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Everyday Life in Elizabethan and Jacobean London Everyday Life By Michael J. Cummings...© 2003 .......London in 1600 was one of the great crossroads of the world. From all the regions of Britain and from lands across the seas, people crowded into the city to conduct business, find work, gain standing at the royal court, or entertain themselves or others. Greater London at that time had more than 200,000 residents, many of them living beyond the boundaries of the original walled city founded as Londinium by the Romans when they arrived in southeastern Britain in AD 43. .......The chief city official was the lord mayor, elected each year on Michaelmas Day (September 29) by a body known as Common Hall. (List of the names of lord mayors from 1590 to 1616.) This body consisted of members of livery companies, such as clothworkers, drapers, fish merchants, goldsmiths, grocers, haberdashers, ironmongers, mercers (dealers in textiles and dry goods), salters, skinners, and vintners. Sheriffs kept the peace, assisted by constables in sections of the city known as parishes. In each parish, citizens helped the constable maintain order by patrolling neighborhoods at night. Click here for a glossary of common occupations.  .......Shakespeare went to London to make his mark as a writer and actor, traveling back and forth between the city and the town of his birth, Stratford, about 90 miles to the northwest. The trip probably took two to four days by horseback or wagon along roads shared by cadgers, robbers, messengers, itinerant merchants, minstrels, farmers, and soldiers marching
to or from service. Over the years, he rented lodging in various parts of London, usually not far from the Thames, the great river that rose in the Cotswold Hills in England’s western Midlands and snaked its way more than 200 miles southeastward to London and the sea. .......The river was a vital artery in the city’s life, carrying rowboats, barges, and sailing ships on missions of commerce. After rainstorms, the river carried away human excrement and rotting food washing in from ditches, dung piles, cesspits, and streams. (Citizens emptied chamber pots into cesspits or ditches, or simply threw the contents out of windows or doors or into a stream crossing their property. They emptied containers from outdoor toilets the same way.) The river divided Greater London into northern and southern sections. Shakespeare lodged in more than half-a-dozen dwellings on both sides of the Thames in districts that included Bishopsgate, in the northern section, and Southwark, in the southern section. .......London Bridge, constructed between 1176 and 1209, was the only causeway connecting the northern and southern sections, although boats were available to ferry travelers across the river. Shops on which dwellings were built lined both sides of the bridge. Above the traffic lane in the middle were passageways (resembling overpasses above modern highways) connecting buildings on one side of the bridge with those on the other. When approaching the wondrous span, Shakespeare would see a strange and frightening sight: the impaled heads of traitors atop an entranceway as a reminder to citizens that although they could cross the bridge they could not cross the royal government. .......In Southwark, Shakespeare staged plays at the Globe Theatre, built in 1599 west of London Bridge in an area known as Bankside. The Globe was not the first playhouse in Southwark. Others constructed there before it were the Newington Butts Playhouse (1580), the Rose (circa 1587), and the Swan (1595). .......Southwark was wild and raucous–a haven for drunks, prostitutes, con men, gamblers, and thieves. There were scores of inns and taverns. One was The Tabard Inn, made famous in the prologue of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. There were also bloodsport rings and arenas, where spectators paid to see cockfighting or snarling dogs attack chained bears or bulls. Queen Elizabeth was among the aficionados of bearbaiting and bullbaiting, as these brutal divertissements were called. .......Shakespeare apparently passed no small portion of his time in taverns, as historical records and scenes in his plays suggest. There, he made the acquaintance of other playwrights, poets, and actors, all noted for their wit and learning. This brotherhood of ale and assonance included Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, George Peele, Thomas Nashe, Thomas Watson, Robert Greene, Thomas Lodge, and Edward Alleyn. They were a sometimes rowdy coterie. Jonson, for example, had been accused of murder after dueling to the death with an actor; he was exonerated. Marlowe and Watson had also been accused of murder, notes Stephen Greenblatt in his book Will in the World.Watson . . . intervened in a street brawl between Marlowe and an innkeeper’s son named William Bradley. The brawl, on Hog Lane, near the Theatre [playhouse] and the Curtain [playhouse], ended with Watson’s sword stuck six inches into Bradley’s chest. Watson and Marlowe were both arrested on suspicion of murder but were eventually released, on grounds of self-defense. (201)........Marlowe, an extraordinarily gifted writer, died in a brawl at an inn, the Eleanor Bull house, in the London suburb of Deptford after suffering a dagger wound in or above his right eye. He was only 29. .......Greene, a popular poet and playwright, was well educated, having obtained degrees at Oxford and Cambridge. However, he, too, was a rowdy fellow, known especially for overindulging in drink and food and keeping company with thieves, swindlers, and gamblers. .......Alleyn, an exceptionally talented actor, was also an exceptionally unscrupulous investor–at least by modern standards–for he was a part owner of a bearbaiting enterprise. .......Shakespeare, of course, drew upon the lifestyle and social environment of all these men to shape the characters in his plays. He also borrowed plot lines and themes from their literary works. However, he generally did not imitate their reckless and dissolute behavior.  .......Besides members of the threatre community, Shakespeare also made the acquaintance of high and mighty courtiers, perhaps the better to promote himself and his writing. For Shakespeare was, after all, a businessman with a commodity to sell:
literature. Among his noble acquaintances was Henry Wriothesley, the Third Earl of Southampton, a patron of writers and a court favorite of Queen Elizabeth. Shakespeare dedicated two long poems, The Rape of Lucrece and Venus and Adonis, to Wriothesley. .......In 1602, the year before the death of Elizabeth and the accession of King James I, Shakespeare began lodging with Christopher and Mary Mountjoy, French Huguenots who lived north of the river in a section of London known as Cripplegate. Their home was on the corner of Silver Street and Monkwell Street (also known to local denizens as Mugwell or Muggle Street). Mr. Mountjoy, a London resident since 1572, made hats and wigs. At the Mountjoy residence, Shakespeare wrote with a quill dipped in ink and kept account of his money interests, namely a share in the ownership and the proceeds of the Globe and whatever other enterprises coaxed jingle from his pockets. He also rehearsed parts he performed in his own plays and the plays of others. .......After his plays earned him widespread acclaim, he even staged them before Queen Elizabeth at the royal residence, Whitehall Palace. Falstaff, the bumbling braggart in Henry IV, Parts I and II, was a favorite character of hers. A popular but undocumented story maintains that Shakespeare wrote his play The Merry Wives of Windsor, in which Falstaff is the central character, expressly for the queen. .......When Shakespeare ventured through the city on a typical morning, a goodly portion of the population–like the ever-tippling Falstaff in Henry IV Part I and Henry IV Part II–was a bit schnockered, for ale and wine were more plentiful than potable water, available mostly from springs and wells in the open country crowding up against the city. Merry England was so named for a reason. .......No doubt Shakespeare at times walked the streets for exercise or to allow the sights and sounds to inspire him. There was much to marvel at: flower gardens with marigolds, roses, delphiniums, lilacs, and lilies; the soaring spires, ornate facades, and stained glass of more than 100 churches; sailing ships–including mighty, three-masted merchant vessels heavily armed against piracy–catching wind for trips to the Americas or the East Indies; the smoke of myriad coal and wood fires curling from chimneys; troops of proud marching soldiers. At times, though, the noises of the city–from rolling wheels, boisterous merchants, children at play, church bells, pounding hammers, hogs, sheep, cattle, grouchy dogs–could be irritating. Such was the racket after King James I acceded to the throne in 1603 that Thomas Dekker, another Elizabethan playwright and poet, was prompted to write the following in a pamphlet entitled “The Seven Deady Sins of London”:Carts and coaches make such a thundering din as if the world ran on wheels; at every corner men, women, and children meet in such shoals [large groups] that posts are set up to strengthen the houses lest with jostling with one another they should shoulder them down. Besides, hammers are beating in one place, tubs hooping in another [placing of metal hoops around tubs or barrels to hold the staves together], pots clinking in a third, water-tankards running at tilt in a fourth. . . . Tradesmen, as if they were dancing galliards [a dance in triple time], are lusty at legs and never stand still. (Quoted in Brown 30).......Before his trips home to Stratford, about 90 miles away, Shakespeare probably sometimes purchased gifts for his wife, his children, his brothers and sisters, or other relatives. He could buy perfume, wigs, jewelry, hats, shirts, shoes, breeches, feathers, ruffles, ribbons, silks, tweeds, wine, drugs, spices, toys, paper, ink, candles. Because the city had no zoning regulations, the shops selling these and other products stood alongside churches, inns, homes, workshops, or stables. .......One of the shopping locales Shakespeare must have frequented was the Royal Exchange on Threadneedle Street on the north side of the river. It was a huge arcaded building with banking facilities and accommodations for more than 150 shops and thousands of businessmen and shoppers. The building surrounded a courtyard where 4,000 bankers and tradesmen conducted business. Shakespeare could probably buy almost anything there–quills, inks, paper, and candles. One wonders how many times he came away from that site with the makings of a play tucked under his arm–and the rhythms iambic pentameter dancing through his head. Brown, Ivor. Shakespeare and His World. New York: Henry Z. Walck, 1964. Greenblatt, Stephen. Will in the World. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004.  Glossary of Common Occupations Jobs in Shakespeare's Time or the Times When He Set His PlaysActor.Man or boy who performs in a stage play. In Shakespeare's time, males acted both male and female parts in a play. Acrobat.Entertainer who performs various gymnastic stunts, such as leaps and somersaults. Also called tumbler. Apothecary.Person who sells drugs and herbs Armorer.Person who makes armor for soldiers Astrologer.Person who predicted events by "reading" the stars, the planets, the sun, and the moon Baker.Person who prepared bread, pastry, and other baked goods Barber-Surgeon.Person who cuts hair, trims beards, cleans and pulls teeth, amputates limbs, and performs bloodletting Bard.Poet or storyteller Barrister.Lawyer who settles estates and handles land disputes, money claims, etc. Bawd.Keeper of a brothel Beadle.Minor church official who kept order during services and performed menial tasks; messenger for law courts Bellmaker.Maker of bells Blacksmith.Person who makes horseshoes and other objects from iron heated in a forge, then shaped, welded, or cut with various tools Boatman.Boat operator Bookbinder.Binder of published manuscripts, journals, diaries, etc. Bowyer (or Bower, Boyer).Person who makes bows that shoot arrows Brazier.Maker of brass objects Brewer.Maker of beer and ale Butcher.Person who cuts meat Carpenter.Person who makes and repairs items of wood Cartographer.Maker of maps Chancellor.Secretary of a person of high rank Chandler.Person who makes candles from wax or tallow Chapman.Operator of a warehouse; trader, peddler, merchant Chimney Sweep (or Sweeper).Person who cleans soot from chimneys Clerk.Keeper of accounts and records Clockmaker.Person who makes and repairs clocks Clothier.Maker of fine clothes for the well-to-do Cocker.Person who breeds, trains, and handles fighting roosters, or cocks Constable.Officer of a court or royal household; castle or fortress warden Cook.Preparer of food in a household Cooper.Person who makes barrels Coppersmith.Person who makes, repairs, and repairs items of copper Cordwainer.Shoemaker Crier.Person who walks the streets ringing a bell as he shouted news and proclamations Currier.Person who prepares tanned leather by soaking, scraping, coloring, or beating it Cutler.Person who makes, sells, sharpens, and repairs knives Draper.Dealer in clothes or drapes Drayer or Drayman.Person with a horse-drawn cart for transporting heavy loads Dyer.Person who dyes cloth Embroiderer.Person who uses needlework to make designs on fabric Factor.Person who makes business transactions for another person; agent Falconer.Person who breeds and trains hunting falcons and hawks; person who hunts with falcons and hawks Farrier.Blacksmith who specializes in making horseshoes Fishwife.Woman who sells fish Fletcher.Person who makes arrows Fool.Comic figure with a quick tongue who entertains the king, the queen, and their guests. He is allowed to–and even expected to–criticize anyone at court. In Shakespeare's time, Many fools were dwarfs or cripples, their odd appearance enhancing their appeal and, according to prevailing beliefs, bringing good luck to the court. Actors William Kempe and Richard Armin became London celebrities for their performances as fools in Shakespeare's plays. Armin wrote a book about fools entitled Foole Upon Foole; or Six Sortes of Sottes. Forester.Person who supervises the woods of a landowner. He sells timber and guards against trespassers. Fowler.Person who hunts and sells game birds to kitchens Franklin.Landowner in the 13th and 14th Centuries who was not of noble birth Fuller.Person who cleanses, thickens, and fulls cloth. To full cloth means to make it fuller by pleating or gathering. Furbisher.Person who polished or burnished various objects Gardener.Person skilled at tending gardens Grocer.Person who sold foods and general household supplies Glazier.Person who cuts and installs glass for windows Glover.Maker of gloves Goldsmith.Person who makes, repairs and sells items of gold Gravedigger.Person who digs graves Groom.Male servant in a household; man or boy who tends, feeds, and cleans (with a currycomb) horses in a stable Haberdasher.Person who sells men's clothing Hatmaker.Person who makes hats Hawker.Person who breeds and trains hunting hawks; person who hunts with hawks; falconer Herbalist.Person who grows, sells, or studies herbs, mainly for use as medical remedies Herald.Person who announces official declarations, edicts, news, etc.; carrier of messages for the crown; arranger and announcer of jousting matches; overseer of armorial bearings (images on shields) Hosier.Maker of socks and stockings (hosiery) Husbandman.Farmer Innkeeper.Person who owned or hosted an inn Ironmonger.Dealer in hardware Jeweler.Person who makes, repairs, and sells items of jewelry Joiner.Person who makes cabinets, furniture, interior woodwork, doors, window sashes, and other wooden objects Jester.See Fool Latten Maker.Maker of thin sheets of brass or an alloy. Latten was used to make church vessels and utensils. Laundress.Woman who washes clothes Lawyer.Person trained in the law Limner.Person who paints or draws portraits Locksmith.Person who makes keys and installs and repairs locks Lorimer.Maker of metal parts for harnesses and other riding gear Maid.Female servant, such as barmaid, chambermaid, milkmaid, or housemaid Marshal.Person in charge of a castle's or a household's horses and wagons Mattress Maker.Maker of mattresses Mercer.Dealer in well-made woven, knitted, and other fabrics; some mercers specialized in a particular cloth, such as silk or wool Midwife.Woman who delivers babies Milkmaid.Woman who milks cows; dairymaid; vendor of milk Minstrel.Traveling musician who sang or recited to the accompaniment of an instrument Moneylender.Person who lends money at interest Monger.Roving merchant who sells goods from a cart or another portable device. Examples: fishmonger, ironmonger Ostler.Operator of an inn that rents rooms and stable space and serves food and drink Painter.Artist who paints portraits, landscapes, etc. Peddler.Itinerant seller of merchandise Pewterer.Person who makes and repairs items of pewter Physician.Medical doctor Playwright.Person who writes plays Porter.Doorkeeper, gatekeeper Poulterer.Dealer in poultry and other game Printer.Person who sets type in a form for printing; owner of printing business Purser.Ship officer who keeps financial accounts and secures valuables for passengers Reeve.Chief officer of a town or manor Roper.Maker of ropes Salter.Person who sells salt or salts meat, fish, and other food Sawyer.Person who saws wood for construction Schoolmaster.Teacher of children Scribe.Person who copies manuscripts by hand and prepares handwritten documents Sculptor.Person who fashions artistic objects from stone, clay, metal, and other media Seamstress.Woman who sews for a living Searcher.Person who identifies victims of plague and quarantines their houses Servant.Person who carries out routine household chores Shepherd.Person who herds and watches over sheep Salter.Person who deals in salt or salts foods such as meat and fish Sheriff.Important civil officer of a shire (county) Shipwright.Carpenter who builds and repairs ships Shoemaker.Person who makes and repairs shoes; cordwainer Sieve Maker.Maker of sieves (strainers or sifters) Silversmith.Person who makes, repairs, and sells items of silver Slater.Person who lays slate on roofs Soapmaker.Person who makes soap Spoonmaker.Maker of spoons Spurrier.Maker of spurs Stapler.Person who sorts wool according to its staple (the length, texture, and quality of its fibers); buyer and seller of wool, linen, and silk Stationer.Publisher of books. Stationers belonged to a guild (the Worshipful Company of Stationers) which the government established and supervised in order to guard against the publication of subversive books or books unduly critical of the Crown. When one stationer acquired the rights to publish copies of a book, the other members were bound to respect this "copy right," preparing the way for modern copyright laws. Stonecutter.Person who cuts, shapes, and carves stone; stonemason Tailor.Person who makes clothing Tanner.Person turns hides into leather by soaking it in tannin, a chemical that prevents the skin from decaying Tapster.Bartender Taverner.Person who maintains a tavern Thatcher.Person who thatches (covers roofs with straw or other plant material) Tinker.Traveling handyman who repairs household items, such as pots and pans; person who can repair almost anything; jack-of-all trades Trader.Businessman involved in importing and exporting various supplies and merchandise Tranter.Peddler who sells his wares from a horse-drawn cart Tumbler.Entertainer who performs handsprings, somersaults, and other feats requiring physical agility Turner.Person who shapes wooden objects, such as table legs, on a lathe (a machine that holds and rotates wood while it is pressed against an abrasive surface) Verger.Official who bears the symbol of authority, such as a rod or staff, of a bishop or dean in a procession Vintner.Person who makes and sells wine Warrener.Person who breeds or catches rabbits Weaver.Person who makes cloth Wheelwright.Person who makes and repairs wagon, cart, and carriage wheels Wiredrawer.Person who draws metal into wire Woodcarver.Person who carves wood to make it decorative Page.Boy servant; boy attending a knight or a boy in training to become a knight Puppeteer.Person who stages puppet shows Saddler.Maker of saddles and bridles Skinner.Person who removes the skins of animals and prepares them for sale; seller of hides Tiler.Person who installs roof tiles Washerwoman.Woman who washes clothes Lord Mayors of London: 1590-16161590 John Allot Source: Corporation of the City of London
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