Early modern life
Folger Finds: New Year's Gift Rolls of Elizabeth I and Henry VIII
In early modern England, New Year’s Day was celebrated with a long-standing custom of giving gifts to the monarch. Each gift was carefully recorded on “gift rolls.” What were the top gifts in 1539 and 1585?
Buds, Bugs, and Birds in the Manuscripts of Esther Inglis
Flowers, bugs, birds, frogs—all and more are found in the manuscripts of Esther Inglis (1570?–1624) now on display in Little Books, Big Gifts, a special Folger exhibition highlighting her artistry with pen and brush.
Even them?! Loving the neighbour in Shakespeare and early modern England
Fellow Roberta Kwan discusses Shakespeare and loving thy neighbor
Holiday Festivities and Elizabethan Theater
Erika T. Lin studies early modern holidays and her work has yielded some surprising revelations—not only about the festivities themselves, but about the relationship between holidays and what we now think of as “theater.”
Tabitha Stanmore on Practical Magic in Shakespeare’s England
Uncover the world of cunning folk in Shakespeare’s England, as scholar Tabitha Stanmore reveals how these magic practitioners helped everyone from commoners to royalty with their practical spells and charms.
Alchemy, aqua vitae, and Mixology: How alchemy gave us liquor
Without alchemy there would be no mixology. No cocktails, no spirits, no liqueurs, no essences! Dive into the history of alchemy and distillation, with two cocktail recipes.
High spirits: Alchemy in Elizabethan England
Jennifer Rampling, a Princeton history professor and author of The Experimental Fire: Inventing English Alchemy, 1300–1700, explores alchemy in Shakespeare’s England.
Will Tosh on the Hidden Queer Lives of William Shakespeare
Scholar Will Tosh explores the hidden queer lives in Shakespeare’s works, revealing how early modern gender fluidity and same-sex desire influenced the Bard’s plays and characters.
Drinking with Shakespeare: Early Modern Tavern Tokens
Artistic Fellow Leah Hampton showcases the Folger’s collection of Early Modern bar tokens
The roles of the river in early modern times
An excerpt from Reading the River in Shakespeare’s Britain surveys some of the cultural roles of rivers, including how Shakespeare mentioned them in his plays.
Announced in 1622: A book now known as the First Folio
Greg Prickman explains how news of the 1623 book we now call the First Folio appeared a year earlier, on the occasion of a trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany.
Quiz: Games, sports, and Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s plays are full of sports and games. Test your knowledge with these questions.