Life In Elizabethan England

The Golden Age - Between 1558 and 1603, England witnessed a large change and increase of theatre, music and literature. It was also a time of expansion in England, with the spreading of the British Empire. At the time, English people were very proud of their country and everything it had become.

Population:

Eight years before the Elizabethan Period began, there was a total population of 2.9 million in England and Wales. However, by 1599 (four years before the end of the Elizabethan Period), there was now a total of 4.0 million people living in England and Wales. As you can see, there was a huge increase in the  population during the Elizabethan Period. The nobles made up around 3% of the population and 95% of the population lived in rural areas, but London was always seen to be the heart of England.

Religion:
Christianity was the religion that the majority of people followed during the time of Elizabethan England. However, at the time it was very divided between the Catholics and the Protestants. They both do similar things, but in different ways. 
Catholics - the Catholic churches were extremely decorated as a way of celebrating God. If you provided gifts to the church, they thought that Priests could forgive any sins that were committed. Services were performed in Latin.
Protestants - The Protestant churches were very plain so that everyone could focus on the words being spoken throughout the sermon. They thought that only God could forgive your sins. Services and the Bible was translated into English so that the people could understand it.

Superstition:

During the Elizabethan period, there was a lot of superstition amongst people that was heavily influenced from past beliefs. For example, a large amount of people believed in witchcraft and magic. These thoughts have carried on through today and are represented in stereotypical witches, who have pets, create potions and can fly. There were many other superstitions that have carried on through the generations (unlucky to walk under ladders or have a black cat cross paths with you). Many of these superstitions were strongly linked to religion at the time.

Money:
All coins in Elizabethan times were made from gold and silver and there wasn't any paper notes. Instead there were pounds (£), shillings (s) and pence (d). 12 pence made a shilling and 20 shillings made a pound. A Sovereign was worth 20 shillings, an Angel was worth 10 shillings and the Crown was worth 5 shillings. Half-A-Crown was worth 2 shillings 6 pence, A Sixpence was worth 6 pence, A Groat was worth 4 pence and A Farthing was only worth 1/4 of a pence. Lords, Merchants and Noblemen earned a lot more money than carpenters, labourers and farmworkers.

Medicine:
The Elizabethan period was a time full of plague and illness, with little knowledge about medicine and various remedies for pain relief. It was a very unhygienic time, in which you could easily contract diseases and infections - creating a very short life expectancy for many. Leaches were used to collect blood from the body as a so called cure for the plague. Some other remedies used at the time were alcohol, tobacco, toad and a variety of plants and herbs. The life expectancy was only 35 for the rich people and 25 for the lower class. 40% of people died before reaching adolescence due to such low standards of living.

Jobs:

There was a wide variety of jobs for people to have during the Elizabethan period - but many of them depended on how much money you had and which class you were a part of. There were many 'house jobs' such as being a cook, gardener or butler and other jobs were more involved in the arts, such as being an actor or an artist. Many of the male jobs included being watchmen, knights and squires. People also earned money as carpenters, candlemakers, blacksmiths and barbers. The nobility earned the most money, whilst town dwellers and servants earned less and the country folk earned the least.

Entertainment:

People carried out a variety of activities as forms of entertainment in Elizabethan times. Sport was very popular among men, including bowling, archery and jousting. Hunting was also popular with the people at the time. The upper class tended to enjoy dancing at events such as banquets and dinners. Jesters were people who were hired to entertain through comedy - the Queen was usually in the company of a Jester .  Many people also attended fairs and festivals to entertain themselves. The theatre was also becoming increasingly popular.

Theatre:
The entertainment industry was on the rise and it was during the Elizabethan time that there was a large advancement in the construction of theatres, venues and sites to perform in. Theatres tended to be very large and could usually hold up to a few thousand people. The most famous theatre built was in 1599 and named 'The Globe' - created specifically for Shakespeare's shows. Women were not allowed to perform in the theatre - so instead, males were made to play the female roles. Shows were generally performed in the afternoon so that the daylight could light up the stage and make everything more visible - as artificial light wasn't around at this time. The theatre had started becoming a huge phenomenon all across England and the rest of the world.

References:
www.BBC.co.uk/Programmes/p01d4279
www.ElizabethanEnglandLife
www.Elizabethan-Era.org.uk
www.EnglishHistory.net 
www.Encyclopedia.com
www.Elizabethan.org