Black Trumpeter at Henry VIII's Tournament CROP (no source)

John Blanke (also rendered Blancke or Blak) (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1501–1511) was a musician of African descent in London in the early 16th century, who probably came to England as one of the African attendants of

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

in 1501. He is one of the earliest recorded

black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

in United Kingdom after the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

. His name may refer to his skin colour, derived either from the word "black" or possibly from the French word "blanc", meaning white.

Background

Historian Onyeka Nubia has written about John Blanke's possible origins in his 2013 book ''

Blackamoores ''Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, their Presence, Status and Origins'' is a 2013 non-fiction book by British historian and writer Onyeka Nubia which explores the history of Black people in Tudor-era England. Based on a study of 250,0 ...

: Africans in Tudor England, their Presence, Status and Origins''. and in two articles. One is "Tudor Africans: What's in a Name?" in October 2012 for ''

History Today ''History Today'' is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and pub ...

'' magazine and the other is "The Missing Tudors. Black People in 16th Century England" for the ''

BBC History Magazine ''BBC History Magazine'' is a British publication devoted to both British and world history and aimed at all levels of knowledge and interest. The publication releases thirteen editions a year, one per month and a Christmas special edition, an ...

'', published in July 2012. Little is known of Blanke's life, but he was paid 8 pence per day by

King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufo ...

. A surviving document from the accounts of the

Treasurer of the Chamber The Treasurer of the Chamber was at various points a position in the British royal household. 13th century The post of Treasurer of the Chamber first arose in the early 13th century. As part of the evolutionary changes that saw the Treasurer of the ...

records a payment of 20 shillings to "John Blanke the Blacke Trumpet" as wages for the month of November 1507, with payments of the same amount continuing monthly through the next year.Miranda Kaufmann
"Blanke, John (fl. 1507–1512), royal trumpeter"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. He successfully petitioned

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

for a wage increase from 8d to 16d.Michael Ohajuru
"John Blanke, Henry VIII’s Black Trumpeter, Petitions for a Back Dated Pay Increase"
''the many-headed monster'', 27 July 2015. Dr Sydney Anglo was the first historian to propose that the "Blanke Trumpet" in the 1507 court accounts was the same as the black man depicted twice in

the 1511 Westminster Tournament Roll The 1511 Westminster Tournament Roll is a painted roll of 36 vellum membranes sewn together. It is almost 60 feet long and 14 inches wide. The Roll depicts the joust called by Henry VIII in February 1511 to celebrate the birth of his son, Henry, D ...

,"Sydney Anglo: The Historian Who Identified John Blanke"
The John Blanke Project. in a footnote to an article about the Court Festivals of Henry VII. The Westminster Tournament Roll is an illuminated, 60-foot manuscript now held by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

; it recorded the royal procession to the lavish tournament held on 12 and 13 February 1511 to celebrate the birth of a son,

Henry, Duke of Cornwall Henry, Duke of Cornwall (1 January 1511 – 22 February 1511) was the first living child of King Henry VIII of England and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and though his birth was celebrated as that of the heir apparent, he died within week ...

(died 23 February 1511), to Catherine and

on New Year's Day 1511. John Blanke is depicted twice, as one of the six trumpeters on horseback in the royal retinue. All six of the trumpeters wear yellow and grey livery and bear a trumpet decorated with the

royal arms The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Varian ...

; Blanke alone wears a brown and yellow turban, while the others are bare-headed with longish hair. He appears a second time in the roll, wearing a green and gold head covering. Black trumpeters and drummers were documented in other Renaissance cities, including a trumpeter for the royal ship ''Barcha'' in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 1470, a trumpeter recorded as galley slave of

Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Life Rise to power Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 ...

in 1555, and black drummers in the court of

King James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

in Edinburgh.

Commemoration

In January 2022 a Nubian Jak

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

was installed in John Blanke's honour at King Charles Court, home to

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

's Faculty of Music at the

Old Royal Naval College The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstanding ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

. In May 2022 an exhibition ''The Tudors: Passion, Power and Politics'' at the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

displayed Blanke's two portraits on the Westminster Tournament Roll in public for the first time in 20 years. It was first time the document was shown outside London.

References

External links

The John Blanke Project

Background

Commemoration

References

External links

Further reading