The Private Lives of the Tudors Quotes

“St Paul taught that the celibate cared for the things of the Lord while the married cared for the things of the world. This was endorsed (in theory at least) by the 500-year-old legacy of communal celibacy within the hundreds of monasteries that dominated the English countryside. At”
― Tracy Borman, The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty

“For a queen who loved words as much as Elizabeth, Shakespeare’s plays were a stimulating delight. The playwright made up thousands of new words, more than 1,700 of which are still in common usage. They include: ‘bedroom’, ‘moonbeam’, ‘hobnob’, ‘lacklustre’ and ‘submerge’. His genius for inventing pithy phrases such as ‘all of a sudden’, ‘a foregone conclusion’ and ‘dead as a doornail’ also greatly enriched the language not just of the court, but of all levels of society. Repeating words and phrases heard in the latest Shakespeare comedy or tragedy began as an in-joke for those who had attended, but rapidly spread into common parlance.”
― Tracy Borman, The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty

“The bodices of rich ladies were fastened with buttons rather than laces, and they took to wearing felt hats rather than hoods or veils. This outraged the more conservative members of society, who complained that it was becoming increasingly difficult to tell the two sexes apart.”
― Tracy Borman, The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty

“peripatetic”
― Tracy Borman, The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty

“Under Elizabeth, women’s clothes also began to incorporate elements that had until now been the strict preserve of men. The bodices of rich ladies were fastened with buttons rather than laces, and they took to wearing felt hats rather than hoods or veils. This outraged the more conservative members of society, who complained that it was becoming increasingly difficult to tell the two sexes apart.”
― Tracy Borman, The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty

“The outer chambers of court would be hung with tapestries made from wool alone; the middle chambers with wool and silk, and only the king’s private apartments would be decorated with tapestries woven from gold thread. This served to reinforce the strict order of precedence at court, which was also reflected by the architecture of the palaces themselves. The king’s private chapel required another suite of bespoke fabrics, such as vestments and napery.”
― Tracy Borman, The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty

“A yard of cloth of gold would cost six months’ wages for a labourer, and he would need to work for three years to afford a fine cloak.20”
― Tracy Borman, The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty

“the ambition which the Queen has by her nature to govern absolutely without any partner.’ As if to corroborate this, when provoked by increasing pressure from her council to marry, Elizabeth angrily retorted: ‘I will have but one mistress here, and no master!’7”
― Tracy Borman, The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty