|  Tudor History 
*NOTE: The following excerpts are
from
Alison Weir “Henry VIII, A King and His Country”.
Opinions expressed herein and commentary made is by the
original author and not the webmaster. As with all History take it with
a grain of salt as it is normally written from that persons’ perspective.
Some Interesting
Tidbits of Life in Henrician England
This is inspired by Alison Weir's excellent and
very holistic "Henry VIII: The King and His Court" as well as
a few other sources and my own research. Anything you see in quotations,
unless otherwise noted, is from Weir's book.
I've tried to keep the information relevant to
all social classes as much as possible. It's organized in themes so that
you can ignore what doesn't interest you or your character and find what
does. Keep in mind that since most of this comes from one source, everything
written here should be taken with a grain of salt (not too much so, though,
since it's a good source).
By the way, since I have no button for the pound
sterling symbol on my blasted American keyboard, the word pound is written
out (though s=shillings, d=pence). Keep in mind also that with inflation
and what not, the rough modern equivalent of a period sum is 300 times
the 16th century price -- so 2 pounds in period is nothing to sneeze at!
Enjoy!
~~Matthew Duvall~~
LIFE IN TUDOR ENGLAND
THE POPULATION OF ENGLAND
IN THE EARLY 16TH CENTURY
In 1524, the population of England
was around 2.3 million. In a census of 1520, only 6% of the population
lived in urban areas, of which half lived in London.
ENGLISH ROADS IN THE 16TH CENTURY
"Sixteenth-century roads were generally poor; it was left to local
landowners to keep them in repair, and many defaulted. Some roads were
mere dirt tracks with potholes; they could be treacherous or impassable
in bad weather. There were so few signposts that in remote areas (notably
the far north) travellers had to employ local
guides...The chief roads were those built by the Romans, but even these
were poorly maintained. An added hazard was the threat posed to travellers
by beggars and robbers. Early in his reign, Henry VIII ordered the building
of several new roads and the repair of important older roads, which led
to an increase in the use of wheeled vehicles. The best roads were those
reserved especially for the sovereign's use."
Just something to keep in mind
when you think of your character barreling down a road on a horse.
Makes me realize what a nightmare moving wagons & vardos
must have been in Yorkshire!
PRIVACY IN PERIOD
"For other courtiers, and to a greater extent household
servants, privacy was an elusive luxury or was nonexistent."
This would also apply to just about everyone, with
the exception of the highest of nobility (and even then only when they
were on their own estates) and certain sequestered people in the Church,
such as monks and nuns.
Henrician England was in many ways a far more
public and open society than today. At Hampton Court there was even a huge communal
privy with fourteen seats, and no walls dividing them.
SOAP & HYGIENE IN THE 1530'S
(The part about clothing reminds me of what our nobles have to go through
today!) "Soap was expensive, even though it was manufactured in London
and Bristol;
it was made from wood-ash, tallow, or olive oil. Many large households
made their own. The best, and dearest, soaps were imported from Venice
and Spain.
The wealthy classes also used aromatic oils and scented salts in their
baths. But most fine garments were made from unwashable
fabrics, and must have smelt very stale after several wearings,
particularly if the weather was hot. Body linen, however, was regularly
laundered, along with chapel and table linen and towels."
This doesn't mean, of course, that we should emulate
the hygiene of our 16th century forebears. As our wonderful Costume Goddesses
are wont to say, we recreate the sights and sounds of Renaissance England,
not the smells. :~)
DALLIANCES & PROPRIETY (IN
PARTICULAR AT COURT)
"The English were not squeamish about sexual matters; in fact, they
were frank, outspoken, and 'somewhat licentious in the disposition.' Erasmus
commented on the fact that the women always kissed a man on the lips when
they greeted him, a custom he found delightful. In a court where women
were very much in the minority, and most of the
men were away from home, some sexual dalliance was inevitable. Yet the
King would not permit any open display of wanton behaviour;
he commanded the Knight Harbinger to banish lewd women from his household,
and foreigners were often impressed by the relative circumspection and
dignity of his courtiers. Drunkenness, however, was common."
MAP MAKING & CARTOGRAPHY IN TUDOR ENGLAND
"It was Leland [the King's Royal Librarian] who first suggested to
the King the idea of mapping the whole of Britain,
a project that did not come to fruition until Elizabeth's reign."
As you can probably tell from the above passage,
detailed geographical and political maps of the whole of Britain
do not yet exist in 1533. Most people in England
know how to get around by memory, and would have trouble referencing locations
on a map or imagining the outline of the British
Isles. Someone lucky (especially sailors) would have crude
maps to go by. The bird's eye view that detailed maps provide did not
yet exist in the public consciousness.
SPECTACLES IN HENRICIAN ENGLAND
"He [the King, in 1545] now needed spectacles -- known as gazings -- for reading, and ordered ten pairs at a time from
craftsmen in Germany.
The frames were made of gold or silver and clipped onto the nose, rather
than the ears, while the lenses, cut from rock crystal, came from specialists
in Venice."
Spectacles of less expensive make were worn all
over England in 1533 by all but the lowest
classes.
MIRRORS IN THE TUDOR ERA
"Henry VIII, a vain man, was well-provided with "glasses to
look in." These were of polished steel; glass mirrors were
unknown."
In fact, glass in period was rather rare and expensive
altogether. Only churches and the most astute of homes had glass windows.
SOME WEATHER OUR CHARACTERS WOULD HAVE LIVED
THROUGH
"The winter of 1527-1528 was exceptionally bitter --- even the sea
froze in places."
Anyone living in England
at this time would have gone through this extremely long and cold winter.
Hundreds and hundreds among the lower class froze to death that year.
In faith and on the other end of the continent,
the Gypsies were wintering in Constantinople
that year because the weather was far too harsh to venture northwest into
the Balkans. Even in the Ottoman capital it was frigid, though.
FOOD & DRINK IN HENRICIAN ENGLAND
POPULAR 16TH CENTURY BEVERAGES
"Ale was the staple drink [at court]...but during Henry's reign,
beer, initially imported from Flanders, gained in popularity...the hops...preserved
beer for longer, whereas ale deteriorated rapidly. Neither were
very potent...Wine was a gentleman's drink, bought by the barrel, not
bottled; a barrel might contain 105 or 205 gallons...Wine was very much
a status symbol, an essential adjunct to polite society. Sweet, strong
wines, such as Osney from Alsace [in the Holy Roman Empire], were very popular,
as was hippocras, a warm, richly spiced, sugared red wine which was served
at the end of banquets."
Water was generally considered unfit for consumption
in period, and it often was. Even the pure spring water piped into Hampton Court was not drunk for fear of
contamination.
Ale and beer were the primary drinks of just about
everyone not of noble birth, and were considered safe because the processes
used to make them killed most bacteria and other contaminants. 'Small
beers' had very low alcohol content and were often drunk by children and
women.
POPULAR 16TH CENTURY FRUITS & SPICES AND
THEIR AVAILABILITY
"Spices were used in both cookery and medicines, but since most came
from the Mediterranean and were very expensive, their use was restricted
to the upper ranks...The Spicery [a department
in the royal household] also bought and stored loaves and cones of sugar
-- another costly commodity...His [Henry VIII's]
orchards supplied a rich yield of pears, apples, plums, damsons, cherries,
and strawberries -- the last two were particular favorites of the King
and Anne Boleyn...Citrus fruits were costly and rare, as they had to be
imported from Spain; Katherine of Aragon was instrumental in popularizing
oranges in England...Raw fruit was believed to cause fevers, so fruit
was usually served cooked."
EATING UTENSILS AND THEIR USE IN THE TUDOR ERA
"Every person brought his own eating knife...Forks (an Italian invention)
were used only to serve meat or sticky foods, not for eating. It was customary
to eat with a knife and one's fingers...one used the left hand to take
food from communal dishes, and the thumb and first two fingers of the
right hand to eat with. The knife was for serving and cutting meat...Spoons
were used to eat liquid food, and rubbed clean with bread...[among the
lower classes] utensils were of wood, the bread was cheat, and ale, not
wine, was served."
Rarely were meals served out in individual portions
in households and estates -- at all social levels they were served more
or less buffet style, with the diners taking what they wanted (or in the
case of the lower classes, what they could get!)
AMOUNTS AND TIMES OF MEALS IN THE TUDOR ERA
AT COURT VS AMONG THE PEASANTRY & GENTRY
A typical meal schedule at Court ran: "Breakfast -- comprising bread,
meat and ale -- was served around 7 AM; dinner, the main meal of the day,
was between 10 A.M. and 1 P.M., and supper between 4 and 7 P.M. An evening
snack, called 'all night,' was distributed between 8 and 9 P.M. Dinner
and supper consisted of two courses with a prescribed number of dishes
at each."
In contrast, meals among the lower classes elsewhere
in the kingdom were generally earlier by at least an hour because they
rose earlier (much more to do) and went to bed earlier (more to do the
next day, and not nearly as much to spend on candles, which were expensive,
and firewood).
Only the highest of the Gentry truly lived on a
meal schedule like the courtly one above. Merchants and lower to mid Gentry
would probably have a couple of meals a day. The lower classes were doing
well to have one, supplemented by maybe a few snacks.
ENTERTAINMENT & LEISURE IN HENRICIAN ENGLAND
IMPORTANT FEAST DAYS & HOLIDAYS
The most important feast days in England were "Christmas, New Year,
the Feast of the Epiphany (or Twelfth Night), Easter, Ascension Day, the
Feast of the Assumption, and the Feast of St. John the Baptist on Midsummer
Day."
The court celebrated with lavish galas, feasts,
dancing and masques. The gentry copied these on a lesser scale. The lower
classes, while not having being able to afford anything so grand, had
village celebrations that often got quite wild (especially so on Christmas).
These feast days and holidays were *very* much looked forward to by the
peasantry because, along with faire days (which often coincided with feast
days), they were some of the very few free days they ever had. Everyone
went to Mass on these days (except for New Year).
By the way, an interesting side note -- among the
court, gifts were exchanged on New Year, not Christmas.
MAY DAY CELEBRATIONS IN THE 1530'S
(Very appropriate since Scarborough falls
during this time and we dance the Maypole)
"May Day, originally a pagan fertility festival
[Beltaine], was one of the great holidays of the year. It was the occasion
of cheerful merrymaking at court, with the King going a-Maying with much triumph and celebrations lasting up to four
days. On 'the morn of May,' everyone ventured 'into the woods and meadows
to divert themselves' -- not always in ways of which moralists would have
approved -- and later there were sports, horse races, jousts, and dances
around the maypole, after which it was customary for cakes and cream to
be served."
These celebrations are also very typical of what
the lower classes would be doing on this day. May Day always had a rustic,
lusty, outdoorsy bent to it. Celebrations included hobby horses, Morris
dancing and, of course, the dancing of the Maypole.
THEATRE IN 1533
"Early Tudor drama consisted chiefly of medieval miracle and morality
plays, which were rarely performed at court and went out of fashion with
the Reformation, and short interludes, which were the successors to morality
plays, pageants and masques; the last two [were mostly court entertainments
and] relied on spectacle, music, and dance rather than plots. Hardly any
play texts survive from before Elizabeth I's
reign, and sophisticated dramatic works were rare. Not until 1576 was
a public playhouse built in London,
and until then, most ordinary people could only watch plays staged by
travelling players in inn yards and marketplaces."
As you might have noticed, the theatre most people
would see in 1533 was performed by itinerant actors. There are mentions
of boys playing women's roles, so I'm assuming that the strictures on
female actors are about the same (though perhaps less formalized) as in
the Elizabethan era.
POPULAR SPORTS IN PERIOD AND THE CONTRAST BETWEEN
THOSE PLAYED BY THE UPPER AND LOWER CLASSES
"Nearly all sports were competitive. It was
not done, however, to compete with one's social inferiors. Organized ball
games, such as football [soccer], were played only by the lower classes,
and Parliament passed legislation restricting the playing of bowls, quoits,
and tennis to the upper classes, within the privacy of their estates.
The King's subjects were rather to spend their leisure hours practising
archery, which would benefit the nation in time of war."
Bowls -- period bowling -- was
a lot like modern bocci (or lawn bowling) -- which is why it's so very
appropriate to have a bocci court on site. Quoits
was something like horseshoes.
It should also be noted that rounders,
a stick and ball game that was the ancestor of both cricket and baseball,
was very popular among the lower classes in period.
THE DANGERS OF HUNTING IN THE KING'S FORESTS
"The royal parks and forests provided the King not only with good
sport, but also with venison for his household and a substantial income
from dues and fines: severe forest and venery laws imposed stiff financial
or custodial penalties on ordinary people who stole the King's deer."
Notice the penalty isn't death like it was in earlier
eras of English history, but poaching is still not at all wise in 1533.
MUSIC & SINGING IN RENAISSANCE ENGLAND
"Foreigners were ecstatic about the music they heard at the English
court, the beautiful voices of the choristers and the virtuoso playing
of the musicians, which they compared very favorably with the music of
the French court, where the singing master could not read music, even
when he was sober."
"Much music was composed under the auspices
of the Church...there were advances, too, in secular music, which was
growing in popularity...it was changing, becoming increasingly influenced
by newer forms from Flanders, France,
and Italy.
Under Henry VIII, English music progressed from the formal mediaeval style
to one more florid and versatile...It was during Henry's reign, in 1530,
that the first book of music was printed in England..."
"It appears vocal music was more favored than
instrumental music, and that singers usually performed in groups, rather
than alone."
Henry VIII and many of his courtiers were accomplished
composers and musicians.
THE COSTLINESS OF BOOKS IN THE EARLY 16TH CENTURY
AND THEIR GREAT INFLUENCE
"As books were expensive and were available only to a wealthy few,
their subject matter initially reflected the interests of the upper classes...[However] the spread of humanism led before long to changes
in attitudes and the printing of more sophisticated works; some were controversial
and some even heretical. The printed word was enormously influential in
encouraging people to explore new ideas and ideologies -- but they frequently
did so at their peril...Traditional illuminated manuscripts were still
much prized, and often very valuable."
THE PROLIFERATION OF GAMBLING
"Not only the King, but the whole court, it seemed, was excessively
fond of gambling." This applied to all the lower classes as well.
Betting was usually done with card games and dice, though almost anything
with an uncertain outcome with betted on at one time or another. It was
always frowned upon by the Church, but happened everywhere regardless.
JOUSTING IN HENRY VIII'S REIGN
"Henry VIII's reign witnessed the Indian
summer of the age of chivalry. Tournaments in the Burgundian
style were hugely popular, and were staged at almost every court festival
or diplomatic visit, and as regular events during May and June to provide
'honourable and healthy exercise' before the hunting season
began. They were essentially an aristocratic preserve, intended to keep
fighting men in peak condition in peacetime...Tournaments had also become
glittering social events that afforded Henry and his courtiers the chance
to show off their wealth and prowess before foreign ambassadors. Success
in the lists was a sure route to royal favour."
Henry himself jousted almost obsessively throughout
the first half of his reign despite the admonitions of his counselors
not to do so, and was twice almost fatally wounded (once by Lord Charles
Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, his best friend and favorite jousting companion)
in the lists.
TRADE & COMMERCE IN HENRICIAN ENGLAND
MERCHANT GUILDS IN TUDOR ENGLAND
"Merchant Adventurers
Name given originally to all merchants in England who engaged in export
trade, but later applied to loosely organized groups of merchants in the
major ports concerned with exporting cloth to the Netherlands. They were
incorporated as a trading company in 1407. Originally the company's activities
centered in Bruges, but in 1446 it obtained trading privileges from the
duke of Burgundy and established its
staple (i.e., trading center) at Antwerp.
Despite strong competition from the Hanseatic
League, whose dominance in the Baltic caused the exclusion of the Merchant
Adventurers from that area, the company flourished, established depots
in several cities, and was [in 1560] given the monopoly on exporting cloth
to W Germany and the Netherlands.
Merchants of the Staple or Merchant
Staplers, English trading company that controlled the export of English
raw wool. The first wool staple (i.e., a place designated by royal
ordinance as a special center of commerce) was established in 1294, and
the first compulsory staple, where all wool exporters were required to
trade, was set up in 1314. The staple was moved from place to place according
to political needs, but in 1363 a group of 26 English merchants was incorporated
as the Company of the Staple at Calais with a complete monopoly
of wool exports. The staple thereafter remained almost continuously at
Calais
until 1558, and the company's resources contributed heavily to the defense
of that city against the French."
(Source for both: The Columbia
Encyclopedia Online)
These guilds are both very powerful in trade in
1533. It should also be mentioned that wool was one of England's
major exports, and had become something of a cottage industry in rural
England,
with peasants creating the rough product which was then purchased by drapers
associated with the guilds and made into fine English wool.
MEDICINE & HEALTH IN HENRICIAN ENGLAND
MEDICINE IN THE TUDOR ERA
"Tudor medicine was a mixture of received wisdom of the ancient Greeks,
superstition, and old-fashioned common sense. Andrew Boorde
recommended that sufferers [of the dreaded Sweating Sickness] be tucked
up warmly in bed in a room with a roaring fire to sweat out the illness;
other physicians recommended treacle and herbs, or exotic potions made
from powdered sapphires or gold. The truth was, none of them had any real
understanding of the sweating sickness, nor the slightest
idea of what might cure it. The only thing they all agreed upon
was that the patient should be kept awake and not allowed to lapse into
a coma."
Interesting note: most of the many herbal remedies
used in period were the most effective in treating ailments, especially
minor ones. What we now consider conventional medicine had not reached
the point of being effective in most cases.
The most renowned surgeons and physicians of the
period were from Italy and the Middle East, in particular the Ottoman Empire.
THE PLAGUE IN HENRY VIII'S REIGN
"Plague in several forms, notably bubonic, was endemic in Tudor times.
There were outbreaks most summers, some much worse than others, and the
people who died were mainly the poor, who had not the means to escape
the pest, as their betters could. Plague spread rapidly in hot, crowded,
dirty cities, and London, which had about seventy
thousand inhabitants crammed inside its walls, was invariably the worst-afflicted
place. In 1513, three hundred to four hundred people a day died of plague
in the capital."
Besides the Plague, the Sweating Sickness (a disease
last recorded in 1551) was also greatly feared, especially since it killed
its victims within three to four hours. Terrible outbreaks of this disease
in 1485, 1517 and 1528 killed thousands of people.
TYPES OF MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS IN PERIOD
"Since the fifteenth century, there had been a strict division between
scholarly physicians, who were often in holy orders and dealt in diagnosis;
barber surgeons, who were much lower down the social scale and carried
out surgery, pulled teeth, and let blood; and apothecaries, who made up
prescribed remedies."
LIFE AT COURT: THE KING, QUEEN, NOBLES & THEIR
ATTENDANTS
ORGANIZATION & SIZE OF THE ROYAL
COURT
"There was great formality at Henry's court, but the court was also
chaotic, wasteful, and hugely expensive to maintain. Continual efforts
to improve the efficiency of the royal household met with only varying
success, yet given the numbers of people present at court at any one time,
its administrators managed rather well. In winter it was not unheard of
for between a thousand and fifteen hundred persons to be in residence,
of whom only about a hundred had access to the King; up to a thousand
persons might be in service in the royal household. Numbers fluctuated
depending on the season or the occasion. In the summer, when many courtiers
were away on their estates, the court numbered perhaps eight hundred people.
There were probably fewer than a hundred women at court. Many were the
wives and daughters of courtiers, and waited on the Queen. Others visited
with their husbands, often for ceremonial occasions."
FORMS OF ADDRESS USED FOR THE KING, QUEEN
& NOBLES
I can't find exactly where I read this or I'd quote it directly. Henry
VIII was the first English monarch to be addressed as "Your Majesty."
Previously this had only been reserved for the Pope, with the King of
England being called "Your Grace", "Your Highness",
"My Liege" or "Most Dread Sovereign." By the way,
all of these forms of address are still appropriate for use when addressing
the King.
As for the Peerage and important clergy, they are
addressed as follows:
Barons, Viscounts, Counts/Earls & Marquesses
= My Lord
Dukes & Bishops = Your Grace
Archbishops & Cardinals = Your Eminence
Ambassadors = Your Excellency
All Ladies Lower In Rank Than Princess = My Lady
Princes & Princesses = Your Highness
HENRY VIII'S GENEROSITY
"The public were allowed into his (the King's) palaces to watch tournaments,
processions, or the great court entertainments, and it was not unheard of for Henry to go into London in disguise to mingle among them. And
of course a large number of his subjects saw him when he went on progress.
Many of those subjects brought the King gifts in
the anticipation of a reward; indeed, such largesse, or tipping, was expected
of a monarch. Lots of the offerings made were foodstuffs, such as orange
pies, fruit, pheasants, salmon, or baked lampreys, which were known to
be one of his favorite foods. The King gave 6d to a gardener who gave
him a drink of water, 1 pound to a priest who preached before him, a total
of 4 pounds.17s.4d to divers poor people who brought him 'capons, hens,
books of wax and other trifles', and 2 pounds to a man who won a wager
by eating a whole buck at one sitting. Wherever he went, the poor waited
for his charity, and he would patiently listen to their tales of woe.
One William Kebet had lost his job and was 'fallen
in poverty and decay,' and Henry succored him with 5 pounds on one occasion
and 4 pounds on another. He donated 5 pounds to another man 'like to be
be lost,' 3pounds.6s to a needy father of thirteen,
and a further sum of money so that a poor woman could redeem her husband
from debtor's prison. He also gave funds to his jester 'for his surgery
when sick in London,'
and to his groom, Thomas 'o relieve him of his sickness.'"
THE EDUCATION OF COURTLY WOMEN IN 16TH CENTURY
ENGLAND
"Few women were educated at that time -- Katherine of Aragon and
the daughters of Sir Thomas More were outstanding but rare examples of
the bluestocking -- but attitudes were beginning to change. 'Erudition
of women is a reproach to the idleness of men,' wrote the enlightened
More. Yet even he, along with most other people, still held that marriage
was a woman's highest vocation, and he placed great emphasis on his girls'
acquiring the requisite domestic skills; nor would he allow them to show
off their academic talents outside their home.
Influenced by More's
example, and also by the fact that [Princess] Mary might well one day
be Queen of England in her own right, the King and Queen were anxious
for their daughter to be provided with an excellent classical education
in the humanist tradition. In doing so, they set a trend which other learned
or aristocratic parents would follow, so that in time the kind of formal
education hitherto available only to boys came to be regarded as desirable
for girls also."
ANNE BOLEYN -- HER CHARACTER, TALENTS AND TASTES
"Anne's character has fascinated -- and often eluded -- historians
for centuries. She was certainly ambitious, determined, tenacious, and
even ruthless. Her loyalty to, and pride in, her family was strong, and
she seems to have been particularly close to her brother George. She was
sophisticated, vivacious, and witty, but could also be high-strung, sharp-tempered,
and vindictive. Yet her strength, boldness, and courage were never in
doubt. Unlike most women of her time, she had an independent spirit.
It was more than just sex appeal that attracted
Henry to Anne. Several writers testify to her love of fashion and her
expensive tastes, which she shared with the King. Like him, she had a
flair for the decorative arts and a lively interest in architecture and
display. Her accomplishments were many. She was well-educated, intelligent,
and articulate, was fluent in French, and knew some Latin.
Like Henry, Anne was passionately fond of music,
and very talented in that sphere. 'When she sang, like a second Orpheus,
she would have made bears and wolves attentive.' She would accompany herself
on the lute, could also 'handle cleverly both flute and rebec,'
[as well as a variety of other instruments]...Anne is believed to have
composed her own songs and even written a masque...
She was also an accomplished dancer...Anne and
her brother and their young friends were all keen poets..." She also
greatly enjoyed hawking, hunting and riding.
ANNE BOLEYN AS QUEEN
"Anne's servants wore her livery of blue and purple, and their doublets
were embroidered with her new motto, 'La plus heureuse'
(The Most Happy)...the new Queen was determined to set a high moral standard
in her household, probably with a view to out rivalling
her predecessor and giving the lie to those who believed she was of bad
character...She made some of her own clothes...as well as hangings and
household embroideries...Anne was generous in her charities...Anne's heraldic
emblem as Queen of England was a white falcon with a crown and sceptre standing with wings elevated on a tree stump covered
with Tudor Roses."
EDWARD SEYMOUR - WHAT WAS HE REALLY LIKE?
"[Edward] Seymour was a haughty, reserved man, somewhat under the
thumb of his volatile second wife, Anne Stanhope, whom he had married
in about 1534/5; his sister Jane had been godmother at the baptism of
their eldest son in February 1536. Although cultivated and astute, Seymour was too much of an idealist to make
a great politician, but his ambition and status overrode such a minor
consideration, and his loyalty to the Crown was never in doubt. A humanist,
he was sympathetic to the cause of reform, but 'so moderate that all thought
him their own.' His greatest talent was as a military commander: even
Norfolk was impressed with him, and his recommendation later
led to Seymour's successful command of
the royal forces in the north of England."
THE KING'S MESSENGER SERVICE
"The King outlaid large sums of money on efficient postal messenger
services: dispatches sent from Calais
reached court and were dealt with by the end of the following day. An
astonished Marillac [the French ambassador later
in the reign] reported that Henry 'peaks as if he had men all over the
world who did nothing but write to him.' Certainly he was better
informed than most European monarchs."
RUDIMENTARY RUNNING WATER IN TUDOR PALACES
(Speaking of Hampton Court) "By means of a stunning feat of engineering,
the water was piped from natural springs three miles away...the pipes
were embedded in the riverbed under the Thames...The supply served the
whole palace, and many household offices and even courtier lodgings were
supplied with a tap, while the King and Queen had water piped into their
bathrooms."
INTERIOR DÉCOR IN TUDOR PALACES
At least in the homes of the nobility "The interior decor of the
period was rich, vivid, even gaudy." Kind
of dispels the whole myth about the English being drab in comparison to
the Italians and others, doesn't it? ;~)
PRIVACY IN DINING FOR DIFFERENT SOCIAL CLASSES
AT COURT
"In the greater houses, about 600 lesser members of the household
ate in the great hall, which at Hampton Court could accommodate as many
as three hundred at a sitting...By the sixteenth century, people of high
rank preferred to dine in private and comfort, rather than preside over
their household."
Only on special days such as state occasions and
feast days did King Henry dine in public (and on some of these occasions
the general public was invited to watch).
CHARITY IN THE FORM OF FOOD
AT COURT
"It was considered uncharitable to finish all one's food [among courtiers
and nobility]. Leftover food, known as manners, was placed on a dish called
a voider and passed down to those of lesser rank, or collected
by the Almoner and given to the beggars who crowded outside the palace
gates...The King's leftovers were always given to the poor."
COURT DANCING IN HENRY VIII'S REIGN
(Long but very interesting, especially in contrast to our Village Dance
shows at Faire)
"Dancing was a popular pastime at court, if
only because it afforded one of the few opportunities for men and women
to enjoy physical contact in a social setting. However, one Spaniard found
the English to be 'not at all graceful' and their dances to consist 'simply
of prancing and trotting.' Dancing was nevertheless an essential accomplishment
for both men and women of gentle birth..."
"The dances favoured
by the court were many and varied. Bransles,
or brawls, were round dances of peasant origin that had been adopted by
the aristocracy and had become especially popular in England.
The basse dance was so called because the feet
glided slowly across the floor and were hardly lifted. Sir Thomas Elyot
refers to 'bargenettes and turgions,'
which seem to have been spirited measures. The most
stately of all dances was the majestic pavane,
from Italy;
its slow pace was appropriate to ceremonial occasions when the dancers
would be encumbered with heavy robes and long trains. The passamezzo
was a faster version of the pavane, and was
often followed by a [very energetic] saltarello...Much
Renaissance dance music survives to give us some idea of the diversity
of the rhythms and forms of the dances of the period. It is clear that
sixteenth-century dances were less stylized than those of later centuries
and had room for improvisation; many dances were very energetic, there
was much running and leaping, and in some dances -- such as the ronde
-- the dancers sang. Nevertheless, all court dances began and ended formally
with a reverence, with the dancers bowing or curtsying to the King and
Queen."
The Maltese Brawl (which is a country dance at
Scarborough) is a period court dance.
Most of the other dances we do are either original or were 17th century
Playford dances (Hole in the Wall, Poacher's
Moon, Black Nag).
Here is a bit of Spangaletto
history from the King himself.
The "Spagnoletta"
that we dance at Scarborough was originally created at Scarborough
Faire around 1990 by Court dance mistresses Carol Seastrunk
and Emily Banks. It was danced in a square, all couples facing forward,
for one round only. It should not be confused with "Lo Spagnoletto"
the 1602 Italian dance by Cesare Negri.
Ellen Horr,
Court dance mistress from 1998 to 2001, changed it to the repeating round
dance we do today. Thank you, Ellen.
Susan Von Rudolph,
present Court dance mistress, has refined it and keeps it flowing beautifully
and pristine, constantly striving to stamp out the mutations and idiosyncratical
ridiculousnessosities that some of our fellow
performers try to sneak in.
The dance "Spagnoletta"
is rumored to be copywritten by Scarborough
Faire management.
Michael Praetorius
wrote the music in the 16th Century. Cantiga
has released it as "Spagnoletta" on
their CD "Martha's Dragon" and dedicated it to "the Court
Dancers of Scarborough Faire" (Susan has also brought all the new
period Court dances to Scarborough in recent years, including "Mannschaft
Pavane" written, dance and music, by King
Henry VIII himself. Cantiga may be releasing
this song on their next CD).
I was there, so I
know (in 1990, not the 16th c.)
Richard
Alan Patterson
King Henry VIII
HORSE RACING IN THE TUDOR
ERA
"It was Henry VIII, rather than Charles II, who was the first English
King to race horses. He kept 'geldings that did run' and employed
'riding boys that ride the running horses.' Their livery comprised satin
and fustian doublets in the Tudor colours of
green and white...The King himself enjoyed racing..."
THE ROYAL PROGRESS
(Very interesting since at Faire, Henry VIII and the Court are in Scarborough because they're on progress throughout the realm)
'Henry went on progress almost every summer of
his reign. His purpose was not only to see his realm and be seen by his
subjects, but also to enjoy the hunting that was to be had in other parts.
At that time of the year, many courtiers had returned to their estates
to oversee the harvest, so the King was usually accompanied by a smaller
retinue and sometimes just by his riding household. The Queen usually,
but not always, accompanied him...Unlike his daughter Elizabeth I, Henry
did not routinely seek lavish hospitality from his subjects, and his visits
were never as financially ruinous to his hosts as hers were. Many of his
lesser houses were progress houses, and he used them whenever possible.
In the first half of his reign he lodged also...at monasteries. At other
times he stayed as the guest of one of his courtiers or some local worthy,
becoming lord of the house for the duration of his stay...'
Another reason Henry left London
and went on progress in the summer was to escape the Plague and other
epidemics that flared up there annually, of which he was apparently terrified.
It should be noted that while Henry and Katherine
of Aragon processed through the Midlands (Nottingham, Coventry)
very early in the reign, in 1533 the King had never gone further north.
Even though Henry is Duke of York, he hasn't ever been to Yorkshire
in 1533. The King doesn't visit Yorkshire
until 1541, and only because of rebellion in the area.
THE RECEPTION HENRY VIII RECEIVED ON HIS ONLY
VISIT TO YORKSHIRE (1541)
"[In Yorkshire] where, never having visited these parts, he was just
a name to the people...At every town and city he visited, people flocked
to see him in gaily bedecked streets, and there were speeches, lavish
receptions, and banquets..."
This immense interest of the people of Yorkshire
of all social strata in catching a glimpse at their sovereign for the
first time should seem familiar. We obviously warp history a bit at Faire
so that Henry is in Yorkshire in spring
of 1533, but the idea is the same -- it's the first time most of us have
ever seen the King, and great surprise, fascination and what not are thus
warranted.
POLITICS IN HENRICIAN ENGLAND
THE HOUSE OF TUDOR'S OBSESSION WITH ARTHURIAN
LEGENDS
As you doubtless know (esp. after last season's
scenario), Henry VII (first ruler of the Tudor dynasty and father of Henry
VIII) usurped the English throne from the previous ruling dynasty, the
Plantagenet House of York.
During his reign, he took many measures to ensure
that the Tudor claim to the throne was seen as a legitimate one. One of
the oddest of these was Henry VII's fascination with and use of the legend of King Arthur.
He named his first son Arthur, and heavily hinted
during his reign that the Tudors were descended from the great king himself.
Anyway, this apparently continued under Henry VIII,
because in 1522 when Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was visiting England,
the King and Emperor "feasted in Winchester Castle beneath the Round
Table, which had been repainted in honour of
Charles's visit with a prominent Tudor rose in the middle...In Henry's
time, it was believed that the table was the genuine article, although
it is now known to be a medieval fabrication."
MAJOR SUMMIT MEETINGS BETWEEN HENRY VIII AND
OTHER RULERS
There are several instances of Henry VIII meeting with rulers of other
countries, both at court in England (such as in 1523 when Christian II
of Denmark and his queen visited) and abroad.
The most notable summits and meetings to occur
as of 1533 have been, however, those with Francois I, King of France and
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor & King of Spain.
The meetings between Henry VIII and these rulers were:
Francois I
1520 in France
at the Field of Cloth of Gold -- an extravagant affair that would prove
the most spectacular event of Henry VIII's reign
but not terribly important politically.
1532 in France
at Boulogne -- Henry VIII and Anne
Boleyn (whom he had not yet married) both attended, and made a new alliance
with France
which still exists in 1533.
Charles V
May 1520 in Dover,
England -- Charles was seeking to
ally with Henry before he left for his meeting with Francois at the Field
of Cloth of Gold, which didn't happen.
July 1520 in Gravelines,
the Empire -- A follow-up meeting to the ineffectual Field of Cloth of
Gold in which Henry and Charles talked of alliance
May-July 1522, England
-- An Imperial visit that lasted for months and proved to be the beginning
of a new Anglo-Imperial alliance. Henry showed Charles all across England. A very
big event.
Since the 1520's Henry VIII has sought to be a
power broker who keeps the balance in Europe.
He has also needed allies for various reasons, and so he's shifted back
and forth between alliances with France
and the Empire. In 1533, it's the French who are currently in favour.
THE KINGDOMS, PRINCIPALITIES & OTHER SOVEREIGN
STATES OF TUDOR-ERA EUROPE
This is from my own research, and is meant to
give a general political overview of the major states of the period. The
country's name is listed (followed in parentheses by any other lands that
are also a part of this state) followed by the name of its ruler.
Kingdom
of Denmark (+Iceland,
Norway) -- No ruler, as it is currently
in the middle of a civil war
Kingdom
of England (+Calais,
Ireland, Wales)
-- King Henry VIII
Kingdom
of France -- King Francois I
The Holy Roman Empire (Austria,
Bohemia, Burgundy,
Germany, the Low Countries,
Naples & Sicily, Spain,
various areas of the New World) -- Emperor
Charles V (who is also Charles I, King of Spain)
The Italian City-States -- Each of these is independent
(though some are allied with the Holy Roman Empire) and ruled by its own
duke, doge or prince:
Ferrara -- Duke Alfonso D'Este
Florence (+Firenze, Tuscany)-- Duke Alessandro
de' Medici
Genoa (+Corsica, Melfi) -- Doge Andrea Doria (who is also Prince of Melfi)
Mantua (+Casale Monferrato)
-- Duke Federico Gonzaga II (who is also Marquess of Casale Monferrato)
Milan -- Duke Francesco Maria Sforza II
Papal States (+Bologna) -- His Holiness Pope Clement VII
Piombino -- Prince Jacopo V
Savoy -- Duke Charles III, "the Good"
Urbino -- Duke Francesco Maria I della
Rovere
Republic of Venice (+Padua) -- Doge Andrea Gritti
Sovereign Dukedom of Latvia
-- Duke Walther von Plettenberg II (on behalf
of the Swordbrothers, a branch of the Teutonic Knights)
Monaco
-- Sovereign Lord Honore Grimaldi
I
The Ottoman Empire (Turkey, North Africa, the Middle
East and all of Eastern Europe except Russia, Poland, Bohemia and parts
of Hungary) -- Sultan Suleiman I, "the Magnificent"
Kingdom
of Poland (+Grand Duchy of Lithuania,
Belorussia) -- King Sigismund I (who is also Grand Duke of Lithuania)
Kingdom
of Portugal & Algarve
-- King Joao III, "the Pious"
Russia
(+the Ukraine) -- Czar Vasily
III, Grand Prince of All the Russias
Kingdom
of Scotland & the Isles -- King James
V
Kingdom
of Sweden (+Finland)
-- King Gusav Vasa
I
THE CHURCH IN ENGLAND
IN 1533
THE "PRINCES OF THE CHURCH" IN ENGLAND
IN 1533
These are the principal archbishoprics and bishoprics
in England
in 1533. Keep in mind that while Henry VIII has broken with Rome, for the next ten years or so the Church
of England will essentially just be the Catholic Church without the Pope.
A true move to more classically Protestant ideals and practices doesn't
start to happen until the 1540's, and the English crown and people never
embrace more radical Protestant beliefs such as Lutheranism and Anabaptism
as a whole.
Along with the name of the see (in parentheses)
is the holder of that title in 1533 Archbishoprics
Canterbury
(Thomas Cranmer)
York (Edward Lee)
Bishoprics
Bath & Wells (John Clerk)
Chichester (Robert Sherbourne)
Durham (Cuthbert Tunstall, Prince-Bishop of)
Ely (Thomas Goodrich)
Hereford (Charles Booth)
Lichfield (Roland Lee)
Lincoln (John Longland)
London (John Stokesley)
Norwich (Richard Nykke)
Rochester (John Fisher -- imprisoned in 1533 for dissension)
Winchester (Stephen Gardiner)
Worcester (Giovanni de Ghinucci)
LUTHERANISM IN HENRY VIII'S REIGN
"By 1521, Lutheranism -- it was not called Protestantism until 1529
-- had infiltrated into England,
where it would take root in fertile ground at both universities and also
among some followers of the New Learning [humanism]. Heretical tracts
and pamphlets were, of course, banned by the authorities, yet were secretly
circulated anyway, despite the fact that the penalty for heresy was death
by burning."
Despite the apparent bias towards Catholicism of
the above quote, the author was merely writing in the attitude of the
period.
CHRISTENINGS OF INFANTS IN PERIOD
"Parents were not, by tradition, expected to attend their child's
christening: the mother would not yet have been churched [purified], and
it was the godparents who were central to the occasion."
ARMS & WARFARE IN HENRICIAN ENGLAND
THE ROYAL NAVY UNDER HENRY VIII
"The King had for some time been building up England's navy, of which
he is with justification regarded as one of the chief founders...He had
inherited only a few vessels from his father, but was determined [to}
make his navy a power to be reckoned with on the high seas. By the end
of his reign, he had built forty-six warships and thirteen smaller galleys,
purchased twenty-six other ships, and captured thirteen more. At the time
[in the 1540's], this was the greatest navy in the world: although equal
in size to those of other countries, it was far better organized and disciplined."
Keep in mind that it wasn't until the 1540's that
the English navy surpassed everyone else -- in the 1530's, the Ottoman,
Spanish/Imperial and Venetian fleets are larger and better organized.
Two of Henry VIII's most
famous and largest warships were the Henry Grace a Dieu
(launched 1514) and the Mary Rose (named after his younger sister). Both
are in dry dock in 1533.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE HENRY GRACE A DIEU TO GIVE
A GENERAL IDEA OF HENRY'S LARGER WARSHIPS
"The Henry Grace a Dieu was a very large
vessel with 'five decks and seven tops.' She had 'no equal in bulk' and
had 'an incredible array' of more than two hundred bronze and iron cannon."
TUDOR ARMOUR
"The sixteenth century saw the design of armour
reach its apotheosis. Each suit was made to be as flexible and comfortable
as possible, and was beautifully engraved and damascened with precious
metals. Different suits were worn for jousting, fighting on foot, and
fighting on horseback, and all very were very expensive."
All plate armour was
custom-made. In the case of the King, his Royal Armourer,
the Dutchman Erasmus Kyrkenar, made armour specifically
to Henry VIII's measurements.
CLOTHING & FASHION IN THE 1530'S
THE CHANGE OF CONTINENTAL INFLUENCE ON ENGLISH
STYLE
"By 1515, French fashions were displacing Flemish and Italian influences
at the English court; they would remain popular until the mid-1540's,
when Spanish styles became the preferred mode. During the same period,
court dress also reflected German and Swiss trends. In the sixteenth century,
fashions changed far more slowly than today."
The gentry usually tried to emulate the nobility,
but usually fell somewhat short due to lack of resources and the restrictions
of the strict Sumptuary Laws. So they usually ended up wearing clothes
that were not nearly as fancy and were somewhat out of style by courtly
standards.
The clothing styles of the peasantry changed the
most slowly of all, not being that different from those worn in the late
Middle Ages.
THE SUMPTUARY LAWS AND HOW THEY WORKED
"In Tudor times it was the court and nobility that set the trends.
Clothes played an important role in proclaiming the rank and wealth of
the wearer...The richer the fabric and ornamentation, the higher the status.
In an age that placed great stress on outward show, such things counted,
and throughout the late mediaeval and Tudor periods, successive governments
passed sumptuary laws restricting the wearing of certain materials and
colours to persons above a certain degree.
Ermine, sable, and miniver
could only be worn by the nobility; no one under the rank of gentleman
was allowed to wear any gold or silver ornament on his clothing; silk
shirts were restricted to the knightly classes and above, and only earls
and their superiors were permitted to sport embroideries; no commoner
was to wear excessively broad-toed shoes; only dukes and marquesses
might wear cloth of gold, while the colour purple was to be worn only by royalty. There were also
all sorts of regulations governing the wearing of jewelry. These laws
were aimed at the prosperous merchant and middle classes, who could often
afford to wear the clothes reserved for their
betters and frequently did so, defying the law and risking confiscation."
When offenses were brought to the attention of
the authorities, the Sumptuary Laws were harshly enforced. The whole idea
was to be able to tell the rank of a person at a glance. This didn't always
happen -- a lot of people, especially in the country, got away with wearing
things they weren't supposed to. The Gypsies, for example -- we've broken
most of the above laws at one time or another, but then we're outlaws
anyway, so what the hey!
So you can get a general idea of the hierarchy
in the nobility, the Peerage runs, from bottom to top:
Baron
Viscount
Earl (Count on the Continent)
Marquess
Duke
Prince/Princess
King/Queen
WEATHER IN THE 16TH CENTURY & HOW IT INFLUENCED
CLOTHING
"England
was then entering a minor ice age that would last until the late seventeenth
century. 'It is always windy, and however warm
the weather, the natives invariably wear furs. The summers are never very
hot, neither is it ever very cold,' wrote a Venetian. To cope with the
climate, people wore several layers of clothing: a shirt or chemise, a
doublet or kirtle, and an overgown, the top
two layers often in heavy materials, and always with sleeves to the wrist.
The furs that lined the courtiers' gowns were sable or lynx; the seriously
wealthy used egret's down."
Lower classes would use wools instead of the fancier
materials above when it got cold. Wool was plentiful and cheap in England, being one of its major exports.
The poorest of the poor would have to make do with whatever they could
scrounge.
POPULAR SHOES AMONG THE UPPER CLASSES IN THE
1530'S
"Both sexes wore...broad-toed 'duckbill' shoes, sometimes with straps,
while high, square-toed boots were worn for riding or hunting."
THE POPULAR HAIR STYLES AT COURT FOR MEN
"Hair was worn in a long page-boy style, and most men went clean
shaven."
LONG HAIR VS.
SHORT HAIR ON MEN
Throughout the Middle Ages, long hair had been a luxury reserved for men
of high station. Men of the lowest classes usually wore their hair closely
cropped, a practice which continued throughout the Renaissance among the
peasantry.
However, "gradually long hair for men was
growing out of fashion."
After the 1520's, a short haircut in the French
style was favoured for most of the rest of Henry VIII's
reign among English courtiers and aspiring gentry.
I find it funny in light of this that long hair
on men (especially Court men) is so de rigeur
at Faire. But it's interesting and different (for the 20th century at
least), and theatre wins... :~)
LADIES' FASHION IN HENRY VIII'S REIGN
"Most foreigners were of the opinion that English women dressed badly
and immodestly, yet evidence from portraits suggests that necklines were
no lower in England
than elsewhere. Although English fashion did lag behind the rest of Europe, ladies of the court dressed sumptuously in gowns
made of at least ten yards of material. This allowed for the mandatory
long trains, which were either looped up at the back to expose the kirtle,
or carried over the arm....In the 1540's, the square neckline began to
give way to a stand-up collar. When pregnant, women wore bodices with
front lacings that could be let out to accommodate their increasing girth."
By the way, what was called a kirtle in period
we now call an underskirt. Bloomers were called undergarments in period (the
word "bloomers" dates to the 19th century).
GABLE HOODS VS. FRENCH HOODS
"Only unmarried girls were permitted to wear their hair loose,
and queens on state occasions. Married women wore hoods of 'various sorts
of velvet, cap fashion.' The gable hood was a peculiarly English fashion
that was popular from 1480 to around 1540. Inspired by the five-pointed
arch of Perpendicular architecture, it framed the face and completely
concealed the hair...Gable hoods were made of layers of velvet lined with
silk, decorated with rich embroideries and goldsmiths' work, stiffened
with metal or wire and fixed with decorative pins. They invariably had
black veils attached...In the 1520's, the French hood favoured
by Anne Boleyn began to be worn by ladies of fashion...By 1540, the French
hood had overtaken the gable in popularity, and was to remain in fashion
for the next fifty years."
THE FARTHINGALE
The author seems to contradict herself here, stating at one point early
on that "It was she [Katherine of Aragon] who introduced into England the Spanish farthingale, a
petticoat of linen or canvas stiffened with ever-increasing hoops of cane,
whalebone, or steel into a bell shape. This was worn under the gown and
kirtle, and remained fashionable until around 1520" and later writing
"By 1530, the farthingale had become popular, and skirts grew stiff
and wider; they were now worn open at the front to expose the kirtle beneath."
LACE IN THE 16TH CENTURY
"Lace had traditionally been made in England
for church vestments, and was sometimes imported from Flanders.
Katherine of Aragon is said to have established a cottage industry in
embroidery and lace-making in the Fens
in the 1530's, encouraging the local women to follow her example in making
Spanish black-work, cutwork, and what is now known as Buckingham lace.
Lace became fashionable at court after 1533, when Catherine de' Medici
introduced the Italian mode of lace making into France."
FABRICS USED FOR CHEMISES, BLOOMERS AND UNDERGARMENTS
IN PERIOD
"Cotton was not known in England until the late sixteenth century,
and fine linen, or "Holland cloth," which was imported from
Scotland, Ireland, Flanders and Germany, was expensive. It was used for
undergarments, shirts, and coifs, which were usually made and embroidered
by the women in a family, queens being no exception."
SOME MISCELLANEOUS FACTS FOR FUN
Apparently Henry VIII considered haggis a very
English dish! Makes me feel for those poor courtiers who had to endure
it!
There really was a Sir John Gage serving at Henry's
court in the 1530's! Not a royal guardsman, though. He was Vice Chamberlain
from 1528-36.
Henry VIII usually conversed with his ambassadors
in fluent Latin. This is of great interest to me, since I've always wondered
whether his ambassadors had to bother to learn English or not. by
the way, in 1533, the Imperial & Spanish ambassador to England is the crafty diplomat Eustache Chapuys, and the French
ambassador is Jean de Dintville.
Remember how it was such a huge deal in the scenario
last year that Kit was a Neville, a member of a family supposedly decimated
during the aftermath of the Wars of the Roses? Well, it turns out that
there were at least three Nevilles at court in 1533, including two brothers, Edward
and George. Both were distant cousins of Henry, and Edward even looked
a great deal like him, and was often mistaken for him, especially during
court masques when their features were partially obscured. Edward was
also a close friend and jousting companion of the King until his fall
from favour late in the reign.
The last time Henry VIII ever saw his sister Margaret
Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scotland
was on May 18, 1517, when she left the court for Scotland
after having stayed almost a year in England (she had been forced to flee
her kingdom due to a coup at the Scottish court). Which makes their meeting
in Scarborough in 1533 another one of
our incorrect but fun (and as we all know, theatre wins over history at
Faire) diversions from history.
The average life expectancy for men in Tudor England
was 45. Interesting, huh? Keep in mind that a harder or easier life could
lessen or add to that significantly. I would assume that women, being
longer lived throughout history, would average around 60.
A strange and interesting note about Henry Fitzroy
and Edward Seymour:
Lord Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond & Somerset, Earl of Nottingham
and bastard son to Henry VIII (whom Ronn Robinson
played at Faire a couple of years ago) lived in Yorkshire at Sheriff Hutton
Castle from 1525-1529/30. And guess what knight who had yet to inherit/gain
any noble titles was his Master of the Horse? Sir Edward Seymour! This
is funny to me, especially considering that Edward Seymour would later
be Duke of Somerset himself and that just thinking about Daniel serving
Ronn is VERY amusing! ;~)
Speaking of the Seymours,
some Seymour family heraldry: The badge
of the Seymour family was a phoenix
rising from a flaming castle. Jane Seymour's heraldic symbol was
the panther, just as Anne Boleyn's was a white falcon and Katherine of
Aragon's was the pomegranate.
A bizarre hunting incident involving Henry VIII:
"While hunting in nearby Sutton Chase [in 1528], Henry tracked down
a rare boar, but it turned viciously on him, and his life was saved only
by the timely intervention of a local girl who, being fortuitously nearby
with her bow and arrow, shot the beast dead." Isn't this weird? Very
cool, though, especially because a woman saved him. Boars were almost
extinct in England in 1533 and could only be found in the
few deep forests remaining (such as New, Sherwood and Windsor Forests).
Bears were long gone by that time, and if wolves weren't already extinct
they could only to be found in the most remote wilderness areas of England (mostly in the Lake
Country in the northwest), Wales and Scotland.
A few commonly used modern words that weren't yet
in use in 1533: This is from my own research. Beyond the really obvious
word anachronisms in the Tudor period (like the taboo and dreaded 'OK'),
there are quite a few others that are quite surprising:
Bloomers -- Not coined until the 19th century (named
after a social reformer for womens' clothing).
In 1533 they were called underclothes or, in common parlance, skivvies
or knickers.
Medieval/Middle Ages -- These terms are not invented
for centuries.
Renaissance - Not coined for many, many centuries.
Like many periods of history, it wasn't given a name until long after
the fact.
Restaurant/Cafe - Inns and taverns served food
in England. Restaurants and cafes won't
show up for centuries.
Soup
-- Surprising, isn't it?
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