"It was. More to the point, I wanted to know what the social situation was like; the hierarchy, the aristocracy, the courts etc ... Can you tell me that?"

Nadia raised her hand, "Elizabeth was determined to be queen in fact as well as in name. She tamed the House of Commons with tact combined with firmness.

"The organ that spoke for the entire kingdom was not the king alone, but "King in Parliament," and, when Elizabeth sat in the midst of her Lords and Commons, it was said that "every Englishman is intended to be there present from the prince to the lowest person in England." The Tudors needed no standing army in "the French fashion" because God's will and the monarch's decrees were enshrined in acts of Parliament, and this was society's greatest defense against rebellion. The controlling mind within this mystical union of crown and Parliament belonged to the queen. The Privy Council, acting as the spokesman of royalty, planned and initiated all legislation, and Parliament was expected to turn that legislation into law. Inside and outside Parliament the goal of Tudor government was benevolent paternalism in which the strong hand of authoritarianism was masked by the careful shaping of public opinion, the artistry of pomp and ceremony, and the deliberate effort to tie the ruling elite to the crown by catering to the financial and social aspirations of the landed country gentleman.

"The bureaucracy consisted of a handful of privy councillors at the top and at the bottom possibly 500 paid civil servants--the 15 members of the secretariat, the 265 clerks and custom officials of the treasury, a staff of 50 in the judiciary, and approximately 150 more scattered in other departments. Tudor government was not predominantly professional. Most of the work was done by unpaid amateurs: the sheriffs of the shires, the lord lieutenants of the counties, and above all the Tudor maids of all work--the 1,500 or so justices of the peace.

"Elizabethan Age was a success because men had at their disposal new and exciting areas, both of mind and geography, into which to channel their energies. A revolution in reading and writing was taking place, and by 1640 nearly 100 percent of the gentry and merchant elements were literate. Wealth and literacy were directly related. Possibly 50 percent of the yeomanry but only 10 percent of the husbandry and none of the peasantry were able to read or write."

Dru thinks really really hard, "Well i know that the government, although small, was run by people close to her like her lovers. I can't think of anything else. Sorry Professor"

Rhiane's eyes lit up; finally someone with a similar passion for muggle knowledge. She nodded her head frequently while the girl spoke. "And what about the Jacobean period?" she asked, noting briefly before hand that she would give ten points to Slytherin for the girls informative answer.

She also heard Dru answer, however meekly and nodded, encouraging the girl, "Yes that's quite true. Elizabeth used both affection and violence to control her councillors and to ensure she got the best advice out of them. She also played them off against each other. A further 2 points to Slytherin for your contribution."

James had been left a £400,000 debt by Elizabeth the first and by 1606 he had increased his debt by £200,000 which in old muggle money is an extremly big debt.

"And how did he accumulate such a high debt? How did Elizabeth managed to owe that sum also?" she asked, awarding the student another two points for their house, happy the class was finally running smoothly to the point where it could flow without needless interuption from mindless twits.

Nadia seemed to be pondering the answer before raising her hand again,

"The monarch ruled personally, and the permanent institutions of government were constantly being reshaped. Around the king was the court, a floating body of royal servants, officeholders, and place seekers. Personal service to the king was considered a social honour and thus fitting to those who already enjoyed rank and privilege.

"Like everything else in English society, Parliament was constituted in a hierarchy, composed of king, lords, and commons. Every peer of the realm was personally summoned to sit in the House of Lords, which was dominated by the greatest of the king's officers. The lower house was composed of representatives selected from the counties and boroughs of the nation. The House of Commons was growing as local communities petitioned for the right to be represented in Parliament and local gentry scrambled for the prestige of being chosen. Parliament was another of the king's councils, though its role in government was less well defined than the privy council's and its summoning was intermittent.

"Members of Parliament served the dual function of representing the views of the localities to the king and of representing the views of the king to the localities. Most parliaments were summoned to provide revenue in times of emergency, usually for defense, and most members were willing to provide it within appropriate limits.

"From among his court the monarch chose a privy council. Its size and composition remained fluid, but it was largely composed of the chief officers of state: the lord treasurer, who oversaw revenue; the lord chancellor, who was the crown's chief legal officer; and the lord chamberlain, who was in charge of the king's household. The archbishop of Canterbury was the leading churchman of the realm, and he advised the king, who was the head of the established church. The privy council advised the king on foreign and domestic policy and was charged with the administration of government. It communicated with the host of unpaid local officials who governed in the communities, ordering the justices to enforce statutes or the deputy lieutenants to raise forces."

She added to the Queen's economic problem question, "the cost of almost two decades of war ( 4 million) raised havoc with the queen's finances. It forced her to sell her capital (about 800,000, or roughly one-fourth of all crown lands) and increased her dependence upon parliamentary sources of income, which rose from an annual average of 35,000 to more than 112,000 a year."

"he was a very extravagant spender and careless with money." she said, feeling slightly more relaxed.

OOC: I'll be back in a min, my internet is playing up

"Very good, very impressive Nadia. You almost sound like a muggle yourself," she joked with half a frown. She did not like muggles and neither approved of their prescence at such a prestigiuous school. "A further 10 points to Slytherin."

"Why were many plays of this period set in countries such as Italy and Spain as opposed to England?"

"Obviously he was extravagant because he got into such debts. But what specifically did he do with the money?" she pressed, pushing the student further, pressing for a more specific answer.

"Hmm," Arkee pondered out loud, "They could have been set in Italy and Spain because some of the stories behind the plays were originally from these countries. Also, could it also be because of the foreign allure? Were these places considered fashionably and exotic?"

"he spent alot of money on his favourite members of parliament (i think) and he wasted alot on foreign policies that didnt work"

"While technically those are both correct, Webster specficially had to set plays in European countries to escape being accused of treason. His plays indicate that Webster believed that there was great corruption in the coruts of his day and to say such a thing in the context of a play set in England or Wales, would be regarded as treasonous. Free discussion was distrusted by those in power."

"That's correct Dru, he created extra titles, however those were bought which gained him money rather than lost it. What lost him money and created debts?"

"Oh!" replied Arkee sheepishly. "I think like your answer a lot better than mine, professor."

"I don't know!" Dru whined. She put her head on the table in defeat.
She said something which was muffled by the fact her face was on the table.

Xavier didn't know the answer to the question. Who cared about this stuff anyways? Obviously Professor Shwmae.

"Thank you," she replied. "I do love children who know how and when to suck up."

Neither was Nadia pleased with the so-called praising and tried so smile a small smile which didn't look too weak. She had been raised like a muggle... her own pureblood family had been responsible for it, for keeping so many -unneccessry- secrets.

"He had aquired Elizabeth's debt of more than 400,000 and James, with a wife and two sons, had much larger household expenses than the unmarried queen.

"Elizabeth's debt consisted of war losts mostly. Also, a revolution in reading and writing was taking place, and by 1640 nearly 100 percent of the gentry and merchant elements were literate. Possibly 50 percent of the yeomanry but only 10 percent of the husbandry and none of the peasantry were able to read or write. The years between 1560 and 1650 were an age of school-building and educational endowment; by then 142 new schools had been founded and 293,000 given to grammar (secondary) school education."

"Land and duties from customs were the major sources of royal revenue, and it was James's good fortune that the latter increased dramatically after the judges ruled in Bate's case (1606) that the king could make impositions on imported commodities without the consent of Parliament. Two years later, under the direction of James's able minister Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, impositions were levied on an expanded list of goods, and a revised book of rates (1608) was issued that increased the level of duties. By these measures customs revenues grew by 70,000 a year."

Quote:

"Why were many plays of this period set in countries such as Italy and Spain as opposed to England?"

"It was the cultural explosion that produced Shakespeare, Marlowe, Spenser, Bacon, and Donne. Poets, scholars, and playwrights dreamed and put pen to paper. Adventurers responded differently; they went "a-voyaging." From a kingdom that had once been known for its "sluggish security," Englishmen suddenly turned to the sea and the world that was opening up around them. The outpouring was inspired not only by the urge for riches but also by religion--the desire to labour in the Lord's vineyard and to found in the wilderness a new and better nation. As it was said, Englishmen went forth "to seek new worlds for gold, for praise, for glory."

"Don't worry Dru; that's what I'm here for." she said, patting the girl on the head as Borris perched on her desk in the front of the room. "And just so you know, the debts were created by various wars."

"Does anyone know why Webster's plays seem to be preoccupied with the themes of death and decay?"

Dru lifted her head and said in a small voice, "was it because of wars or the black death?"

"Yes it was. 2 points to Slytherin. Can you elaborate on that? What about life expectancy of the period and the different sorts of diseases that were rife?"

Xavier raises his hand. "Wasn't the Black Plague ripe during that time?" he asks.

"Yes it was rife during that time but I think you'll find that Dru said that. The Black Death and the Black Plague mean the same thing dear," she whispered, walking to the girl, petting her on the shoulder comfortingly.

"the average life expectancy was 35 to 40 years. people in rich areas had a longer life as they had better conditions.Many of the diseases were caused by rats and open sewers and things such as smallpox killed alot of people."

Xavier smiles. "Right," he says. "I'll remember that."

OoC: Xavier is a boy.