Beds
Beds were valuable possessions—often shared by relatives and even strangers of the same gender. It is precisely this custom that allows Iago in the tragedy Othello to falsely accuse Cassio, claiming he is in love with Desdemona and was intimate with her. Iago tells Othello:
I will go on. I lay with Cassio lately,
And being troubled with a raging tooth,
I could not sleep.
There are a kind of men so loose of soul,
That in their sleeps will mutter their affairs.
One of this kind is Cassio:
In sleep I heard him say, “Sweet Desdemona,
Let us be wary, let us hide our loves;”
And then, sir, would he gripe and wring my hand,
Cry “O sweet creature!” and then kiss me hard,
As if he pluck’d up kisses by the roots,
That grew upon my lips, then laid his leg
Over my thigh, and sigh’d and kiss’d, and then
Cried “Cursed fate that gave thee to the Moor!”Act III. SCENE III. Cyprus. The Garden of the Castle.
Source:Specimens of ancient furniture drawn from existing authorities … 1783-1848» Meyrick, Samuel Rush
The homosexual undertone that emerges here (already strong on the Elizabethan stage, where all roles, both male and female, were played by male actors) serves to further tarnish Desdemona's character: her infidelity appears to Othello as literally "monstrous," "unnatural." Moreover, in this fabricated story, Iago becomes an unwitting double of Desdemona—this aligns with his secret desire to displace both Desdemona and Cassio from their rightful places. In Twelfth Night, the famous "Great Bed of Ware" is mentioned, set up by an innkeeper in the town of Ware to attract curious visitors: it could accommodate 24 people at once. This bed, measuring 3.38 by 3.26 metres, is now part of the Victoria and Albert Museum collection in London.
Both ladies and gentlemen wore elaborate hairstyles
Two Gentlemen of Verona by Angelica Kauffmann (1789)
In the comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Julia, a resident of Verona who is in love with Proteus, who has left her, decides to find him in distant Milan. She discusses with her maid how to prepare for the journey:
LUCETTA.
But in what habit will you go along?
JULIA.
Not like a woman, for I would prevent
The loose encounters of lascivious men.
Gentle Lucetta, fit me with such weeds
As may beseem some well-reputed page.
LUCETTA.
Why then, your ladyship must cut your hair.
JULIA.
No, girl, I’ll knit it up in silken strings
With twenty odd-conceited true-love knots.
To be fantastic may become a youth
Of greater time than I shall show to be.Act I. SCENE VII. Verona. A room in Julia’s house
Sir Walter Raleigh by Nicholas Hilliard, 1585
A reference to the protagonist's elaborate hairstyle can also be found in Hamlet. The ghost, while speaking to his son and mentioning his sufferings in the afterlife, notes that "the very whisper" of them "would make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres… thy knotted and combined locks to part." Later, Ophelia, reminiscing about what Hamlet was like before the tragic events in Elsinore, calls him "the glass of fashion and the mould of form"—indicating that Hamlet wore the most fashionable hairstyles.
Noble people carried toothpicks with them and ostentatiously used them
Toothpicks were a sign of good breeding, often displayed ostentatiously, even when not needed. In the historical chronicle King John, the Bastard, the illegitimate son of King Richard the Lionheart, after being knighted and invited to join the court by King John, Richard's younger brother, dreams about his future life:
Now your traveller,
He and his toothpick at my worship’s mess,
And when my knightly stomach is suffic’d,
Why then I suck my teeth and catechize
My picked man of countries: “My dear sir,”
Thus leaning on mine elbow I begin,
“I shall beseech you”—that is Question now;
And then comes Answer like an absey book:
“O sir,” says Answer “at your best command;
At your employment; at your service, sir.”Act I. SCENE I. Northampton. A Room of State in the Palace
This custom, which came from France, was common not only in England. In Spain, for example, the toothpick was also a symbol of wealth: in the satirical Spanish poetry of the time, there is often the image of an impoverished nobleman who uses a toothpick in public to suggest he has just had a hearty meal, even though he has actually been fasting for a long time.
The English had a fondness for drinking wine that was warmed and sweetened
Various alcoholic drinks—and the ways they were consumed—are mentioned in many of Shakespeare's plays. For example, in Coriolanus, Menenius Agrippa admits to his vices:
I am known to be a humorous patrician and one that loves a cup of hot wine with not a drop of allaying Tiber in’t; said to be something imperfect in favouring the first complaint, hasty and tinder-like upon too trivial motion; one that converses more with the buttock of the night than with the forehead of the morning.
Act II. SCENE I. Rome. A public place
Shakespeare blends two customs here—Roman and English. The Romans drank wine diluted with water, while the English preferred their wine undiluted and warmed. They also liked to sweeten it, and innkeepers would carry packets of sugar for this purpose, as Prince Henry mentions to Francis, the tavern errand boy, in Henry IV, Part 1:
POINS.
[within.] Francis!
FRANCIS.
Anon, sir.—Pray, stay a little, my lord.
PRINCE.
Nay, but hark you, Francis, for the sugar thou gavest me, ’twas a pennyworth, was’t not?
FRANCIS.
O Lord, I would it had been two!
PRINCE.
I will give thee for it a thousand pound. Ask me when thou wilt, and thou shalt have it.Act II. SCENE IV. Eastcheap. A Room in the Boar’s Head Tavern
But the true connoisseur of drink in Shakespeare’s works is, of course, Sir John Falstaff—the comic character from The Merry Wives of Windsor and the Henry IV chronicle, a jovial and cowardly drunkard. Despite his agitation and indignation, he can distinguish good sherry from bad with just one sip. Dishonest innkeepers had a habit of adding lime to old wine to mask its sour taste.
Even in noble households, the floors were covered with rushes
In the tragedy Romeo and Juliet, the main character, deciding with his friends to boldly attend a celebration at the house of his family's enemy, old Capulet, refuses to dance, explaining that he has "a soul of lead" (Romeo, who has not yet met Juliet, is hopelessly in love with the cold beauty Rosaline). He is willing to leave the pleasure of dancing to others:
ROMEO.
A torch for me: let wantons, light of heart,
Tickle the senseless rushes with their heels;
For I am proverb’d with a grandsire phrase,
I’ll be a candle-holder and look on,
The game was ne’er so fair, and I am done.Act I. SCENE IV. A Street
The custom of covering floors with straw or rushes existed in England even in the Middle Ages and made a repellent impression on visitors. Erasmus of Rotterdam, who visited England in the early 16th century (and incidentally stayed at Thomas More's house), spoke of it with distaste. Modern writer John Gardner sums up Erasmus’s impressions: "Floors, usually made of clay, are covered with a layer of roofing straw that is never replaced, only occasionally covered with a bit of fresh straw. This bedding might remain for twenty years, collecting and concealing someone’s spit, vomit, urine, spilled beer, fish bones and heads, not to mention other unspeakable filth." Rushes on the floor are also mentioned in other Shakespeare plays, such as the chronicle Henry IV, Part 1, in a scene depicting a room in a feudal castle. The English did not abandon this custom until the 17th century.
Tennis balls were stuffed with hair to maintain their bounce
In the comedy Much Ado About Nothing, friends tease Benedick, noting that he has shaved off his beard to please his beloved Beatrice:
DON PEDRO.
Hath any man seen him at the barber’s?
CLAUDIO.
No, but the barber’s man hath been seen with him; and the old ornament of his cheek hath already stuffed tennis balls.Act III. SCENE II. A Room in Leonato’s House
However, the tennis mentioned frequently by Shakespeare bears little resemblance to modern lawn tennis, which emerged in the latter half of the 19th century. The balls were larger and heavier (up to 65 cm in diameter), and if rackets were used, they were strung with cattle gut. Balls could also be struck with wooden bats or even hands. The game was sometimes hazardous for spectators. The technique was different as well—on well-equipped courts (where the noble people played), balls were served by rolling them off a roof overhanging the court. Teams of two, three, or possibly more players often competed against each other. The rope or net dividing the teams could be set high—at a level of 2 to 2.5 metres.
Gloves were made from kid leather
Kid leather was considered the most suitable material for refined, delicate gloves. Due to its special treatment, it was soft and elastic, and Shakespeare frequently used it in comparisons to highlight these qualities. For example, in the tragedy Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio says to Romeo:
MERCUTIO.
O here’s a wit of cheveril, that stretches from an inch narrow to an ell broad.Act II. SCENE IV. A Street
Various types of leather and leather goods are frequently mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays. He was well aware of which leather was used for making shoes and which was used for bridles; he knew that parchment was made from lamb and calf skins, and violin strings from calf intestines. He was also familiar with more unusual varieties, such as deer, fox, or dog leather. Leather jackets, flasks, and bags are common attributes of his characters. This is not surprising, given that Shakespeare's father was a glover and thus also a tanner; his home had a tannery, and Shakespeare would have been well acquainted with the properties of leather.
Instead of addresses, many houses had names
Wealthy citizens’ houses, inns, taverns, and other notable buildings often had their own names, which sometimes served as addresses. Most commonly, a house was named after a distinctive figure or emblem that adorned its front, plasterwork, and so on. In The Comedy of Errors, where there is constant confusion between two pairs of twins, the names of the houses help the audience keep track of who is on stage at any given time:
MERCHANT.
There is your money that I had to keep.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE.
Go bear it to the Centaur, where we host,
And stay there, Dromio, till I come to thee.
[...]
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE.
Come on, sir knave, have done your foolishness,
And tell me how thou hast dispos’d thy charge.
DROMIO OF EPHESUS.
My charge was but to fetch you from the mart
Home to your house, the Phoenix, sir, to dinner.
My mistress and her sister stay for you.Act I. SCENE II. A public place
The mention of two different houses signals to the audience that Antipholus of Syracuse is being mistaken for the local Antipholus of Ephesus. Not only houses but even individual rooms in inns could have their own names. For instance, in Henry IV, Part 1, the action frequently takes place at the inn "The Boar’s Head," which features rooms named the Moon Room and the Pomegranate Room.