Tudor Times
Nothing here is required for you to know, but here are some interesting facts that might help you get a little more out of the course, and perhaps encourage you to continue studying history on your own!
Names:
People in the Tudor era were often a little vague about how to spell their names. It was a time without standardized spelling, and names were often sounded out. People weren't even always consistent with their own names! Signatures were often highly stylized and again, not always spelled as you might expect. Northumberland's signature to the right, for instance, seems to lack the U and the E, despite being quite clear otherwise. Mary I's signature below also shows some creative spelling: Marye the quene. Quene was a common variation of queen, but it's interesting to note that she signed as a Queen Consort would have, rather than Mary R, which was the usual signature for a queen reigning in her own right.
Titles can also cause confusion. John Dudley, for example, did not inherit any titles, but was later made a viscount, then an earl, then a duke. When he was the Viscount of Lisle, he would have been commonly referred to as Lisle rather than by his birth names. Once he was made a duke, however, the Duke of Northumberland, he would be called Northumberland regardless of whether or not he was still Viscount Lisle. The highest title always took precedence. Often the sons of a high-ranking nobleman would use their father's lesser titles even during his lifetime, since he wasn't using them himself.
Women of noble rank were generally addressed simply as Lady, as in Lady Frances or Lady Jane. A king's daughter would commonly be referred to as "My Lady Princess". The young Elizabeth Tudor, upon being declared illegitimate, was said to have asked why yesterday she had been called My Lady Princess and today was only My Lady Elizabeth. Any noble of at least the rank of duke or duchess might also be addressed as "Your Grace", while "Your Majesty" was reserved only for the monarch. More about titles can be found here: http://www.regaltitles.com/history_of_titles.htm
The signatures of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland: "Northumberland" and Mary 1: "Marye the quene"
The Cost of Living:
Most prices were in pennies (or pence, abbreviated d), and nothing was converted to the decimal system yet. A two-pound loaf of wheat bread (twice the size of most loaves you'd find in the supermarket today, and much coarser) would have cost one penny. A half pound of butter or a pound of cheese would set you back a penny and a half each. In 1536, a law fixed the price of wine at 8 pence a gallon. The cheapest ticket for the theatre -- which let you stand in the pit with the peasants -- cost one penny, while a seat in the Lord's room cost one shilling, or twelve pence.
Now let's take a look at some average wages. A skilled journeyman might earn a shilling a day (about £13 per year), though sometimes only half that, which means between six and twelve pence per day. As now, living in a larger city meant a higher wage but also higher prices. A farm worker might earn even less, between three and six pence, though room and board was usually included. A reasonably successful merchant might earn about £100 per year.
In 1550, a man named Sir William Petre who served three Tudor monarchs as Privy Secretary (today he would be called the Secretary of State) paid his servants the following wages:
The laundress, cook, butler, and the children's nurse were paid 10s per quarter (40 shillings per year).
The youngest housemaid got 5s, as did a part-time brewer (20 shillings per year).
The gardeners got 10s 6d each (42 shillings per year).
Nearly all such servants would also have received free room and board, however, along with two or three new suits of clothing per year. These clothes would have been the livery of their master or mistress, a way of identifying who worked for whom. Royal liveries at this time were always in the Tudor colors of green and white, for instance. When the Duke of Northumberland was declared a traitor, his servants changed clothes and threw away their livery to avoid being harrassed.
Folks working on a farm during the Tudor time period.
Food:
You might expect the poor in Tudor times to be hungry or malnourished, but in fact the wealthy often had diets that were just as bad, in a different way. Vegetables and fruits were considered unhealthy, suitable only for the lower classes, so the rich often suffered from mild forms of scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C. They also ate little vitamin A. This is found in green vegetables, milk, butter and eggs, all of which were also considered mainly foods for the poor, and the lack of this vitamin sometimes led to painful bladder and kidney problems. Queen Elizabeth herself suffered from nephritis, a kidney disease caused by poor diet. When the nobles feasted, the tables were mainly full of meat, from chicken to veal.
Those who were not so wealthy had very little meat. Vegetable pottage was a staple for the peasants. It was made with whatever vegetables happened to be in season or were available dried, flavored with herbs from their gardens and thickened with oats. On special occasions, meat bones or fish might be added. If you weren't fortunate enough to live near a good fishing area, however, you'd have to resort to salted fish.
No matter how wealthy or poor you might be, though, nearly everyone drank beer, honey mead, or other alcoholic beverages. Water was too likely to be polluted or contaminated. Beer then wasn't quite like beer today, however. It was made differently and was more bitter, with herbs usually added to disguise that bitterness, and also had a much lower alcohol content.
Many foods that we take for granted today were unknown to the early Tudors, but the exploration of the New World meant many exotic new items were available for the wealthy. Potatoes and tomatoes were both introduced during Elizabeth's reign, though tomatoes were at first thought to be poisonous and weren't very popular! Other foods introduced in Europe during Tudor times include kidney beans, corn, peanuts, vanilla, pineapple, red and green peppers, tapioca, cranberries, and chocolate.
Images: A summer rural scene from Tudor times (© Folger library) and Fete at Bermondsey by Joris Hoefnagel, painted about 1569.
