Elizabethan Class Structure
Upper class
Middle class
Lower class
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The era called the Elizabethan England was a time of many developments and was considered as the Golden Age in English history. This era was led by Queen Elizabeth I. The great developments and advancements that happened during this time can be partly attributed to the leadership of the Queen. For many, Queen Elizabeth I was England's best monarch. She ruled the era for forty-five years. The Elizabethan era was the height of the English Renaissance and the time of the development of English poetry and literature.
Elizabethan society was based on a system of precedence (one’s ranking in society) and one’s preferment status (the king or queen’s view of one’s standing). According to this social order, the monarch was the highest; the queen was believed to be God's representative here on Earth. The nobility as second rank, the gentry as third, merchants as fourth, and laborers as fifth. They also believed that God had formed these social ranks and had showered blessings on each rank. While the nobility remained powerful, the real growth in society developed within the merchant class, and upward class mobility became possible for many people. In Elizabethan England, there were “new” nobles and “old” nobles. Most of the new nobles were Protestant. Most of the old nobles were Roman Catholic. It may be tempting to view the nobility as the idle rich, but this was certainly not the case. The high offices granted by the Queen brought great financial burdens. The honorific titles were unpaid, and when foreign dignitaries visited England, they were housed and entertained at the expense of the nobility. The highest and most expensive “honor” was that of housing the Queen and her household as she went on public tours and visits throughout the country. Many families simply could not afford this “honor” and, at the risk of their preferment status, had to turn it down. Their Parliament had also regulated the clothes that can only be worn by each rank. For a laborer to wear clothes of the rich was not allowed and considered to be a defiance of the order. Only Royalty were permitted to wear clothes trimmed with ermine. Lesser Nobles were allowed to wear clothing trimmed with fox and otter and so on and so forth. Elizabethan Sumptuary Laws dictated what colors and type of clothing individuals were allowed to own and wear, an easy and immediate way to identify rank and privilege. The materials and even the colors of Elizabethan clothing were therefore very important and sections have been dedicated to these subjects in relation to dyes, fabrics and the type of clothes that men were allowed to wear and the type of clothing that Elizabethan women were allowed to wear. The importance and significance of costumes used in the Elizabethan theatres also becomes very clear. Despite the developing awareness of the significance of comfort in any household, daily life in England during the Elizabethan era was still very difficult for the majority of the subjects. There was a food shortage that further contributed to the difficulty of their life. The lower class ate two day meals, which are dinner and supper. The middle and low ranks ate vegetables and grains. The nobility class ate sweet food and meats. Generally, life expectancy reached until 42 years old, but of course the richer rank had lived years longer than that. |