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.
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.
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.
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
Content guidance
- Contains subject matter which individuals may find upsetting.
Supervision
Adult supervision suggested.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
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
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
the sick, the disabled and the elderly
able to work but chose not to
wanted to work but could not find jobs