Elizabethan Era The Bare Truth
Elizabeth I's reign is frequently referred to as a Golden Age.
It was an era of excess and luxury, during which a thriving social media
was conveyed through writers like those of Shakespeare and adventurers
such as Drake and Raleigh who desired to broaden England's empire globally.
Queen Elizabeth embodied this sense of well-being, as she enjoyed
wearing sumptuous costumes and jewels and being delighted by elegance at her court.
However, living in Tudor England was not always so opulent.
Additionally, the sixteenth century was an era when the underprivileged
became impoverished, books and points of view
were heavily edited, and plots to depose the Queen were common.
Elizabeth's ministers were forced to hire spies and even torture
in order to gather information about potential threats to her life.
'It is more than a monster in nature for a woman to reign and bear empire over
man,' a statement by the Protestant
preacher John Knox which he wrote in 1558.
As such, was he correct?
Were women capable of ruling a country?
The population had endured Mary I's unpleasant reign, dubbed
'Bloody Mary' for her ruthless persecution of Protestants.
Lady Jane Grey reigned for only a few days before being deposed and executed.
And Mary Queen of Scots made a number of poor
judgement calls that ultimately led to her execution in 1587.
We now begin a fascinating look behind the scenes at one of
the most talked about courts ever to grace English history.
What you're about to hear comes
from the journals of one man as he guides us through
an intrigiung peep through the keyhole to Elizabeth I.
This is the story of a journey
back to the days of the Elizabethan times,
a tour of europe that culminated in a day at the court of Elizabeth I.
The original work is rare and much of what you are about to
hear will be new and lets say controversial in its form.
However revealing you may find this one mans statements, much of the description
was nothing new, as others came forward to witness themselves.
The man in question was called Hentzner
he was a German tutor travelling around Europe with his young nobleman.
As with most travel guides, it covers extensive passages on the places
visited and the area seen at the time,
along with the people they met and aquainted along the route.
His detail is exquisite, yet how truly accurate this is,
i'll leave for you to decide.
Let's now join Hentzner as our story begins while drifting down
the river Thames.
Upon taking the air down the river, the first thing that struck us,
was the ship of that noble pirate, Sir Francis Drake, in
which he is said to have surrounded this globe of earth.
We arrived next at the royal palace of Greenwich, reported
to have been originally built by Humphrey Duke of Gloucester,
and to have received very magnificent additions from Henry VII.
It was here Elizabeth, the present queen, was born, and here she generally
resides; particularly in summer, for the delightfulness of its situation.
We were admitted by an order that had procured from the lord
chamberlain, into the preference-chamber, hung with rich tapestry, and the floor
after the English fashion, strewed with hay, through which, the Queen
commonly passes in her way to chapel; at the door stood
a gentleman dressed in velvet, with a gold chain, whose office was to introduce
to the queen any person of distinction, that came to wait on her:
it was Sunday, when there is usually the greatest attendance of nobility.
In the fame hall were the Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Bishop of London, a great number of councellors of state,
officers of the crown, and gentlemen, who waited the queen's coming out;
which she did from her own apartment, when it was time to go to prayers.
The next part of the narrative
gives us a very detailed image of Elizabeths appearance on the day.
Hentzner describes the Queens immaculate decoration, her dignified stroll
through the court welcoming dignitaries from around the world.
First, went gentlemen, barons, earls, knights of the garter,
all richly dressed and bareheaded; next came the chancellor,
bearing the seals in a red-silk purse, between two;
one of which carried the royal scepter,
the other the sword of state, in a red scabbard, studded with golden fleurs
de lis, the point upwards: next came the queen, in the sixty
fifth year of her age, as we were told, very majestic; her face oblong, fair,
but wrinkled; her eyes small, yet black and pleasant.
her nose a little hooked; her lips narrow, and her teeth black; a defect the
English seem subject to, from their too great
use of sugar she had in her ears
two pearls, with very rich drops; she wore false hair, and that red.
She had a small crown, reported to be made of from the gold
of the celebrated Lunebourg table: her bosom was uncovered, as all
the English ladies have it, till they marry;
and she had on a necklace of exceeding fine jewels.
Her hands were small, her fingers long, and her stature neither tall nor low ;
her hair was stately, her manner of speaking mild and obliging.
That day she was dressed in white silk, bordered with pearls of the size of beans,
and over it a mantle of black silk, shot with silver threads.
Her train was very long, the end of it borne by a marchioness;
instead of a chain, she had an oblong collar of gold and jewels.
As she went along in all this state and magnificence,
she spoke very graciously, first to one, then to another,
whether foreign ministers, or those who attended for different reasons.
She spoke in English, French, and Italian; for,
besides being well heeled in Greek, Latin, and the languages I have mentioned,
she is mistress of Spanish, Scotch and Dutch: whoever speaks to her,
it is kneeling, but now and then she raises some with her hand.
While we were there, a Bohemian baron,
had letters to present to her ; and she, after pulling off her glove,
gave him her right hand to kiss, sparkling with rings and jewels,
a mark of particular favour: wherever she turned her face,
as she was going along, every body fell down on their knees.
Elizabeth now enters the chapel, its at this point Hentzner
along with everyone else would wait patiently for her return,
the only sounds to eminate from within was the music of the service.
Yet before entering their was one moment for voices to be heard.
The ladies of the court followed next to her, very handsome
and well shaped, and for the most part dressed in white; she was guarded
on each side by the gentlemen pensioners, fifty in number, with gilt battle axes.
In the antichapel next the hall where we were,
petitions were presented to her, and she received them most graciously,
which occasioned the acclamation of, Long live Queen ELIZABETH !
she answered it with, I thank you my good PEOPLE.
In the chapel was excellent music; as soon as it, and the service was over,
which scarcly exceeded half an hour, the queen returned in the same state
and order and prepared to go to dinner.
But while she was still at prayers, we saw her table set out
with the following solemnity: Hentzner goes on to describe the activity now
outside the chapel while Elizabeth and her entourage continue with the service.
Again it provides an exclusive insight to how staff at the palace
would make further preperations for the monarch on her return.
A gentleman entered the room bearing a rod, and along with him
another who had a table-cloth, which,
after they had both kneeled three times with the utmoft veneration,
he spread upon the table, and after kneeling again, they both retired.
Then came two others, one with the rod again, the other
with a salt-seller, a plate and bread; when they had kneeled, as the others
had done, and placed what was brought upon the table,
they too retired with the same ceremonies performed by the first.
At last came an unmarried lady we were told she was a countess
and along with her a married one, bearing a tasting-knife;
the former was dressed in white silk, who, when she had prostrated herself
three times in the moft graceful manner, approached the table,
and rubbed the plates with bread and sait, with as much awe,
as if the queen had been present: when they had waited there a little while,
the Yeomen of the Guards entered,
bareheaded, clothed in scarlet, with a golden rose upon their backs,
bringing in at each turn a course of twenty four dishes,
served in plate, most of it gilt; these dishes were received by a gentleman
in the same order they were brought, and placed upon the table,
while the lady-taster gave to each of the guard a mouthful
to eat, of the particular dish he had brought for fear of any poison.
During the time that this guard, which consists of the tailed and flouted
men that can be found in all England, being carefully selected for
this service, were bringing dinner, twelve trumpets and two kettle-drums
made the hall ring for the next half an hour.
Finally when Elizabeth is fully nourished, it would be time for her to depart,
Hentzner continues.
At the end of all this ceremonial a number of unmarried ladies
appeared, who, with particular solemnity, lifted the meat off the table,
and conveyed it into the Queen's inner and more private chamber,
where, after she had chosen for herself, the rest goes to the ladies of the court.
The queen dines and sups alone with very few attendants ;
and it is very seldom that any body, foreigner or native, is
admitted at that time, and then only at the intercession of somebody in power.
The pomp and ceremony carried out on this day are the most descriptive words
you're likely to hear surrounding Elizabeth and her court.
The unveiling of ones body has been accounted much
within the years of the Elizabethan period, the uncovering of the bosom
was seen as being a maiden, it wasnt just Elizabeth who did this,
any English lady took this method to signify their status.
Yet on further occasions the story of Hentzner are corroborated.
in 1597 an ambassador to the French King
Henry IV described Elizabeth in his journal.
She was strangely attired in a dress of silver cloth, white and crimson.
the front of her dress was kept open revealing the whole of her bosom.
she would often open the garment as if she was too hot.
Her bosom is somewhat wrinkled but lower down her flesh is exceeding
white and delicate, as far as you can see.
Her face appears to be aged, long and thin, her teeth are yellow
and unequal, with many missing to the point it is difficult
to understand her when she speaks quickly.
On a second meeting the ambassador contiues to describe Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was dressed in black taffeta, bound with gold lace.
she wore a a petticoat of white damask, which was girdled and open at the front,
as was her chemise.
And when she raises her head, she would put both hands on her
gown to open it completely.
this was done in such a manner that she would often open
the dress to enable all to see her belly, to her navel.
There is little known about the way Elizabeth conducted her self
at times such as these, but these accounts cannot be ignored.
The history of nudity involves social attitudes
to nakedness of the human body in different cultures in history.
We do know by the Victorian period nudity was outlawed and considered obscene.
Yet these passages portray a time when the image and gender
were both very powerful statements of the Elizabethan period.
Elizabeth was indeed a distinctive type of Queen: sharp, shrewd,
and skillful of obtaining what she desired through feminine cunning.
Elizabeth was as ruthless and calculated as any previous king,
but she was also vain, sentimental, and easily influenced by adulation.
She preferred to be surrounded by attractive people, and her paintings
were meticulously vetted to ensure that no tangible imperfections were disclosed.
She depended heavily on close advisers but irritated them
with her ambivalence 'It makes me weary of life,' one commented.
When presented with a problem over whether or not
to seal Mary Queen of Scots' execution warrant.
Elizabeth would divert her attention for months at a time.
Only when her ministers'
perseverance started to ebb would she be motivated to make a decision.
She possessed a fiery temperament, and her razor sharp tongue
was capable of effectively resolving any disagreement in her best interest.
Elizabeth's crowning achievement was the bond she established with her people.
She was a trendsetter in PR, and her success had remained unchallenged.
'I regard this as the glory of my crown, that I have reigned
with your affections,' she stated in her 1601 Golden Speech.
Elizabeth obtained trust and confidence and, assisted by the golden light
of nostalgic memories, her own special place in the history books.