The Tridentine Mass was in use between 1570-1962, so if you happen to be near a FSSP parish (or a St Piux X parish) you can get a feel for the atmosphere.
My grandparents got married in the 1940's. Mixed marriages weren't allowed then, either; my grandfather had to convert to Catholicism.
A few years earlier, during Elizabeth's reign, sacramental confession was considered very treasonous.
There's a bit about it over here. I didn't see specifics about the form that it took during those days when I glanced over a few pages, but you generally see "private" confession (vs public-on-the-steps kind of confession) from the 7th c. onwards, although even in the Didache (1st c) it makes reference to confessing your sins prior to gathering for the Eucharistic celebration. In the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) you have "mandatory" confession at least once per year, once you've reached the age of discretion. Like nowadays, the "
setting" might change depending on the resources of the church/parish-- you can GIS for "confessional booth" or "confessional chair" for an affluent cathedral, but
as long as you had a quiet corner, that
was all that was needed if someone needed to make an emergency confession. (Painting from
1450.) In general, though, the setting was regulated for normal confessions, with exceptions made for the ill, the dying, etc. Regarding face-to-face vs anonymous---
Anonymous confession, along with the confessional as we know it today, is generally attributed to an initiative of St. Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), the archbishop of Milan, Italy. Previously, the confessor would sit in a chair and the penitent, who usually was kneeling, was clearly visible to him.
In order to ensure modesty and discretion, Cardinal Borromeo mandated in 1564 that the confessionals in his diocese be closed on both sides with a grill between penitent and priest. Pope Paul V's Roman Ritual adopted this provision, which helped spread its use, although it did not become a universal practice until the 17th century.
re: garments, if you look at some of the Elizabethan
execution narratives from a decade or two prior to your setting, the way the priests were dressed sometimes makes a statement. So in some narratives, you have the priest wearing his cassock--- "I'm dying for my religion"--- and in other narratives, the narrator talks about how the priest is dressed as a gentleman-- "he's dying for his politics". There's a good article about the
history of clerical dress over here, and at what point what kind of garments were mandated.
The modern and more centralized legislation regarding clerical costume may be considered to begin with a constitution of Sixtus V, in 1589, insisting under the severest penalties that all clerics, even those in minor orders, should uniformly wear the vestis talaris and go tonsured. Offenders were to lose all title to their benefices or any other emolument which they held. Another edict issued under Urban VIII, in 1624, goes into greater detail. It directs that the cassock should be confined with a cincture, and that the cloak worn over it should normally, like the cassock, fall as low as the ankles. The under-dress, the hose included, should be modest, and dark in colour. All embroidery and lace upon collar or cuffs is forbidden. The hat shall be of approved shape, and a simple cord or ribbon shall form its only ornament. Infringements of these regulations are to be punished with a pecuniary fine.
