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A Compendium of Common Knowledge, 1558-1603: Elizabethan Commonplaces for Writers, Actors & Re-enactors | 
 enlarge | Author: Maggie Secara
Publisher: Popinjay Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $10.93
You Save: $9.02 (45%)
New (17) Used (5) from $10.93
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 523924
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5
ISBN: 0981840108
EAN: 9780981840109
ASIN: 0981840108
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Delivery is usually 5 - 8 working days from order, International is by Royal Mail Airmail
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Product Description
The Compendium of Common Knowledge (1558-1603) offers insight into ordinary lives-both common and noble-in the England of Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare. In this little book you'll find notes on Elizabethan food, occupations, games, and pastimes, also religion, manners, attitudes, and education-the little details that make up daily life, that everyone knows without thinking. The Compendium, used on-line by Renaissance fairs and schools all over the world, provides a unique reference for writers, students, actors, re-enactors, and Elizabethan enthusiasts of all kinds.
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| Customer Reviews:
A Compendium of Common Knowledge - Maggie Secara December 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is indispensable for folks new to re-enacting. I find it has information that average history books might not have. The subjects are concise, clear, and have many references if you desire further information on any subject. I am very happy to have this as a resource.
An invaluable tool for actors and re-enactors, and a fascinating window into the past for the general reader September 8, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
For the actor or re-enactor interested in Elizabethan England, this book is a practical, look-it-up-now tool for checking historical facts or correct linguistic usage (the term for a barrel-maker or the pronunciation of "Southwark, for instance). For those with a general interest in the Elizabethan era or the history of day-to-day life, the book provides a compelling view of a bygone era, ranging as it does from the broad structures of Elizabethan society to the details of weights and measures, foods and fabrics. (In this sense, it resembles Daniel Pool's What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew; readers who enjoyed that book will almost certainly enjoy this one as well.) It is full of both basic information (such as a list of the Elizabethan peerages) and fascinating details (we learn that a seven-pound quantity of wool is a "clove," that Southwark prostitutes are nicknamed "Winchester Geese," and that one of the favorites of the bear-baiting pit is a bruin named Sackerson.) An especial strength of the book is the author's ability to describe differences between the Elizabethan and modern worlds clearly and succinctly. (A longer and more detailed version of this review can be found at the Troynovant review website.)
At long last.... August 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Many historical re-enactors and scholars have known of this indispensable resource on the web only, longing for the day when we could pen our own notes in the margins while enjoying a G and T on the veranda. At last we have our chance!
This book by Maggie Secara is truly one of the finest introductions to the early modern world you're likely to find. Pithy, charming, and learned, this is a book that is hard to put down. As you might expect, it is filled with all the details of renaissance daily life you're looking for, but the book is so much more than mere lists of things. One feels as though the author is taking you by the hand and giving you her own well-informed and personal tour of the past.
If you are a lover of history, you will revel in its pages. If you are a writer with an interest in early modern Britain, you'll want to keep this book in a holster at your side. If you are someone merely with a love of knowledge for the intricate doings of another age: Welcome home!
What Kit Marlowe Drank and Will Shakespeare Knew July 13, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
For several years, Renaissance re-enactors have been using Secara's online version of the "Compendium" to educate themselves about the everyday knowledge of the historical characters they portray. Just as 21st century people know that "text" is a verb and what a "blog" is, so did the people in the English Renaissance know the value of an "angel" and who the "recusants" were. From husbandmen to merchants to the nobility, these are the things all Elizabethans would have known.
What Daniel Pool's "What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew" did for the nineteenth century, Secara's "Compendium" provides for the reader who wants to know more about the world of the English Renaissance. While the information contained within this accessible volume was originally designed for re-enactors, it would also be useful for actors, readers (and authors!) of historical fiction, students of literature (impress your English and History profs!) and armchair historians of every stripe.
A few caveats: the layout of the book is sporadic, reflecting its online origins. On the one hand, it feels less methodical (the devalued coinage of Scotland and Ireland is mentioned in the section on gambling), but on the other hand, the connection of diverse areas leads to some wonderful insights (so don't gamble with Scots unless you account for the difference in the coinage). Furthermore, there are both a topic index and a thorough general index in the back to help locate specific information.
The tone of the book is conversational and light, but the information is sound. While the author is upfront about her lack of footnotes and citations, she also provides notes about primary and secondary source materials for those who want to follow up on a detail or question. In consultation with other researchers in the re-enactment community, Secara is also continuing to update the online site with corrections and sources as they become available. Similarly, Secara doesn't pretend to more thorough examinations of the complex areas of religion, politics and economics than she provides. When she is giving a superficial, generalist description, she says so, and refers the reader to other sources for more complete information.
All in all, this is a very useful book for anyone interested in the everyday, common-man aspects of history. It can be read straight through from cover to cover, dipped into at random, or searched for specific details. Better still, it provides a portable version of an online reference that countless people have come to know and rely upon.
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