Social and Historical Independent Research Task

The English Renaissance

1. What was the English Renaissance?

2. When did it occur?

3. Who were the Tudors?

4. What is meant by ‘the Renaissance style and ideas’?

5. How was English literature impacted by the Renaissance?

6. What does humanism refer to?

7. How has William Shakespeare explored humanism? Make reference to at least ONE
play you have studied previously and explain how that play explores humanism.

The Reformation
1. When did The Reformation in England occur?

2. Explain what The Reformation was and how it impacted English society. Consider:
a. Who was the monarch at the time;
b. What beliefs were held at the time;
c. What brought on the change;
d. How society reacted;
 3. What role did Elizabeth play in solidifying the changes that occurred during The
Reformation? Identify and describe some of the drastic measures she took to ensure
her father’s wishes were fulfilled.
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4. What is the significance of Christianity in Elizabethan-Jacobean society? How did it

impact the different aspects of an individual’s life?

Social Conditions in Elizabethan-Jacobean England

https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/daily-life-
elizabethan-era
1. Describe the social class system.
a. Nobility
b. Gentry
c. Merchant
d. Yeoman
e. Indignants

2. What is meant by The Golden Age? How does this relate back to social class?
 3. How did changes in social class change?
a. Explore the impact of growing population, economy, business and industry on
social class.
b. Creation of the middle class

4. What laws did Elizabeth I pass in relation to education? How did this impact society?

5. What rules were introduced in relation to clothing that dictated social status? Briefly
describe what was worn by the each social class.

Traditional Gender Roles

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-family-life.htm
http://www.elizabethanenglandlife.com/importance-of-family-in-england-during-elizabethan-
period.html
1. What was the role of an Elizabethan man?

2. What was the role of an Elizabethan woman?

3. Outline some of the restrictions that were placed upon women in the Elizabethan era.
 4. Explain the roles within an Elizabethan family. Consider the roles of the husbands,
wives, and children.

5. Describe the relationship between parents and children.

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6. Why was marriage considered to be a ‘business transaction’?

7. What does primogeniture refer to? Was is valued during this era? Why?

Great Chain of Being and the Divine Right

http://www.elizabethanenglandlife.com/elizabethan-era-chain-of-being-theory.html
1. What is the ‘Scala Natura’ or ‘Great Chain of Being’?

2. List the order of the chain

3. Find an image online and either print off and glue OR sketch it into your book.

4. How is the Great Chain of Being reflected in Elizabethan-Jacobean society?

Rota Fortunae or The Wheel of Fortune
1. Where did the Rota Fortunae originate?

2. What are the eight states of life on the Wheel of Fortune? Provide a brief description
of each.

3. Explain how The Wheel of Fortune works.

4. Did the Wheel of Fortune clash with the Christian values of Elizabethan-Jacobean
era? Why?