ABSTRACT
A broader view of the military situation of Elizabethan England reinforces doubts about the tidy nature of such a judgment. A recounting of the purpose and accomplishments of Elizabeth's ephemeral army shows that it was more substantial in life than its reputation has been in the intervening centuries. A major issue in the ongoing "military revolution" debate is the alleged increase in the scale of warfare. Since this phenomenon and its causes are the subject of intense debate, a consideration of the scale of Elizabethan warfare is appropriate. The Elizabethan state underwent substantial innovation in military administration at all levels as a result of the increasing scale of warfare. While the basis of these innovations was "traditional" institutions, they were elaborated far beyond any previous use made of them. The widespread rural discontent, though caused mainly by agricultural failure and epidemic disease, was intensified by the taxation and other economic policies necessitated by Elizabeth's war effort.
