The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England (64 page)

The contemporary map showing the passage taken by Francis Drake on his circumnavigation in 1577–80. Most of his men die, he executes one of his captains and threatens to hang his own chaplain. A pleasure cruise it is not.

Native Americans from the North Carolina area dancing at a celebration. Awareness of the world outside Europe advances at a truly phenomenal rate in the late sixteenth century.

The 700-ton
Ark Royal
, built by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1586 and sold to the queen to be the flagship of the royal navy the following year.

For many Englishmen, the defeat of the Spanish Armada is the most important event of the reign. This image is not supposed to show the actual battle but simply to remind viewers of a glorious victory.

Queen Elizabeth receiving Dutch ambassadors. Note the painted wall hangings, the woven rush matting, the birds in cages by the windows and the ennui of the courtiers. Life at court can sometimes be quite tedious.

Gentlemen and ladies out for a stroll along the Thames, entertained by morris dancers performing with a hobby horse. In the background is Richmond Palace, where the queen dies in 1603.

From this image of old London houses, you can imagine the low quality of life enjoyed by families renting a third- or fourth-floor room.

Plans of tenements owned by the Merchant Taylors Company. Fireplaces are marked out in red, latrines are also marked. You get a clear impression of how closely the buildings (and people) are pressed up against each other.

Sir Francis Willoughby’s residence, Wollaton Hall, near Nottingham. It is designed by Robert Smythson, who is also responsible for Hardwick Hall and Longleat.

Most people use linen to clean their bodies, so it is important to secure the services of a good washerwoman. All around a town you will see washing drying on bushes, hedges and the ground.

If you have plenty of money, opiates are available for pain control. If not, then wine or beer will have to suffice. This amazingly placid patient can clearly afford opiates.

Travelling is dangerous if you are poor. If you are deemed to be a vagrant, you may be whipped out of town until starvation forces you to steal food – and then you will be hanged for theft.

The Puritan writer Philip Stubbes loathes this dance, la volta, due to its unseemingly groping of the lady by the man lifting her. He’s not too keen on men in white suits, white tights and oversized ruffs either.