Elizabethan England, c1568–c1603
What's covered
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Key facts
Elizabeth's court and parliament
The Act of Supremacy (1559) declared Elizabeth I "Supreme Governor of the Church of England", softer than her father's title "Supreme Head" to make it more palatable to Catholics.
Edward VI and Protestant Reform
Under Edward VI (1547–1553) religious change went full Protestant: English Prayer Books (1549, 1552), dissolution of chantries, the Mass abolished.
Mary I and the Catholic Restoration
Mary I's reign ended in failure despite her Catholic aims because she failed to secure a Catholic heir, lost Calais to France (1558), and created Protestant martyrs whose stories Foxe later popularised.
Life in Elizabethan times
Main causes of Elizabethan poverty were enclosures, population growth, harvest failures, and the dissolution of the monasteries.
Elizabethan England, c1568–1603
The Globe Theatre was built in London in 1599.
Location and function
In Leicester's time Kenilworth's main function was as a palace for entertaining the queen on her progresses: she visited four times, and his embellishments to the castle and its setting were "doubtless intended to impress her".
Location and landscape
Central to English coastal defence was a chain of beacons, lit to pass news of the Armada quickly along the coast; a chart in William Lambarde's Perambulation of Kent (1596 edition) is the most detailed surviving example and the only one to show the inland relay stations.
People and events
The Duke of Medina Sidonia commanded the Armada (he replaced Santa Cruz, who died); the English fleet was led by the Lord Admiral, Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham, in the Ark Royal, with Sir Francis Drake as second in command in the Revenge.
People, events and change
Two detailed accounts, by Robert Langham (an official in Leicester's household; some scholars attribute the "Langham" letter to William Patten, but English Heritage uses Langham's name) and George Gascoigne, together with the castle's remains, give a strikingly complete picture of the lavish 1575 entertainments; Dudley took Arthurian characters as his theme.
Structure and design
Leicester cherished Kenilworth's antiquity and removed little medieval masonry, keeping the Norman keep and Gaunt's palace while adding new Elizabethan buildings beside them.
Practice questions with answers
A taste of the 96 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
What religious changes happened during Edward VI's reign (1547–1553)?
- •Edward introduced Puritanism as the official religion, going beyond later reformers
- •Edward made no religious changes: his regents maintained Henry VIII's settlement
- •Edward reversed his father's break with Rome: England returned to Catholicism
- ✓Full Protestantism: English Prayer Books, dissolution of chantries, Mass abolished
What problems did Elizabeth I face when she became Queen in 1558?
- •Elizabeth inherited a prosperous, peaceful, and united kingdom
- ✓Financial weakness, loss of Calais, religious division, and a female ruler
- •Parliament refused to recognise her as legitimate because of her parents' marriage
- •The main challenge was a Scottish invasion: Mary Queen of Scots attacked immediately
What did Elizabeth I's 1559 Religious Settlement establish?
- •A Catholic England under the Pope, reconciling with Rome after the break made by Henry VIII
- ✓A Protestant Church of England with Elizabeth as Supreme Governor, via the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity
- •Complete religious freedom, allowing Catholics, Protestants and Puritans to worship openly
- •Full Calvinist Presbyterianism with no bishops and elected church councils in every parish
Why was poverty such a problem in Elizabethan England and how was it dealt with?
- •Elizabeth solved poverty by giving all the poor work in American colonies
- ✓Population growth, enclosures, and dissolved monasteries; the 1601 Poor Law responded
- •Poverty was not a serious problem: the economy was growing and wages were high
- •The Dissolution reduced poverty: it freed up land for poor farmers
Why was the mere so important to the defence of Kenilworth Castle?
- •This chain of fishponds fed the garrison through long sieges, though it formed no real barrier to any attack.
- •This deep ditch cut into the rock in front of the keep kept attackers far from the inner walls.
- ✓This man-made lake, with the Lower Pool and moat, surrounded the castle with water and made it almost impregnable.
- •This natural river gorge below the walls stopped attackers from dragging their siege engines up to the gates.
Why did the Armada stop and anchor in the open roads off Calais, rather than inside the harbour?
- ✓Calais harbour was too small for the great Spanish fleet, and Medina Sidonia feared the tides would carry his ships away.
- •Calais was a Spanish-held port, so the fleet could wait safely offshore while Parma's army marched there to board the ships.
- •The French governor refused to open the harbour until Philip II had paid him for the fleet's water and food.
- •The harbour mouth had been blocked by old hulks that the English had sunk there earlier in the summer.
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