Queen Elizabeth 1 Research Paper

The First of the Elizabeths: Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth I was the ruler of England from 1558 to 1603. During her reign, she rolled out numerous improvements for England, in which that time period was called the Elizabethan era named after her. She ruled England by herself and never had any children. She was the Queen of England and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and of the Church of England, also of Ireland on the earth the Supreme Head (Crofton 145). Numerous individuals view her as the best ruler in England of all time. Queen Elizabeth was very involved, and “…recognized the importance of the arts to the life and legacy of her nation” (“The Elizabethan Age” Para 3). The general population of England had a special regard

She was a young princess provided with numerous mentors and figured out how to talk five distinct languages including Greek, Latin, French, and Italian. Roger Abscam was impressed with his student as, ‘She hath obtained that excellency of learning, to understand, speak and write, both wittily the head and fair with hand, as scarce one or two rare writs in both the universities have in many years reached unto’ (Crofton 146). She received tutoring from leading Renaissance scholars who noted her intellect and seriousness. One of her mentors Roger Abscam wrote: “Her mind has no womanly weakness, her perseverance is equal to that of a man, and her memory long keeps what it quickly picks up” (“Elizabeth I” Para

In 1559, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy; which revived the statues of Henry VIII proscribing Catholicism and declared the queen supreme governor of the Church. Her reign supported the creation of works by such greats as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. It was sometimes referred to as the Golden Age or Elizabethan England, an era of peace and prosperity when the arts had a chance to blossom with Elizabeth’s support. Later, in 1569 Elizabeth brutally suppressed a rebellion in northern England. Two years after, informers uncovered an international conspiracy against her life called the Rudolf Plot. One of Elizabeth’s greatest gifts was the ability to attract men of real talent to her standard, in war, and in peace. Several years after the Armada sailed, Sir Walter Raleigh frankly admitted that Elizabeth’s land forces “were of no such force to encounter an Army like unto that, wherewith it was intended that the prince of Parma should have landed in England” (Commire Para