Saturday 21 February 2015

23 Feb: MANTLE OF MALICE: Aspects of Tudor life: 6 Pleasures & Pastimes

The Tudor dynasty was not a secure one, especially when it took so long for Henry VIII to have a male heir. There was a compelling need to ensure that men of all ages and classes should be trained and ready should a war break out. Sport was an excellent way of achieving this. At one time archery was compulsory and men practised at the town butts each week. Wrestling was also encouraged and the upper class went hunting, not just to provide meat for the table but also to keep fit and practise their riding skills. Running at the quintain was also considered training for war. This was a target on a pole that was set on a crossbar. At the other end of the pole hung a sack of sand. The aim of the exercise was for the young man to ride his horse towards the target and hit it with his lance, but the secret was to gallop away quickly enough so that the bag of sand did not fly round and hit the rider in the back.
 
Dancing, music and the theatre were important in all walks of life and was very popular as a method of meeting members of the opposite sex. It was especially important for women because they did not have the freedom to partake in things like jousting and other exercises that men were permitted. It was also acceptable for women to dance with each other and ask men to dance with them. Bowling, both indoor and outdoor, was very popular as was tennis. Henry VIII had a bowling alley and a tennis court built at Hampton Court Palace. 

Events that would be repugnant to us today were considered excellent spectator sports. These included public executions, designed to discourage crime, but which became an enjoyable day out. Animals were also used as sport. Bears and bulls were baited by mastiff dogs, both of which were enjoyed by Elizabeth I and cock-fighting was common.


The Twelve Days of Christmas was an important event in the Tudor year. Except for tending to the animals, no work would be done from Christmas Eve until the first Monday after 12th night. This was a time for people to visit their neighbours and share “minced pyes”, which had 13 ingredients in them to represent Christ and the apostles. They would also have a Feast of Fools, choosing one of their number to be the “Lord of Misrule” whereupon there would be copious amounts of food and alcohol eaten and drunk and this resulted in wild and unruly behaviour. A Christmas Pie - consisting of a turkey stuffed with a goose, stuffed with a chicken, stuffed with a partridge, stuffed with a pigeon was presented in a pastry case called a coffin - would be one of the dishes on the table.

Mantle of Malice, Book 3 in The Tudor Enigma will be published on 23rd February 2015.

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