England in the 1600, Pastimes and Fine Arts

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in England in the 1600s? Well, I’m here to tell you about some of their pastimes and fine arts. For a little backround on England back then, it was a time of peace and prosperity and the Puritans (people who wanted to eliminate pleasure from everyday life) were making their mark on England’s theater. New changes were making their mark on England, and I’m here to tell you about them.

Fine Arts

Many fine arts were popular in England at the time, like the theater. The theater in England protruded into the audience, so the audience was able to get a full view of things, which started to get more interesting when they started using props and scenery in the early1600. The costumes that they wore were very colorful and were meant to hold the audience’s attention in wonder and awe. Costumes were very expensive, so if you weren’t a main character, you would probably wear clothes from your own time period.

Women were not allowed to perform in the theater until 1656, and then it was only for private performances. So that would mean if you went to see “Romeo and Juliet” in England in the early 1600s, you would see a boy playing Juliet! Speaking of “Romeo and Juliet”, tragedies were popular in England at the time, as were comedies. What a comical combination! But if you wanted to see a play, you had to see it when it was performed, because plays would usually not be performed repeatedly.

Sadly, in 1642 the Puritans were able to ban theater completely, until it became popular again in 1660.

Pastimes

There were many different pastimes in England in the 1600s. Some traditional games continued, like cards or bowls (land bowling), and tennis and a form of badminton. They would also play board games, like draughts (or checkers), chess, and backgammon. If you were rich, you might have enjoyed a pleasant game of pale-maille, a game played in a long alley with an iron ring at the end, so it was like croquet with one hoop. The poorer population favored “sports” like bull/bear fighting or cock fighting. Charles II also make yachting (racing in boats) popular, a sport that still goes on today. People also started reading the newspaper, because the first English newspaper was printed in 1626.

By Gigi