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RENAISSANCE
ENLIGHTENMENT
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Renaissance
(ren'e sans') n. [Fr.] 1. a rebirth; revival 2. the great
revival of art and learning in Europe in the 14th, 15th
and 16th centuries.
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| The Renaissance
was an era of great change: economic recovery; the birth of
the middle class or bourgeoisie; the fall of the corrupt papacy
and church; and a great renewal of the arts. The "rebirth"
associated with this period was more of a slow progress ion,
blending the practices of medieval life with the timeless
ideals of classical antiquity. The spirit of the Renaissance
is what we aim to capture, if only for seven autumn weekends
each year. |
| Did you
know... ? The state of Virginia was named for Elizabeth, the
virgin Queen of England. |
| Anne
Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, was Queen Elizabeth's mother.
King Henry VIII ordered her beheaded when Elizabeth was only
3 years old. |
| Boisterous
ball games were popular sport. A game much like football was
played between villages; the ball consisted of an inflated
pigs bladder that was stuffed with peas. |
| The lion,
as symbol of strength and valor, was the first beast to appear
on a coat of arms. Different postures of the lion (sitting,
lying, facing front, back, or upright) signified different
things in heraldic language. |
| A man
of stature's yearly income was around 5 pounds (about $8.33
in today's money). |
| People
were shorter and smaller in the 16th century; the average
man was 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 135 pounds. Anyone
over 6 feet was considered a giant! |
| Most
people owned only one pair of clothing. |
| In 1543,
Nicolas Copernicus published his radical theory that the earth
moves around the sun. |
| Popular
card games included "Noddy", similar to Cribbage; and "One
& Thirty", a game much like Blackjack. |
| The customary
soldier salute dates back to the Renaissance when knights
raised their visors with the right hand as a gesture of friendship
and respect. |
| In the
Elizabethan era there were three types of armor, each worn
for a specific occasion: war, tournament and parade. |
| The fork
was a new addition to the dinner table during the Renaissance.
Prior to its invention people ate with their knives. |
| While
theater was a popular attraction of the day. Puritans regarded
theaters as places of ill repute, no better than brothels.
They often rallied against them. |
| Education
was for the privileged, and a school day lasted up to ten
hours. Students had to learn to play at least one musical
instrument during the course of their education, and severe
corporal punishment was inflicted upon poor students. |
| During
the time of the Plague, villages would stage "Death Parades",
with members of the community dressed in all black. It was
believed that if the village could ignore the parade as it
passed, then death would pass their community by. |
| "Ye"
is actually pronounced 'the'. The word "ye" was originally
a symbol. Early printers neglected to create a special type
for "ye" because it closely resembled the letters y and e
smashed together. |
| The medieval
noble ate large amounts of meat. Fruit and vegetables were
not considered proper food. Nobles drank fine wines with their
meals while lower classes drank beer or cider. |
| In this
period it was claimed that ale was made of malt and water
and thus considered a natural drink for a Middle Ages Englishman.
Beer was made of hops, malt and water and was deemed more
appropriate for Dutchmen. Beer was also frowned upon in England
because it was a cold drink that inflated the bellies of men. |
| Herbs
were an important part of healing during the Renaissance period.
Secrets of herbal lore were passed down from generation to
generation. |
