Reign of Queen Elizabeth I

Historical Context Essay

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.03: English Writing and Culture: Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods) , 1485-1625.
Vol. editors: William M. Hamlin (Washington State University), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University), Ema Vyroubalova (Trinity College Dublin)

Domains

Changes of government, elections and reigns

Dates

Date of occurrence 1558-11-17-1603

Places

England (Location)

Resources

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[Preliminary entry] Queen Elizabeth I (life 1533-1603; reign 1558-1603)

Born in 1533, Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and became queen despite being declared an illegitimate heir by both her father and her sister, Queen Mary I. Elizabeth was among the most intellectually gifted of English monarchs. Educated by excellent tutors, including the Cambridge humanist Roger Ascham, she was fluent in Greek, Latin, French and Italian and well read in the religious and moral thought of her day, particularly the progressive thought of humanists and Protestant reformers.

One of the most famous English monarchs, Elizabeth never married but cultivated her iconic status as “The Virgin Queen” who was married to her country. Conscious of the fact that she was a woman in a man's role, she became a master-controller...

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1188 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Reign of Queen Elizabeth I". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 June 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=918, accessed 09 June 2026.]

Reign of Queen Elizabeth I

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