history &myths

[groce4u]

what are some of the myths associated with the Elizabethan age

[Romeo]

Sir Walter Raleigh brought potato plants back from the New World. The Queen found the leaves inedible, so ordered the plants to be burned. Then someone could smell the roots cooking, and found them tasty. And so the potato entered our diet. The story is, of course, nonsense, yet it is a well known myth that persisted into the late 20th century.

[Romeo]

Sir Walter Raleigh is famously said to have laid his cloak over a puddle for Queen Elizabeth to walk across. There is no historical evidence of this actually happening, but the myth persists.

[Peter Pedant]

hi -  Romeo - I thought he insisted on appearing in court with a dried muddied cape over his shoulder...

Perhaps another myth

[Peter Pedant]

what about......

Mary I her sister had her imprisoned (hatfield) so when word came that Mary had died and she was Queen, Sir Amyas Paulett, said my Lady - I am not sure if Your majesty was in use yet - I hope you will not hold my post as gaoler against me...

and she said Oh no, Sir Amyas, whenever I need anyone to be kept in close imprisonment, I shall be sure to send him to you.....

Alot of these stories are said to be true - I dont think Gloriana needed myths....

[Peter Pedant]

or  what about....as persecution of Romans became fiercer, a lot of torture and forced confessions were extracted leading Elizabeth to comment:

I will not put a window into men's souls

Beliefs were not a cause for criminal prosecution - quite an advanced concept in the 1580s

[woofgang]

the servant who found Raleigh smoking and threw water over him because he thought that Raleigh was on fire!

[Peter Pedant]

or, she was plagued with tooth-ache and would only see a tooth-puller - were there dentists in those days - after the Archbishop of Canterbury had had one of his own teeth pulled to show her how painless it all was !

[Peter Pedant]

or... her favourite p;laywright was Marlowe who said, anyone who loveth not boys and tobacco is a fool

I mean do these stories have to be untrue to be myths?

[Octavius]

The Madoc myth was very popular at the time