Popular Entertainment Flashcards
What did upper class entertainment involve?
- Feasts
- Jousts
- Banquets
- Sporting events e.g. horse racing
What did poorer entertainment include?
- Travelling fairs with puppet shows
- Conjurers
- Trained animals and hawkers
- Visited by wandering bands of players who would perform short plays
What was entertainment common to all sections of society?
- Dancing, music, singing
- gambling
- cruel sports e.g. bear baiting
What were cruel sports?
- Cock fighting = Most often between a single pair of game birds but sometimes as many as 20 could be put in a ring and fight to the death. Most gown had a cock fighting pig.
- Bear baiting = dogs and men would attack bears and people would place bets on which dog would survive the longest.
What was hunting?
Very popular pastime among the rich, upper class often had their own deer parks which provided them with venison for their tables.
What was hawking?
Involved use of a trained falcon/ hawk to fly off a trainer’s arm, when the blind cap was removed, it would kill selected prey and return.
How were music and singing important entertainment?
Key instruments were the recorder, viol, the lute and the virginiols. The music of some English composers e.g. Tallis, Byrd and Morley was famous across Europe.
How was archery important entertainment?
Men over 24 were expected to practice archery after church on a Sunday.
How was dancing popular entertainment?
- the queen liked dancing and she was very accomplished at it.
- lower classes= traditional country dances
- Upper classes= employed musicians to play popular foreign dance tunes e.g. the slow Paven and the gavotte
How were ball games popular entertainment?
- football was very rough and played amongst lower classes, no rules and often ended in injury.
- Tennis played by upper classes
- bowls and skittles played by all
What were bands of strolling players?
People who would tour the country to perform their plays to audiences of townsfolk, farmers, tradesmen, women and children
Where would the bands of strolling payers perform their plays?
The players would use the courtyard of an inn/ market square to perform- the more wealthy would sometimes have private showings at their homes.
What was a common theme for the plays performed by bands of strolling players?
The adventures of Robin Hood where the poorer elements of society triumphed over the rich.
What happened as the popularity of bands of strolling players grew?
The authorities began to feel that the subject matter of them could encourage many people to rebel. There was also a health issue as it was believed that the gathering of large crowds to watch performances helped to spread diseases such as the plague.
What law was passed in 1572, which involved strolling players?
A law was passed to ban strolling players unless they had a licence to perform from lord chamberlain.
What were the result of the law that banned strolling players?
The formation of theatre companies who had the financial support and patronage of a wealthy nobleman.
What were some theatre company examples?
- The early of Leicester’s players est 1574
- The Queen’s men est 1583
- The Lord Admiral Howard’s company est 1583
- The lord Chamberlain’s men est 1594
Where did theatre companies often perform?
As well as in the countryside they would also perform before the queen at court and in the stately homes of their patron.
What happened as the popularity of theatre companies grew?
Courtyard inns became too overcrowded so permanent theatres were constructed.
