Feeling your way

Visiting the surgeon could prove a real pain

The darkness we encountered in the visual world discussed on page 24 explains why Elizabethans rely on their sense of touch far more than we do in the modern world. In short, they often cannot see where they are going. Hence finding objects, moving from room to room or even making a visit to the outhouse is much more a matter of touch than sight. Another variation in feeling relates to the things with which people surround themselves. Clothes vary hugely in texture, from very fine linen to coarse canvas. At the top end of society the finest fabrics, such as silk, lawn and velvet, provide a much greater range of soft tactile sensations than the textiles available to those at the bottom, who have to make do with canvas, buckram,…

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The Story of the Elizabethans (Digital) - 1 Issue, The Story of the Elizabethans 2020

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