England of Song and Story - A Picture of Life in England and a Background for English Literature of the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries

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ENGLAND OF SONG AND STORY A PICTURE OF LIFE IN ENGLAND AND A BACKGROUND FOR ENGLISH LITERATURE OF THE 16TH, 17TH, AND 18TH CENTURIES BY MARY I. CURTIS ALLYN AND BACON BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO DALLAS WARWICK CASTLE PREFACE England of Song and Story is a picture a series of pictures of life as it was lived in England during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. The book may be considered as a stage setting, giving reality and interest to the life and happenings of the people of these centuries. And just as any drama upon the modern stage is more readily enjoyed and comprehended when it is set forth with appropriate costuming, properties, and stage settings, so the history and literature of these interesting times can be read with greater understanding and enjoyment against a background picturing the people at work and at play telling us what they looked like, how they felt, and how they acted showing us their brilliant festivals so eagerly enjoyed, the ruthless punishments of criminals, the hardships and the pleasures in the daily life of all classes in the city, in the country, at court. Much interest and pleasure is often lost by the reader, especially the young reader, if he does not understand the customs, the point of view, and the feelings of the people about whom he reads in Shakespeare and the other English classics. Without some friendly acquaintanceship the characters may seem stilted and unnatural. In England of Song and Story the author hopes to make these people of past days seem alive and real to the reader. In order to make the picture more complete it has been necessary to dip back occasionally into medieval days, and in some instances to touch on times somewhat later than the eighteenth century. In the use of quotations, especially quotations from authors such as Chaucer and Robert Burns, the spelling and dialect have been altered to a simpler form, or modernized sufficiently to make the words easier of understanding to modern eyes and ears. Quotations from contemporary documents and literature have been freely used to illustrate this story of the past, for in many cases nothing else shows so well the atmosphere of the period. M. I. C. CONTENTS CHAPTER I How LONDON STEEETS GOT THEIR STRANGE NAMES The story of London told by the names of its streets - Meaning of Llyndin Roman London The Tower Names dating from the Roman City wall Aldgate Hounds ditch Bishopsgate Blackfriars Streets within the old City Cheapside Streets named for crafts and trades Bread Street Ironmongers Lane Thread needle Street Smithfield Giltspur Street Bunhill Fields Pudding Lane, and others Meaning of Lombard Reason for the signs of English coinage Old Jewry Nightingale Lane St. Andrew Undershaft Names around St. Pauls Cathedral Amen Court, and others Bow bells The Cockney Dick Whittington Noises and smells of City in old days Stinking Lane Picturesque processions Love of people for London Southwark Fleet Street The Strand Charing Cross Westminster Scotland Yard Haymarket Picca dilly Pall Mall Rotten Row 1 CHAPTER II How PEOPLE LIVED IN THESE OLD STREETS AND LANES Why people spent so much time in the streets Daily life in England in Shakespeares day In periods leading up to and following this great age Shakespeares characters typical English men and women Relative importance of London to the rest of England Thames River as a general highway Condition of the streets Beau traps Keeping the wall Shops The Fortunes of Nigel Apprentice lads cry of Clubs Noises of the streets Method of advertising goods for sale The cries of London trades men The City watchmen Linkboys Fountains and water supply Cheapside The Lord Mayors procession Crowds in the streets Sights to be seen Types of houses Red roofs Windows No houses numbered Reason for this Picturesque signs to distinguish houses Interior of houses Wall hangings Standard of comfort ...