G.M Trevelyan - SHE - Chapter VI
[alert-success] SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLAND I
[/alert-success]
[alert-primary] RENAISSANCE [/alert-primary]
[alert-primary] RENAISSANCE [/alert-primary]
[btn href="http://www.speedynotes.in/2022/09/social-history-of-england.html" class="bt" btn]Back[/btn]
After the economic and
religious unrest of the middle Tudor period, followed the golden age of England.
Golden ages are not all of gold, and they never last long. But it is the aftermath
of Reformation which resulted in the birth of a new era called the Renaissance.
This era comprises “Shakespeare’s England” which falls between 1564 to 1616.
The Golden Age of England, mostly, represents the rule of Queen Elizabeth which
was from 1558 to 1603.
Many radical changes that transformed
the complete lifestyle took place during Renaissance. During this period, the Elizabethan
English were in love with life, not with some theoretic shadow of life. Large
classes were freed from poverty as never before. They felt the up-spring of the spirit
and expressed it in music and song. The English language touched its moment of
fullest beauty and power. Peace and order at last prevailed in the land.
The Renaissance came late to its glorious summer
in this northern Isle, England. In the days of Erasmus, the Renaissance in England
had been confined to scholars and to the King's court. In Shakespeare's day it had
in some sort reached the people. The old Hebrew and the Graeco- Roman ways of life
were opened to the general understanding of English men.
During these same fruitful years
of Elizabeth, the narrow seas expanded into the oceans of the world, where
romance and wealth were to be won along with newly discovered shores. For the
first time in history, England became conscious of herself as an island. She
concentrated on herself rather than the conquest. The tour of Elizabeth's happier
kingdom was made and recorded by William Camden, in his Britannia. The
population of England and Wales at the end of the Queen's reign had passed four
million, which is about a tenth of its present size.
Many were engaged in
agriculture, except a minority who inhabited towns. The average size of a town contained
5000 inhabitants. The towns were not overcrowded, and had many pleasant gardens,
orchards and farmsteads mingled with the rows of shops. London absorbed more and
more of the home and foreign commerce of the country. The London of Queen
Elizabeth was the most important place in England because of its size, wealth,
and power. In London, the great monasteries and Convents had disappeared. The laity were supreme, and refashioned their religion.
The power and privilege of the mayor and citizens, with their formidable militia,
formed a state within a state.
To feed the growing population,
there were agricultural policies that governed London and the counties. Food
was wanted in the capital in vast quantity for the population. Best quality foods
are in need for the richest tables of the kingdom. Kent with its enclosed
fields, are the main resource that London depends on. Kent is called as
"the garden of England". Meat and bread were the chief foods. Vegetables
were little eaten with meat. Cabbages helped to make the pottage. Potatoes were
just beginning to come in to some garden plots. Sugar was obtained in moderate quantities
from Mediterranean lands. The time of dinner, the chief meal, was at eleven or
twelve, and supper some five hours later.
The uprise in the market, demanded
more enclosures of land. New lands from forest, marsh and waster were used for
farming, to meet the demand for food. Many private methods of farming were also
induced. Highly unpopular enclosures like clay land were taken to meet the
increased demand for sheep and cattle. The breeding of horses was also in an ever-increasing
demand. Horses replaced ox at cart and plough.
The Fenland were one of the
important districts that attracted great attention. The fenmen dwelled in its
shores living an amphibious life with their traditional occupations. Wild fowl
were provided to the market by the fenman. Beside Fenland, Wales and Northern
Border remained different from the rest of England.
The Elizabethan architecture
contained strong elements of both the Gothic and the Classical. In other words,
the old English, and the new Italian. The country houses like Audley End and
public buildings showcased the character of Renaissance. Gate of Honor in
Cambridge (1575) and hall of Trinity (1604-1605) are best examples. The homes
of the common folk in town and village had less changes than the manor houses
of the rich.
The roads were busier than ever
with the passage of riders and pedestrians of all classes on business and
pleasure. The medicinal spa, fashionable resorts were erected. The lodge and
the English Inn of Elizabethan England had their own character to attract travelers.
Shakespeare in his account which was given by William Harrison praises the food,
the wine, the beer, the clean bed, and walls of the English Inn.
The study on Elizabethan
England gives an impression that were greater harmony among social classes. It
is not a period of any peasant revolts or doctrine fights or class divisions.
The typical unit of Elizabethan education was called the “Grammar School”. Elizabethans
took the social world naturally.
Elizabethan reign was a great
age for the upper class and the gentry (meaning: aristocrats). Their numbers,
wealth and importance were increased in this era. The citizens and merchants
had a different lifestyle than the gentry. The merchant class held the place of
honor after the gentry. After the merchants the yeoman, who enjoyed own land
and farming. After the merchants and yeoman came the fourth and the last sort
of people, the wage-earning class of town and country. Many of the people of
this sector were very poor and some were victims of oppression.
This period saw the sign of self-respect
of the common folk by the training for military service. The order in
Elizabethan kingdom was preserved through the Privy Council and the Courts. This
Privy council blended the laws of the old and the new with liberty and
authority.
During the period of Renaissance,
the Elizabethan Period, the Shakespeare’s England, the judicial, political,
economic, and administrative powers played an important role altogether to make
this period the Golden Age.
[btn href="http://www.speedynotes.in/2022/09/social-history-of-england.html" class="bt" btn]Back[/btn]
0 Comments