Key Ideas
 Elizabethan marriage depiction |
Her refusal to marry brought about changes in the roles of Elizabethan women:
-Elizabeth I said “better beggar woman and single than Queen and married”. By not marrying, she didn’t produce an heir and thus was the fifth and final Tudor Monarch.
-From the start of her reign in 1558, Elizabeth was pressured into marriage in order for there to be an heir to the throne. The Privy Council tried to persuade her to do this – they felt that marriage and having children was her duty.
-Elizabeth had a strong sense of responsibility and duty to her country so one must assume not marrying was not an easy decision for her to make.
-Negotiations of marriage proposals were thrown around by Philip of Spain, Archduke Ferdinand and Archduke Charles – all of whom were European and Catholic. Elizabeth was pushing her Religious Settlement which put Protestantism at the forefront of England and Wales so the idea of marrying a Catholic, King or not, was unacceptable to her. She never accepted any of these proposals which may mean that she was simply going through the notions to appease her advisors.
-Some historians say that it was her experiences as a child seeing her mother, Anne Boleyn, executed on the orders of her father, that made her set her mind on not marrying or having children. Her half-sister Mary also had a disastrous marriage so this may have put her off the idea also.
-There was also the strong possibility that she would lose her power and control of England if she married purely because she was female. She didn’t want this so remained the “Virgin Queen”.
-By deliberately not marrying, she provided a prototype for a powerful female head of start who was not dependent on a man. This was a rather ‘feminist’ action.
- As a result, she influenced more women to become independent. Their main role model was their Queen and her choice to remain unmarried influenced Englishwomen to not be as reliant on their husbands. Having said that, the culture of women having to marry in Tudor Stuart England remained intact.
- After the Reformation, the convents were closed so women did not become nuns. Wealthy single women who were heiresses of property could be mistress of their own estates and therefore hold the power in the community. -The Elizabethans still had clear ideas about the roles of women; men were the breadwinners and women housewives and mothers. On average a woman gave birth once every two years (a lot dies in infancy), families were therefore not often large. Childbearing was a gift from God and a great honour for Elizabethan women. -By not having children of her own, she challenged the traditional view that women were purely meant for raising families. |
 Monarch's crown |
Her refusal to name a successor changed traditional views of the roles of women:
- In Tudor Stuart times the measure of a successful monarch was whether they left an heir and therefore a succession. So her failure to clarify the succession may have been a skilful action rather than indecision.
-The laws of inheritance in Tudor Stuart England meant that fathers aimed to have a son. Henry VIII was obsessed with having a son and so his attitude toward his daughters was unusual: probably the result of his obsession with providing the country with a male heir and subsequent ruler.
-Virgin Queen image showed she wasn’t reliant on men.
-Women couldn’t inherit their father's titles. All titles passed from father to son or brother to brother. The only exception was the crown which could pass to a daughter in some cases, like Mary and Elizabeth I, and they had all the power and majesty of any king |
 Portrait: Queen Elizabeth I |
Elizabethan art began to show women as powerful:
-In her book, The Warrior Queens, Antonia Fraser (writer and historian) wrote:
"The differentness of the Queen from all other female subjects was the cornerstone of her self-presentation... Firstly, she worked upon her female nature to provide a delicate, exquisite image of the lady who needed to be protected - and the goddess who had to be adored. Secondly, she presented herself as a 'prince'." -Elizabeth tried to be a "man's heart in a woman's body." She didn’t identify with her female subjects as this would only have weakened her power considering the common views that women were inferior.
-So she appeared in portraits which made her seem powerful and intelligent:
-E.g. This painting is titled ‘Queen Elizabeth I’ by George Gower (1558). He became ‘serjeant painter’ to Queen Elizabeth in 1581. This portrait has lots of symbolism in it; pearls symbol purity (they were given to her by Robert Dudley), the crown symbolises her status of Queen and also her right hand rests upon a globe (her fingers are on America) which shows that Elizabeth is the ruler of both land and sea. In 1587 (this portrait was painted in 1588) the first English child was born at the English settlement in Virginia. Thus Elizabeth wanted to be seen a strong ruler of a strong and expanding empire. In the background of the picture, viewers can see the Spanish Armada (defeated by the English in 1588) which symbolise England’s great triumph and so reinforce Elizabeth as a capable leader.
-This changed the views of women as, on a global scale, Elizabeth I and therefore women were seen as more capable and therefore capable than thought previously. |
 Spanish Armada ships |
Elizabeth I’s foreign policy initiatives influenced the views of women’s roles to change on a global scale:
-Foreign policy initiatives include:
Eager to avoid war with Scotland, Elizabeth’s financial support to the Dutch rebels (mostly Protestant) angered Spain and so enmity between the two countries grew constantly (along with the religious opposition), struggles to maintain ruling over Ireland.
-She was very determined to make her impact on the world by her foreign policy. This resulted in England gaining a powerful place on the world stage and therefore Elizabeth also. So, on a global scale women were involved in running countries (also in France) and this began to chance the traditional thinking that women were only meant for homemaking. |
 England's defeat of the Spanish Armada in a painting |
England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada showed Elizabeth as a successful Queen:
-Her speech at Tilbury showed her dedication to lead England single-handedly as an independent woman.
- When she led the English army to defeat the Spanish Armada this was a huge triumph for England. This event became evidence for the success of her reign.
-As a result of the success in her reign, she influenced generations of women to come after her as well as in her own time to achieve in their own pursuits.
-Legacy of her reign: she proved herself worthy to rule England and her reign (The Elizabethan Era) became known as the Golden Age because of the above successes. |
 The strong Monarch as shown in the 1998 film 'Elizabeth' |
Women were viewed as more independent when Elizabeth became Governor under the Elizabethan Religious Settlement:
-After the downfall of her mother she wasn’t treated with care or respect anymore. This meant that she didn’t have any strong female role models and so she became strong and independent and also internalised any weakness she felt.
-She became a strong female role model herself to Protestants and many Englishmen and women when she became Supreme Governor. While it wasn’t appropriate for her to be Head of the Church as her father was, this meant that all English people were loyal to her above Rome.
-As a result she became a role model who was independent and then influenced the traditional views that women were dependent on men purely to be challenged. |
 An Elizabethan Parliament |
Elizabeth’s tight control of parliament showed her to be a dominant female:
|
- Her half-sister Mary failed to control her court so Elizabeth knew that she had to have ultimate control to be a successful Monarch. Thus, her advisors and council always knew that she was in charge.
-She had the ability to have ultimate control (she held the balance of the power and made all the decisions) yet knew when to take advice from her trusted advisors like Lord Burghley.
-She had sound judgement in selecting capable privy councillors which meant that she was surrounded by competent experts in different areas so she was able to rule effectively.
-The tight control of parliament meant that she was able to take control of her life and as a powerful figure she influenced the traditional views of women being inferior and submissive to be challenged. 
Queen Elizabeth on her throne as portrayed in the 1998 film 'Elizabeth'
The speeches she made during her reign encouraged men to accept women as their equals:
-Spanish Armada speech: “I have the heart and stomach of a King”
- She often referred to herself as a Prince to show she was above ‘everyday women’. -Thus she became accepted as a powerful human – a force to be reckoned with, let alone a woman.
-1559 speech about marriage
-1559 speech about religion
-1563 speech in parliament
-1585 speech about religion
-1601 last speech to parliament – ‘Golden Speech’
Glossary of Key Terms
Patriarchal – A society where men were considered the leaders and dominant sex and women were their inferiors.
Supreme Governor - The Supreme Governor of the Church of England is a title which British Monarchs
have to show their leadership over the Church of England.
Excommunication - To deprive of the right of church membership by ecclesiastical authorityBibliographyReferencing from guidelines on http://www.factmonster.com/homework/t8biblio.htmlBlog
Pictures from Internet related to key ideas:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/excommunicate. Author unknown. First accessed 24/06/12.
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Governor_of_the_Church_of_England. Author unknown. First accessed 24/06/12.
Transcript/Podcast
Websites:
http://www.elizabethi.org/us/women/.
Author unknown. First accessed 24/06/12.
http://www.duke.edu/web/emt/student_projects/morgan/women.html.
Author: Morgan, K. First accessed 24/06/12.
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-women.htm
First accessed 24/06/12, author unknown.
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/tilbury.htm
First accessed 24/06/12, primary source, author: Queen Elizabeth I.
http://www.luminarium.org/renascence-editions/eliz1.html
First accessed 24/06/12, primary source, author: Queen Elizabeth I
Books:
Sim, A ‘The Tudor Housewife’ Canada: McGill-Queen’s University
Press, 2001.
Fraser, A ‘The Warrior Queens’ New York: Vintage Books, 1998.
Textbooks:
Campbell, C and Childs, R ‘Longman Write-on Notes 1558-1667’
Fourth edition Malaysia: Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011.
ClickView:
Documentary
‘Monarchy’, found on ClickView program, first showed on the History Channel,
created and presented by Starkey, D, 2007.
First accessed 24th June.
Podcast:
Podcast found on http://www.historyextra.com/podcast-page.
Podcast accessed 24th June.
First played 12th August 2011 as part of the Tudor series of podcasts – Interviewee; Susan Doran
Encyclopaedia:
World Book Encyclopedia (E-6). Published
World Book inc. in Chicago, 2004, pg 238-239
Music: Elizabethan Court Music from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_RcMug23po. Composers or musicians unknown. |
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