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?

Two green hearts are sideways, facing each other. In each there is an image: one has a painting of Elizabeth I and the other has a painting of the Duke of Anjou

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The Virgin Queen? Elizabeth I's forbidden love. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Plots and Rebellions, with Professor Tracy Borman. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Elizabethans quiz – week two. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Elizabethan Daily Life, with Professor Tracy Borman. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Elizabethans quiz - week one. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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What did the Tudors wear?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tracy Borman and Rhiannon Davies

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VideoTracy Borman on Elizabeth I. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

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Hold your noses: the smells, sounds and sights of Elizabethan England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of an African man, c1530 . (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

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The missing Tudors: black people in 16th-century England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

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

Midwives and babies in the sun

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Midwifery and childbirth: a historical A–Z guide. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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)

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At the playhouse: watching Shakespeare's plays in Elizabethan England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mary, Queen of Scots is executed © Getty

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Horrible Histories author reveals 10 ways to die in Elizabethan England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of Edmund Spenser’s poetic work ‘The Shepheardes Calender’. (Photo by Culture Club/Contributor/Getty Images)

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The dark side of Elizabethan England

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Terror in Elizabethan England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The perils of piety in Tudor England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The other Elizabethan England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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)

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Where history happened: Elizabethan drama. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The LibraryThe Elizabethan big society. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.