First Broadcast 07.06.2013
Ian Mortimer
Elite of society
Paintings from the period focus on the rich – dancing, feasts, furs, silks
Confidence, privilege, wealth, power – doubt, uncertainty, fear
Those who have the most also have the most to lose
Hampton Court Palace = keeping up appearances, Elizabeth I inherited 20 palaces and gave 7 away, packed with the possessions of Henry VIII
Need a letter of introduction – need money
Strict hierarchy – status denoted by clothes, changed by the years, eclectic mix of styles from all over the continent
Queen encourages a feminine look, oversized codpieces gone, allowed to reveal cleavage, but not bare arms or legs = become more lavish as Elizabeth’s reign progresses
Ruff – 1558 collars begin to be shown over tunics, by 1580 it is a separate garment and uses 6 yards of material, bright colours are a must
Early part of her reign Elizabeth dresses starkly in blacks and whites, don’t want to upstage the Queen by dressing too brightly
Mirrors become more popular in palaces
Royal progresses = two dozen occasions during Elizabeth’s reign
Tapestries and paintings removed along with valuables while the Queen is away
300 – 400 carts and wagons and over 3000 horses used on a royal progress
People can see her in the flesh and she can become acquainted with her subjects – Tudor visual propaganda, Queen becomes a living portrait
Doesn’t travel very far as only travels where she is popular (generally in the south)
Surprisingly mobile – poor travel on foot, gentry travel by coach (brought over during the Reformation from Europe), men ride more on horseback
State of the roads – roads meant for feet and hooves and not wheels
Bridges also a problem, mainly made from wood and in a poor state of repair, stone bridges can still cause problems, very narrow
Highwaymen = 1567 – 1602 Essex 60 court cases relating to highway thefts
Gamalial Ratsey – generous to the poor, has a horrible mask, also steals dignity while robbing
Hear them before you see them, communite by owl noises, don’t just take money but also possessions, clothes and horses
Inns – only stay as a matter of necessity
More likely to arrange a stay at the house of a gentleman – handsome manor houses
Avebury Manor in Wiltshire = not the nobility building houses like this, but the gentry
Gentry – below aristocracy, but above those who labour
Generate income by letting out land – gentleman should get £500 pa in the south of England or £300 pa in the north of England
Coats of arms suggest an ancestry – squires
Heralds = check up on coats of arms, make sure they are real
1600 – earls, barons and nobility combined £220000, gentry income is 10x that
Wealth and power
Gentry practically own and run the whole country – magistrates, local government, parliament and army generals
Only on judgement day before god are all men and women equal
If a woman answers the door you should kiss her on the lips
Gentlemen’s homes aspire to the nobles and royalty – carpets laid across tables and chests, arson of weapons, some portraits, servants
Manservants £2 pa and women servants £1 pa
Household – larger group including servants, not just family = prioritise household interests over those of their own family
Allowed to beat servants and family so long as he doesn’t kill them
Prosecutions rare for the killing of servants – just say you didn’t mean to
Man of the house almost expects to receive sexual favours from his female servants = if she refuses she risks dismissal, if she consents she risks disease and pregnancy, and if she is pregnant, she will likely be dismissed anyway
Bedchambers – hygiene including bodily odours
Water also subject to hierarchy – rain water seen as pure, river water may be diseased, avoid immersing yourself in it
Linen is the key to hygiene – keep yourself clean by washing your clothes not your body, also use perfumes and use cumin and aniseed to refresh the breath
Foul smelling air carries illness
Body contains four humours, but dirty water upsets the humours
Baths tend to be full of herbs and medicines to cure an illness – Elizabeth I bathed even when not ill
Many things can cause an imbalance of the humours = movement of the stars, witchcraft, etc
First port of call for illness is usually an educated woman
Operations are done by barber surgeons – same people who cut your hair – can practise on four executed people per year
After an operation quite likely to die of infection
Medical help not cheap – 13s in 1600 for a course of treatment
Construction boom doesn’t extend up to the nobility – more likely to live in medieval castles built by their ancestors
Inherited money belongs to the whole family and is often tied up in loans and the like
House for a nobleman would have to equal the likes of Hardwick Hall – lots of glass on display
Of £5000 to built a house, around £300 goes on glass alone, not including fittings, shutters and frames
New breed of rich men – merchants, lawyers and civil servants
William Cecil, £2000 a year on building projects like Cecil House
Francis Willoughby – exploits coal mines and nearly bankrupts himself on building projects
Hardwick Hall built by Bess of Hardwick, born a commoner – profound change in social attitudes
Medieval homes designed for defence, but Elizabethan homes designed to see and be seen – no central courtyard for the first time
Long gallery = many portraits of great figures, including the Queen and other nobles
Every detail designed to show off
Local and national prestige, but very expensive
Entertaining the Queen at your home could be ruinously expensive – Queen travels with about 2000 people who all need to be housed and fed and entertained
Fruit and vegetables are seen to contribute to ill humours
Eating meat on the wrong days could earn you a hefty fine
Royal court gets through 2500 gallons of beer, but wine serves as a status symbol – around 450 gallons of wine over 2 days
Seating at banquets means that you may not even be in the same room as the Queen
Some etiquette is unusual to us = doff your cap if someone wees in your presence
Faster dances like galliards and la volte become more popular
Earl of Oxford bows in front of the Queen and breaks wind – leaves court immediately and doesn’t return for 7 years – when he returns “my lord, I had quite forgotten the fart”
A few careless words could see your wealth, power and life lost
Servants could be at a nearby inn or tavern
Could say too much about a master or mistress which gets back to the Queen’s Secretary – eavesdroppers in your own household – Francis Walsingham
Any hint of treason, sedition or disloyalty = spy has to report any question of this to authorities
Queen has lots of enemies – religious grounds, foreign adversaries, MPs
Puritans and Catholics – latter more dangerous as alternative Queen in Mary Queen of Scots, could be forced to choose sides
1580s attempt on Elizabeth’s life almost every year
Effectiveness of Elizabethan spy network – Anthony Babington 1586, aim to assassinate the Queen and replace her with Mary Queen of Scots
Walsingham’s spy network intercept the letters and decode them, but don’t raise the alarm immediately – Mary incriminates herself and 14 conspirators are caught and executed, along with Mary Queen of Scots
Poor are too busy trying to survive
Star Chamber = elite court made up from nobles, strikes fear
Doesn’t abide by the legal system and can proceed by rumour alone – no jury, every councillor is a judge
Elizabethans pioneered state-authorised torture
Pit, rack,scavenger’s daughter, fetters, chains or manacles
Executions = demonstrating government power and social control, removing enemies of the state, also hugely popular as entertainment
Standard punishment is hanging, but nobles can petition the Queen for a beheading
Traitors – hanging, drawing and quartering – drawn to the gallows on a hurdle, hanged until nearly dead, intestines cut out and burnt, head cut off and body cut into quarters
Babington and six others are hung, drawn and quartered, but the crowd begins to sympathise so the others are fully hanged before their entrails are burnt
If a plot against Elizabeth succeeds, she will be beheaded
Any of the rich and powerful are vulnerable – society is changing and new wealth is created
New opportunities for wealth and status
Movement towards freedom that we experience today
Enterprise and endeavour becoming more important than birth
Science, exploration, literature and the arts
New middle classes have arrived
Tudor Blogger 