|| Europe at the time of the Golden Era in the UK ||

At the time of the Elizabethan era in the UK, the late middle ages represented a period of disturbance in Europe. The epidemic known as the Black Death and an associated famine caused demographic catastrophe in Europe as the population levels fell. Dynastic struggles and wars of conquest kept many of the states of Europe at war for much of the period. In Scandinavia, the Kalmar Union dominated the political landscape, while England fought with Scotland in the Wars of Scottish Independence and with France in the Hundred Years' War. In Central Europe however, the Polish–Lithuanian union became a large territorial empire, while the Holy Roman Empire (which was an elective monarchy), came to be dominated by the House of Habsburg, who would turn it into a hereditary position in all but name. Russia continued to expand southward and eastward into former Mongol lands as well.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Europe
http://www.writeopinions.com/history-of-europe
http://www.mediander.com/connects/13212/history-of-europe/