Tudor England | 2. Daily life

Summary

History Extra Podcast: Tudor England | Episode 2 - Daily Life Release Date: December 5, 2024
Host: Emily Griffiths
Guest: Tracy Borman, Author, Historian, and Broadcaster

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Introduction

In the second episode of the History Extra Podcast series, host Emily Griffiths delves into Daily Life in Tudor England alongside renowned historian Tracy Borman. This episode paints a vivid picture of the everyday experiences of ordinary Tudors, contrasting them with the grandeur often associated with Tudor royalty and nobility. From housing and family structures to health, education, and leisure, Borman provides comprehensive insights into what life was truly like during this tumultuous period.

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The Average Ordinary Tudor

Tracy Borman opens the discussion by contextualizing the term "average Tudor." She emphasizes the rural nature of Tudor England, noting that up to 90% of the population lived in the countryside.

“[Tracy Borman, 02:46] The average ordinary Tudor would probably be a rural dweller. They might own a little bit of land or they might just work the land. This was a predominantly rural age.”

Borman highlights that while the Tudor court is often depicted with glamour and splendor, the majority of people led modest, land-dependent lives far removed from courtly intrigue.

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Living Conditions: Homes in Towns and Villages

The episode explores the stark differences between urban and rural living environments.

“[Tracy Borman, 03:37] Most people lived in half-timbered houses with thatched roofs, which were both fire hazards and infested with rodents. Wealthier individuals could afford brick homes, a status symbol that became more popular as the period progressed.”

In rural areas, homes were typically smaller and simpler, often comprising a single room where all daily activities occurred. In contrast, towns like London, Bristol, and Norwich grew significantly, with London becoming one of Europe's largest cities, characterized by tightly packed, timber-framed houses that contributed to health and safety issues.

Borman also touches on regional variations, such as the longhouses in Wales, where family and animals lived side by side—a practical arrangement for warmth and safety.

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Family Structure and Community

Tudor families were predominantly multigenerational, fostering a strong sense of community.

“[Tracy Borman, 09:04] Tudor families were very much multigenerational and there was a real sense of community. It took a village to raise a child.”

Extended families lived together, providing mutual support in raising children, caring for the sick, and looking after the elderly. This communal living was essential, especially in rural areas where life was harsh and support systems critical.

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The Role of Women

The Tudor era presents a paradox regarding women's roles. While prominent women like Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn are celebrated, the average woman faced significant restrictions.

“[Tracy Borman, 10:06] Women were viewed as second-class citizens. They couldn’t own property and were entirely submissive to the male members of their family.”

Despite the presence of influential women, societal norms strictly limited women's rights and freedoms, confining them to domestic roles and subservience.

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Marriage Customs

Marriage in Tudor England was both a personal and strategic affair, often influenced by social and economic considerations.

“[Tracy Borman, 11:06] The legal age for marriage was 14 for boys and just 12 for girls, though most married in their teens.”

Marriages typically involved multiple stages, including the reading of banns, marriage bonds, the wedding ceremony, and the nuptial Mass. However, practices like hand fasting allowed for more informal unions, as seen in the secret betrothal of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

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Children and Education

Childhood in Tudor England was brief, with individuals transitioning to adult responsibilities by the age of six.

“[Tracy Borman, 16:16] Tudor childhood was very short. Children were considered adults at six and often began apprenticeships or domestic duties.”

Education varied by social class. Noble children received tutoring and attended grammar schools, focusing on religious and classical studies, while girls were primarily taught domestic skills. Notable exceptions existed, such as the educated daughters of Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell.

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Careers and Job Opportunities

The Tudor period saw the rise of various professions, reflecting the evolving social structure.

“[Tracy Borman, 21:24] Merchants became increasingly important due to the rise in exports, particularly wool, leading to the emergence of a middle class.”

Other common professions included farmers, dairy workers, servants, basket weavers, and executioners—particularly in urban centers like London. The role of executioner, while macabre, was notably prevalent during this era.

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Leisure and Pastimes

Tudor England was not solely about hard work; leisure activities were also integral to daily life.

“[Tracy Borman, 22:53] Sports were among the most popular pastimes, with activities like jousting, hunting, falconry, and football being widely enjoyed.”

Board games, music, dancing, and blood sports such as bear baiting and cockfighting were common. Public executions also served as significant social events, drawing large crowds much like modern-day sports events.

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Health, Medicine, and Public Health

Health conditions in Tudor England were challenging, particularly in urban areas plagued by poor sanitation.

“[Tracy Borman, 28:33] Tudor towns were notoriously dirty with open sewers and rampant disease. Public health measures were rudimentary, relying on practices like quarantine and social distancing during outbreaks.”

The period grappled with diseases like the plague and the mysterious sweating sickness. Medical practices were rudimentary, often adhering to the theory of the four humors, utilizing treatments like bloodletting and leeching. Herbal remedies offered by "wise women" provided some relief but also placed them at risk of accusations of witchcraft.

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Myths and Misconceptions

Borman addresses common myths about Tudor daily life, particularly the belief that everyone was perpetually unclean and foul-smelling.

“[Tracy Borman, 38:58] Contrary to popular belief, people did not universally smell bad. They prioritized cleanliness through linen washing, which effectively managed odors.”

The historian emphasizes that communal support and organized communities contradict the notion of Tudor England as a solely brutal and disorganized era. Instead, there was significant community spirit and efficient organization despite the hardships.

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Chances of Survival

Life expectancy during the Tudor period was alarmingly low, primarily due to high infant mortality rates and the perils of childbirth.

“[Tracy Borman, 37:52] The average life expectancy was between 35 and 40 years, with 25% of children dying before their first birthday and 50% before their tenth.”

Surviving childhood meant a relatively stable chance of reaching adulthood, but beyond that, life remained precarious with diseases and limited medical knowledge contributing to the low overall life expectancy.

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Conclusion

Tracy Borman concludes the episode by dispelling the myth of universal uncleanliness and highlighting the organized, supportive communities that characterized Tudor England. The episode underscores the complexity of daily life during the Tudor era, illustrating a society that balanced hardship with communal support and occasional cultural vibrancy.

“[Tracy Borman, 39:58] There was a real sense of communal living and support in the Tudor period, contrary to the image of a solely brutal world.”

Emily Griffiths wraps up the episode by teasing the next installment, which will explore the culture of Tudor England, including art, theater, and literacy.

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Key Takeaways:

1. Rural Dominance: The majority of Tudors lived in the countryside, leading modest, land-dependent lives.
2. Housing Variations: Homes varied significantly between urban and rural settings, with wealth signified by materials and architectural features like chimneys.
3. Family and Community: Multigenerational families and strong community ties were essential for survival and support.
4. Limited Roles for Women: Despite famous female figures, the average woman's life was restricted and subordinate to men.
5. Marriage and Social Structure: Marriages were often strategic, with customs reflecting both legal and social norms.
6. Education and Apprenticeships: Education was accessible to some, particularly the nobility, while apprenticeships were common for entering trades.
7. Leisure Activities: Tudor England had a rich array of leisure activities, from sports and games to music and blood sports.
8. Health Challenges: Poor sanitation in towns led to widespread disease, with limited medical understanding and harsh treatments.
9. Dispelling Myths: Contrary to popular belief, not everyone smelt bad, and communities were more organized and supportive than often portrayed.
10. Life Expectancy: High infant mortality and limited healthcare resulted in a low average life expectancy.

This episode serves as a comprehensive exploration of the day-to-day realities of Tudor England, moving beyond the well-known narratives of royalty to uncover the lives of ordinary people during this fascinating historical period.

Transcript

[Emily Griffiths]

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[Emily Griffiths]

From vicious court politicking and cultural innovation to global voyages of discovery and total religious upheaval, Tudor England was a turbulent and exciting place to be. In this History Extra Podcast series, we're heading right to the beating heart of the era to uncover what life was like for those who lived through it. I'm your host Emily Griffiths, and I'm joined by author, historian and broadcaster Tracy Borman. In this second episode, we'll be roaming the towns and villages of Tudor England, painting a vivid picture of daily Life from. From home and family to health and medicine. Hello, Tracy, thanks for joining me again.

[Tracy Borman]

It's such a pleasure. I'm looking forward to this one, Emily.

[Emily Griffiths]

So, as I've said all about daily life in this episode, but first we need that important piece of context. Who was the average ordinary Tudor?

[Tracy Borman]

That's a big question. The average ordinary Tudor would probably be a rural dweller. They might own a little bit of land or they might just work the land. This was a predominantly rural age. Most people lived in the countryside rather than in towns, and most people worked the land in some way or depended on the land for their livelihood. So, yeah, we think of the Tudors, we think of the court, we think of the glamour, but for the vast majority of people living in Tudor England, it's was a far cry from their ordinary lives.

[Emily Griffiths]

Could you tell us a little bit about where did this average ordinary Tudor live? What did the houses look like? How did this differ between towns and villages?

[Tracy Borman]

Yes, so this was, as I said, a predominantly rural picture. So up to 90% of people in Tudor England lived in rural areas versus towns. Now, this did change a little bit as the period progressed. At the beginning of the Tudor, the population of England as a whole was about 2.5 to 3 million. And it had pretty much doubled by the end of the period, so about 5 million in 1603. And as I said, you know, the huge majority lived in the countryside. Some people lived in towns or the major Tudor cities. London eclipsed all of the others. But also Bristol was important, and Norwich and towns themselves grew in size and importance as the period progressed. London, as I said, was definitely the largest city and actually one of the biggest cities in Europe. So it was impressive. And it was comprised of sort of three mini cities. The City of London, the City of Westminster and Southwark. Now a typical Tudor home. Obviously it would depend on your status, on your wealth, but people's homes tended to be half timbered, meaning that they had a wooden frame with a space that was filled with wattle and daub, which was a mixture of sort of small stick and wet clay. Wealthy people could afford to build homes out of brick, and brick certainly became more popular as the Tudor period went on. Most Tudor houses had thatched roofs, bit of a fire hazard, as well as being infested by various rodents. But that was a typical feature of Tudor homes, and they often had either E shaped or H shaped floor plans. Windows. Now, that really did mark out how rich you were, because glass windows were a real sign of wealth. Only the rich could afford them. And if they moved homes, they would take their windows with them because they were so valuable. Poorer houses might use linen or cow's horn for windows, and so their homes would probably be much darker and probably only very, very small windows, because, of course, you wouldn't want the drafts to get in the ch of winter. As the period developed, we get more chimneys, and that had a bit of an effect on houses as well, because it was more common for there to be two storeys. If you had a chimney, you could have an upper floor, which you didn't have so much in the earlier period. But again, the more chimneys you have, the wealthier you are. So they're a status symbol. I love working at Hampton Court because there are more chimneys in that palace, I think, than any other probably in the world. I'm gonna get lots of letters now telling me how untrue that. But it's all about status. And many of the chimneys at Hampton Court don't lead to a fireplace. They're just there for show, because that was a real symbol that you could afford it if you had a chimney.

[Emily Griffiths]

How luxurious.

[Tracy Borman]

Yes.

[Emily Griffiths]

What could you expect to find inside one of these homes? Not just in terms of furniture, utilities, but also perhaps the style.

[Tracy Borman]

Yes. So the poorer homes would often be just one room. So everything would be in one room. Your stove, your fire, the privy. At least it wasn't really a toilet, as we would recognize it. More like a pit that would be outside. And most homes had a yard or a garden with a well for water. Now, most homes had dirt floors, so obviously quite hard to keep clean. They were covered with reeds or rushes, which would be replaced when they became just too filthy. Wealthier people, of course, had more rooms, they had more stories to their houses, nicer furniture. But actually, actually oak furniture was the order of the day. It was heavy. It was pretty uncomfortable. You don't kind of ease back into a nice padded sofa in the Tudor period, as you might do today. Many people sat on benches or stools instead of chairs. If you were at court, actually, there would be large cushions. And so people sat on the floor on cushions rather than on chairs, necessarily more comfortable, certainly, than these heavy oak pieces of furniture. Rooms would be lit with sconces, which were sort of fixed to the walls and would carry numerous candles if you were rich enough. Some wealthy homes even had their own built in chapels. And that was definitely not a feature of poorer homes. People had to go to their local church to worship. So huge variation. And also there was geographical variation because In Wales, most people lived in the country in long houses and the family lived in one side of the house and the animals live in the other side, which was handy to keep them safe, but also was handy as a sort of form of heating. They would derive a little bit of heat from the animals on the other side of the wall.

[Emily Griffiths]

What an incredible way of heating. Yeah, maybe useful today.

[Tracy Borman]

Sustainable.

[Emily Griffiths]

Sustainable. There we go.

[Tracy Borman]

We need to go back to the longhouses of Tudor whales.

[Emily Griffiths]

Brilliant. Now let's talk about the people inside. What was the structure of a typical family unit? And how did family life differ between social classes?

[Tracy Borman]

So Tudor families were very much multigenerational and there was a real sense of community. It said that it takes a village to raise a child and that was absolutely the vibe, if you like. In the Tudor period, they included relatives, not just like, you know, the mum, the dad, the child, but also grandparents, aunts, uncles. They often lived together to help raise children, care for the sick, care for the elderly. So I think this is really nice because let's be clear, life was hard. If you were poor, if you lived in remote rural areas, you're subject to the elements, to disease, to all sorts of ills and hardships. So a great deal of comfort, support was provided by your extended family. And if you could live together, if you had a dwelling that was big enough, then you certainly would do.

[Emily Griffiths]

And what was the role of women in this society? How did it differ to the rights and responsibilities of men?

[Tracy Borman]

There's a real paradox here because the Tudor period is famous for its women. The six wives of Henry viii, Queen Elizabeth I, Lady Jane Grey, Mary Bess of Hardwicke. These are chart topping women, if you like. But at the same time, it was a male dominated society. Women were viewed as second class citizens. They had fewer rights by far than men. They couldn't own property, for example. They were entirely submissive to and obedient to husbands, brothers, fathers, all the male members of their family. So, yes, we get these famous female figures, but if you're an average woman, life is very hard and restricted and you're entirely dictated to by the men in your life.

[Emily Griffiths]

What did marriage customs look like in this age?

[Tracy Borman]

So the legal age for marriage was 14 for boys and just 12 for girls. Most married a little bit later than that, actually. So it's one of the myths of the Tudor period that they, everybody got married when they were just 12 if they were a girl or 14 for a boy. That was sort of the legal, if you like, minimum, but, but often it was A little bit older than that. But if actually you got into your 20s and you still weren't married, you were pretty much on the shelf, you were past it. So you probably would be in your teens when you got married. Wealthy families often arranged marriages, and of course the court was the marriage market. That's where you would go to find your suitable future husband or wife. And Tudor marriage customs were rather different to today. The formal customs involved several stages before you were actually declared man and wife. So at first there was the crying of the banns, where your intention to marry would be declared in church for three consecutive Sundays. Then the marriage bond, which, if people didn't have time to go through the banns and let's skirt over why they might not have time, perhaps if there was a child on the way, they could get a marriage bond which acted as a contract. A wedding ceremony where the couple exchanged vows, which is very much resonant of a modern day marriage ceremony. And then the nuptial Mass where the couple knelt before an altar with a veil over their heads and the priests recited prayers over them. Now, the next stage, you might think is a given, but it wasn't taken as that in the Tudor period, and that's consummation, because a marriage has to be consummated to be considered valid. And probably the most famous example of the did they, didn't they, was the marriage of Kathy, Catherine of aragon, to Henry VII's eldest son, Prince Arthur. Because the question of whether that marriage was consummated would have effects reverberating down to the Reformation. If it was consummated, then, as Henry VIII claimed, his marriage to Catherine of Aragon wasn't valid, because the Bible says you must not marry your late brother's wife because you'll be childless. If it wasn't consummated, as Catherine claimed, then she was freed to marry Henry viii. So consummation was a real contentious and important issue. Celebrations, very important as they are today. The day concluded with the wedding dinner and dancing. Now, all of this sounds quite convoluted. You have to be committed to make it through to actually being declared man and wife. But there were some shortcuts. There was something known as hand fasting, which was quite an ancient tradition whereby you could really just agree between yourselves that you were going to marry and there would be the joining of hands and you could just basically pledge your devotion, your commitment to your partner. And that was sort of seen as enough. And often couples did that. And then they leapt straight to consummation and then really, they were pretty much married Now. Another example from Henry VIII's reign is his private betrothal, as almost certainly happened between him and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, before they were married in January 1533. It's thought that late in 1532, probably when they had begun sleeping together, finally, after seven years, they went through a sort of secret betrothal or a hand fasting. So even the great and the good could go through this sort of more private custom.

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[Emily Griffiths]

If any children did come along, what would their role be? Were there any expectations of them?

[Tracy Borman]

There were huge expectations of Tudor children, and I should say that from the outset, Tudor childhood was very short. You were thought to have entered your adult years at the age of six. So you know it's three times that today. You're an adult at 18. Tudor childhood was thought to end when you reached the age of six. That's when a child would be breeched. In other words, you'd wear your breeches. Boys would no longer wear dresses, which is what they would wear really as infants. They would then be in their breeches. And it was a real milestone for the Tudors, the transition from childhood to adulthood, and often apprenticeships would start at the age of six so children would start work at that age. They would often leave school, if they were the poorer children from around the age of six or seven, and learn a trade, while girls would start to cook and clean and learn the sort of domestic duties. Wealthy children, by contrast, would spend most of their childhood in the nursery. They also had a nursemaid to take care of them. So it was a sort of gentler introduction really to adult life, but still quite short. You were, as a noble child, expected to take on more duties, more responsibilities after the age of six.

[Emily Griffiths]

As we're talking about apprenticeships, how did apprenticeships actually work in this era?

[Tracy Borman]

So apprenticeships were very common indeed. In fact, most trades, that's how you would get into the world of work, by becoming an apprentice as young as six, but certainly before the age of 16. That's when your apprenticeship would start. Typically they were seven years before you were a fully fledged, whatever it was, carpenter or blacksmith. And so they were much more common than they are today. Mostly for. But also girls worked as maidservants or in crafts, as seamstresses or embroiderers. William Shakespeare, probably one of the most famous apprentices, it's thought that he was an apprentice to his father John, who was a glover before then, of course he followed the profession that was more suited to him in writing plays for.

[Emily Griffiths]

Those who didn't take on apprenticeships. What about education? Who had access to that?

[Tracy Borman]

So there was perhaps greater access to education than you might think. Again, rank plays its part here. So the children of noblemen would usually have a live in tutor who would educate them. But there were schools, local schools that varied in quality. Grammar schools were a feature of tutor education and boys could go there from the age of seven. You get some girls attending, but it's very, very rare. It's a male dominated education system and it's harder than modern day schools. So my daughter complains about her school day being so long because it's from 8 till 3. Well, theirs was from 7 in the morning until about 5 or 6 in the afternoon, evening. So a very, very long day, often for six days of the week. It did include a Saturday, so really they only get a Sunday off and then they would have to go to church. So they would have to work hard and of course they would be punished. They'd be whipping or, you know, you'd get the birch or whatever it might be. So it's quite hard being a school child in the Tudor period. I should say as well that universities also developed during this period. Oxford and Cambridge expanded new Colleges were founded, different subjects, from theology to law to medicine and the arts. So there is a sort of sense of a flowering of education and intellectual pursuits during the Tudor period.

[Emily Griffiths]

What subjects were taught or prioritized?

[Tracy Borman]

It might be no surprise that religion is definitely up there, and that's sort of fundamental for girls and for boys. Boys tended to be taught what we would call more academic subjects, so Latin, Greek, mathematics. Girls on the whole tended to learn more domestic arts. Sewing, playing an instrument, singing, drawing, painting. But that's not universal. And there are notable examples of girls who had just as good an education as boys. The daughters of Thomas More. He invested in his daughters just as much as in his sons, as did his nemesis, Thomas Cromwell. Mary, Henry VIII's eldest daughter, she had a very impressive curriculum, and Elizabeth even more so. And it's common to read how clever the children of a king are. And of course there's a lot of flattery in that. But with Elizabeth, it's genuine. She one of the cleverest women of her age.

[Emily Griffiths]

As these children grow up, I think we need to come on and talk about their careers, their job opportunities. If we were to walk into a Tudor job centre, what opportunities would be available to us?

[Tracy Borman]

So a job that was becoming really popular during the Tudor period and actually would have profound social change was that of merchant. There was a huge rise in exports from England. The wool trade in particular dominated England's exports. And so being a merchant, that was a real up and coming role. It was changing the way society functioned, creating a whole new class, really, the middling class, if you like. The middle classes really rose during the Tudor period. Other professions were more linked to the land. Farmers, dairy workers, and both men and women could work in a dairy. Servants, of course, you might enter service not just at court, but in noble households. You might be a basket weaver, you might be a craftsperson. Working with your hands was something you found a lot more in the Tudor period than we do today. And one profession that I think is synonymous with the Tudor period. Executioner. You'll be busy. If you're pretty good with an ax or you don't mind presiding over a hanging, then there's certainly work to be had in London, in particular, lots of.

[Emily Griffiths]

Executions in the Tudor era.

[Tracy Borman]

Certainly.

[Emily Griffiths]

Now to step away from the drudgery of work life. What do people do for fun? What are the hobbies and pastimes of the age?

[Tracy Borman]

I'm pleased to say there were certainly plenty of those as well. They worked hard, but they played hard as well. So sport was one of the most popular ways of passing your leisure hours. And there was a bit of a blurring of leisure versus responsibility here if you were a noble child or even a noble man and certainly a member of the royal family, because sports were seen as noble pursuits. So you kind of had to really do things like jousting, hunting, falconry, bowls, tennis. These were elite sports. Really lower down the social scale, we get a form of football. Board games were very, very popular. And fox and geese. Now, I've had a go at playing this at Hampton Court because we have fox and geese boards laid out for our visitors to play. I was awful at it. I didn't really understand the rules. I thought it was overcomplicated. But that's probably just a reflection on my ability. Cards and dice, chess, backgammon, of course, all of those are around today. Shovel board was a popular winter pastime. Also, music played a real part in people's leisure time. Singing, dancing, masking, if you were at court. Also, I'm afraid the Tudors were pretty bloodthirsty when it came to having fun. So blood sports, bear baiting, cockfighting were popular, attended by all classes of society. And if all else fails, you can go to an execution. This really is the football match of its day. Huge crowds, tens of thousands of people might attend a very high profile hanging or execution. They had stands built like football stadiums today. They sold souvenirs, refreshments. And that's when it feels like there's quite a big gulf between where we are today and the Tudors. Some of their ways of having fun were questionable.

[Emily Griffiths]

I think it seems totally mad to us today, that.

[Tracy Borman]

Totally mad. I mean, how can you have fun by watching somebody have their head cut off? Well, apparently the Tudors did, and people were more violent. I think they enjoyed violence more. And even Elizabeth I, she loved hunting. She would cut out a deer's heart when it had been hunted. She often went to cock fighting, bear baiting. Yeah, they were a bloodthirsty lot, those Tudors.

[Emily Griffiths]

Now we're going to come on to talk about some of these in our next episode. It's all about the culture, so the art, the theater, the literacy. But I'd like to move on slightly while we're in this episode. How different was life in a town to one that was in the countryside, More rural area.

[Tracy Borman]

So town life, I would say, was just more dangerous. It was more dirty, open sewers in the streets. And disease, of course, was rife because towns were tightly packed. I'm thinking of the shambles in York that famous street where, you know, if you can lean out of your top window, you can shake hands with the resident of the house opposite, you know, really packed in. And of course, fire hazards. We saw this with the Great Fire of London in 1666, so in the Stuart period, because you get these timber framed houses all packed very tightly together, so disease common. And you often find when there's an outbreak of an epidemic of the plague or sweating sickness, it spreads across towns like wildfire. And the first thing the court tends to do when the plague's in town is to go to the countryside. So it's relatively safe, or it's certainly safer to live in the country than in the town. That said, the towns are kind of where it's at. They're culturally vibrant, politically, you're kind of at the heart of the action. So there are upsides to living in towns, but you have to be prepared to run the gauntlet of sickness and disease. Overcrowding, smells and so the list goes on.

[Emily Griffiths]

I wonder if you could tell us more about how these populated centres were organized and was there a sense of community?

[Tracy Borman]

There was a huge sense of community. People just knew their neighbours much more than we do today. And not just your immediate neighbours, but your street, your local area. I've already mentioned that London, for example, was actually three separate cities. And there was a real sense of that. You know, people would consider themselves a resident of Southwark or of Westminster, for example. So I think there was much more of a sense of community than anonymity that we might recognize more today. And hopefully you do know your neighbor, you get along with your neighbour, but you definitely would. In the Tudor period, people seemed to pull together more. They relied on their neighbours, on their communities for news and news that was carried from the court, important proclamations. This is how people got information before the technical age. So it was not just nice to get along with your neighbor. It was essential if you wanted to find out about things.

[Emily Griffiths]

You hear so many stories of how people threw the contents of their toilet or contents of their bowels out the window. How mucky was life in Tudor England and how was public health managed in such estate?

[Tracy Borman]

Well, let's be honest, if you're living in a Tudor town, it is mucky. Women, for good reason, started to wear heeled shoes to keep the hems of their dresses out of the muck. Really, that was rife in the streets. I've already mentioned that there were kind of open sewers running through most streets in Tudor towns. It would have stank to High heaven. I suppose you got used to the smell if you actually lived there. But as well as, you know, people, people throwing their waste out of their windows, butcher shops and the sort of. The waste from those would be slung out into the streets and would rot. Little wonder that there were infections and sickness and disease that would spread very rapidly in the towns. And things like, you know, public toilets, they did exist, but they were really kind of pits that, you know, you'd sit on a bench with a hole cut out and it would go into a pit, and then the poor old gong scours would have to clean it out routinely, but probably only as far as the river. So they'd chuck it into the river, which was another source of contagious disease. And so it was actually very, very hazardous to live in a town. Not to mention malodorous, I would say.

[Emily Griffiths]

Oh, lovely. What were the major causes of ill health and how did people understand these?

[Tracy Borman]

Well, there was some understanding of the need to, for example, create distance. Social distancing was a thing we tend to think of COVID in more recent. But the Tudors understood that you had to keep your distance from people who were sick, and in particular of the plague. And of course, you were effectively quarantined. If you had the plague in your house, you weren't allowed to venture out. You might get a visit from a plague doctor. But otherwise diseases such as the plague would spread with terrifying speed. And we now understand that they were carried by things like fleas and rats, but also airborne. And the Tudors kind of got this. They understood that there were evil miasmas or evil heirs. They didn't quite get why, but they understood enough that they needed to keep their distance from those who were infected. But just the fact of having such tightly packed communities, that's really what made it deadly often to live in large urban areas, much, much safer in the country. But even, you know, whole villages could be wiped out by the plague, and the plague could be carried by merchants from London. And so you certainly weren't immune from these things if you lived in the country. But on the laws of probability, you were less likely to get sick in a big way than if you lived in urban areas. One thing that you had to really watch out for in towns was the sweating sickness, or the English sweat as it was known. And this was exclusive to the Tudor period. It came in with the army of Henry VII when he defeated Richard III in 1485, and it had died out by the end of the Tudor period. We don't know exactly what it was, what we do know is how terrifyingly swift it was. It was said that you could be merry at breakfast and dead by supper. You would take a sudden fever and literally hours later you would be. Nobody was safe from the sweat. And Anne Boleyn famously caught it when Henry was madly in love with her before they were married. And she caught it whilst staying at Hever Castle at her Kent home. Now, Henry was so paranoid about sickness and disease that he didn't visit Anne when she was suffering from the sweat, but he did send his second best physician to attend her. Generous of him that she did recover. Not everybody did. Sadly, Thomas Cromwell lost both his wife and his two daughters to the sweating sickness. It was something that Henry VIII was paranoid about. Now, Henry was the ultimate hypochondriac and I think we can understand why. His brother was just 15 when he died. Henry also lost his mother when he was very young. He was very aware of the fragility of life. He would subject himself every single day to a detailed examination by a team of physicians. And Henry also had his own medicine cabinet. And we have an inventory of that cabinet. We know that it included potions that Henry concocted himself. He claimed to have found the cure for the plague. Didn't really catch on, but. But the entry that really intrigues me is something that's listed as the King's special ointment, used to treat his member Emily. The mind boggles.

[Emily Griffiths]

What were some common or perhaps intriguing cures or remedies or treatments?

[Tracy Borman]

Well, there were quite a few of those. Tudor medicine was interesting. Rudimentary is another word. Leeches were very popular with doctors. They would suck blood out because this is an age where medicine still adhered to the theory of the four humours, that, you know, your body is made up of four humours and if there's an imbalance between those, then you have to rectify that imbalance. So that's why the drawing of blood was quite common. You were believed to have sometimes just too much blood flowing in your veins, so you had to let some of that out, let the kind of disease out, if you like. Also, physicians would sometimes give out special coins or jewels that were believed to have medicinal properties. They would taste a patient's urine to decide on the treatment. And as well as physicians, there were barber surgeons. So multitasking here, barber surgeons mostly cut hairs or trimmed beards, but because they're good at cutting things, they could also perform surgery because. Why not? If you're good at cutting hair, then surely you're going to be good at surgery. That's what the theory went anyway. As well as that, though, and I know we're going to be getting onto this in a later episode. There were cunning folk, wise women in particular, who were skilled, actually very skilled at herbal remedies. They knew an awful lot about the medicinal properties of herbs and actually analysis has been done on the most popular herbs used and many of those can be found in modern day medicines such as aspirin. So actually, you would probably want to be treated by a wise woman much more than by a physician. They were very effective, but as the period develops, they became in the frame for witchcraft. So the dividing line between healing and witchcraft got a bit blurred and it was then dangerous to be good at healing people because people suspected you of witchcraft.

[Emily Griffiths]

Sounds incredibly dangerous to be a wise woman then. So obviously towns themselves really stunk. But did people stink as well?

[Tracy Borman]

Not as much as you might think. And this is one of the myths about the Tudor period, really, that everybody smelt. Not necessarily. People did wash. What they didn't do very often was to bathe. Now, this was thought to be actually harmful because people understood about skin and about pores, and it was thought that, you know, when you get into a hot bath, your pores open and then evil air can get in and infection can get in. So it's very dangerous actually to take a bath. So people on the whole didn't bathe. Elizabeth I was the most frequent royal bather. She famously said, I will take a bath once a month whether I need it or not. So there you go. That was considered dangerously frequent. But people, people didn't generally smell. Now, I'm a big fan of Ruth Goodman and her book how to Be a Tudor, because Ruth has actually tried to live as a Tudor. And what the Tudors did, rather than wash their bodies, they washed their linens. Linen was used for undergarments because it was very effective at drawing out odours, toxins, dirt from the skin. So if you wash your linen rather than your skin, you will still smell sweet and it works. Apparently, Ruth said, you know, after three months of just washing her linens, not herself, she still smelled pretty good. So people used linen a lot. It was very, very effective. So wash your linens rather than your skin and you'll still smell pretty good. One of the queens of Henry viii, Catherine Parr, his last wife, she was known to be the sweetest smelling. So whatever she did, if it was just the washing of her linens, I think she liked to use fragrance but she was not notable for being the sweetest smelling. So whatever Catherine did was obviously a good example to follow.

[Emily Griffiths]

Okay, to summarize what we talk about, all this horrible stink and disease and treatments themselves being pretty horrendous. What were your chances of survival?

[Tracy Borman]

Well, not great. The average life expectancy in Tudor England was between just 35 and 40 years. Now, what accounted for that very low average was infant mortality. Incredibly high. 25% of children died before their first birthday and 50% before their tenth. If you made it into adulthood, you were doing very well indeed. Women had a shorter life expectancy, perhaps not surprising because of the perils of childbirth. And if you reached 40, that was considered old age. You were ancient from the age of 40. A fact that I always consider very depressing. Anne Boleyn was described when she'd started to fall from Henry's favour as a thin old woman of 35.

[Emily Griffiths]

That's something to look forward to in the future. Oh, my gosh. Okay, one final thing to leave listeners with. What's one thing that people generally get wrong about everyday life in the Tudor period?

[Tracy Borman]

Well, we've already touched on it, in fact, and it's the myth that I count most often when talking about the Tudors, and that's that everybody smelt. They didn't. They knew more about how to keep themselves sweet smelling than we might think. And they also ran pretty efficient, organized communities. They might be dangerous communities, but they did know how to organize themselves. There was a real sense of communal living, of communal support in the Tudor period. So it's seen as a brutal period, a sort of dog eat dog world. But there was a lot of community spirit and I think it's important to get that across as well.

[Emily Griffiths]

A good note to leave us on. Thank you so much, Tracy.

[Tracy Borman]

Thank you.

[Emily Griffiths]

And that brings us to the end of this episode. Be sure to join us again next time when we'll be checking out the fashion, food and festivals of Tudor England.