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  • Mary, Queen of Scots

    In 1542 James V, the King of Scotland died. His daughter, Mary, who was only one week old, became Queen. While she was still a child, Mary Stuart married Francis, the son of the French King. In 1559 Francis became King of France.
    So at the age of 17, Mary, who was a beautiful woman with lovely red hair, was Queen of two countries. But only after one year as King, Francis died.
    Her mother-in-law Mary of Guise, did not want Mary in France and so she returned to Scotland.

    She married again. This time she married her cousin, Lord Darnley. Mary and Darnley did not like each other. Darnley became very jealous of an Italian called Riccio, who was Mary’s secretary. One night, Darnley and a group of his friends murdered Riccio in front of Mary.

    maryqueenofscotsTwo years later, Darnley, too, died. Mary had gone to a dance, but her husband was ill and stayed at home. In the middle of the night the house where Darnley was asleep exploded and caught fire. But Darnley’s body was not found in the house. It was found in the garden. He had been strangled.

    Who was the murderer? People suspected the Earl of Bothwell, but it could not be proved. Then Mary shocked the people of Scotland. She married Bothwell. This was too much for the Scots. There was a rebellion and the Scottish people made Mary’s son, James, King. Bothwell, who escaped to Norway, went mad and died in prison. Mary escaped to England.

    The English Queen, Elizabeth, who was Mary’s cousin, welcomed Mary, but the English lords did not trust the beautiful Scottish Queen. She was put in prison and the, finally in 1587, she was beheaded for treason. When the executioner lifted up her head, he picked up only the hair. It was a wig. Mary’s own beautiful red hair had turned thin and grey.

    In the end, Mary had lost everything. She had lost the crowns of France and Scotland, three husbands, her son, her life – even her famous beauty.

    tudors-and-stuarts-royal-family-tree

  • All about the Tudors

    TUDOR AND ELIZABETHAN LONDON

    Under the Tudors, London grew a lot bigger and wealthier. It was the Renaissance Era: times of happiness and joy, when even poor people could enjoy theatre plays, music and games. By 1600, London’s population was 200,000.

    Rich men had built houses along the Strand joining London to Westminster. Along the walls of Tudor London were several gates (e.g. Aldgate, Bishopsgate, Moorgate, Cripplegate, Aldersgate, Newgate and Ludgate). Two of the gates were used as prisons, Ludgate and Newgate. Furthermore, the body parts of traitors who were hung drawn and quartered were displayed over the gates as a warning.

    Over the River Thames was London Bridge, which had buildings along its length. (Many of them had shops on the ground floor). South of the Thames was the large suburb of Southwark. The River Thames was a major transport route as Tudor London was the largest port in England. Sailing ships sailed to quays just before London Bridge and there were also smaller boats owned by watermen for transporting people along the Thames. There were also many fishermen in London and The Thames teemed with fish like salmon, trout, perch, flounder and bream. However The Thames sometimes froze over fairs were held on it.

    At night the streets of London were dark and dangerous. At 9 pm in summer and at dusk in winter church bells rang the curfew and the city gates were locked.

    galleonNAVY AND EXPLORATION

    The Tudors built a lot of galleons (huge ships with sails used for fighting and carrying goods). Tudor ships explored several new parts of the world (America, India etc.) Several new food was brought to England from the Americas like turkey or potato.

    PUNISHMENTS

    pillory.JPGIn Tudor Times people weren’t often put in prison. After their trial, a physical punishment was usually given which were often harsh; e.g. flogging; the pillory or the stocks. (The pillory was a wooden frame on a pole with holes through which a person’s head and hands were placed. The frame was then locked. The stocks was a wooden frame with holes through which a person’s feet.)

    More serious crimes were punished by death. Beheading was reserved for the rich, ordinary people were usually hanged.

    SOCIETY

    • most of the population lived in villages and made their living from farming;
    • towns and cities were growing because of industry (mining of coal, tin and lead)
    • the Royalty
    • the Nobility (they owned the land)
    • the Gentry and rich merchants (they had a family coat-of-arms, land; never did manual work)
    • the Middle class – yeomen and craftsmen (owned their own land but worked on the land, too; able to read and write)
    • the Poor: farmers, wage labourers (often illiterate and very poor)

    SCHOOL

    Boys usually went to a ‘petty school’ (like nursery) first then moved onto grammar school when they were about seven. The school day began at 6 am in summer and 7 am in winter (people went to bed early and got up early in those days). Lunch was from 11 am to 1 pm. School finished at about 5 pm. Boys went to school 6 days a week and there were few holidays.

    Many Tudor children learned to read and write. Discipline in Tudor schools was harsh. The teacher often had a stick with twigs attached to it for hitting boys. When they were about 15 or 16 the brightest boys might go to one of England’s two universities, Oxford and Cambridge. Of course many boys did not go to school at all. If they were lucky they might get a 7-year apprenticeship and learn a trade.
    As for girls, in a rich family a tutor usually taught them at home. In a middle class family their mother might teach them. Upper class and middle class women were educated. However lower class girls were not. Tudor children who did not go to school were expected to work.

    GAMES and FREETIME

    For the rich: jousting; hunting and falconry; billiards; chess and backgammon; cards; the theatre; music and dancing; reading; children played with dolls

    For the poor: playing dice instead of cards; Nine men‘s morris; shove ha’penny; the theatre; dancing; rough / mob football (no rules); children played cup and ball.

  • The Barley Mow

    barley – the most important ingredient of beer-making (beer-brewing)

    the barley mow – the person who shears (= mows) barley in the field

    Types of beer in Britain:

    • Lager from the continent
    • Bitter
    • India pale ale (IPA)
    • Brown ale (Mid ale)
    • Stout / porter
    • Old ale (barleywine)
    • Irish red ale
    • Strong Scotch

    beerrainbow

    Imperial units of liquid:

    imperialunits-liq

    1 gill: 142 mL (0,142 l)
    1 pint: 568 mL (0,568 l)
    1 quart: 1137 mL (1,137 l)
    1 gallon: 4546 mL (4,546 l)
    1 barrel: 158,9 l

    Here’s a repetition pub-song from the Elizabethan era. Listen to the performance of the Irish Rovers band and join in.

    THE BARLEY MOW

  • Tudor society

  • Names, terms and dates – The Tudors

     

    THE TUDORS
    King Henry VII (1485 – 1509) the first Tudor king who won the final battle of the War of Roses; he was a powerful monarch who saved a lot of money for Britain in the treasury
    treasury, the a place used for storing the money of the monarchs or the Church
    King Henry VIII (1509 – 1547) he had 6 wives and 3 legitimate children; he liked sports like hunting, jousting and tennis; he sang, played music and composed songs; he built a strong navy for Britain as well as palaces;

    he founded the Church of England
    King Edward VI (1547 – 1553) son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour; he was a boy king and died at the age of 15; a protestant
    Lady Jane Grey was queen for 9 days until Mary, daughter of Henry VIII came and put her in prison
    Queen Mary I (1553 – 1558) daughter of Henry VIII and first wife Catherine of Aragon ;a Roman Catholic; made England catholic again and she ordered to execute protestants (ß nickname: Bloody Mary); she was very unpopular when she got married to the King of Spain
    Queen Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603) daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn; a powerful and strict monarch who made England protestant again; she sent explorers to find new lands for the British Empire; nickname: the Virgin Queen; she won battles against the Spanish Armada on the sea
    gentry, the people from high social class
    yeoman, a a man who owned and land and also worked on it
    jousting knights riding horses and fighting with a lance
    falconry hunting with falcons or hawks
    Pastime with Good Company a song composed by Henry VIII, named as The King’s Ballad
    petty school a school for young boys, like a nursery or kindergarten
    illiterate unable to read and write
    galleon, a a ship with sails for fighting and carrying goods
    Renaissance, the period in Europe btw. 14th and  17th centuries, where people got interested in ancient Greece and Rome again which produced new developments in arts: literature, music, painting and architecture
    curfew, a when people mustn’t go out to the street at night
    flogging a type of punishment when people were whipped and hit by sticks
    pillory, the a type of punishment; a wooden frame on a pole with holes through which a person’s head and hands were placed
    stock, the a type of punishment;  a wooden frame with holes through which a person’s feet was put

  • Tudor voyage

    Plan a sea voyage and learn more about The Tudors and explorations in this interactive game.

  • The King’s Ballad

    Pastime With Good Company was composed (and usually played and sung) by King Henry VIII.

    Listen and join in.

    1

    Pastime with good company, I love and shall until I die.
    Grudge who lust, but none deny,
    so God be pleas’d thus live will I.
    For my pastance, hunt, sing and dance, my heart is set:
    all goodly sport, for my comfort, who shall me let?

    2

    Youth must have some dalliance of good or ill some pastance.
    Company me thinks then best, all thoughts and fancies to digest.
    For idleness, is chief mistress of vices all:
    then who can say but mirth and play is best of all?

    3

    Company with honesty, is virtue, vices to flee.
    Company is good and ill, but every man hath his free will.
    The best ensue, the worst eschew, my mind shall be;
    virtue to use, vice to refuse, thus shall I use me.

  • Tudor Monarchs

    henryviiKing Henry VII (1485 – 1509)

    • defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth (that ended the War of Roses);
    • he kept England peaceful, and saved a lot of money for the country’s treasury;

    henryviiiKing Henry VIII (1509 – 1547)

    • spent a lot of money away (liked hunting, jousting, singing, music, dancing, sports etc.);
    • had 6 wives (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived);
    • had 3 legitimate children (Mary, Elizabeth, Edward);
    • built a strong navy;
    • founded the Church of England (Anglican Church of protestants)

    King Edward VI (1547 – 1553)edwardvi

    • was a boy king, he reigned under the protection of his uncle, the Duke of Somerset;
    • never married, no children; usually ill, died at the age of 15;

    ladyjanegreyLady Jane Grey

    • after Edward’s death she was named the next in the line to the throne because she was a protestant à Henry VIII’s daughter Mary rode to London with her followers, put Jane in prison and executed her

    maryiQueen Mary I (1553 – 1558)

    • a Roman Catholic and forced to make English people Roman Catholic again;
    • married to King Philip of Spain;
    • a very unpopular monarch;
    • nicknamed Bloody Mary because she murdered many people who were mainly protestants and against her will

    elizabethiQueen Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603)

    • after Mary’s death she came to the throne and made England protestant again;
    • made Britain an empire when the British discovered a lot of new lands;
    • wore white make-up to hide the scars left by smallpox;
    • called to be the most powerful monarch because she was very strict;
    • the ‘Virgin Queen’- never married, no children;
    • she named her nephew, King James VI of Scotland (a Stuart) as her heir to the English throne –> he became King James I of ENG (and WAL, SCO)

  • The life of William Shakespeare

    WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

    He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon maybe on 23rd April 1564. Nobody is sure about his date of birth. He was baptised on 26th April, and in those times people were baptised 3 days after their birth. William was the third child of John and Mary Shakespeare. His father was a leather merchant and glove maker and his mother was a ‘local-landed heiress’, which meant that she came from a wealthy family. Her father was a rich farmer.

    Visit THIS website to watch the Shakesepare video and do the activities.

     William had two older sisters, Joan and Judith, and three younger brothers called Gilbert, Richard and Edmund.

    Young William’s education probably went to school at King’s New School in Stratford where he learnt Latin and Greek languages and History.

    On November 28th 1582, at the age of 18, William married Anne Hathaway. Anne was 26 years old when they got married. They had a baby called Susanna in 1583. Two years later, Anne gave birth to twins – a boy called Hamnet and a girl called Judith. Sadly, at the age of 11, Hamnet died.

    In the mid-1580s, William arrived in London. When he first arrived in the capital city, he worked as a horse attendant at some of London’s theatres. By 1592, he was earning money as an actor and a playwright. He was managing partner of a company of actors called The Lord Chamberlin’s Men. Their name was changed to The King’s Men after King James I was crowned the new king of England.

    By 1697, William earned so much money that he bought the second largest house in his hometown of Stratford. Because it took about four days to get from London to Stratford by horse, William only ever went home during the forty days of Lent when the theatres were closed.

    Shakespeare wrote plays called tragedies and comedies (more than 38 altogether). He acted in several of his plays in front of Queen Elizabeth I. He often included the themes of religion, love and the monarchy in his plays. Some of his tragedies are: Romeo and Juliet; Othello; Macbeth; King Lear; Hamlet. Some of his comedies are: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Much Ado About Nothing; As You Like It; The Taming of the Shew.

    Shakespeare also wrote sonnets – a sonnet is a poem with 14 lines. Shakespeare’s sonnets were about love, death and loss.

    William Shakespeare died on April 23rd 1616, which was the same day as his birthday, at the age of 52. He is buried in the Holy Trinity churchyard in Stratford.

    Look at the drawings and tell Shakespeare’s life.

  • Buckingham Palace, Her Majesty’s London home

    QUEEN ELIZABETH II

    • she became queen in 1952;
    • she meets politicians and other monarchs in her office at Buckingham Palace;
    • in the afternoons, she visits (or opens) public buildings (e.g.: schools, hospitals etc.);
    • in the summer, she has three garden parties at the palace;
    • she keeps the tradition of having breakfast exactly at 8.30 with her husband, Prince Philip while listening to traditional Scottish bagpipe music played by a piper in the Palace Gardens;
    • at dinner, she starts to eat first and when she finishes eating, everybody must finish;
    • she never accepts a phone call during dinner, not even in case of an emergency

    Read more HERE and HERE

     

    ABOUT BUCKINGHAM PALACE

    • tourists can visit several rooms of the palace in August and September (while the Queen is in Scotland at Balmoral Castle);
    • The Palace Gardens, the Queen’s Gallery and The Royal Mews can be visited all year round;
    • you know that Her Majesty is at home if: the flag at the top of the palace flies and outside the front gate there are four Foot Guards (otherwise there are only 2 of them);
    • there are seven people whose only job is to take after Her Majesty (and her dogs);
    • the palace is like a small town (with its own police station, hospital, post offices, cinema, swimming pool etc.)

    Read more HERE