Elizabethan Daily Life

Daily life in Elizabethan England varied according to status and location. It was the time of the Renaissance – new ideas were introduced in science and technology. The Introduction of the theatre and the work of playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe and great poets such as John Donne and Edmund Spenser changed England significantly. Changes occurred in leisure and entertainment, there was an increase in trade, there were changes in the countryside with the wool trade and explorations were set to discover the new part of the world.

The Monarchy

Queen Elizabeth 1st ruled England. She was a popular monarch and the English people loved her. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and well versed in the art of language. She inspired the English people with some great speeches which confirmed her position as a strong leader of the country. One of her finest speeches was made when she addressed to the English army at Tilbury Fort, when invasion by the mighty Spanish Armada was imminent:

“…I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England, too; and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realms: to which, rather than any dishonour should grow by me, I myself will take up arms…”

Queen Elizabeth had never married and therefore never been subject to the wishes of a husband – she had not brought a foreign prince to influence the everyday lives of the English people. Her leadership skills provided a sense of security and stability to the people of England and Elizabethan Daily life.

Religion

Prior to the reign of Queen Elizabeth had England undergone massive religious changes. The break with Rome and the establishment of the Church of England by her father led to massive changes in Elizabethan Daily life. This major event occurred in 1531 when the Commons acknowledged the king as their “only and supreme lord and, as far as the law of Christ allows, even supreme head.” In the Act of Supremacy of 1534, the caveat “as far as the law of Christ allows” was deleted. England no longer answered to the Pope in Rome. The suspension of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII followed between 1536 and 1540 put vast sums of money into the royal funds, which made Monks and Nuns homeless and many poor people without a place of refuge. These events had a profound effect on Elizabethan Daily Life. In just a few short years from 1531 religion in English Daily life changed according to the reigning monarch.