As I’m researching more items to post, I found this, and was impressed by the level of detail in the costuming…and had to share! Enjoy!
On Fashion and Vocabulary…
Clothing and Fabrics
from Life in Elizabethan England: a compendium of common knowledge
Lace is a general term for all kinds of trims and braids, as well as cords or points to fasten a garment.We go brave in our apparel that we may be taken for better men than we be. We use much bombastings and quiltings to seem fitter formed, better shouldered, smaller waisted, fuller thighed than we are. We barbe and shave often to seem younger than we are. We use perfumes both inward and outward to seem sweeter than we be. We use courteous salutations to seem kinder than we are; and sometimes graver and Godlier communications to seem wiser than we be.
— Sir John Harrington
A Woman’s Guide to approaching Nobility…
From Fabritio Caroso’s “Nobilita di Dame” (1600) in his Dialog Between a Disciple and His Master, on the Conduct Required of Gentlemen and Ladies at a Ball and Elsewhere.
Now as soon as a lady espies a princess or noblewoman (whichever the case), she should step out and go toward her; and before approaching her, she should make a half Reverence (that is, a little bow), and when she has come close she should kiss her own right hand (without, however, bringing it near her mouth, but holding it at some distance), bending it a little, and not holding it so rigidly that it appears to be crippled. While moving this way, she should make a grave Reverence, as indeed I showed you, prentending to kiss the princess’s right hand. If she is not the equal of that particular princess or great lady, however, she should pretend to kiss the [princess’s] knee. Then the princess should make a Reverence, making the same [gestures] as if she were her equal; if [she is] not she should pretend to raise her with her [own] hands, taking the visitors’s left hand in her right hand. This is even more appropriate if she is her equal, for anyone who is paid a visit should always receive the caller most warmly and affectionately. Should the hostess wish to put the caller on her own right to honour her, however, the visitor should never permit it.
How a Gentleman should approach the Monarchy at Court…
From Fabritio Caroso’s “Nobilita di Dame” (1600) in his Dialog Between a Disciple and His Master, on the Conduct Required of Gentlemen and Ladies at a Ball and Elsewhere.
For Gentlemen
Here is his description for a gentleman’s comportment with a king:
You need to know, then, that should a prince or gentleman be required to approach a great king to kiss his hand, the sides of his cape or mantle (whichever it is) should be of equal length, for aside from the fact that [any unevenness] looks quite ugly, it is also necessary that he reveal the front of his body, and keep his hands down, holding both ends of his cape or riding cloak with them, so that the king will have no reason whatsoever to suspect him of carrying something beneath them that could harm him (as we have seen occur in our own day, and not too many years since). It is good, therefore, to reveal your hands and to wear your cape or riding cloak as I have said above. Moreover, you should doff your bonnet (or hat) as I have taught in the rule for doffing the bonnet; you should doff it with your right hand, changing it to your left hand as soon as you have removed it, and turning the inside of your bonnet toward the thigh corresponding to the hand in which you hold it. Upon appearing in the hall (or room) where the king is, immediately make a grave Reverence; then take four or six steps forward, and make another [Reverence]; and when you are a short distance from His Majesty, make the last one very low, so as almost to touch the floor with your knee, pretending to kiss the king’s knee. Then look up and and kiss your petition, accompanying this act with another Reverence, and presenting it to him. After this, having achieved your purpose or a suitable answer from His Majesty, take leave of him, once again pretending to kiss his knee. You ought to know that in making the last Reverence you should not face His Majesty, but [should face] a little to the side, so that the king is on your right; if the king is seated, however, and you are standing, face him directly. Should the king walk along with you, stay a step behind him at all times. In turning, follow the commendable Spanish fashion of falling back three steps, always keeping His Majesty on your right. When taking your leave, make a Reverence by bowing so low that your knee almost touches the ground (as I have said above); and upon rising, retire by making three more Reverences without ever turning your back upon the king. Now I have nothing more to tell you about this.
On gifts…
There is, as such, no research I have found which indicates gifts were exchanged on birthdays. One source records:
I have never run across any evidence of the giving of gifts on a person’s birthday. I’ve looked through a very large number of jewelry inventories over the years, for example, and I’ve found lots of items of jewelry being given or received as gifts at the New Year (but not Christmas)…but not in association with their birthday. I do not believe that even monarchs celebrated their birthdays in any appreciable way. Edward VI in his personal “Chronicle” makes absolutely no mention of his own birthday anniversaries in 1550, 1551, and 1552, though he does note celebrations at other times of the year associated with other events. When England was still Catholic, many people did observe the feast associated with the saint’s day on which they were born, but the celebration was in remembrance of the saint, not their own birthday. On the whole, I have a general impression that birthdays in the Tudor period simply did not carry the personal importance that they do today and thus were probably observed with only minimal fanfare, if at all.
There are recorded instances of gifts being bestowed at weddings, but gifts on these occasions, as a general rule, were not expected. If a gift was given it was usually from mother to daughter, separate from the gift of a father’s dowry, and often it was of jewelry.
~~~
Gifts are, however, given at New Year’s. Such giving is mentioned in every full set of household accounts available between 1400-1550.
In Elizabethan England, Christmas has not yet been personified, or associated with St Nicholas. No one in England expects to receive gifts from a supernatural agent such as Father Christmas or Santa Claus.
Courtier’s gifts given to the Queen include:
- Gold coins in an embroidered pouch
- Garments (sleeves, foreparts, partlets, suites of ruffs, etc.)
- Sweet bags (scented, usually embroidered pillows, sometimes with a pocket for a coin)
- Jewelled fan
- Looking glass
- Embroidered smock
- Jewelry (for example, the Heneage jewel)
Gifts to the Queen from the royal household are often related to the office: a marzipan chessboard and chessmen from the Master Cook, a pot of green ginger from the doctor, a fancy meat knife from the Cutler, a gilded quince pie from the Sergeant of the Pastry, and so on.
From the Queen, a courtier can generally expect to receive a silver cover cup of a particular weight, delivered by messenger, or picked up on a voucher.
Schoolboys at Eton play games to win prizes, and make presents of verses to their masters and each other.
Among ordinary folk, according to Ben Jonson, gifts may include oranges, a bunch of rosemary, brooches, marzipan, and wine.
Prosperous citizens may send gifts of fowl or rabbits to the mayor, who will provide a feast in return (using the gifts, we presume).
Note: The celebration of the day after Christmas as Boxing day is not recorded till 1621.
- from Life in Elizabethan England: a compendium of common knowledge (edited here for posting).
Forms of Address (briefly…)
Everyone is just about as clear as mud on the manner of forms of address in Elizabethan England. Well, here’s a quick guide:
(from Life in Elizabethan England: a compendium of common knowledge, mostly. Edited for publication here.)
Even small children know how to address their social superiors.
Not every knight is a lord; not every lord is a knight. It is best not to say My Lord to anyone not so entitled.
If a person is a LANDED NOBLE, (This means they have LAND with a TITLE given to them by the Monarch), they should be called by the place name. For example,
Hubert Leeds, Duke of Norfolk should be referred to as Lord Norfolk,
NOT Lord Hubert, nor
Lord Leeds
If a person is NON-LANDED GENTRY, such as a Knight or a Knight’s wife/widow, they should be called by their last name. For example,
Robert Moore, Knight should be referred to as
Master Moore if he is married, and Sir Robert if he is not.
A widow of a knight must be referred to by her married name, not her Christian name.
Elinor, Lady Bedingfeld should always be referred to as Lady Bedingfeld,
NOT Lady Elinor
The children of a knight, baron, or viscount have no titles at all other than Master and Mistress.
All the sons of a marquis or a duke are styled lord.
Your Grace belongs properly only to royal blood: the queen, dukes, and visiting princesses. It does not apply to Earls or Countesses in the 16th century. Archbishops share this honour as princes of the church.
If you are not noble, you may wish to address those above you as Your Worship, Your Honour, or Your Lordship/Ladyship.
Children are taught to address their parents as Sir and Madam, or my lord and my lady.
A noble child refers to my lady mother and the lord my father.
Only those of noble birth can be referred to as a “gentle”. Don’t refer to the general populous as “good gentles”.
A common person in a town is generally referred to as “Goodman” or “Goodwife”. An elderly woman can be a “Gammer” and an elderly man a “Gaffer”. If you wish to refer to the general populous, try “good folk”.
There are plenty of other caveats and distinctions not mentioned here, but here listed are a few major ones.
On Music, and the Lute…
The earliest European lutes were mediaeval and were direct copies of ouds with gut frets added. Indeed, the name ‘lute’ is derived from the Arabic, ‘al-‘ud’. Like the oud, mediaeval lutes were played with a quill. This meant that musicians could only play adjacent strings or single lines, which suited the music of the day perfectly well.
Enter the renaissance, starting in Italy in the second half of the 14th century and spreading across Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. When secular polyphonic music (independent parts being sung or played simultaneously) became the rage, lutenists want to play it solo. So in the last quarter of the 15th century they came up with the radical idea of putting away their quills and playing with their fingertips. Now single lutenists could play polyphonic music on their own, and thus a musical revolution began. The fingerstyle lute very quickly became the most popular and esteemed instrument of the renaissance, associated with heaven, losing oneself in a transport of ecstasy, the beauty of its gentle voice and the huge range of music that could now be played on it.
The lute inspired such musical masters as John Dowland and Anthony Holborne to new heights of musical beauty and inventiveness. The increasing musical demands made on it meant that, over time, the number of courses increased from the mediaeval 4 or 5 to the renaissance 6, 7, 8, 9 and eventually 10.
0 playsOn Household Management and Domestic Details for the Great Estate…
Staffing a Great Household
from Life in Elizabethan England: a compendium of common knowledge. Edited for publication here.
Read the complete text of Anthony Maria Browne’s Book of Orders and Rules at Managing a Noble Household: A Book of Orders and Rules, 1595.
An Ambassadorial Household: 1604
In 1604 the Earl of Hertford’s embassy to Brussels included: 20 Knights, 2 barons, and 7 gentlemen, plus their servants to a total of 90.
And in the earl’s personal train:
2 chaplains
1 surgeon
6 pages
1 steward
1 physician
3 wardrobers
1 secretary
1 apothecary
16 gentlemen waiters
1 gentleman of the horse
8 musicians
30 yeoman waiters
2 gentlemen ushers
8 trumpeters
30 kitchen, buttery, & pantry staff
1 harbinger
6 footmen
4 gentlemen of the chamber
1 master of carriages
10 lackeys
Some fines and rules in Sir John Harington’s house
- A servant must not be absent from morning or evening meals or prayers lest he be fined 2 pence for each time. (This is almost $150 US for each offence in todays terms.)
- Any servant late to dinner would be fined 2 pence. (Again, almost $150 US for each offence in todays terms.)
- Any man waiting table without a trencher in his hand, except for good excuse, would be fined 1 penny. (Approximately $75 US fine.)
- For each oath, a servant would be fined a penny. (Approximately $75 US fine, each offence.)
- Any man provoking another to strike, or striking another, would be liable to dismissal.
- For a dirty shirt on Sunday or a missing button, the fine would be sixpence. (Approximately $40 US fine.)
- After 8:00 am no bed must be found unmade and no fireplace or candle box left uncleaned, or the fine would be one penny. (Approximately $75 US fine.)
- The hall must be cleaned in an hour.
- Any man leaving a door open that he found shut would be fined one penny unless he could show good cause. (Again, approximately $75 US fine.)
- The whole house must be swept and dusted each Friday.
Household Management
Bills are due and servants are paid on the traditional quarter days (so called because they divide the year into quarters.) Curiously, each of these falls on or about an equinox or solstice. (NAG: This is quarter day, not quartering day!)
Feast Day/Date — What it’s about
Lady Day/March 25 — Feast of the Annunciation. When the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would be the mother of Christ. Also the first day of the New Year in the old calendar, and an ancient date for Easter.
St. John’s Day/June 24 — St. John the Baptist. Also called Midsummer Day (because it falls in the middle of the whole warm season, even though it is actually the beginning of “official” summer.)
Michaelmas/September 29 — St. Michael the Archangel. Celebrations in the North often include horses: racing, selling, stealing, etc. And something to do with carrots.
Christmas Day/December 25 — The Birth of Christ. A solemn holy day, slightly less important than Easter.
If you live in the country…
You may pay for some services in kind instead of money: such as an amount of firewood, the use of land, or a number of fish from your stream by the quarter or by the year.
Some of your tenants may pay part of their rents in kind: calves, honey, milk, wool, etc.
The lady of the house, even a noble lady, may do or at least oversee many homely things herself, such as the brewing of ale or mead. Even noble ladies take responsibility for making shirts for the gentlemen of the house.
If you live mostly in the country, you are likely to be very proud of your ale, or how pure your milk is, or what excellent honey your bees produce.
Bees love gossip. It is considered lucky for your estate and family to tell the bees every bit of news. If you don’t, they may leave and take their good luck with them.
Domestic Details
The private Dining Parlour or Dining Chamber, separate from the Great Hall, is a fairly new (that is, Tudor) innovation. His Lordship’s family is pulling itself away from communal living.
Privacy in general is rare and not much valued. Everybody shares a room and probably a bed. A household steward’s job is not so much to see that all the staff or guests have rooms, but that “gentlemen should abide with other gentlemen, and the yeomen with yeomen.”
The solar is Her Ladyship’s bed-sitting room, always on the top floor, to catch as much daylight as possible for sewing.
The floor is probably covered with rushes just as in the Middle Ages. These must be turned and cleaned every so often. Nicer housewives in the later reign use rush mats instead of loose rushes. Extravagant and wealthy houses probably have some Turkey carpets.
If you do use rushes, you also make sure to strew herbs and flowers among them to mask the other smells of the house. Popular herbs for this purpose are:
Basil
Marjoram
Balm
Mawdelin
Chamomile
Pennyroyal
Cowslips
Rose petals
Daisies
Red mint
Sweet fennel
Sage
Germander
Tansey
Hops
Violets
Lavender
Winter savory
Lavender spike
Lavender cotton
