Tag: London

  Lord Burghley, Secretary of State under Elizabeth I, wrote a short manual for his son as he set off on his youthful travels to France. It was titled Memorial for Thomas Cecil (1561) and was full of detailed advice regarding his spiritual welfare, his clothing and his behaviour: If you offend in forgetting of […]Continue reading

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Bear-baiting was a popular form of entertainment in London in the sixteenth century. The bear-baiting pits on the south bank of the Thames frequently attracted large crowds to watch the blood-sport. The Bear Garden was one of the amphitheatres that staged the blood-thirsty spectacle of a chained bear defending itself against the mastiff dogs trained […]Continue reading

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  Elizabeth I’s physician-in-chief, Rodrigo Lopez, was executed in 1594 for allegedly conspiring to poison the queen. Lopez was born in Portugal to parents of Jewish descent. He was raised a Catholic before he moved to London in 1599 and became the queen’s physician-in-chief in 1581. Unfortunately, he mortally offended some of Elizabeth I’s courtiers, […]Continue reading

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