Accessibility Links

The official website for BBC History Magazine and BBC World Histories Magazine

Subscribe to BBC History Magazine
  1. Home
  2. Life in Elizabethan England

Life in Elizabethan England

What was life like in Elizabethan England – how did people live and die? How did Elizabethans dress? How did people speak in Elizabethan England? What did they eat, what was the social hierarchy, what dangers did they face?

John Blanke. (Illustration: Rose Wilkinson for BBC History Magazine)
Tudor

The Library Black faces of Tudor England

Subscribe for unlimited access to The Library
Unlock now
Swan Theatre, Bankside, London, interior from drawing by Johannes de Witt. The Shakespearian theatre, erected c1593 on Bankside – could hold 3,000 spectators – typical of the time. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
Elizabethan

At the playhouse: watching Shakespeare’s plays in Elizabethan England

Advertisement
Mary-scots-2-82fcc71
Elizabethan

Horrible Histories author reveals 10 ways to die in Elizabethan England

An illustration of Edmund Spenser’s poetic work ‘The Shepheardes Calender’
Elizabethan

The dark side of Elizabethan England

Subscribe for unlimited access to The Library
Unlock now
podcast-logo_v4_1-6f9cbc1
Tudor

Terror in Elizabethan England

(Illustration: Becca Thorne for BBC History Magazine)
Tudor

The perils of piety in Tudor England

Subscribe for unlimited access to The Library
Unlock now
B42HRN-4bf5610
Tudor

Love and marriage in Tudor England

A painting depicting a 16th century wedding feast. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)
Elizabethan

The other Elizabethan England

Subscribe for unlimited access to The Library
Unlock now
Advertisement
A woodcut showing the interior of a kitchen in Elizabethan England. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Tudor

Hold your noses – it’s the Elizabethans!

Subscribe for unlimited access to The Library
Unlock now
A woodcut showing the Globe Theatre, one of London's most famous landmarks and the venue most closely associated with Shakespeare's plays. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Elizabethan

Where history happened: Elizabethan drama

Subscribe for unlimited access to The Library
Unlock now
A scene from Edmund Spenser's 'Shepherd's Calendar' (1597). The concept of 'society' entered the English language in the 16th century, and its influence was soon being felt in all corners of the nation. (Culture Club/Getty Images)
Elizabethan

The Library The Elizabethan big society

Subscribe for unlimited access to The Library
Unlock now