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.

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> > Chronology - Glossary - Government - Religion

> > Population - Money - Food and Drink

> > Houses - Clothing and Appearance - Marriage

> > Sex - Diseases - Arts and Education

> > Crime and Punishment

> > Travel - Sorcery - Rebellions

Famous Names to Know in Tudor England

Tudor FAQ: frequently asked questions

Chronology

> 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 York

> 8 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 executed

> 18 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

Government
Tudor England's government was an absolute monarchy. In this system, the monarch (king or queen) has control over all aspects of government.
Parliament did exist during the 16th century but its role was often merely advisory. As the years passed, it became increasingly powerful. Its main power was passing taxation. Whenever the king or queen needed money, they first had to convince Parliament to order more taxation. Parliament was only assembled when the king or queen ordered it, unlike modern times.

Religion
England was a Catholic nation under the rule of Henry VII (1485-1509) and during much of Henry VIII's (1509-1547) reign. In 1534, King Henry VIII declared himself Supreme Head of a new Church of England. This coincided with the rejection of papal authority and dissolution of the English monasteries. Protestantism was introduced to England. Under King Edward VI (1547-1553), England was a Protestant nation. Under Queen Mary I (1553-1558), England was again a Catholic nation. Under Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), England was again a Protestant nation. It was under Elizabeth that the Anglican church became firmly established and dominant.

Population: includes England and Wales.

> 1524.....2.3 million
> 1541.....2.7 million
> 1550.....2.9 million
> 1569.....3.2 million
> 1599.....4.0 million

In 1520, 6% of the population lived in urban areas (towns of over 4,000 people.)
In 1520, 3% of the population lived in London.
Around 5% of the population were considered gentlemen. Their numbers increased throughout the 16th century. 'Gentlemen' are people who do not work with their hands. The middle class was larger; they were usually literate and included craftsmen and tradesmen. The vast majority of the population is poor and termed 'peasants' or 'common people'. They were mostly illiterate and suffered the most when famines occurred and the currency was debased.
In 1509, there was one duke, one marquis, ten earls, and thirty barons in England. The peerage increased to 51 by the end of Henry VIII's reign and had reached 57 when Elizabeth I became queen. But she was stingy with granting peerages and the only duke left in England (Norfolk) was executed in 1572. A new duke was not titled until 1623.

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.

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