8/13/2014 12:55:00 AM

My 10 Facts About The Elizabethan Era:

Exploring the Life and Times of William Shakespeare
1. Music was an important form of entertainment for Elizabethan
culture. People of the lower class normally sang to distract
themselves from the challenging tasks they are undertaking.
Music was also performed at churches as it is today.

2. In the Elizabethan Era the fashion was very classy and exquisite.
It was a time when fashion was at its best. During this era the
rich and upper classed people wore more extravagant
clothing whilst the lower classed people wore simpler clothing
made of necessary materials. Elizabethan women wore many
layers of clothing. For example underclothes, stockings, corsets,
petticoat, gowns and ruff. Finishing off with a cloak, hat and
shoes. It is the same with men although they also wore doublets
and breeches as well.

3. People ate and drank according to wealth. If they were
wealthy, they would normally eat more meat and sugar. The
more sugar you ate determined how wealthy you were back
then because of how sugar would blacken your teeth. Many
fruit trees such as orange, apple trees and beehives were
becoming very popular.

4. The church dictated most of the celebrations in the Elizabethan
era. Celebrations like Halloween (then called All Souls Day or
All Hallows Day), St. Valentines Day and Easter that we
celebrate today, we celebrated hundreds of years ago.

5. There were many interesting sports people played during the
Elizabethan Era such as: hurling, a game similar to hockey,
game ball, a harsh and violent game like football, pall mall, an
ancestor of croquet, and rounders a bat-and-ball game similar
to baseball. They also played blood sports which involved
animals including bears, bulls and dogs.

6. During the Elizabethan era, the Bubonic Plaque aka the Black
Death killed one third of Englands population. So many people
died because of the basic medicine and technology they had
back then. Elizabethan doctors dressed up in unusual clothing
and whatever could prevent them from catching the plague.

7. According to socio-economic status and gender during the
Elizabethan Era, everyones daily lives were different. Women
were seen lower to men in society. If you were a wealthy
woman, you were dependent on your husband to support
them. However, if you lived in a village, you and your husband
would both work and provide for your family.

8. The Elizabethan family life varied according to wealth. Women
were considered inferior to men, so if they did not obey this it
would be considered as a crime. Men were expected to
protect and work for their family. Children were expected to
always obey their parents and All families were required to
attend church on Sundays

9. A few interesting jobs during the Elizabethan era included are;
a cordwainer, in which you made shoes for the rich and the
poor (if they could somehow afford them), gong farmers who
collected all the human waste aka poo and a bower, in which
you were required to make bows, arrows and crossbows and
an Ewerer, who were supposed to bring and heat water for
noble men and women.

10. Queen Elizabeth I ruled through the Elizabethan era thus
giving this era its name. Queen Elizabeth did not marry and was
a virgin queen so a man never controlled her. People in
England felt secure and protected because of her good
leadership skills. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and is
known to be one of Englands greatest monarchs.