page_title: English society
section_title: Tudor society
hierarchical_section_title: English society / Tudor society
caption_attribution_description: English: A woodcut from circa 1536 depicting a vagrant being punished in the streets in Tudor England.
context_page_description: English society comprises the group behaviour of the English people, and of collective social interactions, organisation and political attitudes in England. The social history of England evidences many social and societal changes over the history of England, from Anglo-Saxon England to the contemporary forces upon the Western world. These major social changes have both internally and in its relationship with other nations. The themes of social history include demographic history, labour history and the working class, women's history, family, the history of education in England, rural and agricultural history, urban history and industrialisation.
context_section_description: In general terms, the Tudor dynasty period was seen as relatively stable compared to the previous years of almost constant warfare. However, the Reformation caused internal and external social conflict, with a considerable impact on social structure and personality.
  Before they were broken up and sold by Henry VIII, monasteries had been one of the important parts of social welfare, giving alms and looking after the destitute, and their disappearance meant that the state would have to adopt this role, which culminated in the Poor law of 1601. The monasteries were decrepit—they no longer were the major educational or economic establishments in the country; after they had gone, many new grammar schools were founded and these, along with the earlier introduction of the printing press, helped to improve literacy.
caption: A woodcut from circa 1536 depicting a vagrant being punished in the streets in Tudor England.
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