Tudor Sports |Executions | Theatres

In the Tudor times many people had to make their own entertainment. There were no computers, televisions and mp3 players and very few people could read.

Without electricity, often people got up early in the morning when it was light and went to bed when it was dark. They worked most of the day and week and so much entertainment was saved until Sundays. The one day of the week when most people didn't work.

Tudor Music

Music played an important role in the lives of both the rich and poor people who lived during the Tudor period.

Henry VIII was very keen muscian and had a large collection of musical instruments which he played. He was said to have been a very talented musician who composed ballads and church music, although these have all been lost. When he died he left a collection of instruments that included:

5 Bagpipes
78 Recorders - Henry VIII was an exceptional
recorder player.
78 Flutes
1 Mechanical Virginal

	The Hurdy Gurdy

Stringed instruments

Harp
This was smaller than the harp we know today with fewer strings.

Citole
The Citole is the ancestor of our modern guitar. It had a fretted neck and wire strings which were plucked.

Viol
This fretted instrument is similar to the modern violin although it was played
sitting down with the instrument resting between the legs of the player.

Hurdy Gurdy
This is an unusual instrument which seems to have bits of both the violin and the piano. It was played by turning a small wheel with one hand while the other hand pressed down on a set of keys (a bit like a piano) to adjust their pitch. As the wheel turns, it rubs against the strings (like the bow on a violin), and this makes the strings vibrate.

Psaltery
Psalteries were wire-strung instruments mounted on a hollow wooden box. They were played sitting down with the instrument placed on the performers lap. They appear in several shapes, the most common being trapezoid.

Rebec
This instrument was pear shaped and usually had just four strings. It was played
with a bow.

Click here to see photographs of the instruments

Tudor Sports | Executions | Theatres