A Tudor Quiz
By Tim Lambert
Answers at the bottom of the page
1. The Tudors ate peaches and apricots, true or false?
2. The Tudors ate with knives and forks, true or false?
3. Meat was luxury, true or false?
4. The Tudors ate flowers, true or false?
5. In the 16th century spoons were made of cow's horn, true or false?
6. The Tudors did not drink tea and coffee, true or false?
7. There were famines in England in the 16th century, true or false?
8. In Tudor times laws laid down which materials and which colours the different classes could wear, true or false?
9. In the 16th century most people got up at 5 am in Summer and 6 am in Winter, true or false?
10. The MaryRose sank on her maiden voyage, true or false?
11. Tudor men call their trousers breeches, true or false?
12. Francis Drake was the first Englishman to circumnavigate (sail around) the world, true or false?
13. Lady Jane Grey was Queen of England for 9 days, true or false?
14. Tudor people were much smaller than we are, true or false?
15. A metal called pewter was commonly used to make dishes and plates, true or false?
16. Black clothes were expensive, true or false?
17. Edward VI was 9 years old when he became king, true or false?
18. Edward VI was 25 when he died, true or false?
19. Henry VIII called Anne of Cleves a 'Flanders Mare', true or false?
20. Queen Elizabeth I wore silk knickers, true or false?
21.The Tudors did not have clocks, true or false?
22. The Tudors did not wear glasses, true or false?
23. Henry VIII was 55 when he died, true or false?
24. Tudor windows often lacked glass, true or false?
25. Henry VIII had an older brother, true or false?
26. In the early 16th century the English ruled Calais, true or false?
27. A doublet was a type of short jacket, true or false?
28. The population of England in 1500 was about 1 million, true or false?
29. The population of England in 1600 was about 10 million, true or false?
30. Tudor men did not wear shirts, true or false?
31. In the late 16th century wealthy Tudors wore a white collar called a ruff around their necks, true or false?
32. In the late 16th century women wore a frame called a farthingale made of hoops of wire, whalebone or wood under their dress, true or false?
33. Queen Elizabeth had black teeth, true or false?
34. Only men could read and write, true or false?
35. Thomas Cromwell was a blacksmith's son, true or false?
36. Thomas Wolsey was a butcher's son, true or false?
37. Tudor men did not wear underwear, true or false?
38. The Tudors did not have carpets, true or false?
39. Sometimes Tudors sat on the floor, true or false?
40. When Elizabeth I caught smallpox a doctor treated her by wrapping her in red cloth, true or false?
41. Rich people like kings and queens deliberately travelled slowly, true or false?
42. A petard was a kind of musical instrument, true or false?
43. At a Tudor feast people ate meat then threw the bones onto the floors for the dogs, true or false?
44. In Tudor England tobacco was used as a medicine, true or false?
45. In Tudor England bits of Egyptian mummy were used as a medicine, true or false?
Answers
1. True - if they were rich!
2. False! They used a knife and their fingers.
3. True! Only rich people ate meat often. Poor people ate mostly bread and pottage - a cross between porridge and stew. Grain and vegetables were boiled in water. If you could afford it you added pieces of meat.
4. True! If you went to a feast you might be given a mixture of vegetables with flowers like violets and cowslips.
5. True!
6. True! They only came to England in the 17th century.
7. True! In 1594-97 there was a famine during which people in Cumbria died of starvation.8. True!
9. True!
10. False! The MaryRose was launched in 1511 and she sank in 1545.
11. True!
12. True! Francis Drake was the first English captain to do it.
13. True!
14. False! They were only slightly smaller than we are not much smaller. Men found on the Mary Rose were between 5 foot 7 inches tall and 5 foot 8 inches tall.
15. True!
16. True! Black was an expensive dye.
17. True!
18. False he was only 15 years old.
19. True!
20. False! Tudor women did not wear knickers.
21. False! Clocks were invented in the Middle Ages.
22. False! The Tudors did have glasses - if they were rich! Glasses were very expensive.
23. True! Henry VIII was 55 when he died on 28 January 1547.
24. True! At the beginning of the 16th century glass windows were a luxury. Even by the end many poor people could not afford them.
25. True ! He was called Arthur but he died before his father, Henry VII. Therefore his younger brother became Henry VIII.
26. True!
27. True!
28. False! It was probably around 2 1/2 million.
29. False! It was about 4 million.
30. False!
31. True!
32. True!
33. True!
34. False!
35. True! Thomas Cromwell c.1485-1540 was the son of a blacksmith.
36. True! Cardinal Thomas Wolsey 1474-1530 was the son of an Ipswich butcher.
37. False! They often wore linen shorts.
38. False! However carpets were very expensive. Carpets were usually hung on tables or on cupboards rather than placed on the floor.
39. True! Chairs were very expensive. They did have stools and benches but even in rich people's houses some people sat on the floor on cushions.
40. True! He wrapped her in red cloth.
41 True! They thought it was undignified to hurry.
42 False! A petard was a kind of bomb! It was a container filled with gunpowder with a fuse. You placed it by the gates of a city or fort and lit the fuse. You hoped it would destroyed the wooden gate.
43. False! It was a very bad manners to let a dog in a dining hall. It was also very bad manners to throw bones onto the floor. You put them in a dish.
44. True!
45. True!
Click here to read about life in tudor England