From the works of Shakespeare to Renaissance Fairs, the world of Elizabethan England remains perennially important in modern culture. But just what did an Elizabethan do with his or her day? What shape did their lives take? How did they relate to the people around them? How did they deal with the daily necessities of food, drink, and sleep?
This book offers an experiential perspective on the lives of Elizabethans—how they worked, ate, and played—with hands-on examples that include authentic music, recipes, and games of the period.
Daily Life in Elizabethan England: Second Edition offers a fresh look at Elizabethan life from the perspective of the people who actually lived it. With an abundance of updates based on the most current research, this second edition provides an engaging—and sometimes surprising—picture of what it was like to live during this distant time.
Readers will learn, for example, that Elizabethans were diligent recyclers, composting kitchen waste and collecting old rags for papermaking. They will discover that Elizabethans averaged less than 2 inches shorter than their modern British counterparts, and, in a surprising echo of our own age, that many Elizabethan city dwellers relied on carryout meals—albeit because they lacked kitchen facilities. What further sets the book apart is its "hands-on" approach to the past with the inclusion of actual music, games, recipes, and clothing patterns based on primary sources.
Features
• Multiple primary-source sidebars in each chapter
• 49 primary-source images, modern reconstructions, and diagrams and patterns for original artifacts
Highlights
• Offers a first-person perspective on the past, detailing what late-16th century England was like for the people who actually lived there
• Includes extensive interactive material, such as sheet music and directions for contemporary dances, rules for games, recipes, and clothing patterns
• Covers the major realities of daily life often overlooked by other works on the topic—health and hygiene, the shape of the daily routine, and the material facts of living for ordinary people, not just the upper classes
Jeffrey L. Forgeng is the Paul S. Morgan Curator at the Higgins Armory Museum and adjunct associate professor of history at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA. His works include Daily Life in Chaucer's England and Daily Life in Stuart England.
Reviews
"This book is designed for high school nonfiction collections but will be found useful by many college students and adults interested in this time period. High recommended."—Library Media Connection
"Forgeng wrote the original volume as a reference for living history. Now a curator at the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts, he revises it in light of the research and writing he has done in the 12 years since, and to conform to the format and style of the series. His topics include society, households and the course of life, cycles of time, material culture, clothing and accouterments, food and drink, and entertainments. A chronology and a glossary are included, along with an appendix on how to throw an Elizabethan living history party."—Reference & Research Book News
"This text brings alive the Elizabethan Age for the high school student, providing an understanding of the context in which great historical events occurred and the daily life of the people who made them happen."—ARBAonline
