The 17th Century Almanac for February
The 17th Century Almanac for February is an article by author Charles Cordell on Early Modern life, labour and Shrovetide riot.
The 17th Century almanac for February, the month of Candlemas, carnival chaos and cleansing fire.
“The sun peeps through the window-pane; which children mark with laughing eye, and in the wet street steal again, to tell each other Spring is nigh.”
Candlemas – Church of England enigma & cross-quarter day
In the 17th Century, February started with Candlemas, on the second. Despite its Catholic connotations as a celebration of the Virgin Mary’s purification, it remained a holy day in the reformed Church of England calendar. As such, it was an enigma. A day that divided consciences.
In the secular year, Candlemas was a ‘cross-quarter day’. The killing of rabbits and hunting of deer, sources of fresh meat in winter, was stopped. It was also a hiring day. A day when labourers and domestic servants queued in marketplaces again, hoping to be hired for employment over Spring.
17th Century Life, Agriculture, Fishing & Industrial Labour in February
For most in the 17th Century, February was a month of harsh winter work in the fields. It was a time for spreading muck and ploughing in last year’s stubble. This was vital to preparing last year’s wheat field for planting with spring crops. This must have been hard work, breaking and turning the compacted, frozen ground in bitter wind and driving rain or hail.
This was also the month when the Newfoundland fleet set sale again. Each year, as many as 5,000 men and boys sailed from England’s west country ports to fish the Grand Banks of Newfoundland for cod. They would not return home again until November.
In towns and cities, young apprentices, journeymen and merchant shop keepers struggled as 17th Century Britain sunk into economic depression. Many apprentices found themselves in seven-year bonded indentures, from the age of fourteen, with poor masters and limited prospects. Working in cottage industries such as weaving, in poor light and winter cold, February was often marked by rebellion and riot.
Moon, Stars & Humours – Wolf Moon, Jupiter & phlegmatic Pisces
In the 17th Century, the moon and planets still governed the rhythm of farming and fishing, of sowing seed or sailing on a full moon and high spring tide. For those who still follow the old cycles, this year we will have a full Wolf Moon on the first of February. This may sound like a native American name for a moon, but it is in fact the medieval term that was still in use in Early Modern Britain.
Bright Jupiter rules the night sky. This February, our astronomers predict that it will be joined by Mercury high in the evening sky. Gemini will also be visible high in the southern sky over Britain.
This is the month of Pisces, the fish. Those born under its watery influence were thought to have a phlegmatic temperament. Of a cold and moist humour, they tended to towards being idle, fleshy and easily swayed by the moon and the flowing of ideas. This February, our astrologers divine that the stars invite rest, refection and compassion.
Shrovetide – carnival, chaos & cleansing fire
The moon still dictates the date of Easter. The culmination of the Passion of Jesus and the Christian world’s Holy Week is celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon after the Vernal Equinox. This year, we will mark Easter on 5 April.
Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day, marks the beginning of Lent, forty days before Easter. It is a day of celebration and of confession before fasting. This year, Shrove Tuesday will fall on 17 February.
In the 17th Century, Shrove Tuesday was a holy day and feast day for ploughmen. They were fed old hen, fritters and pancakes. For all, it was a last meal of all that was left at the end of winter. After Shrovetide, most families rarely had more left than a Lenten diet of salt-fish, barley gruel, leeks and a few eggs.
But Shrovetide was also marked by carousing, gaming and drinking. It was a time for fun and games after winter and before Lent. Huge, often violent football matches were played between parishes, on frozen fields and cold city streets alike. At Court, Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria hosted lavish masques. Ladies of the court were said to have danced bare-breasted in the King’s new Banqueting House at Whitehall.
Carnival – Venice, Vastenavond, Valencia & Mardi Gras
February carnival was a fixture of the medieval European calendar. Traditionally, it climaxed with feasting, drinking, dancing and street theatre at Shrovetide. Labourers, journeymen and apprentices often dressed in costume in a parody of their betters, the richer merchants, lawyers, doctors and clergy.
The most famous survivor today is the Venice Carnival, with its masks and costumes, held each February. Las Fallas in Valencia is held in early March on the feast of St Joseph. But its origin lies in apprentice carpenters clearing workshops to build and burn effigies in the street. In the Americas, carnivals continue to be held each February, from the New Orleans’ Mardi Gras to Buenos Aries. All are raucous affairs where social norms are challenged or reversed.
The Protestant Reformation clamped down on such revelry in much of northern Europe. Henry VIII banned the Feast of Fools in England. But some Shrovetide festivals survive. These include the Dutch Vastenavond which continues as a costumed Shrovetide carnival. Germany’s Fastnacht, the Czech Masopust and Swedish Fittisdagen are other examples of Shrove Tuesday celebrations.
London Apprentices – theatres, brothels, ransack & riot
In 17th Century London, at Shrovetide, apprentices ran amok. Released from indentured work for the day, they stoned parish constables, tore down theatres and ransacked brothels. The poet John Taylor wrote of their actions.
“Youth armed with cudgels, stones, hammers, rules, trowels, and handsaws who put playhouses to the sack, and bawdy-houses to the spoil.”
Some saw this as a righteous crusade and cleansing of sin from the city. However, it probably had more to do with the venting of a suppressed youth given neither the time, money or licence to enjoy the delights of the stage or bed. The Shrovetide holiday was the release valve for the pent-up frustration of the worker after winter. Either way, it is recorded that 24 out of the 29 early Stuart Shrovetides in London ended in riot.
Chaos & Crisis – Parliamentary Ordnance & Protectorate
It is so easy to forget how tough conditions were for most in 17th Century Britain and how close the system was to collapse. A rapidly increasing population resulted in and suffered from a combination of wage cuts and inflation. Life expectancy and living standards fell in a cost-of-living crisis.
Climate Change – in the form of the Little Ice Age – tipped societies under pressure into war. The result was the most violent decade in global history. The 1640s saw conflict across the entire Northern Hemisphere in what we now know to be The General Crisis – The world crisis.
The London apprentices were to become a political tool during the English Revolution & Great Rebellion. John Pym and his anti-Catholic ‘Junto’ mobilised them in December and January 1641-42 to attack the bishops and protect the ‘Five Members’ of Parliament from arrest by Charles I. They effectively forced the monarch to flee his capital. However, their Shrovetide sport was soon curtailed.
Parliamentary Ordnance closed England’s theatres – ending Shakespeare’s run – from September 1642. The Court masques ended with the King’s defeat in the English Civil War. And Cromwell’s Protectorate suppressed the traditional street and field games. Today, only Valentine’s Day remains as a final fling of February fun in Britain.
Follow & Read More of the 17th Century Almanac
Whether you are ploughing a well-trodden furrow, setting forth to a newfound land or sewing a Shrovetide costume, I wish you winter sun. ‘Spring is nigh.’ As ever, if this post is not the carnival riot you need, please tell me what or who you wish to see unmasked.
I will post more of the 17th Century Almanac, next month. Each article discusses a topic of interest, such as 17th Century Climate Change and conflict, as well as annual activity in Early Modern Britain for that month. If you would like to receive email notification of the next post, click the button to follow.
17th Century History – articles, maps & events
In the meantime, this website includes articles and pages about life in 17th Century Britain, Europe and the Americas at Historical Notes and Maps. These include notes and pages on the impact of the Little Ice Age and The General Crisis of the 17th Century. They include articles on the English Revolution and Great Rebellion. They also include historical notes on the English Revolution and the Great Rebellion, as well as Pike and Shot Warfare and battles of the English Civil War.
You can also find more posts on Early Modern history, Living History and re-enactment at News & Blogs. You may also wish to read about the English Civil War history talks and battlefield walks I give.
Divided Kingdom – English Civil War historical fiction
The 17th Century almanac blog posts provide a backdrop and set the scene for the Divided Kingdom books. This historical fiction series is set in Early Modern Britain during the English Civil War. These posts are part of their backstory.
The Divided Kingdom books take a fresh approach. They are not based on a single hero. They do not take sides. Their voices – ordinary men and women – face each other in the chaos of Britain in civil war. They are both relatable and sharply relevant today. They are also as historically accurate as is possible.
Please do check out some of the writing at Divided Kingdom Books, including book tasters and a FREE ebook short story.
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