23 Feb: MANTLE OF MALICE: Aspects of Tudor life: 4. Education

Ever wondered about the phrase “whipping boy”? Punishments were harsh in schools with naughty children often being beaten. Rich boys could afford to pay another boy to receive any punishment, so if the rich boy misbehaved, the whipping boy was beaten. Education was generally for upper and middle class boys who would learn Latin, Greek, Arithmetic and religion. Many Catholic families refused to send their sons to school in Elizabeth’s reign because the Protestant religion was taught. So Catholic boys would be taught at home by a priest or private tutor. It was usual to attend school for six days a week and the hours were long, often 6am to 5pm.

 

Education for girls concentrated on domestic topics because the only “career” for girls was marriage. It was very important that girls learned how to run a house and be skilled in all housewifely duties and the most important lesson was to be obedient to their father and husband! That said, the royal princesses received an excellent education and Elizabeth was skilled in both Greek and Latin and considered it “fun” to translate from one language to the other and then back again.

From being very young children were taught to respect their parents and rise early to say prayers. Table manners were considered of prime importance and they would also be instructed in the basics of reading and writing. Poor boys might be taught how to read and write, but their school day would be short because of the need for them to bring in money from a job.

For the wealthy boys, their education at school stopped when they were 14 and continued at University studying a range of subjects such as theology, philosophy, astronomy and medicine. Some boys went on to complete their education by touring the major cities of Europe, but this was usually confined to the very rich and powerful since travelling abroad required the monarch’s permission.

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

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23 Feb: MANTLE OF MALICE: Aspects of Tudor life: 3. Clothes

Sumptuary Laws or Statutes of Apparel had been in force for about 300 years by the time Henry VIII came to the throne and were amended several times by Henry and his children. When Elizabeth came to the throne, her sumptuary laws were very strict. The reason for such laws was to maintain control over the population. During Henry’s reign, a new wealthy class of merchant arose, especially when England was the main source of wool for export to Europe. Because these men were rich, they could afford luxury goods that had been the remit of the upper classes and nobility, but for a man to dress above his status in society was illegal. The Sumptuary laws were not confined to clothes, but also jewellery, swords and daggers.

The poor were permitted to dress in wool, linen or sheepskin. In 1571, a law was passed that everyone over the age of 6 had to wear a woollen cap on Sundays and holidays and the taller the cap the more important the man. Colours were also restricted for the poor. Brown, yellow, orange, green grey and woad-dyed blue were allowed.

The further up the social scale you were, the greater the range of colours and fabrics were permitted. So, for example, knights could wear garments made from silk, damask and taffeta, unless they were part of the monarch’s household when they could also wear velvet. Only the monarch and the immediate royal family were permitted to dress in purple, but the next class down might have purple linings in their cloaks. Dukes or Knight of the Garter or members of the Privy Council were permitted to dress in scarlet and crimson.

The codpiece was originally a triangular piece of fabric sewn to a man’s hose and held in place by buttons or ties. During Henry VIII’s reign, codpieces became much larger - look at any portrait of Henry and the codpiece is very prominent denoting his virility. Because of this increase in size, it became normal to carry small weapons or items of jewellery in the codpiece, which is the origin of the phrase “family jewels” for mens’ genitalia.

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

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23 Feb: MANTLE OF MALICE: Aspects of Tudor life: 2 Servants

The notion of a servant in the 21^st century is very different from that in Tudor times. Big households depended of a lot of people to run the house, cook the food, look after the gardens etc. The nobles knew that they could not live without their servants and, in the main, treated them well. The centre of any Tudor house was the Great Hall where everyone ate together, servants included. The whole household was called the family. The nobles ate

on a raised dais, which, in time, became known as the “high table” or “top table”. Servants were expected to be obedient and not think for themselves. Disobedience was harshly punished, usually with fines.

It was normal practise to be paid each quarter day - i.e. every three months. A young housemaid might earn £1 per annum,(£14k/$21k) today; the laundress, cook and children’s nurse, £2, (£28k/$42k) The highest paid servants in a manor house would be the chaplain and the bailiff, who both averaged about £3 per annum (£42k/$63k). Royal servants earned much more. Elizabeth I’s maids were paid £40 per annum (About £500K/$750k) and, because they were close to the Queen, they were frequently bribed by people wishing to have an audience with her.

Servants would also be provided with clothes, bed and board. It was customary to supply three sets of clothing or livery each year, their food and a bed. The beds were usually in the attic and might be small truckle beds or sacks stuffed with straw. In this way, although they worked long hours - from sunrise to possibly midnight, they were clothed, fed and protected by their employer. Many of their “free” contemporaries were unemployed or homeless and starving. In the big palaces, for example Hampton Court Palace, servants often slept on the floor in the room of the courtier they served. Others slept in the Great Hall and the kitchen workers slept in the kitchen.

Most people think of servants as being female, but in the early days, the majority were men. The Earl of Derby employed between 115 and 140 servants. Only 6 were women. Having a large number of male servants gave an impression of protection for the nobles and, should the need arise, they could be called upon to form a private army.

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

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23 Feb: MANTLE OF MALICE: Aspects of Tudor life: 1. The Poor

Unemployment was a major cause of poverty in Tudor England. The wool trade became all important and wealthy landowners turned from arable farming, which provided jobs, to sheep farming, which needed far fewer employees. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, more people lost their jobs and there were no monks to care for the poor and help feed them. Many of the monks were reduced to begging.

In the same way that there were different classes of wealthy people in Tudor England, there were also different classes of the poor. Generally, the poor were defined as farm workers, servants and vagrants. They had no voice or authority of any kind. The government divided them into three groups.

The Helpless Poor included the old, the sick and the disabled. The parish might give them money and possibly food and would also pay for their children to be given an apprenticeship. Wealthy citizens were expected to help the poor in their parish, but this was very hit and miss. The poor in one village might be well looked after whilst the poor in the next died because they were starving. Suffering always increased after a bad harvest when food prices soared and people could not afford to buy it.

The Able-Bodied Poor were people able and willing to work. Edward VI passed a law saying that all parishes should build a workhouse. The unemployed would work in the workhouse making cloth or doing whatever the authorities considered would benefit the parish.

Vagabond being whipped. 

The third group consisted of Rogues and Vagabonds. They roamed England begging and stealing. They were able to work but many didn’t want to. It was easier to attack travellers and steal from them. Sometimes people who would normally be in the Able-Bodied Poor group found work impossible to get, especially if the parish had not built a workhouse. They then had little option but to leave their villages and look for work elsewhere, but this was illegal and they would be classed as vagabonds. Unemployed people caught outside their parish were whipped through the streets to the boundary stone of that parish. If they were caught a second time, part of their ear would be sliced off. Execution was the punishment for a third offence.

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

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