Everyday Life during the Elizabethan Era Essay

Sports, hunting and games were very well-liked in the Elizabethan Era. Although sports in the 1500’s were not baseball and basketball, like some our most popular, they did compete in many that we still do today. Some examples of these athletics are archery, hammer-throw, wrestling, and game ball, which is comparable to today's football or rugby. In addition, animal blood sports were played, which included bear baiting, bull baiting and more. The tournaments that the athletes participated in provided great entertainment for both upper-class and lower-class and typically lasted several days. One other common sporting activity in the Elizabethan Era was hunting. The nobles and upper-class naturally enjoyed hunting as a game or pastime. Multiple

The Elizabethan era, named for Queen Elizabeth who reigned from 1558-1603, was a very relaxed time in England because no wars or conflicts were happening at the time (Davis 231). Many people believe that all people lived wonderful lives in the Elizabethan era, yet most people were poor and lived hard lives. “Undeniably the span of life is shorter in the sixteenth century than it will be in subsequent ages” (Davis 162). Important parts of life in London during the Elizabethan era were social classes, living conditions, recreation, education, and gender inequality.

Although the wife brought materialistic items to the marriage, the husband was the one that had authority over it. A dowry was an amount of money, goods, and property that the bride will bring to the marriage. With the husband providing money for the home, “It was referred to as her marriage portion,” (Alchin, Linda. “Elizabethan Wedding Customs.¨) The husband was supposedly the ruler of the household and the wife was at a lower rank than him, causing her to face inequalities and religious customs at the time supported this treatment, (“Daily Life.”) The wife’s responsibilities were to run the household and care for the children, becoming the husband's property. When the dowry was brought into the marriage the husband automatically managed

In the Elizabethan period, women were subordinate to men. They were considered to be ‘inferior' beings who were controlled by their husbands, fathers or any other men in the family. Women were not allowed to hold their own opinions, views or lifestyles. Men had control of everything, some of these included money, politics, work, children, women and home.

The Elizabethan Era took place from 1558 to 1603. The Elizabethan era is also known as the Golden age and was during Elizabeth I reign. This epoch in English history witnessed many threats and changes in the tide of social, political and artistic life in England. This epoch was during the time of the Renaissance and was an age of exploration and expansion abroad. This was the last period before England joined a union with Scotland.

During the colonial period, the Elizabethan poor laws were adopted to address the social issue of poverty. Residency was a main factor in determining who was eligible for aid. Categories "worthy" and "unworthy" were set to determine who would qualify for assitance. Unfortunately the individuals in the "unworthy" category were the very individuals more in need of assistance.

An inspiring actress once said, “Weddings are important because they celebrate life and possibility”(Anne Hathaway). Weddings can either be a girl's most important day, or the most surprising. According to the Elizabethan era, they were a bit more surprising. In this era, these weddings were arranged with ceremonies, certain customs, and receptions. All while the bride was required to meet the standards of women in that society.

The Elizabethan Era is often referred to as the Golden Age of England (A Changing View...). The Elizabethan Era, named after Queen Elizabeth I, was a time of change and discovery (Elizabethan Superstitions). Elizabeth ruled in a time of religious turmoil; both the Catholics and Protestants fought to be the official religion of England. (Elizabethan World View). Many people throughout England struggled to find the “correct” religion (Elizabethan World View). Religion was changing and so did science. During the late 1500’s science began to evolve; new ideas, concepts, and beliefs were starting to emerge (A Changing View). Magic was considered to be very similar to science in this era. The belief in magical creatures served as the roots for

This article’s purpose is to express the danger of breaking the law in England. Most of the punishments of our time are deemed cruel and unusual. The death penalty can no longer be enacted in cases of theft or highway robbery. The following paragraphs will describe the various instruments of punishment (torture) of the period.

As theatre began shifting away from the political sphere in the Elizabethan period and focused more on comedic and tragic genres, playwrights were able to feature more intimate and domestic issues in their spectacles, but still regarded courtly settings as the appropriate setting

Getting married wasn't always a young girls dream during the Elizabethan Era. Once married, the woman lost all her rights as stated before, this limited her greatly as she had to obey her husband. A woman would be owned by her father and then passed on to her husband like property, not a human being. Queen Elizabeth I was reluctant to marry as she would have to obey her husband and he would rule England. Marry Queen of Scots- Elizabeth's cousin- had to obey her husband Lord Darnley. 'I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman;but I have the heart and stomach of a King'

Children were taught to always respect and obey their parents. The wealthy children, both boys and girls would be punished for any sort of bad behavior (“Elizabethan Family Life”). Whenever children misbehaved there was immediate discipline. The parents’ discipline was usually physical which included spanking (Stewart 28). This is unusual today because parents don’t physically punish their kids, it more of taking away privileges. “Elizabethan Family Life” points out that “the children were almost considered servants to the adults in the family.” According to many historians, children were treated as small adults instead of children (Stewart 28). The children were mature at a younger age than they are nowadays. Stewart adds that “Children were expected to be well behaved, especially in dealing with parents and other adults. Parents taught their children the proper forms of address such as ‘sir’ and ‘madam’ for person of a higher rank” (28). Stewart analyzes, “Most couples wanted children, if not for sentimental reasons then for economic ones. Even though it certainly cost more to expand the household, children could help out a great deal as they got older” (28). With a high death rate, an average woman was pregnant at least six times during her lifetime (Stewart 27). The love for children almost wasn’t shown like it is today; they were almost taken care of as property. When babies

The 1500’s play focuses more on marriage, as like teenage dating in this modern era, for the play’s intended audience, it was marriage that the Elizabethan era society was preoccupied on, and was something they felt they “had to do”. The difference between relationships and marriage is shown

Women and men’s role in Elizabethan society is completely different to modern society. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare shows exactly what the attitudes were like. For example, the scene when Katherina is fighting with her sister because Bianca has a number of suitors waiting for her but she refuses to tell Katherina which one she prefers. Katherina gets angry and aggressive towards Bianca because she doesn’t give her an answer, Katherina starts to attack Bianca. Their father enters into the room and says “For shame, thou hilding of a devilish spirit! Why dost thou wrong her that did ne’er wrong thee? When did she cross thee with a bitter word? Baptista is expressing why Katherina would

Elizabethan marriages were a very large ordeal involving not only the town but the families of both parties. The large ordeal was not only unnecessary but also very time consuming and stressful. Marriages, birth, and deaths were all the three cycles of life that were dealt with in the church (Evans 6-7). Marriages that were done by law and not church were not registered as there were no witnesses to the betrothal. Church marriages were common and proper as they would be recorded by the pastor (Harrison 1640). Fathers could get rid of their daughters by marrying them off or if he didn’t, when the daughter came of age, the parents would arrange a marriage for the young teenaged girl to a much older man (Evans 6-7). At fourteen, a child had been responsible for all their actions long ago and was now ripe with puberty and at thirty, a man could be financially stable enough to provide for a bride and any children she might bring. All the girl’s possessions would go to the man so wealthy women never remained single for long. If problems in the marriage arose, nothing could be done because the rules of the church stated that marriage lasted until the death of each party. Not only were marriages done without the age of both parties in mind, but marriages were not for love. Families married to carry on the family surname and increase possessions and