John Gerarde, The Herball, 1597 - violets, p.699, detail.
A Shakespearian plant reference.
The plant and flower references in Shakespeare’s works are numerous. John Gerarde’s Herball lists and describes all the plants known in contemporary England, ...
John Gerarde, The Herball, 1597 - Wall Flowers, p.371.
Wallflowers in a Shakespeare source.
Wallflowers in John Gerarde’s History of plantes are clearly illustrated and named ‘gilloflower’. This popular name persists as ‘gillys’ ...
Michael Drayton, Polyolbion, 1613 - Musicmakers by the River Severn - plate between p.54 & p.55
Country music making in Shakespeare's time.
Queen Elizabeth I was skilled on the virginals, (a keyboard instrument, popular for accompaniment of singers), and all classes of society were encouraged ...
Raphael Holinshed, The... Chronicles, 1577 - 'History of England', p.46.
Shakespeare's source for England's mythical history.
The woodcut illustrations of the first edition of Holinshed’s work depicting scenes of battle and warfare are in contemporary dress, with ...
Raphael Holinshed, The... Chronicles, 1577 - harvest woodcut, 'History of Scotland', p. 232.
A harvest scene, from a book known to Shakespeare.
Shakespeare’s parents both came from farming families so he knew well that everyone in country districts would help with cutting and sheaving ...
Raphael Holinshed, The... Chronicles, 1577, 'History of Scotland', - battle woodcut, , p.99, detail.
Contemporary battles inspired woodcuts in the first edition of Shakespeare’s source.
The detailed woodcuts in Holished's first edition, inspired by contemporary Elizabethan campaigns in Ireland, ...
Richard Day, A Booke of Christian prayers..., 1581 - Feed the Hungry woodcut, p.72v.
Charity: feeding the poor in Shakespeare's time.
All communities had their share of the poor and Elizabethans would regularly offer their unwanted ‘left-over’ food to those less fortunate ...
Richard Day, A Booke of Christian prayers..., 1581 - Help the thirsty woodcut p.73r detail
Drinks available in Shakespeare's time.
The regular drink of Elizabethans was cider, ale (which was not strong beer), or for the more wealthy, wine was imported from France, or Germany. Water was used ...
Richard Day, A Booke of Christian prayers..., 1581 - Life and death, p.122v.
Death in everyday life in Shakespeare's time.
Life and death went hand-in-hand everywhere in Shakespeare’s England, where medical knowledge was very limited, and most illness depended on traditional ...
Richard Day, A Booke of Christian prayers..., 1581 - Momento mori woodcut, p.89v, detail.
A possible source for the Capulet tomb.
The end of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet takes place in the Capulet family tomb where the apparently dead Juliet has been laid. Such places had a ghostly reputation, ...
Richard Day, A Booke of Christian prayers..., 1581 - Shelter strangers woodcut, p.53r, detail.
Christian charity offering shelter, in Shakespeare's time.
Strangers traveling in the countryside were often made welcome, as Autolycus, Polixenes and Camillo find at the feast in the play of The Winter’s ...
Richard Day, A Booke of Christian prayers..., 1581 - Tending the sick woodcut, p.74v, detail.
A family death-bed: a scene familiar to Shakespeare.
A generation before William Shakespeare's birth, England was a Roman Catholic country changed by the actions of Henry VIII who declared himself ...
Richard Day, A Booke of Christian prayers..., 1581 - Tending the sick woodcut, p.74v, detail.
Women in the home in Shakespeare's time.
The role of women, though legally inferior to men, was in effect recognised of equal importance as they were expected to carry out all the responsibilities ...
Robert Allott, compiler, England's Parnassus, 1600 - p.284-285.
An anthology groups Shakespeare and other writings by subject for easy reference.
In part of this anthology, published in 1600, quotations from contemporary writers are grouped like a thesaurus, by ...
Simon Latham, Latham's falconry, 1615 - instructions for the mews, Book 2, p.11.
The care of hawks: a familiar occupation for Shakespeare.
Falconry was not only a sport of the nobility. In Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor Master Page invites his friends to early morning ...
Simon Latham, Latham's falconry, 1615 - title page book 2.
Petruchio talks of training his hawk in The Taming of The Shrew
Petruchio who has won a wife with a fortune in The Taming of the Shrew, talks about training her to his wishes by starving her, and constraining ...
Simon Latham, Latham's falconry, 1615 - title page, [A1r].
A falconry handbook on a subject well known by Shakespeare.
Falconry was a popular sport with the Elizabethan gentry and nobility. Latham’s handbook describes all aspects of ‘the princely ...
Thomas Hill, The gardeners labyrinth..., 1577 - men enjoying wine and fruit, title-page of part 2.
Characters in Shakespeare enjoyed an arbour in their garden scenes.
The practice of enjoying the out-of-doors over a simple meal, or a drink out-of-doors on a summer’s evening may have been the ...