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ANNALS OF THE STAGE,

DURING THE REIGN OF HENRY VIII.

HENRY VIII. had no sooner ascended the throne than the court amusements were placed upon a much more costly and extensive footing *; and perhaps the extravagance of this king in the pursuit of his pleasures has led, in some degree, to an unjust accusation of parsimony against his predecessor, who seems to have given liberal encouragement to the art of printing, as well as to poetry, music and the stage. During the reign of Henry VII. we meet with comparatively small charges A.D. for revels, but the disguisings, in the first Christmas after his son came to the crown, cost no less than 584l. 19s. 7d. for gold plate, silks and apparel, alonet. In the next year no similar items

1510.

*The Act of Apparel,' 3 and 4 Edw. IV., exempting 'pleyers in their enterludes,' has been already referred to, and in similar legislative regulations in the 6th and 7th Henry VIII., to fix the particular dress to be worn by different classes, it is provided expressly that none of the clauses shall extend to minstrells and players in interludes:' when these laws were revived in 24 Henry VIII. the exception was applied to' minstrells, players in interludes, sights, and revells.'

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According to Hall (Chron. An. 2, Henry VIII.) the King was a proficient in arms and arts: he shot with the bow, wrestled, played on instruments, sang and composed music, besides writing ballads.

'From thence the whole Courte removed to Wyndesore, then begyn'ning his progresse, exercising hym selfe daily in shotyng, singing,

occur among the King's expenses, and perhaps the money was paid out of some other fund, and carried to a different account; for we learn from Hall's Chronicle, that the exhibitions at Richmond, where the King kept his Christmas, were of a magnificent description: his words are these:

'Against the 12 daye or the daie of the Epiphane at nyghte, before the banket in the hall at Rychemound, was a pageaunt devised like a mountayne, 'glisteryng by nyght, as though it had bene all of

golde and set with stones; on the top of the whiche ' mountayne was a tree of golde the braunches and 'bowes frysed with gold, spreding on every side over the mountayne with roses and pomegranetts: the ⚫ which mountayn was with vices brought up towards 'the kyng, and out of the same came a ladye appareiled in clothe of golde, and the children of honour, 'called the Henchemen, which were freshly disguysed

and daunced a Morice before the kyng; and that 'done reentred the mountayne, and then it was drawen backe, and then was the Wassail or banket brought in, and so brake up Christmas.'

On the 13th of February solemn jousts were held; and after describing the tournament at length, Hall adds what is more to our purpose :-'After supper his grace with the Quene, Lordes and Ladies, came into

daunsyng, wrastelyng, casting of the barre, plaiyng at the recorders, flute, virginals, and in settyng of songes, makyng of ballettes, and 'did set ii goodly masses, every of them fyve partes, whiche were song ' oftentimes in hys chapel, and afterwardes in diverse other places.'

'the White Hall within the said Pallays, which was 'hanged rychely, the Hall was scaffolded and rayled

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on al partes. There was an Interlude of the Gentel⚫ men of his chapell before his grace, and divers fresh songes that done, his grace called to hym a greate man, or a Lord of Ireland called Odonell, whom in the presence of the Ambassadours he made knyght: 'then mynstrells beganne to play, the Lordes and Ladies beganne to daunce *."

During the festivities of Christmas, 1512-13, the A. D. King's players, and other performers who came 1513. out of Suffolk, acted at court; but in this year there is no entry of extraordinary expenses. Nevertheless it is evident from the account the old Chronicler just quoted gives of the nature of the performances, that some charge of the kind must have been incurred. He tells us that in this year a mask, a thing not seen afore in England,' was introduced; so that there must have been some difference, not now distinctly to be explained, between 'a mask' and 'a disguising.' Hall

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*The minstrels also on this occasion danced in disguises. A most extraordinary scene followed. The King and Lords entered the hall in a pageant on wheels, and they were to have retired into it again after the interlude, but the rude people' (as Hall terms them), in their rapacity for the finery of which it was composed, pulled it to pieces. After dancing, the King desired his nobles to tear the gold letters from their dresses and to fling them among the crowd, but the rabble could not be restrained: they broke in, stripped the king 'to his hosen and doublet, and all his companions in likewyse.' The guard interfered to put the people back,' or els, as it was supposed, more inconvenience had ensued.'

says: On the daie of the Epiphanie at night the king with xi other were disguised after the manner ' of Italie, called a maske, a thing not sene afore in England: thei were appareled in garmentes long and brode, wrought all with golde, with visers and cappes ' of gold; and after the banket doen these Maskers 'came in with the sixe gentlemen disguised in silke,

beryng staffe torches, and desired the ladies to 'daunce: some were content, and some that knew the 'fashion of it refused, because it was not a thing commonly seen. And after thei daunced and commoned together, as the fashion of the Maskes is, thei toke ' their leave and departed, and so did the Quene and ' all the ladies.'

The name of Richard Gibson has been inserted among the players of Henry VII., and early in the reign of Henry VIII. he was appointed Yeoman Tailor' to the King, and subsequently Sergeant-atArms and of the Tents and Revels*. In this capacity it was his business to superintend the preparations for the royal entertainments, and to keep accounts of the expenditure. Among some miscellaneous papers of this reign, in the Chapter-house, is a roll, of the items

* This fact appears by the following extract from MS. Cotton. Vitellius, F. V., giving an account of the burning of Gibson's son in the reign of Mary :-See also Strype, Eccl. Mem. iii. 413.

'The 13 day of November was Sant Erkenwold evyn, the 4 and 5 ' of K. and Quen, whent owt of Nugatt unto Smyth feld to be bernyd 3 men: on [one] was Gybsun, the sun of Serjant Gybsun, Serjant of 6 armes, and of the reyvells, and of the Kyngs tents, and 2 more, the " whyche here be ther names-Gybsun, Hald, and Sparow, thes 3 men,'

of the Revels in the 5th Henry VIII., including A.D. charges for masks and minstrelsy at Calais, 1515. while the King was at the siege of Terouenne, and after the taking of Tournay. The most curious part of this document relates to the Revels at Richmond during the festivities of Christmas, 1514-15, which thus commences :

For to do pleser the Kyngs grace, and for to pas 'the tyme of Chrestemas, by Sir Harry Gyllfurth [Guildford] Master of the Revells, was devysed an Interluit, in the wheche conteyned a moresks [moresco] of vj persons and ij ladys: wherfor by hys ' commandement, of our soveraine lord the Kyng, and ' at apoyntment of Sir Harry Gylforth, was preparyd, ' had and wrought dyvers and sundry garments.'

This is followed by a detail of the materials purchased for the making of the dresses, &c.; but before I mention a few of the particulars, it will render them more intelligible, if I quote a singular paper folded up in the roll, and in a different handwriting, giving an account of the nature of the exhibitions before the King on this occasion. Two interludes were performed, one by Cornyshe and the Children of the Chapel, and the other by English and the rest of the King's players, and the account of them is as follows:The Interlud was callyd the tryumpe of Love and Bewte, and yt was wryten and presentyd by Mayster Cornyshe and oothers of the Chappell of our soverayne lorde the Kyng, and the chyldern of the sayd Chapell. In the same Venus and Bewte dyd tryumpe

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