That Shakespeare Life

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Ep 154: 16th C Puppets with Maureen Benfer Mar 29, 2021

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According to an article on the Victoria and Albert Museum website, puppetry as an art form in Britain can be traced back over 600 years, with the first recorded puppet theater performance in London happening around 1600, when William Shakespeare was 36 years old. Medieval clergy used puppets to tell Bible stories, with one performance in 1599 at Coventry featuring a puppet version of the devil. When theaters like Shakespeare's Globe were closed due to plague, puppet theaters were allowed to remain open, often travelling the country with puppet performances in tow to entertain all around Britain. While the rod and string puppets we know today as marionettes would flourish in England by the 18th century, for Shakespeare's lifetime glove puppets were the star of the show, and shadow puppets can be found in woodcuts and engravings of the period. Shakespeare himself uses the word "puppet" in his plays at least 11 times. Here today to help us explore the world of puppets in 16th century England is our guest, Maureen Benfer.

Ep 153: Galloway Nag with Miriam Bibby Mar 22, 2021

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In Henry IV Part II, Shakespeare writes the earliest known reference to a Galloway Nag when Pistol he says "Know we not Galloway Nags?" That comes from Act II Scene 4. If you are not a 16th century Scotsman, however, the assumption that you know what a galloway nag is, or what it is suitable for Pistol in that scene, may not be as obvious as the character suggests. Turns out, in the 16th century, a Galloway nag was a highly reputable horse from the Galloway region of Scotland. The term "galloway nag" is still used in parts of Scotland, England, and Australia to describe a horse of smaller stature that is fast, reliable, and what we call an "easy keeper" here in the US. During Shakespeare's lifetime, the galloway nag was a source of contention between England and Scotland, who would not be united until the coronation of James I in 1603. As our guest this week writes about in her publication From North to South: the Galloway Nag as an Elite Gift in the 16 th Century, prior to the unification of England and Scotland, Border laws were enacted under Henry VII and again under Henry VIII, to try and stop the trade of horses entirely. By the time James comes to the throne when Shakespeare was 39 years old, the galloway nag is sought after all along the Irish Sea, as well as into the islands and coasts of Scotland, and down into the coast of Cumbria with a strong reputation as a highly valuable, reliable, and trustworthy steed that people were going to get their hands on, regardless of what the law said! Here today to share her research into the Galloway Nag and to present evidence of a reference to Galloway nags that predates Shakespeare's use of it in Henry IV part II, is our guest, Miriam Bibby.

Ep 152: Public Executions with Murat Öğütcü Mar 15, 2021

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Walking across London Bridge seems like a merry trip for many, or perhaps even a dismissable part of the daily commute if you live in London today, and while travel across the bridge was a normal occurrence for William Shakespeare, as well, what was decidedly different for him is that it often featured heads of executed traitors displayed on the Southgate of London Bridge. Along with severed heads on display, public hangings, disembowelment, and even burning at the stake were very much forms of public entertainment in Shakespeare's lifetime, drawing crowds who often walked great distances to attend these events. We can see the culture of public executions echoed in Shakespeare's plays, and those of his contemporaries, and how they choose to display--or avoid--the presentation of death on stage. Here today to take us into the culture of early modern England and help us understand the reasons, methods, and place of public execution and why Shakespeare may have chosen to handle death the way he did in his works, is our guest Murat Öğütcü.

Ep 151: The First Flush Toilet in England with Bob Cromwell Mar 08, 2021

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Surviving archaeological items from the first English settlements at Jamestown include intact chamber pots. One of these chamber pots was part of a 2009 exhibit at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC, United States. These pots were brought over to the New World by 16-17th century colonists who, at the time, used chamber pots as essential items. However, when they arrived, the colonists were surprised to discover that the natives did not have the same sanitary system as they did back in England, and by consequence, did not have streets running with open sewage as the colonists were accustomed to seeing.

Despite the Romans having developed a sophisticated system for water sanitation and disposal of waste, the English of Shakespeare's lifetime did not continue that progress. For Shakespeare's entire lifetime, and many years prior, sanitation and cleanliness was misunderstood, sometimes feared, and certainly not well practiced in 16th C England. The sanitation of Shakespeare's lifetime functions as an example of when technology did not continue to progress past the Romans, but instead, absolutely digressed to truly gross levels. Excrement was collected in chamber pots, or sometimes just in an open area, whenever someone happened to find the need to relieve themselves. Once collected, it would be disposed of by throwing it out the window and into the street below (It was not uncommon for passersby to be hit with the falling urine or feces if they weren't careful).

In 1591, a godson of Elizabeth I, and a member of her royal court, proposed a new idea. Sir John Harington would write The Metamorphosis of Ajax (A jakes is slang term for a place to go to the bathroom) in which he included detailed engineering diagrams and instructions for applicable use on the first ever flush toilet in the world.

Here today to tell us about the history of chamber pots in England, John Harington's design, and how this revolutionary piece of technology was received during Shakespeare's lifetime, is our guest, Bob Cromwell.

Ep 150: London Bridge with Tony Sharp Mar 01, 2021

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There has been a bridge over the river Thames since the time of the Romans and the reign of Aethelred II, when the bridge was designed as a Saxon defense against the Danish. Since then, there have been at least 5 bridges either built, or repairs made to the predecessor, which have occupied the crossing of the Thames at London Bridge. The original structure we think of as the first London Bridge was located about 100 feet east of today's London Bridge. There was a London Bridge stretched across the Thames when Shakespeare was there, it is very likely that the bard travelled upon this bridge, as did numerous travellers, pageants, and processions throughout this lifetime. A distinct difference from the London Bridge we have today, though, is that unlike today's bridge which is focused on providing passage for cars and pedestrians, the London Bridge of Shakespeare's day included houses, shops, and of course, because this was well before cars existed, provided passage for people on foot, horseback, and the occasional carriage. Known for being a site of production, as well as military armament, and even commercial business, the bridge of Shakespeare's England was quite different from the bridge we have now. Here today to share with us what London Bridge was like for William Shakespeare is our guest, Tony Sharp.

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Ep 149: Mermaids with Vaughn Scribner Feb 22, 2021

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When medieval cartographers drew maps of the world they included mermaids among the fantastic ocean beasts that they believed roamed the waters of foreign lands. Professional explorers like Henry Hudson in 1608, described sighting a mermaid in the NOrthern Atlantic ocean, describing how the mermaid called to the men on his ship. Philosophers, physicians, and clergymen, all described, in detail, the discovery, examination, and even display of mermaid bodies. There was a pervasive belief that mermaids were real, and a definitive threat to anyone travelling the ocean. One of the most popular settings for Shakespeare's plays, Italy was known for being a gathering place for mermaids. Along with individuals who saw mermaids in the wild, there were also persistent and incredible stories of mermaids like Melusine, who married a King of Scotland. Despite the centuries of folklore, mermaids seem to have a consistent description as to who, and what, they were, and where you would be able to find one.The 15th c saw a specific rise in the stories of mermaids, and by the time Shakespeare was writing about them, mermaids were a well established part of Renaissance thought across the British Isles. Here this week to take us back to the 16th century British Isles and share with us the history, folklore, and science behind mermaids to examine exactly what Shakespeare would have understood or believed about mermaids is the man who wrote the book on Merpeople, Vaughn Scribner.

Ep 148: Robert Greene with Darren Freebury Jones Feb 15, 2021

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The most memorable illustration of Robert Greene shows him dressed as an ear of corn, sitting at a desk, penning Groatsworth of Wit, his famous deathbed insult that calls William Shakespeare an "upstart crow." That upstart crow may have gone on to eclipse Robert Greene's fame in posterity, but for the moment in which those lines were written about the bard, Robert Greene was not only well established as a playwright in early modern England but held a arguably higher reputation in the playwriting industry than Shakespeare himself. Here to help us peel back the layers of history and explore the life, works, myth, and legend of Robert Greene is our guest, Darren Freebury Jones.

Ep 147: 16th C Men's Shaving with Alun Withey Feb 08, 2021

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Shakespeare uses the word "beard" in his plays over one hundred times, and almost always as a way to indicate a man's status, power, or authority. In Anthony and Cleopatra Caesar is referred to as "scarce bearded" as a slight against him by Cleopatra, several times the phrase "by my beard" is used in plays like Alls Well That Ends Well, as an oath, and in Henry V Gower refers to a specific style of beard being known as "the general's cut." Throughout the works of Shakespeare we see women swooning over men who have stylish beards, old men being cited for the grey or white color of their beards, and younger men with ambition referring to the presentation and style of their facial hair as an indication of their strength in battle as well as their position of authority. Portraits of men like Robert Devereux and Sir Walter Raleigh testify to intricate detail on a man's face when it came to choosing, and maintaining a beard, but what exactly were the fashion norms for men's facial hair in the 16th century? When we say they "cut them" what did they use for that purpose? Here today to help us explore how men wore their beards, the various styles that were popular, and exactly what kinds of razors a man like William Shakespeare might use to acquire a style like the general's cut to his beard, is our guest and author of Shaving and Masculinity in 18th century Britain, Alun Withey.

Ep 146: Early Modern Tattoos with Matt Lodder Feb 01, 2021

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When telling about the Battle of Hastings, William Malmesbury wrote a description of the English ancestors, the Anglo Saxons, as having "arms covered with golden bracelets, tattooed with coloured patterns." The trend of tattooing oneself with coloured patterns seems to have fallen to the wayside by the time William Shakespeare was writing about skin used as parchment in Comedy of Errors, because tattoos were far from the everyday normative for your average English citizen in the 16th century. Despite the ancient history of tattoo art on the European continent, for most of the people in Shakespeare's lifetime, tattoos arrived as a new and noteworthy cultural event when they saw them first as international explorers returned from their oceanic voyages, bringing with them natives who were adorned with ink tattoos. British pilgrims to the Holy Lands in the 17th century would often be tattooed with the Jerusalem Cross as a souvenir from their travels. One famous Britain who had this kind of tattoo done was William Lithgow, who returned to England in 1612, causing quite a cultural splash with his new artwork.Here today to help us explore the place, and reality of tattoos in England during Shakespeare's lifetime including what kind of tattoos might have been present, from where, and why is our guest, Matt Lodder

Ep 145: Cleire Water with Vaughn Scribner Jan 25, 2021

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Ale was a popular drink in Shakespeare's London, due in part to the undrinkable nature of the water from the nearby Thames River. The fear of water and superstitions about drinking it, extended well beyond England's capital city, and extended even over the Atlantic Ocean to the colonies of Early American settlers, who coming from England, brought with them a surprising opinion about water in general. New England colonists in the early 17th century arrived with fear of what they called "cleire water", believing as a result of their experience with waterways like the Thames that plain water was dangerous. Here to share with us some of the experiences and opinions about water held by 16-17th century England, including the stories by 16th century writer Richard Hawkings who described Native Americans as mermaids because of their magic ability to both swim and treat water as "their natural element" is our guest, Vaughn Scribner.

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