Elizabethan Era: Superstitions The topic I chose was “superstitions”. When I started my research I had no idea that some of our superstitions are a copy of their superstitions. I never our superstitions weren’t just made up by us overnight, but I did not realize how much our superstitions originated from the Elizabethan Era. In researching this paper, I learned where some of our superstitions came from, some new superstitions, and some explanation for some superstitions, that make you stop and think. We’re going to start off by talking about some of our superstitions and how they are a continuation of the Elizabethan Era superstitions. One of our traditions is actually their superstition. Which is saying “Bless you” to someone who sneezes. Now think about this, we have been saying bless you to someone when they sneeze for as long as anyone can remember. We don’t think about it, it’s just something we done even to strangers. We just consider it a friendly gesture, but back then it was considered way more than a friendly gesture. In the Elizabethan Era, they thought that when you opened your mouth to sneeze you were giving a demon the entrance into your body. So they would say bless you to warn off any possibility off evil and harm. Another thing we gained from the Elizabethan Era is the song “Ring around the Rosie”. If it was not for the Elizabethan Era we would not have that song that we used to skip around to as a little kid. We use the song as a happy thing in life,
Superstition is considered a myth to most people, but for the ancient Romans, this was a historical belief. For the Romans, believing in superstition was a very ordinary thing. To them superstition explained the supernatural and strengthened their relationships with the gods (The Roman Empire). In the play Julius Caesar, the author William Shakespeare uses superstition repeatedly to affect the plot as well as the characters. Superstition in the play is used to foreshadow Caesar’s death, impact Brutus’ actions in the battlefield and to emphasize the Roman’s connection to superstition and fate.
The Elizabethans were a very superstitious bunch. In fact most of our silly seeming superstitions come from them. All of our superstitions from knocking on wood for good luck to black cats crossing your path being a bad omen. They also believed in everything from ghosts, to magic, to fairies, to the influence of the stars and planets alignment.
would of in China. “ My mother had a superstition about certain dangers that can harm children,
Clashes over religion were a never-ending battle with England. The church was being used for corruption and power, and citizens had the Catholicism religion forced upon them. They had no choice but to accept this religion because going against the church meant going against the king. So many people dealt with the situation and conformed to Catholicism. However, there was a vast majority that didn’t. These rebels would start something that would forever be a major part of history. It may seem as though these non-conformists did good, but they actually did not. Puritans did not set a good example for England to learn from, the Quakers did.
During her reign England had internal peice and gained a surplus in supplies after being in a great debt. Scientific progress was great and navigation skills helped Sir Francis Drake circumnavigate the globe. In addition, England's theaters grew very popular. The theater brought all the social classes together to enjoy the entertainment from the traveling companies. However there was a downside to this when plague broke out. Compared to today the Elizabethan era is different in many ways. People were not as educated, the medical field was not well developed, and punishments were extremely harsh. Overall, it is obvious that the Elizabethan era was a great time for England. The country flourished despite the struggles. There are many reasons
The advancement in firearms and warfare during the Elizabethan era allowed England to be successful in all of its military endeavors, which is one of the reasons it is also referred to as the Golden Age. During Elizabeth’s reign from 1558 to 1603, many changes to the idea of war were made with the development of many new munitions and the improvement of military operation for not only land armies, but for naval warfare as well.Weaponry was an important part of Elizabethan society.
As time progressed society in England changed but the biggest change was caused by the industrial revolution. Society did change for the better but had many bad side effect along with it. A good thing that came from the industrial revolution was the upgrade of tools. With the Industrial revolution came many great inventions that people today rely heavily on. Inventions such as cars, planes, and tools. These changes also helped with the progression of house building, making it easier for people to design and build sturdy homes that can withstand nature. This helped us get to where we are today with all the technological advancements. But this all came at a cost. Along with the factories producing this we had people working there. These people were treated very badly with their work environment and pay. There was no minimum wage back then making it hard for people to continue living. And if u didnt die from starvation or overworking you would die from how dangerous the factories are. All day breathing in smoke and having the risk of getting stuck in a machine. And even if u did survive getting injured you would surely die of infection because they can pay for health care on how low their salary. These changes impacted in world we know today in both positive and
Eventually, the feudal system was broken down. This was certainly important to England as it changed the fundamental social, economic and political systems that had been in place for
Life is full of superstition, whether you like it or not everybody has some sort of superstition in them. Some people don’t let some things go to their head like others do. Some people can get really stubborn if something suspicious happens. I am one of them people, it is really hard to get suspicion out of your head, it is one of them things that once you do it, it is hard to not have those thoughts in your head. And in the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn you will see the cause and effects of the use of suspicion. The main character, Huck Finn, used superstition as a means to keep him going in search of his true self and find interesting ways to live life the only way he knew.
The journal “Women and Explanations for European Witchcraft Beliefs in the 16th and 17th Century,” debates whether witchcraft was a tradition or part of everyday culture. James Sharpe believed that witchcraft was a part of everyday culture during that period. People targeted others for revenge or said they were a witch because they were an outcast. Anne Laurence argues that Christian and secular prosecution developed common tradition of witchcraft by popularizing a belief neither of Sharpes
Augustine died in 430 as the Vandals were besieging his city of Hippo. Some 20 years before, Rome had fallen. In the West the ancient empire was a thing of the past; in its place a variety of `barbarian kingdoms’, although for the most part considering themselves a part of the Roman Empire.
One out of every three people were killed by the Bubonic Plague during the Elizabethan era. As the first major breakout many of these people had seen, there was a great feeling of worry and anxiety. In the attempt to decrease the percentage of individuals that were dying, people started to try wacky procedures and remedies. Some of these remedies included magic and to not catch the plague, they resorted to superstitions. During the Elizabethan era, the plague broke out causing the population to believe in and take part in creepy stuff like weird medical practices and superstitions and the magic involved in them.
Many of us now attempt to view the world in an empirical way. However, according to Goodbeer, many of the people that dismiss the superstitious beliefs of the witch trials fail to realize the “leaps of faith” made by modern scientist. This hypocrisy is seen when one looks at the differences in how our worlds operate. In particular when we deal with diseases, back in the seventeenth century they were incapable of diagnosing even the most of common ailments. The way that seventeenth century New Englanders had of dealing and explaining these uncertainties that we no longer face was by explaining it through religion and supernatural phenomenon. Furthermore, they did not have the ability to counteract environmental occurrences that could lead to harm such as darkness and cold, which we now have. Having understood why and how the seventeenth century New Engalnders began to rely on the supernatural to explain certain occurrences in their world we can begin to understand the cultural context of the time (Godbeer,
In the sixteenth century, London, England, many events happened to the good and for the worse. Many things happened that were positive for London, here are a few. Queen Elizabeth I ruled the largest city in both Britain and Europe, London. Theater became quite popular to go watch, Shakespeare was widely regarded for his playwrights. Just when things are getting good the negative stuff happens and kills thousands. The black death or bubonic plague broke out, no one was safe, not even the monarch. No matter was social ranking you were, you still were affected by good and evil. Social ranking affectingly played a big part in living quarters, money, marriage, and safety at the time.
Some examples of common, everyday superstition include the belief that the number 13 is unlucky, that walking under a ladder will bring bad luck, and that a black cat crossing your path can affect your luck. Belief that black cats affect your luck goes far back in time. One king of England, Charles I, owned a black cat. His fear of losing it was so great that he had it guarded. The day after it fell ill and died, he was arrested. Black cats were often witches in disguise or witches' familiars. There were also many cat charms relating to ships and the sea. Fishermen's wives would keep a black cat at home to prevent disaster at sea, consequently the cats became very valuable and were often stolen. If a cat ran ahead of a sailor to the pier that would bring good luck, but if the cat crossed his path it means bad luck. For luck, cats were often kept on board ships. If a sailor was approached by the ship's cat it meant good luck, but if the cat only came halfway and went away again it meant bad luck. The worst possible cat-related act, guaranteed to raise a storm and bring bad luck of all sorts, was to throw the cat overboard. Cat superstitions were also common in medicine. Fur and blood drawn from various parts of the cat's anatomy cured everything from shingles to St. Anthony's Fire.