On January 15, 1559, the throne of England was preparing to welcome one of its most iconic holders: Queen Elizabeth I. In a grand ceremony at Westminster Abbey, twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth assumed the highest office, ushering in a reign that would profoundly shape the cultural, artistic and economic landscape of England – the Elizabethan era.
Elizabeth I, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, had a turbulent path to the throne. Her mother’s execution and her uncertain future under the reigns of her half-brother Edward VI and her half-sister Mary I, respectively, had “cast shadows” over her early life. Despite all this, she had the opportunity to receive an education usually only provided to boys and developed important skills that would serve her well in the future. After the death of her sister, who became known as “Bloody Mary” because of the hundreds of executions she ordered for all who stood in the way of the revival and establishment of Roman Catholicism in the country, the English citizens poured into the streets in celebration and welcomed the restoration with great satisfaction of Elizabeth on the throne.
Her reign, which lasted for 45 years (from 1558 to her death in 1603), is regarded as a golden age of English history, as it was marked by the flourishing of the arts, progress in the exploration of new lands and trade, and the forging of the new sense of national identity. Elizabeth, an intelligent and charismatic leader, managed to navigate the complex political landscape with particular skill, consolidating England’s place on the world stage.
One of the defining features of her reign was the cultural renaissance that took place during this period. A flourishing of literature, drama and poetry marked the Elizabethan era as the pinnacle of English literary achievement. The works of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser and other literary greats graced the stage and the pages, leaving a legacy that continues to resonate today.
Shakespeare, in particular, was the crown jewel of Elizabethan literature. His plays, presented at the Globe Theater and other venues, captured the essence of the human experience and explored themes of power, love and tragedy. The Queen herself was known as a patron of the arts, fostering an environment where creativity could flourish.
Also during the reign of Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe between 1577 and 1580, becoming the first Englishman to do so. The establishment of the East India Company in 1600 paved the way for English trade in the lucrative markets of the East, laying the foundations for the later expansion of the British Empire.
Elizabeth’s political acumen was instrumental in maintaining stability amid religious tensions that had plagued England for decades. The Elizabethan Religious Settlement of 1559 attempted to balance the interests of Protestants and Catholics, and aimed to achieve a kind of religious unity in the kingdom. Elizabeth dealt quite realistically with an issue which could once again lead to disastrous internal strife.
In time, Elizabeth I, who never married, became known as the “Virgin Queen” who had married into her kingdom, putting her rule above all else. Of course, there were always rumors that she had romantic relationships with various men, but these were never confirmed. Although the last years of her reign were marked by economic decline and disastrous military efforts to subjugate the Irish, by her reign England had already emerged as a world power destined to become one of the most powerful empires.
Column editor: Myrto Katsigera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigoni-Despina Poimenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
