fields were ploughed and harrowed and the manure spread. Also, trees
and hedges were set, fruit trees pruned, and timber lopped. In
March and April, the fields were stirred again and the wheat and
rye sown. In May gardens were planted, hop vines trained to poles,
ditches scoured, lambs weaned, and sheep watched for "rot". In
June sheep were washed and sheared, and fields were spread with
lime and clay, and manured. In July hay was cut, dried, and
stacked. In August crops were harvested, which called for extra
help from neighbors and townsmen who took holidays at harvesting.
Then there was threshing, and the sowing of winter wheat and rye.
In the autumn, cider from apples and perry from pears may be made.
By November the fall planting was finished and the time had come
for the killing of cattle and hanging up their salted carcasses
for winter meat. Straw would be laid down with dung, to be spread
next spring on the fields. Stock that could not live outdoors in
winter were brought into barns.
Government regulated the economy. In times of dearth, it ordered
Justices of the Peace to buy grain and sell it below cost. It
forbade employers to lay off workers whose products they could not
sell. It used the Star Chamber Court to enforce economic
regulations.
There were food riots usually during years of harvest failure, in
which organized groups seized foodstuffs being transported or in
markets, and enclosure riots, in which organized groups destroyed
hedges and fences erected in agrarian reorganization to restrict
access to or to subdivide former common pasture land. These self-
help riots were last resorts to appeals. They were relatively
orderly and did not expand into random violence. The rioters were
seldom punished more than a fining or whipping of the leaders and
action was taken to satisfy their legitimate grievances.
The poor came to resent the rich and there was a rise in crime
among the poor. Penal laws were frequently updated in an effort to
bring more order.
Enclosures of land were made to carry on improved methods of
tillage, which yielded more grain and more sheep fleece. Drainage
of extensive marsh land created more land for agriculture. Waste
land was used to breed game and "fowling" contributed to farmers'
and laborers' livelihoods. Killing game was not the exclusive
right of landowners, but was a common privilege. The agricultural
laborer, who worked for wages and composed most of the wage-
earning population, found it hard to make ends meet.
In 1610, weekly wages for a mason were 8s. or 5s., for a laborer
were 6s. or 4s., for a carpenter 8s. or 6s. An unskilled laborer
received 1s. a day.
There were conventions of paternalism and deference between
neighbors of unequal social status. A social superior often
protected his lessers from impoverishment For instance, the
landlord lessened rents in times of harvest failure. A social
superior would help find employment for a lesser person or his
children, stand surety for a recognizance, intervene in a court
case, or have his wife tend a sick member of his lesser's family.
A social obligation was felt by most of the rich, the landlords,
the yeomen farmers, and the clergy. This system of paternalism and
social deference was expressed and reinforced at commonly attended
village sports and games, dances, wakes and "ales" (the proceeds
of which went to the relief of a certain person in distress),
"rush-bearings", parish feasts, weddings, christenings,
"churchings" to give thanks for births, and funerals. Even the
poor were buried in coffins. Also there was social interaction at
the local alehouse, where neighbors drank, talked, sang, and
played at bowls or "shove goat" together.
Quarrelling was commonplace. For instance, borough authorities
would squabble over the choice of a schoolmaster; the parson would
carry on a long fight with parishioners over tithe hens and pigs;
two country gentlemen would continue a vendetta started by their
great-grandfathers over a ditch or hunting rights; the
parishioners would wrangle with the churchwardens over the
allocation of pews. The position of one's pew reflected social
position. Men tried to keep the pews of their ancestors and the
newly prosperous wanted the recognition in the better pews, for
which they had to pay a higher amount. But, on the other hand,
farmers were full of good will toward their neighbors. They lent
farm and kitchen equipment, helped raise timbers for a neighbor's
new barn, sent food and cooked dishes to those providing a funeral
feast and to the sick and incurable.
Village standards of behavior required that a person not to drink
to excess, quarrel, argue, profane, gossip, cause a nuisance,
abuse wife or children, or harbor suspicious strangers, and to pay
scot and bear lot as he was asked. Neighbors generally got along
well and frequently borrowed and loaned small sums of money to
each other without interest for needs that suddenly arose. Bad
behavior was addressed by mediation and, if this failed, by
exclusion from holy communion. There was also whipping and the
stocks.
Marital sex was thought to be good for the health and happiness of
the husband and enjoyable by wives. The possibility of female
orgasm was encouraged. Both women and men were thought to have
"seed" and drank certain potions to cause pregnancy or to prevent
birth. Some argued that orgasm of both partners was necessary for
the "seed" of the male and female to mix to produce pregnancy.
Most women were in a virtual state of perpetual pregnancy. Both
Catholics and Protestants thought that God wanted them to multiply
and cover the earth. Catholics thought that the only goal of sex
was procreation. Men were considered ready for marriage only when
they could support a family, which was usually at about age 30.
Brides were normally virgins, but there was bridal pregnancy of
about 20%. Women usually married at about age 25. Marriages were
usually within one's own class and religion. The aristocracy often
initiated matches of their children for the sake of continuity in
the family estates and tried to obtain the consent of their
children for the match in mind. The age of consent to marry was 14
for boys and 12 for girls. Girls in arranged marriages often
married at 13, and boys before they went to university. But the
girls usually stayed with their parents for a couple of years
before living with their husbands. If married before puberty,
consummation of the marriage waited for such time. In other
classes, the initiative was usually taken by the child. Dowries
and marriage portions usually were given by the parents of the
bride. Wet-nurses frequently were used, even by Puritans. There
were no baby bottles. Many babies died, causing their parents much
grief. About 1/4 of women's deaths occurred during childbirth. A
child was deemed to be the husband's if he was within the four
seas, i.e. not in foreign lands, for an agreed length of time.
Illegitimacy was infrequent, and punished by church-mandated
public penance by the mother and lesser penance and maintenance by
the father. The church court punished adultery and defamation for
improper sexual conduct.
The established church still taught that the husband was to be the
authority in marriage and had the duty to provide for, protect,
and maintain his wife. Wives were to obey their husbands, but
could also admonish and advise their husbands without reproach. In
literature, women were portrayed as inferior to men intellectually
and morally as well as physically. In reality wives did not fit
the image of women portrayed by the church and literature.
Quarrels were not uncommon and were not stopped by a husband's
assertion of authority. Wives were very active in the harvesting
and did casual labor of washing, weeding, and stone-picking.
Farmers' and tradesmen's wives kept accounts, looked after the
garden, orchard, pigs, and poultry; brewed beer; spun wool and
flax; and acted as agents in business affairs. Wives of craftsmen
and tradesmen participated actively in their husbands' shops.
Wives of weavers spun for their husband's employers. Wives of the
gentry ran their households with their husbands. The lady of a
large mansion superintended the household, ordering and looking
after the servants, and seeing to the education of her children.
Mothers handed down their recipes to their daughters. Women still
did much needlework and embroidering for clothing and house, such
as cushions, screens, bed curtains, window curtains, hangings,
footstools, book covers, and small chests of drawers for
valuables. Liking simplicity, Puritan women did less of this work.
Naming one's wife as executor of one's will was the norm.
Jointures were negotiated at the betrothal of ladies. Widows of
manorial tenants were guaranteed by law one-third of family real
property, despite creditors. But most testators went beyond this
and gave a life interest in the farm or family house. So it was
customary for a widow to remain in occupation of the land until
her death or remarriage. Few widows or widowers lived with one of
their children. Widows usually had their husband's guild rights
and privileges conferred upon them, e.g. to receive apprentices.
In London, custom gave 1/3 of a deceased husband's estate to his
wife on his death, but 2/3 if there were no children. The other
part went according to his will. If a widows did not remarry in
memory of her husband, she was esteemed. But remarriage was common
because the life expectancy after birth was about 35 years.
Sons of the well-to-do went into law, the Church, the army, or the
navy. If not fit for such, they usually went into a trade,
apprenticing, for instance, with a draper, silk merchant, or
goldsmith. Sometimes a son was sent to the house of a great man as
a page or esquire to learn the ways of courtiers and perhaps
become a diplomat.
The guild with its master and their employees was being replaced
by a company of masters.
About 5% of the population was Catholic, although it was against
the law to practice this religion. Indeed it long been the
practice to sequester their lands, punish them for going to mass,
fine them for not attending the established church, banish their
priests, and imprison those who aided priests. There was a
Catholic plot in 1605 to blow up Parliament and the king with
gunpowder and to restore Catholicism as the state religion with a
Catholic king. It was discovered and the conspirators were
executed. Then there was a crackdown on Catholics, with houses
being searched for hiding places for priests. Also, legislation
was passed barring Catholics from many offices.
James I ruled over both England and Scotland. He had come from
Scotland, so was unfamiliar with English love of their rights,
passion for liberty and justice, and extensive discussing of
religion and quoting scripture. When he came to the throne, he
had a conference with a group of Puritans who asked for certain
reforms: ceremonies such as the cross in baptism and the ring in
marriage should not be used, only educated men competent to preach
should be made ministers, bishops should not be allowed to hold
benefices that they did not administer, and minor officials should
not excommunicate for trifles and twelve-penny matters. He not
only denied their requests, but had the English Bible revised into
the King James version, which was published in 1611. This was to
replace the popular Geneva Bible written by English Protestant
refugees from Catholic Queen Mary's reign, which he did not like
because some of its commentary was not highly favorable to kings.
James didn't believe a king had to live by the law; he hadn't as
king of Scotland. He tried to imbue into England the idea of a
divine right of kings to rule that he had held in Scotland. The
established church quickly endorsed and preached this idea.
The selection of the clergy of the parish churches was now often
in the hands of the parishioners, having been sold to them by the
patron lord of the manor. Some patrons sold the right of selection
to a tradesman or yeoman who wished to put in his son or a
relative. Some rights of selection were in the hands of bishops,
the colleges, and the Crown. The parish clergyman was appointed
for life and removed only for grave cause. Most parishioners
wanted a sermon created by their minister instead of repetitious
homilies and constant prayer. They thought that the object of
worship in church was to rouse men to think and act about the
problems of the world.
In 1622, the king mandated that clergymen quote scripture only in
context of the Book of Articles of Religion of 1562 or the two
Books of Homilies and not preach any sermon on Sunday afternoon
except on some part of the Catechism or some text out of the
Creed, Ten Commandments, or the Lord's Prayer.
The Puritan movement grew. About 5% of the Protestants were
Puritans. These included country gentlemen and wealthier traders.
They dressed simply in gray or other drab colors and wore their
hair short to protest the fashion of long curls. They lived simply
and disapproved of dancing because it induced lasciviousness and
of theater because of its lewdness. Theaters and brothels still
shared the same neighborhoods, the same customers, and sometimes
the same employees. Prostitutes went to plays to find customers;
men shouldered and shoved each other in competing to sit next to
attractive women to get to know them. The Puritans also
disapproved of cock fights because they led to gambling and
disorder, and Maypole celebrations because of their paganism.
There was less humor. Many became stoics. The Puritan church
ceremonies were plain, with no ornamentation. Puritans prayed
several times a day and read the Bible to each other in family
groups to look for guidance in their conduct and life. They asked
for God to intervene in personal matters and looked for signs of
his pleasure or displeasure in happenings such as a tree falling
close but not touching him, or his horse throwing him without
injury to him. When there was an illness in the family or
misfortune, they examined their past life for sins and tried to
correct shortcomings. They circulated records of puritan lives
including spiritual diaries. They believed in the equality of men
and that a good man was better than a bad peer, bishop, or king.
Puritan influence made families closer and not merely dependent on
the will of the husband or father. There was a sense of spiritual
fellowship among family members as individuals. They emphasized
the real need of a lasting love relationship between husband and
wife, so a mutual liking that could develop into love between a
young couple in an arranged match was essential.
Most Puritans felt that the bishops were as tyrannical as the pope
had been and that more reform was needed. They favored the
Presbyterian form of church government developed by John Calvin in
Switzerland. The presbyter was the position below bishop. Parishes
were governed by boards consisting of a minister and lay elders
elected by the parishioners. These boards sent elected
representatives to councils. All lay elders and ministers had
equal rank with each other. The Calvinist God preordained
salvation only for the elect and damnation and everlasting
punishment for the rest of humanity, but the Puritans had an
optimism about avoiding this damnation. They believed that at his
conversion a person received grace, which was a sign that he was
predestined for salvation. They rejected all ecclesiastical
institutions except as established by each parish over its own
elected pastor and members. They rejected the established
church's control from the top by bishops. They believed in
negotiating directly with God for the welfare of the soul without
the priest or church organization.
The fear of witchcraft grew with Puritanism. Poor decrepit old
defenseless women, often deformed and feeble-minded, were thought
to be witches. Their warts and tumors were thought to be teats for
the devil to suck or the devil's mark. Cursing or ill-tempers
(probably from old age pains) or having cats were further
indications of witchery.
When the king learned in 1618 that the English Puritans had
prevented certain recreations after the Sunday service, he
proclaimed that the people should not be restrained from lawful
recreations and exercise such as dancing, May-games, Whitsunales,
Morris-dances, May-pole sports, archery for men, leaping, and
vaulting. Also women could carry rushes to decorate the church
as they had done in the past. (Still unlawful on Sunday were bear
and bull baitings and bowlings.) His stated purpose was to prevent
people such as Catholics from being deterred from conversion, to
promote physical fitness for war, and to keep people from
drinking and making discontented speeches in their ale houses.
Besides the Puritans, there were other Independent sects, such as
the Congregationalists, whose churches gathered together by the
inspiration of Jesus. This sect was started by English merchants
residing in Holland who set up congregations of Englishmen under
their patronage there; they kept minister and elders well under
their control. The Baptists emerged out of the Independents. They
believed that only adults, who were capable of full belief, and
not children, could be baptized. They also believed that it was
the right of any man to seek God's truth for himself in the
scriptures and that obedience to the state should not extend
beyond personal conscience.
One fourth of all children born did not live to the age of ten,
most dying in their first year. Babies had close caps over their
head, a rattle, and slept in a sturdy wood cradle that rocked on
the floor, usually near the hearth. Babies of wealthier families
had nurses. The babies of ladies were suckled by wet nurses.
Parents raised children with affection and tried to prepare them
to become independent self-sustaining adults. There was less
severity than in Tudor times, although the maxim "spare the rod
and spoil the child" was generally believed, especially by
Puritans, and applied to even very young children. In disciplining
a child, an admonition was first used, and the rod as a last
resort, with an explanation of the reasons for its use. There were
nursery rhymes and stories such as "Little Bo-Peep", "Jack and the
Beanstalk", "Tom Thumb", "Chicken Little", and Robin Hood and King
Arthur tales, and probably also "Puss in Boots", "Red Ridinghood",
"Cinderella", "Beauty and the Beast", "Bluebeard" and Aesop's
Fables. "Little Jack Horner" who sat in a corner was a satire on
the Puritan aversion to Christmas pudding and sense of conscious
virtue. Toys included dolls, balls, drums, and hobby horses.
Children played "hide and seek", "here we go around the Mulberry
bush", and other group games. School children were taught by "horn
books". This was a piece of paper with the alphabet and perhaps a
religious verse, such as the Paternoster prayer, that was mounted
on wood and covered with thin horn to prevent tearing. Little
girls cross-stitched the alphabet and numerals on samplers. Block
alphabets were coming into use. Most market towns had a grammar
school which would qualify a student for university. They were
attended by sons of noblemen, country squires [poor gentlemen],
merchants, and substantial yeomen, and in some free schools, the
poor. School hours were from 6:00 a.m. to noon or later.
Multiplication was taught. If affordable, families had their
children involved in education after they were small until they
left home at about fifteen for apprenticeship or service.
Otherwise, children worked with their families from the age of
seven, e.g. carding and spinning wool, until leaving home at about
fifteen.
There were boarding schools such as Winchester, Eton, Westminster,
St. Paul's, and Merchant Taylors'. There, senior boys selected for
conduct and ability supervised younger boys. They thereby got
experience for a future in public life. The system was also a
check on bullying of the weak by the strong. The curriculum
included Lilly's "Grammar", Aesop, Terence's Roman comic plays,
Virgil's "Aeneid" (the national epic of Rome), Cicero's "Letters"
reflecting Roman life, Sallust's histories showing people and
their motives, Caesar's "Commentaries" on the Gallic and civil
wars, Horace's "Epistles" about life and poetry, poet Ovid's
"Metamorphoses" on adventures and love affairs of deities and
heroes, or "Fasti" on Roman religious festivals and customs,
Donatus' grammar book, and other ancient Latin authors. Football,
with hog bladders, and tennis were played. These schools were
self-supporting and did their own farming.
Private schools for girls were founded in and around London. They
were attended by daughters of the well-to-do merchant class,
nobility, and gentry. They were taught singing, playing of
instruments, dancing, French, fine sewing, embroidery, and
sometimes arithmetic. Fewer served in the house of some noble lady
as before. Most commonly, the sons and daughters of gentlemen and
nobles were taught by private tutors. A tutor in the house
educated the girls to the same extent as the boys. There were not
many girls' boarding schools. Frequently, the mother educated her
daughters. A considerable number of girls of other backgrounds
such as the yeomanry and the town citizenry somehow learned to
read and write.