William and Susanna

by L E Pembroke

  Anne enters the darkened bedroom, comes to the bedside. He whispers. ‘It wasn’t so bad, was it Anne, and now we are friends, and together we have created a loving and dutiful daughter.

  ‘Two daughters, William.’

  ‘Yes, yes, of course, two daughters.’ He so rarely saw the other one he quite forgot her.

  ‘Is Susanna there?’

  ‘I will fetch her in.’

  *

  She clasped her father by the hand, how cold it was. ‘You did enjoy the entertainment, didn’t you father?’

  ‘Thank you Susanna. The best afternoon I ever had and my heartfelt thanks go to you and John. Cherish him, my dear, hold him close to you; he has a heart of gold and he loves you above all else. But now, I think it is time for me to sleep. I am extremely tired. I will say goodnight.’

  ‘Goodnight father, and God bless you.’

  Of course he couldn’t sleep. His mind replayed the performances. He was so very tired and his breath became more and more shallow.

  ‘Ismene, can you hear me, dearest Ismene. Not long now before we are together, how much I have missed you. Did you see the show the boys put on for me? How I hope you did see it all, Hamlet and Macbeth especially. I know how much you would have enjoyed them.’

  His eyes were closed, his lips barely moved, a little blood trickled from his mouth. Yet his brain was active. ‘Do you hear me, Ismene? Ah, at last, thanks be to God, I see you do.You have come to take me with you.’

  The white light shone through his window and bathed within it, Ismene stood. She held her hand out to him.

  ‘I am coming; goddamn, Ismene, these bed clothes impede me. He kicked at his blankets, he kicked again and again. His body ached with the effort. He could scarcely think. Finally he was free. He relaxed, he let go.

  Leaving the worn out flesh and bones, his spirit rose from the bed and went to her. She took his hand and side by side, they were suffused with light.

  EXEUNT

  Notes on Aspects of Life during the Sixteenth Century

  BOX OFFICE

  In the Globe Theatre, money for tickets was put by the audience into a box placed near to the entrance of the theatre. It cost one penny to stand around the platform stage where patrons were exposed to all weathers. Better seats around the gallery, protected from rain, cost up to five pence.

  Once the box was filled it was taken to a small room back stage where it remained until after the performance. Many people believe that is the origin of the term “Box Office”.

  CAESAREAN SECTION

  The first recorded Caesarean Section was performed in India in 320 BC. The procedure was performed on the mother of the baby who became Emperor Bindusora. The mother died during her labour after accidentally consuming poison. It is said the procedure was used in China and several countries of the Middle East in the era before Christ. Mothers usually died.

  In the 1580’s a Swiss woman and her baby lived, after her husband (used to handling a knife, being a pig gelder) performed the operation after her very long and fruitless labour. At that time, the procedure was customarily only used on dead women with the aim of saving the life of the baby. In England, doctors in the sixteenth century had few expectations that mothers would survive a Caesarean procedure.

  Some believe the procedure was called Caesarean because one of the early Caesars of Rome was born out of the abdomen. This has not been verified.

  CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

  In an era when any form of disobedience was considered a crime, punishment was invariably harsh and brutal.

  Very few of those who committed a crime were sentenced to prison terms. Instead, for minor crimes they were pilloried or put into stocks in a public place. Alternatively, they were flogged or branded.

  Serious as well as some not so serious crimes were often punishable by death. The wealthy were customarily beheaded. The poor were hanged. During the reign of King Henry VIII, poisoners were boiled in water, oil or lead. In the reign of Queen Mary I those thought to be heretics were burned at the stake. In the last half of the century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth many of those guilty of treason were hanged, drawn and quartered. Throughout the century women considered to be witches were burned at the stake.

  Death by The Wheel, sometimes known as The Breaking Wheel or the Catherine Wheel, was especially brutal. The victim was tied to a large wooden wheel with radial spokes and then beaten on the limbs with an iron bar until all limbs were smashed and limb portions fell between the gaps between the spokes.

  Fines were frequently meted out for trivial and less trivial “crimes”. For instance, not attending church was considered a crime. Also, not wearing clothing suitable to one’s class as decreed by the Sumptuary Laws would incur a fine.

  Many punishments were designed to humiliate. Gossips might be tied to a Ducking Stool (a seat on a long wooden arm) on which the gossip was tied then dunked into the local pond or river. Or worse, women with a loose tongue might be fitted with a Scold’s Bridle also called a Brank. This was an iron muzzle in an iron framework that enclosed the head. A Bridle Bit, two inches long (5cm) and one inch (2.5cm) wide projected into the mouth and pressed the tongue down making it impossible to eat or talk. The Bit was often studded with spikes

  A commonly used form of torture to yield information or extract a confession was The Rack. A rectangular wooden frame with a roller at each end. At the lower end, the ankles were fastened by chains to the roller. At the top end, the wrists were chained to the upper roller and then the rollers turned by a crank handle. Mass dislocation occurred. Frequently, other criminals were made to watch a racking which proved sufficient motivation for them to confess their crimes.

  Beating, blinding, bone-breaking, castration, tongue removal and starvation were other common methods of torture.

  Beggars, vagabonds and wastrels were whipped. Groups of players who travelled and were not under the patronage of one of the nobility and not licensed, might be fined, whipped or branded.

  Upper class crimes frequently concerned lack of loyalty to the throne. Beheading was the usual punishment for crimes such as high treason, sedition, rebellion, murder, blasphemy and spying.

  The more common crimes of the lower classes were theft, poaching, forgery, fraud, begging and adultery. Theft of merely a few pence was often considered a hanging offence.

  EDUCATION

  Girls were rarely educated in the sixteenth century. They were not permitted to attend school although some from wealthy families had a private tutor.

  Young boys attended a school called a “petty school.” At seven years they moved on to Grammar School where the principal subject studied was Latin Grammar (hence the name Grammar School). Other subjects were rhetoric, logic, astronomy, mathematics and music.

  Discipline was harsh and the school hours long. Boys attended school six days a week for ten hours each day.

  EDMUND CAMPION

  Father Edmund Campion S.J. was educated at “Christ’s Hospital School and Oxford. In 1564 he became a deacon in the Anglican Church, but soon discovered he wanted to be a Catholic. He left Oxford, travelled to Ireland and Douai (France) where at university there, he was ordained. He travelled to Rome and studied to become a priest with The Society of Jesus.

  In 1580 Campion was chosen to become an undercover priest in England. He led the life of a ‘man on the run’ travelling throughout England administering the Sacraments and preaching to recusant families. He was captured in Berkshire in July 1581 and tortured in The Tower for several months. In November of that year he was sentenced to death for treason by being hanged, drawn and quartered. When the verdict was announced, Father Campion said: “In condemning us, you condemn all your own ancestors, all our ancient bishops and kings, all that once was the glory of England - the island of saints and the most devoted child of the See of Peter.” Edmund Campion was canonised in 1970.

  FOOD

  The wealthy ate meals which were very different from those of the poor. The well-of
f diet comprised large amounts of meat and fish and few vegetables. They ate limited amounts of fresh fruit but plenty of fruit cooked in pies and pastries. Their bread was white and made of wheat.

  The poor ate plain foods and very little meat and fish. Their bread was coarse and made with barley, oats or rye. They ate large quantities of turnips, pulses and chestnuts. Potatoes had not been discovered by the English during the 16th century. A typical poor man’s breakfast was bread, cheese and onion. They ate a considerable amount of cheddar cheese, made by fermenting milk and they used the sun or wind to dry food to slow down the decaying process. A hot meal was typically a pot of vegetables thickened with a porridge of oats or chunks of bread dipped into a vegetable broth.

  Many varieties of food, including meats, fish, eggs and vegetables, were preserved by salting. In a poor household cooking was usually done on a fireplace set in the middle of a living room, which was, in very poor homes, also the bedroom. In the absence of expensive sugar, the poor used honey to sweeten food.

  The wealthy drank wine, sherry, brandy and whisky which was being distilled in Scotland during that century. They drank very little water because of the fear of disease. The poor drank ale of varying strengths and children drank milk. Tea, coffee, cocoa and gin were not available in England until the 17th century.

  GLOBE THEATRE

  The Globe Theatre was built in South London in 1599. It burnt down in 1613 when a volley of cannon used during a performance of one of Shakespeare’s history plays set the theatre alight.

  The platform stage protruded almost half way into the pit. . The stage width was 45 feet, approximately 14 metres and 30 feet in length, approximately 10 metres. It was raised five feet from the ground. There were three gallery levels around the building with bench seating, unlike the pit and the stage, the gallery was roofed. Seating for 1500 was available and altogether 3000 patrons could be fitted into The Globe.

  A roofed structure at the rear of the stage, supported by large pillars, housed costumes and properties, provided entrances and exits for players and an area of better seating for eminent members of the audience.

  HOGHTON, SIR ALEXANDER

  In the 1581 will of Catholic nobleman, Sir Alexander Hoghton, two trustees and eleven annuitants were named, these included William Shakeshafte and twenty other servants.

  Some scholars believe that William Shakeshafte is William Shakespeare. This theory is based on the belief that William Shakespeare was once a school master in the country and there are proven links between the Hoghton and Shakespeare families.

  In Elizabethan times, commonly, the same surname was spelt in different ways. Shakespeare variants in the sixteenth century were: Shakspere, Shaxherd, Shakstaff, Shakesmore and Shakeshaft.

  HOUSING

  The nobility, monarchs, dukes, earls and barons, lived in one or more magnificent and palatial castles. These were made of stone and up to four storeys in height, with slate roofs and many tall chimneys. They had countless windows, luxurious furnishings, often imported, carpets, separate kitchens and indoor plumbing. Imposing entrances were framed with great pillars. Many had up to six hundred servants to care for the needs of the family and their guests. Castles in the country were set midst many hectares of land used for grazing and hunting.

  Minor nobility or the gentry often lived in manor houses, smaller than castles and also made of stone with leadlight windows, clusters of tall chimneys and slate roofs. They had fewer bedrooms, possibly fifteen to twenty, many servants, indoor plumbing and extensive lands surrounding them.

  Gentlemen and yeomen living in towns usually resided in black and white, semi-timbered homes. These were constructed with a timber frame and walls of wattle daubed with mortar and white-washed. They had over-hanging first floors, pillared porches, dormer windows and thatched roofs.

  In rural districts, the unskilled poor lived in cob huts, often comprised of only one room. Cob was a mixture of sand, clay and earth bound together with straw and water. Often small animals were kept indoors with the family. There were no glass windows, merely an opening or two for light which was covered with oil-soaked linen to keep out the cold. The dirt floor was covered with rushes and light was obtained by lighting rushes coated with fat. Food was cooked on a fireplace usually set in the middle of the room.

  In London, the poor lived a cramped lifestyle in two-storey timber-framed houses with wattle and daub walls. Because of the danger of fire many houses had slate instead of thatch roofs. Disease spread quickly in these over-crowded areas where homes had no plumbing. The contents of chamber pots were frequently thrown into the filthy, narrow alleys that comprised most of the poverty-stricken areas. Residents of London obtained germ-laden water from the Thames River for washing and drinking. The destitute lived in alms-houses funded by private benefactors and poor houses provided by government-supported bodies.

  MEDICINE

  Herbal medication was used for illness. These were mixed potions and ointments made up by many women in the community whose knowledge of herbal cures had been passed on within their families for many generations. It was a matter of pride for a wife and mother to keep her family healthy. The upper classes used herbal medicines made up by an apothecary.

  The poor, unable to afford a physician who may have ordered them to be bled either by the application of leeches, cupping or cautery, had a very high mortality rate. The leech sucked more than four times its weight in blood and by doing so reduced the toxins in the patient’s blood. Cupping is the application of a warm cup to the wound area which, as it cools draws blood and toxins into the cup.

  Physicians studied at university and based their diagnoses on observation, especially observation of excreta. They were the theorists who believed an inbalance of the four humours of the body caused illness.

  The humours or fluids in the body were considered to be blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm.

  In both ancient and medieval times, physicians observing one or all of these humours during illness, concluded erroneously they were the cause of specific illness and not merely symptoms of the disorder.

  Physicians also believed that the signs of the zodiac were associated with specific parts of the body and birth date would predispose the sick to certain illnesses.

  Many believed that regardless of treatment, God’s will was the most important factor in a patient’s death or survival. Physicians did not perform surgery, which, along with blood-letting was usually left to barbers.

  Barbers were the military surgeons who performed the many amputations that occurred during wartime. With no form of general anaesthesia, apart from knocking the patient unconscious, and with little idea of the necessity for cleanliness during an operation, many patients died as the result of having any operation.

  The most common fatal diseases of the sixteenth century were: syphilis, consumption, Bubonic Plague (commonly spread by the bite of a flea from a rat) and smallpox.

  MONARCHS

  Henry VII, the first of the Tudor monarchs, reigned from 1485 until 1509. Henry VIII, his second son, became King in 1509 until his death in 1547.

  Henry married, for the third time, Jane Seymour, the mother of King Edward VI. He ruled from 1547 until 1553. After his death Queen Mary I daughter of Henry and Catherine of Aragon, Henry’s first wife, came to the throne. She ruled for five years and upon her death, Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, ascended the throne. Elizabeth I ruled until her death in 1603.

  OATH OF SUPREMACY (1559)

  “I do utterly testify and declare in my conscience that the Queen’s Highness is the only supreme governor of this realm, and of all other her Highness’s dominions and countries as well in all spiritual or ecclesiastical things or causes, as temporal, and that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state or potentate hath or aught to have any jurisdictions, powers, superiorities and authorities, and do promise that from henceforth I shall bear faith and true allegiance to the Queen’s Highness, her heirs and
lawful successors ........................”

  RECUSANT, RELIGIOUS ACT & PAPIST RECUSANT ACTS 1593

  In the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries in England, recusants were Roman Catholics and other dissenters (Puritans and Calvinists) who did not attend the services of the Church of England, as was required by law. In the sixteenth century, recusancy specifically referred only to Roman Catholics. The word Recusants in modern usage, applies to the descendants of Catholic British gentry and peerage families.

  In 1593, the Queen targeted Catholics in “An Act for Restraining Popish Recusants”.

  They were to be: “Convicted for not repairing to some Church, Chapel, or usual place of Common Prayer to hear Divine Service there, but forbearing the same contrary to the tenor of the laws and statutes heretofore made and provided in that behalf”.

  Other Acts also targeted Catholic recusants including some in the reigns of Kings James I and Charles I. They were repealed in 1650. Penalties for recusancy included fines, property confiscation, imprisonment and death.

  In England, Catholics were emancipated in 1829.

  SUMPTUARY LAWS

  Sumptuary laws “are laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditure in the matter of apparel...........”

  These laws were promulgated to encourage moderation. It was thought and said that uncontrolled spending was ruinous for both society and individuals.

  The Sumptuary Laws also created an easy way to identify social rank and they prevented commoners from imitating the appearance of aristocrats.

  Sumptuary laws dictated the fabric, colour and type of clothing to be worn by each class in society. One example was that only members of the Royal family were permitted to wear ermine and cloth of gold. The upper classes wore heavily embroidered satin, silk and velvet. Middle class women confined themselves to wool and linen, and the lowest classes, linen and sheep skin in subdued colours. The Sumptuary Laws ensured that commoners did not dress “above their station”.