Key Facts

Important events in the Renaissance Period

1542 – Mary Queen of Scots lays claim to the English throne

1544 – Henry VIII invades France

1585 – England and Spain go to war

1587 – Elizabeth I executes Mary Queen of Scots

1588 – Spanish Armada

1590s – First Shakespeare, Marlowe and Jonson performances. More theatres open.

1593 – Plague forces theatres to close

1603 – Elizabeth I dies and is succeeded by James I (Mary Queen of Scots son)

1605 – Gunpowder Plot

Prolific People   

-       William Shakespeare

-       Ben Jonson

-       Christopher Marlowe

-       James Burbage (built the first theatre in London in 1576)

-     Richard Burbage (James Burbage’s son, an actor)

           Life during the Renaissance

           Life was cruel and hard.

           The poor went hungry.

           Medical remedies were more like torture.

           Woman often died in childbirth.