Episode 264 of the Renaissance English History Podcast saw us doing a deep dive into another single year in Elizabeth’s reign: 1593
Step into the fascinating world of Elizabethan England in 1593—a year marked by political intrigue, cultural milestones, and mounting challenges. Explore the grandeur of Queen Elizabeth’s court as she navigates New Year’s festivities, the ongoing plague in London, the rising tensions with Spain, and dramatic moments like the legendary meeting with Irish chieftain Grace O’Malley. From secret marriages to jousting tilts, and from theater closures to religious dissent, this episode paints a vivid picture of life in 1593, offering a seasonal breakdown of the events and intrigues that defined the year. Subscribe to uncover history’s untold stories, and don’t miss your chance to learn more about Yuletide with the Tudors!
Check out the Folgerpedia Elizabethan Court Day by Day resource: https://folgerpedia.folger.edu/The_Elizabethan_Court_Day_by_Day
Listen below, or read the Very Rough Transcript on Episode 264: A Year in the Life – 1593
A very rough transcript on Episode 264: A Year in the Life – 1593
Hey friend, welcome to the Renaissance English History Podcast, a part of the Agora Podcast Network and the original Tudor History Podcast, telling stories of Tudor England since, what, 2009. I just had a brain fart there. Hi, I am your host Heather, and I’m a storyteller who makes history accessible because I believe it’s a pathway to understanding who we are, our place in the universe, and being much more deeply in touch with our own humanity.
Today we are talking about, well, today we are doing another one of those fun year in the life episodes. I really enjoy doing these because there is a fabulous resource. That the Folger Shakespeare Library puts out Folgerpedia, where they go through, it’s just an Elizabeth Spring, unfortunately, but I mean, that’s, that’s what they have.
So I’m not going to knock it, but it goes through day by day. for various, for like every year, I think. I think if you Google like Folgerpedia, Elizabeth’s reign day by day, you get this. And so you can download the notes and you know, all the different correspondence, everything that was going on day by day.
It’s an amazing, amazing resource. And so I really enjoy kind of going through and looking at a year in the life. Ever since, gosh, about 15 years ago, I read the Bill Bryson book. I love Bill Bryson. And actually, I have to say, personal share, he, uh, he responded to a letter that I wrote to him, a piece of fan mail, gosh, back in 2000, I think, because I had read his, um, notes from a, notes from a big country, or I think in the U.
S. It’s called I’m a Stranger Here Myself. It’s when he moved back to the U. K. or when he was living in the U. S. and like the different cultural things that you saw. Anyway, I’m really digressing here. He has a book called, I think it’s 1927, where he just looks at one year in American history and everything that was going on in that year.
And ever since I read that book, I had always wanted to do these kind of like year in the life episodes. And I’ve done a couple, I think this is my fourth or fifth one. We looked at 1601, we looked at 1561, today we are looking at 1593, 1593. And so that is that.
So let’s get started. 1593 was a year that bridged The grandeur of the Elizabethan court with challenges of governing a realm that was increasingly marked by plague, religious tensions, and growing threats from abroad. This is five years after the Spanish Armada, but the war with Spain is still going on and there are a lot of threats.
We see a lot heating up against the Catholics. It’s a big year for that. So as the year began, the Elizabethan court was bustling with the usual rituals and New Year festivities. On January 1st, Elizabeth received her customary New Year’s gifts, a tradition where courtiers and subjects presented elaborate offerings, partly to gain favor and partly to celebrate the Queen’s majesty.
Among the gifts was a particularly thoughtful token from William Deathick, the Garter King of Arms, who presented a book of heraldic arms, meticulously detailing the Knights of the Garter from the reign of Henry VII. This was a little subtle homage to the dynasty’s stability and strength, qualities that Elizabeth herself embodied, and she would have appreciated this five years after the Armada, with her reign firmly reaching its gloria on a stage.
It would have been a meaningful gift for her. That same day on January 1st, she was treated to a play performed by Lord Strange’s men. One of the leading troops of the time, known for their energetic and daring productions. Another unique gift arrived in the form of a poem and short play by the writer Thomas Churchyard, titled A Pleasant Conceit Plainly Set Out and Plainly Presented as a New Year’s Gift to the Queen’s Majesty at Hampton Court.
Though the text has since been lost, Churchyard recorded it in his later work Churchyard’s Challenge, emphasizing the significance he saw in presenting his art to the Queen.
So we enter the year 1593 with Elizabeth holding court at Hampden Court, surrounded by the tokens of loyalty, creativity, and tradition that marked each new year. Yet, even as these ceremonies continued, Elizabeth was acutely aware of the challenges lurking just beyond the court gates.
The winter season would soon bring waves of illness, and the Queen’s Council faced the mounting pressure of religious dissent and foreign threats. This was a year that would test the resilience of Elizabeth’s England, so let’s step into it, season by season, to talk about the events, intrigues, and moments that made 1593 a pivotal year.
January began with England under siege from a deadly plague outbreak hitting London particularly hard.
Authorities scrambled to manage the crisis, issuing orders to close theaters and prevent gatherings and curb the spread of infection. This left cultural centers like the Globe and the Curtain, the other theater, silent, much to the frustration of Londoners who sought escape in the city’s thriving arts scene.
In fact, Richard III and the Taming of the Shrew had recently drawn eager crowds at the Globe, and the Globe was forced to shut their doors. Many Londoners sought refuge outside the city.
Within this anxious atmosphere, Elizabeth’s court at Hampton Court bustled with activity despite the threat. But behind the scenes, her counsel was engaged in tense discussions over religious tensions. The Queen’s ministers were under pressure to act against the Catholic recusants, who were facing renewed scrutiny.
One prominent recusant, William, Lord Vaux of Harrodin, found himself summoned to Parliament, despite his poverty and isolation from courtly life. On February the 18th, he wrote a poignant letter to William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, explaining that he arrived, raggedly suited and clothed. And couldn’t afford to retrieve his Parliament robes, which were held in pawn.
He had pawned his Parliament robes. He pleaded to be excused from attendance, referring to himself as the unfortunatest peer of Parliament for poverty that ever was. Box had already been imprisoned in the 1580s for harboring a Jesuit priest, And was one of many Catholics walking a precarious line between loyalty to the Queen and adherence to their faith.
One other very interesting event that happened in February was the release of Don Pedro de Valdez. He was a commander in the Spanish Armada and had been captured by Francis Drake in July of 1588. He had been in custody of Drake’s cousin Richard Drake in Surrey, who demanded a ransom of over 3, 500 to release him.
And over the following five years, there had been lengthy negotiations and discussions about a prisoner exchange.
In November of 1592 the Privy Council had informed Richard Drake that Don Pedro was going to be set at liberty. There was going to be a prisoner exchange in 1593.
At the end of February 1593, Don Pedro reached Brussels. He wrote a letter to Cecil in March saying, I am so grateful to Her Majesty for the gracious favors she extended to me before my departure and to her household and nobility. He wrote to Philip II on March 9th, Eight days before my departure from England, I was taken to court by the Orders of the Queen where I was treated very handsomely and was visited by the councillors, nobles and naval officers there.
I was then taken to London where I was entertained at a banquet by the Lord, mayor and Alderman.
Meanwhile, at court, Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex, was making his influence felt, particularly in matters of foreign policy. As a vocal advocate for a more aggressive stance against Spain and stronger support for Protestant allies in France and Low Countries, Essex was a contrast to the more cautious William Cecil.
His charisma and youth made him a favorite among younger courtiers, creating a quiet but noticeable rivalry with the elder statesman Burley. His influence within Elizabeth’s inner circle was a double edged sword, as the Queen often found herself torn between Essex’s bold ideas and Cecil’s prudence. In March, with plague deaths finally starting to slow, daily life in London began to cautiously reawaken.
Theaters and other public spaces remained closed, but there was a hope that the city would soon see some relief. For those who had spent the harsh winter in confinement, the tentative return of the daily routines brought a measure of comfort. Plays like Thomas Kidd’s The Spanish Tragedy, with its dark themes of revenge, remained popular as Londoners resumed their appetite for entertainment, though most performances were staged outside the city limits to comply with the ongoing health restrictions.
The Queen was now approaching 60. Her court was a place of tightly managed ritual and rising tension. Religious discord, economic strain, and power plays within her inner circle hinted at a challenging year ahead. With spring around the corner, there was hope for a break in the cycle of illness, but the court and council remained on high alert, vigilant for what the rest of the year might bring.
As the first signs of spring brighten the landscape, Londoners welcomed a brief reprieve from the harsh winter’s isolation. Plague deaths continued, but at a slower pace, allowing cautious optimism to return to the capital. In April, restrictions on public gatherings were gradually lifted, and the city’s markets and theatres began to reopen.
There was a palpable sense of relief. Elizabeth’s subjects, who had spent the colder months in fear and uncertainty, were eager for a return to normalcy.
On April 6th, news, broke of a secret marriage, followed by an imprisonment. William Cecil, son of Sir Thomas Cecil and grandson of Lord Burley married his second wife, Elizabeth Drury, a gentle woman of the privy Chamber, daughter of Sir William Re, and granddaughter of Dorothy.
Lady Stafford. William Cecil was at first rumored to have married the Lady Arbella Stewart. And the news said the world was deceived in supposing young Cecil to be married to the Lady Arbella, for he of late conveyed mistress Drury from the court, and unknown to either prince or parents, secretly married her, for which he is in great disgrace with his grandfather, who threateneth therefore to disinherit him.
For his contempt he was committed to the fleet.
William wrote from the fleet, I lie here in prison upon Her Majesty’s commandment. When my punishment shall be thought portionable to the quality of my offense, I humbly pray you be one of my best helpers to procure my liberty. Wrote that to Sir Robert Cecil. The place where I lie is a congregation of the unwholesome smells of the town and this season contagious for I hear many that died of the plague.
So a secret marriage.
In April, there were also problems with the Queen’s Elephant, which had been a gift from France in 1592. Of course, the tower at that point was a menagerie, a zoo, as well as a prison.
And there were a lot of expenses in caring for the elephant. The Keeper of the Elephant. Yes, that was a, that was a title. The Keeper of the Elephant was talking about the great expense and wanted the Queen’s leave to take it for four months or so to the United Provinces, where he was sure no one had ever seen one.
Basically take it on tour and he would give sureties to bring it back to England before winter or whenever required. There were two Dutch merchants willing to stand as pledges for its return.
Robert Devereux continued to influence the court discussions, particularly in matters of foreign policy. In May, when the Queen’s Council debated funding military aid to Henry IV of France, Elizabeth’s caution won out, favoring the advice of Lord Burley, who prioritized England’s stability over costly conflicts abroad. But Essex sought to rally support among younger courtiers for a more assertive stance, aligning himself with England’s Protestant allies His efforts reflected a quiet struggle within the court, As competing visions of England’s future created undercurrents of tension, testing the loyalty and unity of Elizabeth’s inner circle,
england had, of course, been involved in the war in the Spanish Netherlands with supporting the Dutch rebels against Spain. And now they wanted to support the Huguenots, the Protestants in France, against the Catholic monarchs of France. And so there was a debate about whether we actually do that? Or do we keep the money at home in England and, you know, not spend that money, not get troops into trouble, but risk having a stronger Catholic monarch in Europe that could potentially invade us later?
So that was the, that was the calculation they were trying to make. Amid these political games, the religious tensions of the previous months began to flare up again. On April 5th, a bold measure against Catholic recusants was passed by Parliament. The statute was known as the Act Against Popish Recusants, and it imposed harsh penalties on people who refused to attend the Anglican services, as well as stricter controls over the Catholics movements.
Known recusants, particularly wealthy ones like Lord Vaux, even though he claimed that he was in poverty, they were closely monitored, facing the possibility of losing their lands or being imprisoned. This legislation was Elizabeth’s attempt to maintain control over the religious factions, though she also understood that her actions risked provoking her Catholic subjects into further resistance.
On May 15th, an incident in Parliament highlighted the raw tension that lay beneath the surface. Henry Constable, a known Catholic sympathizer and poet, made an impassioned speech indirectly criticizing the harsh measures against Catholics, And suggesting that such policies only created Martyrs of Zen.
Though he was quickly silenced, his words rippled through the court, a reminder of the potential volatility that Elizabeth faced within her own ranks. By early June with the arrival of warmer weather, the Queen embarked on a short progress. through the countryside around London, allowing her subjects to glimpse their monarch outside of the cloistered walls of court.
So on the progress, she went to Richmond Palace. She went to Nonesuch Palace, which of course was still around then. It’s not around anymore, but it was still there then. She went to Oatlands in Surrey and she went to Scion House.
This progress was a vital reminder of her enduring presence and connection to her people, and it reinforced her image as both a warrior against Catholic threats and a motherly figure who cared for her subjects well being. Her physical health was a matter of constant concern. Like I said, she was approaching 60 at this point, and it appeared steady, though rumors circulated about her increasing bouts of melancholy, a reflection perhaps of the losses that she had endured over the years.
As spring transitioned to summer, Elizabeth’s court was a mix of fresh alliances, simmering rivalries, and religious tensions that had yet to find a stable resolution.
England under her watch was walking a tightrope. The plague was receding, but the kingdom faced other uncertainties from the threat of continued Spanish aggression. to the dangerous undercurrents of domestic descent.
At the end of June, there was an installation at Windsor for New Knights of the Garter, Henry Percy, the ninth Earl of Northumberland, edward Somerset, the fourth Earl of Worcester, and Thomas the fifth Lord Burr. All became Knights of the Garter, as did Sir Francis Knowles,
and then three days later, the Queen signed the pardon for Ingram Fraser for killing Christopher Marlowe in self defense. I’ve actually done an episode on what happened to Christopher Marlowe. It was like a history’s mystery kind of thing. , but the person who had been accused of killing Marlowe was pardoned because it was in self defense.
Or was it? Hmm, it’s one of those things we will never know for sure. At the end of June, the plague was back. The Privy Council was saying that they wanted to hold court in Guilford because of infection in Southwark and the city.
The queen was residing in Surrey at that point where she wanted to stay for the most part of the summer because she was worried about the sickness. So there we have spring ending, summer beginning with more infection, interesting pardons and new knights of the garter.
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Let’s continue and look at summer. As summer settled over England, the sense of relief that had accompanied the decline in plague cases was tempered by a growing unease about conflicts beyond the country’s borders. While the risk of illness began to wane, foreign threats intensified, particularly from Spain.
Elizabeth’s advisors kept a close watch on Spanish movements with rumors of renewed invasion plans swirling throughout the court circles.
England had given some aid to Henry IV of France, and that had provoked irritation in Madrid. The Queen’s Council spent much of the summer debating how to best counter Spanish aggression without draining the royal coffers. Meanwhile, of course, Elizabeth’s court continued to function as a stage for political rivalries and personal ambitions.
If In July, Robert Devereaux was formally appointed to oversee preparations for potential military campaigns in Ireland, a strategic move meant to secure the Queen’s authority in a region that had proven difficult to control. The appointment was both a recognition of Essex’s influence and a test of his loyalty and competence, as he had openly criticized the Queen’s conservative approach to foreign policy earlier in the year.
This opportunity, though, carried a substantial risk. Ireland was a notoriously challenging front. And Essex knew that failure could mean a serious blow to his standing at court. Of course, he would eventually fail in that, and that would ultimately end in a big rebellion that he did. But, uh, you know, that would all come in the future.
For now, he was focusing on his military preparations. And the arts in London experienced a resurgence. Theaters reopened in the late spring. They were once again drawing crowds eager for the dramas and the comedies that had become a staple of London life.
The best selling performance of the summer was The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kidd, a play of revenge and political intrigue. And it continued to captivate audiences. Alongside Kidd’s work, other playwrights saw their fortunes rise as the public sought to escape in stories of ambition, love, and power.
Shakespeare had still been emerging, but was becoming firmly on the scene at this point. His reputation at court began to grow, laying the groundwork for future royal patronage. On the religious front, tensions remained high despite the Act Against Popish Recusance passed earlier in the year.
Underground Catholic networks continued to function across the country. Particularly in Northern regions where recusant families held a lot of power. In August, rumors circulated that Jesuit priests had traveled through Yorkshire and Lancashire, stirring anxieties among local authorities who worried about Catholic plots.
Elizabeth’s counselors were vigilant, aware that even isolated incidents of recusant defiance could be exploited by England’s foreign enemies. The summer saw the implementation of stricter surveillance on known Catholic households. As well as an increase in penalties for harboring priests.
On August 19th, King Henry IV in France made a bond of amity with Elizabeth. In view of the Queen’s friendship and goodwill has given to him to defend his crown and to resist the violent onslaughts of the forces of the King of Spain and his own rebel subjects, he is bound to aid her in all he can against the King of Spain, their common enemy.
He promises on the word of a king to continue to make war offensive and defensive against the king of Spain, as long as he remains at war and enmity with the queen, and never to make peace or accord with the king without informing her and without including her and her contentment, provided she makes a reciprocal bond.
In September, Elizabeth would make that reciprocal bond.
In August, the Earl of Essex was also lobbying for Francis Bacon. So Francis Bacon had given some speeches in Parliament in March that were not so friendly to the Queen, and she was ticked off about it. And Essex was trying to get the Queen to forgive Francis Bacon for these speeches and to give Francis access to her, quote, as in former times.
Essex wrote to Bacon, I spoke with the Queen yesterday and on Wednesday, on Wednesday, she cut me off short, she being come newly home and making haste to her supper. Yesterday, I had a full audience, but with little better success than before. She pleaded that you were in more fault than any of the rest of Parliament, and when she did forgive it and manifest her receiving of them into favor that offended her then, she will do it to many that were less in fault, as well as to yourself.
Your access, she said, is as much as you can look for. If it had been in the King her father’s time, a less offense than that would have made a man be banished his presence forever.
One of the most remarkable events of 1593 took place on September the 6th when the famed Irish chieftain, Grace O’Malley, met with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor. O’Malley, whose power in Ireland had been increasingly challenged by English forces, had sailed to England to negotiate the release of her son and her half brother, both of whom had been imprisoned by the formidable Sir Richard Bingham.
Her reputation preceded her as tales of her fierce independence and prowess had circulated widely. Tradition, tells that O’Malley defiant, even in the Queen’s presence, refused to bow to Elizabeth.
She asserted her stance as an Irish ruler rather than a subject. Further, she purportedly shocked courtiers by discarding a lace handkerchief into the fire after using it. A reflection of Irish customs, she explained. Elizabeth listened to O’Malley’s appeals and ultimately agreed to her requests, even ordering Bingham to release her son and her brother and to secure her future livelihood from her son’s estates.
And the Queen had written to Sir Richard Bingham. But for these two, you think they may be both dismissed upon bonds for their good behavior, wherewith we are content. So, as the old woman may understand, we yield thereto in regard of her humble suit.
So she is of herself informed and departeth with great thankfulness and with many most earnest promises that she will, as long as she lives, continue a dutiful subject. Yea, and will employ all her power to offend and prosecute any offender against us.
Let’s move on to autumn, October through December. As autumn arrived, England’s political and social landscape grew tense once more. There was still uncertainty around foreign threats, , particularly from Spain, which weighed heavily on Elizabeth’s counsel.
October brought fresh intelligence suggesting that Spanish forces were amassing in the Low Countries, heightening fears of an attack on England’s coast. In response, the Queen’s advisors continued their delicate balancing act, preparing defenses while avoiding actions that might escalate tensions into open conflict.
Meanwhile, the Parliament of 1593 reconvened in October, focusing on issues of national security and the ongoing religious tensions. Discussions often turn toward the enforcement of anti Catholic laws, with pressure mounting on the Queen to take a firmer stance. Elizabeth’s councillors knew that an iron fisted approach might provoke open rebellion among her Catholic subjects, yet anything less risked leaving England vulnerable to internal and external threats.
This debate reached a head in mid October, with the passage of yet another statute tightening restrictions on recusants. effectively limiting their movements within certain regions.
November the 17th was a Saturday. It was Ascension Day, and there were all kinds of celebrations throughout London celebrating the Ascension of Elizabeth as Queen.
So at St. Baltof’s at Algate, they paid for bread and drink for the ringers on the Queen’s Majesty’s Day, also called the Coronation Day. When I, this is actually a retake, when I read that the first time I read it as Coronation Day, because I have a daughter and I watched a lot of Frozen years ago. It’s Coronation Day.
Anyway, at St. Martin’s in the Field, they played for ringing of the bells. All kinds of different, um, different places,
there was also. The Ascension Day jousts and tilt preparations. The Earl of Essex was paid 74 pounds for diet and charges at Greenwich, his lordship being there exercising himself at pastime in the tilt yard. Richard Brackenberry also made ready a standing at Windsor Castle for the Queen’s Majesty against the running at tilt of the Coronation Day.
Coronation Day. Too much Frozen. Too much Frozen. She’s past that now, but it sticks with you. It gets in your brain and it sticks with you.
That day in the Tilt, the Earl of Cumberland was against the Earl of Southampton. The Earl of Essex was against Robert Knowles. Lord Fitzwater went against Carew Reynolds.
There were all kinds of jousts, and the Queen did lose two buttons of gold with true loves of Pearl. According to the wardrobe.
As December approached, Elizabeth’s focus shifted to preparing for the holiday season. Christmas at court was, of course, a grand affair, which we will be talking about during the Yule Tide with the Tudors program. See how I slipped that in there? Yet the looming threats had subdued the usual cheer. Her household was scaling down some of the more extravagant celebrations, reflecting the somber national mood.
The Queen was at Richmond observing Advent and preparing for a Christmas and New Year marked by both reflection and caution. England, poised between past achievements and uncertain futures, had managed to endure another year of her steady rule. we have it. Life in 1593 for Elizabeth and her court.
We will leave it there. I appreciate your listenership so much. If you’re not subscribed to this podcast, go ahead and hit subscribe wherever you are listening to it. If you’re watching on YouTube, listening on YouTube, subscribe to my channel or whatever podcatcher you are listening on now, just hit subscribe.
Englandcast. com for information on Yuletide with the Tudors. I will be back next week. Have an amazing, amazing week. Again, thanks so much for being here and I will speak with you soon.
Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop.
She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 30 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history (how exciting when she got to interview Alison for the first time!). In addition to history, she is passionate about travel, and has lived in 3 countries and 4 states (not counting her perpetual state of confusion), and her family (who help her host her YouTube channel occasionally).
