What are the Primary sources?
Contents
Primary sources mean authentic original artefacts that historians use to decipher a historical event.
Please note – below article talks about Primary sources for Tudor England as well as some other countries and Europe to explain how the world looked.
So how do we know what happened in Tudor times when it was such a long time ago? What are the Primary sources for information?
These are the documents that historians study to know about the renaissance.
The Primary Sources of Information include Letters, Manuscripts, Diaries, Journals, Memoirs, Autobiographies, Oral Histories, Interviews, Speeches, Land Records, Government Documents, Photographs, Maps, Video Footage of Event, Audio Recordings, Research Data, Objects or Artifacts.
Here is a list of Renaissance Primary Source Documents that historians use to study Elizabethan, Tudor and Renaissance Eras:
Manuscripts
Manuscripts and Old written records are very interesting sources of the Renaissance Era.
These manuscripts are real records and the historians depend upon them greatly. The Illuminated Manuscripts throw great light on the Renaissance Era. Renaissance Manuscripts reveal the real lives of the people.
These manuscripts are still preserved today in many of the English libraries and Museums.
Land Records
Land Records play a very pivotal Role in throwing light on the Renaissance Man. They tell about the Key Features of Renaissance Culture.
If you think deeply about it you will understand the important part played by it. No one knows who was the Duke of Canterbury or for that matter any other region in England and who ruled those areas. It is only through the land records that we come to know about the dukes, rulers and kings and their areas and ruled lands.
Early English Books and Literature
The Works included are the ones printed in England and English speaking areas from the 1470s to 1700. Below are a clear demarcation and distinction to understand how books played a very important role in getting information about the era.
English Poetry
The works of poets and their translations, English verse after 1800, verse drama intended for the stage and the poems which were never published or published in newspapers, journals and other prints.
English Drama
English Drama from the 17th C to the 18th C, offer an exhaustive coverage of the prodigious and Prolific Dramatic Literature of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, also Restoration Plays. The works of Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd and other Elizabethan Playwrights.
Shakespeare’s works are great guides to the life of the then England or the Elizabethan England.
No one really knows how Shakespeare looks like, we rely only on Primary Sources and documents to figure out how he might have looked. This is the role played by Primary Sources. Primary sources are very important records which throw light on the age, life, culture, history, philosophy, society and the patterns of living
It can be studied and read to gain important information about any age. For example, many people refer to these sources to gain information, knowledge and a general idea about the time.
Today, also The British library of London has many very important Primary sources which throw considerable light on that time.
Early English Prose Fiction
The texts of Early English 1500-1700 Prose Fiction are very essential to understand the development of narrative in English. Realism can be understood in much better and clear terms by reading the rich diversity of approaches employed by English Prose.
Elizabethan Costumes
The Elizabethan Costumes like the Elizabethan Breeches are very solid Primary sources of Renaissance Era. The Costumes are very good sources because we come to know about the lives of the people, how they dressed up, what they liked to wear, what were they comfortable in and most importantly what was worn by the common man for work and leisure. It also tells about the fashion of the age.
Other costumes like the colourful dresses and elaborates costumes of the nobles, the rich and the kings and the queen.
Breeches were extremely popular and very commonly worn by all classes.
Elizabethan jewellery
Another very important source of information which stood the time of test and age is the Elizabethan Jewellery and Metallic Ornaments.
All types of jewellery were worn but we come to know through this source that pearl was the most common. Other precious items were made of diamonds, sapphires, ruby, emerald etc. This also tells that the upper class wore expensive and precious jewellery whereas the lower classes were cheaper items made up of ivory, metals, iron, coral etc.
This also tells that during the Elizabethan times’ jewellery was a very important fashion item.
This made a clear statement and told about the fashion and style of the era.
Maps
The maps also throw light on the Elizabethan Age and this gives a lot of information about the areas, regions, boundaries and land and sea areas and confines.
The E-Journals also played an extremely helpful role in understanding the age and knowing about the lives and times of the Elizabethan and Renaissance era. Some also feature rare manuscript and early printed material, highly illustrated maps. Documents, diaries and ships’ logs from some of the most well-known voyages.
Age of Exploration and Inventions- Printing Press
The inventions made and the gadgets and things used tell us that the Renaissance man was eager to explore and explode into the new modern era of knowledge, learning, education and modernism and culture. The important inventions like the Printing Press, The Mariners Compass, The Submarine, The Microscope, The Artillery, Eyeglasses, The Mechanical clock are all important gadgets of the Renaissance era. The invention of the steam engine led to The Industrial Revolution.
Sculptures
The sculptures show that mainly porcelain was used.
Many chandeliers were made of glass and used for decoration. They were exquisite and tells about the rich taste of the Elizabethan and Renaissance man.
There were other sculptures like that of deities, Saturn, Cupid etc. These are exhibited in many national and state museums like The Cleveland Art Museum, The London Museum, etc.
The National Museums exhibit many sculptures in the form of nymphs.
Letters and Diaries
Letters and diaries of the Renaissance era are very important documents of the times like the letters of Elizabeth I and other personal accounts and diaries.
Also, personal diaries like the experiences of women and biographies also contribute to information about the age.
These give so much information about day-to-day lives including domestic life, economics, intellectual life, material life, politics, religion, and recreation.
The Portraits and Photographs
The Renaissance portraits and photographs also throw light on the age. Some of them are very beautiful and intricately done like the portrait of Queen Elizabeth.
These show how the ladies looked like, what they liked to wear and what was the age all about.
So, we see there are a whole lot of primary sources to know and study about the Renaissance Age. The historians depend a lot on these sources because they are authentic and throw light on the lives, times, age and the way people lived. It shows both the historical and social factors of the changing times and the English Chronology.
The Authenticity
These primary sources are very valuable as they are authentic. Some of them are very old and valuable. They are very nicely preserved in the state museums, libraries and government records and files. These are first-hand records and information about the prestigious Renaissance Era and show a transition from the Medieval to the Modern.
