THE ELIZABETHAN AGE

Elizabeth I became the queen of England in 1558, six years before Shakespeare's birth. During her 45-year reign, London became a cultural and commercial center where learning and literature thrived.

RELIGION: When Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne, there were violent clashes throughout Europe between Protestant and Catholic followers. She honored many of the Protestant edicts of her father, King Henry VIII, but she also made concessions to Catholic people. In fact, in this way she could avoid to be attacked by France or Spain or other Catholic countries. During the Elizabethan Age there was no legal way for Catholics to practise their faith, but powerful people were less likely to be punished than others and wealthy Catholic families secretly maintained private chaplains. The important thing for the Elizabethan Age's Catholic was to respect the law.

EDUCATION: Boys were educated to be literate members of society. The language of literacy throughout Europe was Latin. Children went to school from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Schooling was not encouraged for girls.

THEATRE: Elizabethan theatre encompasses the period between 1558 and 1642. The most famous playhouse was the Globe, built in 1559, but in 1613 it burned to the ground. Theatres could hold several thousand people. Performances were held in the afternoon, because there was no artificial lighting.

CATHERINE OF ARAGON

Catherine of Aragon (Castilian: Catalina; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England from 1509 until 1533 as thefirst wife of King Henry VIII; she was previously Princess of Wales as the wife of Prince Arthur.

The daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, Catherine was three years old when she was betrothed to Prince Arthur, heir apparent to the English throne. They married in 1501, and Arthur died five months later. In 1507, she held the position of ambassador for the Spanish Court in England, becoming the first female ambassador in European history. Catherine subsequently married Arthur's younger brother, the recently succeeded Henry VIII, in 1509. For six months in 1513, she served asregent of England while Henry VIII was in France. During that time the English won the Battle of Flodden, an event in which Catherine played an important part.

HENRY VIII

Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later assumed the Kingship of Ireland, and continued the nominal claim by English monarchs to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, succeeding his father, Henry VII. He had one brother, Arthur.

He had six wives:

1. Catherine of Aragon
2. Anne Boleyn
3. Jane Seymour
4. Anne of Cleves
5. Kathryn Howard
6. Katherine Parr

Besides his six marriages, Henry VIII is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the pope and the Roman Catholic Church. His struggles with Rome led to the separation of the Church of England from papal authority, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and his own establishment as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Yet he remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, even after his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church. Henry oversaw the legal union of England and Wales with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. He is also well known for a long personal rivalry with both Francis I of France and the Habsburg monarch Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (King Charles I of Spain), his contemporaries with whom he frequently warred.

BRAINSTORMING

THE NORMAN INVASION

Edward the Confessor, who had restored the Royal House of Wessex to the Engish throne in 1042, died childless in January 1066, leaving his successor to be decided by the sword. Edward's brother-in-law, Harold Godwineson, wasted no time asserting his right to the throne and had himself crowned on the day of Edward's burial.

Although William, Duke of Normandy, was more distantly related to Edward than Harold, he asserted that he had also been promised the throne by Edward. So he prepared to invade and he finally crossed the English Channel and landed in Pevensey on 28th September. In a confident mood, Harold marched his army quickly down to the south, hoping to destroy the Normans in one decisive clash.

The meeting of the two armies was at Hastings on 14th October 1066. William used archers and mounted warriors, whereas  Harold's men were mostly food soldiers, who relied on their shield wall to protect them from enemy assaults. A crucial moment came when Harold was killed. After this the English were overcome. The country had no leader to oppose William.

The Norman conquest brought sweeping changes. The Anglo-Saxon aristocracy was replaced by William's followers, who began castle-building. They also built several churches. On a cultural, England turned away from Scandinavia and established closer ties with western Europe and, on a linguistic level, there was an injection of romance languages into the vernacular, pushing the Old English laguage into retreat.

BEOWULF: COMPARING AND CONTRASTING

In Beowulf we can find the theme of INFEDELTY.

• BEOWULF used to betray her wife, the queen, with another woman, younger and more beautiful than her. It was normal for a king having a lot of lovers, even if he loved her wife. Although the betrayal, the wedding continued.

• NOWADAYS it is still normal to betray your wife or your husband. Sometimes, the betrayed partner forgives the other one, but sometimes he doesn't. In fact, in Italy two weddings out of three fail.

HALLOWEEN

October 31st is Halloween. This festivity has Celtic origins: the Celts believed that summer ended on October 31st.

The Celts believed that ghosts and witches returned on that night and that evil spirits entered the body of a person or animal. This is why they used to wear frightening costumes and make big fires to send the spirits away.

Later, Christian pratices replaced pagan ones; the Roman Catholic Church decided to call November 1st "All Hallows Day" or "All Saints Day" and the evening of October 31st became "All Hollows Eve" - that is, Halloween.

Nowadays at Halloween children and teenagers wear skeleton, witch, ghost and monster costumes for parties. They visit their neighbours' houses and, when the door opens, they say "Trick or treat?" and people usually give them sweets or money.

This custom originated in the 9th century in Ireland, where on November 2nd - All Souls Day - Christians used to walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes", made of bread with currants. The more "soul akes" the beggars received, the more prayers they promised to say for dead relatives.

The custom of buying a big pumpkin and making a lantern comes from Irish folklore. Irish people put lit, hollowed-out turnips in front of their windows and in their garden to frighten evil spirits away.