More Research

To gather research for my 16^th Century Rural Norfolk setting I visited the Norwich Castle Museum. This was very useful for discovering wildlife specific to Norfolk and the Norfolk Woodland because they had a whole section of taxidermy dedicated to this, and this gave me a new list of creatures to think about and possibly incorporate into my studio project, such as details like a feather in one the characters hair from a specific bird from Norfolk woods. The list of animals was long:

Mammals:         

Otter, Hedgehog, Squirrel, Deer, Muntjac (small deer), Stoat, Weasel, Badger, Brown Hare, Wood mouse, Mole and Shrew

Birds:     

Kingfisher, Harrier, Cuckoo, Pheasant, Robin, Woodpecker, Lapwing, Heron, Jay, Raven, Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Rook, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Common Kestrel, Sparrow hawk.

Sketches of various animals in the museum.

Unfortunately there was little to find on 16^th century Norfolk, and even less on things that would have suited my rural setting. But what I did find was a glove (worn by the rich) and a copper alloy ring from this time period that may be useful. This is a rough sketch I did to remind me of how they looked. Although it is unlikely that my characters would wear something like this, they may have stolen it from passers through the woods.

I found a book in the museum called A fashionable History of Underwear by Helen Reynolds. The section on 16^th century stated that: “Slashing (clothes) was very common” and “The 16^th century saw differences in underwear between different ranks of society. Women used underwear to change their body shape. The stiffened bodice or “body” incorporated wood, whalebone and occasionally iron bands to shape the fashionable elongated bodice and small waste.”

Again, this may not be that suitable to my characters, but the idea of slashing clothes and having multiple layers incorporated into their attire may be useful.

In a book called The Great British Countryside, I found an interesting section about an old common rhyme about Magpies.

        “Black and white magpies dart around the hedges looking for unattended eggs to thieve.

One for sorrow, two for joy,

Three for a girl, four for a boy,

Five for silver, six for gold,

Seven for a secret never to be told

                …goes the old countryman’s rhyme, and there are those (myself included) who automatically greet every solitary magpie they see with a “Good morning Magpie” to avert the threatened sorrow”

This is a rhyme that I have also grown up with and know my mother and grandparents (all born and raised in Norfolk) to speak to solitary magpies in a similar way. Although this is not directly relatable to my studio work, I could incorporate this stigma and myth into my characters, they are considered to be unlucky, or use 3 magpies to represent the girl and 4 for the boy.

These are a couple of sketches I copied from a book about Norfolk and Suffolk villages, as the quote states, most villagers were still living in humble longhouses with thatched roofs, and the top sketch (more modern for the time) can be used as a base design for the uncles house, so it will stand out from all the others in the village.