Trivia

Games

• Gambling was called “gaming”
• Playing dice was “dicing”
• Backgammon was called “tables”
• A woman of low character was called a “drab”

Names

• Middle names did not exist in England at the time; they were only found in Europe
• Common female names were: Elizabeth, Anne/Agnes, Jane, Mary/Margaret, and Katherine.
• Common male names: Henry, Thomas, Edward, John, William, and Robert.
• Nicknames were common amongst intimates, children, and servents. Some peculiar ones are Ned for Edward, Hal for Henry, Kit for Christopher, or Bess for Elizabeth.

Education

• Only boys went to school; girls were homeschooled.
• Noble children were all taught by private tutors; everyone else went to public schools.
• The school day began at 6 am in the summer or 7 am in the winter and ended at 5 or 5:30 pm.
• Today’s elementary schools were called “petty schools” and only existed to prepare children for grammar school.
• Grammar school focused on Latin Grammar. Drama, history, and literature were used solely for demonstrating the grammar.