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The main meal structure was still service a la Francaise, with sweet and savoury dishes served at once, although placed symmetrically and attractively, however like the Tudors, they kept the Banquet course, which was exclusively a dessert and after-dinner meal. Breakfast was typically open as to when consumed until 11am, but after that was the main meal of the day – Dinner, which was served at lunch time. In England, like the Tudors before them, they tended to eat well during the day, but very lightly after that if eating anything for an evening meal except on special occasions.   This era introduced the fork, which was introduced to the court by Charles II during the restoration.  Before then, meals were consumed with a spoon and knife. The fashion for spices so beloved of the Tudors began to wane in this period, as the more plain food of the Scottish court became fashionable, as well as influence from French cuisine which was developing away from the medieval cuisine. Like the Tudors, meats of all kinds were very common, and vegetables were distrusted for being dirty and peasant-food, people of this era engaged in what’s called nose to tail eating, which involved organs such as tongue, tripe, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, brains, marrow and essentially that was edible was consumed.  Cockscombs were popular as well, yet fish was suddenly hugely more expensive than in the Tudor period and became a luxury, the most expensive was usually venison and whole salmon. Water was almost never consumed. Bacterial infections and other contaminants were rife so ale, beer, wine and mixed drinks were consumed instead. Milk in this era was seldom consumed as it was frequently a cause of illness due to unsanitary conditions. Cheese was a major ingredient, as milk went out of fashion so dairies started producing more cheese instead. The diet of this era was hugely unhealthy - high in protein, low in vegetables and high in alcohol. This demineralized the bones of the wealthy, so the liver started to accrue more calcium which led to large and very painful kidney stones. Eventually the sufferer had them extracted, the method of which was so painful the patient often fainted from the pain (or even fainted before the operation). As there was no such thing as surgical hygiene in this age, many wounds never healed and the tools were often still damp with the blood and urine from the last patient. Coffee was introduced in the later Stuart period and was hugely popular, with coffee houses serving as local salons for intellectuals where local news and political pamphlets, new arts such as poetry and other intellectual discoveries were discussed. Tea and sugar also started to be more common later in the period. As in the past, both men and women relied on low alcohol beer as water was contaminated, coffee and tea became a very welcome alternative. At this time, like the Tudors, pies were a very popular meal for all classes, usually cooked in a thick pastry layer (as much as 2 inches thick) which was referred to as a coffin.  This coffin was sometimes eaten, but often a decorative and inedible) pastry was used as a lid and / or container of the pie and was used and reused many times. Pies were often made containing a wide range of meats including chicken heads, and would generally supply meals for a week as fuel was expensive and so it was cooked once a week. Other popular new ingredients were the pineapple, which was so expensive and exclusive that special glasshouses were produced to grow them (glass was highly expensive in those days). It would become a major symbol in English architecture for centuries afterwards. Ice cream and plum pudding was also created and one of the most expensive ingredients was parmesan, so fashionable it was spelt as “parmesan” and had duty import taxes in dozens of cities en route to the UK. Samuel Pepys, a wealthy diarist buried his parmesan to protect it during the great fire of London. Later in the era, vegetables became more popular. While in the restoration period eating vegetables was seen as a food that give little energy and a propaganda book was later made - claiming to be written by the deposed Cromwell household - blaming the failure of the commonwealth due to their excessive use of “indigestible” vegetables and their frugal cuisine. Later, after a scholar named John Evelyn lost his wife due to the very unhealthy food, it became more frequent after he published a new cookbook featuring vegetables and fruit as a health food. The poor, lived mostly on bread, stews, gruel and low alcohol beer, however in the country outside of the city, the access to farm produce was higher and the aristocracy typically retired away from the city during  epidemics and other problems in the cities and generally ate more healthily. Dried peas were commonly cooked in a pot for a long period, which gave us the verse “peas pottage hot, peas pottage cold, peas pottage in the pot, 9 days old” as it would be cooked and served as a main staple. Fashions changed dramatically and quickly in this era and it was often very important to represent your standing at court as to how up to date your clothing was.  In this age, the leggings for men faded away from hose and stockings into breeches with high boots, frequently with the top collar of the boot turned down to be around knee height. The stiff old ruff collars evolved into linen and lace collars, often just as large and ornamental as the old ruffs, but more comfortable and elegant. The older Tudor fashion of designing slits in clothes to reveal layers underneath, developed less in the bodice and more into the sleeves and doublets, which had full slits or panels of fabric sewn into them to be more decorative. The French style became very popular during the reign of Charles I, who was married to a French Queen. The early period of James I was heavy in dark colours, often reflecting a melancholic and weary persona and occasionally with a heavy cloak or gown, which soon fell out of fashion. This followed the death of Elizabeth I as well as possibly the weariness of the many wars of her reign. Wealthy men often wore elaborate hats, generally tall hats or ones with wide, flaring brims. Moustaches and beards in the Van-Dyke fashion were hugely popular although it fell out of fashion later. For women, hats also became an important status symbol, favouring tall hats for outside use and linen caps inside. For women and men, the waistlines rose quite highly and became a pronounced feature. Both genders also often wore corsets and the hairline started to drop, becoming at first popular with curly hair at shoulder height, then dropping lower, although the Puritan era this was a taboo so the hair was kept straight. As lice were common in this age, it became more common to shave and wear wigs, particularly by the Charles II & his brother James II – today you still find Judges and Lawyers wearing wigs whose origins came from this era. For women, the neckline dropped quite deeply, lighter and brighter satins and silks became very popular for women, often worn over a linen chemise. During the Puritan era of Oliver Cromwell, colours reverted to more plain clothing although it was not exclusively black; tawny and other browns, maroons, and plain greens were more common, as black dye was very expensive. Fashions and ornate frivolities were generally limited and more modest, aiming for a more simple and humble fashion. After the restoration of Charles II, this style was quickly abandoned. The non aristocratic demographic mostly relied on wool, hemp, linen although access to bright colours had opened up far more than the Tudors allowed. However, it was during this period that the poorer people were either engaged far more in industrial or agricultural areas or were employed in the military and navy so practical clothing or uniforms were often favoured. The breeches and jerkins of the wealthier classes (which were more practical than the Tudor fashions) were adopted. War and political conflicts were common throughout the entire period. Firstly the period was recovering from the Spanish Armada some decades earlier, but also with the civil wars and later wars with France as well as the invasion which enacted William and Mary's reign.  A lot of music and other arts were introduced during this era, and while society was more modest and constrained during the early phases, came more debauched in the restoration era as adultery was fairly common – the King himself had numerous mistresses, taking his lead from the French court to which he was related. The Stuarts loved entertainments, such as music, poetry, dancing, plays and theatre and this baroque era contributed much to classic music, art, furnishings, clothing and other fashions. Gold and gilt became more popular in this age than any other time in history before then. There came a big change across Europe towards the Italian fashions from Florence and Venice – large cultural centres even today. Diseases were very common. Smallpox, syphilis and many other diseases were rife amongst all classes. Many of the diseases, including the feared plagues which decimated the population of London during this era and particularly the 1660's came from sea ships, carrying rats and diseased crew. The fire of London in 1666 destroyed much of the old city, so for many years rebuilding it was a major occupation. Famous architects such as Christopher Wren had collaborated to redesign London entirely, but the complex land ownership forced them to keep within the narrow designs of the past. However this age created a boon in quality of Baroque architecture such as the work of Inigo Jones and improvements to city infrastructure and services. Many inventions and technologies were designed or reinvented during this age after being lost to classical antiquity. Such examples were the seed drill, a professional fire brigade (although the early models meant you had to be a paid member or a neighbour to a paid member or they would not rescue your house), steam engines, microscopes, colour fast dyes, gymnasiums, public transport and pendulum clocks, as well as the fountain pen being more available, the fork (before then a knife and spoon were used), experimental science including scientists such as Boyle and Newton. Pets were more popular, although in the earlier periods cats were something of a taboo being associated as a witches “familiar”. Dogs however were more popular, such as the iconic Cavalier King Charles spaniel. You can learn from online sources, documentaries, visiting museums as well as from history experts to gain an insight into an empire, culture and its people whose effects can still be felt today within the modern world.
Learn about the Cuisine: Learn about the clothing of the Stuarts. Learn about the daily life of the people of this era. Explore more facets of 17th century England.