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    Historical TV and film
    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?

    Roman toilet
    Tudor

    Tales of the toilet: a historical A–Z

    William Cecil, also known as Lord Burghley, with Queen Elizabeth I. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
    Elizabethan

    Your guide to William Cecil, chief adviser to Queen Elizabeth I

    Midwives and babies in the sun
    General Early Modern

    Midwifery and childbirth: a historical A–Z guide

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    A portrait of William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare’s rise from ‘upstart crow’ to England’s greatest playwright

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

    Black faces of Tudor England

    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

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    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

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    Tudor

    Terror in Elizabethan England

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    (Illustration: Becca Thorne for BBC History Magazine)
    Tudor

    The perils of piety in Tudor England

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    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

    A woodcut showing the interior of a kitchen in Elizabethan England. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
    Tudor

    The Library Hold your noses - it’s the Elizabethans!

    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

    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

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