Browse content similar to The Rich. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
Imagine everything that's ever happened. | 0:00:04 | 0:00:07 | |
The whole of history. | 0:00:10 | 0:00:12 | |
Imagine you could go to any place at any time | 0:00:16 | 0:00:20 | |
and see what the people then saw, understand what they thought | 0:00:20 | 0:00:24 | |
and appreciate what they felt. | 0:00:24 | 0:00:26 | |
What would that tell you about the human race? | 0:00:28 | 0:00:31 | |
And how would that make you feel about the world you live in today? | 0:00:31 | 0:00:34 | |
So much of what we know now goes directly back | 0:00:38 | 0:00:41 | |
to England's Golden Age, the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. | 0:00:41 | 0:00:44 | |
A time when England embraced the whole world. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:49 | |
It's a period bursting with icons - Shakespeare, | 0:00:51 | 0:00:53 | |
the Spanish Armada... | 0:00:53 | 0:00:56 | |
..the Virgin Queen herself. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:00 | |
Who wouldn't want to travel back in time and see it first hand? | 0:01:02 | 0:01:06 | |
But if you did, what you would need most would be a visitor's handbook. | 0:01:06 | 0:01:10 | |
Who are these strange people? | 0:01:11 | 0:01:14 | |
So like us, but also so different. | 0:01:14 | 0:01:17 | |
What are their rules, their customs and attitudes? | 0:01:17 | 0:01:20 | |
I have spent years piecing these together so you don't have to. | 0:01:20 | 0:01:24 | |
Let me plunge you into a world of splendour | 0:01:24 | 0:01:27 | |
and magnificent achievements but also of uncertainty and doubt, | 0:01:27 | 0:01:32 | |
where simple survival was an art in itself. | 0:01:32 | 0:01:36 | |
A world of plague, violence and superstition... | 0:01:36 | 0:01:39 | |
..but also of beauty and wisdom. | 0:01:40 | 0:01:43 | |
I'll show you this fascinating period as if it's all around you. | 0:01:45 | 0:01:48 | |
The sickness and the suffering as well as the power and the glory. | 0:01:49 | 0:01:54 | |
Because this is Elizabethan England. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:56 | |
So far your travels through 16th century England | 0:02:14 | 0:02:17 | |
have shown you what conditions are like at the very bottom of the social ladder. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:21 | |
It's not a pretty picture. | 0:02:23 | 0:02:26 | |
Populated by vagrants and criminals, the blind and the infirm, | 0:02:27 | 0:02:31 | |
this is a world of distress, disease and deprivation. | 0:02:31 | 0:02:36 | |
Life is undeniably tough. | 0:02:36 | 0:02:38 | |
It's also often painful and alarmingly short. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:42 | |
As a time traveller, you might be forgiven for deciding not to return | 0:02:51 | 0:02:54 | |
to this particular destination. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:56 | |
That would be a shame, however, | 0:02:56 | 0:02:58 | |
because Elizabethan England has a great deal more to offer you. | 0:02:58 | 0:03:02 | |
This time, far from suffering the hardships of poverty, | 0:03:06 | 0:03:09 | |
you'll share in the luxury and privileges of society's elite. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:13 | |
Take almost any painting from Elizabethan England and what do you see? | 0:03:20 | 0:03:24 | |
Royal courtiers dressed in silk and velvet? | 0:03:24 | 0:03:27 | |
Magnificent jewels and ostentatious ruffs? | 0:03:27 | 0:03:30 | |
Extravagant feasts and joyous dancing? | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
These artworks always depict the lives of the very rich. Why? | 0:03:34 | 0:03:38 | |
Because only they can afford such luxuries as paintings. | 0:03:38 | 0:03:42 | |
When you first glance at these faces, | 0:03:45 | 0:03:47 | |
what you see are expressions of serene confidence, | 0:03:47 | 0:03:50 | |
borne of a lifetime of privilege, wealth and power. | 0:03:50 | 0:03:55 | |
Look a little deeper into those placid eyes, however, | 0:03:55 | 0:03:57 | |
and you may begin to see something else. | 0:03:57 | 0:04:00 | |
Is that doubt? Uncertainty? Do you see...fear? | 0:04:01 | 0:04:06 | |
These are dangerous days, uncertain times, and it's worth remembering | 0:04:09 | 0:04:13 | |
that those who have the most also have the most to lose. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:17 | |
But let's not dwell on such matters for the time being. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:24 | |
Instead let's focus on the fine things in life that the wealthy enjoy. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:27 | |
And where better to start | 0:04:27 | 0:04:29 | |
than at one of the Queen's most magnificent palaces. | 0:04:29 | 0:04:33 | |
Here, you'll find it's all about keeping up appearances | 0:04:43 | 0:04:47 | |
and no-one knows this better than the Queen herself. | 0:04:47 | 0:04:50 | |
Previously a favourite of her father, Henry VIII, | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
Hampton Court is just one of the 20 palaces | 0:05:06 | 0:05:08 | |
inherited by the young Queen. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:11 | |
Of these, she gives seven away, | 0:05:11 | 0:05:13 | |
and now spends an average of £4,000 per year maintaining the remainder. | 0:05:13 | 0:05:17 | |
To put things in perspective, at the time of your visit, | 0:05:18 | 0:05:21 | |
a whole year's labour earns the average worker just five pounds. | 0:05:21 | 0:05:25 | |
The prime reason for the Queen maintaining | 0:05:29 | 0:05:31 | |
Hampton Court Palace is for it to be a museum to her father's greatness. | 0:05:31 | 0:05:35 | |
It is still packed with his possessions, | 0:05:35 | 0:05:37 | |
which visitors from the continent come to see. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:40 | |
But bear in mind, if you want to be among their number, | 0:05:40 | 0:05:42 | |
you'll have to get a letter of introduction. | 0:05:42 | 0:05:45 | |
Since you have no shortage of money, | 0:05:48 | 0:05:50 | |
securing such an invitation will be relatively easy. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:53 | |
But to be accepted into this world, | 0:05:53 | 0:05:55 | |
you must clearly signal your place in the strict hierarchy of Elizabethan society. | 0:05:55 | 0:06:01 | |
Servants, visitors, royal courtiers. | 0:06:04 | 0:06:07 | |
Virtually every level of society is represented here. | 0:06:07 | 0:06:11 | |
You won't have any difficulty telling them apart. | 0:06:11 | 0:06:14 | |
Everyone's status is denoted by their clothes. | 0:06:14 | 0:06:18 | |
Exactly what you wear will depend on when you are here. | 0:06:22 | 0:06:26 | |
Get your dates wrong, even by as little as a year or two, | 0:06:26 | 0:06:29 | |
and you risk ridicule or rejection. | 0:06:29 | 0:06:32 | |
Courtiers travelling abroad carry the latest trends | 0:06:35 | 0:06:38 | |
back from the continent, | 0:06:38 | 0:06:40 | |
either in person or by sending fashion dolls | 0:06:40 | 0:06:43 | |
dressed in miniature outfits. | 0:06:43 | 0:06:45 | |
According to dramatist Thomas Dekker, | 0:06:46 | 0:06:49 | |
this fuels an eclectic mix of styles. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:52 | |
"The Englishman's dress is like a traitor's body that has been | 0:06:52 | 0:06:55 | |
"hanged, drawn and quartered. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:58 | |
"His codpiece is in Denmark, | 0:06:58 | 0:07:00 | |
"the collar of his doublet in France, the narrow sleeve in Italy, | 0:07:00 | 0:07:04 | |
"the short waist hangs over a butcher's stall in Utrecht." | 0:07:04 | 0:07:08 | |
But if there's no such thing as a "typical" outfit, | 0:07:10 | 0:07:13 | |
then just where do you start? | 0:07:13 | 0:07:16 | |
The Queen, just by virtue of being a woman, | 0:07:16 | 0:07:18 | |
encourages a more feminine look, even for men. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:21 | |
Gone are the enormous shoulder pads and oversized cod-pieces of Henry VIII's court. | 0:07:21 | 0:07:27 | |
As for ladies, you must never reveal your bare arms or legs in public. | 0:07:27 | 0:07:31 | |
That sort of behaviour is quite strictly for the lower classes. | 0:07:31 | 0:07:34 | |
But when it comes to cleavage, it's quite another matter. | 0:07:34 | 0:07:38 | |
Queen Elizabeth, at the age of 63, | 0:07:39 | 0:07:41 | |
is happy to display her entire bosom, as the wide-eyed | 0:07:41 | 0:07:44 | |
and open-mouthed French ambassador Andre Hurault notes in 1597. | 0:07:44 | 0:07:48 | |
Fashions become steadily more lavish as the Queen's reign progresses, | 0:08:02 | 0:08:05 | |
much to the disapproval of the Puritans. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:08 | |
One of the harshest critics of these excesses is the writer Philip Stubbes. | 0:08:11 | 0:08:15 | |
His most famous work, The Anatomy of Abuses, | 0:08:15 | 0:08:19 | |
is nothing short of 144 pages of ranting | 0:08:19 | 0:08:21 | |
against the fripperies of his fellow Englishmen. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
"By wearing of apparel more gorgeous, sumptuous | 0:08:26 | 0:08:30 | |
"and precious than our state, | 0:08:30 | 0:08:32 | |
"calling or condition of life requireth, | 0:08:32 | 0:08:34 | |
"we are puffed up into pride and induced to think of ourselves | 0:08:34 | 0:08:38 | |
"more than we ought, being but vile earth and miserable sinners. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:43 | |
"Neither the Libertines nor the Epicures, | 0:08:44 | 0:08:47 | |
"nor yet the vilest Atheists that ever lived | 0:08:47 | 0:08:50 | |
"exceeded this people in pride." | 0:08:50 | 0:08:52 | |
For a wealthy traveller like you, | 0:08:58 | 0:09:00 | |
"gorgeous apparel" is an absolute must, | 0:09:00 | 0:09:03 | |
and one of the best examples of this is the ruff. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:06 | |
At the beginning of the Elizabethan period, | 0:09:09 | 0:09:11 | |
both men and women start showing the collars of their smocks | 0:09:11 | 0:09:14 | |
and shirts over the tops of their tunics. | 0:09:14 | 0:09:17 | |
As this becomes the fashion, | 0:09:18 | 0:09:20 | |
it grows into a separate garment which is easier to wash. | 0:09:20 | 0:09:24 | |
Starch allows it to grow even bigger, | 0:09:25 | 0:09:27 | |
until by the 1580s it uses a full six yards of linen | 0:09:27 | 0:09:31 | |
and requires a circular board to support it. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:34 | |
If you really want to show off, vibrant colour is another | 0:09:41 | 0:09:44 | |
very effective way of demonstrating your wealth. | 0:09:44 | 0:09:47 | |
It is the law that only the aristocracy | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
and landed gentry are able to wear certain fabrics such as cloth of gold or cloth of silver, | 0:09:49 | 0:09:54 | |
red and blue velvet, embroidery and silk. | 0:09:54 | 0:09:58 | |
To create a bright crimson colour, | 0:10:01 | 0:10:03 | |
you need cochineal insects from Central America. | 0:10:03 | 0:10:06 | |
Obtaining a single ounce of purple dye | 0:10:06 | 0:10:08 | |
requires around 30,000 Mediterranean whelks, | 0:10:08 | 0:10:12 | |
so dressing flamboyantly certainly doesn't come cheap. | 0:10:12 | 0:10:15 | |
But a word of caution, in the early part of her reign, | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
Elizabeth's dress sense is much more to the Puritans' liking. | 0:10:21 | 0:10:25 | |
She often wears stark black and white, | 0:10:27 | 0:10:29 | |
which represent constancy and purity. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:32 | |
Together these symbolise eternal virginity, | 0:10:32 | 0:10:35 | |
an image she is keen to project. | 0:10:35 | 0:10:37 | |
So it might not be a good idea to turn up at court and risk | 0:10:37 | 0:10:40 | |
upstaging the Queen by wearing a cloak of bright red cochineal. | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
Fortunately, since you will be in a royal palace, | 0:10:46 | 0:10:49 | |
you will be able to check how you look in a mirror, | 0:10:49 | 0:10:51 | |
which until recently has been a rarity almost anywhere else. | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
Yet again, however, the Puritan Philip Stubbes strongly disapproves. | 0:10:55 | 0:10:59 | |
Charming! | 0:11:12 | 0:11:14 | |
Assuming you remain undeterred by such scathing verbal attacks, | 0:11:18 | 0:11:22 | |
you will be keen to try out your carefully-chosen outfit to see | 0:11:22 | 0:11:25 | |
if it makes the correct impression in the presence of royalty. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:29 | |
But as Hampton Court is not one of the Queen's favourite residences, | 0:11:31 | 0:11:34 | |
most of the time you will find that she's absent. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:37 | |
Unless she is staying at one of her other palaces, | 0:11:40 | 0:11:43 | |
there's a good chance you have arrived | 0:11:43 | 0:11:45 | |
while the Queen is away on one of her famous Royal Progresses. | 0:11:45 | 0:11:48 | |
On no fewer than two dozen occasions during her reign, | 0:11:48 | 0:11:52 | |
the entire royal court packs up and takes to the road. | 0:11:52 | 0:11:55 | |
Tapestries and paintings are removed from the walls and put into storage, | 0:11:59 | 0:12:02 | |
along with the silverware and other valuables, | 0:12:02 | 0:12:05 | |
while a core staff keeps the palace clean, | 0:12:05 | 0:12:08 | |
aired and ready for her return. | 0:12:08 | 0:12:10 | |
These outings are a major undertaking, | 0:12:17 | 0:12:20 | |
requiring between 300 and 400 carts and wagons | 0:12:20 | 0:12:24 | |
and up to 2,400 horses. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:26 | |
In the words of one court observer: | 0:12:27 | 0:12:30 | |
"Nothing save war is more disruptive to the orderly | 0:12:30 | 0:12:33 | |
"well-being of court life than a Royal Progress." | 0:12:33 | 0:12:37 | |
But progresses form a vital part of Elizabeth's queenship. | 0:12:40 | 0:12:44 | |
They allow people to see her in the flesh and even to meet her. | 0:12:44 | 0:12:47 | |
She in turn can become acquainted with her subjects. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:50 | |
Some of her courtiers are quietly amused by the Queen claiming to be | 0:12:50 | 0:12:54 | |
personally familiar with thousands of members of the landed gentry. | 0:12:54 | 0:12:57 | |
But she really does know quite a lot of them, | 0:12:57 | 0:12:59 | |
largely because of these progresses. | 0:12:59 | 0:13:01 | |
It's another example of Tudor visual propaganda, | 0:13:01 | 0:13:04 | |
in which the Queen herself becomes a living portrait. | 0:13:04 | 0:13:07 | |
She doesn't travel far, however, | 0:13:11 | 0:13:13 | |
since she only visits parts of the country in which she is popular. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:17 | |
She won't set foot in the pro-Catholic north, for example. | 0:13:17 | 0:13:21 | |
But if you wish to catch up with the Royal Progress, | 0:13:22 | 0:13:25 | |
you will have to think about transport. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:27 | |
How do the rich and powerful get around? | 0:13:28 | 0:13:31 | |
Elizabethans are a surprisingly mobile lot, | 0:13:37 | 0:13:40 | |
and that also applies to the country's many poor people, | 0:13:40 | 0:13:43 | |
although they rarely travel more than a few miles, | 0:13:43 | 0:13:47 | |
and almost always on foot. | 0:13:47 | 0:13:49 | |
As a member of the gentry, you wouldn't dream of travelling | 0:13:52 | 0:13:55 | |
in such a dangerous, dirty and vulgar way. | 0:13:55 | 0:13:58 | |
What you want is a set of wheels. | 0:13:58 | 0:14:00 | |
Coaches have soared in popularity as a result | 0:14:00 | 0:14:03 | |
of the Protestant Revolution. | 0:14:03 | 0:14:05 | |
Gentlemen and their families coming back from the continent | 0:14:05 | 0:14:08 | |
have brought with them the customs of places like Antwerp | 0:14:08 | 0:14:11 | |
where there are 500 coaches on the streets of the city. | 0:14:11 | 0:14:14 | |
The greater number of coaches in England means that the price drops, | 0:14:14 | 0:14:18 | |
allowing even the lower reaches of the gentry to travel in this way. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:21 | |
In the 1570s, for instance, you can pick up a second-hand coach | 0:14:25 | 0:14:28 | |
for around eight pounds with a team of four horses | 0:14:28 | 0:14:32 | |
thrown in for an extra ten pounds. | 0:14:32 | 0:14:34 | |
For the budget traveller, you can even hire one | 0:14:36 | 0:14:39 | |
for 16 shillings per day, plus food for the coachman. | 0:14:39 | 0:14:42 | |
But don't forget to allow for horse-feed, which can easily | 0:14:42 | 0:14:46 | |
cost more than meals for yourself and your servants. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:49 | |
Compared to a simple cart or horse, | 0:14:50 | 0:14:53 | |
four-wheeled coaches offer relative luxury and comfort. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:56 | |
This makes them popular among ladies wishing to take advantage | 0:14:56 | 0:15:00 | |
of the privacy in which to exchange gossip, | 0:15:00 | 0:15:03 | |
or indeed "gentlemen" wishing to take advantage of ladies. | 0:15:03 | 0:15:07 | |
If you wish to be seen as a real gentleman however, | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
you should leave this rather effeminate form of transport | 0:15:12 | 0:15:15 | |
to the fair sex, and ride alongside on your horse. | 0:15:15 | 0:15:18 | |
Of course, the ability of coaches to offer greater comfort and speed | 0:15:26 | 0:15:30 | |
is hugely dependent on one thing, the state of England's roads. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:35 | |
These roads were intended for feet and hooves, | 0:15:37 | 0:15:39 | |
not thousands of iron-rimmed wooden wheels. | 0:15:39 | 0:15:42 | |
The clergyman William Harrison puts his finger on the problem | 0:15:42 | 0:15:45 | |
in his celebrated Description of England. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:48 | |
Surprisingly, another potential obstacle | 0:15:59 | 0:16:01 | |
for your coach and horses is the bridge. | 0:16:01 | 0:16:04 | |
Many are wooden and in a poor state of repair. | 0:16:07 | 0:16:10 | |
One look at some of them and you might fear you are taking your life in your hands. | 0:16:10 | 0:16:14 | |
But even a sturdy and well-maintained stone bridge | 0:16:16 | 0:16:19 | |
can still mean the end of the road for your coach trip. | 0:16:19 | 0:16:22 | |
Some bridges, particularly those in rural areas, | 0:16:23 | 0:16:26 | |
are as narrow as four foot, which is fine | 0:16:26 | 0:16:28 | |
if you're just riding a horse or driving a flock of sheep to market. | 0:16:28 | 0:16:31 | |
But if you're travelling by coach it's quite another matter, | 0:16:31 | 0:16:34 | |
especially if your coachman has tethered his horses in pairs | 0:16:34 | 0:16:37 | |
as opposed to the old method of all in a line. | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
As a coach traveller, however, you face another hazard | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
far more sinister than any muddy road or wonky bridge. | 0:16:46 | 0:16:49 | |
The highwayman. | 0:16:51 | 0:16:53 | |
If the word "highwayman" conjures up images | 0:16:57 | 0:17:00 | |
of 18th century scoundrels like Dick Turpin, think again. | 0:17:00 | 0:17:04 | |
Between 1567 and 1602 in Essex alone, | 0:17:05 | 0:17:09 | |
there are 60 court cases relating to the theft of over £1,000 worth | 0:17:09 | 0:17:13 | |
of money and jewellery, all of it stolen on the highways. | 0:17:13 | 0:17:16 | |
And just like their 18th century counterparts, | 0:17:16 | 0:17:19 | |
these highway robbers are often much more than common thieves. | 0:17:19 | 0:17:23 | |
Take, for example, the notorious Gamaliel Ratsey, | 0:17:25 | 0:17:28 | |
son of a Lincolnshire gentleman and something of a Robin Hood figure. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:32 | |
He sports a grotesque mask, is generous to the poor, | 0:17:32 | 0:17:36 | |
and has a wicked sense of humour. | 0:17:36 | 0:17:38 | |
Not content with removing your possessions, | 0:17:40 | 0:17:42 | |
he may well steal your dignity as well. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:44 | |
He has been known to lecture a troupe of actors on their art | 0:17:44 | 0:17:47 | |
while taking their valuables. | 0:17:47 | 0:17:49 | |
If you are a Cambridge scholar, he might force you to recite | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
a piece of classical literature during your ordeal. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:54 | |
On another occasion, | 0:17:54 | 0:17:56 | |
having robbed two wealthy wool merchants near Stamford, | 0:17:56 | 0:17:59 | |
he mockingly knights them "Sir Walter Woolsack" and "Sir Samuel Sheepskin". | 0:17:59 | 0:18:04 | |
If you do have the misfortune to run into the likes of Ratsey or his cohorts, what can you expect? | 0:18:04 | 0:18:10 | |
You'll probably hear them before you see them | 0:18:12 | 0:18:14 | |
as they communicate using owl noises. | 0:18:14 | 0:18:17 | |
When you do see a group of armed ruffians ahead of you, | 0:18:17 | 0:18:20 | |
you'll turn to find another group cutting off your retreat. | 0:18:20 | 0:18:23 | |
When they rob you, they won't just take your money. | 0:18:23 | 0:18:25 | |
They'll take your clothes and horses, too. | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
Some robbers will kill you on the spot, | 0:18:28 | 0:18:30 | |
but Ratsey's gang will normally tie you up in the forest | 0:18:30 | 0:18:33 | |
in such a way that you can work yourself loose after an hour or so. | 0:18:33 | 0:18:36 | |
Then you can make your way to the nearest inn or town... | 0:18:36 | 0:18:38 | |
in your underclothes. | 0:18:38 | 0:18:40 | |
Even if you are spared such an ordeal, you will no doubt | 0:19:00 | 0:19:03 | |
be relieved to arrive at a place of relative safety, such as an inn. | 0:19:03 | 0:19:06 | |
As a wealthy traveller, you might stay at an inn, but only as a matter of necessity. | 0:19:11 | 0:19:15 | |
It's unlikely that the dubious pleasures on offer will attract you. | 0:19:15 | 0:19:19 | |
What's more, even the most respectable establishments | 0:19:19 | 0:19:22 | |
might harbour thieves and other unsavoury characters. | 0:19:22 | 0:19:25 | |
They aren't places for refined gentlemen to stay, still less their ladies. | 0:19:25 | 0:19:29 | |
You'll feel much more at home if you arrange a stay at the house of a gentleman. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:40 | |
And in Elizabethan times, | 0:19:40 | 0:19:43 | |
there's a rapidly increasing number to choose from. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:46 | |
Hundreds of these handsome manor houses spring up | 0:19:48 | 0:19:51 | |
during the Queen's reign, as more and more people | 0:19:51 | 0:19:53 | |
succumb to a wave of construction fever. | 0:19:53 | 0:19:56 | |
"Every man almost is a builder... | 0:20:00 | 0:20:02 | |
"..and he that hath bought any small parcel of ground, | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
"be it never so little, | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
"will not be quiet till he has pulled down the old house | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
"(if any were there standing) and set up a new after his own devising." | 0:20:12 | 0:20:17 | |
Most people would agree that a manor house like this is truly grand. | 0:20:21 | 0:20:25 | |
But while it's clearly an expensive place, it's important to realise | 0:20:25 | 0:20:29 | |
it's not the nobility building houses like this, it's the gentry. | 0:20:29 | 0:20:33 | |
So who are the gentry? | 0:20:33 | 0:20:35 | |
In the strict hierarchy of Elizabethan society, | 0:20:40 | 0:20:42 | |
the gentry are ranked below the level of aristocracy | 0:20:42 | 0:20:46 | |
but above anyone who has to get their hands dirty to earn a living. | 0:20:46 | 0:20:50 | |
They generate their income by letting out land. | 0:20:50 | 0:20:53 | |
But just how much do you need to earn to make the grade? | 0:20:56 | 0:20:59 | |
At the top end of the scale, | 0:21:14 | 0:21:16 | |
a successful lawyer who has wisely invested in a country estate | 0:21:16 | 0:21:19 | |
can expect to pocket in excess of £3,000 per year, as much as an earl. | 0:21:19 | 0:21:24 | |
Many so-called "gentlemen" worth considerably less than this | 0:21:29 | 0:21:32 | |
compensate by pointing to their family coat of arms. | 0:21:32 | 0:21:35 | |
This speaks of an ancestry steeped in the honour and chivalry | 0:21:35 | 0:21:39 | |
of knighthood, and allows them to refer to themselves as "esquire". | 0:21:39 | 0:21:43 | |
But if you want to join them, don't do what some would-be | 0:21:43 | 0:21:45 | |
gentlemen do, and simply make one up. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:48 | |
England doesn't have a police force yet, | 0:21:48 | 0:21:50 | |
but there's a lot of policing going on. | 0:21:50 | 0:21:53 | |
And in this case, officials called "heralds" | 0:21:53 | 0:21:55 | |
scour the counties searching for bogus claims. | 0:21:55 | 0:21:58 | |
You might ask, "Why do so many people want to mimic the gentry?" | 0:22:00 | 0:22:04 | |
There are many reasons, most of them to do with status and local influence. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:09 | |
But the important thing to recognise is that the gentry as a whole | 0:22:10 | 0:22:13 | |
really do run the country. | 0:22:13 | 0:22:15 | |
Think about it financially. | 0:22:15 | 0:22:17 | |
In the year 1600, the income of all the earls, | 0:22:17 | 0:22:21 | |
barons and other members of the nobility combined | 0:22:21 | 0:22:24 | |
amounts to around £220,000. | 0:22:24 | 0:22:27 | |
The income of the gentry is at least ten times that amount, | 0:22:28 | 0:22:31 | |
possibly even 20. | 0:22:31 | 0:22:33 | |
But there is more to their power than just money. | 0:22:34 | 0:22:37 | |
The gentry don't just control the rural people around them, | 0:22:47 | 0:22:50 | |
their tenants and servants and so forth. | 0:22:50 | 0:22:52 | |
They practically own and run the whole country. | 0:22:52 | 0:22:55 | |
From the ranks of the gentry the magistrates and sheriffs are drawn, | 0:22:55 | 0:22:58 | |
and almost every official in central and local government. | 0:22:58 | 0:23:02 | |
With no national army in place, it is the gentry who are appointed | 0:23:02 | 0:23:05 | |
to be deputy lieutenants in every county, | 0:23:05 | 0:23:08 | |
overseeing and controlling the militia. | 0:23:08 | 0:23:10 | |
In Parliament, too, it is the gentry who are elected | 0:23:10 | 0:23:13 | |
to fill the House of Commons. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:15 | |
As Sir Walter Raleigh says, | 0:23:15 | 0:23:16 | |
"The gentry are the garrisons of good order throughout the realm." | 0:23:16 | 0:23:20 | |
So forget your 21st century ideas of democracy and equality. | 0:23:22 | 0:23:25 | |
Elizabethans believe that only in the eyes of God | 0:23:25 | 0:23:29 | |
on Judgement Day are all men and women equal. | 0:23:29 | 0:23:33 | |
Before that, if you want to become an MP or a clergyman, | 0:23:33 | 0:23:37 | |
you will need the support of a gentleman | 0:23:37 | 0:23:39 | |
to open a few doors for you. | 0:23:39 | 0:23:41 | |
A word of advice on greeting. | 0:23:43 | 0:23:45 | |
When a man comes to a house, if the door is opened by a lady, | 0:23:45 | 0:23:49 | |
then the correct etiquette is for him to take her by the arm | 0:23:49 | 0:23:52 | |
and kiss her smack on the lips, | 0:23:52 | 0:23:54 | |
even if she is the wife of the master of the house. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:57 | |
This is just good, gentlemanly behaviour, | 0:23:57 | 0:23:59 | |
but you might want to give it a miss when the plague is in town. | 0:23:59 | 0:24:02 | |
Naturally, the interiors of these manor houses have | 0:24:15 | 0:24:18 | |
more in common with the palaces and stately homes to which they aspire | 0:24:18 | 0:24:22 | |
than with the cramped and squalid homes of the poor. | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
Look around and you'll see the signs of the owner's wealth and status. | 0:24:29 | 0:24:33 | |
The carved wood, perhaps a portrait or two | 0:24:33 | 0:24:37 | |
and maybe even a mirror. | 0:24:37 | 0:24:39 | |
You'll also find carpets, | 0:24:39 | 0:24:41 | |
but they are laid across the tops of tables and over chests. | 0:24:41 | 0:24:45 | |
Only the exceptionally wealthy ever put them on the floor. | 0:24:45 | 0:24:48 | |
It is quite common to find an arsenal of weapons here, too. | 0:24:50 | 0:24:54 | |
Enough pikes, swords, shields and plate armour | 0:24:54 | 0:24:57 | |
to equip the local amateur militia, | 0:24:57 | 0:24:59 | |
should the call to arms suddenly ring out. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:02 | |
Another clear sign that you are in the house of a gentleman | 0:25:06 | 0:25:09 | |
is the presence of servants. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:11 | |
From just one or two in a modest household | 0:25:14 | 0:25:16 | |
to 20 or more in a wealthier one. | 0:25:16 | 0:25:18 | |
Every manservant will cost you about two pounds per year, | 0:25:19 | 0:25:22 | |
and every female domestic helper about half that, | 0:25:22 | 0:25:25 | |
although in households like this, | 0:25:25 | 0:25:27 | |
it's not unusual for an employer to "overlook" payment | 0:25:27 | 0:25:30 | |
for several months and sometimes for several years. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:33 | |
And notice I use the word "household", not family. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:39 | |
The household is this larger group, which includes the servants, | 0:25:39 | 0:25:42 | |
who are expected to be loyal. | 0:25:42 | 0:25:45 | |
This means that servants have to prioritise employers' interests | 0:25:45 | 0:25:48 | |
over those of their own kin. | 0:25:48 | 0:25:50 | |
Don't be too shocked if you catch the master of the house | 0:25:57 | 0:26:00 | |
beating his servants, he may do this with impunity. | 0:26:00 | 0:26:04 | |
He may also beat his wife | 0:26:04 | 0:26:06 | |
and is positively expected to beat his children. | 0:26:06 | 0:26:09 | |
Not to do so is seen as quite irresponsible. | 0:26:09 | 0:26:12 | |
As long as he stops short of actually killing anyone, | 0:26:12 | 0:26:15 | |
he will escape retribution. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:17 | |
Technically, it IS illegal for a man to kill his servants, | 0:26:20 | 0:26:23 | |
but since all that's required as a defence | 0:26:23 | 0:26:25 | |
is to say that he didn't mean to take a life, | 0:26:25 | 0:26:27 | |
prosecutions for this are exceedingly rare. | 0:26:27 | 0:26:31 | |
And violence is not the only manner in which your host | 0:26:31 | 0:26:34 | |
may take advantage of his authority. | 0:26:34 | 0:26:36 | |
Likewise, it is perfectly normal for the master of the household | 0:26:40 | 0:26:43 | |
to expect to receive sexual favours from his female servants. | 0:26:43 | 0:26:47 | |
The girl in such a situation is in a terrible predicament. | 0:26:47 | 0:26:50 | |
Refuse and she faces dismissal, | 0:26:50 | 0:26:53 | |
but give in and she risks disease and pregnancy. | 0:26:53 | 0:26:56 | |
And when pregnancy is discovered, she'll probably be dismissed anyway. | 0:26:56 | 0:27:00 | |
You get a good sense of how engrained such misogyny is | 0:27:03 | 0:27:05 | |
from a 1599 case in Norwich. | 0:27:05 | 0:27:08 | |
The mayor's court decrees that an 18-year-old maidservant, | 0:27:08 | 0:27:11 | |
Katherine Vardine, should be dismissed from her master's service | 0:27:11 | 0:27:15 | |
because HE has syphilis. | 0:27:15 | 0:27:17 | |
It is simply assumed that he will take advantage of her and infect her. | 0:27:17 | 0:27:22 | |
Whether or not such bawdy privileges are extended to you as a guest, | 0:27:39 | 0:27:43 | |
you will doubtless still be keen to get a good night's sleep, | 0:27:43 | 0:27:46 | |
which brings us to the bedchamber. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:49 | |
The first thing you must do waking up in the house of a gentleman | 0:27:49 | 0:27:52 | |
is to attend to your personal hygiene. | 0:27:52 | 0:27:55 | |
Cleanliness is an important part of culture and sophistication, | 0:27:55 | 0:27:58 | |
and the rich will expect you to do something about any bodily odours you might have. | 0:27:58 | 0:28:03 | |
The obvious answer is to have a bath. | 0:28:03 | 0:28:06 | |
However, the Elizabethans do not share our obsession with soap and water. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:10 | |
In fact, they believe that unclean water can make you unwell, | 0:28:10 | 0:28:13 | |
by entering the pores of your skin, and in that, they're not far wrong. | 0:28:13 | 0:28:18 | |
Even something as simple as water is subject to hierarchy. | 0:28:20 | 0:28:24 | |
Rainwater collected from the roof is pure, | 0:28:24 | 0:28:27 | |
since it comes directly from God. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:29 | |
But this is a luxury reserved for washing the parts of the body that show. | 0:28:29 | 0:28:34 | |
Since anything else, such as river water, may indeed carry | 0:28:36 | 0:28:39 | |
infection and disease, you should follow the example | 0:28:39 | 0:28:43 | |
of your fellow Elizabethans and avoid immersing yourself in it. | 0:28:43 | 0:28:47 | |
So just how do you keep yourself clean in the house of a gentleman? | 0:28:48 | 0:28:52 | |
The key to 16th century personal hygiene is not water but linen. | 0:28:55 | 0:29:00 | |
In his book of Naturall and Artificial Directions, | 0:29:00 | 0:29:03 | |
the lawyer William Vaughan advises: | 0:29:03 | 0:29:06 | |
Linen towels called "rubbers" are used to rub your skin | 0:29:22 | 0:29:24 | |
and even your hair clean. | 0:29:24 | 0:29:27 | |
Shirts, smocks and other undergarments, | 0:29:27 | 0:29:29 | |
which soak up sweat and catch dirt, are changed daily. | 0:29:29 | 0:29:32 | |
As you can see, you keep yourself clean by washing not your body but your clothes. | 0:29:32 | 0:29:37 | |
The rich also make liberal use of perfumes and pomades | 0:29:40 | 0:29:43 | |
to improve the smell of their clothes, bodies and hair. | 0:29:43 | 0:29:46 | |
And while eradicating your bodily odours, | 0:29:49 | 0:29:52 | |
you mustn't forget to take care of your breath. | 0:29:52 | 0:29:55 | |
In the absence of dental floss, you might use a toothpick | 0:29:56 | 0:29:59 | |
made of wood, bone or the quill of a feather. | 0:29:59 | 0:30:01 | |
There are no toothbrushes, so instead you'll | 0:30:01 | 0:30:04 | |
clean your teeth with a tooth cloth, | 0:30:04 | 0:30:06 | |
which is a strip of linen. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:08 | |
As for freshening your breath, you might chew cumin seeds or aniseed. | 0:30:08 | 0:30:14 | |
Either of these is probably going to be more advisable than doing | 0:30:14 | 0:30:16 | |
what some physicians recommend, which is | 0:30:16 | 0:30:19 | |
washing your mouth out with white wine followed by | 0:30:19 | 0:30:21 | |
spirit of vitriol. | 0:30:21 | 0:30:23 | |
Spirit of vitriol, by the way, is sulphuric acid. | 0:30:23 | 0:30:26 | |
A fragrant aroma is not just important for social reasons. | 0:30:35 | 0:30:39 | |
Elizabethans firmly believe that foul-smelling air, | 0:30:41 | 0:30:45 | |
like dirty water, carries illness into the body. | 0:30:45 | 0:30:48 | |
The understanding is that your body contains four humours - | 0:30:53 | 0:30:56 | |
blood, phlegm, black bile | 0:30:56 | 0:30:58 | |
and yellow bile, or choler. | 0:30:58 | 0:31:00 | |
Noxious smells and stagnant water | 0:31:00 | 0:31:03 | |
create miasmas, | 0:31:03 | 0:31:04 | |
which upset the balance of these humours in your body. | 0:31:04 | 0:31:07 | |
So too much black bile makes you melancholy, | 0:31:07 | 0:31:09 | |
too much yellow bile makes you choleric, | 0:31:09 | 0:31:11 | |
and too much blood makes you sanguine. | 0:31:11 | 0:31:13 | |
All this is the legacy | 0:31:13 | 0:31:15 | |
of an ancient Roman physician called Galen | 0:31:15 | 0:31:17 | |
and it is believed unquestioningly by physician and patient alike. | 0:31:17 | 0:31:22 | |
By the same token, goodness and purity flow into your body | 0:31:24 | 0:31:28 | |
the same way, so if you are given a bath during your stay, it is | 0:31:28 | 0:31:31 | |
likely to be full of herbs and medicines to treat an illness. | 0:31:31 | 0:31:36 | |
This helps to explain one of the most famous | 0:31:37 | 0:31:40 | |
and misunderstood lines about Queen Elizabeth - | 0:31:40 | 0:31:42 | |
that she takes a bath every month, whether she needs it or not. | 0:31:42 | 0:31:46 | |
The need actually relates to illness - | 0:31:46 | 0:31:48 | |
you take a bath for medical reasons. | 0:31:48 | 0:31:51 | |
So the Venetian ambassador who writes this isn't | 0:31:51 | 0:31:54 | |
saying that the Queen is unclean. | 0:31:54 | 0:31:56 | |
He's saying that she bathes regularly - | 0:31:56 | 0:31:58 | |
even when she's not ill. | 0:31:58 | 0:31:59 | |
According to 16th century medical wisdom, however, | 0:32:06 | 0:32:09 | |
many things can cause an imbalance of your humours. | 0:32:09 | 0:32:12 | |
The movements of the stars, the will of God, | 0:32:16 | 0:32:19 | |
and witchcraft are all just as likely a diagnosis. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:23 | |
Your modern knowledge of basic healthcare | 0:32:25 | 0:32:27 | |
means you may be able to avoid some illnesses, | 0:32:27 | 0:32:30 | |
like dysentery, typhus and scurvy. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:34 | |
But the very nature of diseases is different from what you know, | 0:32:34 | 0:32:37 | |
and changing all the time. | 0:32:37 | 0:32:39 | |
Take syphilis, for example. | 0:32:40 | 0:32:42 | |
In 1500, this can kill you rapidly - perhaps in as little as two weeks. | 0:32:42 | 0:32:47 | |
Two decades on and you can expect to live for 20 years with | 0:32:47 | 0:32:49 | |
the disease, suffering all the time and going mad at the end, of course. | 0:32:49 | 0:32:54 | |
And it's not just diseases that are different. | 0:32:56 | 0:32:58 | |
The cures and the people who administer them will be | 0:33:00 | 0:33:02 | |
equally unfamiliar to you. | 0:33:02 | 0:33:05 | |
More often than not, if you do fall ill, | 0:33:05 | 0:33:07 | |
it won't be a doctor that you see. | 0:33:07 | 0:33:09 | |
Your first line of defence is likely to be local older women | 0:33:09 | 0:33:13 | |
and gentlewomen, whose knowledge is increasing with | 0:33:13 | 0:33:16 | |
the ability to read medical books. | 0:33:16 | 0:33:19 | |
If you require an operation, don't be too alarmed if you discover | 0:33:22 | 0:33:26 | |
that it is carried out by the same man who recently cut your hair. | 0:33:26 | 0:33:30 | |
So-called "barber-surgeons" actually have quite a strong | 0:33:34 | 0:33:38 | |
understanding of anatomy, | 0:33:38 | 0:33:39 | |
since physical injuries from arrows, | 0:33:39 | 0:33:42 | |
swords and even guns | 0:33:42 | 0:33:43 | |
are relatively common. | 0:33:43 | 0:33:46 | |
And, thanks to the barber-surgeons Act of 1540, | 0:33:46 | 0:33:49 | |
those based in London can practice on the corpses of four | 0:33:49 | 0:33:52 | |
executed criminals selected by them every year. | 0:33:52 | 0:33:56 | |
The bad news is that concepts such as germs | 0:33:58 | 0:34:01 | |
and sterilisation are still centuries away, so even after | 0:34:01 | 0:34:06 | |
a successful operation, you are quite likely to die of infection. | 0:34:06 | 0:34:10 | |
It's also worth mentioning that | 0:34:20 | 0:34:22 | |
professional medical help doesn't come cheap. | 0:34:22 | 0:34:24 | |
In the year 1600, you can expect | 0:34:24 | 0:34:27 | |
to pay around 13 shillings | 0:34:27 | 0:34:28 | |
for a course of treatment - | 0:34:28 | 0:34:30 | |
that's more than a month's wages for the average worker. | 0:34:30 | 0:34:33 | |
Even if you CAN afford 13 shillings, | 0:34:35 | 0:34:38 | |
the advice you get might not be any better. | 0:34:38 | 0:34:40 | |
Some physicians have been known to prescribe powdered Egyptian mummy | 0:34:40 | 0:34:44 | |
or the skull of a man killed in war. | 0:34:44 | 0:34:47 | |
Frankly, the best medical advice I can give you is... | 0:34:47 | 0:34:50 | |
don't get sick! | 0:34:50 | 0:34:52 | |
With so many manor houses being built by the gentry, | 0:34:57 | 0:35:01 | |
you might be surprised to find that this construction boom | 0:35:01 | 0:35:03 | |
does not extend upwards to the nobility. | 0:35:03 | 0:35:06 | |
In fact, during Elizabeth's reign, | 0:35:06 | 0:35:09 | |
not a single new stately home is built by the aristocracy. | 0:35:09 | 0:35:12 | |
You are more likely to find them living in the medieval houses | 0:35:12 | 0:35:15 | |
and castles built by their ancestors. | 0:35:15 | 0:35:18 | |
Why? | 0:35:18 | 0:35:20 | |
Obviously, a castle is a fairly effective status symbol, | 0:35:20 | 0:35:23 | |
but that may not be the only reason. | 0:35:23 | 0:35:25 | |
Old money is inherited, | 0:35:27 | 0:35:29 | |
so it belongs to whole families, not individuals, | 0:35:29 | 0:35:33 | |
and is often tied up in loans | 0:35:33 | 0:35:34 | |
or other financial arrangements. | 0:35:34 | 0:35:37 | |
As a result, many noblemen | 0:35:38 | 0:35:40 | |
simply can't afford | 0:35:40 | 0:35:41 | |
the luxury of tearing down their | 0:35:41 | 0:35:43 | |
old houses and building new ones, | 0:35:43 | 0:35:45 | |
especially when a house fit for a nobleman would at least have | 0:35:45 | 0:35:48 | |
to equal something like this... | 0:35:48 | 0:35:50 | |
The great houses built during Elizabeth I's reign | 0:36:04 | 0:36:07 | |
are among the finest that England will ever see, and the aesthetic | 0:36:07 | 0:36:11 | |
near-perfection of Hardwick Hall is arguably the greatest of them all. | 0:36:11 | 0:36:15 | |
The first thing that will strike you on seeing this house is just | 0:36:17 | 0:36:20 | |
how much glass there is on display. | 0:36:20 | 0:36:22 | |
"Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall," as the saying goes. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:26 | |
But that could be said of every stately home | 0:36:26 | 0:36:28 | |
built in England at this time. | 0:36:28 | 0:36:30 | |
Although having your own glazier keeps the cost of glass down | 0:36:34 | 0:36:37 | |
to about ten pence per square foot, | 0:36:37 | 0:36:39 | |
the price quickly mounts up. | 0:36:39 | 0:36:43 | |
Of the £5,000 or so it costs to build a house like this, | 0:36:43 | 0:36:46 | |
glass alone can account for more than £300, | 0:36:46 | 0:36:50 | |
not including the stone frames, the shutters and the fittings. | 0:36:50 | 0:36:53 | |
So, if the nobility can't afford such a hefty price tag, | 0:36:55 | 0:36:58 | |
who is footing the bill for these magnificent | 0:36:58 | 0:37:01 | |
and hugely expensive stately homes? | 0:37:01 | 0:37:03 | |
The answer lies in where the money comes from - | 0:37:14 | 0:37:17 | |
not from inheritance, but through the efforts | 0:37:17 | 0:37:20 | |
and ingenuity of a new breed of rich men. | 0:37:20 | 0:37:23 | |
They are merchants, civil servants and lawyers, | 0:37:26 | 0:37:28 | |
who have made fortunes by investing prudently or maximising | 0:37:28 | 0:37:31 | |
the advantages of their official positions. | 0:37:31 | 0:37:34 | |
They include men like Sir William Cecil, | 0:37:34 | 0:37:37 | |
who spends about £2,000 every year | 0:37:37 | 0:37:38 | |
on his building projects, which include | 0:37:38 | 0:37:41 | |
Burghley House in Lincolnshire and Theobalds in Hertfordshire. | 0:37:41 | 0:37:45 | |
Another example is Sir Francis Willoughby, | 0:37:45 | 0:37:47 | |
who funds the construction of Wollaton Hall by exploiting | 0:37:47 | 0:37:49 | |
the coal mines on his manors, and almost bankrupts himself | 0:37:49 | 0:37:53 | |
in his pursuit of architectural magnificence. | 0:37:53 | 0:37:55 | |
Hardwick Hall itself is also the result of new money, | 0:38:01 | 0:38:05 | |
built by Bess of Hardwick, a lady who was born a mere commoner. | 0:38:05 | 0:38:09 | |
The architecture of these great houses signifies a profound | 0:38:13 | 0:38:16 | |
change in social attitude, | 0:38:16 | 0:38:18 | |
a new-found confidence that was lacking when the castles | 0:38:18 | 0:38:21 | |
of the nobility were built. | 0:38:21 | 0:38:23 | |
The castle of a medieval knight was designed primarily for defence, | 0:38:26 | 0:38:29 | |
with thick stone walls and small windows | 0:38:29 | 0:38:32 | |
which kept out attackers, | 0:38:32 | 0:38:33 | |
but they also kept out light. | 0:38:33 | 0:38:35 | |
The house of an Elizabethan courtier, in contrast, | 0:38:35 | 0:38:38 | |
is all about seeing and being seen. | 0:38:38 | 0:38:41 | |
This is even reflected in the very layout of the building. | 0:38:45 | 0:38:48 | |
For the first time, you'll find grand houses are built | 0:38:48 | 0:38:52 | |
without a central courtyard. | 0:38:52 | 0:38:54 | |
They look outward, not inward. | 0:38:54 | 0:38:56 | |
In the Long Gallery, which is SO long | 0:39:00 | 0:39:03 | |
it is often used for casual strolls in poor weather, | 0:39:03 | 0:39:06 | |
you'll find many portraits of the Queen and other great figures - | 0:39:06 | 0:39:10 | |
a clear announcement that your host is well connected. | 0:39:10 | 0:39:13 | |
Every detail of a great house is designed to demonstrate | 0:39:17 | 0:39:20 | |
the wealth and sophistication of its owner. | 0:39:20 | 0:39:23 | |
But this need to show off can have both positive | 0:39:23 | 0:39:25 | |
and negative consequences. | 0:39:25 | 0:39:27 | |
The positive ones are obvious - national as well as local prestige, | 0:39:27 | 0:39:31 | |
perhaps leading to a position at court. | 0:39:31 | 0:39:33 | |
The negative ones are the sheer expense - | 0:39:33 | 0:39:36 | |
the cost of building the house in the first place, | 0:39:36 | 0:39:39 | |
of equipping it and maintaining all the servants. | 0:39:39 | 0:39:41 | |
Ultimately, success might lead to the privilege - | 0:39:41 | 0:39:44 | |
the financially ruinous privilege - | 0:39:44 | 0:39:47 | |
of entertaining the Queen herself. | 0:39:47 | 0:39:49 | |
When the Queen pays a visit to the Cambridgeshire home | 0:39:55 | 0:39:58 | |
of Lord North in 1577, | 0:39:58 | 0:40:00 | |
she arrives accompanied | 0:40:00 | 0:40:02 | |
by about 2,000 people. | 0:40:02 | 0:40:04 | |
The total cost of the two day visit | 0:40:04 | 0:40:07 | |
is £642, four shillings and tuppence. | 0:40:07 | 0:40:10 | |
And this doesn't include a present for the Queen of a jewel worth £120. | 0:40:10 | 0:40:16 | |
Lord North's expenses include decorating the rooms, | 0:40:16 | 0:40:19 | |
putting up a temporary banqueting house, | 0:40:19 | 0:40:22 | |
and building several temporary kitchens. | 0:40:22 | 0:40:24 | |
There are candles and torches to buy, | 0:40:24 | 0:40:27 | |
and extra pewterware | 0:40:27 | 0:40:28 | |
must be hired from London. | 0:40:28 | 0:40:30 | |
Just doing the dishes costs the equivalent of | 0:40:30 | 0:40:33 | |
a worker's wages for three months. | 0:40:33 | 0:40:36 | |
To give you an idea of the scale of preparation required, | 0:40:37 | 0:40:40 | |
just take a look at the grocery list. | 0:40:40 | 0:40:42 | |
..made into pasties. | 0:40:48 | 0:40:49 | |
And so the list goes on. | 0:40:55 | 0:40:57 | |
And when you consider that a single cow is the equivalent | 0:40:57 | 0:41:00 | |
of an average worker's wages for six months, | 0:41:00 | 0:41:03 | |
then you can see that a royal visit is a mixed blessing | 0:41:03 | 0:41:05 | |
for the host who has to foot the bill. | 0:41:05 | 0:41:08 | |
Vegetables and roots are relegated to a mere footnote, | 0:41:11 | 0:41:14 | |
and while you may find apples, cherries and plums on the table, | 0:41:14 | 0:41:18 | |
you might also find that that is exactly where they stay. | 0:41:18 | 0:41:21 | |
In his hugely influential book, | 0:41:23 | 0:41:25 | |
the Castel of Helth, Sir Thomas Elyot explains. | 0:41:25 | 0:41:29 | |
"All fruits are noyful to man and do engender ill humours." | 0:41:29 | 0:41:35 | |
Clearly, there may be little to tempt you if you're a vegetarian. | 0:41:36 | 0:41:41 | |
Note that, whoever you are, and however much money you have, | 0:41:41 | 0:41:44 | |
you won't always be able to eat meat just when you fancy it. | 0:41:44 | 0:41:47 | |
Even in the house of a nobleman, | 0:41:47 | 0:41:49 | |
if you tuck into a beef pie or a venison pasty on a fish day, | 0:41:49 | 0:41:53 | |
you risk a hefty fine or a spell in the stocks. | 0:41:53 | 0:41:56 | |
And to wash all this food down? | 0:41:57 | 0:41:59 | |
As you've seen, water is far too risky. | 0:41:59 | 0:42:02 | |
Besides, Elizabethans prefer something a little stronger. | 0:42:02 | 0:42:06 | |
In just two days, Lord North's household | 0:42:16 | 0:42:19 | |
and the Royal Court get through | 0:42:19 | 0:42:21 | |
2,500 gallons of beer, | 0:42:21 | 0:42:23 | |
but not much of it is drunk by the aristocrats. | 0:42:23 | 0:42:26 | |
Wine serves as a status symbol, | 0:42:39 | 0:42:41 | |
especially as it has to be imported through London or Bristol, | 0:42:41 | 0:42:46 | |
and then transported around the country at great cost. | 0:42:46 | 0:42:50 | |
Even so, Lord North's vintners order | 0:42:50 | 0:42:53 | |
runs to six gallons of hippocras, which is a spiced wine, | 0:42:53 | 0:42:56 | |
20 gallons of sack, | 0:42:56 | 0:42:58 | |
63 gallons of white wine | 0:42:58 | 0:43:01 | |
and 378 gallons of claret. | 0:43:01 | 0:43:04 | |
For two days. | 0:43:04 | 0:43:05 | |
Naturally, status dictates where you will sit. | 0:43:13 | 0:43:16 | |
Depending on your place in the hierarchy, you may not even dine in | 0:43:16 | 0:43:19 | |
the same room as the Queen, | 0:43:19 | 0:43:21 | |
but have to settle for a place in the hall. | 0:43:21 | 0:43:24 | |
In any case, you will need to learn a little Elizabethan etiquette, | 0:43:24 | 0:43:28 | |
and the Boke of Nurture or Schoole of Good Manners by Hugh Rhodes | 0:43:28 | 0:43:32 | |
is a reliable guide to polite behaviour. | 0:43:32 | 0:43:35 | |
Many rules of the table seem like common sense to us - | 0:43:37 | 0:43:39 | |
wash your hands before you partake, | 0:43:39 | 0:43:41 | |
don't eat before your social superiors | 0:43:41 | 0:43:44 | |
and if you do need to spit or blow your nose, | 0:43:44 | 0:43:46 | |
don't do it across the table - | 0:43:46 | 0:43:48 | |
tread it out discretely on the floor. | 0:43:48 | 0:43:50 | |
But other, more general matters of courtesy | 0:43:50 | 0:43:53 | |
might catch you off your guard. | 0:43:53 | 0:43:55 | |
For example, it is customary to take your hat off | 0:43:55 | 0:43:57 | |
when somebody urinates in your company. | 0:43:57 | 0:44:00 | |
Servants are even expected to doff their caps | 0:44:00 | 0:44:03 | |
when their master's horse passes water in the street. | 0:44:03 | 0:44:06 | |
As the feast draws to a close, the dances begin, | 0:44:09 | 0:44:12 | |
and it's time to join the Queen. | 0:44:12 | 0:44:16 | |
A gentleman who wishes to ask a lady to dance should | 0:44:16 | 0:44:18 | |
take off his hat with his left hand, and offer his right to lead her out. | 0:44:18 | 0:44:22 | |
Ladies may ask gentlemen to dance. | 0:44:23 | 0:44:25 | |
And note that it is bad manners to refuse. | 0:44:25 | 0:44:27 | |
Increasingly, the fashion is for faster, | 0:44:31 | 0:44:34 | |
more modern dances such as a galliard. | 0:44:34 | 0:44:38 | |
For this, the couple often separate, | 0:44:38 | 0:44:40 | |
so they can each show off their dancing skills with hops, | 0:44:40 | 0:44:43 | |
half-steps, fast steps, twists, side-steps and leaps. | 0:44:43 | 0:44:47 | |
I suggest you take lessons - it's not something you can improvise! | 0:44:48 | 0:44:52 | |
The Queen herself dances galliards to keep fit, | 0:44:53 | 0:44:57 | |
but probably not a variation called "la volta", | 0:44:57 | 0:45:01 | |
where the gentleman lifts the lady by placing his left hand on her far hip | 0:45:01 | 0:45:05 | |
and his right hand at the bottom of her corset, between her legs. | 0:45:05 | 0:45:09 | |
Naturally, such vulgar displays of intimacy do not go down well | 0:45:11 | 0:45:15 | |
with Puritans like Philip Stubbes. | 0:45:15 | 0:45:17 | |
If you are worried about embarrassing yourself in front | 0:45:38 | 0:45:40 | |
of a great lord or lady, spare a thought for the Earl of Oxford. | 0:45:40 | 0:45:44 | |
One day, when bowing down in front of the Queen, he breaks wind. | 0:45:44 | 0:45:48 | |
Mortified, he leaves court immediately | 0:45:48 | 0:45:50 | |
and doesn't return for seven years. | 0:45:50 | 0:45:52 | |
When he finally does meet the Queen again, she greets him | 0:45:52 | 0:45:55 | |
with the words, "My lord, I had quite forgotten the fart." | 0:45:55 | 0:45:58 | |
The Queen may well have a sense of humour, | 0:46:02 | 0:46:05 | |
but you cross her at your peril. | 0:46:05 | 0:46:09 | |
With such luxury and privilege at your disposal, | 0:46:09 | 0:46:12 | |
you may think you have it made, but beware. | 0:46:12 | 0:46:17 | |
With a few careless words, | 0:46:17 | 0:46:19 | |
all this could be lost, along with your life. | 0:46:19 | 0:46:21 | |
While you are busy ingratiating yourself in the presence | 0:46:28 | 0:46:32 | |
of royalty, your servants may be enjoying | 0:46:32 | 0:46:34 | |
the company of strangers at a nearby inn or tavern. | 0:46:34 | 0:46:38 | |
Which is fine, except there is more to worry about here than | 0:46:38 | 0:46:42 | |
just daylight robbery or a dodgy pint of ale. | 0:46:42 | 0:46:44 | |
While your servants may believe they are just having a casual chat | 0:46:44 | 0:46:48 | |
with their newly made acquaintances, perhaps mentioning your name, | 0:46:48 | 0:46:51 | |
their words may soon find their way back to the Queen's secretary, | 0:46:51 | 0:46:55 | |
courtesy of his spy network. | 0:46:55 | 0:46:57 | |
As a member of society's elite, | 0:47:14 | 0:47:16 | |
careless words are your Achilles heel. | 0:47:16 | 0:47:19 | |
There are infiltrators everywhere, even in your own household, | 0:47:19 | 0:47:23 | |
eavesdropping on your every word | 0:47:23 | 0:47:25 | |
and reporting back to the Queen's chief advisor, Sir William Cecil. | 0:47:25 | 0:47:30 | |
When Sir Francis Walsingham becomes the Queen's spymaster in 1573, | 0:47:30 | 0:47:35 | |
this network spreads throughout England, Europe | 0:47:35 | 0:47:38 | |
and even as far afield as Turkey. | 0:47:38 | 0:47:40 | |
What are they listening for? | 0:47:42 | 0:47:44 | |
Any hint of treason, disloyalty or sedition. | 0:47:44 | 0:47:49 | |
Now, most of us enjoy a good grumble, | 0:47:49 | 0:47:51 | |
especially over a drink or two. | 0:47:51 | 0:47:52 | |
But the spy's task is to report all statements of disloyalty | 0:47:52 | 0:47:56 | |
and disaffection to the authorities. | 0:47:56 | 0:47:58 | |
Thus the stakes are very high. | 0:47:58 | 0:48:00 | |
In 1587 a smith in Hatfield Peverel is sentenced to death | 0:48:00 | 0:48:04 | |
and hanged just for saying that King Edward VI is still alive. | 0:48:04 | 0:48:08 | |
But why go to such lengths? Why the paranoia? | 0:48:08 | 0:48:11 | |
It's because the Queen has no shortage of enemies. | 0:48:14 | 0:48:17 | |
There are those who despise her on religious grounds, | 0:48:21 | 0:48:26 | |
especially certain Northerners, who actively seek rebellion. | 0:48:26 | 0:48:30 | |
Adversaries from overseas. | 0:48:31 | 0:48:34 | |
MPs who feel threatened by her. | 0:48:36 | 0:48:38 | |
But basically they all fall into two groups - Puritans and Catholics. | 0:48:41 | 0:48:46 | |
Without a doubt, the most feared group is the Catholics. | 0:48:46 | 0:48:49 | |
Whereas the Puritans represent a merely religious challenge, | 0:48:49 | 0:48:52 | |
the Catholics carry the additional threats of invasion by Spain | 0:48:52 | 0:48:55 | |
and the assassination of the Queen so she can be replaced | 0:48:55 | 0:48:58 | |
on the throne by her Catholic cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. | 0:48:58 | 0:49:01 | |
One of our modern assumptions is that at the very moment | 0:49:05 | 0:49:08 | |
Elizabeth becomes Queen in 1558, | 0:49:08 | 0:49:11 | |
England suddenly ceases to be a Catholic territory, and that's that. | 0:49:11 | 0:49:16 | |
During the early part of her reign, such matters are far | 0:49:16 | 0:49:18 | |
from certain, and yet you may find yourself forced to choose sides. | 0:49:18 | 0:49:23 | |
But picking the winning team is easier said than done. | 0:49:23 | 0:49:26 | |
In the 1580s there is an attempt on the Queen's life almost every year. | 0:49:26 | 0:49:29 | |
If just one of these were to prove successful, | 0:49:29 | 0:49:32 | |
Elizabethan England would come to a sudden close. | 0:49:32 | 0:49:35 | |
One of these schemes in particular shows the lengths to which | 0:49:40 | 0:49:43 | |
plotters will go, | 0:49:43 | 0:49:44 | |
and the effectiveness of this Elizabethan secret service. | 0:49:44 | 0:49:49 | |
In 1586, a group of conspirators led by a young Catholic gentleman | 0:49:49 | 0:49:54 | |
called Anthony Babington hatch a plot to kill the Queen. | 0:49:54 | 0:49:57 | |
Their plan is to assassinate her and with the help of a | 0:49:57 | 0:50:00 | |
Spanish invasion, to put Mary Queen of Scots on the throne instead. | 0:50:00 | 0:50:05 | |
Babington smuggles coded letters in and out of Mary's prison, | 0:50:05 | 0:50:08 | |
using waterproof wallets inside ale barrels. | 0:50:08 | 0:50:11 | |
Walsingham's spies intercept these letters and break the code, | 0:50:11 | 0:50:16 | |
but they don't raise the alarm immediately. | 0:50:16 | 0:50:18 | |
Instead they put the letters back in the barrels, | 0:50:18 | 0:50:20 | |
so that Babington and his friends don't realise the game is up. | 0:50:20 | 0:50:24 | |
It's a brilliant move. | 0:50:24 | 0:50:26 | |
Not only do the conspirators incriminate themselves further, | 0:50:26 | 0:50:29 | |
they also unwittingly deliver proof to Walsingham | 0:50:29 | 0:50:32 | |
that Mary herself is complicit. | 0:50:32 | 0:50:35 | |
Eventually, no fewer than 14 of the conspirators are caught. | 0:50:35 | 0:50:39 | |
They are sentenced to death and so is the Scottish queen. | 0:50:39 | 0:50:42 | |
Assassination plots and treason are mainly of concern to you, | 0:50:47 | 0:50:51 | |
the cream of society. | 0:50:51 | 0:50:52 | |
The poor are far too busy simply trying to survive. | 0:50:52 | 0:50:55 | |
It follows, therefore, that such treachery should be dealt with | 0:50:59 | 0:51:03 | |
by a suitably superior form of justice. | 0:51:03 | 0:51:05 | |
Star Chamber is an elite court, | 0:51:08 | 0:51:11 | |
made up of members of the Privy Council. | 0:51:11 | 0:51:13 | |
So called because it meets in the Star Chamber | 0:51:13 | 0:51:15 | |
in the Palace of Westminster. | 0:51:15 | 0:51:17 | |
The mere mention of its name is enough to strike fear into the heart | 0:51:17 | 0:51:20 | |
and you'd better pray you are never summoned to appear before it. | 0:51:20 | 0:51:24 | |
Star Chamber does not have to abide by the legal system | 0:51:27 | 0:51:30 | |
when judging you. | 0:51:30 | 0:51:31 | |
It can proceed on rumour alone. | 0:51:31 | 0:51:34 | |
And there is no jury - every single councillor present is a judge. | 0:51:34 | 0:51:39 | |
Worse still, they can punish you by just about any means | 0:51:39 | 0:51:42 | |
they see fit - imprisonment in the Tower, whipping or branding, | 0:51:42 | 0:51:47 | |
cutting off your ears or hands or slitting your nose. | 0:51:47 | 0:51:50 | |
For many people, the term "medieval" is practically a byword for torture. | 0:51:57 | 0:52:02 | |
But in fact, English medieval kings almost never engaged in this | 0:52:02 | 0:52:06 | |
form of brutality. | 0:52:06 | 0:52:08 | |
It is the Elizabethans who pioneered state-authorised torture. | 0:52:08 | 0:52:12 | |
So if it is decided that YOU need a spot of attitude adjustment, | 0:52:15 | 0:52:20 | |
what exactly can you expect to endure? | 0:52:20 | 0:52:22 | |
A first-hand account by English Catholic Edward Rishton | 0:52:24 | 0:52:28 | |
lists no fewer than seven separate methods of torture, | 0:52:28 | 0:52:31 | |
from incarceration in a tiny dungeon too small to stand up in, | 0:52:31 | 0:52:35 | |
to a stretch on the dreaded rack. | 0:52:35 | 0:52:38 | |
Father John Gerard, one of the very few Jesuits | 0:52:40 | 0:52:43 | |
to survive being tortured, is taken to the Tower in 1597. | 0:52:43 | 0:52:47 | |
He describes in horrifying detail what it is like to have | 0:52:47 | 0:52:51 | |
iron rings fastened around his wrists, to be hoisted on chains | 0:52:51 | 0:52:55 | |
and suspended by his arms for hours. | 0:52:55 | 0:52:57 | |
He then falls unconscious due to the unbearable pain | 0:53:18 | 0:53:21 | |
and is lowered to the ground until he comes to, | 0:53:21 | 0:53:24 | |
just for the whole process to begin again. | 0:53:24 | 0:53:27 | |
Even if, like Father Gerard, you DO survive your ordeal, | 0:53:39 | 0:53:43 | |
chances are this is only the appetiser. | 0:53:43 | 0:53:46 | |
If you find yourself being escorted across London | 0:53:50 | 0:53:52 | |
at Her Majesty's pleasure, then the main course is still to come, | 0:53:52 | 0:53:56 | |
served up with relish by the executioner. | 0:53:56 | 0:53:59 | |
Public executions are a means of demonstrating government power | 0:54:05 | 0:54:08 | |
and social control - as well as removing some enemies of the state. | 0:54:08 | 0:54:12 | |
For the masses, they are also hugely popular | 0:54:12 | 0:54:15 | |
as forms of entertainment. | 0:54:15 | 0:54:17 | |
The most common method of dispatching the guilty is | 0:54:17 | 0:54:20 | |
a simple hanging, the standard punishment | 0:54:20 | 0:54:23 | |
for everything from theft to witchcraft. | 0:54:23 | 0:54:26 | |
As a nobleman you might be able to avoid this by petitioning | 0:54:30 | 0:54:33 | |
the Queen, to allow you to have your head cut off instead. | 0:54:33 | 0:54:37 | |
But these methods of execution are positively humane | 0:54:39 | 0:54:43 | |
compared to the one reserved for traitors. | 0:54:43 | 0:54:46 | |
The unbelievably grisly sight of someone being | 0:54:47 | 0:54:50 | |
hanged, drawn and quartered is arguably the most infamous | 0:54:50 | 0:54:53 | |
and graphic demonstration of the appetite for cruelty. | 0:54:53 | 0:54:56 | |
To the delight of a cheering crowd, the convicted traitor | 0:54:56 | 0:54:59 | |
is drawn to the gallows on a hurdle, which is a kind of sledge. | 0:54:59 | 0:55:03 | |
He is then hanged until his face turns purple. | 0:55:03 | 0:55:05 | |
But before he dies, he is cut down | 0:55:05 | 0:55:08 | |
and the next stage of the ordeal begins. | 0:55:08 | 0:55:11 | |
Still alive, his intestines are cut out, | 0:55:11 | 0:55:14 | |
but his major tubes are sewn up, so he can witness his own entrails | 0:55:14 | 0:55:18 | |
being burned on a specially prepared fire in front of him. | 0:55:18 | 0:55:21 | |
Finally, his head is cut off and sent to London Bridge, | 0:55:21 | 0:55:26 | |
and the rest of his body is cut into quarters, | 0:55:26 | 0:55:28 | |
each one with a limb still attached. | 0:55:28 | 0:55:30 | |
This is the fate that awaits the 14 conspirators | 0:55:35 | 0:55:37 | |
foiled by the Queen's network of spies. | 0:55:37 | 0:55:40 | |
Babington and six others are dispatched in this horrific manner. | 0:55:42 | 0:55:46 | |
But their screams of agony are so terrible | 0:55:48 | 0:55:51 | |
that the crowd eventually starts to sympathise with them. | 0:55:51 | 0:55:54 | |
When word of this is sent to the Queen, | 0:55:54 | 0:55:56 | |
she demonstrates her mercy by allowing the remaining seven | 0:55:56 | 0:55:59 | |
to be hanged fully to death before their intestines are removed. | 0:55:59 | 0:56:03 | |
These executions serve as a stark reminder that at a moment's notice, | 0:56:07 | 0:56:11 | |
even the most privileged may lose their riches, | 0:56:11 | 0:56:14 | |
their power and their lives. | 0:56:14 | 0:56:16 | |
The Queen's position is equally uncertain. | 0:56:17 | 0:56:20 | |
If just one of the plots against her succeeds, | 0:56:20 | 0:56:23 | |
it will be her head on the block. | 0:56:23 | 0:56:25 | |
And remember that all the wealthy are vulnerable to such a fate, | 0:56:30 | 0:56:33 | |
whoever you are and wherever you come from. | 0:56:33 | 0:56:36 | |
For the rich and the powerful, nothing in life is certain. | 0:56:46 | 0:56:50 | |
As we have seen, more and more men are making their own fortunes. | 0:56:50 | 0:56:53 | |
Society is changing. | 0:56:53 | 0:56:55 | |
New wealth is being created, | 0:56:55 | 0:56:57 | |
and with it come new opportunities for success and status. | 0:56:57 | 0:57:00 | |
As your stay among the wealthy draws to a close, you may come to realise | 0:57:03 | 0:57:07 | |
that what you are witnessing around you | 0:57:07 | 0:57:09 | |
are the first small steps towards | 0:57:09 | 0:57:11 | |
the freedoms and opportunities that we all enjoy today. | 0:57:11 | 0:57:15 | |
For the first time, it is possible for someone outside | 0:57:17 | 0:57:20 | |
the ranks of the nobility to rise to the top of society | 0:57:20 | 0:57:23 | |
through enterprise and endeavour | 0:57:23 | 0:57:26 | |
rather than as a consequence of birth. | 0:57:26 | 0:57:28 | |
These social changes go hand in hand with progress in science, | 0:57:31 | 0:57:35 | |
exploration, literature and the arts, | 0:57:35 | 0:57:37 | |
and these too find new consumers and new producers. | 0:57:37 | 0:57:41 | |
The aspiring middle classes have arrived. | 0:57:41 | 0:57:44 | |
Next time, you'll join craftsmen, architects and merchants | 0:57:48 | 0:57:51 | |
striving to forge a better, more prosperous future. | 0:57:51 | 0:57:55 | |
You'll also meet the scientists, writers and explorers | 0:57:56 | 0:58:00 | |
whose ideas and achievements | 0:58:00 | 0:58:02 | |
have made them household names to this day. | 0:58:02 | 0:58:04 | |
What they all share is a desire to better their lives. | 0:58:06 | 0:58:09 | |
And through their success they change the world. | 0:58:11 | 0:58:14 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:58:16 | 0:58:19 |