Leisure in Elizabethan England (Edexcel GCSE History)

What did Elizabethans do in Their Free Time? - Summary

Elizabethans worked longer hours than modern workers. They had less free time for hobbies and pastimes than we do today. Elizabethans still enjoyed sports, literature, music, the theatre and dancing. Similar to their education system, Elizabethan leisure activities depended upon a person's gender and social status. The nobility had more time and wealth to pursue a wider variety of art and sports. Some sports were too violent for most social classes.

Women could not participate in some sporting activities.

Elizabethan exploration and religious changes fuelled new thinking in the fields of science, theology, philosophy and the arts. In particular, this impacted Elizabethan theatres and literature. The theatre was incredibly popular among all classes in Elizabethan England. Elizabeth used this popularity to spread important messages to her subjects. 

Sport for the Nobility in Elizabethan England

• The nobility enjoyed a number of different sporting activities

• Private tuition and grammar schools taught the majority of the skills needed to participate in upper-class sports

• Some sports were exclusive to noblemen

  • The table below shows if men and women could play popular sports in Elizabethan nobility:

Types of sports played by the Elizabethan nobility

Sport for the Working Class in Elizabethan England

• Some sports united both the working and upper classes

  • Wrestling and swimming were popular sports for all classes of men

    • Working-class men would wrestle in public matches

  • The working classes also enjoyed hunting

    • They would hunt rabbits rather than deer

• Elizabethan craftsmen, farmers and labourers played some different sports from the nobility

• The main sport that the working classes played was football

• The aim of Elizabethan football is the same as the modern-day version - to place the ball in the opponent's goal

• There are key differences between the rules of Elizabethan football and football today. There was no punishment for:

  • Picking up the football

  • Attacking another player. It was not uncommon for people to die during football matches

  • Having a larger number of players on your team than your opponents

• Due to this, Elizabethan nobles considered football too dangerous to play

• The pitch in Elizabethan football was much larger

  • People played the game between villages. This meant the pitch could be miles in length

Spectator sports

• All classes watched and gambled on the same sports in Elizabethan times

• The two key spectator sports were baiting and cock-fighting

Baiting

• The sport required a bear or a bull

• The owner would file the bear's teeth and then tie the animal to a post

• The organisers would release dogs to attack the bear or the bull

• Spectators would bet a large amount of money on if the dogs would kill the bear or the bull

  • Owners wanted the bear to win as they were expensive animals in Elizabethan times

  • Bulls were less expensive to purchase. Owners allowed bulls to fight to the death with the dogs

Cock-fighting

• The sport required two cockerels

  • These animals are aggressive when they are close to another male cockerel

• The owners placed metal spurs on the cockerel's head

• The organisers would place the two cockerels together to fight to the death using their spurs or their beaks

• Spectators would bet a large amount of money on which cockerel would win

• Baiting and cock-fighting were very popular in Elizabethan England

• Many towns had specialised arenas for bear-baiting and cock-fighting. People built bull rings for bull-baiting

• Queen Elizabeth enjoyed watching both sports

Elizabethan Literature

• Elizabethan exploration inspired writers 

  • Explorers published written accounts of their discoveries in the Americas

    • For example, Sir Walter Raleigh wrote The Discovery of Guiana (1596). It exaggerated what Raleigh had found there

  • Writers created biographies on famous explorers like Sir Francis Drake

• The preservation of the past was also important to Elizabethan writers

  • History was a popular genre in Elizabethan times

  • Humanism encouraged the translation of Ancient Greek and Roman texts into English

  • Medieval works like The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer were widely read among the literate

• The Elizabethan upper classes liked creative writing. Poetry was the most popular format 

  • Queen Elizabeth wrote many poems

Elizabethan Theatre

• Theatre became increasingly popular during Elizabeth's reign

  • England had no theatres in 1555

    • Many local authorities blocked the building of theatres because travelling actors impacted law and order

• Some wealthier Elizabethans decided to support actors and build theatres to perform their plays

  • Dudley, Earl of Leicester, gave financial and legal support to actors in London

    • He owned a theatre company called Leicester's Men in 1559

  • Elizabeth established The Queen's Men in 1583

    • Elizabeth did not attend the theatre herself. Theatre companies would perform plays for her in the royal court

• From 1567, London allowed the building of theatres

  • The first purpose-built theatre was the Red Lion in Whitechapel

  • Other prominent Elizabethan theatres include James Burbage's The Theatre (1576), The Rose (1587) and The Globe (1599)

• The concept map below explains the key aspects of Elizabethan theatre:

Features of Elizabethan theatre 

• The theatre's popularity made it a powerful tool for Elizabeth

  • She could use the theatre to spread political messages and warn of the dangers of religious conflict

  • Elizabeth's government introduced censorship of the theatre in 1572

    • Theatre companies needed the royal licence to operate

    • A government official read and approved all play scripts in Elizabethan England

Elizabethan Music and Dancing

• All classes in Elizabethan England enjoyed music

  • The increase in the production of plays created new styles of music

  • Advances in technology allowed improvements in instruments

• The table below shows how the practice of music differed between the lower and upper classes:

Music in Elizabethan England

• All Elizabethans participated in dancing

  • The upper and lower classes would not dance together

    • The upper classes would dance in private balls in noble households. The lower classes would dance publicly at fairs

    • Men and women within the same social class would dance together