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….