Tudor attitudes to poverty and the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601)
I can explain how far attitudes to the poor changed during the Tudor period.
Tudor attitudes to poverty and the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601)
I can explain how far attitudes to the poor changed during the Tudor period.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Monasteries supported the poor in the early Tudor period.
- After the dissolution of the monasteries, many people were forced to become vagrants and beggars.
- Tudor monarchs and the elite were unsympathetic towards vagrants and beggars.
- The 1601 Poor Law, issued by Elizabeth I, was the most far-reaching Act to support those living in poverty.
Keywords
Parish - a parish is a small administrative district that has its own church and priest
Vagabond - a vagabond is someone who wanders from place to place without a home or a job
Act - an Act is a law passed by Parliament
Impotent - impotent means helpless or powerless or unable to take effective action
Idle - idle means avoiding work or being lazy
Common misconception
Governments and societies have generally been sympathetic to people in extreme poverty who may have been reduced to begging.
Throughout much of history, there has been little sympathy for people in extreme poverty from the majority of governments and societies, even when the circumstances that drove people into poverty are clearly out of their own control.
To help you plan your year 8 history lesson on: Tudor attitudes to poverty and the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 8 history lesson on: Tudor attitudes to poverty and the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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Explore more key stage 3 history lessons from the Life in Tudor England: was there a 'Golden Age' for the poor? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is an example of a blood sport?
Q2.Which sport was banned by Henry VIII for being too violent?
Q3.Why was there so much rural poverty in Elizabethan England?
Q4.Why did many people leave the local area without the local lord’s permission even though it was illegal?
Q5.Why did London become the fastest growing city in Elizabethan England?
Q6.By how much did the price of grain increase between 1500-1650?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the words with their definitions.
helpless or powerless or unable to take effective action
avoiding work or being lazy
someone who wanders from place to place without a home or a job
Q2.A is a small administrative district that has its own church and priest.
Q3.In what ways had the monasteries previously helped poor people in England?
Q4.Match the monarch with the punishment they imposed for vagabonds.
put in the stocks for three days and back to their parish of birth
public flogging (whipping)
branded for the first offence and death for the second offence
Q5.Match the the three categories of poor created under 1601 Elizabethan Poor Law with their meaning.
the sick, the disabled and the elderly
able to work but chose not to
wanted to work but could not find jobs