This is the text-only version of the feature. For the full feature, complete with links and graphics, go to:

http://historymedren.about.com/library/weekly/aa111498.htm

 

1. Elizabeth's father was the famous (and infamous) Henry VIII. Which of his six wives was Elizabeth's mother?

1. Catherine of Aragon
2. Anne Boleyn
3. Jane Seymour
4. Anne of Cleves
5. Catherine Howard
6. Catherine Parr
   

The answer is b. Anne Boleyn.

Henry had been married to Catherine of Aragon for 20 years when he attempted to annul the marriage so he could wed Anne Boleyn, but he didn't do it for love. It was the pursuit of a male heir that made Henry defy the Catholic church and arrange his own divorce. Shortly after he discovered Anne was pregnant, he married her in a private ceremony while the controversy over his break with the Church raged.

The birth of Anne's child was a much-anticipated event; a healthy son would justify Henry's extreme actions. The fact that the child was a girl was a bitter disappointment, yet Henry showed some sentiment to his daughter by naming her after his mother. Unfortunately for Anne, the longed-for son never came, and after two miscarriages and a stillbirth she lost favor irrevocably. The king, turning his attention to Lady Jane Seymour, had Anne charged with adultery. She was executed when Elizabeth was two and a half years old.

 

2. As a teenager, Elizabeth was wooed by an opportunistic adventurer who ended up losing his head (literally). What was his name?

1. Edward Courtenay
2. Thomas Grey
3. Edward Seymour
4. Thomas Seymour

The answer is d. Thomas Seymour.

Thomas Seymour's late sister had been Jane Seymour, mother of Henry VIII's son, Edward. Edward Seymour was also Jane's brother, and it was he who was made Lord Protector Somerset, regent to young Edward when he became king at the age of nine. There is little doubt that Thomas was jealous of his brother's power and influence over the boy king, although it was due to Somerset's position that Thomas rose as high as he did in the government, gaining the rank of Lord High Admiral.

Elizabeth was only 13 when her father died and still too young for marriage, and although the 38-year-old Seymour attempted to pursue her, he was firmly blocked by Somerset and other privy councillors. So he turned his attention to someone far more attainable: Catherine Parr, Henry VIII's last wife. Catherine already liked Thomas and would have wed him before she caught Henry's eye. Seymour had no difficulty winning her hand.

Catherine had been a very good stepmother to Elizabeth when Henry was alive, and now that he was dead she still had a significant role in the life of the young princess. By marrying Catherine, Thomas put himself in daily contact with Elizabeth.

There is some confusion as to the exact nature of the relationship between Seymour and Elizabeth. He took many opportunities to be near her, bursting into her bedroom first thing in the morning. Often Catherine would be with him when he teased the princess. There are conflicting reports about how Elizabeth felt; though gossip indicated she had a crush on him, it is also alleged that she was frightened of Seymour but was too circumspect to take flight. Catherine was rumored to be jealous of her stepdaughter, yet since she remained on friendly terms with Elizabeth, little can be made of this, either. For whatever reason, Elizabeth at last left the Seymour household.

Matters took a serious turn when Catherine died in childbirth. Now Seymour was free to pursue Elizabeth, and he did so somewhat recklessly. But this was not his only folly: he attempted to build a power base among the nobility, ingratiating himself with the king and trying to end his minority, thus displacing Somerset. Furthermore, he abused his power as Admiral, entering into collusion with pirates and splitting the proceeds of their illegal activity. He talked too freely and landed himself in the Tower.

Seymour refused to answer the charges against him, treating the council with disdain, and a bill of attainder was brought against him that condemned him to death without being allowed to speak in his defense. He died bravely, scheming to the last against his brother.

 

3. As soon as she took the throne, Elizabeth was urged by her advisors to marry. One of her potential husbands was her half-sister's widower. Who was he?

1. Archduke Charles
2. Archduke Ferdinand
3. Eric of Sweden
4. Philip of Spain

The answer is d. Philip of Spain.

When Elizabeth's predecessor Mary had taken the throne, she too was urged to marry, and unlike Elizabeth she agreed wholeheartedly. Her choice of Philip, however, was unpopular because he was not only a foreigner but a Catholic to boot. Unfortunately for Mary, who was madly in love with her husband, the much-younger Philip could barely stand the sight of his wife and spent most of his time away from England.

Elizabeth had no intention of marrying Philip, but she let him believe for several months that she seriously considered his offer. England was in an extremely precarious position in religious and political arenas. The new queen knew that Protestantism was the popular choice for the English in spite of (or perhaps because of) Mary's attempts to return the kingdom to Catholicism, but she wanted to retain Catholic Spain as an ally. Philip eventually tired of waiting for Elizabeth to make up her mind and married the French king's daughter; but relations between the two countries remained fairly reasonable for some years to come.

 

4. Elizabeth was extremely well educated, and her diplomatic capabilities were aided by the fact that she was fluent in several different languages. Which of the following languages was she least fluent in?

1. French
2. German
3. Greek
4. Italian
5. Latin
6. Spanish

The answer is b. German.

By the time she was 10 years old, Elizabeth was fairly well-grounded in Latin and was learning Italian and French. As a teenager she pursued Greek ardently, translating Sophocles and Demosthenes into English and back into Greek. Once she became queen she engaged in conversations with many foreign diplomats, none of whom spoke English, in their native tongue; and she always did so with fluency and the upper hand.

Elizabeth could understand and speak German, but only haltingly. She particularly enjoyed Italian, in which she also wrote beautifully.

 

5. One of Elizabeth's talents was choosing her associates with care. She was very wise in selecting her councillors, and one in particular proved to be the best possible choice and her closest and most dependable advisor. While they certainly didn't always see eye-to-eye, he served her faithfully and well for decades and was eventually bestowed the title of Lord Burghley. What was his name?

1. William Cecil
2. Robert Dudley
3. Thomas Parry
4. Francis Walsingham

The answer is a. William Cecil.

All of the men named above were in Elizabeth's government at one time or another, but it was Cecil who served as Principle Secretary from the start. He was sober and intelligent, and if he had any failing it was his inability to understand Elizabeth. The queen would listen carefully to his counsel and then do whatever she pleased. Had she been a man, her actions would have made sense to Cecil (and every other man at court); but as it was he couldn't understand why she didn't do exactly as he suggested.

Elizabeth came to depend enormously on Cecil, postponing some of her most important decisions until she could consult with him, yet still going her own way regardless of his advice. His son, Robert Cecil, groomed by his father and well-educated, also served the queen well. When he was an extremely old man, ill and bedridden, Elizabeth still sought his advice, and his death at age 78, though expected after a long illness, was a profound loss to the queen and to the country.

In a postscript to a letter William Cecil wrote his son, he said: "Serve God by serving of the Queen." That became his epitaph.

 

6. Elizabeth had plenty of suitors both abroad and at home to choose from, and she played them off against each other brilliantly, using the possibility of marriage to form political alliances and keep potential adversaries from turning into real enemies. But one Englishman seemed to catch her fancy early in her reign, and she might have married him were it not for a scandal concerning the death of his wife. Who was he?

1. Edward Courtenay
2. Robert Dudley
3. William Pickering
4. The Earl of Arundel

The answer is b. Robert Dudley.

There's no doubt that Elizabeth cared for Dudley, but there is some doubt over whether or not she would ever have married him if the way had been clear. It's reasonable to assume that fairly early on she understood the power she would give up by marrying; whether she was willing to give it up for her Robin is something we shall probably never know.

Dudley had been married fairly young to Amy Robsart, and while he was decent to her, love soon fled the marriage. Amy was desperately unhappy stuck out in their country estate while Robert was at court with Elizabeth, where he was no doubt having a great time. Gossip over Dudley and the queen ran rampant, and everyone assumed that the only bar to their marriage was Amy. Then one day she was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs. While it was probably suicide, rumor of murder raced throughout London. It would not do for the queen to marry someone whose wife had died under a cloud of suspicion, and any chance of a respectable liaison was shattered.

Although marriage was now out of the question, Elizabeth remained close to Dudley. He eventually became a Privy Councillor and acquried the title of the Earl of Leicester. Over the years their relationship altered to a warm friendship, and when Dudley died in 1588 it was a harsh blow. The queen wrote on his last correspondence with her "HIS LAST LETTER," and kept it always.

 

7. From the beginning of her reign, the Protestant Elizabeth had a potential enemy in her Catholic cousin Mary. For some time attempts were made by both women to bridge the gap and establish a friendship, but some foolish choices by her cousin occasionally forced Elizabeth to support Mary's enemies. Eventually, a plot against Elizabeth was discovered and Mary was implicated. Elizabeth was forced to have her cousin imprisoned and, ultimately, executed. Who was this troublesome relative?

1. Bloody Mary
2. Mary of Guise
3. Mary Stuart

The answer is c. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.

Mary was, theoretically, next in line to Elizabeth's throne, and as a Catholic she became a focal point for attempts by Catholic insurgents, at times at home but mostly abroad, to instigate an overthrow of Elizabeth. It was just such a plot that landed Mary in the Tower, and whether or not she herself was truly a part of it remains a mystery. It is likely that she was not involved, but even so many people in England were anxious to see her executed and the threat to Elizabeth permanently removed. Elizabeth waited as long as she could, and signed the death warrant amidst a great deal of agonizing.

"Bloody Mary" was the unkind epithet applied to Elizabeth's sister, and Mary of Guise was Mary Stuart's mother, one-time regent of Scotland.

 

8. Throughout her reign, Elizabeth was known, always affectionately, by several different names. Which of the names below was not applied to Elizabeth during her lifetime?

1. Darling Liz
2. Gloriana
3. Good Queen Bess
4. Sweet Bessy
5. The Virgin Queen

The answer is a. Darling Liz.

The epithet of "the Virgin Queen" was one Elizabeth herself originated when she was first dealing with the possibility of marriage. She was constantly reminded that she "must marry," and although she remained an enviable catch for a good 20 years, early on she professed, "And in the end, this shall be for me sufficient: that a marble stone shall declare that a Queen, having reigned such a time, lived and died a virgin."

Gloriana was a name that came about in the later years of her reign, when such artists and poets as Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Spenser flourished. Good Queen Bess was a popular name with the people (and Elizabeth herself was very popular with the people), and Sweet Bessy was even used in the early years of her reign.

 

9. The most glorious episode in Elizabeth's reign was the defeat of the dreaded Spanish Armada by the ingenious and determined English navy. Who commanded part of this stalwart force for Elizabeth?

1. Francis Drake
2. Walter Raleigh
3. Robert Devereaux
4. Francis Bacon

The answer is a. Francis Drake.

Drake was a brilliant naval officer, and while it is true that the Armada was at a disadvantage in the treacherous English Channel with its over-large galleons, the light, nimble ships of the English would not have triumphed had not Drake and his men been quick-witted and daring.

 

10. Elizabeth's reign was longer than that of any other Tudor. When she died at the age of 69 in 1603, how many years had she reigned?

1. 35
2. 40
3. 45
4. 50

The answer is c. 45.

Elizabeth was born on September 7th, 1533, and was 25 when her sister died on November 17th, 1558. The actual coronation did not take place until January, 1559 (so strictly speaking, the reign lasted only 44 years and some months). The queen outlived many of her original councillors and nearly all of her political rivals, both domestic and foreign. She even outlived some of the younger courtiers whose escapades kept her interested in life. On March 24, 1603, she died quietly in her sleep after a brief illness, and England mourned one of its best-loved monarchs.

Scoring

How did you do? Score yourself as follows:

1-3		Novice. You have a lot to learn -- but then, there's a lot to learn about Elizabeth and her times.
4-6		Not bad -- you must have been paying attention in history class!
7-8		Proficient. Give yourself a pat on the back.
9-10		Way to go! You're an Elizabethan Expert Extraordinaire!

 

The Liz Quiz is copyright © 1998 Melissa Snell and About.com. Permission is granted to reproduce this quiz for personal or classroom use only, provided that the URL below is included. For reprint permission, please contact Melissa Snell.

The URL for this feature is:
http://historymedren.about.com/library/weekly/aa111498.htm

The URL for the Home Page of the Medieval History site is:
http://historymedren.about.com/

 

return to the regular feature
home page | site map | article index | link directory