The Fashion & Culture and of the Elizabethan Lifestyle

Queen Elizabeth I was such an influential person in the world during her lifetime that the period of her reign is called the Elizabethan Era. Some of our most famous art and literature come from this era of history, and English explorers traveled the globe, spreading their influence and bringing back new discoveries. With all of these innovations, life in England during Queen Elizabeth’s time was a golden era that would impact our world to this day.

Food

People in Elizabethan times ate similar meals to what we enjoy today. Many people had to be awake before dawn, so breakfast was a quick bite for servants and farmers. The midday meal was called “dinner” and might be eaten on the go, though those who could afford to stop working to eat at home would do so. The evening meal was called “supper” and was eaten at home. For all but the very poor, supper had many dishes. The wealthy partook of savory meats that were smoked, boiled, or even fried. Less fortunate people still ate very well but ate more vegetables and got their protein in the forms of milk and cheese. Spices were very important because they kept the food from being bland. New fruits and vegetables from the New World also found their way onto Elizabethan plates.

• Food in Elizabethan England: What Elizabethan people ate depended on factors including the religious calendar, their income, and their access to different foods.
• Elizabethan Dining: This article uses excerpts from journals and literature to describe Elizabethan meals.
• Food and Your Lifestyle: The day-to-day eating habits of Elizabethan people usually included two meals, one in the afternoon and another in the evening.
• Elizabethan Food: The food served to nobility was expected to be not only delicious but impressive; banquets might feature lavishly decorated and presented dishes as well as rare delicacies.

Fashion

It was a bit colder in Elizabethan England, as the climate shifted slightly during this time, leaving Europe in what was called the “Little Ice Age.” People compensated for this with a lot of padding in their clothing, giving it a stiff, formal look. They also wore many layers. Wool, leather, and linen were used to make most clothes, with expensive new textiles such as cotton and silk available to those who were allowed to wear them. Sumptuary laws dictated which clothes could be worn by which social class, so only the wealthiest and the nobility could wear the most expensive and latest fashions.

• The Well-Dressed Elizabethan: Renaissance Fashions as Social Markers: Read an essay about the sumptuary laws in Elizabethan England on this page from the Folger Shakespeare Library.
• Queen Elizabeth’s Influence on Elizabethan Fashion: The biggest fashion icon of the Elizabethan era was Elizabeth herself.
• Elizabethan Fashion: Explore major fashion trends of the Elizabethan era on this page.
• Queen Elizabeth I’s Wardrobe: Take a peek into Queen Elizabeth’s wardrobe, including her famous locket ring accessory and her elegant dresses.

The Arts

The arts during Elizabethan times were dominated by work on clothing, such as cloth production and embroidery. Clothing was so important to the social order that there were laws made limiting the finest clothing to the nobles and royalty. Like people today, when the Elizabethans dressed well, they wanted to be seen in pictures, so another major form of art was portraiture. These were done in both full size and miniature, and some of the world’s most famous artists painted during this era. But arguably the most famous person working in the arts during the time was William Shakespeare, whose plays are still performed and made into movies today.

• Elizabethan England: An essay from the Metropolitan Museum of Art examines art during Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
• Elizabethan Art: The queen herself was greatly interested in art, and many portraits were painted of her.
• The Elizabethan Era: The Renaissance was a golden age in England’s history.
• William Shakespeare: Learn more about the famous Elizabethan playwright here.

Weapons

When we think of this era, we often think of swords and plate armor. These items were certainly used in Elizabethan times, but they also had some of the earliest firearms and artillery. The arquebus was a type of rifle invented in Spain, and the musket was gaining prominence as well. Cannons had already been used in warfare by this point, but by the Elizabethan era, they were more common, especially in naval battles. Queen Elizabeth assembled the most powerful navy in the world, which was proven when they defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. The English navy also explored all over the world, expanding England’s colonial power for centuries after Elizabeth’s reign.

• The Weapons of War: Elizabethan weapons influenced warfare into the 20th century.
• Swords in Early Modern English Plays: As Shakespeare was writing, the types of swords used in society were changing due to the influence of Italian fencing.
• Arms and Armor of the Roanoke Colonists: When the English established themselves in the New World, they brought their weaponry with them.

Medicine

What the Elizabethans called medicine would look very strange to us today, as a lot of superstitions found their way into the medicine of the era. Bloodletting was a common cure for Elizabethan ailments because it was believed that illnesses occurred in the blood and could be released from the body by causing bleeding, usually using leeches to suck the blood. Herbs and vegetables such as garlic and onion were used to treat a variety of ailments, from head injuries to colds and the plague. People lived in very unsanitary conditions, with rats and fleas biting people and passing on diseases like the Bubonic Plague. Despite all of this, there were also some advances in medicine during this era, such as the first autopsies and the first studies of blood circulation.

• Elizabethan Medicine: A discussion of the notes of Simon Forman, an Elizabethan doctor, explores his practice, which was based on astrology and alchemy.
• The World of Shakespeare’s Humors: At the time, many illnesses were blamed on an imbalance of four humors, fluids said to be present in the body.
• Do No Harm: Medicine in Shakespeare’s Writings: The works of Shakespeare can offer some insight into what medical practices were like at the time.
• Elizabethan Medicine: A short lesson on Elizabethan medicine looks at the types of people who practiced medicine and the treatments they used.

Culture

Until her father, Henry VIII, took the throne of England, the country was mostly Catholic. The early 1500s introduced Protestantism to Europe, and in 1538, Henry VIII founded the Anglican Church, causing tension between England and the Catholic church that would last throughout Elizabeth’s reign. Always threatened by Catholic enemies, Elizabeth handled this by being more lenient with Catholic worshipers than her predecessor, causing a tense peace between the two sides. Also during this time, there was a surge in the population of England, causing greater unemployment and a huge rift between the rich and the poor. Elizabeth made some of the first national laws to aid the poor, especially those who could not work.

Women were expected to be subservient to husbands, and girls from wealthy families were traded like property in marriages that were more like business contracts. People in the Elizabethan era believed marrying for love was silly and fanciful. However, Elizabethan England had its fun times, too. Games like chess and backgammon were popular, as were sports such as archery, horse-racing, and fencing. Feast days were frequent, both as religious practices and by royal decree. Animals were often used in entertainment, such as bear-baiting, a favorite sport of the queen’s in which a chained bear was pitted against a pack of dogs. Elizabethan England also saw the voyages of many famous explorers, including Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh.

• What Types of Entertainment Did They Have in Elizabethan England? A short essay looks at games and amusements that were common in Elizabethan England.
• Life in Elizabethan England: The BBC details what life was like for people living under Elizabeth’s rule.
• Life in Renaissance England: The everyday life of a typical citizen of Elizabethan England is detailed in this essay.
• Religion in Elizabethan England: Find a brief history of the Church of England on this page.