Family Life (2)

Sixteenth-Century Family Life

Written by cheergirl93

The sixteenth-century family life was very different and much more difficult to live in than today’s family life. Some were built very close together, and unless you were part of the upper-class your house was not very nice. In fact, your home was more of a hut. The houses had dirt floors, and thatched roofs. Because the roofs were thatched, many animals would live on them to keep warm. Oftentimes the animals such as cats, dogs, and rats would actually fall through the roof. Hence, the saying, it’s raining cats and dogs. Most of the people had floors made of dirt. Only the wealthy people were able to have floors made of slate. Although, the floors became slippery in the winter, and then the upper class people put straws on the floors so they wouldn’t slip.

During the sixteenth-century, people would get married at a very young age. Boys would get married at 14 years of age, and the girls would get married at 12 years of age. These marriages happened without the consent of the parents. The children were able to choose their own spouses. Today it is illegal to get married at such an early age. In most states, you must be at least 18 years of age to marry legally. Back in the sixteenth century, the weddings were usually planned for June. This is because the people rarely took bath and the most common time to take a bath was in May. They figured that they still smelled okay after only a month so it was a good idea. When they did get married, the women always carried a bouquet of flowers so there was a pleasant odor. This is why it is still a tradition today to carry a bouquet of flowers when a woman gets married.

In today’s day in age, we can take a shower as many times as we want. Back in the 16th century, men and their sons were the first ones to take a bath-no shower! They would take a bath in a hot tub of water. Once the men were done, the sons would then take their turn. After they were all done, finally the women were allowed to take a bath and then last, but not least, the children were able to take a bath.

There were many customs that the people lived by. The cooking was always done on an open flame with a kettle in the kitchen. Today it is totally different. We depend on our ovens and our microwaves. Could you imagine cooking over an open flame? I guess if you were camping it would be okay! During the 16th century, only the good food such as pig/bacon was used for guests. As was the bread. The workers would be able to eat the burnt crust of the bread while the lower class or middle class could enjoy the middle of the bread.

I can’t imagine living during the 16th century. No electronic devices and what about those baths? I guess if you read about how life could be, and how it is today, its not that bad.

Works Cited
“Life in the 16th Centruy” Facts About the 1500s. 12 March 2008. <http://jnarin.wordpress.com/2006/06/08/life-in-the-1500-16th-century/>.

 

Theater Companies

Sixteenth-Century Theater Companies
Written by emilym13

During the sixteenth century there were a lot of plays being produced. Theater companies were put together in order to maintain the production of plays. A theater company is a group of actors working together in order to produce play, these actors also get paid.

William Shakespeare was in some theater companies. One of the theater companies he was in was Lord Chamberlain’s men, also known as Kings Men. Lord Chamberlain’s men built the first Globe Theater on the bank side of London. These men recycled the timbers of the Theatre in order to build this.

Theater companies had a way of operation. The writers of the theater company would write the play. Shareholders put money upfront to produce a play that was approved by them. There were hired actors who preformed the play and usually received wages by the week. The actors usually had to learn and rehearse their parts in about three weeks. The actors then studied their parts and rehearsed in the morning, and performed in the afternoon whenever the play was scheduled for that day. If the play was not liked on the first day of its performance, the play would be dropped from the theater company and never appear again. In order for the theater company to profit they had to sell tickets and admission charges were usually doubled the first night of the plays performance.

The theater companies from the sixteenth century resemble today’s entertainment industry . This entertainment industry is the movie production. Theater companies and movie production industries operate similarly. Both had/have investors, actors, and writers.

In the sixteenth century actors and play writers needed theater companies. Actors and play writers relied on shareholders in order for the play to be produced. The actor relied on the play writers to make good plays, and the play writers relied on the actors to perform the play well. Also, the shareholders relied on the actors and play writers so perform the play well so that they would profit. So, basically everyone in a theater company relied on each other and that is why they needed theater companies.

Works Cited

Trussler, Simon. British Theatre. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Gurr, Andrew. “The Company System and Stagin.” Exploring Shakespeare.

 

Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe

by: laxmaniac152

If you are reading Romeo and Juliet it would help to know about other playwrights living and working the same time as Shakespeare, such as Christopher Marlowe. Marlowe was a very important playwright and he was one of the first playwrights to write in blank verse. He was a very mysterious man and had a very short life, living to only 29.

Christopher Marlowe was on of the most accomplished playwrights. Her was a very well known playwright and had many famous pieces such as Dido, Queen of Carthage and Tamburlaine The Great. Some of his other plays were, The Jew of Malta, The Tradgical History of Doctor Faustus, and Massacre at Paris. Christopher Marlowe was said to be the master of blank verse. Blank verse is a poem or piece of writing in which there is no rhyming. Other playwrights had used blank verse before Marlowe but no one had used it as well as him. Christopher Marlowe was a pioneer in the playwright world.

Christopher Marlowe’s life outside his work was quite strange. He was thought to be a spy. It has been thought that he was a spy for Queen Elizabeth herself in the royal secret service. Marlowe was also rumored to be a homosexual, a magician, and a counterfeiter. Marlowe earned his bachelor of the arts degree at Corpus Christi College at Cambridge. Christopher Marlowe was also known for his untimely death. He died at the age of 29 in a bar fight. He was stabbed in the eye with a blade that pierced his brain killing him instantly. Except for his early death, Christopher Marlowe had a very successful life.

Christopher Marlowe was perhaps one of the most important playwrights in history. He had many famous plays and had mastered a new style of righting called blank verse. Little is known about his life except that he was a very successful man.

Works Cited
Nardo,Don. Great Elizabethan Playwrights. Farmington Hills: Thomsom Gale, 2003.

 

The Four Humours

The Four Humours

Written by: Stephaniex4

During the sixteenth-century, the four humours was the basis of medicine. This health theory existed, mainly between 490 and 430 BC. However, the four humours theory scattered around up until the eighteenth-century. The four humours were based on theories of Ancient Greece and Rome.

The four humours, also known as the four elements, included phlegm, which stood for water, yellow bile, which was fire, black bile, which was earth, and blood, which stood for everything. Of course, these elements really weren’t fire and earth, but that’s what the four humours stood for. Later on, there was a personality trait added on to each humour by a Greek physician, Galen.

If the four humours were imbalanced, people would get sick. They would lose their appetite and move slowly. Treating this illness included bloodletting. During this process, the doctors had to take out fluids and/or purge hot and cold. Also, the patients who had the imbalance of the four humours would drink a lot of liquids. This would help those with the sickness gain health again. These treatments were based on opposites. Anaximander, a pre-Socratic philosopher who was a student of Thales in the Milesian School, had the belief that the universe was based on opposites which the universal laws governed.

People thought of different humours to be the basis of the other three. Water was thought to be the basis of all the elements in life, as a Greek philosopher, Thales stated sometime between 640 and 546 BC. Thales stated that the earth and air just developed from water. Anaximenes believed that fire was the primary element instead of water or air. Since opposites were always at battle with each other, everything was in perpetual change. Galen Pergamum stated that the four elements were equally mixed in blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Pythagoras was a philosopher and mathematician who emphasized spirit instead of material, and a science of numbers rather than elements. So, really, the truth of the matter of which element was the basis for the rest was an opinion, not a fact. Surely enough, the people who stated which element is the primary one had a reasonable explanation. However, all answers couldn’t be correct. The answers weren’t completely supported to be considered a fact. The technology wasn’t very sufficient for learning about the humours and illnesses.

The “Doctrine of the Four Humours” dominated the theory of health, illness, and the personality between the times of Empedocles (409-430 BC) until the 18th Century, when bloodletting finally ended. The medical system now is much better than back then.  Today, doctors have much more knowledge and technology. There is better equipment too, which would make the process that would have been very painful back then not as painful (if painful at all) now. For example, back then, if someone was sick, the doctors would have to treat the patients with a painful process called bloodletting. However, now, we know that, most of the time, it is just a cold and we have medicine to cure it, not involving surgery. However, when someone has an illness that does not involved a serious surgery, the system now is much more sanitary and professional, with medicine to put someone to sleep so they don’t feel anything.

In short, the four humours was a theory from 490 BC to about the eighteenth-century that involved serious processes to cure an imbalance/illness. As a medical advanced improved, the Four Humours theory was proved to be inaccurate and simpler cures were created.

Works Cited

Thompson, Lana. “The Doctrine of the Four Humours.” Science and Its Times. 2001: 114-116. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. 29 Feb. 2008. <http://go.galegroup.com>.

 

London City

Life in London City in the Sixteenth-century

Written by: animallover8

During the 16th century, London City was very crowded, dirty, unsanitary, and overpopulated. London City was not the best place to live because of its poor conditions. Many people moved into London City because they wanted to seek their fortune.

Since London was so small, unsanitary, and overpopulated, disease spread very rapidly. One disease that spread was Leprosy. Leprosy is very contagious. People who had leprosy were confined in small areas so the disease would not spread as much. Many people died from diseases and other ailments. The number of deaths was always exaggerated about. Some of the worst areas were nicknamed “Stinking Lane” and other similar names. They were given those names because the laborers, who lived in small, cramped houses, threw their household waste outside their house into the street. People who passed by also contributed to the horrible stenches.

Along with the bad stenches, there was no plumbing. Chamber pots were used and after a few days of uses, they needed to be emptied. John Harrington, Elizabeth’s godson designed a “privy in perfection” for royal use only. It was called a water closet. The water closet had an elevated cistern, a wooden seat, and a valve that flushed water out from the cistern down through the basin and out through a drainpipe. The only problem now was, there was no system for treating the sewage. Therefore, the water closet did nothing to help with the sanitation problem. In London city, freshwater was piped in from springs.

Houses were made of wood and covered with straw. Since the houses were made of wood and straw, they caught fire easily. The fires spread rapidly through the city. The roads were made of cobblestone. There were many thieves, so everyone had to be careful. For the buildings, they used the ideas from ancient Greece and ancient Rome. They were designed with flat and wide windows. They also used simple arches, pediments, and columns. Along the Thames River, there were many tall, elegant houses and many shops. London Bridge was made of a broad stone structure threaded by a narrow roadway.

In London, the population grew rapidly. That added to London being so overcrowded. During the 16th century, the population was between 100,000 and 200,000 people. The amount of people who moved into London City changed because people wanted to seek their fortune. People thought that they would be able to seek their fortune in London. Moving to London was both a good choice and a bad choice. It was a good choice because many people did become successful and achieved their fortune. It was a bad idea because of all the crime, diseases, and fires. By so many people moving to London, London became even more overcrowded and more unsanitary. Toward the end of the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth issued a proclamation (while fearing rampant disease and disorder) which banned the construction of any new homes within three miles of the city’s gates and prohibiting any new families (from moving in). She did this so she could try to control the spread of disease and to help stop more people from creating London to be more overpopulated.

William Shakespeare was interested in moving to Stratford-upon-Avon to seek fortune and to get his plays to become famous. London (was and is) one of the world’s great centers for classical and popular culture. It has enjoyed a reputation for superb theater since the 16th century when Shakespeare lived and wrote.

There was a social order in London during the 16th century. It was as follows: at the top were Nobles, knights, and landed gentlemen. The class below them was the middle class, which consisted of Businessmen and compromising merchants. The class under them was the Craftsmen and farmers who owned part of the land that they worked. Below them were the domestic servants and day laborers. Below them, at the bottom of the social class were the Beggars and the vagrants.

For fun, the people of London watched and participated in drama and theater. In addition, for fun, they played cards, board games, passed the wassail bowl, and they sang carols. Passing the wassail bowl was a salutation or drinking toast made during festivities. They also went to festivals. On Holy days (Sundays and Holidays) the churches put on festivals that brought the townspeople together. Celebrations were hosted by the parish churches. Church-ales were where food and drink were sold to raise funds for the parish. Rich citizens paid a large portion of the costs and opened their homes to the townspeople at harvest time and during Christmas. Most holidays combined the religious and secular.

London was so important to Shakespeare’s success because many people enjoyed plays during the time period and they still do now. His writings became more famous and they are now well known in many places. London was like today’s “Hollywood” where you go to become famous.

London is like many cities today because you can go anywhere to be famous. All you need to become famous is to do something important (heroic), be well supported by people, and be good at something. London was one of the largest cities in the world during the 16th century, but today there are many cities in the world that have a larger population than London.

Works Cited

Chamberlin, E.R. The 1500s: Headlines in History. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2001.

“What Life was like in the realm of Elizabeth.” Time Life Books. Richmond, Virginia: Time Life Inc., 1998.

 

Family Life

Sixteenth-Century Family Life

Written by: fallendynasty

Sixteenth century family life was difficult for many who were poor, because people went to work at a young age helping out their parents wherever they could. And for most of the poor people they didn’t make it out of their caste. But for the people who were rich life was bearable, and couldn’t be any better.

Sixteenth century life was hard for men. The reason why is because they were always working. Parents tried to give their son a better life by sending him to school. But for the parents to send their son off to school it cost a lot. And for most poor families that didn’t that the money or the amount needed to send their son away then they. Their son couldn’t go and then couldn’t get out of his caste. But if they did have the money and if their son kept working hard, then one day their son would be a knight. A boy could be married without the parent’s consent at the age of 14. If the son was poor he got to choose his own bride. But if he was wealthy then his parents got to choose his future bride for him even if the two didn’t love each other.

Sixteenth century family life was difficult for women too. The reason why is because they were always working at home. Her parents could send her off to school to become a proper young lady, if they had the money. A girl could get married without the parent’s consent at the age of 12. If a girl was wealthy then her parent’s choose a wealthy husband for her. But if she was poor then she got to choose her own husband. But for most women that were in the middle and lower class didn’t get married until the age of 22. But since most of the men were dying at such a rapid pace that most women that were married became widows. The typical age for a woman to become a widow was the age of 30.

But the men and women co-existed even though the men kept dying at such a rapid pace. A man’s life and a woman’s life in the 16th-century were similar, but the men were the leaders of the house and the clan while the women were to follow what the men wished. It was a patriarchal society.

Works Cited

Stewart, Gail B. Life in Elizabethan London. San Diego; Thomson Books, 2003.

Kirkland, Elizabeth and Joseph Papp. “Family Life in Shakespeare’s Time.” Exploring Shakespeare. 2003. Gale. 14 February 2008. <http://find.galegroup.com>.

Kirkland, Elizabeth and Joseph Papp. “Family Life in Shakespeare’s Time.” Discovering Collection Print. 2003. Gale. 14 Feburary 2008. <http://find.galegroup.com>.