A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

194 Ch. 5 • Rise of the Atlantic Economy: Spain and England

a doctrine of obedience to authority, basing their arguments on religious
teaching.
Elizabethan literature and drama constantly returned to the theme of a
moral law based upon the necessity of social order. In Shakespeare’s The
History of Troilus and Cressida, Ulysses proclaims:

The heavens themselves, the planets, and this centre

Observe degree, priority, and place,

[... ]But when the planets

In evil mixture to disorder wander,

What plagues and what portents, what mutiny!

[... ]And hark what discord follows....

Many in the middle and upper classes believed that the slightest offense
against the monarchy contained the seeds of rebellion; in 1576, a woman
was burned at the stake for saying that Elizabeth was “baseborn and not
born to the crown.” Fear of disturbances and challenges to authority con­
tributed to the development of a sense of national consciousness of Eng­
land's elite, just as the defeat of Spain’s Armada in 1588 led to pride in being
both Protestant and English.
In 1598, Parliament passed the first “poor law,” followed by another in

1601. These laws recognized for the first time the principle that the needy
      ought to receive some sort of assistance from the community in which they
      live. Justices of the peace, under the supervision of the clergy, were to over­
      see the distribution of assistance to the poor. The poor laws also specified the
      establishment of poor houses for the incarceration of the poor who would not
      or could not work (including the aged, sick, and insane).

The Elizabethan Theater

In 1576, two theaters opened in London, followed by others in a number

of provincial towns. Putting aside the repertory of religious allegories and

miracle and morality plays that had been staged in royal castles, country

manor houses, or entire towns, they staked their survival on their ability to

attract audiences that would pay to see actors perform. More than 2,000

different plays were staged in London between 1580 and 1640, mainly

romances and dramas. During that period, more than 300 playwrights pro­

duced enough work to keep 100 acting companies working in London or

touring provincial towns.

The plays of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) reflected uncertainty,

ambivalence, and even disillusionment about contemporary English soci­

ety. He was born in Stratford-on-Avon, where his father made gloves and

was able to provide him with a primary school education. Shakespeare

moved with his wife to London to become an actor, and in the late 1580s

he began to write plays. He found first patronage and then unparalleled