8-3GreatChainofBeing

What is the Elizabethan World Picture and the Great Chain of Being? // Answer prepared by Jake W. //

The belief of Elizabethan citizens on the order of power greatly differs from beliefs today. Elizabethans believed that the order of power was based on the Great Chain of Being. According to the webpage, “The Great Chain of Being” (created by Stanford students), “The great chain of being is a powerful visual metaphor for a divinely inspired universal hierarchy ranking all forms of higher and lower life; humans are represented by the male alone.” This order goes down from gods to plants and rocks. The best known drawing of this picture was created by Franciscan missionary Didacus Valades in 1579. He named it, Rhetorica Christiana. Didacus Valades wasn't the creator of the Great Chain of Being though.

Many believe the ideas of the Great Chain of Being came from Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher who is arguably the most famous and important philosopher of all time. Aristotle viewed the universe as eternal and made up of several distinct forms of being. The divisions of the chain of being from top to bottom goes as follows: God, angels, humans, animals, plants, and rocks. Several subdivisions exist within these divisions. For example, the king is at the top of the humanity division followed by aristocratic lords and at the bottom lies the pheasants. The Great Chain of Being was believed in by many if not all Elizabethans. The ideas on the order of power have definitely changed over time. Didacus Valades painting of the World Chain of Being Works Cited: =  Gabbard, Christopher. "The Great Chain of Being." 25 Sep. 2000. Stanford University. 15 Apr 2009 []. "General Characteristics of the Renaissance." //Renaissance//. 29 Mar. 2009. Brooklyn College English Department. 15 Apr 2009. Lovejoy, Arthur. //The Great Chain of Being: A Study of the History of an Idea//. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1976. Print.Lovejoy, Arthur. //The Great Chain of Being: A Study of the History of an Idea//. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1976. Print.Laroque, Francois. //The Age of Shakespeare//. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 1993. Print. Tillyard, E.M.W. //The Elizabethan World Picture//. Random House, 1959. Print. =