Learning Outcomes

Discussion
4.1.1 The Tudors (1485-1603)
The House of Tudor, the English royal dynasty of Welsh origin comprised five sovereigns: Henry VII (1485–1509); his son, Henry VIII (1509–47); followed by Henry VIII’s three children, Edward VI (1547–53), Mary I (1553–58), and Elizabeth I (1558– 1603). Among the prime Tudor monarchs, Henry VII, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I contributed a great part in turning England from an average state in the Middle Ages into a powerful Renaissance state that in the next centuries, would dominate much of the world. The series of changes marked by Henry VIII’s break with the papacy in Rome (1534) and the beginning of the English Reformation culminated in the establishment of the Anglican church under Elizabeth I.
The origins of the Tudors can be traced to the 13th century, but the family’s dynastic fortunes were established by Owen Tudor (1400–61), a Welsh adventurer who was employed by Kings Henry V and Henry VI. Owen, who fought on the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses (1455-85), (a series of civil wars for the English throne fought between the houses of Lancaster and York) was beheaded after the Yorkist victory at Mortimer’s Cross (1461). Owen had married Henry V’s widow, Catherine of Valois, who belonged to the Lancastrian side. Their eldest son Edmund (1430–56), was created Earl of Richmond by Henry VI and married Margaret Beaufort, who, as the great-granddaughter of Edward III’s son John of Gaunt, held a distant claim to the throne as a Lancastrian. Their only child, Henry Tudor, was born after Edmund’s death.
4.1.1.1 Henry VII (born 1457; reign 1485 – 1509)

Fig 4.1.1 Henry VII
In 1485 Henry led an invasion against the Yorkist king Richard III and defeated and killed him at Bosworth Field on August 22 and claimed the Crown through the right of conquest. (Richard had usurped the throne of his 12-year-old nephew Edward V who was allowed to be on the throne for only two months). Henry VII cemented his claim by marrying Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV and heiress of the House of York. Apart from the right of conquest, Henry’s claim to the throne was through two women, his mother and wife. By defeating Richard III at Bosworth, Henry Tudor established a new monarchy that comprised well-known figures in royal history. The term ‘new monarchy’ was coined by J. R. Green in 1893 to describe the despotic kingship of the early Tudor regime. By undermining the nobility and marrying Elizabeth of York, Henry united the quarrelling families and proceeded to secure his position on the throne. Cautious and calculating, he kept the peace and built up a firm financial base, and showed a skill to extract money from the people who suffered. He extended the power by using traditional methods of administration and increased revenue, including the day-by- day examination of accounts. He displayed prudent fiscal management and restored the fortunes of a bankrupt exchequer. His financial methods were efficient and ruthless, and he was successful in leaving a fortune for his successor.
Throughout his reign, Henry did his best to strengthen tense relations, both at home and abroad. Henry faced a series of rebellions against him and could feel secure only by 1506. He quelled all the revolts that came his way to ensure his position could be secured and concentrated his attention on the proper administration of the country. To end the power of the barons, the King established a special court of the Stuart Chamber, a large council presided over by himself, in which lawyers, clergymen, and lesser gentry were active. He reduced the power of the feudal lords. He imposed heavy fines on nobles who were found disobeying the regulations of the King. He also increased the foreign trade of the country so that the wealth and prosperity of the country could be increased.
It was after Henry VII took over as the King of England that it went on to become an influential nation. With his foolproof policy towards his neighbours, England created an important place for itself in the family of European nations. With France, its ancient enemy, England adopted an intelligent policy. When the King of France attacked Spain, Henry VII also declared war on France. But soon, the French decided to make peace with Henry by offering large sums of money and recognising his dynasty. He also joined the League of Venice to maintain the balance of power in Europe with Spain. He effectively exercised control over Ireland to ensure that it didn’t become the breeding ground of rebellion against him. He secured a treaty with Scotland in 1499 and in 1502, arranged for his daughter Margaret to marry James IV, King of Scots. He ensured peace with Spain, the most powerful country in Europe at the time, when his eldest son Arthur married Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of King Ferdinand II of Spain, in 1501. When Arthur died the following year, she was betrothed to Prince Henry, the second son of Henry VII. Henry VII was a farsighted ruler. His domestic and foreign policies brought prestige to England and credit to the Tudors. He spent money shrewdly so as to maintain the royal treasury till his death in 1509. He was succeeded by his second and only surviving son Henry without any opposition.
4.1.1.2 Henry VIII (Reign 1509– 1547) 

Fig 4.1.2 Henry VIII
Historians regarded Henry VIII as one of the most important monarchs to have ruled England and Wales. He did not follow the same approach to government and administration as his father, Henry VII, had done. During his tenure, he presided over the beginnings of the Renaissance and Reformation in England, the incorporation of Wales into English administration and the establishment of the Kingdom of Ireland. When he was 11, his elder brother Arthur died, and from that day onwards, Henry, unlike all the other Tudor monarchs, was assured of the Crown if he remained alive at the time of his father’s death. This meant that Henry got a chance to mentally prepare for the task. He contributed much to the very embodiment of true monarchy. He believed that the government could be left to trusted men who, once they knew the king’s wishes, would implement them. Therefore, though Henry VIII was not overly involved in government, his men were actually carrying out his policies. He appointed a number of very able ministers who were able to leave their mark on Tudor’s history. Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell are the best-known among them.
4.1.1.3 Catherine of Aragon 

Fig 4.1.3 Catherine of Aragon
Henry has attracted a lot of attention due to the fact that he had married six times. His queens were, successively, Catherine of Aragon (the mother of the future queen Mary I), Anne Boleyn (the mother of the future queen Elizabeth I), Jane Seymour (mother of Edward VI who succeeded Henry), Anne of Cleaves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. Of these, the divorced Catherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour (after childbirth) met with natural death while Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were executed on the charges of adultery and treason. The marriage of Henry with Anne of Cleaves was annulled within a few months. Catherine Parr outlived Henry.
Henry strongly argued that God had placed him as king, and therefore everyone had to conform to what Henry wanted because if they did not, they were not only defying God’s lieutenant on Earth, but also God himself. It became the customary duty of all subjects to honour and obey the king even if they did not agree with what he did. Thus, Henry appeared to have subscribed to the divine right of kings. Basically, he was a despotic king, but the public supported him greatly as decisions were mostly according to the desire of the people. The strong state army protected the people from frequent civil wars in England. The Navy was the real strength of England. Foreigners were always cautious of this English strength. The credit for it goes to Henry VIII who made special efforts towards the building of ships.
4.1.1.4 Anne Boleyn 

Fig 4.1.4 Anne Boleyn
The aims of Henry VIII’s foreign policy were to maintain the balance of power in Europe by resisting the power of the enemies of England and to dominate, if possible, European politics. As soon as he ascended the throne, he married Catherine of Aragon, daughter of the Spanish King Ferdinand II and the widow of his elder brother, with whom he was already betrothed. He made peace with France through the marriage alliance of his sister Mary with Louis XII of France. When the terms of his alliance with Spain expired, Henry declared war with France. By doing this, he also checked the increase in the power of Charles V of Spain who succeeded Ferdinand II. England began to be looked upon as one of the most important nations of Europe. When Henry VIII broke his relations with the Pope it paved the way for the Reformation movement. As a result, the English church was separated from the Roman Church.
4.1.2 Reformation in England under Henry VIII
The Reformation in Germany and Switzerland started as a national and popular movement. But the English reformation was the result of the personal motives of Henry VIII. During his early days, Henry VIII was a strong supporter of the Pope. When Martin Luther defied Poe, Henry VIII wrote a book refuting Luther’s argument and sent it to the Pope. Then he was awarded the title of ‘Defender of the Faith’ by the Pope. But he became a tool for the division between the Roman Church and the Church of England.
The prime cause of the breach with Rome was that the Pope did not give consent for his divorce from Queen Catherine of Aragon. Henry was obsessed with the issue of a male heir. Catherine, who was more than 5 years older than Henry failed to deliver a son; after several early deaths and stillbirths, she had managed to give birth only to Princess Mary. Moreover, he was by this time already infatuated with Anne Boleyn who refused to become his mistress. Henry sought sanction from the Pope for his divorce on the ground that his first marriage to Catherine was illegal as she was the widow of his brother. As he was eager to marry Anne, Henry ultimately decided to defy the Pope. He summoned a Parliament in 1529 (Reformation Parliament), and a subservient Parliament passed a series of laws abolishing the Pope’s authority in England. Henry married Anne Boleyn in January 1533, and Princess Elizabeth was born in September 1533.
In 1533 an Act of Appeals was passed forbidding Roman control over the English church. In 1534 Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy which declared the English King to be “the only supreme head of the Church of England” (Anglican Church) and had the power to appoint all ecclesiastical officials and dispose of the Papal revenues. Even though Henry’s first intention was merely to put pressure on the Pope to grant the divorce, it ended in the complete severance of English people from the Roman church to which they had belonged for a thousand years. This also led to the establishment of a liturgy in English, the Book of Common Prayer.
There was much opposition in England to the act. Those who refused to follow the act of supremacy were punished. John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and Sir Thomas More, the author of Utopia who served as Chancellor was executed in 1535 for refusing to accept Henry as the Head of the Church. Earlier Cardinal Wolsey who served as Chancellor for several years also had to pay with his life when he failed to get the Pope’s sanction for Henry’s divorce from Catherine. Henry was not a Protestant in doctrine, but his aim was to keep England Catholic without the Pope.

In 1539, a statute known as the Statute of Six Articles was passed and this defined the chief doctrines of the Church of England. The law imposed the death penalty on anyone who questioned Catholic doctrines.
It was followed by the dissolution of more than six hundred religious houses or monasteries. Most of the monastic lands acquired through the above acts were sold to the wealthy middle classes. These people, the ultimate beneficiaries of the dissolution of monasteries, were bound to the crown by a sense of gratitude. This indirectly guaranteed Protestantism in England. Many centres of pilgrimage lost their importance as a result of the dissolution. The dissolution also resulted in the destruction of many monastic libraries and it was a cruel injury to learning and literature.
It is fitting to end the section on Henry VIII with this assessment by the Encyclopaedia Britannica:
Henry VIII has always seemed the very embodiment of true monarchy. Even his evil deeds, never forgotten, have been somehow amalgamated into a memory of greatness. He gave his nation what it wanted: a visible symbol of its nationhood. He also had done something toward giving it a better government, a useful navy, and a start on religious reform and social improvement. But he was not a great man in any sense. Although a leader in every fibre of his being, he little understood where he was leading his nation.
4.1.3 Edward VI (Reign 1547–1553)
Edward ascended the throne when he was at the age of nine. He was the only legitimate son of Henry VIII and remained king of England and Ireland from 1547 to 1553. His tutors who included Roger Ascham have remarked that Edward was an intellectually gifted, precocious student of Greek, Latin, French and theology. By the age of 13, he had read Aristotle’s Ethics in the Greek original and was translating Cicero’s De Philosophia into Greek. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 16.

Fig 4.1.5 Edward VI
The government was carried out in his name during his reign of six years mainly first by his uncle Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and later by the unscrupulous John Dudley who became Duke of Northumberland. The measures taken by both helped to consolidate the cause of the English Reformation and they agreed with Edward’s own intense devotion to Protestantism. His short reign witnessed the introduction of the English Prayer Book and the Forty-two Articles, and thus this period was important in the development of English Protestantism. The decisive move from Catholicism to a form of Protestantism was later known as Anglicanism. Due to his ardent beliefs, Edward disapproved of his elder half- sister Mary’s Catholicism and even when his health was visibly failing, he did not want her to succeed to the throne. Working in league with Northumberland, he tried to exclude both his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, from the Crown by giving his preference for his cousin Lady Jane Grey, granddaughter of the youngest sister of Henry VIII. Lady Jane Grey, who had become the wife of Northumberland’s son a few months earlier, was proclaimed the Queen a few days after the death of Edward. Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth were next in the line of succession according to an act of Parliament (1544) and Henry VIII’s will (1547). Nine days later, Lady Jane Grey was forced to relinquish the Crown and was put in the Tower and later executed. She was only 16 at the time of her execution.
4.1.4 Mary I (Reign 1553 – 1558) 

Fig 4.1.6 Mary I
Mary was the eldest surviving child of Henry VIII through his first marriage with Queen Catherine of Aragon. In order to divorce Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn, Henry had argued that as Catherine was his brother’s widow, marriage with Catherine was incestuous and illegal. Hence after the establishment of the Anglican Church, Mary was considered an illegitimate child. Mary lived constantly under the fear of being executed so long as Anne remained powerful. While she was alive, Catherine refused to admit that her marriage with Henry was incestuous and illegal. After the execution of Anne Boleyn, Henry promised to pardon Mary if Mary acknowledged Henry as the Head of the Church and admitted the incestuous illegality of his marriage with her mother. Mary took a long time to accept this demand from her father. As per the third act of Succession passed by Parliament in 1544, Mary and Elizabeth were granted succession to the throne after Edward and his sons, and after any other legitimate sons Henry might still have in future.
Mary was a pawn in the game of power politics played in her childhood and youth. Several proposals of marriage for her came before and after her mother was divorced by Henry. But no marriage materialised for her before she became the queen. She was brought up as a devout Catholic. When Edward VI died, she fled to Norfolk on hearing that Lady Jane Grey became Queen. She made a triumphant return to London with popular support a few days later at the age of 37 and became the first queen to rule England.
Queen Mary I is best remembered for trying to undo the works of her half-brother Edward and attempt to return England from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. With the aim of reuniting the Anglican Church with the Church in Rome, she decided to marry Prince Philip II of Spain, who was younger than her by 11 years. When her plan was opposed by both the Parliament and the powerful nobles, she was said to have replied: “My marriage is my own affair”. A Protestant rebellion broke out in 1554, but Mary managed to arouse common people to fight for her, and the rebellion was crushed. Mary married Philip in 1554 and restored the Catholic creed and revived the laws against heresy. In order to attain her objective, during the next four years, she executed almost three hundred religious dissenters, often by burning them at the stake. As a result, she became known as Bloody Mary. A disastrous war with France in which England was assisted by Spain resulted in the loss of Calais, its last continental possession. Philip had become the king of Spain in 1556. Unloved by her subjects, Mary died in 1558 without any children, and she reluctantly named her sister Elizabeth as her successor before her death.
4.1.5 Elizabeth I (Reign 1558 – 1603)
Elizabeth was the second daughter of Henry VII through his marriage with Anne Boleyn. Before Elizabeth reached the age of three, her mother was beheaded. The Second Act of succession passed by Parliament as per the wish of Henry in 1536 declared his marriage with Anne Boleyn invalid from the beginning thereby making Elizabeth an illegitimate child. The act removed both Mary and Elizabeth from the line of succession. (The first act of succession in 1534 had removed Mary from the line of succession as an illegitimate daughter and legitimised any children from Anne Boleyn; the third act of 1544 made both the sisters eligible for succession after Edward). All available accounts suggest that Henry treated all his children with affection even though he was not at all pleased by the sight of his daughters at their birth. She was allowed to spend some of her time with her half-brother Edward. She and Mary benefited from the loving attention of their stepmother Catherine Parr, Henry’s sixth wife. Elizabeth received a rigorous education in classical languages, history, rhetoric and theology under the able guidance of tutors such as the humanist Roger Ascham. Even as a young girl, she was considered very serious. After her father’s death, she had to undergo a dangerous existence, especially during the troublesome reign of Mary. She was sent to the Tower for two months and later spent more than a year in house arrest.

Fig 4.1.7 Elizabeth I
When Elizabeth came to the throne following the death of Mary, there was public jubilation just as it happened when Mary marched to London following the nine- day rule of Jane Gray. Since she was never married, Elizabeth was referred to as the ‘Virgin Queen’. She did not feel secure at all in the early years of her reign. There were constant threats of rebellion by men who did not approve of her religious policies and by others who did not like the idea of a woman on the throne. There were many potential suitors for her hand in marriage, and she might have felt that in marrying one, she would be antagonising many others. It appears that she was making a virtue out of a necessity and thus remained unmarried for strategic reasons.
Immediately after she came to the throne, she started issuing proclamations and assembled a group of experienced and trusted advisors. Chief among them was William Cecil who served her efficiently for 40 years. She made it clear at the very outset that she intended to rule in more than name only and that she would not subordinate her judgement to that of any other person or group. When she was crowned, England was in a miserable politico-economic condition. The exchequer was bankrupt, inflation was soaring, and people were suffering at this time. But Elizabeth managed to overturn the fortunes of her kingdom. She introduced frugal policies to restore fiscal responsibilities. Under her reign, England grew stronger gradually domestically and hence was able to project a picture of its strength to the neighbouring nations. Her religious policies were the most tolerant witnessed in English history. She was able to manage the sharp religious battles between Protestants and Catholics and political battles between parliament and the monarchy respectively. The socio-cultural fields like literature and the dramatic arts flourished. She was able to withstand a Spanish invasion. By the end of her reign of 45 years, England is believed to have become more prosperous than any of the nations in Europe other than Spain. This period in history became known as the Elizabethan era and has been considered a golden era in British History.
In 1588, King Philip of Spain (who was earlier the husband of Queen Mary I) launched a naval invasion of England under its famed Spanish Armada with the purpose of overthrowing Elizabeth. But aided by superior tactics and the heavy winds, the English navy was able to vanquish the Spanish. On 29th July, the English fleet badly damaged the ‘Invincible Armada’ in the Battle of Gravelines. The successful defence of the Kingdom against invasion on such an unprecedented scale, especially when no one expected it, boosted the prestige of Queen Elizabeth I and instilled a sense of pride and nationalism among the English people.
Elizabeth had seen England torn between Protestantism and Catholicism during the time of her father, her half-brother and especially during the time of her half-sister. As she was determined to learn from that experience, Queen Elizabeth I wanted to build a stable, peaceful nation with a strong government, free from the influence of foreign powers in matters of the church and the state. Immediately after becoming Queen, she restored England to Protestantism. The Act of Supremacy, passed by Parliament and approved in 1559, re-established the Church of England’s independence from Rome and gave her the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England. In the same year, the Act of Uniformity was passed, which found a middle ground between Catholicism and Protestantism. The Church of England’s modern doctrinal character is largely the result of this settlement, which sought to negotiate a middle ground between the two branches of Christianity. She did not tolerate extreme followers of either Catholicism or Protestantism.
Advancements in the practical skills of navigation enabled explorers to thrive during the Elizabethan era, which also opened up profitable global trade routes. Sir Francis Drake, for example, was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. He was also authorised by Elizabeth to raid Spanish treasure ships in the New World. In 1583 Humphrey Gilbert, a Member of Parliament and explorer claimed Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth I. In August 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh arranged for the first (albeit short- lived) English colony in America at Roanoke. Without these astonishing feats of exploration, the British Empire would not have expanded as it did in the 17th century.
Drama, poetry and art blossomed under Elizabeth’s reign. Playwrights like Christopher Marlowe and Shakespeare, poets like Edmund Spenser and men of science like Francis Bacon all found an expression for their genius, often thanks to the patronage of members of Elizabeth’s court. Elizabeth was also a major patron of the arts from the outset of her reign. Theatre companies were invited to perform at her palaces, which helped their reputations; previously, playhouses had often been castigated or closed down for being ‘immoral’, but the Privy Council prevented the Mayor of London from closing the theatres in 1580 by citing Elizabeth’s fondness for theatre.
4.1.6 Tudor Rule and the Founda- tion of English Reformation
The Tudor era saw unprecedented changes and developments in England. There were five Tudor monarchs who introduced huge changes that are still visible in English society. The Tudor era witnessed the most sweeping religious changes in England since the arrival of Christianity, which affected every aspect of national life. The Reformation eventually transformed an entirely Catholic nation into a predominantly Protestant one. Before Henry VIII’s break with the papacy in the 1530s, the Roman Catholic Church was all powerful in England. Only a small, persecuted minority questioned its doctrines. The early years of Henry’s reign also saw traditional religious practices – such as pilgrimages, saints’ holidays and religious plays – enthusiastically observed, together with the continued building and embellishment of churches that had been a major feature of the reign of his father, Henry VII.
But when Henry declared himself Supreme Head of the Church in England in 1533, following the Pope’s refusal to sanction his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, his decision initiated the Reformation of English religion. With it came the sweeping away of institutions that symbolised medieval Catholicism – and monasteries became the main focus of the king’s attack. Some smaller abbeys had already been closed because of a lack of recruits when Henry VIII forcibly suppressed all monasteries between 1536 and 1540. Though Henry had rejected papal authority, he remained wedded to Catholic doctrine and burned Protestant heretics. Real religious change happened under the radically Protestant Edward VI (1547–53). During the reign of Mary, I (1553–8), she restored the old order and burned nearly 300 Protestants in the process. Elizabeth, I restored Protestantism. The Reformation resulted in striking changes to religious practice and belief. The Bible was now accessible to all literate people in English translations. Instead of being spectators at Latin Masses, congregations became participants in English-speaking services that focused on sermon preaching, Bible readings and set forms of prayer. From 1549 these were formalised in the hugely influential Book of Common Prayer.
The present Church of England is the product of the Religious Settlement brought about by Elizabeth I. She made the declaration that she had ‘no desire to make windows into men’s souls. She wanted a non- interference in people’s private beliefs so long as they remained loyal in public. The Act of Supremacy established Elizabeth as head of the Church of England. The Act of Uniformity established a revised version of the prayer book brought out during Edward VI as the official order of worship. Her government started measures to implement structural and liturgical reforms in the local parishes. Priests were required to swear an oath of loyalty to the Crown in order to retain their positions. Elizabeth’s cautious reforms resulted in a church that was protestant in doctrine but catholic in appearance.

English Literature
The establishment of the Tudor dynasty coincided with the first dissemination of printed matter. William Caxton’s press was established in 1476 just before the reign of Henry VII. Caxton’s achievement encouraged writing of all kinds and also influenced the standardisation of the English language. A sense of stronger political relationships with the continent was developed. This had positive influences on England’s exposure to Renaissance culture. Humanism became the most important force in English literary and intellectual life. These factors were produced during the reign of Elizabeth I one of the most fruitful eras in literary history.
The energy of England’s writers influenced their mariners and merchants. Accounts by men such as Richard Hakluyt, Samuel Purchas, and Sir Walter Raleigh were eagerly read. The literary activities of the Elizabethans reflected a new nationalism, which expressed itself also in the works of chroniclers (John Stow, Raphael Holinshed, and others), historians, translators and even in political and religious tracts. Important late Tudor sonneteers include Spenser and Shakespeare, Michael Drayton, Samuel Daniel, and Fulke Greville. Early Tudor drama owed much to both medieval morality plays and classical models. Ralph Roister Doister (1545) by Nicholas Udall and Gammer Gurton’s Needle (1552) are considered the first English comedies, combining elements of classical Roman comedy with native burlesque. William Shakespeare, of course, fulfilled the promise of the Elizabethan age. His history plays, comedies, and tragedies set a standard never again equalled, and he is universally regarded as the greatest dramatist and one of the greatest poets of all time.
Recap

•  The House of Tudor, the English royal dynasty of Welsh origin, comprised five monarchs.
•  The Tudor era witnessed the most sweeping religious changes in England since the arrival of Christianity, which affected every aspect of national life.
•  Henry Tudor established a new monarchy in 1485, by defeating Richard III at Bosworth.
•  Henry Tudor consolidated the power by using traditional administration methods and increased revenue.
•  Henry VIII, son of Henry VII, seemed to be the very embodiment of true monarchy.
•  Henry VII’s desire to divorce Queen Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn (the divorce controversy of Henry VIII) led to the Reformation in England. The English church got separated from the Pope.
• The short reign of Edward VI witnessed the introduction of the English Prayer Book and the Forty-two Articles, and thus this period was important in the development of English Protestantism.
•  Mary Tudor tried to undo the work of her half-brother and attempted to restore England to the Roman Catholic Church.
•  Elizabeth restored England to Protestantism. She adopted a moderate religious policy.
•  The Elizabethan era was crucial and influential in British History (1558- 1603).
• Through the Act of Supremacy and the act of Uniformity of 1559, Elizabeth tried to adopt a middle ground between Catholicism and Protestantism.
•  Elizabeth was able to transform England into the most important nation in Europe. It was a great period of achievement in literature, drama and culture and the Elizabethan age has been called a golden age in English history.