to make her her heir until Catherine married without her permission
  • Imprisoned in the tower where she died
• Mary Stuart: Catholic (Elizabeth tried marrying her to Dudley to get her under control but Mary refused), biggest threat to Elizabeth's reign

Thirty-Nine Articles

1563

• published by John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury
• suspended 300 ministers due to mixed opinions over Elizabethan church
• forcing all clergy to accept existence of bishops and New Prayer Book

Statute of Artificers

1563

• wage limits on skilled workers
• An attempt to slow inflation

Causes of Spanish Armada

1566

Religious differences - Philip II was a devout catholic who saw E as a Heretic who shouldn't be on the throne and conquering England to restore Catholicism was a just cause. Pope and Philip working together
Rebellion in the Netherlands
Privateers angered the Spanish
Mary's execution last straw for Philip
Treaty of Joinville 1584

Nertherlands rebellion

1566

• increased hatred of Spain in England.
• Protestant cause failing - Spanish government crushing rebellion
• rebel leader William 'the silent' assassinated
• Treaty of Nonsuch 1585 - England + dutch rebels, essentially official war

Seminary Priest School

1568

• William Allen founded school in Netherlands
• for training seminary priests to go back to England as Catholic missionaries

Mary in England

1568

• arrived in Cumberland in May
• Elizabeth kept her in isolated North, house arrest
• Carlisle Castle, Bolton Castle

Northern Rebellion

1569

• most senior English noble, Duke of Norfolk, enlisted help of Dudley and Throckmorton
• conspirators rang church bells at Brancepeth and got 5000 rebels to illegally have Mass in Durham Cathedral in November
• rebellion collapsed due to lack of international help (Spanish disliked pro-French Mary) and help from English Catholic nobility

Excommunication

1570

• Pope Pius V passed bull excommunicating England from Catholic Church
• English Catholics no longer required to obey Queen

Thomas Cartwright

1570

• gave lectured at University of Cambridge, calling for abolition of bishops
• many Protestant dissatisfied with middle way, influenced by Calvinist ideas

The Treason Act

1571

• acknowledging bull of communication punishable by death
• Elizabeth threatened by many Catholic plots
• to prevent seminary priests, land confiscated from those that left country for over 6 months

The Ridolfi Plot

1571

• since Elizabeth excommunicated by Pope now, English Catholics free to rebel
• Philip II to send Duke of Alba with 6000 troops to prompt rebellion and assassinate Elizabeth
• Duke of Norfolk to marry Mary to secure throne
• Duke of Norfolk hanged, 1572, Tower or London, Elizabeth refused to sign Mary's death warrant

St Bartholomew's Day Massacre

1572

• thousands of French Protestants supposedly killed by Catholic government
• worsening Anglo-Spanish relations
• Jesuit threat developing in 1580s, priests dedicated to serving Pope

Puritan Oppositon

1572

• two Puritan printing presses destroyed after critical-of-Anglican-values pamphlets published

Statute of Apparel- Fashion

1574

• dated 15 June 1574, aimed to regulate personal spending on luxuries like clothing.
• Dress codes dictated colors and fabrics based on social rank and wealth.
• Restrictions were placed on various fabrics including gold, velvet, silks, furs, damask, buttons, and swords.
• Other laws, like compulsory woollen cap wearing, were passed to boost textile industries.
- Gentry were gaining wealth, and Elizabeth wanted to make nobility exclusive

Music

1575

• Thomas Tallis and William Byrd granted a 21-year monopoly for polyphonic music and a patent to print and publish music • They were the only ones allowed to use the paper used in music printing • They used the patent to produce a joint publication, Cantiones que ab argumento sacrae vocantur, dedicated to the Queen • The Renaissance introduced new musical instruments • Music was taught in schools and universities, and playing a musical instrument was essential at Queen Elizabeth's court

The Inn Yards

1576

• Traveling actors performed in inn-yards, with temporary stages for actors to move between venues.
• No purpose-built theatres until 1576 when James Burbage built 'The Theatre' in Shoreditch, London.
• The Lord Chamberlain's Men used the theatre from 1594 to 1596, marking the beginning of the Elizabethan Theatre's history.

Recognised third class of poor

1576

• legislation prevented them from being lazy
• beggars were whipped, sent to the House of Correction, hung

Architecture - The Great Rebuilding

1577

• The introduction of chimneys and glazed windows in lower scale houses.
• Lighter, cleaner houses with more private space were becoming popular.
• Merchants and artisans built storey upon storey within borough walls, often living over the shop.
• Timber-framing was popular, despite fire risks.
• Wealthy houses featured tall, decorative chimneys and huge windows.
• Renaissance influence was mainly in classical details, such as columns beside doors and niches.

Edmund Campion execution

1581

• Jesuit arrived in England 1580
• Nicholas Owen, Catholic carpenter, responsible for building priest holes in homes to help conceal him in 'safe houses'
• located by Walsingham's spy network and executed in Tower of London, pursuivants

Recusancy Fine

1581

• raised to £20, very few could afford, although Pope forbidding Catholics to go to church
• 10% Catholic sympathisers, only 2% recusants

The Throckmorton Plot

1583

• French invasion backed by Spanish and Papal money to invade England
• Mary to be freed from house arrest
• Jesuits and seminary priests to have uprising
• Walsingham's spy network discovered and tracked 6 months in advance
• 1584, Bond of Association and Throckmorton execution
• Walsingham seeking anti-Mary evidence

Succession Crisis: Francis, Duke of Alencon

Jun 10, 1584

• Francis, Duke of Alencon: Catholic (did not mind Protestantism), anti-Protestant attack (St Bartholomew's Day Massacre- 1572) in France dashed hopes of marriage/ approved by courtiers (Cecil), favourite of Elizabeth (her frog), good alliance with France

Act Against Jesuits and Seminary Priests

1585

• being a priest is now treason
• all priests ordered to leave England on pain of death in 40 days

The Babington Plot

1586

• Mary's secret correspondence with Sir Babington, a recusant, during house arrest since 1585 in Chartley Hall
• plot to kill Elizabeth, free Mary, re-establish Catholicism
• Walsingham intercepted letters
• September, Babington hung, drawn and quartered

Mary's execution

1587

• 1586, Mary eloquently argued for herself in trial
• Elizabeth refused to sign death warrant until rumours of her escape to Wales in February, 1587
• council sealed warrant without consulting Elizabeth
• Elizabeth appalled at regicide, opposition from Spain, France, Scotland, tried to maintain innocence
• Mary seen as Catholic martyr

Spanish Armada tactics

1588

Crescent shape to surround British ships, larger ships on the outside
Philip had lots of resources compared to E - untrained armies, 34 battleships, 200 in total
E's ships were lighter, faster, more manoeuvrable, also used light and accurate long range guns to attack from a safe distance while Spain relied on short range attacks
Fireships at Calais, in July - drifted into the Spanish ships, didn't actually set any on fire but instilled fear, the ships scattered.

Spanish Armada events

1588

Lisbon -> Corunna -> past Plymouth -> Calais -> Gravelines -> around Scotland and Ireland Gravelines - England had advantage as broken Spanish formation. Spanish guns were poorly designed. English didn't lose a ship, disaster for Spanish - 1000 lives, 5 ships were lost, many more were badly damaged. Elizabeth's Tilbury speech Spanish fleet were unable to meet Parma's troops in Netherlands so gave up. Estimated 20000 Spaniards were killed, military failure

Aftermath of Spanish Armada

1588

Humiliating defeat
Good propaganda for E, National pride boosted, Protestantism preserved.
Weather - a sign of God's approval of protestantism.
Established E as a naval power and demonstrated importance of guns in sea battles.
War continued on, E launched an unsuccessful Armada in 1589, Philip launched two more in 1596 + 97, both driven back by storms.
E continued help to Dutch rebels and attacking Spanish ships.
P aided a rebellion in Ireland
Huge strain on economy, neither side really won

Succession Crisis: Robert Dudley

Sep 4, 1588

• Robert Dudley: suspicion he murdered his wife to marry Elizabeth, much poorer with no rank, son and grandson of traitors/ privy councillor, trusted childhood friend of Elizabeth

Succession Crisis: Charles of Austria

Jul 10, 1590

• Charles of Austria: neither wanted to move countries, Catholic, unpopular/ good alliance

Act Against Seditious Sectaries

1593

• suspected radical Separatists, eg, Brownists, executed by government
• disrespectful pamphlets (Puritan) being published since 1589

Poor Law

1597

• Everyone had to pay a local poor rate
• amended in 1601 to recognise third class of poor and provide workhouses
• First time govt. took responsibility, believed to be ahead of their time
• decision to pass the laws was a political move as it reduced the possibility of rebellion

Irish Rebellion

1598

• Earl of Essex makes peace with Lord of Tyrone against Elizabeth's wishes

Act on Husbandry and Tillage

1598

Attempt to protect local jobs and slow enclosure

Succession Crisis: Philip II of Spain

Sep 13, 1598

• Elizabeth had many suitors who threatened her power over the country, notably
  • Philip II of Spain: previously married to Mary, devout Catholic (risk of Elizabeth's Middle Way being compromised), idea of their marriage caused rebellion/ England would gain a foreign ally