HISTORY OF ENGLAND ;
A Brief Outline, from the Romans Occupation of England to the Tudor Era
Welcome to History of England page. As you all know, Englands History covers many years, it had an empire that reached around the world, and influienced the way the world is today, and it would be impossible to place all of this great history on one web site, much less one page. So, I will just give brief outlines of some of England's History on this page.
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Roman Occupation
Advance and Retreat. In the late first century AD the Romans pushed gradually northwards. Sometimes they were driven by the need to keep secure their frontiers, sometimes by the desire of their leaders to acquire prestige through conquest. By the early years of the 2nd century they were well into Scotland, but the combination of events elsewhere in the Empire and the untimely death of Emperors led to the withdrawal of troops to the line we now know as Hadrian's Wall, stretching nearly 125 kilometres from Newcastle to Carlisle.
Consolidation. In terms of major political changes, the next few centuries were pretty dull. In some ways England was a quiet backwater of the Empire. The administration of the province of Britannia underwent several bureaucratic reorganizations. Leadership of the army stationed in England served as a springboard for several generals to claim the Emperorship
Invasions. Beginning in the 3rd century England was subject to raids on its frontiers by Saxon pirates. This eventually led to the establishment of a string of Roman forts stretching from Norfolk to Hampshire along the "Saxon Shore". This also had the effect of stretching the troops in Britain very thin. Over the centuries events elsewhere in the Empire had gradually lessened the number of troops available in England, and in 367 an alliance of Scots (from Ireland) and Picts from Scotland wreaked widespread havoc in the north.
The End of Roman Rule. It is very difficult to assign a specific date to the end of the Roman occupation in England. Over time troops were gradually pulled out of England to deal with emergencies elsewhere. The final legionary probably left England in 409. There are evidences of some form of Roman administration for several decades after that. Certainly by 450 England had ceased to be part of the Empire. Given the state of the Empire at that time it is perhaps as well.
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Anglo-Saxon Period The Dark Ages
Early Anglo-Saxon England
We know very little of the first several hundred years of the Anglo-Saxon, or "English", era, primarily because the invaders were an illiterate people. Our earliest records of them are little more than highly inventive lists of rulers. We know that they established separate kingdoms, the Saxons settling in the south and west, the Angles in the east and north, and the Jutes on the Isle of Wight and the mainland opposite. They probably thought of themselves as separate peoples, but they shared a common language and similar customs.
Saxon Britain 600-900 AD
The king's power. One of these customs was fighting everyone in sight. A king's power was not hereditary; it depended solely on his ability to win battles and so gain land, treasure, and slaves to give his supporters. He was obliged to fight and keep fighting. If not, he would find himself out of a job or deprived of his life, or both. Succession from father to son was never a forgone conclusion. Any relative of the old king who could muster enough support could make a bid for the throne. This helps to explain why the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms came and went so quickly. The power of any kingdom over its neighbours was only as solid as the strength of its king in battle.
King Offa. Roughly speaking, the 7th century was the age of Northumbrian ascendance, with Mercia playing second fiddle. In the 8th century these roles reversed. The most powerful and well known of the Mercian kings was Offa, who ruled from 758-796. A successful warrior (which is a given for anyone in those days who managed to hold onto power for so long), he defeated kings in Sussex, Anglia, and Wessex, proclaiming himself King of the English.
Offa's Dyke. Offa caused to be built the earthwork that still bears his name, Offa's Dyke, which stretches the 150 mile length of the Welsh border. Begun in the 780's, the purpose of the dyke seems to have been as a fortified frontier barrier, much as Hadrian's Wall some six centuries previous.
In most places the ditch was 25 feet from the bottom of the cut to the top of the bank, with wood or stone walling on top of that. The work involved has been compared to the building of the Great Pyramid. This gives us some idea of the power wielded by Offa. It seems that the dyke was not permanently manned, relying instead on the warning given by a series of beacons.
Foreign attack. The upper hand enjoyed by the Mercians did not long survive Offa's death. In the 820's a series of victories by Egbert, king of Wessex, broke Mercian control in the south east. The 9th century may well have turned into a struggle for the upper hand between Mercia and Wessex if not for one thing; England was once again the subject of recurring raids from across the seas. This time it was the Danes and Norwegians. The Danes attacked the east coast of England, the Norwegians attacked the north by way of Ireland and Scotland.
The Danes. The Danes found rich pickings in the undefended monastic settlements on Lindisfarne Island and Jarrow, in Northumbria, but they were not out solely for loot. The Danish raids were partly a response to population pressures in their homeland, so they wanted new lands to settle, not merely easy plunder. They made good use of fortified settlements as bases to expand, and their use of helmets, shields, chain mail, and particularly the long handled battle axe, meant they were better armed than most of their foes.
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Middle Ages
Feudalism.
The social structure of the Middle Ages was organized round the system of Feudalism. Feudalism in practice meant that the country was not governed by the king but by individual lords, or barons, who administered their own estates, dispensed their own justice, minted their own money, levied taxes and tolls, and demanded military service from vassals. Usually the lords could field greater armies than the king. In theory the king was the chief feudal lord, but in reality the individual lords were supreme in their own territory. Many kings were little more than figurehead rulers.
Feudal Ties. Feudalism was built upon a relationship of obligation and mutual service between vassals and lords. A vassal held his land, or fief, as a grant from a lord. When a vassal died, his heir was required to publicly renew his oath of faithfulness (fealty) to his lord (suzerain). This public oath was called "homage".
A Vassal's Obligations. The vassal was required to attend the lord at his court, help administer justice, and contribute money if needed. He must answer a summons to battle, bringing an agreed upon number of fighting men. As well, he must feed and house the lord and his company when they travelled across his land.
This last obligation could be an onerous one. William the Conqueror travelled with a very large household, and if they extended their stay it could nearly bankrupt the lord hosting them. In a few days of Christmas feasting one year William and his retinue consumed 6,000 chickens, 1,000 rabbits, 90 boars, 50 peacocks, 200 geese, 10,000 eels, thousands of eggs and loaves of bread, and hundreds of casks of wine and cider.
A Lord's Obligations. On the lord's side, he was obliged to protect the vassal, give military aid, and guard his children. If a daughter inherited, the lord arranged her marriage. If there were no heirs the lord disposed of the fief as he chose.
Open field farming in Somerset
Manors, not villages, were the economic and social units of life in the early Middle Ages. A manor consisted of a manor house, one or more villages, and up to several thousand acres of land divided into meadow, pasture, forest, and cultivated fields. The fields were further divided into strips; 1/3 for the lord of the manor, less for the church, and the remainder for the peasants and serfs. This land was shared out so that each person had an equal share of good and poor. At least half the work week was spent on the land belonging to the lord and the church. Time might also be spent doing maintenance and on special projects such as clearing land, cutting firewood, and building roads and bridges. The rest of the time the villagers were free to work their own land.
Food and Drink. The fare at the lord's table was as full of variety as the peasant's was spare. Meat, fish, pastries, cabbage, turnips, onions, carrots, beans, and peas were common, as well as fresh bread, cheese, and fruit. At a feast spitted boar, roast swan, or peacock might be added.
Normans dining
Wine or ale was drunk, never water, which was rightly considered suspect. Ale was the most common drink, but it was not the heady alcoholic drink we might imagine. It was thin, weak, and drunk soon after brewing. It must have had little effect on sobriety. Fruit juices and honey were the only sweeteners, and spices were almost unknown until after the Crusades.
Table Manners. Meat was cut with daggers and all eating was done with the fingers from trenchers, or hollowed out husks ead. One trencher was used by two people, and one drinking cup. Scraps were thrown on the floor for the dogs to finish. There were no chimneys, and the fireplace was in the middle of the hall. Smoke escaped by the way of louvres in the roof (at least in theory).
House Layout. In the early medieval period the centre of life in castles and manors was the great hall, a huge, multipurpose chamber safely built upon the second floor. These halls were dimly lit, due to the need for massive walls with small windows for defense from attack. In the 14th century the hall descended to the ground floor, and windows grew in size, indicating increased security. The solar, or family room, remained on the first floor. It became the custom for the family to eat in the solar, leaving the great hall to minor guests and servants.
Hall life decreased as trade increased. Trades specialized and tradesmen and women moved out of the hall. The communal life of the hall declined and families became more private. Manors sustained fewer people as trades separated from the manor community.
The Peasant's Life. Villages consisted of from 10-60 families living in rough huts on dirt floors, with no chimneys or windows. Often, one end of the hut was given over to storing livestock. Furnishings were sparse; three legged stools, a trestle table, beds on the floor softened with straw or leaves. The peasant diet was mainly porridge, cheese, black bread, and a few home-grown vegetables.
Peasants had a hard life, but they did not work on Sundays or on the frequent saints' days, and they could go to nearby fairs and markets. The lot of serfs was much harsher.
The Serf's Life. Although not technically a slave, a serf was bound to a lord for life. He could own no property and needed the lord's permission to marry. Under no circumstance could a serf leave the land unless he chose to run away. If he ran to a town and managed to stay there for a year and a day, he was a free man. However, the serf did have rights. He could not be displaced if the manor changed hands. He could not be required to fight, and he was entitled to the protection of the lord.
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The Black Death in England 1348-1350
In 1347 a Genoese ship from Caffa, on the Black Sea, came ashore at Messina, Sicily. The crew of the ship, what few were left alive, carried with them a deadly cargo, a disease so virulent that it could kill in a matter of hours. It is thought that the disease originated in the Far East, and was spread along major trade routes to Caffa, where Genoa had an established trading post. When it became clear that ships from the East carried the plague, Messina closed its port. The ships were forced to seek safe harbour elsewhere around the Mediterranean, and the disease was able to spread quickly.
During the Medieval period the plague went by several names, the most common being "the Pestilence" and "The Great Mortality ". Theories about the cause of the disease were numerous, ranging from a punishment from God to planetary alignment to evil stares. Not surprisingly, many people believed that the horrors of the Black Death signaled the Apocalypse, or end of time. Others believed that the disease was a plot by Jews to poison all of the Christian world, and many Jews were killed by panicked mobs.
The truth. The Black Death is a bacteria-born disease; the bacteria in question being Yersinia pestis, which was carried in the blood of wild black rats and the fleas that lived off the rats. Normally there is no contact between these fleas and human beings, but when their rat hosts die, these fleas are forced to seek alternatives - including humans!
The symptoms. The plague produces several different symptoms in its victims. Bubonic, the most common form of the plague, produces fist-sized swellings, called bulboes, at the site of flea bites - usually in the groin, armpits, or neck. The swellings are intensely painful, and the victims die in 2-6 days. The buboes are red at first, but later turn a dark purple, or black. This black colouring gives the "Black Death" its name. Pneumonic plague occurs when the infection enters the lungs, causing the victim to vomit blood. Infected pneumonic people can spread the disease through the air by coughing, sneezing, or just breathing! In Septicemic plague the bacteria enters the person's bloodstream, causing death within a day.
The speed with which the disease could kill was terrifying to inhabitants of the medieval world. The Italian author Boccaccio claimed that the plague victims "ate lunch with their friends and dinner with their ancestors in paradise."
The Black Death reaches England. The summer of 1348 was abnormally wet. Grain lay rotting in the fields due to the nearly constant rains. With the harvest so adversely affected it seemed certain that there would be food shortages. But a far worse enemy was set to appear.
It isn't clear exactly when or where the Black Death reached England. Some reports at the time pointed to Bristol, others to Dorset. The disease may have appeared as early as late June or as late as August 4. We do know that in mid-summer the Channel Islands were reeling under an outbreak of the plague. From this simple beginning the disease spread throughout England with dizzying speed and fatal consequences.
The effect was at its worst in cities, where overcrowding and primitive sanitation aided its spread. On November 1 the plague reached London, and up to 30,000 of the city's population of 70,000 inhabitants succumbed.
Over the next 2 years the disease killed between 30-40% of the entire population. Given that the pre-plague population of England was in the range of 5-6 million people, fatalities may have reached as high as 2 million dead.
One of the worst aspects of the disease to the medieval Christian mind is that people died without last rites and without having a chance to confess their sins. Pope Clement VI was forced to grant remission of sins to all who died of the plague because so many perished without benefit of clergy. People were allowed to confess their sins to one another, or "even to a woman".
The death rate was exceptionally high in isolated populations like prisons and monasteries. It has been estimated that up to two-thirds of the clergy of England died within a single year.
Peasants fled their fields. Livestock were left to fend for themselves, and crops left to rot. The monk Henry of Knighton declared, "Many villages and hamlets have now become quite desolate. No one is left in the houses, for the people are dead that once inhabited them."
The Border Scots saw the pestilence in England as a punishment of God on their enemies. An army gathered near Stirling to strike while England lay defenseless. But before the Scots could march, the plague decimated their ranks. Pursued by English troops, the Scots fled north, spreading the plague deep into their homeland.
In an effort to assuage the wrath of God, many people turned to public acts of penitence. Processions lasting as long as three days were authorized by the Pope to mollify God, but the only real effect of these public acts was to spread the disease further.
By the end of 1350 the Black Death had subsided, but it never really died out in England for the next several hundred years. There were further outbreaks in 1361-62, 1369, 1379-83, 1389-93, and throughout the first half of the 15th century. It was not until the late 17th century that England became largely free of serious plague epidemics.
Consequences. It is impossible to overstate the terrible effects of the Black Death on England. With the population so low, there were not enough workers to work the land. As a result, wages and prices rose. The Ordinances of Labourers (1349) tried to legislate a return to pre-plague wage levels, but the overwhelming shortage of labourers meant that wages continued to rise. Landowners offered extras such as food, drink, and extra benefits to lure labourers. The standard of living for labourers rose accordingly.
The nature of the economy changed to meet the changing social conditions. Land that had once been farmed was now given over to pasturing, which was much less labour-intensive. This helped boost the cloth and woolen industry. With the fall in population most landowners were not getting the rental income they needed, and were forced to lease their land.
Peasants benefited through increased employment options and higher wages. Society became more mobile, as peasants moved to accept work where they could command a good wage. In some cases market towns disappeared, or suffered a decline despite the economic boom in rural areas.
It has been estimated that 40% of England's priests died in the epidemic. This left a large gap, which was hastily filled with underqualified and poorly trained applicants, accellerating the decline in church power and influence that culminated in the English Reformation. Many survivors of the plague were also disillusioned by the church's inability to explain or deal with the outbreak.
The short term economic prosperity did not last; the underlying feudal structure of society had not changed, and by the mid-15th century standards of living had fallen again. Yet for most levels of English society the Black Death represented a massive upheaval, one which changed the face of English society in a profound way.
The Wars of the Roses and the Princes in the Tower
Henry VI was troubled all his life by recurring bouts of madness, during which the country was ruled by regents. The regents didn't do any better for England than Henry did, and the long Hundred Years War with France sputtered to an end with England losing all her possessions in France except for Calais. In England itself anarchy reigned. Nobles gathered their own private armies and fought for local supremacy.
The Wars of The Roses. The struggle to rule on behalf of an unfit king was one of the surface reasons for the outbreak of thirty years of warfare that we now call the Wars of the Roses, fought between the Houses of York (white rose) and Lancaster (red rose). In reality these squabbles were an indication of the lawlessness that ran rampant in the land. More squalid than romantic, the Wars of the Roses decimated both houses in an interminably long, bloody struggle for the throne. The rose symbols that we name the wars after were not in general use during the conflict. The House of Lancaster did not even adopt the red rose as a symbol until the next century.
Edward IV. Henry VI was eventually forced to abdicate in 1461 and died ten years later in prison, possibly murdered. In his place ruled Edward IV of the house of York who managed to get his dubious claim to the throne legitimized by Parliament. Edward was the first king to address the House of Commons, but his reign is notable mostly for the continuing saga of the wars with the House of Lancaster and unsuccessful wars in France. When Edward died in 1483 his son, Edward V, aged twelve, followed him. In light of his youth Edward's uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, acted as regent.
The Princes in The Tower. Traditional history, written by later Tudor historians seeking to legitimize their masters' past, has painted Richard as the archetypal wicked uncle. The truth may not be so clear cut. Some things are known, or assumed, to be true. Edward and his younger brother were put in the Tower of London, ostensibly for their own protection. Richard had the "Princes in the Tower" declared illegitimate, which may possibly have been true. He then got himself declared king. He may have been in the right, and certainly England needed a strong and able king. But he was undone when the princes disappeared and were rumoured to have been murdered by his orders. In the 17th century workmen repairing a stairwell at the Tower found the bones of two boys of about the right ages. Were these the Princes in the Tower, and were they killed by their wicked uncle? We will probably never know. The person with the most to gain by killing the princes was not Richard, however, but Henry, Earl of Richmond. Henry also claimed the throne, seeking "legitimacy" through descent from John of Gaunt and his mistress.
The Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry defeated and killed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485), claiming the crown which was found hanging upon a bush, and placing it upon his own head. Bosworth marked the end of the Wars of the Roses. There was no one else left to fight. It also marked the end of the feudal period of English history. With the death of Richard III the crown passed from the Plantagenet line to the new House of Tudor, and a new era of history began.
A prosperous merchant in 1475 Kings were gaining the upper hand in the struggle with the barons. They encouraged the growth of towns and trade. They took more advisors and officials from the new merchant middle class.
This eroded the power of the land-based nobility. Further, kings established royal courts to replace local feudal courts and replaced feudal duties (which had been difficult to collect in any case) with direct taxation. They created national standing armies instead of relying on feudal obligations of service from vassals. Feudal kingdoms moved slowly towards becoming nations.
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Tudor England
The Dissolution of the Monasteries
Starting small. Henry VIII took his most decisive step against the power of the church in 1538, when he began the Dissolution of the Monasteries. He did it piecemeal, perhaps to avoid too much outcry at the start. First the small, less powerful houses had their property confiscated and their buildings blighted (made unsuitable for use). They were followed the next year by the large houses.
Philosophical concepts of the power of the king over church may have played a part in Henry's decision to suppress the monasteries, but so did greed. The monasteries were rich, and a lot of that wealth found its way directly or indirectly to the royal treasury. Some of the monastery buildings were sold to wealthy gentry for use as country estates. Many others became sources of cheap building materials for local inhabitants. One of the results of the Dissolution of the Monasteries is that those who bought the old monastic lands were inclined to support Henry in his break with Rome, purely from self interest.
Attitudes towards the Dissolution.
Many of the clerics themselves thought that a change was in order. The difference was, they thought the wealth they possessed should go to charity, "religious and educational enterprises." Everyone else had a personal stake in the matter; Henry wanted money, Parliament wanted to raise money without having to impose unpopular taxes, the gentry saw a chance to increase their own estates, and the merchant middle class saw a chance to become landed gentry themselves.
Winners and losers.
Henry sold the monastic lands for bargain basement prices, such was his need for ready cash. The real beneficiary of the Dissolution was not the king, but the new class of gentry who bought the lands. The suppression of the monasteries and places of pilgrimages was devastating for those pilgrimage centres that had no other economic base. Income for people on the pilgrim routes dropped, with no way to recover it. The other great loser of the Dissolution was culture; many monastic libraries full of priceless illuminated manuscripts were destroyed, with little or no regard for their value.
The fate of the monks and nuns. The monks and nuns were treated quite well as a rule. Only a few who resisted were summarily executed. The others, including 5000 monks, 1600 friars, and 2000 nuns, were given reasonable pensions. Many of the monks and friars went into regular church office, so they could not be said to have suffered. Those who did suffer were the thousands of servants attached to the monasteries. They numbered more than the monks, but there was no pension for them, no golden handshake.
The English Reformation was slow to gather steam. Catholics were not mistreated (at least not at first), and in many parts of the country religious life went on unchanged. Catholic rites and symbols remained in use for many years.
The Pilgrimage of Grace
Henry VIII's attacks on the Catholic church and the power of Rome (more details here) had much popular support. But not everyone was happy with Henry's vigorous dismantling of Catholic power in England. The first wave of discontent surfaced in October, 1536, when a large force of rebels occupied the city of Lincoln. The king did little more than express his displeasure, and the rebels dispersed.
The Yorkshire Revolt.
A much more serious outbreak arose almost immediately in Yorkshire, led by lawyer Robert Aske, whose men occupied York and then Doncaster. Aske was supported by no less a personage than Henry Lee, Archbishop of York. In addition to their complaints against religious policy Aske's rebels added objections to the high rents and taxes faced by the poor.
The rebels, which contemporary accounts number as high as 40,000 men, carefully avoided any personal attacks against Henry himself (a wise move), but made a villain of Henry's chief advisor, Thomas Cromwell.
This was a common approach by rebels throughout the medieval and Tudor period - rather than risk even the perception of an attack upon the monarch, they proclaimed themselves loyal subjects who were simply trying to rescue their king from evil advisors.
Rebel demands.
The rebels proclaimed that the revolt would "extend no further than to the maintenance and defense of the faith of Christ and the deliverance of holy church, sore decayed and oppressed, and to the furtherance also of private and public matters in the realm concerning the wealth of all the king's poor subjects. " To emphasize the religious nature of their motives, the rebels decked themselves out with badges and banners depicting religious symbols.
In other words, they portrayed themselves as defenders of the church and the poor, not as overt rebels against the king. Henry VIII was not moved by such fine distinctions, and he moved quickly to put down the rebellion. He sent an army led by Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, north to confront the "pilgrims". Howard played for time, receiving the rebel demands and negotiating while he brought more troops into position.
Confrontation.
The rebels at first defied the royal troops, and a battle seemed inevitable. Before the conflict could take place, a sudden downpour caused a stream separating the armies to deepen so much that no troops could cross.
Perhaps the rain dampened the rebels spirit, for they accepted the duke's offer of pardon for the leaders, in exchange for vague promises that the king would hear their petitions and hold a parliament at York within a year.
Once that agreement had been reached, Aske naively persuaded his men to disperse, assuming that his demands would be favourably received. The rebels melted away to their northern homes, and the revolt was over as suddenly as it had begun.
Treatment of the Leaders. Aske was received by the king in London and treated well. But the story does not end there. A few months later another Yorkshire landowner, Sir Francis Bigod, led a fresh uprising at Beverley. Although Aske and other leaders of the original Pilgrimage of Grace tried to defuse Bigod's revolt, they were held responsible.
Aske and his friends were arrested, tried for treason, and executed at London in June, 1537. The entire north of the country was placed under martial law and roughly 250 people were hanged, many on the merest suspicion of sedition.
Results. The vigorous repression of the Pilgrimage of Grace and its aftermath effectively ended any popular resistance to Henry's religious policies, and the Dissolution of the Monasteries proceeded without further serious difficulty.
Elizabethan Life
High Society.
Society began to form along new lines in the Tudor years. If feudal England was an age of community, Tudor England was one of individuality. Nobility and knights were still at the top of the social ladder, but the real growth in society was in the merchant class.
Nobles old and new.
Within the nobility there was a distinction between old families and new. Most old noble families were Catholic, and most new noble families were Protestant. The upper classes were exempt from the new oaths of allegiance to the Church of England, and many Catholic families maintained private chaplains.
Noble obligations.
It is easy to think of the nobility as the idle rich. They may have been rich (though not necessarily), but they certainly weren't allowed to be idle. Often, high office brought debt rather than profit. Honorific offices were unpaid, and visiting nobles to England were the responsibility of the English nobility to house and entertain at their own expense. Appointment to a post of foreign ambassador brought with it terrible financial burdens. The ambassador was expected to maintain a household of as many as 100 attendants.
Elizabethan progresses.
The most expensive "honour" of all was that of housing Queen Elizabeth and her household. Elizabeth hit on the clever scheme of going on constant "progresses" about the country. Aside from the benefit of bringing her into closer contact with her subjects, she saved a great deal of money by making the nobles with whom she stayed foot the bill for her visit. Many nobles begged off the honour of her stay for fear of bankruptcy. Incidentally, the "progresses" of Elizabeth account for the fact that there are so many places today that advertise "Queen Elizabeth slept here". She slept just about everywhere.
Nobility
Nobility had other expenses besides the monarch. They maintained huge households, and conspicuous consumption and lavish entertainment was expected.
The New Merchant class.
The Tudor era saw the rise of modern commerce with cloth and weaving leading the way. A prosperous merchant class emerged from the ashes of the Wars of the Roses. The prosperity of the wool trade led to a surge in building in the active wool areas. "Wool churches" can be seen today in the Cotswolds, Lavenham, Leominster, and Stamford, among others. The importance of the wool trade in late medieval and Tudor England cannot be overstated. Witness the inscription carved on a monument in a wool church, "I thank God and ever shall, it was the sheep that payed for all".
Houses.
House designs became more balanced and symmetrical, with E and H shapes common, (possibly as a tribute to Elizabeth and Henry VIII). For the first time greater attention was paid to comfort and less to defence. Battlements disappeared, arches became flattened, and bay and oriel windows grew in size. Houses were often built around an inner courtyard. The hall was still the centre of life, though now space was made in lofts for servants to sleep. The winter parlour appeared, a forerunner of the modern dining room. It acted as a family retreat area, and privacy began to be more prized. The walls were commonly decorated with linen fold panelling and adorned with freshly cut boughs for scent.
Tudor houses were generally timber-framed. The oak timbers were usually left to the weather rather than tarred black as is commonly seen in modern restorations and imitations. A new feature of manor houses was the long gallery running the length of the upper floor. It was a place for walks, games, and displaying art. There were few passages; one room opened directly into the next. This also meant that privacy tended to be a foreign concept to most people.
Tudor townhouse
Houses began to be built with many more windows. Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire was known by the rhyme, "Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall". Elaborately carved oak staircases began to be featured in houses, replacing circular stone stairwells.
Gardens
were a vital feature of Tudor life. Both flower and herb gardens were popular, with formal layouts of straight lines and walks. Topiary made an appearance.
Meals
were elaborate and large. Breakfast was simply a light snack, while the main meal of the day was dinner, which began at 11 o'clock and lasted for three hours. A smaller supper was usual at 6 o'clock. The lower classes had dinner at noon and supper at 7 or 8 in the evening. The poor ate off wooden vessels, or pewter, the rich off silver, glass, or delft from Holland. China ware was unknown.
Food was cooked
over open fires. Meat was cooked on a spit which was sometimes turned by a dog running on a circular treadmill attached to the spit end. Baking was done in iron boxes laid on the fire or in a brick oven set into the side of the fireplace.
House Interiors.
If the medieval period was one of beautiful work in stone the Tudor period was one of beautiful woodwork. The movement began in the 15th century with church carvings (screens, stalls, and pulpits), and by Elizabeth's time the carvings had spread to house interiors. Walls were heavily panelled and furniture grew more elaborate, though it was still heavy and sparse by modern standards. Sideboards became fashionable as a way to display plate.
There were few chairs,
stools or chests were used instead. Rushes, loose or plaited together to form a rug, were used on the floors. These rushes were swept or replaced haphazardly, if at all, early in Tudor times. They accumulated layers of filth and fleas over the years. By the end of Elizabeth's reign, however, things changed, and the English acquired a reputation for cleanliness.
Great attention was paid to beds. The feather bed made an appearance, replacing the straw mattress. Elaborate four poster beds were the mode, and were so highly valued that they are given special mention in the wills of the time.
Literature.
Latin was still the language of literacy, despite the success of Geoffrey Chaucer. In 1589 Spenser's Faerie Queen was a revelation of the possibilities of the English language in prose.
Plays and playwrights proliferated after 1580, notably Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. Plays were originally performed in the courtyard of inns, whose galleried design influenced the later design of playhouses such as Shakespeare's The Globe (1599). These theatres were open to the air in the centre, or pit. Performances were given in daylight, due to the difficulty of lighting the stage and the unsafe nature of travel after dark.
Popular games
included bowls, paume (the ancestor of tennis), tilting at quintain, bull and bear-baiting, and cockfighting. Medieval tournaments were replaced by masques, a sort of play or spectacle full of allegory. Sometimes fireworks, which had just been invented, were a part of the masque.
Practice with a long bow
was still encouraged despite the advent of gunpowder and cannon. Accuracy was expected; a law of Henry VIII decreed that no one 24 years of age or older should shoot at a target less than 220 yards away. Early guns were incredibly slow and proved useless in wet weather. Bowmen could afford to laugh at them.
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