While historians have made use of early modern English diaries as a source for information on a variety of subjects there has been little corresponding research beyond a few select biographies into those people who actually wrote the diaries of this period. From the first English diaries of the fifteenth century to the end of the seventeenth a picture can be pieced together of the growing number of diarists, their status, economic backgrounds, and where they wrote these highly personal documents. In terms of gender it is clear that although female diarists were in a minority, their ability to write analytical and intimate accounts of their lives and close environment differed little from that of their male counterparts. In terms of occupation it is evident that great events and dangerous times inspired men to re-create their lives on paper. Consequently, military and naval diaries collectively make up the largest occupation for diarists. However, diarists also earned their livings from trade, the law, as astrologers, farmers and also, in one case, as a theatreowner. Moreover, the spread of diaries across England during the period shows that this personalized form of writing was not confined to the capital or to England's universities.
Society accepts that people need time for recreation, and that we are naturally inclined towards play and seeking pleasure. Recreation time helps us to recharge our batteries and relieve stress, and makes us more able to function within our respective social and economic roles. By using evidence taken from diaries written between 1500 and 1700 this article seeks to examine the role and function of recreation in English society within the context of the early modern period. This contemporary writing shows how language was employed to describe the functions of recreation and in particular its association with the concept of refreshment and regeneration in terms of mind, body and soul.
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