- SETTING THE SCENE – LIFE IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND
What sense do you get of what life was like in Elizabethan England? Try to include information on: The population, entertainment, religion, superstition, money, jobs, medicine, theatre.
In the Elizabethan era entertainment was the center of all the towns, it brought everyone together from all different classes. Music, it was everywhere. More people learnt how to play instruments, they were used in Churches, theatre, parties and even when the laborers were working in the field. The theatre was the most popular of entertainment. The Globe theatre is the most famous of the time as it was Shakespeare's theatre.
The theatre was open air, so mainly productions were in May to avoid the rain. There were 3 levels. The higher up you were the more expensive. There are two reasons for this, one being the higher you were the more shelter there was from the rain. The other reason was that you were further away from the peasants in the Yard, also known as the "penny stinkers". Down at the bottom was disgusting, all the poorest people would be there. They stank and were incredibly loud. If they thought the acting was bad, they threw food at the actors. Prostitutes would also circle this area, looking for work.
The Theatre itself was beautiful, with artwork and gold covering the stage. The Canopy was called The Heavens, because angels were painted all over. The costumes were contemporary for the time, the actors wore exactly what they would where in their day to day lives. Woman were not allowed to be associated with the theatre at all. They couldn't act or write any play. Young boys who had high voices played all the female roles.
Living conditions varied massively in the Elizabethan times. If you were poor your house was anything but homely. It was a tiny cottage, with one room. There was no light at all as candles were very expensive. If you were lucky you had a straw mattress to sleep on, otherwise you had to sleep on the floor. There were holes for windows and a hole in the roof to air the room from the smoke of the fire. It would've been extremely cold and therefore easy to get ill. Families were also very big with 7 or 8 people living in one house. This meant it was super cramped, so most people spent the majority of their time outside.
The population was very divided due to your class. A Yeoman was someone who owned their own farm and employed workers. A Husbandman was someone who rents land or works on it, and a Laborer was someone who worked on farms. If you couldn't find a farm to work on you had to go to farm to farm looking for a job. You got paid very little, 1 Groat, and had to work dawn to sunset everyday.
Religion was a very important part of life. The two main religions of this time were Catholic and Protestant. If you believed something else and were caught you were executed. Witchcraft was also a massive belief. Witches were woman who made a packed with the devil so they could have supernatural powers. Witches were said to have a pet, toad or bird. They were seen to old, poor, single women. People believed if their cow was ill it was cursed, if there was a plague it was a witch and if their beans didn't grow it was witchcraft. One method to test for a witch was to put them on a dunking stool. If they floated they were a witch. If they sank they were innocent, however they would most likely of drowned. If you were caught to be a witch you were burnt at the stake. It was legal to kill Witches due to the Witchcraft act in 1563.
The Elizabethans were very superstitious. Some of their superstitions are still believed today, such as;
In the Elizabethan era entertainment was the center of all the towns, it brought everyone together from all different classes. Music, it was everywhere. More people learnt how to play instruments, they were used in Churches, theatre, parties and even when the laborers were working in the field. The theatre was the most popular of entertainment. The Globe theatre is the most famous of the time as it was Shakespeare's theatre.
The theatre was open air, so mainly productions were in May to avoid the rain. There were 3 levels. The higher up you were the more expensive. There are two reasons for this, one being the higher you were the more shelter there was from the rain. The other reason was that you were further away from the peasants in the Yard, also known as the "penny stinkers". Down at the bottom was disgusting, all the poorest people would be there. They stank and were incredibly loud. If they thought the acting was bad, they threw food at the actors. Prostitutes would also circle this area, looking for work. The Theatre itself was beautiful, with artwork and gold covering the stage. The Canopy was called The Heavens, because angels were painted all over. The costumes were contemporary for the time, the actors wore exactly what they would where in their day to day lives. Woman were not allowed to be associated with the theatre at all. They couldn't act or write any play. Young boys who had high voices played all the female roles.
Living conditions varied massively in the Elizabethan times. If you were poor your house was anything but homely. It was a tiny cottage, with one room. There was no light at all as candles were very expensive. If you were lucky you had a straw mattress to sleep on, otherwise you had to sleep on the floor. There were holes for windows and a hole in the roof to air the room from the smoke of the fire. It would've been extremely cold and therefore easy to get ill. Families were also very big with 7 or 8 people living in one house. This meant it was super cramped, so most people spent the majority of their time outside. The population was very divided due to your class. A Yeoman was someone who owned their own farm and employed workers. A Husbandman was someone who rents land or works on it, and a Laborer was someone who worked on farms. If you couldn't find a farm to work on you had to go to farm to farm looking for a job. You got paid very little, 1 Groat, and had to work dawn to sunset everyday.
Religion was a very important part of life. The two main religions of this time were Catholic and Protestant. If you believed something else and were caught you were executed. Witchcraft was also a massive belief. Witches were woman who made a packed with the devil so they could have supernatural powers. Witches were said to have a pet, toad or bird. They were seen to old, poor, single women. People believed if their cow was ill it was cursed, if there was a plague it was a witch and if their beans didn't grow it was witchcraft. One method to test for a witch was to put them on a dunking stool. If they floated they were a witch. If they sank they were innocent, however they would most likely of drowned. If you were caught to be a witch you were burnt at the stake. It was legal to kill Witches due to the Witchcraft act in 1563.
The Elizabethans were very superstitious. Some of their superstitions are still believed today, such as;
- don’t walk under a ladder – they are bad luck because they are linked to gallows (the wooden frame for hanging people)
- say ‘Bless you’ when someone sneezes – this is to stop the Devil entering your body through your mouth
- don’t spill salt – salt was very expensive in Elizabethan times, so spilling it was very bad luck
- black cats are unlucky – they were associated with witches
Comments
Post a Comment