What was marriage and family like in the Elizabethan times?

Family was of great importance and it was still the time period where men would be the firm head of household. Men would earn the money and women would look after the home and do whatever their husband wished. They were expected to have and look after children, bringing them up well and teaching them about the important things in society, like religion. Religion was extremely important (Elizabeth’s reign was a protestant one, her father Henry VIII started this Church of England in his reign) and all the family would go to church every week.

It could be a hard time as there had been much religious upheaval in the past few years (the religion went Protestant to Catholic to Protestant again over just a few decades). People who were Catholic in a Protestant reign would have to change their religion (or at least say they had) or else could be inflicted with things as bad as torture for their views in some cases. Catholic priests would have to hide out, or move country, or else would be imprisoned. This made it a tense time for families and they could be very private and do lots of worship at home in the evenings. However, Elizabeth reigned for a good amount of time, so this would have relaxed by the end of her reign as people got used to it.

Politics and wealth had much effect on the quality of family life. The poor would have a very harrowing life.

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