England's identity crisis

n the 16th Century, the Reformation saw England cut adrift from Catholic Europe. Freed from the influence of Rome, the nation now had to define itself on its own terms – so it turned to the past to do it.

There was a renewed appetite for English history. But while scores of chronicles were written for the educated few, most Elizabethans were illiterate. They used other ways to learn their nation’s story.

Songs and shows

As they had done for centuries, in Shakespeare's day ordinary people used folk ballads to pass stories from one generation to the next, often mixing legend and myth with historical fact.

Another way of learning about the past was tourism. By the late 1500s, many people were queuing to take a tour of Westminster Abbey, a thriving Elizabethan tourist attraction. Visitors could look around the monuments and tombs of great monarchs, learning about their lives and deeds from tour guides.

But perhaps the most popular way to learn about history was at London’s public theatres, a new form of entertainment for the masses. Thanks to writers like Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, ordinary folk could see England's great monarchs brought to life on the stage. Actors entertained the crowds with a picture of England conjured from great events of the past.

History plays drew big audiences: it’s thought around 15,000 Londoners went to the theatre every week in the 1590s. They also gave playwrights ammunition against Puritan critics, who viewed the crowded public playhouses as hotbeds of vice and debauchery. History plays, dramatists argued, were not only entertaining the groundlings - they were educating them too.