Tudor Tales

A vivacious collection of stories from Tudor times, handed down through generations of storytellers

People long ago were no different from us: they laughed at the same things we do today, a fact that can be seen in Tudor folk tales. These were the stories that were told in alehouses and market places in days gone by and later collected in "chapbooks," the cheap print of the period. These entertaining stories are gleaned from these early sources, and are presented here alongside brief introductions and select court records from the time to help set them in context. This is not a book about Kings and Queens, but rather the "common sort," from quarreling scolds to coney-catchers--cheats plying their trade in the very tavern yards where the tales the author now tells were shared long ago.