Daily Life in Elizabethan England (42 page)

6:

18

Ace:

16

5:

15

4:

14

3: 13

2:

12

Face

Cards:

10

If two hands tie, the one closest to the right of the dealer wins.

SONGS

Quite a large number of songs of the Elizabethan period survive, including popular and folk-type songs. The following pages offer a selection of a few fairly simple ones, mostly from Thomas Ravenscroft’s collections
Pammelia,
Deuteromelia,
and
Melismata
[1609–11].

Lord Willoughby

[Chappell]

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“Stand to it, noble pikemen,

And look you round about,

And shoot you right, you bowmen,

And we will keep them out.

You muskets and calivermen,

Do you prove true to me,

I’ll be the foremost man in fight,”

Said brave Lord Willoughby.

Then quoth the Spanish general,

“Come let us march away,

I fear we shall be spoiled all

If we here longer stay,

For yonder comes Lord Willoughby

With courage fierce and fell,

He will not give one inch of way

For all the devils in hell.”

And then the fearful enemy

Were quickly put to flight,

Our men pursued courageously

And caught their forces quite,

But at the last they gave a shout

Which echoed through the sky,

“God and St. George for England!”

The conquerors did cry.

To the soldiers that were maimed

And wounded in the fray

The Queen allowed a pension

Of eighteen pence a day,

And from all costs and charges

She quit and set them free,

And this she did all for the sake

Of brave Lord Willoughby.

Then courage, noble Englishmen,

And never be dismayed,

For if we be but one to ten

We will not be afraid

To fight the foreign enemy

And set our country free,

And thus I end the bloody bout

Of brave Lord Willoughby.

This patriotic song commemorated a victory by Peregrine Bertie, Lord Willoughby, in the Netherlands in the 1580s. The words are preserved in a 17th-century broadside, but the music is found in 16th-century collections.

212

Daily Life in Elizabethan England

Tomorrow the Fox Will Come to Town

[Ravenscroft]

He’ll steal the Cock out from his flock!

Keep, keep, keep, keep!

He’ll steal the Cock out from his flock!

O keep you all well there!
etc.

He’ll steal the Hen out of the pen!

Keep, keep, keep, keep!

He’ll steal the Hen out of the pen!

O keep you all well there!
etc.

He’ll steal the Duck out of the brook!

Keep, keep, keep, keep!

He’ll steal the Duck out of the brook!

O keep you all well there!
etc.

He’ll steal the Lamb e’en from his dam!

Keep, keep, keep, keep!

He’ll steal the Lamb e’en from his dam!

O keep you all well there!
etc.

The fox was a constant problem for the Elizabethan husbandman—traditionally, when such an animal was found prowling in the village, all the villagers would be called out to pursue it.

Entertainments 213

Of All the Birds that Ever I See

[Ravenscroft]

“Of all the birds that ever I see” was a common traditional opening for a song—this silly song was a send-up of the type. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves were used to make spiced ale and wine. This song was originally set for several voices; if you have several singers, all should sing the plain text, and divide into half to sing the italic and bold texts.

Hold Thy Peace

[Ravenscroft]

This is a
catch,
or round, for three voices—it appears in Shakespeare’s
Twelfth Night.
“Thou knave” was a common insult, and “Hold thy peace”

was essentially the Elizabethan for “Shut up!” This round was obviously intended to be silly and loud.

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Daily Life in Elizabethan England

Hey Ho Nobody at Home

[Ravenscroft]

This is a catch for five voices, a version of which is sometimes heard today.

DANCE

Elizabethans tended to categorize dances according to the country of origin. Italian dances were particularly fashionable; French dances also had a long history in England; and dances of the native English style were known as country dances. Our principal source for English country dancing is
The
English Dancing Master,
a collection of dances published by John Playford, which went through 10 editions between 1651 and 1700 and several more in the 18th century.

Elizabethan sources mention quite a number of country dances by name, nearly 20 of which were later to appear in Playford. Three of these appear here. We cannot be certain that these dances were the same in the 16th century as in Playford’s day, but Playford’s versions probably correspond in general to the Elizabethan form even if they may have differed in detail.

Of the courtly dances imported from France, perhaps the most popular was the almain, which is often found in country as well as courtly contexts. Quite a few almains are described in Elizabethan manuscripts from the Inns of Court, including those printed here: the versions here try to follow Bodleian MS. Douce 280, a manuscript dating to around 1600.

Entertainments 215

The
measure
was an English development of French dances, and probably similar to the almain in style.

It is relatively easy to recreate the steps of dances; it is harder to recreate their feel. Many Elizabethan dances were rather simple and sedate, and we may presume that they did not rely on exciting choreography for their appeal. There was probably a lot of communication of one sort or another; and there was doubtless considerable emphasis on skill and grace, rather than mere memorization of complex patterns.

Symbols

[A],[B],
etc.
designate sections of the music.

[Ax2] means that section is performed twice.

[A1] and [A2] are two repetitions of the same music.

LF Left Foot

RF Right Foot

H Honor

s Single

d Double

Up
means the “top” of the hall, normally where the musicians are. All dances begin on the left foot. The man normally stands on the lady’s left.

Couple dances begin with partners taking near hands; if necessary, couples may be arranged in a processional circle, with
up
being clockwise.

Steps

The numbers on the left of each step description are beats of the music (
and
is a half-beat).

Honor (Reverence)

As the music begins, take hands: hands are held low for a country dance, forearms are held horizontal for a measure or almain.

1–2 Slide the right foot back, bending the right leg, and remove the hat with the left hand (women do the same, but do not move the right foot as far or remove the hat).

3–4 Return the right foot to place and replace the hat.

An Honor should always be done at the beginning and end of any

dance. For this purpose, the musicians should play the last few measures of the tune to start, and hold the last note at the end.