Golden Age

Queen Elizabeth I 's final years were truly the Golden Age of her reign. Under Queen Elizabeth I 's leadership, England broadened its trade and exploration, while at home, there was a flowering of cultural and artistic talent. Queen Elizabeth I 's reign was known as the Golden Age of England.

The State of Virginia named after the Virgin Queen, Queen Elizabeth I of England

The English explored the coasts of South and North America, establishing its first colonies in the New World. Sir Walter Raleigh founded one in what is now the state of Virginia, named after Elizabeth, the "Virgin Queen."

The scholars, musicians, and poets who graced this age are too numerous to mention, but writers alone included Edmund Spenser, poet; Francis Bacon, essayist; Christopher Marlowe, author of Doctor Faustus; Ben Jonson, dramatist; and William Shakespeare, poet, playwright and the greatest writer in the English language.

Elizabethan Age

Today the term "Elizabethan Age" still evokes creative genius and highest intellectual and artistic achievements. Queen Elizabeth I herself was their greatest patron and many of Shakespeare 's plays were performed at her request, at court. It's believed that the play Twelfth Night was written expressly for Queen Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth I also kept a court orchestra and encouraged artists and portrait painters, many of whom used Queen Elizabeth I herself as their subject. This, Queen Elizabeth I delighted in, for one of Queen Elizabeth I 's character flaws was her great vanity.