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Early modern life

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Savory biscuits from a 17th-century recipe
Savory Cogs Biscuits. All photography by Brittany Diliberto. www.beetwosweet.com
Shakespeare and Beyond

Savory biscuits from a 17th-century recipe

Posted
Author
Elisa Tersigni Jack Bouchard

Interested in adding variety to your Thanksgiving dinner? Try this modernized 17th-century recipe for savory biscuits based on a manuscript in the Folger collection.

In the spirit of Oktoberfest: Food, drink, and changing times in early modern Europe
Hartmann Schopper. Panoplia omnium… 1568. Folger Shakespeare Library.
Shakespeare and Beyond

In the spirit of Oktoberfest: Food, drink, and changing times in early modern Europe

Posted
Author
Jack Bouchard

As October comes to an end, we celebrate food, drink, and culture in the German cities of Shakespeare’s day, including the creation of beer and wine and the harvest festivals each fall, marked by our modern-day tradition of Oktoberfest.

A world of poison: The Overbury scandal
Tower. Richard III, Act III, scene 5. Thomas Medland. ART File L847t2 no.3 (size XS). Before 1812. Folger Shakespeare Library.
Shakespeare and Beyond

A world of poison: The Overbury scandal

Posted
Author
emma poltrack

The poisoning in Shakespeare’s play King John, and in Romeo and Hamlet, too, had real-world parallels, too. Delve into the infamous story of Thomas Overbury’s death at the Tower of London in 1613.

Toil and trouble: Recipes and the witches in 'Macbeth'
recipes
Shakespeare and Beyond

Toil and trouble: Recipes and the witches in 'Macbeth'

Posted
Author
David B. Goldstein

Shakespeare’s witches, like nearly all witches of Shakespeare’s time, have their roots in the kitchen more than in the study.

Mince pies and mirth: Transcribed 17th-century recipes
Recipe for mirth from the cookbook of L. Cromwell
Shakespeare and Beyond

Mince pies and mirth: Transcribed 17th-century recipes

Posted
Author
Sarah Powell

Mince pies and a honey-spiced drink called mirth are just two of hundreds of recipes found in a 17th-century handwritten recipe book once owned by Leticia Cromwell.

A pumpkin pie recipe from 17th-century England
Pumpkin pie
Shakespeare and Beyond

A pumpkin pie recipe from 17th-century England

Posted
Author
Amanda Herbert

In this pumpkin pie recipe from the late 1600s, you peel and slice the pumpkin into thin wedges, dipping them in egg before frying them. Apples, raisins, currants, and sherry also get added to the pie.

Etiquette in early modern England (part 2)
Folger Shakespeare Library V.a.311
Shakespeare and Beyond

Etiquette in early modern England (part 2)

Posted
Author
Karen Lyon

Books on manners became so popular during the Elizabethan period that it was only a matter of time before someone satirized them.

Etiquette in early modern England (part 1)
Folger Shakespeare Library. ART Vol. c91, no. 8c
Shakespeare and Beyond

Etiquette in early modern England (part 1)

Posted
Author
Karen Lyon

“Manners maketh man” was the motto of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. Would your own table manners pass inspection?

An English Garden: Dancing tunes and lyric poetry in Elizabethan England
Shakespeare and Beyond

An English Garden: Dancing tunes and lyric poetry in Elizabethan England

Posted
Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

As the arts and culture flourished in Shakespeare’s England, musical life blossomed as well.

The rise and fall of sumptuary laws: Rules for dressing in Shakespeare's England
A court costume of the time of James I. Folger Shakespeare Library.
Shakespeare and Beyond

The rise and fall of sumptuary laws: Rules for dressing in Shakespeare's England

Posted
Author
Karen Lyon

In Shakespeare’s England, those wearing clothes adjudged to be above their station were subject to fines or imprisonment under sumptuary laws.

The well-dressed Elizabethan: Renaissance fashions as social markers
English clothing
Shakespeare and Beyond

The well-dressed Elizabethan: Renaissance fashions as social markers

Posted
Author
Karen Lyon

Renaissance fashion was unquestionably distinctive, especially among the upper class, who favored clothing with luxurious fabrics and dramatic silhouettes.

Educating and training a child in the early modern period
Guild chapel and school
Shakespeare and Beyond

Educating and training a child in the early modern period

Posted
Author
Karen Lyon

Education was increasingly important in the early modern period with the rise of social mobility, but children were also put to work around the household.

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