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Rural entertainment and culture

Around 85 per cent of people lived in the countryside and, despite the rise of culture in London which had thriving theatres and other forms of entertainment, people in rural areas lived much as they had for decades before. Many people never left their villages - and others only went as far as the next town. Most people in the countryside were farmers or farm labourers, although there were some craftsmen like weavers, carpenters and smiths. Everyone had to work extremely hard for a living. This meant that they would relish any chance they got for a celebration.

Celebrations were largely tied to the calendar. The religious calendar marked:

• Christmas
• Easter
• Shrove Tuesday
• Lammas Day
• Saint's days

The farming calendar was another big influence. Lords of the manor would sometimes hold feasts at harvest time, and there was usually a celebration on Plough Monday (just after Christmas, when the ploughing began). A big event in the year was May Day, which was celebrated with dancing, fairs or markets, and the selection of a village girl to be Queen of the May.

Although there were no theatres, travelling entertainers would visit the villages - especially on holidays - and perform plays, sing songs, perform acrobatics and tell stories. There would also be 'Mummers' plays', which were simple plays or mimes on popular themes, such as:

• two men competing for the same woman
• folk tales, such as Robin Hood
• religious stories, such as St George and the Dragon

Belief

Religion was very important to people in the Elizabethan era – everyone was concerned about going to heaven when they died, and that made the church and the priest central to people's daily lives. Everyone had to go to church once a week - it was the law.

Elizabethans believed the world was finely balanced and good and evil went hand in hand. They placed a great importance in the will of God, and thought that most things that happened were because God had intended it that way.

Of course, they also believed in the Devil, who was constantly trying to tempt human souls away from God. Many superstitions against 'bad luck' were about thwarting the Devil. For example:

• We still say 'bless you' when someone sneezes because the Elizabethans believed the Devil could get into your body through your mouth when you sneezed.
• Salt was very expensive, so spilling it was considered bad luck. People used to throw some of the spilled salt over their left shoulder so it would go in the Devil's eye.

Because good and evil were so finely balanced, even the smallest action could have consequences, so there were dozens of superstitions about things being lucky or unlucky. There were lucky and unlucky colours, numbers, days of the week or positions of the stars and planets. Some of these superstitions persist to this day - others seem very odd to us.