Tudor Trivia Tuesday: Lent Edition.

It's that time again!!!
Welcome to Tudor Trivia Tuesday!!!

1) According to the account books of the parish of Mary Hill, London, 1s. 11d was paid, in 1487, for “Scouring the latten candelstycks, standards, branches, bolles upon the beame anenst Estir”.

2) The feast of St. Benedict is celebrated on March 21. The Benedictine Rule was the most common rule in England during Catholic times.

3) Cardinal Wolsey, at Peterborough Abbey, in 1530, 'made his maund in our lady's chapel, having fifty -nine poor men whose feet he washed and kissed; and after he had wiped them, he gave every of the said poor men twelve pence in money, three ells of good canvas to make them shirts, a pair of new shoes, a cast of red herrings, and three white herrings ; and one of these had two shillings' — the number of the poor men being probably in correspondence with the years of his age. [Chambers’ Book of Days, Brand’s Popular Antiquities]

4) Maundy Thursday is named after an ancient word for a basket, “maund”. This because food was distributed to the poor in baskets. In time, the word maund came to refer to the food rather than any baskets in which it might be provided.

5) Another name for Maundy Thursday is “Shere Thursday,” from the custom of tonsuring new monks on that day.

6) The king of England was formerly accustomed on Maundy Thursday to have brought before him as many poor men as he was years old, whose feet he washed with his own hands, after which his majesty's maunds, consisting of meat, clothes, and money, were distributed amongst them. [Chambers’ Book of Days]

7) Queen Elizabeth, when in her thirty-ninth year, performed this ceremony at her palace of Greenwich, on which occasion she was attended by thirty -nine ladies and gentlewomen. Thirty -nine poor persons being assembled, their feet were first washed by the yeomen of the laundry with warm water and sweet herbs, afterwards by the sub-almoner, and finally by the queen herself, kneeling; these various persons, the yeomen, the sub-almoner, and the queen, after washing each foot, marked it with the sign of the cross above the toes, and then kissed it. Clothes, victuals, and money were then distributed. [Chambers’ Book of Days]

8) The first day of the Tudor calendar fell upon March 25, The Feast of the Assumption a.k.a. Lady’s Day.

9) According to the account books of the parish of Mary Hill, London, 3d. was paid, in 1489, for “Ale and brede on our Lady-day the Assumption”.

10) The fourth Sunday of Lent is Mid-Lent Sunday. In modern times, it is also known as Mothering Sunday. In many places, an alternative fish-based, fried food and sweet fruit feast was a traditional break from Lenten fasting.

 

 

Also at Virtual Grub Street:

• Excerpts from Letters about the Origin of the 1563 Plague. January 17, 2021.  “on the progress of the conflict between Queen Elizabeth I’s forces and those of the French Regent, the Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici.”
• On Shakespeare and Drinking Smoke. January 4, 2021. “The debate raged for some time: Had Shakespeare smoked pot? Tobacco? Both?”
• The Medieval Chimney: Not What You Might Think.  May 19, 2019.  “The famous Royal antiquary, John Leland, source of a great deal of detailed information about the towns and countryside of England during the reign of Henry VIII, stood awestruck before a full-length vertical chimney as if he were standing before the Hagia Sophia.”
• A Most Curious Account of the Funeral of Queen Elizabeth I: April 28, 1603.  April 28, 2019.  “Once it was clear that James I would face no serious challenges, Cecil and the others could begin to give attention to the matter of the Queen’s funeral.”
• What Hamlet’s Gravedigger Teaches Us.  July 01, 2018. “The William Shakspere of the monument proudly presented a bag of grain to the world, the source, together with usury, real estate, and theater shares, of most of his considerable wealth and of his right to a grave within the chancel.”
• Check out the English Renaissance Article Index for many more articles and reviews about this fascinating time and about the Shakespeare Authorship Question.