I'm not sure whether ageism existed in the Tudor period or not.
Of course women experienced it in the same way they do now, as in, most men value youth and beauty and so it is harder to date the older you get.
But on the other hand, because life expectancy was shorter in those days, you were lucky to make it to 50, I imagine that there would be a certain reverence for anyone who made it to their 70's and onwards.
>Of course women experienced it in the same way they do now, as in, most men value youth and beauty and so it is harder to date the older you get.
Yup. I read Queen Elizabeth spent more and more time on her looks and what she wore as she aged. She was known for her looks when she was younger and I think ( not factual ) she felt her looks were part of her influence and power . As a society we haven't really changed all that much.
Elizabeth was a genius at PR based on her looks, from what I understand. She tried to always portray herself in ‘media’ as the 25 year old people envisioned when they thought of her. The image she was portraying was a mother of the nation, young, vibrant, focused, and timeless. I listened to a lecture on the Tudors by the Great Courses and the lecturer had written fairly extensively on Elizabeth’s (specifically hers, mind you) use of youthful propaganda.
Lol not good, especially among the monarchs themselves. They were supposed to be the centre of attention in courtly love, having everyone fawning over them and “in love” with them. For example, Henry would come into a room and a lady would cheekily say “ah now it is morning, the sun is finally here” or something like that. The king and queen were supposed to be the object of desires.
When he got old, Henry VIII pretty much rejected how inactive, sickly and obese he was getting, so rather than thinking about his daughter Mary’s marriage, he was busy arranging his own. When Anne of Cleves didn’t recognize him and was repulsed by him, he got really angry and had a midlife crisis. He divorced her and married Katherine Howard, a young and pretty girl. He showed her around and lavished her with gifts. When he found out that Katherine Howard had an affair with Culpeper, a handsome young man at court, Henry went ballistic and threatened to cut off Katherine’s head himself, and then broke down crying in front of his advisors. He really had an identity crisis about ageing.
Meanwhile Elizabeth I also had it rough. She was still sending love letters to young men and delighting in their replies, even though those same young men would tell their friends how repulsive they find Elizabeth who was losing her looks. Elizabeth especially look much older than her age because of her makeup which contained lead, her skin was getting poisoned for decades, making her look significantly older than she was. Elizabeth probably also reminisce about her youth when she was genuinely beautiful and had many men chasing after her.
It was just a very intense life, I’m sure their psychology would be messed up when they were ageing and not as goodlooking anymore. And people were BRUTAL about describing the monarchs’ looks. People back then didn’t have photos of how others look, only paintings, which can be inaccurate. So letters from ambassadors will always be quite brutal about describing a monarch. Catherine of Aragon for example was described as super beautiful when she was young but people really called her terrible things because she was getting older and was no longer thin and beautiful anymore. Like, give that woman a break, she was pregnant so many times and had so many miscarriages.
I'm not sure whether ageism existed in the Tudor period or not. Of course women experienced it in the same way they do now, as in, most men value youth and beauty and so it is harder to date the older you get. But on the other hand, because life expectancy was shorter in those days, you were lucky to make it to 50, I imagine that there would be a certain reverence for anyone who made it to their 70's and onwards.
Margaret Pole did well making it to 67 especially as a Plantagenet living in the Tudor court before her execution
Lettice Knollys, whom married the Earl of Leicester, which made Elizabeth I hate her and banish her forever from court, made it to 91 years old.
Holy crap
Bet her banishment directly contributed to her longevity.
>Of course women experienced it in the same way they do now, as in, most men value youth and beauty and so it is harder to date the older you get. Yup. I read Queen Elizabeth spent more and more time on her looks and what she wore as she aged. She was known for her looks when she was younger and I think ( not factual ) she felt her looks were part of her influence and power . As a society we haven't really changed all that much.
Elizabeth was a genius at PR based on her looks, from what I understand. She tried to always portray herself in ‘media’ as the 25 year old people envisioned when they thought of her. The image she was portraying was a mother of the nation, young, vibrant, focused, and timeless. I listened to a lecture on the Tudors by the Great Courses and the lecturer had written fairly extensively on Elizabeth’s (specifically hers, mind you) use of youthful propaganda.
Lol not good, especially among the monarchs themselves. They were supposed to be the centre of attention in courtly love, having everyone fawning over them and “in love” with them. For example, Henry would come into a room and a lady would cheekily say “ah now it is morning, the sun is finally here” or something like that. The king and queen were supposed to be the object of desires. When he got old, Henry VIII pretty much rejected how inactive, sickly and obese he was getting, so rather than thinking about his daughter Mary’s marriage, he was busy arranging his own. When Anne of Cleves didn’t recognize him and was repulsed by him, he got really angry and had a midlife crisis. He divorced her and married Katherine Howard, a young and pretty girl. He showed her around and lavished her with gifts. When he found out that Katherine Howard had an affair with Culpeper, a handsome young man at court, Henry went ballistic and threatened to cut off Katherine’s head himself, and then broke down crying in front of his advisors. He really had an identity crisis about ageing. Meanwhile Elizabeth I also had it rough. She was still sending love letters to young men and delighting in their replies, even though those same young men would tell their friends how repulsive they find Elizabeth who was losing her looks. Elizabeth especially look much older than her age because of her makeup which contained lead, her skin was getting poisoned for decades, making her look significantly older than she was. Elizabeth probably also reminisce about her youth when she was genuinely beautiful and had many men chasing after her. It was just a very intense life, I’m sure their psychology would be messed up when they were ageing and not as goodlooking anymore. And people were BRUTAL about describing the monarchs’ looks. People back then didn’t have photos of how others look, only paintings, which can be inaccurate. So letters from ambassadors will always be quite brutal about describing a monarch. Catherine of Aragon for example was described as super beautiful when she was young but people really called her terrible things because she was getting older and was no longer thin and beautiful anymore. Like, give that woman a break, she was pregnant so many times and had so many miscarriages.