Shakespearean England

What sports, games, entertainment were there and why were they popular?

The main form of entertainment in Shakespeare’s time would be the theatre. Although the common person did not have a lot of money they could nearly always afford to go to the theatre. The life of the common person was very hard and so they would seek a break from their lives by going to the theatre. Other forms of entertainment were music, singing and dancing which would be accessible to everyone. There were also board games back then such as chess. Like nearly every culture to ever exist, there were also many blood sports that people would go to and enjoy watching. These would include cock (rooster) fighting, dog fighting and even public executions. People would see death and violence often and would probably just have accepted it and then enjoyed it as a form of entertainment.

What were their superstitions and beliefs and what were the origins of these?

Superstitions were heavily religion based however some were also common sense e.g. the belief that walking under a ladder is unlucky is probably based on the chance that the ladder may collapse on you. Another belief that was common all over the world was that left and left-handers were evil. This is shown in the bible where there are 100 pro-right hander references and 25 references against left handers. Because everyone strongly believed in the bible word for word they would believe in some of the stranger parts of the bible as well. Questioning the bible was considered blasphemous and so superstitions were just accepted and were rarely questioned. People would commonly have beliefs that would try to explain some of life’s mysteries. Since many people were uneducated superstitions would not always be based on very reliable sources and a lot of unorthodox beliefs emerged.

What was the health like of the Elizabethans and why?

The health was bad for the common person in Shakespearean times. This was due to a number of factors such as the open sewage system, where the sewage was thrown out the window into an open ditch on the side of the road where it would probably lead down to a river. There was no plumbing so people had to get their water from a well. The rich people would have doctors available but the poorer people would rely on good willed people like churches to help cure them of sickness. There was a lack of knowledge about diseases and so many strange cures would emerge. Many of the cures were passed down through families, and contained natural ingredients that were readily available. Common people would not know of bacteria and the need of hygiene and so this was why many people would get sick. Another factor was the crowding of housing, people in the country would therefore be better off health wise. This sort of environment was perfect for the deadly bubonic plague that would kill 100,000 people from 1592-1623. Most people were expected to die before forty.