Elizabethan World RL. Almanac

225 Pages·2006·7.99 MB·English

by  Shostak E

Elizabethan World
Almanac
Elizabethan World
Almanac
Sonia G. Benson
Jennifer York Stock, Project Editor
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Elizabethanworld:almanac/SoniaG.Benson;JenniferYorkStock,projecteditor.
p.cm.—(Elizabethanworldreferencelibrary)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN13:978-1-4144-0189-8(hardcover:alk.paper)
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ISBN13:978-1-4144-0188-1(referencelibraryset:alk.paper)
ISBN10:1-4144-0188-4(referencelibraryset:alk.paper)
1.GreatBritain–History–Elizabeth,1558-1603–Juvenileliterature.2.GreatBritain–Sociallife
andcustoms–16thcentury–Juvenileliterature.3.GreatBritain–Civilization–16thcentury–
Juvenileliterature.I.Stock,JenniferYork,1974–II.Title.
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Table of Contents
Reader’s Guide vi
Timeline of Events ix
Words to Know xiii
Research and Activity Ideas xxii
Chapter1:TheMedieval,CatholicRootsoftheElizabethan
World 1
Chapter2:TheReformationinEngland 13
Chapter3:ElizabethTakestheThrone 31
Chapter4:TheElizabethanCourt 51
Chapter5:TheCatholicReformationandConspiraciesAgainst
Elizabeth:1558–1580 67
Chapter6:ElizabethanExplorersandColonizers 85
Chapter7:WarwithSpain 103
Chapter8:AChangingViewoftheUniverse:Philosophyand
ScienceintheElizabethanEra 123
Chapter9:TheArtsintheElizabethanWorld 141
Chapter10:ElizabethanDrama 163
Chapter11:DailyLifeintheElizabethanEra 181
Chapter12:TheLastYearsofElizabeth’sReign 195
Where to Learn More xxvii
Index xxxi
v
Reader’s Guide
When Elizabeth I (1533–1603) was crowned queen in 1558, England
was,comparedtootherEuropeannations,apoorandbackwardcountry.
At this time England was deeply divided by religious strife. It was too
weak to protect itself from its enemies, lacking a strong military.
Furthermore, England had been too beleaguered by its conflicts to
participate in the Renaissance, the great artistic and intellectual move-
ment that had swept Europe beginning in the fourteenth century. The
people of England must have wondered what the inexperienced twenty-
five-year-oldqueencouldpossiblydotostrengthenhernation.
Nonetheless, when people today think of the Elizabethan Era most
envisionthedazzling,red-headedqueenskillfullyreigningoveravibrant
courtlivelywithmusicanddance,splendidcostumes,anddashingyoung
statesmen, explorers, and artists. Soon after she took the throne,
Elizabeth’s moderate religious settlement eased some of the divisions
between Protestants and Catholics that had been tearing the nation
apart, providing England with a stability that allowed it to grow in
many directions. During Elizabeth’s reign commerce flourished.
London became one of Europe’s largest and greatest cities. The era
produced unparalleled advances drama, and not surprisingly, the
Elizabethan Era has become known as the age of Shakespeare in honor
of its leading dramatist and poet. There was growth in other spheres as
well.Asthenewmiddleclassdeveloped,publiceducationadvanced,and
Englandexperiencedahigherlevelofliteracythaneverbefore.Thismade
it possible for people who were not born into the nobility to rise in
position.Elizabeth’sreignalsomarkedthebeginningofEnglishexplora-
tion of the New World. Militarily, Elizabethans restored England to its
vi
READER’SGUIDE
placeasamajorEuropeanpower.WhentheSpanishArmadaarrivedin
theEnglishChannelin1588hopingtoinvadeEngland,Elizabeth’ssmall
but highly skilled navy was up to the task of defending the small island
fromtheworld’slargestpower.TheEnglishpeoplecelebratedthevictory
withanewsenseofprideintheirnationality.
HistoriansdiffergreatlyoverhowmuchcredittogiveElizabethfor
alltheadvancesthatoccurredduringherreign.Manyelementsofchange
were clearly already in process. Although we will probably never deter-
minetheextentofhercontribution,herstoryhasneverthelessfascinated
historians worldwide for centuries after her death. The story of
Elizabethan England provides valuable insight not only into English
history,butalsointothetransitionofWesternsocietyintomoderntimes.
Coverage and features
Elizabethan World: Almanac presents an overview of this golden age of
English history and the remarkable cultural, political, religious, and eco-
nomic developments that occurred during the era. The volume’s twelve
chaptersbrieflyexaminetheTudormonarchypriortoElizabeth,especially
thedifficultpathfromCatholicismtoProtestantismbeginninginthereign
ofElizabeth’sfather,HenryVIII,andthe tumultuousshortreignsofher
halfbrother,theProtestantEdwardVI,andhalf-sister,theCatholicMary
Tudor. The achievements of Queen Elizabeth and her talented group of
statesmen, such as William Cecil, Robert Dudley, and Francis
Walsingham, are presented, including the religious settlement of 1559
and the conflicts with Scotland, Ireland, and Spain. Elizabeth’s conflict
with Catholics of England and Europe, and some of the conspiracies to
overthrow her rule, are also featured. In addition, the Almanac places
significant emphasis on the culture of the times, from Elizabeth’s court
to the rural pageants, and from the New World explorations to the
remarkable flowering of literature and drama for which the era is
renowned. Finally, the volume presents a look at Elizabethan daily life,
social structures, holidays, and much more. The volume includes 56
photographsandillustrations,a timeline,aglossary,researchandactivity
ideas,andsourcesforfurtherreading.
U(cid:2)X(cid:2)L Elizabethan World Reference Library
ElizabethanWorld:Biographiesprofilestwenty-sixsignificantfigureswho
participated in the transformation of England during the Elizabethan
Era. Included are some of Elizabeth’s favorites, the statesmen to whom
ElizabethanWorld:Almanac vii
READER’SGUIDE
she gave great powers and advantages and who helped her run her
country, such as Robert Dudley and Robert Devereux; the sea traders
and explorers who opened up the New World and other trade routes,
includingJohnHawkins,FrancisDrake,andWalterRaleigh;thescien-
tists, philosophers, and educators who brought England’s medieval
thinking to new, non-religious inquiry, such as Francis Bacon, Richard
Hakluyt, and John Dee. Also featured are the royal opponents of the
queen,suchasMaryStuart,QueenofScots,andKingPhilipIIofSpain;
Catholic and Protestantleaders like William Allenand John Knox;and
the great writers of the day, including Christopher Marlowe, Philip
Sidney,andWilliamShakespeare.Thevolumeincludes50photographs
andillustrations,atimeline,andsourcesforfurtherreading.
Elizabethan World: Primary Sources presents eighteen full or
excerptedwrittenworks,speeches,andotherdocumentsthatwereinflu-
entialduringtheElizabethanEra.Includedarespeechesandapoemby
ElizabethI;theCatholicpope’sbullof1570directedagainsttheEnglish
queen;andanexcerptfromthesensationalandhighlyinfluentialBookof
MartyrsbyJohnFoxe.Severalexamplesoftheliteratureandjournalsof
thetimesarefeatured,includingmemoirsfromtheill-fatedsettlementin
Roanoke,Virginia;anexcerptfromEdmundSpenser’sFaerieQueene,a
Shakespeare play and two of his sonnets, and much more. 47 photo-
graphsandillustrations,sourcesforfurtherreading,atimeline,andalist
ofsourcesforfurtherreadingsupplementthevolume.
A cumulative index of all three volumes in the U(cid:2)X(cid:2)L Elizabethan
WorldReferenceLibraryisalsoavailable.
Comments and suggestions
We welcome your comments on Elizabethan World: Almanac and sug-
gestions for other topics to consider. Please write: Editors, Elizabethan
World:Almanac,U(cid:2)X(cid:2)L,27500DrakeRd.FarmingtonHills,Michigan
48331-3535; call toll free: 1-800-877-4253; fax to 248-699-8097; or
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viii ElizabethanWorld:Almanac
Timeline of Events
1494 The Treaty of Tordesillas divides the New World between Spain
andPortugal.
1509HenryVIIItakestheEnglishthrone.
1512NicholausCopernicusexplainshisheliocentrictheory.
October31,1517German monk MartinLuther nails to a church door
his list of ninety-five statements attacking certain Roman Catholic
practices.
1520s The Protestant Reformation movement sweeps through major
partsofEurope.
1530sTheCatholicChurchrefusestograntHenryVIIIadivorcefrom
hisfirstwife.Henrybreakswiththechurch,declareshimselfheadof
thechurchinEngland,andmarriesAnneBolelyn.
1536 John Calvin sets up his Protestant government in Geneva,
Switzerland.
1536–40HenryVIIIclosesEngland’smonasteries.
1545–63TheCatholicCouncilofTrentholdsnumerousmeetings.
1547HenryVIIIdiesandEdwardVItakestheEnglishthrone,establishing
aProtestantkingdom.
1553EdwardVIdies;theCatholicMaryItakesthethroneaftertheill-fated
nine-dayreignoftheProtestantJaneGrey.
1554MaryImarriesPhilipII,heirtotheSpanishthrone.
ix
TIMELINEOFEVENTS
February1555MaryIorderstheburningatthestakeofEnglishsubjects
who refuse to accept Catholicism as their religion; in all three
hundredProtestantsareburnedfortheirbeliefs.
1558MaryIdies;ElizabethItakesthethrone.
January 14, 1559 Elizabeth I makes her royal entry into the city of
Londonontheeveofhercoronation.
1559 Elizabeth establishes the Anglican Church, or the Church of
England,withParliament’sapproval.
1561TheCatholicMaryStuartreturnsfromFrancetotakeherplaceas
thequeenofanow-ProtestantScotland.
1562Englishseaman John Hawkinsbeginsaslave tradebetweenAfrica
andtheNewWorld.
1562–89TheFrenchWarsofReligion.
1564PlaywrightWilliamShakespeareisborninStratford-upon-Avon.
1567 The Scottish lords rise up against Mary Stuart for her scandalous
behavior;shegivesuptheScottishthronetoherinfantsonandflees
toEngland.
1568–1648EightyYears’WarbetweenSpainandtheNetherlands.
1569 In the Northern Rising, Catholic rebels attempt to place Mary
StuartontheEnglishthrone.
1570 The Catholic pope issues a bull proclaiming that Elizabeth is not
the rightful queen of England. He encourages English Catholics to
riseupagainstherandtohelpMaryStuarttakethethrone.
1570TheChurchofEnglandordersallmajorchurchestoobtainacopy
ofFoxe’sBookofMartyrs..
1571Elizabeth’s government foils theRidolfi scheme, in which English
CatholicsbackedbytheRomanCatholicchurchandSpainattempt
toriseupagainstElizabeth.
1572 Nicholas Hilliard paints his first portrait miniature of Queen
Elizabeth,establishingapopularEnglishartform.
1572St.Batholomew’sDaymassacre.
1575Elizabethgrantsamonopolyonprintingmusictoroyalmusicians
WilliamByrdandThomasTallis.
x ElizabethanWorld:Almanac