Queen Victoria

Recently, I have been watching the series on Queen Victoria on a Sunday evening ( and series 2 is now out 9pm ITV) and I have found it incredibly interesting.  I've done quite a bit of reading on this Queen and thought I knew "a lot" but the series is bringing out a character I have never seen in the books.

This beautiful young woman came to the throne at 18 years of age, after a very sheltered childhood, and yet Victoria seemed to have a deep understanding of people and her country. The series portrays a very strong woman who, at times, was very unsure of herself and what or where she should go.
Victoria learnt very quickly who to rely on, who to ask advice from and who to trust, and all of this made her a very wise Queen.
It always amazes me the fact that Victoria had 9 living children but didn't actually "like" being pregnant and having babies. Mind you, back in those days there was no painkiller to help the mother and the doctors, although they did their best, did not have the knowledge that our doctors have today, so this is quite understandable.

Victoria adored her husband Albert, almost worshiping him, but her strong character was always there as she rarely let the Prince help her with Royal duties, letters, signing, etc.
The Prince Albert loved his children but was very strict with them. The lessons he set out for his sons almost followed a military regime and Albert was particularly unforgiving with his eldest son.
But from my reading, I think the children had a happy childhood and were allowed to use their imaginations in their little worlds.

I will be coming back to this beautiful Queen another time, but for now, I highly recommend the series "Queen Victoria" as it shows the 'human' side of this very Unique Queen.

TO SUM UP The Elizabethan Era

                                                               To Sum Up
To Sum Up the Elizabethan Era, I quote from a fantastic book called "The Time Traveller's Guide To Elizabethan England" by Ian Mortimer, and from where I have got most of my information about this Era :
"But in the 16th Century some individuals do change the course of society. We think immediately of the Queen. The shift to Protestantism is Elizabeth's doing, and the form of the new English religion is even more her personal design.She not only turns the tiller, she holds it firmly and never let's go, and shrugs off every hand placed on her shoulder. Elizabeth also deserves the credit for making herself splendidly visible to her people, even after the pope excommunicates her and puts her life at risk. It would be easy for her simply to hide away and keep herself safely; but then we would not have Gloriana, the regal symbol of English sovereign independence and national pride. She is loved by her people --- not all of them, certainly, but by the majority --- who have confidence in her as a God-chosen ruler. She decides not to marry, and while it is the correct political sacrifice: much of her later life is tinged with loneliness and sadness. So many responsibilities lie on her shoulders that one cannot see her alone in her palace, putting on her wig, without hearing a whisper from Shakespeare's Henry V : 'what infinite heart's ease must kings neglect that private men enjoy. And what have kings that privates have not too save ceremony, save general ceremony?' "
                                           Could I have lived in the Elizabethan Era ?

ENTERTAINMENT in the Elizabethan Era

Some of the Entertainment of the Elizabethan Era was the same as today :
Listening to music is the same whether listening to a full orchestra of through an iPod --- it is still listening to music. Making love never changes. Drinking beer and wine will always be an enjoyable pastime. Even reading books, whether a physical book or a kindle. We also play games the same as the Elizabethans, Chess being a favourite then as it is today, it's just that today Chess can be played electronically as well as with a real chessboard and pieces. Of course, during this Era, the Theatre came into its own and we are well aware of Shakespeare and his plays --- which we still see performed today, even in the very same theatres he originally performed in !

                                      So how was the Entertainment different to ours today ?
Over hundred of years, buildings change, move, are destroyed or built, so Sight seeing would have been different, although like today, the expense of seeing certain sights would have meant that very few Londoners would have seen them.
                                       Another pastime which we would find disgusting to watch was baiting (bull or bear baiting / cock-fighting / etc,etc) and seeing criminals hanged or drawn and quartered.  We can't imagine this for Entertainment today, but back then --- the crowd would cheer at such things.
                                     It is funny how people (mostly men) would go to the alehouses and / or taverns to have a pint and a smoke, when today smoking is no longer allowed in pubs.
                                    Playing cards was a favourite, especially amongst the rich, who could afford to gamble. Bowls and tennis was often played, and archery was not just a game but a very useful skill to practice, especially for men and boys who would fight for their country. Of course, the preferred sport for the gentry was hunting, a good way of getting food for supper. Fishing is a dying art today but it must have been very popular and useful in the Elizabethan Era, again, putting food on the table.

                                                                 What about football ?
Yes, the Elizabethans played football but it was a much different game to what we know today. Resembling rugby more than "football", it was a violent game with no referee, no rules as such and it was very much the common man's game. The ball was a pig's bladder filled with peas and there were two goal posts. Today we use a leather ball and still have the goal posts but that is where the similarities end.

The Elizabethan Era is known for its theatre and literature and we are very fortunate that so much from this Era is still available to us today --- hundreds of years later !

HEALTH In The Elizabethan Era

                                                                           HEALTH

A different Era in time will have different Health Care when compared to today. We have so much more knowledge of Health and Medicine, that we take it for granted! In the Elizabethan Era, the priorities were so different when compared to ours today. These people lived their lives believing in God, and that most illnesses were His displeasure, or when someone fell ill, it was because they had sinned. Of course, the qualified doctors did try to understand the human body purely from a physical standpoint, but even their viewpoints are terrifying for us to read about today. There were very few highly qualified doctors, who had studied at the universities and gone on to achieve the medical degree --- the length and cost of the training meant that only the very rich could afford this --- and only men ! There were many other 'doctors' around, some "qualified", others just to make a quick penny.

 This meant that the housewife and mother had to learn "how" to treat certain common ailments. The use of herbs and having a herb garden, as well as other 'medicinal' items became the responsibility of the mistress of the house. Grandmother passed knowledge onto mother who passed knowledge onto daughter. Often these remedies worked, other times they would end in disaster. Old Wives Tales were (and still are) dangerous to listen to, but they didn't  know any different back then. Their knowledge was so limited but we had to pass through that ignorance to develop the knowledge we have today.

The history books talk of the bad smells, especially within the cities. There were no flush toilets as we know today, and the human waste was often thrown into the streets, especially by the poor. If you were rich, you could stay fairly clean.If you were poor, you washed in the river. During this Era, people rarely bathed, usually only for medicinal reasons. It was expensive to have clean water.

A form of "washing" was to use a cloth and rub it all over the body, to get rid of the sweat from the body. Cleaning the teeth with a cloth was encouraged, as was combing the hair. No doubt the poor did their best, but only the rich had the money to stay clean !