elizabethan life
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Elizabethan Life
Things you should know…
London
London
• Criminals chained to the banks
• Streets were narrow & slippery with the slime of refuse
• Chamber pots were emptied out the windows –no drainage
• City was loud
• Houses crammed together
• Ale was the drink (no one drank the water & tea had not come in yet)
The Town
• High Street is their Main Street
• A Village might not have a street at all
In this part of the world…
• England is paranoid of anything foreign
• Always enemies with the French
• Usually allied with Spain except for the Armada in 1588
• Germany isn‟t a county yet, but a collection of little countries – called “Germanies”
• Italy is not a county, but a language group (city-states ruled by powerful families)
Religion
• Official State Religion – Church of England
• Being a Roman Catholic isn‟t a crime, but
you do get fined for not going to Protestant
services
• It IS illegal to be a Catholic priest in
England
• Everyone is required to attend an Anglican
service once a month (Prayer Service)
Services & Occupations
• Books – Stationer
• Shirts - Seamstress
• Suit of Clothes – Tailor
• Ready made clothes – Draper
• Arrows – Fletcher
• Bow – Bowyer
• Horseshoes - Farrier
Services & Occupations
• Portrait – Limner
• Drugs (medicine) – Apothecary
• Dentist – Barber Surgeon
• Dry Cleaners – Fuller
• Ostler – man who runs the Inn
Money, Money, Money, Money
• Basic Denominations
– Pounds
– Shillings
– Pence
• 12 pence make a shilling
• 20 shillings make a pound
You owe me…
• Barter (In kind) System, not just money
– Firewood
– Use of land
– Calves, honey, milk, wool
(there is no record of them bartering their children as tempting as it might have been)
Lifestyle & When do we eat?• School boys, working people & housewives
– up at 5am
• Two meals a day (breakfast is not formal)
– Midday
– Supper
• Gentleman often has his dinner out at a
tavern
You are what you eat…
• Meats are cooked with fruits to make them
sweet
• Medical texts advised against eating raw
vegetables because of wind (gas)
• Potatoes are a novelty, not a staple
• Turnips & parsnip are popular
• Chocolate has not come in yet, except for
medicine
No Little Debbies & Snickers
• Almond paste
• Gingerbread
• Fruit Pies
• Puddings
• Cheesecakes & custards
• Pretzels and Bagels
More about food
• No vanilla flavoring, but there is almond
• Coffee and tea are VERY rare
• Sugar is available, but expensive because it
is an import – use honey instead
Men‟s Fashions
Boys wore skirts like their sisters until about 6-7
Women‟s Fashions
(Notice the lack of cleavage)
School Days
• Boys go to school, Girls learn at home
• School starts at 7am, ends around 5:30pm
• Elementary School – Petty School
• High School – Grammar School
• University – Classes are taught in Latin
The Games they played
• “Dicing” – Hazards was a game like Craps
• Tables (known today as Backgammon)
• Card Games – Primero & Taoccho
• Tennis – played indoors for high stakes
Filling The Time• Gossip
• Tennis – leather ball stuffed with hair
• Lawn bowling, Shuttlecock (badminton)
archery, billiards, hunting, riding, wrestling
• Attend Theatre (in the afternoons – Why?)
– Ladies go but wear veil or mask
– Have players come to your house to perform
Still Bored?
• Take lessons (fencing, dancing, languages, etc)
• Sew
• Sing
• Read – everyone is literate – most read out-loud
• Write letters (no phones)
• Visit your tailor
• Sit for a portrait
• Visit the bear pit (crazed hounds fight a chained bear)
• Practice riding
Your Staff
• Man of Business – your accountant
• Steward – Oversees your estate
• Factor – Does business for you in London or
another country
• Nurse – Takes care of the young children
• Tutor – Educates your children
Here‟s To Your Health
• Doctors “bleed” their patients to restore
balance using a lancet and bowl (not
leeches)
• Blood is drawn from arm or foot
• Liver is considered the source of emotions
(heart is only for love)
• Stomach is the seat of courage
• Spleen is the source of anger
Betrothals (Engagements)
• Ring is worn on right hand until married
• Betrothals can be terminated by mutual
consent
• Contract is sealed with a kiss
• If there is no good reason to break the
contract, the man has to DOUBLE any
tokens received
You can get out of it if…
• Guilty of infidelity
• Seriously disfigured
• Married
• Guilty of wickedness or drunkenness
• Long separation
Marriage – Things to Consider
• Boys can marry at 14, Girls at 12 with
parent permission.
• It is considered foolish to marry for love
• It is expected that you will have children
• Children are the property of the parents
• Wives are the property of their husbands
• Divorce is hard to get – you have to have an
act of Parliament (buy them off)
Planning Your Wedding
• Bride does not have to wear white
• Intention to marry must be announced in the
church 3 times.
• No formal invitations, but you may write to
friends and relatives
• Bridal Procession is noisy (musicians & bawdy
jokes) – might include groom
• Always a religious ceremony (no running off)
• Everyone stands (most churches – no pews)
Want to impress with a gift?
• Game (quail or deer)
• Wine
• Hawks, caged birds
• Hunting Dogs
• Rare or special books
• Homemade marmalade, beer & honey
• NEVER money
Armed Services
• No standing regular army
• „Men of means' providing equipment and horses
according to their incomes
• Every able bodied man between 18 and 60
• Unsatisfactory system which produced reluctant,
amateur armies
What did you call me?
• Calling someone a liar or questioning his
honor or courage is considered a challenge
• Dueling is illegal so take the fight out of the
way or country
• If you are really angry… lie in wait (well
one of your men will)
Elizabethan Life
Watch Where You Step and Hold
Your Nose….