Our Five Part Series on Merrie Olde England
Blighty's history reporter, Morris Bell, has dug up some fascinating facts about the Elizabethans this week. This post concludes our five part series in which Blighty's Blog presents a vignette of life in Merrie England half a millenium ago.
Legends of Old England - Part Five: The Devil Made Me Do It
How did the Elizabethans tell the time? There were no clocks for the average person to check. A farm labourer could look up to see where the Sun was in the sky. He might know that he could stop for a meal when the Sun was above the village church. But how would he cope when the sky was overcast, as it often is in Cloudie Olde England?
In The Nick
Despite this, the Elizabethans had a concept of when something occurred "just in time" as we might say today. "Just in time for what?" you might ask. If they didn't know what time of day it was, how could something be "just in time".
Think of it like this. An action could be "just in time" at any time of day. For example, getting into church before the Devil takes your soul. Since they had no concept of the measurement of time in hours, minutes and seconds they defined "just in time" in terms that they understood.
A very small amount of time was compared to a small wound inflicted by a sharp knife - a "nick". So a fine division of time became "a nick". Elizabethans coined the expression "in the nick" meaning "just in time". Later the expression was expanded to "in the nick of time".
In modern English "Old Nick" is a term meaning the Devil. Is there a connection, do you think?
I Am Ever So Sorry!
The British are famously apologetic. Some claim that we must have an overly developed sense of guilt, since we seem obsessed with saying "I'm sorry" all the time. But it was the Elizabethans who started us off on our road of apology.
I am sorry for bringing this up and I apologize if you find this trite, but actually the meaning of the word "apology" has fundamentally changed since Good Queen Bess's days. In it's original sense the word "apology" meant a justification of one's position or faith.
One famous piece of writing called "Apology for the Devil", although written in the 20th Century, used the original Elizabethan meaning of the word. Only later did the concept of expressing regret and contrition become assigned to the same word.
What the Dickens?
I have always thought this expression was a modern one. Like many people, I suppose, I assumed it was a reference to the author Charles Dickens. Not so, the expression dates back to Elizabethan times and refers to the Devil.
Witchcraft, or at least the pursuit of witches, was rampant in England from the 16th until the 18th centuries. The Elizabethans lived in an age of darkness and ignorance. Their world was ruled by the Church and the Devil was thought to be behind every act of misfortune.
The End (justifies the means)
This concludes our five part look at the legends of old England. I would like to publish my apology for any deception perpetrated in this series. If I told a lie - the Devil made me do it! Believe it or not.
Showing posts with label Legends of Old England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legends of Old England. Show all posts
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Blighty's Believe It or Not - Part 4 of 5
Our Five Part Series on Merrie Olde England
Blighty's history reporter, Morris Bell, has dug up some fascinating facts about the Elizabethans this week. In a five part series Blighty's Blog presents a vignette of life in Merrie England half a millenium ago.
Legends of Old England - Part Four: The Undead
A combination of physical exhaustion from labouring in the fields, lead poisoning from eating and drinking from pewter vessels and an excess of cheap and plentiful ale sometimes led Elizabethan peasants to collapse into an apparently comatose state.
Without the benefit of anything but the most basic of medical knowledge, the common folk had no way of knowing whether a person had drunk themselves comatose, or was dead. The life expectancy of the average man or woman was much shorter than it is today. There was no concept of "premature death". People became sick and popped their clogs at any age.
Awake and Arise
There was nobody to take away a dead person and prepare them for burial. Final preparations were left entirely to the family. A person who appeared to be deceased was laid out on a table inside the family cottage. The body would be watched for a couple of days in case it woke up. This is how the tradition of a "wake" was born.
Saved by the Bell
But, despite this caution, there was still considerable concern about burying people alive. So, the Elizabethans adopted the custom of tying a string around the wrist of the deceased. The string led to a bell above the grave. Family members would take it in turns to take the "graveyard shift" to listen out for the "dead ringer" who would be "saved by the bell". Believe it or not.
Blighty's history reporter, Morris Bell, has dug up some fascinating facts about the Elizabethans this week. In a five part series Blighty's Blog presents a vignette of life in Merrie England half a millenium ago.
Legends of Old England - Part Four: The Undead
A combination of physical exhaustion from labouring in the fields, lead poisoning from eating and drinking from pewter vessels and an excess of cheap and plentiful ale sometimes led Elizabethan peasants to collapse into an apparently comatose state.
Without the benefit of anything but the most basic of medical knowledge, the common folk had no way of knowing whether a person had drunk themselves comatose, or was dead. The life expectancy of the average man or woman was much shorter than it is today. There was no concept of "premature death". People became sick and popped their clogs at any age.
Awake and Arise
There was nobody to take away a dead person and prepare them for burial. Final preparations were left entirely to the family. A person who appeared to be deceased was laid out on a table inside the family cottage. The body would be watched for a couple of days in case it woke up. This is how the tradition of a "wake" was born.
Saved by the Bell
But, despite this caution, there was still considerable concern about burying people alive. So, the Elizabethans adopted the custom of tying a string around the wrist of the deceased. The string led to a bell above the grave. Family members would take it in turns to take the "graveyard shift" to listen out for the "dead ringer" who would be "saved by the bell". Believe it or not.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Blighty's Believe It or Not - Part 3 of 5
Our Five Part Series on Merrie Olde England
Blighty's history reporter, Morris Bell, has dug up some fascinating facts about the Elizabethans this week. In this five part series Blighty's Blog presents a vignette of life in Merrie England half a millenium ago.
Legends of Old England - Part Three: Food Glorious Food
Inside the castles and stately homes of Olde England, barons, sheriffs, lords and ladies enjoyed the finest foods their money could buy. Quail's eggs, roast partridge and swan, boar's head and venison, washed down with fine French wines and brandy.
It was a completely different story for the commoners. Lowly peasants ate from a large kettle hung over a fire inside their cottages. Each day it was topped up with vegetables, grains and -occasionally - a rabbit or hare caught in the wild or ensnared by poachers. The kettle never emptied; it was reheated each day. It was from this tradition that the rhyme "pease pudding hot, pease pudding cold, pease pudding in the pot nine days old" derived.
We'll be right back after this commercial message from our sponsor:
You can buy cans of delicious Pease Pudding at Blighty's Tuck Store!
And now - back to our blog post ...
Chew the Fat - about bringing home the bacon
One of life's luxuries was considered to be hog meat. A man that could provide well for his family would "bring home the bacon". Guests would be invited to share in the family's good fortune and the side of bacon would be on proud display. A little bacon was cut and shared among the guests who would sit around the table and "chew the fat".
Mad About Pewter
Mugs, plates and dishes were made of pewter - an alloy of tin and lead. Pewter is an attractive metal but the lead can leach out into the food and cause poisoning leading to madness and death. Foods with high acidity were particularly susceptible. Until lead poisoning was understood many years later, tomatoes were considered to be poisonous.
Use Your Loaf
Bread was baked in an oven heated by hot coals below the baking racks. The lower portion would often burn before the rest of the loaf was fully baked. The burned portion was given to the lowliest ranks - the labourers. After the burned portion had been removed the "upper crust" was reserved for the VIPs.
Blighty's history reporter, Morris Bell, has dug up some fascinating facts about the Elizabethans this week. In this five part series Blighty's Blog presents a vignette of life in Merrie England half a millenium ago.
Legends of Old England - Part Three: Food Glorious Food
Inside the castles and stately homes of Olde England, barons, sheriffs, lords and ladies enjoyed the finest foods their money could buy. Quail's eggs, roast partridge and swan, boar's head and venison, washed down with fine French wines and brandy.
It was a completely different story for the commoners. Lowly peasants ate from a large kettle hung over a fire inside their cottages. Each day it was topped up with vegetables, grains and -occasionally - a rabbit or hare caught in the wild or ensnared by poachers. The kettle never emptied; it was reheated each day. It was from this tradition that the rhyme "pease pudding hot, pease pudding cold, pease pudding in the pot nine days old" derived.
We'll be right back after this commercial message from our sponsor:
You can buy cans of delicious Pease Pudding at Blighty's Tuck Store!
And now - back to our blog post ...
Chew the Fat - about bringing home the bacon
One of life's luxuries was considered to be hog meat. A man that could provide well for his family would "bring home the bacon". Guests would be invited to share in the family's good fortune and the side of bacon would be on proud display. A little bacon was cut and shared among the guests who would sit around the table and "chew the fat".
Mad About Pewter
Mugs, plates and dishes were made of pewter - an alloy of tin and lead. Pewter is an attractive metal but the lead can leach out into the food and cause poisoning leading to madness and death. Foods with high acidity were particularly susceptible. Until lead poisoning was understood many years later, tomatoes were considered to be poisonous.
Use Your Loaf
Bread was baked in an oven heated by hot coals below the baking racks. The lower portion would often burn before the rest of the loaf was fully baked. The burned portion was given to the lowliest ranks - the labourers. After the burned portion had been removed the "upper crust" was reserved for the VIPs.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Blighty's Believe It or Not - Part 2 of 5
Our Five Part Series on Merrie Olde England
Blighty's history reporter, Morris Bell, has dug up some fascinating facts about the Elizabethans this week. In this five part series Blighty's Blog presents a vignette of life in Merrie England half a millenium ago.
Legends of Old England - Part Two: Home Sweet Home
Everybody (except fire insurance companies) loves the sight of an old thatched roof cottage. Thatching is an ancient and highly skilled trade. Thatch is a natural material and provides a fabulous layer of insulation. In days of yore, when good Queen Bess was on the throne of England, thatch was the only means of covering a home to keep out the rain and keep the heat inside during winter.
Slippery When Wet
Thatch is several inches thick and provides a convenient and cosy home for bugs, weevils, spiders, beetles, ants, birds, mice, rats, badgers, cats and dogs. Unfortunately, following an English rainfall (which can happen rather frequently reports Blighty's Blog weather bureau chief, Raney Day) the thatch can be very slippery.
The larger animals holed up in the roof lose their foothold and come tumbling down, hence the origin of the expression "it's raining cats and dogs".
Rodents, Insects and Big-Fat-Ugly Spiders
Smaller residents of the thatch, such as rodents, insects and big-fat-ugly spiders would burrow through the thatch and sometimes fall inside the house. The next most cosy part of the home was the family bed. But few people wanted to share their bed with rodents, insects and big-fat-ugly spiders so they built a canopy above the bed to catch the rodents, insects and big-fat-ugly spiders.
The canopy was supported by a post at each corner of the bed. Four-poster canopy beds are still popular today. Have you checked the top of yours for rodents, insects and big-fat-ugly spiders recently?
Dirt Poor
The floor of an Elizabethan home was usually just plain dirt. Only the wealthy could afford to build their floors from stone. The peasantry were considered to be those who were "dirt poor". Stone floors were a luxury, but they were also slippery when wet. Wealthier homeowners would spread thresh (straw) on their stone floors to stop them slipping.
A strip of wood was fixed across the bottom of the entrance doorway to keep the thresh inside the home. Hence the origin of the term "thresh hold". Believe it ... or not.
Blighty's history reporter, Morris Bell, has dug up some fascinating facts about the Elizabethans this week. In this five part series Blighty's Blog presents a vignette of life in Merrie England half a millenium ago.
Legends of Old England - Part Two: Home Sweet Home
Everybody (except fire insurance companies) loves the sight of an old thatched roof cottage. Thatching is an ancient and highly skilled trade. Thatch is a natural material and provides a fabulous layer of insulation. In days of yore, when good Queen Bess was on the throne of England, thatch was the only means of covering a home to keep out the rain and keep the heat inside during winter.
Slippery When Wet
Thatch is several inches thick and provides a convenient and cosy home for bugs, weevils, spiders, beetles, ants, birds, mice, rats, badgers, cats and dogs. Unfortunately, following an English rainfall (which can happen rather frequently reports Blighty's Blog weather bureau chief, Raney Day) the thatch can be very slippery.
The larger animals holed up in the roof lose their foothold and come tumbling down, hence the origin of the expression "it's raining cats and dogs".
Rodents, Insects and Big-Fat-Ugly Spiders
Smaller residents of the thatch, such as rodents, insects and big-fat-ugly spiders would burrow through the thatch and sometimes fall inside the house. The next most cosy part of the home was the family bed. But few people wanted to share their bed with rodents, insects and big-fat-ugly spiders so they built a canopy above the bed to catch the rodents, insects and big-fat-ugly spiders.
The canopy was supported by a post at each corner of the bed. Four-poster canopy beds are still popular today. Have you checked the top of yours for rodents, insects and big-fat-ugly spiders recently?
Dirt Poor
The floor of an Elizabethan home was usually just plain dirt. Only the wealthy could afford to build their floors from stone. The peasantry were considered to be those who were "dirt poor". Stone floors were a luxury, but they were also slippery when wet. Wealthier homeowners would spread thresh (straw) on their stone floors to stop them slipping.
A strip of wood was fixed across the bottom of the entrance doorway to keep the thresh inside the home. Hence the origin of the term "thresh hold". Believe it ... or not.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Blighty's Believe It or Not - Part 1 of 5
New Five Part Series on Merrie Olde England
Blighty's history reporter, Morris Bell, has dug up some fascinating facts about the Elizabethans this week. In a new five part series Blighty's Blog will present a vignette of life in Merrie England half a millenium ago.
Legends of Old England - Part One: Bathing
When I was a wee little lad Sunday night was bath night. For the rest of the week we would wash our hands and faces, but on a Sunday evening we would take a bath.
Right after lunch on a Sunday afternoon, father would switch on the "immersion" (for non-Brit readers that means turning on the electric heater in the hot water tank). By the evening the hot water tank was full of piping hot water - enough for the whole family to enjoy our weekly trip to the tub.
Smellie Olde England
But that was a luxury compared to life in England in Elizabethan times. Back in Smellie Olde England bathing was a very rare practice indeed. Folks just didn't see the need for it. They didn't have running water anyway so getting twenty gallons of hot water prepared involved boiling a cauldron over an open fire for hours.
Obviously this was something that couldn't be done in winter. Without the benefit of a warm home, nobody wanted to strip down to the buff for a bath. And, since winters in England can be very severe, with temperatures sometimes falling below freezing (editor's note: We thought Morris was being a little sarcastic in that last sentence, but we'll let it go this time) it would have been difficult to get the water hot enough with an outdoor fire.
Naked Young Maidens
So, bath time was the Merrie Month of May. Fair maidens would emerge from the family tub fresh and clean and ready to be wed. Most weddings were held in June when the lovely young damsels were still fairly neutral to the nostrils.
But, to make sure that their natural bodily processes did not offend the noses of their grooms, they would carry a bouquet of flowers to their nuptials. The practice of carrying a bouquet at a wedding continues to this day. Now you know why.
Don't Throw the Baby ...
Incidentally, the man of the household would be the first to use the Elizabethan tub, followed by his wife, then the children and finally the babies. By the end of the day the water would be so dirty you could lose somebody in it. So now you also know the origin of the expression "don't throw the baby out with the bath water."
Blighty's history reporter, Morris Bell, has dug up some fascinating facts about the Elizabethans this week. In a new five part series Blighty's Blog will present a vignette of life in Merrie England half a millenium ago.
Legends of Old England - Part One: Bathing
When I was a wee little lad Sunday night was bath night. For the rest of the week we would wash our hands and faces, but on a Sunday evening we would take a bath.
Right after lunch on a Sunday afternoon, father would switch on the "immersion" (for non-Brit readers that means turning on the electric heater in the hot water tank). By the evening the hot water tank was full of piping hot water - enough for the whole family to enjoy our weekly trip to the tub.
Smellie Olde England
But that was a luxury compared to life in England in Elizabethan times. Back in Smellie Olde England bathing was a very rare practice indeed. Folks just didn't see the need for it. They didn't have running water anyway so getting twenty gallons of hot water prepared involved boiling a cauldron over an open fire for hours.
Obviously this was something that couldn't be done in winter. Without the benefit of a warm home, nobody wanted to strip down to the buff for a bath. And, since winters in England can be very severe, with temperatures sometimes falling below freezing (editor's note: We thought Morris was being a little sarcastic in that last sentence, but we'll let it go this time) it would have been difficult to get the water hot enough with an outdoor fire.
Naked Young Maidens
So, bath time was the Merrie Month of May. Fair maidens would emerge from the family tub fresh and clean and ready to be wed. Most weddings were held in June when the lovely young damsels were still fairly neutral to the nostrils.
But, to make sure that their natural bodily processes did not offend the noses of their grooms, they would carry a bouquet of flowers to their nuptials. The practice of carrying a bouquet at a wedding continues to this day. Now you know why.
Don't Throw the Baby ...
Incidentally, the man of the household would be the first to use the Elizabethan tub, followed by his wife, then the children and finally the babies. By the end of the day the water would be so dirty you could lose somebody in it. So now you also know the origin of the expression "don't throw the baby out with the bath water."
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