Popular culture

Urban and rural popular culture:

Urban-

Population growth and the movement of individuals from rural to urban areas for employment diversified culture. 

·         London grew from 60,000 to 1 million

Rich merchants and bankers remained at the top of the hierarchy, with young apprentices at the bottom. Each class/social group had their own practices as did the variety of nationalities. 

PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF URBAN CULTURE:

·         processions and pageants 

·         marking of holy days, e.g. Easter Sunday in Malaga 

·         ballads as a popular way of sharing gossip, e.g. monster of Ravenna

PRIVATE DISPLAYS OF URBAN CULTURE:

·         musical performances, e.g. popular songs sung by servants whilst working, or wealthy individuals' purchase of a private instrument

·         reading of books became more common after the Print Revolution (not just religious text available)

·         writing and sharing of letters

Rural-

90% of the population still lived in rural areas/countryside. Less is known about this culture, though. We do know from some select evidence (like 'The Peasant Wedding' painting) that rural culture was less sophisticated. This is due to:

·         lower levels of literacy, e.g. in mountain areas the priest may have been the only literate resident

·         less access to books (printing was slower to permeate to rural areas)

·         homes and gatherings were smaller

Festivals like May Day were important for sharing culture through drinking, eating and dancing. Harvest Festival celebrated the upcoming harvest. All Hallows and All Saints marked the beginning of winter, honoured the saints and encouraged prayer for those in purgatory. 

Popular and elite culture with the withdrawal of the elite:

Elite-

Made up of the nobility who were usually landowners with a role to play in central and local governments. The court and royal nobles engaged in:

MASQUES-

·         flourished in 16^th and 17^th century Europe

·         involved music and dancing, singing and acting

·         popular with monarchs across Europe, e.g. Henry VIII staged lavish masques

·         could be used to portray a political message

PLAYS-

·         Elizabeth I and James I had playwrights perform for them, e.g. Shakespeare performed King Lear

·         Companies like Lord Chamberlain’s Men/the King’s Men performed regularly

The withdrawal of the elite-   

By the middle part of the period, elite participation was declining. This was not instantaneous and didn’t follow the same pattern across Europe. They withdrew over a couple of centuries. In France and Britain, though, this was clearer cut but in Southern Europe, the elites took longer to withdraw, particularly from practices like Carnival.

Withdrawal was due to the following factors:

1.      The Reformation and Counter-Reformation

Portrayed some elements of popular culture like the festival of misrule as dangerous to the social and religious makeup of society. Some believed that the inversion of social order advocated at misrule damaged the hierarchy.

2.      Protestant reformers believed saints’ days were superstitious and pagan

Due to this both secular and religious…