Henry VIII's Tudor Christmas

Summary

Dan Snow's History Hit: Henry VIII's Tudor Christmas

Release Date: December 11, 2024

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Introduction: Exploring Tudor Christmas at Hampton Court Palace

In this episode of Dan Snow's History Hit, historian Dan Snow delves into the lavish and intricate celebrations of Christmas during the Tudor era, specifically under the reign of King Henry VIII. Filmed on-site at the historic Hampton Court Palace, Snow sets the stage for an immersive exploration of how Tudor Christmas traditions have shaped contemporary celebrations.

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Hampton Court Palace: From Cardinal Wolsey to Henry VIII

Dan Snow begins his journey at Hampton Court Palace, originally constructed by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII's close advisor. Tracy Borman, Chief Curator at Hampton Court, provides historical context, explaining how Wolsey's extravagant residence became the crown jewel of Tudor England after Wolsey's fall from grace.

"Hampton Court was built by Cardinal Wolsey, who was originally the son of a butcher from Ipswich," [05:26] Borman notes, highlighting Wolsey's ascent to power and his penchant for opulence. The palace's grand architecture and expansive parklands made it an ideal location for Henry VIII, who was fond of hunting and hosting grand festivities.

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The Great Hall: Heart of Tudor Christmas Celebrations

Moving into the palace's Great Hall, Tracy Borman describes it as the epicenter of Tudor Christmas merriment. Henry VIII expanded Wolsey's original structure, intent on creating a space unparalleled in grandeur.

"He wanted the Great Hall to be bigger and better than any other in the world," [09:46] Borman emphasizes, showcasing the room's impressive hammer beam ceiling adorned with Anne Boleyn's emblems—a testament to the political and personal influences of Henry's reign.

The Great Hall wasn't just a venue for feasting; it served multiple purposes, including functioning as a communal eating space for courtiers and a private dining area for the king and his immediate family.

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Tudor Christmas Traditions: A Blend of Pagan and Christian Practices

Dan Snow and Tracy Borman explore the multifaceted nature of Tudor Christmas, which seamlessly integrated pre-Christian mid-winter festivities with Christian religious observance.

"We tend to think that most of our Christmas derives from the Victorians, but actually, the Tudor links are very strong," [08:21] Borman explains, mentioning elements like carol singing, mistletoe, and traditional foods such as turkey and mince pies that originated during the Tudor period.

The festivities spanned the entire twelve days of Christmas, a stark contrast to the modern focus on Christmas Day alone. This extended celebration included continuous revelry, with no respite until Epiphany on January 6th.

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Feasting and Entertainment: The Extravagance of Tudor Court

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the elaborate feasts and entertainments that characterized Tudor Christmas. Richard Fitch, a member of Hampton Court's historic kitchens team, provides an insider's view of the culinary and logistical marvels required to feed the royal court.

"In his first Christmas, 1509, Henry spent the equivalent of over £13 million on Christmas," [18:12] Borman reveals, emphasizing the king's desire to distance himself from his father's reputation as a miser. The Great Hall would overflow with a diverse array of dishes, from roast beef and venison to exotic desserts like sugar models and elaborate pastries.

Entertainment was equally grand, featuring plays, masked performances, and the playful inversion of social hierarchies through roles like the Lord of Misrule and boy bishops. Henry VIII himself was known to don disguises, famously impersonating Robin Hood to surprise and amuse his courtiers.

"There would be non-stop entertainment, really," [15:40] Borman states, describing how festivities included everything from theatrical performances to interactive games that allowed courtiers to engage in playful social role reversals.

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Religious Observance: Balancing Festivity with Piety

Despite the extravagant celebrations, religion remained a pivotal aspect of Tudor Christmas. The episode highlights how the Tudors balanced indulgence with devout observance.

"Religion was pivotal. And so the monarch would go to church... It was about charity... providing excess so that it can go to the poor," [20:19] Borman explains, illustrating the dual nature of Christmas as both a time for celebration and spiritual reflection.

Advent, a period of fasting leading up to Christmas, prepared the populace for the forthcoming festivities, ensuring that by Christmas Day, everyone was ready to partake in the abundance without restraint.

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Kitchens of Hampton Court: The Engine Behind the Feasts

Transitioning to the kitchens, Dan Snow and Tracy Borman shed light on the monumental effort required to sustain Tudor Christmas celebrations. Richard Fitch describes the kitchens as a bustling hub, staffed by around 200 individuals who worked tirelessly to prepare meals for the court's 450 members.

"It's a veritable hell for those working in them because they had a thousand people to feed at least twice a day," [24:30] Borman remarks, highlighting the sheer scale and complexity of Tudor culinary operations. The kitchens were responsible not only for cooking but also for the procurement and management of vast quantities of ingredients, often sourced locally to support the court's insatiable appetite.

Fitch adds, "At court, we're talking wine and beer and ale," [31:34] emphasizing the variety of beverages that accompanied the feasts, reflecting both the local and imported tastes of the era.

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Political Undertones: Festivities as a Display of Power

Every aspect of Tudor Christmas was imbued with political significance. Tracy Borman discusses how feasting, gift-giving, and entertainment were all carefully orchestrated to project Henry VIII's wealth and power, both domestically and across Europe.

"Pretty much everything is political with Henry, including Christmas," [25:52] Borman asserts, explaining that lavish displays were meant to assert Henry's dominance and secure his legacy as a formidable monarch.

Gift-giving, especially on New Year's Day, was regulated to reflect one's status, ensuring that courtiers adhered to strict protocols that reinforced the hierarchical structure of the court.

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The Decline and Restoration of Christmas Post-Tudor Era

The episode concludes by tracing the transformation of Christmas celebrations following the Tudor period. The Puritans' rise to power in the mid-17th century led to the banning of Christmas, viewing it as a hedonistic and un-Christian festival. However, with the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II in 1660, Christmas regained its prominence, blending traditional Tudor customs with emerging new traditions.

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Conclusion: The Lasting Legacy of Tudor Christmas

Dan Snow wraps up the episode by reflecting on the enduring influence of Tudor Christmas traditions on modern celebrations. From the extended festivity period to the integration of religious and secular practices, the legacy of Henry VIII's Christmas continues to resonate in contemporary holiday customs.

"By the end of the 16th century, Christmas was a tangle of pagan and Christian," [34:10] Snow summarizes, underscoring the rich cultural tapestry that Tudor Christmas has woven into today's celebrations.

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Further Exploration and Recommendations

Listeners are encouraged to visit Hampton Court Palace's Christmas celebrations, which offer a hands-on experience of Tudor traditions through historical cookery, festive music, and immersive reenactments from December 21st to January 5th. Dan Snow recommends these events for anyone interested in experiencing the grandeur and spirit of Tudor Christmas firsthand.

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Notable Quotes:

• "Hampton Court was built by Cardinal Wolsey, who was originally the son of a butcher from Ipswich." — Tracy Borman [05:26]

• "He wanted the Great Hall to be bigger and better than any other in the world." — Tracy Borman [09:46]

• "In his first Christmas, 1509, Henry spent the equivalent of over £13 million on Christmas." — Tracy Borman [18:12]

• "Pretty much everything is political with Henry, including Christmas." — Tracy Borman [25:52]

• "By the end of the 16th century, Christmas was a tangle of pagan and Christian." — Dan Snow [34:10]

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Join Dan Snow next week as he explores Christmas celebrations in Georgian London, continuing his series on the Origins of Christmas.

Transcript

[Dan Snow]

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[Tracy Borman]

What a difference a day makes.

[Richard Fitch]

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[Dan Snow]

Welcome everybody. Welcome to Dan Snow's history hit. Today we're going to be exploring a version of Christmas that you're going to recognize that we're still very familiar with here in the uk. A Christmas of carol singing and mince pies and celebrating the 12 days, all of which really took shape in Tudor Britain. And what better place to come to discover the origins of excessive Christmas overindulgence, merrymaking than the HQ of the King of Excess himself, Henry viii. I'm standing now in the place where he wined and dined the great and the good, Europe's royalty over several days in the festive period. It's the Camelot. It's the Mar a lago of Henry VIII's court. It is Hampton Court Palace. I'm here on a beautiful, crisp winter's day. The skies are blue above me. There's frost on the lawn. My long suffering producer Marianna and I are waiting to be allowed in. So we're doing some recording in the freezing cold courtyard in front of Hampton Court, one of the greatest heritage sites in the uk. It feels like at any moment Henry's staff are going to come scuttling across this courtyard. The palace a hive of activity over the Christmas period. Stable doors, windows opening, closing, people bustling here and there, tradesmen carrying great mounds of fruit and vegetables, meat pies, greenery into the palace, into the kitchens. Some of it to be eaten, some to deck the halls and give it a festive feel. A chewed up Christmas at Hampton Court palace would have been a sensory delight. Decorations, entertainment, oh, and the rich aroma of England's best cooking. So here to find out more about Tudor Christmas and how it still influences our celebrations today, I'm gonna head inside. When it opens, I'm gonna defrost my little fingers and toes and I'm gonna meet with the very brilliant chief curator here, Tracy Borman. Also Richard Fitch, who's worked at Hampton Court Palace's historic kitchens team for the last 32 years. They're the best possible people to take me through the delights of a Tudor Christmas at Hampton Court. Tracy, good to see you.

[Tracy Borman]

Nice to see you, Dan, and welcome to Hampton Court.

[Dan Snow]

Yeah, it's so nice. I've done the pod so many times, but I think I've ever done one in situ with you in your place.

[Tracy Borman]

Of work and you know, you can't beat it actually, because the topic we're going to be talking about, it absolutely suits this palace.

[Dan Snow]

It does. And we're lucky because the weather does. It feels Christmassy.

[Tracy Borman]

It does. There's definitely a nip in the air and we've got our decks up already.

[Dan Snow]

So let's, before we get into Christmas, let's quickly just get avrocapinal. Hampton Court, not originally a royal palace.

[Tracy Borman]

No, actually it was built by Cardinal Thomas Woolsey, Henry VIII's right hand man. And this is the best bit really to introduce Woolsey's palace. We're standing in base court. This would be the first thing that visitors to Woolsey would have experienced. It's kind of like a hotel because all around us would have been courtiers lodgings. It was the grandest palace really in England, which Henry VIII didn't particularly like. So he later acquired, was given, stole Hampton Court from Wolsey.

[Dan Snow]

It's very, very grand for a cardinal. What was he thinking?

[Tracy Borman]

Well, and also a cardinal made good. He was just the Son of a butcher from Ipswich, and yet he rose to become the most powerful man in England. And he loved to kind of COVID up his humble origins by spending big. And of course, that's why he bu Hampton Court. And whilst here, he insisted on being served on, you know, golden platters and, you know, pewter wasn't good enough for him. But this great style soon courted some enemies. The sort of nobleman who came here thought, what is this butcher's son doing in a palace like this? And even Henry himself became a bit jealous, I think.

[Dan Snow]

And then you'll know this better than anybody. The weird thing about English and British kings and queens is they can never quite settle on a palace they actually like living, could they? But this becomes almost like the English Versailles, as it sort of palace outside London for the royal family for generations.

[Tracy Borman]

This is the countryside. And what was brilliant about Hampton Court in Henry's eyes is the hunting grounds. It's surrounded by magnificent parkland. And of course, Henry loved to hunt. Particularly in his early reign, he did nothing but hunt. He would be out all day and so, yeah, this was lovely. It was right by the Thames. The Thames in the Tudor period was really like the M25. That's how you traveled. It would have been absolutely filled to bursting with barges carrying the king, his courtiers, messengers and, of course, goods here. And that's part of the reason why the court had to keep moving, because after about two or three months, they'd literally exhausted the supplies around here. They'd eaten everything and it kind of needed fumigating as well. I have to say, after three months with 1,000 people in residence, that makes.

[Dan Snow]

Me so happy to think of the Thames like that. So going to Whitehall palace, going to the Tower, all of that would have been the great artery. Henry would have spent a lot of time on the water.

[Tracy Borman]

It's no coincidence that the great Tudor palaces were all built next to the Thames.

[Dan Snow]

Does Henry just move in or does he make it even grander?

[Tracy Borman]

Well, believe it or not, we don't know exactly what happened with the changeover from Woolsey to Henry. It's likely, I think, that Woolsey gifted Hampton Court to Henry because he knew he was starting to lose favour. Late 1520s, Henry wants his annulment from Catherine. Woolsey isn't able to get it for him. So have Hampton Court as a kind of consolation prize. Henry takes up residence here very quickly. And of course, typical Henry. What do you do when inheriting one of the biggest palaces in England? You enlarge it. And he particularly Pays attention to the king. He's very interested in feasting and also the sports facilities. Installing tennis courts, bowling greens. This is his pleasure palace. And he also has it in mind for Anne Boleyn, of course, the scandalous second queen, and he starts decorating it with her emblems even before she becomes queen.

[Dan Snow]

They survived them. Survive them.

[Tracy Borman]

Yeah. Henry did his best to take them down after her fall. But we're standing right by Anne Boleyn's archway, so named because you can see the intertwined A and H carved into the ceiling just there before we go up into the great hall.

[Dan Snow]

Well, you mentioned the feast in there. You mentioned decoration. Was Christmas special here?

[Tracy Borman]

Christmas was the big event in the Tudor calendar. Everybody celebrated, rich and poor alike. Hampton Court would have been adorned with magnificent decorations and lots of greenery, as you might imagine. Holly, ivy, as per the carol. And most important of all, a huge yule log. So this was the centerpiece really of the Tudor decorations. They bring in the yule log and it's lit and it stays lit for all 12 days of Christmas. But let's go up now and I can show you the great hall because that really was the heart of the Tudor Christmas.

[Dan Snow]

Let's do it. We're climbing these wonderful stairs here through Anne Boleyn's archway.

[Tracy Borman]

Yes.

[Dan Snow]

And what's this suite of buildings we're going to go into now?

[Tracy Borman]

So we're about to enter the Tudor state apartment and we're starting with the biggest and the best of the rooms. So I'll just let us in here. Here we are. The absolute show off great hall. Incredible, isn't it? Even today, it just takes your breath away. And that was Henry's intention. So he built this great hall onto Wolsey's palace and he wanted it to be bigger and better than any other great hall, not just in the kingdom, but in the world. And it's still, you know, one of the best examples, if not the best, of a Tudor great hall.

[Dan Snow]

This must have been mind blowing for people 500 years ago.

[Tracy Borman]

Yeah, yeah. And just the craftsmanship, the engineering that went into this is quite remarkable. It's still got the original hammer beam ceiling there decorated with Anne Boleyn's emblems. Because the great hall was all about Anne Boleyn. He had her falcon emblem everywhere. Now, when she fell from grace, those that could be reached were quickly removed, but they couldn't quite get to the ones in the ceiling. And you might see, Dan, just looking down on us, those little faces in the eaves there, there are little faces peering down at us. And they were there deliberately to remind everybody who was being entertained below that the King was listening to everything. So they are called eavesdroppers. And that's where the name comes from.

[Dan Snow]

Hey, there you go. Love it.

[Tracy Borman]

So, so astonishing. And you'll see lining the walls, these magnificent tapestries which Henry VIII himself commissioned. And of course they faded over the years, but when you look at the reverse, then the original kind of golds and reds and blues, they really pop and they tell the story of Abraham. This is a PR stunt on Henry's part because Abraham in the Bible sort of needs a son. And so, you know, this helps to justify Henry's annulment from Catherine of Aragon.

[Dan Snow]

It's funny when every single interior design decision is political.

[Tracy Borman]

It's fascinating, isn't it? Nothing is accidental in the Tudor court. So here in the great hall, it is spectacular. But it was also kind of a staff canteen, really. You tend to think of these great feasts with Henry there and his wife on the top table. But actually he didn't eat in here all that often, really. Special occasions like Christmas or Easter. Otherwise it's where the kind of courtiers came twice a day. So typically they ate twice a day. And so, yes, you have to imagine it as a staff canteen, but also as a bedroom. So it was crowded at Hampton Court when the King was in residence.

[Dan Snow]

Are these just people who are very posh, who just come and live with the King? Are they invited? Have they got jobs or they just go, I'm the Earl of someone, I'm just going to come and hang out?

[Tracy Borman]

They're friends of the King, they have titles and positions at court become almost hereditary. So the Duke of Norfolk's position will be inherited by his son or his nephew. And so it's a very tight knit circle, the Tudor court. They might have positions, but really they have a title. They don't really have to work very hard if they are high ranking. Of course, the lower ranking servants, they really do have to put in the hours in order to serve at the Tudor court.

[Dan Snow]

But yes, but if you get yourself invited to court, then that's just a grave. You just cruise around with Henry and it's like Christmas. What were you doing? Oh, we're just having our big Christmas party. You're just at court, enjoying Christmas here.

[Tracy Borman]

You're there because of course, it's where all the riches, the luxury and the power are and it's where you can get promotions, where you can get lands and titles, but there are Risks. Personally, I wouldn't have come anywhere near the court because of course, if you fly too close to the flame, I.e. henry VIII, then quite a few people discovered that it would be their downfall.

[Dan Snow]

So you mentioned special occasions. Henry would have been sitting right up there on that platform enjoying Christmas in this room.

[Tracy Borman]

Yes, he would.

[Dan Snow]

Would it be recogniz?

[Tracy Borman]

There's lots that's recognizable in a Tudor Christmas. We tend to think that most of our Christmas derives from the Victorians, but actually the Tudor links are very strong. For example, singing carols, the mistletoe and some of the food, like turkey, mince pies, even Brussels sprouts, all go back to the Tudor period. And Father Christmas was there too, except the Tudors called him Captain Christmas. There was revelries as well, and of course a religious heart to the Christmas. So we would definitely recognize it. But I think what we wouldn't recognize is just the scale of it and the stamina, because for us, it's all about Christmas Day, really, and maybe a few leftovers. On Boxing Day, the Tudors celebrated all twelve days of Christmas with equal revelry. Like there was no stinting, there was no sense of, okay, we've done Christmas Day, now we can relax a bit. It was the same level on each of the 12 days.

[Dan Snow]

And would they fast or prepare themselves for it? Was there a sort of lean period leading up to it?

[Tracy Borman]

There certainly was. So Advent was a time for fasting. So of course everybody was really ready for a party and a good feast by the time that Christmas came round.

[Dan Snow]

Isn't that strange that we completely inverted that today? Advent, December, with Christmas parties and work parties all crazy, and then we all go on no booze diets the minute Boxing Day's finished.

[Tracy Borman]

I know there was no such thing as dry January for the Tudors because they carried on celebrating all the way up to Epiphany on the 6th of January, and it kind of went out with a bang. You know, that was one of the biggest feasts. So, yeah, they would have had much more stamina, much bigger stomachs, I think.

[Dan Snow]

Than us today, given what came in the next century. And the criticisms of Christmas are sort of pagan, you know, influenced festival. When you're talking about yule logs and greenery, does it feel like a very religious moment or does this feel like when there's a bit of a deeper past that's been connected with here as well?

[Tracy Borman]

Absolutely. For centuries there had been a sort of mid winter festival, if you like. And even back to Roman times, they celebrated 25th December in particular. And so Christmas was sort of later adopted, obviously by the Christian Church, and they absorbed all of those traditions and they made it a celebration of Christ's birth. So it was both really. It was still quite a pagan festival, but it was deeply, deeply religious for the Tudors.

[Dan Snow]

And Henry was a religious man.

[Tracy Borman]

He certainly was.

[Dan Snow]

Okay, paint me a picture, Tracy, of what was going on in this room on Christmas. One of those nights of Christmas.

[Tracy Borman]

Okay, so non stop entertainment, really. So plays would be performed, masks. And what I love is this particular person who was very instrumental at Christmas called the Master of Revels. And really the idea was that everything was inverted at Christmas, so the whole social order would be turned on its head. So you get boy bishops, you know, young boys who then go about wearing bishops hats and tell the actual bishops what to do. And the Lord of Misrule, the Master of Revels, he would actually be able to command the king himself. And one particular lord, early in Henry's reign, cheekily asked the king if he could have £5 towards his expenses. And luckily, Henry VIII saw the joke and he was happy to give him the money and to be commanded by him. So they liked playing with the social order when it came to Christmas. And there would be disguisings. Henry viii particularly to don a disguise, famously Robin Hood on one occasion when he kind of. He was forever bursting into the chamber of his wives and saying, you know, guess who I am today. Catherine of Aragon certainly loved it. And she played along, as, of course, did his courtiers, pretending not to know that this is the king. And the revelries would continue long into the night. And of course, it was also here in the Great hall, what is for us one of the highlights, Gift giving. Now, this happened on New Year's Day, not on Christmas Day. And like everything else in the Tudor court, it's all about rank. Now, Elizabeth I, my favorite of the Tudor monarchs, she didn't want to chance getting any rubbish gifts, so she actually set down on paper, parchment, what people had to give, the value of their gift according to their rank, really. So you couldn't turn up with something substandard. You had to give, you know, X amount of gold or whatever it might be. And the presents ranged from gifts of animals. Henry VIII was often given animals to bejeweled toothpicks. You get a lot of sugar coming in in Elizabeth's reign. So people had tooth problems, tooth decay, and even a rather risque fountain given by Anne Boleyn to Henry VIII in 1533. Which had three naked ladies around the outside.

[Dan Snow]

I must say, if I was the Lord of Misrule, you'd have morning after night before anxiety. You sort of wake up on your pillow and think, did I push it a bit far with Henry VIII last night? Because today he's back in church.

[Tracy Borman]

Yes, exactly. You'd worry, wouldn't you?

[Dan Snow]

That would not be a job that I would want anything to do with.

[Tracy Borman]

No. It probably won't surprise you that Henry VIII did not stint on expenditure for Christmas. In his first Christmas, 1509, he spent the equivalent of over £13 million on Christmas. So he wanted to make a statement. His father had died being so notorious as a sort of miser, justifiably or not. And so Henry VIII was going to be different to his father. Everyone was going to have the biggest party that England could remember.

[Dan Snow]

So obviously we associate music with Henry VIII's court and particularly with Christmas, was that. Were there. Were there. Were there well known Christmas songs?

[Tracy Borman]

Well, yes, they would have had carols, some of which are still sung today. There would have been lots of different instruments played. We're now walking through, by the way, the great watching chamber. So just in that far corner there, those double doors, that's where the King would have emerged from his privy chamber. And then we're going to follow in his footsteps along the processional route, because everybody would have been here to kind of wish him well, wish him the joy of the season. And music would have been played as he made his way along the processional route, which, as you can see, we've kind of hung with Tudor style tapestries. Just on our right here, there is.

[Dan Snow]

The man himself, there's the famous painting.

[Tracy Borman]

There is the famous portrait of Henry.

[Dan Snow]

Standing in his power pose.

[Tracy Borman]

Absolutely.

[Dan Snow]

And this route. Sorry. So this going from his private chambers. Where are we off to?

[Tracy Borman]

So where we're off to is really the key part of any Tudor Christmas, which is chapel. So there's a lot of talk today about the real meaning of Christmas being lost. The Tudors certainly didn't lose it. Religion was pivotal. And so the monarch would go to church. Absolutely. Not just Christmas morning, but perhaps two, even three times a day. Elizabeth I spent most of Christmas in prayer, so it was absolutely integral. And of course, the courtiers would all have to follow suit. And just here on our left, this was the entrance to the royal pew, so you get a bird's eye view of the Tudor chapel from up there.

[Dan Snow]

So these are periods of calm amidst all the banqueting and celebrations.

[Tracy Borman]

Absolutely. This is where Henry would come to worship and also enjoy a bit of peace from his courtiers. Although he loved a good party, certainly in his earlier reign. But later on he much preferred privacy and quiet. So he became even more dedicated to observing the religious elements of Christmas, which.

[Dan Snow]

Is a bit strange because he's famous for upending our religious arrangements. But he, in his own mind, he had some consistency there. He still believed he was being true to the faith.

[Tracy Borman]

Absolutely. He remained a good Catholic throughout and always a very pious king. And particularly, as I said, in the later years of his reign when he'd grown tired of all the revelry. And he was quite relatable that Tracy, I'm friendly. It is relatable. And he didn't want to stay up late. And also he was in a lot of pain by then. He was incapacitated.

[Dan Snow]

Can we change the subject, please? Okay, so actually, so the nature of courts really depends on the appetites, the enthusiasm, the energy levels of the sovereign.

[Tracy Borman]

Yeah, absolutely. You see the nature of a Tudor Christmas change during the period, for example, when Henry's son Edward is on the throne. This is now the height of the Reformation and things like boy bishops definitely do not make the cut. And there's much more about religious observance. It's slightly less fun than it had been in his father's reign.

[Dan Snow]

This is Dan Snow's history. Hit more after this. To everyone else, this is a desk, but to you, this is opportunity.

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[Tracy Borman]

So Dan, I'm going to take you down to the kitchens now because of course food is and was a pivotal part of Christmas.

[Dan Snow]

I can imagine what Henry's sort of praying up here or parting up here. I can imagine the kitchens were at full tilt the whole time.

[Tracy Borman]

Yes, they would have been. And they were described as being a veritable hell for those working in them because of course, they had a thousand people to feed at least twice a day. More if you're the king. But people rich and poor would have enjoyed a bit of indulgence at Christmas. Everybody got the day off, which was actually quite rare, and even the poorest members of society would have enjoyed a few little luxuries. A bit more meat, perhaps on Christmas Day.

[Dan Snow]

Is elite Christmas reflected outside normal people, outside the walls. Here they're doing similar things.

[Tracy Borman]

Absolutely.

[Dan Snow]

With a different budget.

[Tracy Borman]

Yes, exactly. A very different budget. But it does filter down religion, also very important. And going to church, crucial for all members of society. But there would have been games and a richer diet than usual, even some sporting activity and of course, music as well. But Henry clamped down on some of the more boisterous games as his reign progressed because he wanted the young men of his realm to focus on military training even on Christmas Day.

[Dan Snow]

Like everything with Henry, what is just fun and what is political, what's strategic about the way Christmas is set up here?

[Tracy Borman]

Pretty much everything is political with Henry, including Christmas. On the one hand, he wants to send out a signal to the rest of Europe that he is the most magnificent king in Christendom. But also, when you look at what happens on a particular Christmas, for example, gift giving, people are watching who's giving what to who. And one particularly awkward Christmas was when Catherine of Aragon gave Henry a very lavish gift, and I'm afraid he hadn't got anything for her. Well, here we are, we're on the outside of the Tudor kitchens, and you're in for a treat because Richard Fitch knows everything there is to know about eating in the Tudor court.

[Dan Snow]

Thanks for having me, Tracy.

[Tracy Borman]

It's been a pleasure.

[Dan Snow]

Hi, Richard.

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Hello, Dan.

[Dan Snow]

This feels like a sort of palatial space as well. It's about two or three stories high, enormous, wonderful wooden roof. The biggest fireplace I've ever seen in my life.

[Boost Mobile Ad]

It's one of six. It's 11 meters to the top of the roof.

[Dan Snow]

And this is probably not the most important point, but I like the way there's a camber on the floor here. There's these big flagstones, and they're all on a very slight angle. Is that because all of the kitchen waste would get scooped down and pushed into a drain in the middle?

[Boost Mobile Ad]

Yeah, absolutely. It's the waste disposal.

[Dan Snow]

It's clever that we have this image, don't we, of Henry as this great sort of glutton sitting there at the table with a big chicken leg he's gnawing on. Is that. Is that fair?

[Boost Mobile Ad]

Certainly at the end of his life, he's a big, large lad, likes some food, and so that would be fair, but it's certainly not fair to think of him for his entire life like that. He's a young, virile, the most handsome prince in the whole of Europe. He just happens to have a bad rep for liking a meal.

[Dan Snow]

So talk me through one of these famous Henrichian feasts. How many courses? What kind of food was served?

[Boost Mobile Ad]

We're talking three courses, but those courses all contain what we would consider to be a mix of sweet and savory.

[Dan Snow]

So your first course would have a sweet element to it as well.

[Boost Mobile Ad]

Has a sweet element to it. Probably the sort of thing we consider to be a condiment now, but made into a dish. So rather than applesauce, it will be a stewed apple dish sat there for you to consume, and you can have that with whatever you choose. There's no real rules as to how you mix and match it.

[Dan Snow]

You would have been served the plate of food, or is it sherries across.

[Boost Mobile Ad]

The table, it's shared across the table.

[Dan Snow]

And was there etiquette around that you allowed to reach for things before your senior?

[Boost Mobile Ad]

You're supposed to reach for the things that are closest to you, that are facing you. So if we were sat opposite each other at the table, you'd eat from your side of the serving bowl and I'd eat from my side. You're supposed to loosen your belt before you sit down, so that you're not sitting there groaning and embarrassing yourself and trying to ease some comfort in by loosening your waistline halfway through the meal.

[Dan Snow]

Certainly at Christmas, these meals would have been epic in proportion.

[Boost Mobile Ad]

They're large. They're probably not as large as we imagine. A lot of our views of historic feasting comes from film and tv, but it's about the having choice. Whereas most people in the country don't have choice of what they consume, here at Court, the choice is that luxury.

[Dan Snow]

So it's less the volume of food, but more the number of dishes, the exoticism of those dishes. Absolutely. So as well as a stewed apple, take me through, what else might they have eaten here at Christmas?

[Boost Mobile Ad]

So one of the commonest things on the table will be roast beef, but that will also be supplemented with just plain boiled beef. There might be a swan on the top table, suckling pig and venison, pasties, sugar models, soups and stews and that sort of thing. So a huge selection compared to what normal people would be eating.

[Dan Snow]

And speaking of normal people outside these walls, what would be in common to those tables? What. What was the seasonal dish for them?

[Boost Mobile Ad]

So they're going to be trying to eat as much beef as they can, because it's the dish that you aspire to. It's why it's the common dish here at Court, because you're showing that you can just feed your staff what normal quote unquote, people are aspiring to get, but anything that you can save up. So a lot of dried foods that are then possibly rehydrated, and a lot of things that you've tried to keep from the harvest that'll have just passed earlier on in the year.

[Dan Snow]

The urban myth about a pigeon inside a other bird, inside another bird, inside another bird, is that a true thing?

[Boost Mobile Ad]

It's a sort of true recipe, but it dates from 1747. So it's a Yorkshire Christmas pie and it's first recorded by Hannah Glass in her recipe book of the time. So it doesn't go back much further than that. What your Tudors are after for really high status is birds, because they're not farmed. So farmed animals, anyone can really have if you've got the money, but hunted animals, so wildfowl, that's a sign of status.

[Dan Snow]

What about logistics? If you're feeding the whole court who are feasting for days on end, do you have any sense of what had to be laid in to support that?

[Boost Mobile Ad]

It's really complicated. We're only just starting to scratch the surface of comprehending their procurement system, but essentially, people part of the department for buying in things get sent out all over the country with lists each and being told to bring back X amount of wheat grain, pigs, cattle and so on. They're then delivered at a set time, checked for quality, paid for just like everyone else does, but probably just below market value. And then they get sent back out to buy more and more and more. So the court moves from house to house because they eat everything in the local area.

[Dan Snow]

There's not much long distance shipping, there's.

[Boost Mobile Ad]

Quite a lot, but it's very small quantities. So at court it's things like the spices, it's imported wine, it's sugars and sweet treats and things like that.

[Dan Snow]

And everyone's favorite tipple. We're talking wine or we're talking beer or spirits.

[Boost Mobile Ad]

At court we're talking wine and beer and ale, but outside of the court, we're talking ale. Beer is really quite new in the 16th century, having hops put into it. And it's the fashionable drink of its time.

[Dan Snow]

And the wine's all coming from southwest.

[Boost Mobile Ad]

France, the wine's coming from France, it's coming from Cyprus, it's coming from Germany, it's coming from Italy, but probably not as, as nice as we would consider today because it's not bottled, it comes in large casks, so it's obviously jiggled and bumped about in transit and rolled along to storage. And then once you've opened it, you've got 56 gallons that's starting to turn to vinegar. So you have to consume it pretty quickly or you change the quality of it by adding syrups and sugars and water to make it how you want it or how your diners want to consume.

[Dan Snow]

How many officers of the court are there?

[Boost Mobile Ad]

It fluctuates through Henry's reign, but there's an average of about 450 people within court, of which around 200 work within the kitchens or what we would consider to be the kitchen. So the room that we're stood in now where the food was produced, all the way through to storage and accountancy as well.

[Dan Snow]

So 200 people doing all that?

[Boost Mobile Ad]

Yeah, 200 people. So it's about half of the court. So as well as cooking for the rest of the court, they're cooking their own meals as well. There's about 110 linear meters of kitchen space. It takes up about a quarter of the ground floor. It's a sizable section to administer.

[Dan Snow]

We, for some reason, we do just associate the Tudor court with feasting, don't we? Do we think we're right to do that? Do you think feasting was as important for a Tudor Christmas as perhaps we, we make out?

[Boost Mobile Ad]

I think it's the visible part that we can associate with, but for the Tudors, it is. It's the religious part that's the important thing. So Christmas Day is not a major feasting time. That's reserved for epiphany. Christmas Day is all about going to church, chapel, listening to services, and it's about charity. It's about sharing with those less fortunate at court. It's about providing excess so that it can go to the poor at the gates or by bringing in people from the surrounding areas to dine at the very bottom end of the hall. So very much a performative charity in that sense, but charity nonetheless.

[Dan Snow]

What's so interesting, Henry would have been probably quite surprised to learn that today visitors find the kitchens down here as exciting, if not more so than the elite apartments up above.

[Boost Mobile Ad]

Yeah, absolutely. I think he'd be blown away that people cared that there was a kitchen. But for our visitors here at Hampton Court palace, it's the relatable thing. We all eat, most of us cook, and so there's no hurdle to understanding what you're seeing in this space. Whereas up in the Great hall, it's completely divorced from our normal reality.

[Dan Snow]

And people can come and get stuck in this Christmas.

[Boost Mobile Ad]

They can. They can come and visit us over Christmas and have a go at turning the spit and experience life at the bottom rung of the ladder.

[Dan Snow]

Clearly, the 12 Days of Christmas in Tudor England were joyous. They're very extensive. And while wealthy households enjoyed great feasts, elaborate entertainments, it sounds like even poor households were given opportunities to join in a little bit. And they were definitely given a little bit of a break, a well needed rest over the festive season. It was a time of religious observance and it was certainly a time of communal family fun. And you get a sense that by the end of the 16th century, Christmas was, well, it was a tangle of pagan and Christian. And like every period, every generation, there was a little bit new. Add in some Tudor customs thrown into the mix. But that certainly wouldn't last in the following century. Christmas came to an abrupt end during the mid 17th century. During the Civil War, the Puritans, who became hugely influential, banned Christmas in 1647. They viewed the holiday as a distraction, as heretical, as a threat to proper religious observance, discipline. To Cromwell and the Puritans, Christmas was just a festival of drunkenness, of promiscuity, gambling. It was pagan. It was not a proper religious festival according to the good books. In the mid 17th century, they passed laws. They mandated that shops and markets remain open. On the 25th of December, they locked people out of churches to prevent Christmas services. This ban on Christmas part of a Puritan drive to eliminate what they considered frivolous celebrations. And as you can imagine, that was all pretty unpopular. People loved Christmas, they love partying. There was unrest, there were even riots, and it drove Christmas underground. People continued celebrating away from the watchful eyes of the puritanical government. When Charles II came to the throne in 1660, it wasn't just a restoration of the monarchy, but a restoration of Christmas as well. The public celebrated, and I think that's one of the reasons he has his reputation as the merry monarch. Fun was allowed again. So we've heard about the ostentatious festivities of the upper echelons of the Tudor Court. Now join me next Wednesday where we're going to discover what Christmas was like on the streets of Georgian London. It was raucous, it was gaudy, it was rowdy. Make sure you follow in your podcast player and you'll get this episode dropped in there next Wednesday. This is my Origins of Christmas series. Thank you so much to my guests Tracy Borman and Richard Fitch at Hampton Court Palace. If you want to explore more Tudor Christmas, Hampton Court has celebrations all the way through. From 21st December to 5th January, you can enjoy historical Tudor cookery and festive music. I really recommend it, folks. There's an ice drink too. See you all next time.

[Tracy Borman]

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