As with every Era in history, the People "made" the Era. The Elizabethan Era was no different. Queen Elizabeth herself had very few immediate family but was still surrounded by nobility and gentry, lords and ladies of the Court, some who had inherited their titles, others had 'aquired' them.
Of course, in the City of London and other cities throughout the country, there were the traders and merchants and townsmen. In the countryside, there were the husbandmen and farmers;
"A gentleman owns land, but does not farm it,
A yeoman does farm land, and might own the freehold of some of it,
A husbandman farms the land, but does not own it."
Then there were the Poor !
When a census was taken in 1570, it was found that about a quarter of the then population was poor. Some were able to make a little money whilst others were wholly impoverished. This Era was not kind to the poor and showed very little feeling or understanding of this social situation. Those who were mentally unstable were 'lunatic', others were disabled, still others just old. They were looked at as a burden on the community and very few wanted the responsibility of caring for the poor. The Law didn't help! If you couldn't "dress" well, you were an outcast and could even be hanged for just looking like a vagrant. Being Poor was never a choice back then, whereas today, some actually choose to separate themselves from normal society. Like today, some did feel the need to help the Poor, to help them to live better lives, and we have to admire them for rowing against the tide.
"Could I have lived back then ?"
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