The Elizabethan World Order was a theological, legal, scientific, and moral plan that provided the ultimate solution to unexplained aspects of the world. It was designed to provide answers to problems that existed regarding human existence. The Elizabethan World Order consists of five major principles, “The Chain of Being”, the linkage or classes, the middle position of man, man as a social being, and the “General Notion of Correspondences.”The Great Chain of Being states that order resides in polarities. “Hot things are in harmony with cold; dry with moist;” and so on. Everything is involved in the order. Go regulated all things. From the lowest earthly creature to the human beings, there is a set chain of order from the superior to the inferior delegated by God.All classes in the Elizabethan world are linked. The lowest creature on the sea floor is linked to the highest creature in the heavens because the surface of the water is in contact with the air. Consequently all classes in human society are linked together. Man lie halfway between angel and beast. They are superior to beasts whereas they were given reason and understanding, but they are inferior to angels because they have not been fully elevated to the level of understanding and control of angels. They are the image of God but still live like animals. Man is insufficient alone. He is a social being who is proned to sin because of his inherited “fallen” nature. Only beasts or God can exists alone. Humans require social interaction. In the human world there is a hierarchy. In the political and church world there exists a chain of command, so to in the everyday life of humans. God set a hierarchical order to the way things are conducted.John of Gaunt Previously he had upheld the belief that this world order laid down by God gave Richard II the right to do as he pleased and tarnish the throne he inherited. This p...
