Background Life
In the Elizabethan era, society was easily distinguished by the appearance of ones self. The richer wore clothing in what is called "The Peacock Age", this involved elaborate clothing that was used to gain attention and success at court as well as 'slashing' their clothes to reveal the bright colours of the linings underneath. It was called the Peacock Age due to the fact that the men dressed more elaborately then the women. The lower class were stuck with bland colours such as browns, deep reds and off whites as well as simple clothing. If they were to show any 'upper class' colours/style and were not rich, they were at risk of being charged with treason as you were lying to the community about your wealth.
Upper - Class Lower - Class
The Elizabethan law was not like it is today. With laws specifically for the poor and others for the wealthy, it made it hard for those visiting to understand what they were at risk of and what laws were irrelevant to them. In 1563 a 'Poor Law Act' was set in place meaning that the poor were split into two separate categories to determine what level of treatment they would receive. In 1572 another section of the 'Poor Law Act' was put into action, resulting in the first compulsory poor law tax imposed at a local level. Laws for the upper class were much more lenient and with the right price, or even with the right name, evidence towards those in the upper class were soon found to have 'disappeared' as though the crime hadn't happened at all.
Status, Occupation and education were the three factors that determined what class you and your family would fit into in Elizabethan times. Education was very limited in the C16, far less available than it is today. So if you were to find some one who could read (and occasionally write, though most had some one write for them) and speak with a higher level of the english language, you would see them as a higher person in society. Occupation is equally important in society. For you to be seen as a respectable person, you must first have a respectable job (If you were a man that is). The income that you receive allows you and you're family to purchase more land, more colourful clothes and artwork that would be shown in public to represent your wealth. By having both the education and the occupation, your family and yourself would be able to claim a status in the community, the higher the better. But one would have to be careful not to become to 'high on their horse' as they can fall faster than they climbed.
Transport in the Elizabethan era was mainly walking, they did not have cars like we do today. If you were lucky enough to own a horse and cart (or carriage if you were in the upper class) that would be your most used mode of transport, but you would be likely to find a lot of free loaders on the back most of whom would be tired from a hard days work, or even some who would try to smuggle their way into town as they may have been banished from the land.
The food and the lifestyle of C16 was quite grim. Food was often rotten and mouldy, no meat was left to waste (not even intestines and hearts) and those in the lower class were often scarce for food, causing theft to become a large problem. There was disease, sickness and medicine that rarely worked. Walking down the cobble streets you would here the cries of the dying, the coughs of the sick and, if you were extremely lucky you wouldn't get feces thrown over your head from the bedpans in the houses above. The elizabethan era had many diseases, but one was so large, so deadly, that it is still remembered today. That disease is the Black plague. Though it seemed that through all of this death, a light shone in the shadows of the darkness, a theatre known as the 'Globe Theatre'.
In the Elizabethan era, society was easily distinguished by the appearance of ones self. The richer wore clothing in what is called "The Peacock Age", this involved elaborate clothing that was used to gain attention and success at court as well as 'slashing' their clothes to reveal the bright colours of the linings underneath. It was called the Peacock Age due to the fact that the men dressed more elaborately then the women. The lower class were stuck with bland colours such as browns, deep reds and off whites as well as simple clothing. If they were to show any 'upper class' colours/style and were not rich, they were at risk of being charged with treason as you were lying to the community about your wealth.
Upper - Class Lower - Class
The Elizabethan law was not like it is today. With laws specifically for the poor and others for the wealthy, it made it hard for those visiting to understand what they were at risk of and what laws were irrelevant to them. In 1563 a 'Poor Law Act' was set in place meaning that the poor were split into two separate categories to determine what level of treatment they would receive. In 1572 another section of the 'Poor Law Act' was put into action, resulting in the first compulsory poor law tax imposed at a local level. Laws for the upper class were much more lenient and with the right price, or even with the right name, evidence towards those in the upper class were soon found to have 'disappeared' as though the crime hadn't happened at all.
Status, Occupation and education were the three factors that determined what class you and your family would fit into in Elizabethan times. Education was very limited in the C16, far less available than it is today. So if you were to find some one who could read (and occasionally write, though most had some one write for them) and speak with a higher level of the english language, you would see them as a higher person in society. Occupation is equally important in society. For you to be seen as a respectable person, you must first have a respectable job (If you were a man that is). The income that you receive allows you and you're family to purchase more land, more colourful clothes and artwork that would be shown in public to represent your wealth. By having both the education and the occupation, your family and yourself would be able to claim a status in the community, the higher the better. But one would have to be careful not to become to 'high on their horse' as they can fall faster than they climbed.
Transport in the Elizabethan era was mainly walking, they did not have cars like we do today. If you were lucky enough to own a horse and cart (or carriage if you were in the upper class) that would be your most used mode of transport, but you would be likely to find a lot of free loaders on the back most of whom would be tired from a hard days work, or even some who would try to smuggle their way into town as they may have been banished from the land.
The food and the lifestyle of C16 was quite grim. Food was often rotten and mouldy, no meat was left to waste (not even intestines and hearts) and those in the lower class were often scarce for food, causing theft to become a large problem. There was disease, sickness and medicine that rarely worked. Walking down the cobble streets you would here the cries of the dying, the coughs of the sick and, if you were extremely lucky you wouldn't get feces thrown over your head from the bedpans in the houses above. The elizabethan era had many diseases, but one was so large, so deadly, that it is still remembered today. That disease is the Black plague. Though it seemed that through all of this death, a light shone in the shadows of the darkness, a theatre known as the 'Globe Theatre'.
Looking good so far Peyton - have you been able to add more information so I can complete Assessment 1? I will email you a copy of the assessment sheet so you can use it as a checklist. Looking forward to more on your blog! Mandy
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