On September 20 this year, the movie version of "Downton Abbey" will be released in North America. The story line of the movie version was set in 1927, and it is still the director and screenwriter of the TV drama version. Most of the actors of the drama version will return. As soon as the news comes out, everyone will pay attention.
was a popular British drama a few years ago. This was called the "British version of "Dream of Red Mansions"" which reproduced the life of the English aristocracy in the Edwardian era and the differences in life between different classes. Although the living habits, social etiquette, fashion and behavior of the British aristocracy have basically disappeared today, the old style remains attractive today. During the filming of
, the crew was rigorous and invited Alastair Bruce, a historian from aristocratic background, to act as a consultant to ensure that every detail in the TV series accurately reflects the life style of the British aristocracy in the last century. This rigorous attitude is produced Naturally, it has been widely welcomed by Britain and overseas. In the
play, Downton Abbey is not only a magnificent historical building, but also a symbol of a complete social system. The open and bright upstairs is a gorgeous space for the nobles, while the dark downstairs is the work area for the servants. , Most servants cannot show up upstairs without special circumstances.
upstairs and downstairs are not only real architectural partitions, but also distinct class gaps. The two classes up and down a staircase have completely different lifestyles, from the correct dressing for various occasions to hunting rules and so on. They are clearly distinguished, so that the audience can appreciate the real British society of the last century. Today, Lengyan will refer to this historian's explanation and lead everyone to experience the life of the British aristocracy.
For such aristocratic manor in the play, it is not easy to ensure its orderly operation. The servants have a clear division of labor and trivial responsibilities, but their ultimate goal is to ensure that the life upstairs is perfect and elegant, showing the grace of a nobleman.
is less than six in the morning, when the nobles upstairs are still sleeping, the servants downstairs are already busy. First of all, the female cooks were the first to get up in the entire house. After they woke up in the cold and awakened the other servants, they had to transport coal upstairs and light the stove to ensure that the owners upstairs got up in the warmth. The exclusive seat of the butler in the downstairs hall of
symbolizes power and status, and the other servants are full of awe for this throne. The host's personal servant (valet) and the lady's maid (maid) need to be ready to be summoned at any time before the host gets up. The two worlds upstairs and downstairs are connected by bells on the clock board. The
clock board is very impressive in the play. It can be said to be the most symbolic object of the relationship between the two classes. By convention, every day a male servant stands in front of the clock board and is responsible for recording and checking. Its function is like a school notice board. Whenever a bell with the master's name rings, it means that the master is calling, and the related servants need to appear in front of the master immediately.
Therefore, in the early morning a wall clock rang, also announcing the awakening of a certain master, and the personal servant's day of service also began. The close-fitting maid showed up in the room, opened the curtains and served the brewed tea, and prepared the clothes for the masters to wear for the day. The clock board below
keeps ringing, which means that the servants on the ground floor of this mansion are busy all day long, while upstairs, there are endless recreational and social activities.
How to Dress: The dress code
the nobles wear completely different from our current set of clothes to spend the whole day. They need to arrange different clothes according to the schedule of the day and prepare different clothes for different occasions. For example, when participating in cross-country horse racing, you must wear country-style tweed; while hunting, the dress is more solemn and traditional to show aristocratic style, such as this representative red hunting suit for men.
The noble women at the time might even change clothes up to seven times a day, including three meals a day, going out to visit friends, riding horses, drinking afternoon tea, and going to bed at night to change clothes, and every time they must ensure that the match is correct. The role of
noble costumes is far more than warm and beautiful. Various details have their own meaning, such as only married women can wear crown-shaped headdresses.
women do not wear gloves and men are no different from being naked to the people at the time, except that the ladies can take off their gloves and press them under the napkins during the meal, and at other times the gloves will almost never leave their hands. The dress of
noble men is always neat, to show their absolute power. In addition to clothes, hats were also an important part of the daily dress of people of all walks of life at that time.
The working class often wear cloth hats due to economic and status restrictions; the nobles have a very diverse choice, and they can wear almost all styles of fashionable hats. At that time, touching the brim of the hat with your hand was the most common way of greeting when walking on the road, but if the person you are talking to is equal to your identity, you sometimes need to take off your hat and chat. The strict dressing rules of
are also reflected in the servants of this family. Take the male servants as an example. As the facade of the whole family, they must ensure that they are dressed appropriately.
Their neat uniforms reflect the nobleness of the family, such as the family crest on the buttons. At the same time, the subtle differences in uniform styles also reflect the different levels. Generally, the clothes of the butler and the butler are somewhat different in places such as bow ties and vests.
How to Manage Time: Time management
Apart from being refined, the concept of time is also important. The
nobles’ outing activities match the seasons. Sports, hunting, dance parties and family gatherings have their own seasons. The upper-class celebrities follow this social calendar together. In the summer of London, exhibitions, dance parties and other activities are in full swing;
summer is coming to an end, and it is time to enter the golden hunting period of the year. The August grouse season, September quail season and October pheasant season follow one after another. The fox activity lasts from November to March of the following year.
Hunting activities in the upper class are also much more complicated than they are now. People who are responsible for catching the prey, scorers, and loader are often followed, and they are often overwhelming. All the nobles have to do is take guns and fire bullets.
Except for the actual shooting seconds, the long time is waiting for the prey, which provides time for everyone to talk, so all activities return to the essence of noble socialization.
In Downton Abbey, the gong on the first floor reminds everyone upstairs every day to make sure they do the corresponding thing at a certain time.
According to the living habits of the nobles at that time, the luncheon usually ends at around 2 o'clock, while the dinner can only start at around 8 o'clock in the evening, so the afternoon tea in the middle is an important part of daily life in Downton Abbey. It is not easy to prepare afternoon tea for the host. When shooting, it is necessary to pay attention to the table where the refreshments are placed in full alignment with the fireplace, so that the distance between the two sofas and the table is completely symmetrical and equal, and the exquisite sense of aristocratic life is created by precise furnishings similar to still life. The interesting thing about
is that in the same house drinking afternoon tea, the masters upstairs and the servants downstairs have different habits. Downstairs, because most of the tea sets used by the servants are of poor quality, directly pouring hot tea water may cause the tea set to burst. Therefore, it is usually necessary to pour milk first and then pour the tea. The nobles upstairs use fine porcelain, so Pour the tea first and then the milk.
The dressing gong ringing at night is very important. The dressing gong is a representative furnishing in the homes of large families in the Victorian era, and the Edwardian Downton Abbey still appears in the play.
Frequent walking around in huge buildings is time-consuming, laborious and inappropriate. It is convenient and solemn to use gongs instead. Every 7 o'clock in the evening, the butler Carson will ring the dressing gong to finally remind everyone upstairs to start putting on the most formal and exquisite full set of dinner dresses to welcome the grandest meal of the day. About an hour later, the gong sounded again to announce the start of the dinner.
How to Eat: dining etiquette
dinner as the most important meal, the preparation process is quite cumbersome, but the exquisite sense of aristocratic life is reflected through these complicated procedures.
tableware requires symmetrical and precise placement. Butlers usually use a ruler to check and adjust the distance between tables and chairs and between plates and cups. Of course, they must wear gloves when touching the tableware to avoid leaving marks on the silver tableware. . The spacing between the various tableware at the same position is also equal, and the placement of the restaurant chairs must also be accurately measured.
In addition, the competition of servants is also reflected in the dinner. Who is responsible for serving dishes and which dishes are served are not arbitrary arrangements, but instead reflects status and rights. The meat dishes are all presented by the first valet, and the second valet presents the second dish, side dish or vegetable dish. Tall and handsome male servants often have an advantage at this time because of their decent appearance, and they can also get more pay. The servants in the
restaurant will wait for the butler’s instructions, and the food will start after the signal is given. First of all, the old lady starts to take the meal, and the valet must stand behind her and remain absolutely still until she finishes taking the meal. After stepping back and waiting for a few seconds, they began to serve dishes for the next one. When multiple male servants followed and started serving the next dishes, they had to keep their movements synchronized every time they bend.
In short, they need to be like a row of robots, quiet and orderly, and can't interrupt the conversation of the owners. As a servant who can move freely in the two worlds upstairs and downstairs, the
housekeeper needs to cooperate with the chefs and provide meals and matching wines according to the preferences of the master and the guests.
In order to prepare a satisfying dinner table, the kitchen needs to be busy for several hours. The kitchen downstairs is like the engine room of the entire house, noisy and busy. Here, all kinds of food materials and fuels have to be brought in continuously, and there are things that need to be done at different times of the day. It is the enthusiasm downstairs that ensures the elegance and ease of life upstairs. The role of
hostess Cora in the dinner party is very important. She does not need to know anything about the work in the kitchen. The complicated details of preparing a dinner party that meets the standards of nobility are not within her scope. What she has to do is Let the dining table maintain a relaxed atmosphere, and control the rhythm and atmosphere of the whole family life through your own elegant manners rather than rigid and concrete commands.
dinner seats are usually arranged in advance, and others have to stand behind their chairs out of politeness before the hostess takes a seat. During the meal, it is very important to pay attention to observation, because the hostess determines the rhythm of the entire dinner. Before she drinks or eats, other people shouldn’t move the utensils; when the hostess puts the napkin on her lap, others can follow along; each dish should be eaten after the hostess starts to eat, but also She stopped eating after giving a signal to finish the meal with the utensils. When the hostess folds the napkin and puts it on the left side of the dinner plate, this is the signal to complete the dinner. The guest should make the same action and follow her away from the table after the hostess stands up. Of course, an excellent wife of a noble family will calmly take care of the dining situation of most of the guests, and try to make the host and guests enjoy themselves.
In addition, Cora's actions also determine which of you will talk to. When dining, everyone will pay attention to the direction of the hostess's turning. Once she turns, it means that everyone will start chatting with people on the other side, which ensures that people in adjacent seats have the same length of conversation. The implicitly compulsory social rules like
are not only for chatting, but also for the game of power and the exchange of interests. Many contracts and marriages are facilitated in this way.
A pleasant dinner is not simple for the host and the guest. The decent dining table is not just about the elegance of the meal. It is also very important to be familiar with tableware of different sizes and various types. Facing a large table of tableware, the order of use must be strictly followed. If it is too difficult to remember all the tableware, then focus on the plate from the outside. The inward order, the safest way to exchange for tableware is to follow the serving steps.
How to Marry: Marry considerations
When it comes to marriage, marriages of the British ruling class are rarely based on love, mainly for gaining rights and land. For aristocratic men, the control of the land is the top priority, and it must not be. segmentation. At that time, British women did not have inheritance rights.Without their own rights and status, it is naturally very important for them to marry a rich and powerful person.
A noble woman needs to see the king before she can get married, which shows that she has received the blessing of the monarch and will become a virtuous wife.
Every young girl who enters the palace needs to wear a white dress that symbolizes purity, feathers on her head and a veil. The number of feathers is strictly regulated. It symbolizes status. Unmarried girls wear two and married female guardians wear two. Three. The length of the scarf naturally has its requirements, from the shoulder to the floor, the length is not less than 3 yards.
saw the coming-of-age ceremony equivalent to the noble ladies, marking the beginning of the social season, followed by large and small gatherings for them to find a partner. At that time, noble parents would use a very thick book-"Berke&x27;s Peerage" as an indispensable tool for marriage, to verify the family title and social status of potential suitors for girls. This book records all the titled aristocrats in the UK. They are not necessarily wealthy, but for the aristocrats, ethnicity and blood are more important. Marriage is ultimately to expand the influence of the family.
The aristocratic class is not completely allowed to marry, but still pay attention to the right of the family, family name, history and title are all within the scope of a marriage. Compared with them, servants’ marriage and love issues are much simpler, because in principle, servants are not allowed to fall in love and marry, they have to serve the master for a lifetime. Once the servants get married, the master will doubt their loyalty and even face unemployment. In addition, the servants downstairs are busy all day long and rarely have the opportunity to walk out of the manor to see any world outside. In addition, the servants’ dormitories are mostly separated by men and women, and there is no separate room for married couples. So in the play The relationship between Anna and Bates can be regarded as an example that is idealized to be unreal.
How to Speak: Speaking appropriately
The passionate French Revolution a century ago frightened the British aristocracy, and it was this way that they promoted indifference as a fine tradition. This tradition is clearly manifested in their conversations. The English aristocracy has certain restrictions and rules to speak, and the overall style is formal, euphemistic and restrained. Z4z
Straightforward expression of emotion is rare for British gentlemen, who seem to be born without this gene. Being outspoken is often considered impolite by the British aristocracy, but their art of speaking can achieve the effect of lip-synching but still let everyone understand their true thoughts.
Some important social occasions have strict conversation etiquette. For example, in a dinner party, it is not safe to remain silent. Everyone who dines needs not only some small skills for gossip, but also some art of communication. The topic of money is too vulgar for the nobles who get everything by inheritance, and discussing money publicly seems to them to be the practice of upstarts.
is eloquent and not worthy of praise, because it is very important to talk about meals, and one must avoid being involved in any form of dispute, especially with the host.
Of course, the way of speaking of the nobles during the Edwardian era is not decent and elegant in all aspects. Sometimes these upper-class people even have to be "rude" to show their different dignity from ordinary people. The servants of
at that time were better to be taciturn. The best service in their opinion was to complete everything unobtrusively. Therefore, the servants upstairs should stay still no matter what they see or hear every day. Sensual and tight-lipped.
especially once you leave the manor, you must never reveal the secrets of the nobles to outsiders, because the dignity of the host is also their decent.
How to Raise Children: Raise Children
Restraint and subtlety are also shown in the process of nurturing offspring. The British aristocracy will never do it personally. Only during the afternoon tea time, the little nobles will be brought to their parents to stay for an hour, and the rest of the day will be looked after by the nanny and the baby maid.
of course, Even if it’s a brief appearance in front of parents, children must make sure to dress appropriately before leaving the nursery.
aristocratic boys are usually sent to boarding schools at around 7 years old, enter Eton, Harrow College at the age of 13, and finally enter prestigious schools such as Oxford and Cambridge;
girls have completely different growth experiences, and the tutor will be responsible for teaching They, make sure they have the qualities that a good wife should have. English, French, and embroidery are all compulsory courses for the noble ladies.
They can go out before marriage, but meeting with a foreigner alone without the company of a guardian will ruin their reputation.
"Downton Abbey" has a total of six seasons. As the plot unfolds, the time changes. The development of technology has allowed cars to replace horse-drawn carriages, but men still sit on the right and women on the left when riding in a carriage, continuing the gentleman's habit of using his right hand to protect women when riding in a carriage. In the same way, the physical division between the master and the servant before the upstairs and downstairs has become a glass panel between the cab and the back seat in the car, and the bell in the house has also become a microphone hanging next to the owner’s position, which is convenient for them to drive at any time. The officer gave instructions.
In short, although the progress of the times did have some impact on this ancient family, the dignity and elegance of the British aristocracy were still preserved in other ways. Today, in our opinion, the complicated and trivial etiquette norms are inherent to them, as if they breathe naturally. This is the importance of inheritance from generation to generation, and this kind of effortless dignity is what countless giants are eager for today. But it has been lacking.
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