Summary of Ruth Goodman's How To Be a Tudor

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The cockerels began their morning chorus and people began to wake up. The vast majority of people lived a rural life and kept their own chickens and pigs in the yard out the back. Cattle and sheep grazed on town commons.

#2 Tudor beds were usually made of straw, and people would sleep on them in their clothes if they had to. They were not very comfortable, and they could become compacted and lumpy if not looked after.

#3 The word bed in Tudor England meant something close to what we today mean by the word mattress, so the straw-filled sack was called a straw bed. Many people carefully selected not just the main bulk of the straw, but also additional stuffing from the straw of particular plants to aid a good night’s sleep.

#4 The floors of English houses were often laid with white clay and covered with rushes, which were problematic for the actors at the Globe Theatre. They became caught up in the skirts of the men playing female characters. The rushes were then cut into shorter lengths, which helped.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669393177

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Insights on Ruth Goodman's How To Be a Tudor

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The cockerels began their morning chorus and people began to wake up. The vast majority of people lived a rural life and kept their own chickens and pigs in the yard out the back. Cattle and sheep grazed on town commons.

#2

Tudor beds were usually made of straw, and people would sleep on them in their clothes if they had to. They were not very comfortable, and they could become compacted and lumpy if not looked after.

#3

The word bed in Tudor England meant something close to what we today mean by the word mattress, so the straw-filled sack was called a straw bed. Many people carefully selected not just the main bulk of the straw, but also additional stuffing from the straw of particular plants to aid a good night’s sleep.

#4

The floors of English houses were often laid with white clay and covered with rushes, which were problematic for the actors at the Globe Theatre. They became caught up in the skirts of the men playing female characters. The rushes were then cut into shorter lengths, which helped.

#5

As the sixteenth century rolled on, fewer and fewer people slept on the floor. Chimneys began to dominate the skyline, and as they were installed and homes were divided up into more rooms, there were far worse draughts at floor level.

#6

A flock bed was a step up from a straw bed. It was a tightly woven sack stuffed with sheep’s wool rather than straw. It was well worth taking the time to make a proper flock bed, as it would last longer than a straw bed.

#7

The best Tudor bed was made of a wooden frame with posts at all four corners, a substantial wooden headboard, a thick fabric top, and heavy full curtains all around. It would have had tightly pulled ropes across the bottom, and a thick fresh rush mat.

#8

There were a lot more beds in the Tudor period than there were in the medieval period, and they were used by wealthier people than those of modest means. The rooms of Katherine Salisbury’s house were inventoried one by one. Her own room contained both a bedstead and a truckle bed, but the