What was Elizabethan home life like? Any information will be helpful!?

Answer 1

Hi Alysia,

It's great that you are doing history!. I did that for my degree a few years ago.

My answer is going to concentrate on the poorer masses and not so much the wealthy people because the poor made up the majority of England back then and this is really what living in Elizabethan England was like:

Life for the poor in Elizabethan England was very harsh. The poor did not share the wealth and luxurious lifestyle associated with famous Tudors such as Sir Francis Drake. The main thing to remember about Tudor England is that the population doubles between the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. From about 2 million in 1520; to 4 million in 1600. Of the population 10% lives in towns, and half of this number is always in London.

Along with this comes unemployment and rapid price inflation. As rents and food prices rose in the countryside, many villagers were forced to leave their homes and come to the towns to look for work. However, they often could not find employment and ended up begging in the streets. A generous local monastery might have helped out before the Reformation but this would not have been available in the second half of Tudor England. During the 1530s, Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries results in, among other things, much Church land being put on the market, thousands of ex-monks being released into society and the end of career opportunities for well-off women who once lived in nunneries and monastic charity and welfare.

Tudor England saw a great increase in crime as for many it was the only way they could survive. Those who resorted to theft faced the death penalty if they were caught. Punishment was very severe for seemingly trivial cases because it was believed that any sign of the government being soft towards those who had broken the law would encourage others to do likewise. However, this belief also made criminals desperate as they would do anything to avoid capture – including murder.

The government in Tudor England became very concerned about the poor. There was a lot more of the poor than there were rich and there was always the potential for a Tudor version of the Peasants Revolt. In the towns and cities, finding a job was difficult but the same thing was occurring in the countryside where changes in the way farms worked lead to unemployment for many. There was the very real danger of trouble amongst the poor.

The poor were divided into three groups by the government:

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The first were called Helpless Poor. These would include the old, the sick, the disabled and children. The elderly and the disabled received a sum of money and possibly some food each week. If they were unable to collect both, it would be delivered to their house. Children of the poor were given an apprenticeship paid for by the parish. In this way, the parish could expect to benefit from the child when they had grown up and learned a new skill. Boys were apprenticed to a master until they were 24 years old. If a girl could be found an apprenticeship, she would work with her mistress until she was 21. People who were thought to be 'Helpless Poor' were not considered to be a burden as the government believed that it was not their fault that they were in their position. Some parishes gave these people a licence to beg.
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The second group was called the Able Bodied Poor. These were people who could work but also wanted to work. Each parish was meant to build a workhouse. The unemployed worked in these making cloth or anything that might benefit the parish. They got paid out of the Poor Rate. They would remain in the workhouse until they found a ‘normal’ job.

The third group, the more dangerous, are itinerant Rogues and Vagabonds, who roam the highways begging and stealing. This was the group targeted by the government. These were people who could work but preferred to beg or steal. This group worried the government as it was the one most like to get into trouble. The government made begging illegal and anybody found begging was flogged until 'his back was bloody'. If he was found begging outside of his parish, he would be beaten until he got to the parish stones that marked his parish boundary with the next parish. Those who were caught continually begging could be sent to prison and hanged. During the reign of Edward VI, caught vagabonds could have their tongue branded and kept as a slave for two years.

There were different names for different types of beggar: A Ruffler was said to look like an army officer but actually robbed people at sword point; a Prigger of Palfrey was a horse thief; a Rogueman was a thief who carried a long stick pretending to hobble, but then used the stick to steal clothes off washing lines and food from tables; a Counterfeit Crank was a beggar who pretended to be sick or crippled so that people felt sorry for them and gave them food and money.

Townsfolk disliked beggars and treated them harshly. Their streets had become overcrowded and dirty, and the poor and beggars were accused of being scroungers and suspected of being criminals. They were targeted by many and assaulted.

I hope I have been bale to help, but this is all I can say in a brief note or else I shall be writing a book!. I am from England and it's history isn't as glamorous as it sounds. I am glad not to have lived then!.

Answer 2

Henry VIII created a lot of wealth in England, he created the Church of England after his divorce from Catherine of Aragon,It was Queen Elizabeth the Ist who created the Elizabethan Era. They enjoyed good food and rich festivals ,their clothes were luxurious and extravagant.Wealthy households had servants. Surfs helped them cultivate their land. THe Lord of the manner looked after his household and servants.