What did children do in the Elizabethan era?



In many ways, children living in this time were simply treated as small adults. In lower classes or agricultural families, children were given jobs and household chores around the time they could walk by themselves—usually two or three years old. This was not unusual even within the monarchy or aristocratic classes.

What games did children play in the Elizabethan era?

Running, jumping, fencing, jousting, archery, and skittles were also practiced, with fishing as the most relaxing and harmless pastime. Children enjoyed playing leap-frog, blind man’s bluff and hide-and-seek, which are enjoyed by many children throughout Britain even today.

What did girls do in the Elizabethan era?

Women were not allowed to enter the professions i.e law, medicine, politics, but they could work in domestic service as cooks, maids etc, and a female painter, Levina Teerlinc, was employed by Henry VIII and later by Mary and Elizabeth respectively.

What was the education of children like in the Elizabethan era?





In Elizabethan England there was no compulsory schooling. Most children’s lives revolved around the family, the church and the farm or workshop. However, Renaissance ideas spread from the continent, including the idea that society could be improved through education and learning.

What was the role of children in the 16th century?

Children’s Education



Only boys had the privilege to get an education. This is because girls were considered the weaker gender. The boys were expected to follow their fathers footsteps. The only thing girls were taught was needle work to make clothing, dancing and music.

Which game was illegal in Elizabethan England?

Which game was illegal in Elizabethan England ? The authoritories of the time frowned on football, concerned that it was diverting the villagers from the much more useful pastime of archery. By 1540 this concern had become so great that the government passed a law banning the game of football all together!

What hobbies did people have in the Elizabethan era?

Liza Picard takes a look at common 16th-century pastimes.



  • Plays and play-going. The great names of the Elizabethan stage – Shakespeare, Marlowe, Dekker, Ben Jonson – still retain their richness and power today. …
  • Animal baiting. …
  • The Lottery. …
  • Sports. …
  • Recreational drugs. …
  • The Queen. …
  • Books. …
  • Music.



Why did males play female roles?

Women were not allowed to be on the stage because it was considered “dangerous.” Men played male characters as well as female characters! “The Greeks believed that allowing women to perform publicly would be too dangerous and that having men portray them neutralized the danger.” (Source) So what about the Romans?

What was expected of a daughter in Shakespeare’s time?

What was expected of a daughter? Daughters were seen as property to control by their fathers. They were expected to obey their father’s wishes and to marry by the age of thirteen. They were expected to preserve their chastity until marriage, and provide a dowry when they finally did marry.