London in Machyn's Time

Figure 11.

London in Machyn's day. Detail from the “Copperplate Map” (ca. 1577). From Adrian Prockter and Rober Taylor, The A to Z of Elizabethan London (London, 1979). Used by permission of the London Topographical Society.

In the middle of the sixteenth century, London was crowded, pestilential, and fascinating. People flocked there to gain riches, and Henry and Christopher Machyn were among the most successful of these migrants from the country. Remarkably enough, they survived quite a long time: Christopher lived some thirty years in the City, Henry more than forty. Most newcomers were not so fortunate.

By modern standards, London was small. The Venetian ambassador in 1554 estimated the population at 180,000, but more precise examination of the historical record suggests that the population was less than half that number. What made London seem so large was that it was built upward; tenements of several stories were nearly everywhere, and some of the streets were merely passageways only the width of a pedestrian's outstretched arms. The entire City occupied a space little more than a mile square. Outside the City walls were fields and gardens; inside were merchants beginning to look outward to markets for their products abroad.

The “Copperplate Map” shows the City in the decade during which Henry Machyn wrote. As Prockter and Taylor, editors of the atlas containing this map, show, there is remarkable detail in the representation: “garden wells, rowing boats, weathervanes, wine barrels, dogs, and laundry baskets are discernible.” One can see the minute details of the gates in the City wall over which the decaying heads and limbs of executed persons were so frequently displayed (as noted by Machyn). A point of reference was “London Stone,” thought to be put in place by the Romans to mark the center from which distances would be measured across Britain. Machyn mentions it often—for instance, the wife of the Bull's Head tavern located beside it was punished for being a bawd (June 12, 1560).

The Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, and London Bridge were the largest and most important landmarks. All of them are mentioned frequently in Machyn's Chronicle. Transportation by water was the usual way of traveling between the Palace of Westminster and the City, but shorter trips across the Thames—for instance, to the bull baiting ring south of the City—were made by small boats and wherries. Navigating under London Bridge when the tide was changing was perilous, since the openings between the piers were small and held back the water. Machyn mentions occasions in which prominent persons carelessly conveyed were drowned there “by folly” (August 10, 1553). Games might be played outside the City, and those involving titled persons were noted in the Chronicle. On January 18, 1559, there were “great joustes” at the tiltyard, with the Duke of Norfolk making a notable appearance. Nonetheless, it was at the wharves on the waterside where the bustle of London was most apparent. More and more during Machyn's time, the City was becoming the great port through which goods were imported and exported.

In all its commercial bustle, London was the most linguistically various place in Britain, and Machyn frequently takes note of “foreigners.” The wife of the Bull's Head tavern was punished for providing sexual services to them. Frenchmen, Spaniards, Flemings, and the Dutch are noted in the Chronicle and are often shown in an unfavorable light. Scots regularly appear in it. People are identified by place, such as Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, and other locations where a distinctive variety of English was employed. Though many years in London from his origins in Leicestershire, Machyn retained his youthful habits of speech (as Axel Wijk and Derrick Britton have documented), and doubtless many other migrants did too, producing a democratic welter of speech. And Machyn stayed put. There is no evidence in the Chronicle that he ever left the neighborhood of London, even to follow the funeral processions of prominent persons who were to be buried outside the metropolis. As Samuel Johnson would say two hundred years later, “he who tires of London, tires of life.” Machyn never tired of it.

A brief time line of events important to Machyn will introduce readers to the fascinating detail of the Chronicle. (Dates in parentheses direct attention to Chronicle entries in which these events are mentioned.)

Figure 12.

Portrait of Bishop Nicholas Ridley. From Thomas Fuller, The Holy State (Cambridge, 1642). Special Collections, Hatcher Graduate Library, University of Michigan.

Figure 13.

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I at prayer. From Richard Day, A Booke of Christian Praires (London, 1608). STC 6423. This item is reproduced by permission of the Huntington Library, San Marino, California.