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?

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

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

Roman toilet

Tales of the toilet: a historical A–Z

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)

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)

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

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Horrible Histories author reveals 10 ways to die in Elizabethan England

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

The dark side of Elizabethan England

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Terror in Elizabethan England

(Illustration: Becca Thorne for BBC History Magazine)

The perils of piety in Tudor England

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Love and marriage in Tudor England

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

The other Elizabethan England

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

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)

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)

The Library The Elizabethan big society