Tudor Times

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Tudor Times
By Samuel Mugridge 8Ir
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Henry VIII Wives
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Henrys Wives

• Henry VIII - Born 1491 Died 1547.
• Second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.
• Had six wives
• Catherine of Aragon, Spanish princess, widow of
  his brother Arthur. Married in 1509 when he
  became king. Desparate to have a son to take over
  the throne when he died as did not think a woman
  would be suitable.. Divorced Catherine in 1533
  because she was too old to produce a son (they
  already had a daughter, Mary.
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• Married Anne Boleyn, who was already pregnant by
  him in 1533, she gave birth to another daughter.
  Executed for infidelity.
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• Married Jane Seymour by end of the same month,
  died giving birth to Henrys lone male heir,
  Edward in 1536.
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• 1540 married Anne of Cleves, whom Henry found
  homely, marriage wasnt consummated.
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• July 1540 married adulterous Catherine Howard,
  executed for infidelity in March 1542.
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• Married Catherine Parr in 1543 who provided for
  Henry and his children until he died in 1547.
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• Henry was a catholic and would not have anything
  bad said against the catholic religion. When he
  wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon the pope
  would not agree. Henry had already been pursuing
  Anne of Boleyn, she became pregnant and if they
  did not get married before the birth the baby
  would be illigitamate and would not be considered
  to take over as King. Henry insisted that the
  leading Churchman in England, Thomas Cramer, who
  was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533, to
  grant the annulment of the marriage. The
  marriage was annulled and Henry married Anne, but
  she gave birth to a daughter. Henry had Anne
  beheaded (he had accused her of having over 1000
  lovers and of practising witchcraft).
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Jane Seymour was the next wife, she did produce a
son, Edward in 1537. She died giving birth.
Henry was to have three more wives but no more
children.
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Food and Drink

• Everyone in Tudor England ate bread and
  cheese - the difference between rich and poor was
  the quality of bread and cheese.  'Carter's
  bread was the name given to the cheapest bread
  it was a mixture of rye and wheat.  The middle
  classes ate 'ravel', also called 'yeoman's bread
  which was made of wholemeal.  The most expensive
  bread was called 'marchet' and made of white
  wheat flour.  Marchet, was eaten in royal
  households especially at banquets.  Beer was
  drank by everyone, poor or rich  It was brewed
  without hops and was not particularly alcoholic. 
  People drank beer liberally.  However, water was
  considered unhealthy.  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 this was dependent on good
  harvests. England did not need to rely on
  imports of food.  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 - 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.     Meat wasnt
  eaten on Fridays, fish was eaten - dried cod or
  slated herring was most likely to be eaten. 
  Vegetables were plentiful - particularly beans,
  peas, carrots, and onions.  Fruits were
  available, too - apples, plums, pears,
  strawberries, and cherries. Potatoes were not
  available then (Raleigh brought them to England
  in Elizabeth's reign) and tomatoes were unknown. 
  Diets were most interesting and varied in the
  warmer months but during the cold weather diet
  consisted of preserved meats and little else.

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Pastimes and Entertainment

• The most festive time of the year
  was the twelve days of Christmas.  The greatest
  celebration was at the Tudor court, but homes
  across England - rich and poor - celebrated as
  best they could.  The King, as well as wealthy
  noblemen, had a Lord of Misrule.  (Also, villages
  and cities had an appointed Lord of Misrule as
  well.)  This man was in charge of arranging games
  (like Blindman's Bluff) and jests (like mumming
  and costume parties.)     Mumming, in
  particular, was a favorite pastime of Tudor
  England, especially during the major holidays
  (namely, Christmas and May Day.)  This
  entertainment was centuries old and included
  giants, minstrels, morris dancers, and various
  musicians. This included various games and song
  dances (like 'London Bridge is Broken Down',
  known to us as the rhyme 'London Bridge is
  Falling Down.')  They also performed the
  ever-popular St George and the Dragon story,
  particularly at Christmas.  May Day was less
  religious various people were made Lord and Lady
  of the May as well as the popular folk heroes,
  Robin Hood and Maid Marian.  These figures would
  lead dances around the maypole. Gambling
  was very popular.  Late in Henry VII's reign,
  parliament passed a law prohibiting servants and
  apprentices from gambling (namely dicing and
  playing cards.)  It was believed that gambling
  led to idleness and crime, though only in the
  lower classes.  Many noblemen lost large sums,
  including the Tudor kings.  Henry VII was
  well-known for his love of gambling.        
  Card games were also popular.  It is believed
  that playing cards was invented in 1400, as there
  is not mention of them previously.  All classes
  played card games, the most popular were
  Primero, Prime (related to Primero), Gresco,
  Gleke or 'Cleke, Loadum, Noddy (played mostly by
  gamblers), New Cut, Putt, All Fours, Post and
  Pair, Ruff, and Trump.     Tudor people played
  many indoor games and many more outdoor games. 
  There was an early form of tennis, played mostly
  by the nobility.  Henry VIII played it more than
  his father, particularly at Windsor.  Henry VII's
  favorite pastimes were chess, cards and dicing,
  and shooting the butts.  Tennis was played as it
  is today on a covered court.  These courts were
  very expensive to build and maintain, which meant
  that only the rich could play.  Henry VIII spent
  a lot of money building courts at Hampton Court
  and Whitehall.     Poorer people played Balloon
  Ball, Hand Ball, Ring Ball, and Bandy Ball. 
  Essentially, these were games where balls were
  hit with bats or hands.  Also, they would compete
  to drive the ball through rings set in the
  ground.    Football was also played in the 16th
  century.  It was played by tradesmen on fields
  outside their cities.  Eventually, they would
  make their way onto city streets.  One
  commentator, Thomas Elyot, called it 'nothing but
  beastly fury and extreme violence.'  But it was
  not as violent as cudgel-play.  This was played
  by two opponents who held long sticks.  The
  object was to draw first blood from your
  opponent's head.  People also wrestled, though
  rules varied from town to town.  Some people
  liked to kick their opponents in the shins while
  others only allowed holds above the waist.
         There were also popular throwing games,
  resembling the modern horseshoes.   Under Henry
  VIII, archery became increasingly popular.  The
  young king was known as the best archer in
  England.  Henry VIII wanted to share his love of
  archery with all his countrymen - so he decreed
  that every male subject must keep a longbow in
  his home.  Fathers were also required to teach
  their sons to shoot properly.  In this respect,
  Henry followed his own advice - Edward VI was a
  good archer as well.

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Great Households

•   In Tudor England, a persons social status
  was determined by how good their house was and
  how many servants they had. The best street to
  live in was in London and it was called The
  Strand. They would also have large estates in
  the countryside. The better they managed their
  households determined how important their job,
  given to them by the king, would be. These
  nobles would be used to maintain peace and
  government in their part of England particularly
  in the north where Henry VII had no family.
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Bibliography

• Picture of Henrys Wives www.schoolhistory.co.u
  k
• Front cover picture and food and drink picture -
  www.englishhistory.net
• Picture of Henry VIII - Eyewitness History of
  the World 2.0
• Information on Food and Drink, Pastimes and
  Entertainment, and Great Households -
  www.englishhistory.net
• Information on Henrys wives and Family tree
  Living through History, the Making of the United
  Kingdom