http://8tracks.com

/strangebrooch/semper-

dowland-sem

per-dolens-songs-by-john-dow

land

Timeline

Elizabethan London 1587: Spring.

Mary was executed at Fortheringhay Castle, 70 miles north of London, on February 8th, 1587

Sir Francis Drake’s Raid on Cadiz April 12th, 1587.

Maundy Ceremony March 26th, 1587.

Performance of the first part of Christopher Marlowe’s “Tamburlaine the Great.

Atmosphere of Elizabethan LondonThe streets were narrow, cobbled, slippery with the slime of refuse. Houses were crammed together, and there were a lot of furtive alleys. Chamber pots, or jordans, were emptied out of windows. There was no drainage. Fleet Ditch stank to make a man throw up his gorge. But the City had its natural cleansers--the kites, graceful birds that made their nests of rags and refuse in the forks of trees.

They scavenged, eating anything with relish. ... And countering the bad, man-made odors, the smells of the countryside floated in. There were rosy milkmaids in the early morning streets, and sellers of newly gathered cresses. It was a city of loud noises--hooves and raw coach wheels on the cobbles, the yells of traders, the brawling of apprentices, scuffles to keep the wall and not be thrown into the oozy kennel.

Atmosphere of Elizabethan London

Even normal conversation must have been loud since everybody was, by our standards, tipsy. Nobody drank water, and tea had not yet come in. Ale was the standard tipple, and it was strong. Ale for breakfast was a good means of starting the day in euphoria or truculence. Ale for dinner refocillated the wasted tissues of the morning. Ale for supper ensured a heavy snoring repose. The better sort drank wine, which promoted good fellowship and led to sword fights. It was not what we would call a sober city. From the report of a Venetian envoy, about 1500:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPY-hr-8-M0

Sites featured : Paul’s Walk

St. Paul’s Cathedral. Two reports say that the steeple was struck by lightening or was pulled down during Edward VI’s reign. St.Paul’s religious importance had been lost, it having become a place to exhibit fashion and get the latest news from the continent, "great store of company that do nothing but go up and down, and go up and down, and make a grumbling together".[4] Infested with beggars and thieves, Paul's walk was also a place to pick up gossip, topical jokes, and even prostitutes.[5] John Earle (1601–1665),

London Bridge

London Bridge was one of the most sought after real estate in London. It was also one of the only places that had an effective sewage removal system – The Thames and the tide. When the tide was switching very few wherrymen would attempt to ‘shoot’ the bridge because of the turbulence caused by the massive, boat like starlings. In the top left picture the heads of traitors were proudly displayed on the Southwark Gate House for all to see.

London Bridge

By the Tudor era there were some 200 buildings on the bridge. Some stood up to seven stories high, some overhung the river by seven feet, and some overhung the road, to form a dark tunnel through which all traffic must pass, including (from 1577) the palatial Nonsuch House. The roadway was just 12 feet (4 m) wide, divided into two lanes, so that in each direction, carts, wagons, coaches and pedestrians shared a passageway six feet wide. When the bridge was congested, crossing it could take up to an hour. Those who could afford the fare might prefer to cross by ferry but the bridge structure had several undesirable effects on river-traffic. The narrow arches and wide pier bases restricted the river's tidal ebb and flow, so that in hard winters, the water upstream of the bridge became more susceptible to freezing and impassable by boat.

Windsor Castle & St. George’s Chapel

Scene of the big show-down

Cadiz

The raid on Cadiz by Sir Francis Drake set the Spanish Armada back about a year. Drake burned the Spanish ships without a single loss.

The Theatre

In 1599 the Burbages’ Theatre was dismantled in Shoreditch, taken across the river and reassembled as The Globe. So, more or less, it was the same theatre. There were three places to sit or stand when watching theatre: the gallery, the ground or the stage. The ones on the ground were called ‘groundlings’ and were often pelted with nuts from those sitting on the stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3VGa6Fp3zI

Sword FightingRapier Fighting was the in thing in Elizabethan London, however, because so many nobles were killing each other the Queen made a law: If you killed someone in a duel you were executed – so, the duellists perfected maiming each other instead.

There were a number of fencing schools in London, some extolled the ‘artful’ tricks of the Italians, while some stuck to the English tradition of wining. Here we see rapier against the two handed long sword. The long sword usually won.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r7VWIQCHvM Sword Fighting

Dressing Up

While Edmund Spenser created the Faerie Queen, Queen Elizabeth created the cult and court that inspired it, and she did it principally through fashion. It was not an easy feat getting dressed for court.

A crane, a shoe horn and nerves of steel!

Smock Stockings

CorsetSpanish Farthingale

Bum roll Kirtle & Forepart

Partlet Gown & SleevesShoes!

Make up: The court ladyCeruse: mixture of white lead and vinegar.Egg white used to glaze the complexion.

Mercury was used as an effective ‘face peel.’

Red for the lips and blush for the cheeks: Use vermilion (mercuric sulfide).

A high hairline had been for centuries a sign of the aristocracy--Women would pluck their brow hair back an inch, or even more, to create a fashionably high forehead.

Blonde or red hair was in. If you couldn’t bleach your hair (urine), women went bald and wore wigs rather than struggle with their own locks.

Ruffs

Four layer

Fairy wings

Too much ruff

In Queen Elizabeth’s time the size of the ruffs got out of control. The adage, ‘the bigger the better,’ became the norm, much to the Queen’s distaste. So, she created the ‘fashion squad,’ who went around measuring people’s ruffs. If your ruff was too big, they cut it down right on the spot.

River Riding

If you wanted to get somewhere in London fast, and you wanted to avoid the filthy, congested streets, you took a wherry, or if you were out for a time on the river, and were a noble, you had your own barge.

Miao Juzheng

The Lady Miao Juzheng: sold into slavery to the Portuguese she finds her way to England by the helping, piratical hand of Sir Francis Drake.

George Silver

An English Sword Master famous for his appetite and unethical fighting style. He is employed by Sir Walter Raleigh to be Miao’s guard and escort.

Christopher Marlowe

The famous playwright employed by Sir Francis Walsingham to deliver messages, and keep an eye on Miao and George.

Sir Francis Walshingham

Head of the Queen’s secret service.

Sir Francis Drake

Drake was in the thick of it in 1587 – 1588. He became the bane of the Spanish fleet. They began to refer to him as El Draco (The Dragon).

Sir Walter Raleigh

The Queen had pet names for everyone, especially her gentlemen pensioners. For Raleigh, her Captain of her Guard, she reserved the name of ‘Water.’ Strange, he looks a little bit like Keanu Reeves.

Don Antonio (the prior of Crato)

Don Antonio, the exiled king of Portugal, tried several times to regain his throne from Phillip II of Spain. To do this he sold off most of the crown jewels, first to Catherine de Medici of France and then Elizabeth I. By the time he got to London his gems were running low.

Berto Della Massa

So, why a picture of monks for the arch villain of the tale? Well, the villain takes the name of a character from Giovanni Boccaccio’s “The Decameron.’ Della Massa is a monk who runs away and pretends to be an angel to have his way with a lady.

The Veiled Lady

Well…if I told you who she was…that would blow the story

Massia

In Elizabethan London everybody had agents. Although this is not Massia’s picture, it fit the mental picture I had of him. His name wasn’t really Massia, however, he was most likely a priest, and in charge of espionage for Pope Sixtus. There were so many agents and double agents it was difficult at times to tell who was on whose side.

Richard Baines

Although he worked for Walsingham there were times when nobody knew whose side he was on. In ‘The Veiled Lady,’ he is a mentally unstable double agent who has a pathological hatred for Christopher Marlowe. In other words, he’s a dirty rat.

Black Luce

Black Luce, an abbess of one of Henslowe’s brothels, is also a candidate for Shakespeare’s mysterious dark lady.

The PlayersEdward Allyen

The big actor, with the big voice, for the big parts. Ned knows one way to deliver a line and that’s straight on.

Richard Burbage

Richard, with his dad and brother, own The Theatre, so, he’s just waiting in the wings until Ned blows his last breath, or a part comes along that requires some sensitivity. Richard is the closest thing you get as a director in Elizabethan theatre.

Will Kemp

Comedian, fool, dancer, good at improvisation. Will was great at playing Will. When Shakespeare hit his stride, he would write in the play’s margins: enter Will (not bothering to use the character’s name). Will was famous for his Jigs, which drove playwrights like Marlowe and Shakespeare insane. Try writing a tragedy with Will doing a little song and dance at the end.

Richard Tarlton

Don’t let his looks fool you, because this fool was no fool with a Sword, in fact, he was rather good. He was at court quite a bit and could get away with tweaking the aristocratic noses of many of the nobles.

Shakespeare, or in “The Veiled Lady,” Shakes.

There are very few pictures of Shakespeare. The one that makes his head look like a peanut doesn’t, in my opinion, do him service. In the book, ‘Shakes,’ is just starting out, putting together a living to support his family back in Startford.

SmashwordsGo to Smashwords. com

Search: The Veiled Lady or The Rivertown CycleSmashwords is a great place to get you ebook no matter what device you have.

The added bonus is that the Ebook of “The Veiled Lady,” priced at $6:00 USD can be offered at a discount.

Go to the site, purchase the book and for 50% off enter in the following code PE59ZThe Ebook is also available on other sites: Ibooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, but with Smashwords the author gets a better cut.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/491570