A Study On The Leisure Entertainments In Tudor England

Tudor was a transitional period in which England was turning from medieval Feudalism society to modern Capitalism one.It was also a crucial period when the British nation state formed and developed initially.During this period,the Tudor monarchs actively carried out the reform of politics,religion,society,etc.With these steps,they fortified their position and promoted the formation of the nation of England.The Christian Church dominated England in the Middle Ages,and religious authority was reflected in all aspects of social life.Leisure life of the Medieval England had the obvious quality of religion.Important occasions and pageantries were hosted by the church,and there were many religious festivals too.The contents of other leisure entertainments such as music and drama were mostly based on religious subjects.Since the beginning of the Reformation in Henry VIII,there was a profound change in the entertainment activities of Tudor England.Firstly,with decreasing of religious festivals and church's control over social life,the leisure entertainments were evidently secularizing in Tudor.With forming and developing of the nation state,the Tudor government took more steps to regulate and guide the development direction of entertainments.Secondly,the spirit of humanism brought by Renaissance had enriched the leisure life of English during the Tudor period,thus cultural and physical entertainment activities increased significantly.Thirdly,part of the leisure entertainments broke through the limitation of class and rank and became more common.It promoted the sense of the national self-identity so as to make the national cohesion greatly strengthened,especially owing to the establishment of public theatres attended by all classes and ranks,the performances of historical drama,and the general use of English in reading and playing.In a word,leisure entertainments of Tudor England both extended the contents of the medieval society and produced profound changes under the influence of forming of British nation state,Renaissance,Reformation and other factors.It reflected the coexistence of historical inheritance and variation.The leisure entertainments which changed under the influence of social culture in Tudor reflected the common cultural characteristics and mental outlooks of the English during the formation of the nation state.As an important part of social life,in turn,leisure entertainments which played a special role in nation state formation and become an important factor in enhancing British national identity and cohesion.