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Games and Entertainment
click to return to The Tudors
Although people worked hard, they had various entertainments and games to play, many that we still have today. Football was played using a stuffed pig's bladder between villages or in the streets, but players became so unruly that Henry VIII banned it for a while! Card and board games were popular, as was skittles, archery and fishing.
Evening entertainments often included singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and smoking became a common pastime. The wealthy would be able to employ professional jugglers and wrestlers to watch, but others could see these entertainments in the streets of the towns. Plays were performed in the street and in early theatres.
As few people could read, and books were very expensive, not many Tudors would read for fun. However embroidery and knitting were useful hobbies.
