Elizabethan Society and Economy

Elizabethan England was a society of profound inequality, rapid change, and surprising dynamism. The social hierarchy was rigid in theory but increasingly fluid in practice, as trade, education, and the redistribution of monastic land created new opportunities for social mobility. This lesson examines the structure of Elizabethan society, the problems of poverty and vagrancy, economic developments, and the cultural achievements that made the late sixteenth century a golden age of English literature and theatre.

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The Social Hierarchy

Elizabethan society was organised according to a rigid hierarchical system, underpinned by the concept of the Great Chain of Being — the belief that God had ordained a fixed social order, from the monarch at the top to the poorest labourer at the bottom.

graph TD
    A["Monarch"] --> B["Nobility<br/>(Dukes, Earls, Barons)"]
    B --> C["Gentry<br/>(Knights, Esquires, Gentlemen)"]
    C --> D["Yeomen<br/>(Prosperous farmers)"]
    D --> E["Husbandmen<br/>(Small-scale farmers)"]
    E --> F["Labourers and Servants"]
    F --> G["Vagrants and Beggars"]