I am redesigning the Life in Tudor England website, mostly to
include lots of pictures.
Until I finish, you can explore some of the topics
listed here. Thanks for your patience.
Click on a topic below:
Chronology - Glossary - Government - Religion
Population - Money - Food and Drink
Houses - Clothing and Appearance - Marriage
Sex - Diseases - Arts and Education
Travel - Sorcery - Rebellions
Famous
Names to Know in Tudor England
Tudor FAQ:
frequently asked questions
22 August 1485 - Battle of Bosworth Field; Henry Tudor's army defeats King Richard III; Henry becomes King Henry VII
18 January 1486 - King Henry VII marries King Edward IV's eldest surviving child, Princess Elizabeth of York
28 June 1491 - Henry Tudor is born to King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York8 August 1503 - Princess Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII, marries King James IV of Scotland
21 April 1509 - Henry Tudor becomes King Henry VIII of England
9 September 1513 - Battle of Flodden Field between England and Scotland; King James IV of Scotland is killed
24 December 1515 - King Henry VIII appoints Cardinal Thomas Wolsey lord chancellor
7 June 1520 - Field of the Cloth of Gold occurs; this is the famous meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France
11 October 1521 - King Henry VIII is given the title 'Defender of the Faith' by the pope
18 October 1529 - King Henry VIII's great statesman, Cardinal Wolsey, is driven from power and dies in disgrace
25 January 1533 - King Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn
7 September 1533 - Elizabeth Tudor is born to King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
17 November 1534 - the Act of Supremacy is passed by Parliament; it declares the English monarch to be the Supreme Head of the Church of England; under Elizabeth this title is changed to Supreme Governor
June and July 1535 - Bishop John Fisher and Sir Thomas More are executed18 March 1536 - dissolution of the monasteries begins
14 April 1536 - Wales is officially incorporated into England
19 May 1536 - King Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, is executed
12 October 1537 - King Henry VIII's only son, Prince Edward, is born; his mother is the king's third wife, Jane Seymour, who dies shortly thereafter
28 July 1540 - King Henry VIII's great statesman, Thomas Cromwell, is executed
18 June 1541 - King Henry VIII is titled king of Ireland
13 February 1542 - King Henry VIII's fifth wife, Catherine Howard, executed
24 November 1542 - Battle of Solway Moss between England and Scotland
20 July 1545 - the Mary Rose, the flagship of King Henry VIII's navy, sinks
28 January 1547 - Edward Tudor becomes King Edward VI
10 September 1547 - Battle of Pinkie between England and Scotland
23 September 1548 - the Protestant Book of Common Prayer comes into use
6 July 1553 - King Edward VI dies
10 July 1553 - the Tudor cousin Lady Jane Grey is proclaimed queen of England; she rules for just nine days
3 August 1553 - Mary Tudor becomes Queen Mary I
11 April 1554 - Sir Thomas Wyatt is executed after leading a rebellion against Queen Mary I
25 July 1554 - Queen Mary I marries King Philip II of Spain
16 October 1555 - the Protestant churchmen Latimer and Ridley are burned at the stake
21 March 1556 - Thomas Cranmer, former archbishop of Canterbury, burned at the stake
17 November 1558 - Elizabeth Tudor becomes Queen Elizabeth I
29 April 1559 - the Elizabethan religious settlement is passed by Parliament
22 February 1560 - Treaty of Berwick between England and Scotland
19 June 1566 - King James VI of Scotland, son of Mary queen of Scots, is born
24 July 1567 - Mary, queen of Scots abdicates her throne in Scotland and comes to England
24 August 1572 - the St Batholomew's Day massacre of Protestants occurs in Paris
18 October 1585 - the English colony at Roanoke in Virginia is established
8 February 1587 - Mary, queen of Scots is executed at Fotheringhay Castle
31 July 1588 - defeat of the Spanish Armada
6 February 1595 - Sir Walter Raleigh leaves England to sail to the New World
14 August 1598 - Tyrone's Rebellion occurs in Ireland
25 February 1601 - Robert Devereux, the earl of Essex, is executed for leading a rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I
17 December 1601- the Elizabethan 'Poor Law' is passed; it has a profound effect upon English society
24 March 1603 - Queen Elizabeth I dies; the Tudor dynasty ends; King James VI of Scotland becomes king of England
Population: includes England and
Wales.
1524.....2.3 millionIn 1520, 6% of the population lived in urban areas (towns of over 4,000 people.)
1541.....2.7 million
1550.....2.9 million
1569.....3.2 million
1599.....4.0 million
Money
The currency in Tudor England is
divided into pounds, shilling, and pence. The pence/penny is the basic unit of
currency; 12 pennies make a shilling and 20 shillings make a pound.
There are numerous coins in circulation throughout the 16th century. When
money becomes tight, the monarchs are fond of reducing the amount of precious
metal in the coins. This debases the real worth of English money and causes
problems for everyone.
Among the coins in circulation are the royal (a gold coin worth 10
shillings); this was introduced during the reign of King Henry VII. Under his
grandson, King Edward VI, the angel was introduced; it was another gold coin
worth 10 shillings. There were also groats, farthings, sixpences, etc Around the
mid-16th century, a common laborer would make around 1 shilling per day.
So it would take a laborer twenty days to earn a pound!
Coins are made at royal mints located in several large cities. Forgery often
occurs. Often, the royal treasurers are implicated.
Because of debasement and famine, inflation is a constant problem.
It is difficult to translate Tudor prices into contemporary money. Also,
prices varied widely throughout the 16th century.
Food and Drink
There are three main components
of the Tudor diet - bread, beer, and meat (usually beef or mutton.) Like us,
they had three meals - breakfast, dinner, and supper. Breakfast was early
in the morning and a relatively simple meal. Dinner was the largest
meal and held between 11 am and 1 pm. Supper could be held anytime
between 5 pm and 8 pm, depending upon the person's social class.
Everyone in Tudor England ate bread and cheese. The only difference between
classes was the quality of bread and cheese. The cheapest bread was called
'Carter's bread'; it was a mixture of rye and wheat. The middle classes or
prosperous tenants ate 'ravel', also called 'yeoman's bread' and made of
wholemeal. The most expensive bread was called 'marchet' and made of white
wheat flour. Aristocratic households ate marchet, particularly during banquets.
Everyone from the poorest peasant to the wealthies monarch drank beer.
It was brewed without hops and was not particularly alcoholic. People
drank beer liberally. However, water was considered unhealthy - and for good
reason. Under Henry VII, French wines were imported in greater quantities
but only aristocrats drank them.
The poor and wealthy alike lived off
the land. England was self-sufficient, able to feed its population without
resorting to imports, at least during good harvests. Most peasants had
small bits of land in villages and towns. They kept chickens, pigs, and perhaps
a cow. Those with animals slaughtered them in November. The meat was
smoked, dried, or salted so it could be kept for meals in the cold months.
Bacon was the most common meat of poor people. Smoked bacon and salted
beef were most popular during the winter.
Of course, meat could not be eaten on Fridays for religious reasons.
Instead, fish - dried cod or slated herring, most likely - was eaten. It
was not fresh since there was no efficient or speedy way to transport
fresh foods. Vegetables were plentiful, particularly beans, peas, carrots,
and onions. Fruits were available, too - apples, plums, pears,
strawberries, cherries, etc But potatoes and tomatoes were not available.
As you can see, diets were most interesting and varied in the warmer months
but cold weather meant preserved meats and little else. Everyone, rich and
poor alike, suffered from malnutrition, particularly Vitamin C deficiency (which
we call scurvy.) Molds in certain breads could also cause health problems.
There were 2 great famines in Tudor England - in the mid-1550s during Mary
I's reign and mid-1590s during Elizabeth I's reign.
Houses
Types of Houses:
There are castles, mansions, manor houses, and
cottages. The materials used to build them depend upon the wealth of their
owners. Castles and churches were always built of stone, but it was expensive.
Middle-class homes were timber-framed but wood was too expensive to use for the
entire house.
Instead, bricks were sometimes used, or white-washed wattle
and daub. When timbers were coated with black tar, the famous Tudor
'black-and-white' effect was achieved. Many houses had steep, thatched roofs and
upper stories which hung over the lower ones.
Rooms: The rooms in a nobleman's house would include a great hall for
feasting and entertaining, a great chamber used for sleeping and receiving
visitors and playing games, a cellar which was not necessarily below ground and
was used primarily for storage, a closet used as a private office or study, a
gallery (either enclosed or open on one side) which ran parallel to the house
and was used for exercise, a private bedchamber for the master of the house), a
kitchen, a parlor used as either a sitting room or small entertaining area, and
a privy which was a small, windowless room used as a bathroom. There were also
withdrawing rooms where wardrobes were kept or the owner could go for more
privacy. Often these rooms connected two bedrooms.
Noble Households: In Tudor England, a person's social status and prestige were determined by two main things: the lavishness of their standard of living and the number of their servants and attendants. The successful maintenance of a large household also indicated a person's ability to govern, albeit on a much smaller scale than the king.
A nobleman of sufficient rank and skill was often called to serve the monarch in London. To that end, they would purchase and maintain - often at great expense - townhomes in or just outside London. In London, the most affluent street was known as The Strand. These homes were built on the riverside and so were equipped with docks; the nobles could travel by personal barge from their homes to various royal palaces. Nobles also owned homes in the counties near their largest estates. Naturally enough, the maintenance of these various residences was expensive, and became increasingly so as the century progressed. But the greatest expense - and worry - was their principal estate, always situated in the countryside. At these estates, their spiritual, public, private, and economic worlds merged. They were an opportunity for the proud noble to demonstrate his standing in the nation and to dominate local affairs thoroughly. Also, they could play host to the reigning monarch on a royal progress.
Many of the most famous noble country homes can still be seen today. For example, view Compton Wynyates in Warwickshire where Henry VIII often visited and the duke of Buckingham's beautiful Penshurst Place in Kent. Five centuries ago, estates such as these were managed by noblemen and their principal officers, primarily knights and esquires. Together, they governed the estates and surrounding lands. They gathered in the official presence chamber where petitions were presented from tenants and neighbors. The councilors would judge their claims and mediate disputes.
When the nobleman traveled to London or his lesser homes, a large group of servants would accompany him - this was his 'skeleton' household. They journeyed in carts packed with people and possessions. As Henry VII's rule impressed some degree of stability upon England, such travel became less dangerous. But it remained uncomfortable, even for the wealthy in padded coaches.
The presence of such wealthy and accomplished landowners was both a blessing and a curse to Tudor monarchs. For early Tudor kings, these nobles could help secure their rule, particularly in the North where trouble traditionally brewed. Henry VII had no family ties to northern England; this made him even more reliant on the great Northern lords to maintain peace and effective government.
Knights and esquires wore their lord's livery; they also promised the support
of their tenants and servants in case of conflict. In this way, great households
could also serve as sources of rebellion and treason.
Gardens are very popular in Tudor England. As the century goes on,
they become increasingly ornate and expensive. Even noble families grow their
own fruits and vegetables when they can.
I will add more information about homes of the poor, as well as
pictures, soon. 17 October 2002
Clothing and Appearance
Tudor
England is famous for its beautiful and ornate clothing, particularly during the
reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Click here to
view portraits of the queen and her courtiers.
Medieval sumptuary laws remained in force throughout the 16th century. These laws dictated what each member of society could wear, depending upon their social class. The laws are not enforced often. And fabrics such as silk, satin and velvet are so expensive that only the wealthy can afford them. Cloth of gold and the color purple are reserved for royalty.
During the reign of King Henry VIII, Spanish and French style gowns are very popular. Clothes become more form-fitting and ornate. Men wear colorful tights to emphasize well-developed calves. Women often have such low necklines that preachers condemn them. Both sexes wear as much jewelry as they can afford. And everyone, rich and poor, wears a hat. Certain clothing dyes are not expensive, and so even the poor can wear green and brown outfits. Foreign visitors comment upon the colorful outfits of the English poor.
Women have long hair which they wear loose until marriage. After the reign of
King Henry VII, men typically have short hair and beards and mustaches. It is
Henry VIII who makes beards popular; during his father's reign, men are
clean-shaven.
The poor wear homespun woolen clothing with knitted hose and hobnail shoes.
In the field, they wear tunics and breeches.
Children are dressed as miniature adults from the age of six onwards. Before
then, both boys and girls wear simple shifts or gowns. They are swaddled as
infants, a constricting practice which is believed to prevent illness. In fact,
for the first four months of their lives, infants are completely immobilized in
swaddling bands.
Men generally wear flat-heeled shoes while women wore overshoes outside.
These were clogs which raised her feet so her gown wouldn't drag in the
dirt.
Blonde hair is the most prized haircolor, but auburn and red hair are also
popular. Very white skin and red lips are achieved through the use of dangerous
cosmetics; lead, borax, and sulphur were sometimes used. Every woman hated
spots, whether freckles or pimples.
As for bathing, most Englishmen think baths are unhealthy. Queen Elizabeth I
is considered strange for bathing as much as four times a year.
Everyone uses perfume. Perfume is splashed on bodies and clothing,
particularly the gloves. The most popular scents included marjoram, lavendar,
musk, and rose.
Noblemen and women carry pomanders, a hollow sphere holding a
waxed perfume ball. Pomanders are often highly decorative and expensive
accessories. Women attach them to their girdles and men dangle them from a
chain.
Dentists are surgeons who remove rotten teeth and also perform other small
operations. People clean their teeth by rubbing them with a mixture of white
wine and vinegar boiled with honey. Fashionable noblewomen will sometimes
deliberately blacken their front teeth.
Marriage
Marriage usually occurred during
the mid-twenties for most Tudor citizens. The wealthy and aristocratic tended to
marry earlier because of inheritance issues. But contrary to popular belief,
there were few child marriages in Tudor England. Of course, you could be
pre-contracted or betrothed at a much earlier age. Any marriage contract was
legally binding if the girl was 12 and the boy was 14.
Annulments and divorces were uncommon because they required special religious dispensations. Most marriages ended with the death of a spouse. At any time in the 16th century, roughly a third of marriages are the second or third marriage.
Rebellions
People in Tudor England
suffered through famine, poverty, and immense religious changes. Life was
uncertain and dangerous. Most riots in the country were small and local; they
usually involved food or the hated enclosure policies. Enclosure was the process
by which noblemen seized public land for themselves. They would build hedges
around the land to keep people out. But peasants needed the land to graze their
animals and would often tear the hedges down.
There were also larger
rebellions throughout the 16th century. Here is a list of the most
important:
The Pilgrimage of Grace (1536) - This rebellion occurred in November
1536 in the north of England; it was a result of King Henry VIII's religious
changes. Northern England was always more conservative and Catholic than the
rest of the country. When their monasteries were destroyed and the lands and
money seized by Henry's prominent noblemen, the northerners rebelled. There were
roughly 30,000 people involved, a mix of lords, middle-class laborers, and
peasants. They called themselves 'pilgrims' and were led by an attorney named
Robert Aske. They chose the five wounds of Christ as their symbol. They did not
specifically rebel against King Henry VIII, but rather his councilors such as
Thomas Cromwell. The king promised clemency if the rebels dispersed but
eventually executed about 100 rebels.
Kett's Rebellion (1549) - In 1549, King Edward VI ruled England,
though the government was under control of the Protestant Lord Protector
Somerset. In East Anglia, a Norfolk gentleman named Robert Kett led a rebellion
against the king's religious policies, the dissolution of the monasteries, and
the very unpopular enclosure of common lands by greedy noblemen. The rebels were
defeated at Norwich by an English army supported by foreign
mercenaries.
Wyatt's Rebellion (1554) - In spring 1554, Sir Thomas
Wyatt led a rebellion against Queen Mary I's proposed marriage to King Philip II
of Spain. Despite an army of 3,000 men, Wyatt was unable to enter London. He was
executed on 11 April 1554, after explicitly denying that Princess Elizabeth was
involved in the rebellion. Nonetheless, Elizabeth is temporarily imprisoned in
the Tower of London and Lady Jane Grey is executed.
The Northern Rebellion (1569) - In 1569, the north of England again rebels against the Tudor monarchy, this time inspired by the imprisonment of Mary, queen of Scots and Catholic discontent. The rebels are led by the earls of Westmorland and Northumberland and the duke of Norfolk; they choose the five wounds of Christ as their symbol, as had the Pilgrimage of Grace rebels. The duke of Norfolk plans to depose Queen Elizabeth I and marry Mary, queen of Scots, thus becoming king of England. The rebellion is crushed and several hundred rebels are hanged.
The Throckmorton Plot (1583) - This was the second plot to free Mary,
queen of Scots. In 1583, Sir Francis Throckmorton, a Catholic nobleman, works
with the Spanish ambassador to use Spanish troops to depose Queen Elizabeth I
and free Mary. He was arrested in November 1583 and later
executed.
The Babington Plot (1586) - This was the third
and final plot to free Mary, queen of Scots. In 1586, Sir Anthony Babington, a
Catholic nobleman, conspired with a Catholic priest and others to assassinate
Queen Elizabeth I and proclaim Mary queen of England. The plot is discovered by
the secretary of state Sir Francis Walsingham and Babington and Mary are
executed.
The Essex Rebellion (1601) - Robert Devereux, the earl of Essex, was a
great favorite of Queen Elizabeth I's, but he was also arrogant and ambitious.
Disgraced and sent from court on numerous occasions, he attempted to lead a
rebellion against the queen on 8 February 1601. Essex protested that he did not
intend to harm the queen but to free her from the bad influence of other
councilors. He marched through London with 300 men but no others rallied to his
side. He was later executed.