Life in Tudor England by Jennifer Mullen

Food during Tudor times varied based on one’s wealth and reflected their social status. For the Tudors, one’s food was a display of their power. The more exotic the foods were laid at your table, the wealthier you would seem. For individuals who could afford it, the banquet at the table showed off their wealth at various social events, with the seating arrangements reflecting social hierarchy. Fine dining with delicious delicacies were enjoyed by the wealthy, consuming various meats, (of a much wider scope in which we do today) including various birds even swans! For peasants, eating was a much less glamourous affair. Their diets consisted of bread as it did for the wealthy, animals which could be killed for eating if they owned land with animals. Towards the end of the Tudor reign however, the lower classes could more easily attain the ingredients to make pottage, a soup consisting of vegetables, making their diets more nutritious and healthy. This dish was consumed daily by the peasants of Tudor England and is actually much nicer than it sounds! For those working in households however, meals would be supplied as part of their wages and would be increasingly more appetising with better meats and breads. Water during this period was considered dangerous to drink as it was very unclean. To combat their thirst, rich and poor alike usually drank wine or beer to stop themselves from getting ill.

What we know of fashion during the Tudor period, mostly comes from portraits we see in art galleries, consisting of monarchs and wealthy nobles in their elegant gowns. This means that our knowledge of what the average everyday man and woman would wear in Tudor England is limited. Fashion was set by the wealthiest at court and we know that sumptuary laws governed Tudor England, including laws on what fabrics and colours could be worn. While these laws were justified by grounds such as religion, it can be argued that these rules were set to put lower classes in their place. A linen shift was worn by women of all classes, but women belonging to higher classes could show their wealth through extravagant extra layers adorned with jewels and accessories such as head dresses. Catherine of Aragon popularised the farthingale which enlarged the lower half of the body and gave a dress its desired shape. It was also popular for women to wear hoods, framing the face, with Anne Boleyn popularising the rounder, softer hood as opposed to the triangular shaped ones. Under Elizabeth I, covering one’s face in makeup made up of vinegar and white lead was popular to make the face appear paler as was plucking back hair to achieve the desired hairline and false veins were often painted on to the skin. Rich Tudor men wore white frilled shirts, accompanied by a tight fitted jacket and a pair of hose trousers. If you were a poor Tudor lady, you would typically wear a white underdress, a practical dress, some stockings, an apron and a plain headdress. Men of lower social classes commonly wore a shirt made from linen or wool, along with a tunic and trousers.

Family life during the Tudor times was considerably harsh compared to how we live now. Marriage was not romantic decision, there was a high childhood mortality, and the average life expectancy was only 35 years old. They did not have the comforts we have today, water was polluted, and Tudor toilets were often a hole in the ground or a piece of wood with a hole cut out and placed over a bowl. To wipe your bottom, you would have to use leaves while wealthier people could use wool. If you were fortunate enough to live in a castle which had a moat, you could use a toilet inside a cupboard where your waste could be taken into the moat below. The poor had to work extremely hard and struggled to survive. They typically worked six days a week from early hours of the morning through to the night, with only public holidays and holy days as their time off. The wealthier classes however, had time to enjoy much entertainment, such as, tennis and hunting. Contrary to popular myths about the Tudors being dirty and smelly, we know from records that smelling fresh and staying clean were of particular importance. Linen undergarments were often worn underneath the clothes of courtiers which were regularly washed, whereas outerwear was not washed as frequently. Some people in court would even have boxes of herbs at their side to smell good, almost like wearing a perfume. Linen cloths and wool were used to clean teeth as well as the body and bathing was an infrequent occurrence. Wealthier ladies however, did have access to scented soaps they could use to wash themselves.