Tudor Entertainment Essay, Research Paper
Boys Games
In the 1500’s children were very imaginative and creative in how they used their spare time. Peasant children did not have the opportunities to go to school, doing the days they had lots of time when they were not doing chores. Many Tudor time children played games common to the ones children play today. They would build their own little river dams and slide down rivers and streams creating their own watersides and pools of water. Dreaming of pirates, treasure islands and floating homemade ships down stream was what little boys loved to do. Catching insects, shells, marbles, stones and sticks were all common hobbies. Tag, Bind man’s buff, archery, wrestling, running, skipping stones, horse riding, and knight games were popular among boys. Ball games like now were among the other activities boys played during the day like football, palla an early form of croquet, cricket and tennis.
Older Boys
The older boys turning into manhood would practice hitting dummies with lances on foot and horse. People in this time period loved to see games with lots of bloodshed and betting. One of the more common games was called bear-baiting, in a center ring a bull or more commonly a bear was tied to a pole with sharpened teeth and claws ready to maul to death vicious attacking dogs. Cock throwing was another animal torturing game in which a rooster or chicken was tied to a pole and was stoned to death. Teenagers also enjoyed kissing and guessing games, and debates about love.
Royal Games
One of the few games that women engaged in was chess. Women were quite good at this since the men did not have as much free time to practice chess. Women and men of royalty often challenged each other to matches. Well-bred children were taught chess from a very young age. Chess was a high noble game, pieces of chess were often made of gold, crystal and silver pieces. Among chess, checkers, dice, card games and early forms of gambling were popular.
Wealthy Women Activities
Education was considered a favorite leisure time activity by women of nobility. They loved to hear of how things were in other lands, and their customs and ways of life from mastery story tellers who had traveled many great distances. Another favorite was to hear and practice reciting poems. Women of a fortunate birth would often translate French and Spanish poetry along with French romance tales into English. Fortunate women would learn about music, and learn of how to sing sonnets and play musical instruments like the virginals (an early form of the piano). Embroidery was another common pastime of wealthy women with spare time on their hands, the garden was a familiar scene for this. Just as well as singing to music, listening to it brought joy to many people, a lovely scene for this was often floating down rivers listening to orchestras play at a water party. Dancing was a great art and a way of expressing yourself, along with the fact that dancing was a national pastime that everyone engaged in. From as early as birth little girls were encourages and taught to sing and play instruments. Posture was incredibly important to bring out the best dancing gracefulness. Basic dance moves and steps were taught along with how to move swiftly along the floor, being light on their feet and lifting up their dresses just enough to show it off and the tips of their feet. Fashion was an important thing young ladies also learned about. Dancing was one of the few ways women were aloud to express themselves.
Executions
Executions were almost always performed out in the open for every one to observe. massive crowds of people formed to watch the executions it was one of the more interesting forms of entertainment. Women and men would be marched up to a stage to be beheaded, burned at the stake or tortured to death. The worst punishment of all was saved for the traitors, they would be hung slowly then let down while they were barely living and through a cut in the stomach their intestines and guts were pulled out. The dead body was then beheaded and cut into for pieces, each body part was distributed throughout the village on spikes as a warning of how serious of an offense it was to be a traitor. This torture practiced on traitors was referred to a hanging, drawing, and quartering. some other painful torture methods were having your feet placed in wet leather boots while being neared to a fire, the leather boots would shrink so small they would sometimes cut off the foots circulation.
Winter Games
Winter games were very much like the modern day winter games of today. In places that it snowed animal thigh bones were tied to feet as people plunged down hills. Other winter activities included skating on blades that were tied to boots, horseback riding, tobogganing and hunting.
Carnivals
Carnivals were a time of singing laughter and joy. In one year their were usually two carnivals. Like today there would be challenging games some even facing death. Favorites of carnivals were almost always dwarfs referred to as little people or miniatures. Almost like the circus, animals were brought in from other countries and were a great and rare sight. Bonfires would be lit at night and people would dance around and celebrate the gift of life.
Theaters
In the 1950’s a huge boom of theater plays began. For many years the locations of the theaters were held n the courtyards of inns. Since women were thought so low of they were not aloud the privilege of performing on stage, instead young boys would play their parts. Of all the plays Shakespeare’s were of the most popular especially dramatic tragedies.
Conclusion
The Tudor time period in history was a very significant yet hard time in history, it would have been very difficult for us to live in because we are constantly surrounded by endless options of activities that do not require much time or effort. The Tudor time people really must have had very imaginative and creative minds to keep themselves from getting bored.
Bibliography
Emmison, F.G.., Tudor Food and Pastimes, 1964, London, Earnest Benn limited.
Gail, Marzieh, Life in the Renaissance, 1968, New York, Random House inc.
Ross, Stewart, How it was, Elizabethan Life, 1991, Hong Kong, Delta Type limited