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Room 2 The Elizabethan Court Downloadable guide to The Tudor Gallery - Room 2 (PDF Format) On the death of her half-sister Mary, on 17 November 1558, Elizabeth I ascended the throne of England. The daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth had maintained her Protestant beliefs during Mary's reign, and on her accession determined to restore England to Protestantism. However, the stability of the country depended on her uniting her people, and throughout her long reign (until 1603) she struggled to preserve an uneasy peace with her Roman Catholic subjects. Her own strength of character, and the ability of her ministers, notably Lord Burghley, ensured that the Elizabethan age was on the whole one of peace and prosperity. The might of her sea captains, particularly Francis Drake, and the development of exploration and trade enabled England under Elizabeth to become a world power. The relative political stability of Elizabeth's reign provided a context in which the arts flourished. Above all, it was an age of poetry and drama; numerous courtiers included the writing of poetry among their skills, and the achievements of playwrights - who tended to be professionals from more humble backgrounds - were unparalleled. Particularly important to the cultural life at court were the Queen's favourites. These were men singled out for special attention and favour, in return for which they were expected to play the part of her chivalrous lovers at court festivities, fight as her champions at tournaments and write orations about her beauty and wisdom. A personal mythology developed around Elizabeth, as the eternally youthful virgin queen, which she used both as a means of maintaining control over her subjects in England and as a political tool abroad, playing off foreign suitors against one another. Portraits on display |
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protection. 04 December 2008 |
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