''The Masque of Indian and China Knights'' was performed at
Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...
in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
, England on 1 January 1604. The
masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...
was not published, and no text survives. It was described in a letter written by
Dudley Carleton. The historian Leeds Barroll prefers the title, ''Masque of the Orient Knights''.
Background
This masque marked the return of the royal households to London after an outbreak of plague. The households of
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...
and
Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to:
People
*Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father
*Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460)
*Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...
had travelled to
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, and entertained themselves in October with the masque, ''
Prince Henry's Welcome at Winchester
''Prince Henry's Welcome at Winchester'' was a masque produced by Anne of Denmark and performed in 1603 at Winchester on a day between 11 and 17 October.
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (1594–1612) was the son of James VI and I and Anne of D ...
''. The French ambassador,
Christophe de Harlay, Count of Beaumont Christophe de Harlay, Count of Beaumont (1570–1615) was a French politician and diplomat who served as ambassador to England.
He was the son of Achillee de Harlay, seigneur de Beaumont (1504–1572) and Catherine de Thou. He married Anne Rabot in ...
, heard that Anne of Denmark was planning more superior and costly events for Christmas time, to be realised as this masque and ''
The Vision of the Twelve Goddesses
''The Vision of the Twelve Goddesses'' was an early Jacobean-era masque, written by Samuel Daniel and performed in the Great Hall of Hampton Court Palace on the evening of Sunday, 8 January 1604. One of the earliest of the Stuart Court masqu ...
''.
Merry gentlemen
Arbella Stuart
Lady Arbella Stuart (also Arabella, or Stewart; 1575 – 25 September 1615) was an English noblewoman who was considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I of England. During the reign of King James VI and I (her first cousin), she marrie ...
identifies the ''Masque of Knights'' and another masque as the invention of a group of male courtiers rather than the queen's personal production, writing on 18 December 1603 that she was their confidante, "Certain noblemen (whom I may not yet name to you because some of them have made me of their counsel) intend another. Certain gentlemen of a good sort another". On 21 December
Dudley Carleton wrote that the
Duke of Lennox
The title Duke of Lennox has been created several times in the peerage of Scotland, for Clan Stewart of Darnley. The dukedom, named for the district of Lennox in Dumbarton, was first created in 1581, and had formerly been the Earldom of Lenno ...
was the deviser or producer of the masques to be performed by men, "We shall have a merry Christmas at Hampton Court, for both male and female masques are all ready bespoken, whereof the Duke is ''rector chori'' of the one side, and the
Lady Bedford of the other".
Travellers from afar
The general theme of the masque is a visit of knights from distant lands to the new Stuart court in England. Their foreigness may have been intended to put into perspective differences between Scottish and English courtiers. The representation of a Chinese magician in the masque can be seen as an example of
cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from ...
, while the imagined country he describes seems, from Carleton's report, to be a kind of fictionalised
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
.
Precedents for this drama can be found in the records of the Scottish court. The ''Navigatioun'' of
Alexander Montgomerie
Alexander Montgomerie (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair Mac Gumaraid) (c. 1550?–1598) was a Scottish Jacobean courtier and poet, or makar, born in Ayrshire. He was a Scottish Gaelic speaker and a Scots speaker from Ayrshire, an area which wa ...
was an entertainment in the Christmas season 1579/80. This masque involved the torchlit entrance at
Holyrood Palace
The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinbu ...
of a narrator and his companions, a "Turk, the More, and the Egyptien". The court musicians were bought "mask claithis" comprising red and yellow taffeta with swords and daggers. Montgomerie's prologue alludes to the
Magi
Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin ''magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...
and
Epiphany
Epiphany may refer to:
* Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight
Religion
* Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ
** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...
to flatter James VI as the
Northern Star. James was also characterised as
Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
. The masque was followed by dancing. The king's favourite,
Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox
Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Earl of Lennox, 6th Seigneur d'Aubigny, (26 May 1583) of the Château d'Aubigny at Aubigny-sur-Nère in the ancient province of Berry, France, was a Roman Catholic French nobleman of Scottish ancestry ...
may have been involved in this entertainment; the narrator describes himself as "german born", meaning he is a cousin.
At the masque celebrating the
baptism of James VI The Baptism of James VI was celebrated at Stirling Castle in December 1566 with a masque, fireworks, and a staged assault on a mock fortress.
Prince James
James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. He was born on 19 ...
in 1566, Indian
nereid
In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; grc, Νηρηΐδες, Nērēḯdes; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanids, Oceanid Doris ...
s had used compasses to navigate their way to
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...
following the
Great Bear from the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
. The Indian knights at
Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...
may have represented
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.
Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...
. During the
inaugural Entry of Anne of Denmark into Edinburgh in May 1590, actors portrayed the "
Moirs of Ind", who dwelt in harmony and abundance by "Synerdas", who had sailed to Scotland to offer her the wise counsel of their "most willing minds".
The performance at Hampton Court may have been influenced by French practice, the ambassador the Comte de Beaumont said Lennox's ''ballet'' was organised ''à la Française'' and the
Earl of Worcester
Earl of Worcester is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England.
Five creations
The first creation came in 1138 in favour of the Norman noble Waleran de Beaumont. He was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leices ...
described another of the January masques as a "ballet" rather a masque. Beaumont also mentions a third masque, a ''ballet d'Écossais'', the Scottish masque. Carleton says this was a masquerade on 6 January by "Scotchmen" in the Queen's presence involving a
sword dance
Sword dances are recorded throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic) sword dances from Africa, Asia and Europe.
General types of sword dance include:
*solo dancers around swords – such as t ...
comparable to a Spanish ''
matachin
Matachines (Spanish singular ''matachín''; sword dancers dressed in ritual attire called bouffon) are a carnivalesque dance troupe that emerged in Spain in the early 17th century inspired by similar European traditions such as the moresca. Th ...
''. There are some similarities in Carleton's description of the ''Masque of Knights'' with the ''Ballet des Princes de la Chine'' performed at the French court in 1601. One of the 1604 masquers, Lord Aubigny, younger brother of Lennox, may have attended this ballet in person.
David Bergeron notes in connection with the ''Masque of Knights'' that the Duke of Lennox had previously helped to plan the reception of Anne of Denmark in May 1590 and the
masque at the baptism of Prince Henry
The Masque at the baptism of Prince Henry, (30 August 1594) was a celebration at the christening of Prince Henry at Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both ...
at
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...
in 1594, and mentions that Lord Aubigny hosted
Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
from 1604 onwards.
The show
According to the report of
Dudley Carleton, the masque was staged at night after a performance of a
Robin Goodfellow
In English folklore, Puck (), sometimes known as Robin Goodfellow, is a domestic and nature sprite, demon, or fairy.
Origins and comparative folklore Etymology
The etymology of ''puck'' is uncertain. The modern English word is attested alre ...
play, probably ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
''. The scene opened with Heaven, built in the hall, from where a Chinese magician made a long speech describing his country, comparing it "for strength and plenty" with England. He announced the arrival of "certain Indian and China knights", who he had magically conveyed on clouds to Hampton Court. A curtain or "traverse" was pulled back to reveal the masquers playing the knights and carrying torches and lanterns. After some songs, the masquers approached the king in turn.
William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, presented
James VI and I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
with a shield bearing an impresa or poem, which he explained. He gave the king an expensive jewel. Dudley Carleton wrote that King James was planning to buy this jewel from the financier
Peter Vanlore
Sir Peter Vanlore (c. 1547 – 6 September 1627) was a Dutch-born English merchant, jeweller and moneylender in Elizabethan and Stuart England.
Biography
He was born circa 1547 in Utrecht, Netherlands, the third son of Maurits van Loor a ...
. The jewel cost "a great sum of money", although the price mentioned by Carleton, £40,000, seems far too high. The jewel was perhaps a diamond with a pendant pearl delivered with a ruby ring to the king on 1 January, which cost £760. Soon after King James obtained a large table ruby and two lozenge diamonds, for which he sent Vanlore a parcel of
Queen Elizabeth's jewels worth £5492-11s-2d in part-payment.
The other masquers presented shields with emblems.
Philip Herbert's shield depicted a horse in a green field, which he explained was descendent of Alexander's
Bucephalus
Bucephalus or Bucephalas (; grc, Βουκεφάλας, ; – June 326 BC) was the horse of Alexander the Great, and one of the most famous horses of classical antiquity.
Ancient historical accounts state that Bucephalus' breed was tha ...
. The king made a joke about a showman called
Bankes whose act involved a dancing and calculating horse, and then on cue, the formal dance of the masque took place. Next, Anne of Denmark and her ladies in waiting joined in the dancing, "taken out" of the audience by the masquers. Carleton mentions the
Countess of Bedford, the
Countess of Hertford,
Susan Vere,
Penelope Rich
Penelope Rich, Lady Rich, later styled Penelope Blount (''née'' Devereux; January 1563 – 7 July 1607) was an English court office holder. She served as lady-in-waiting to the English queen Anne of Denmark. She was the sister of Robert Devereu ...
, and
Lady Southwell the elder. The event ended with the return of the magician who dissolved the entertainment by revealing the identities of the eight masqued English and Scottish courtiers.
Some surviving music was copied by Nicholas Le Strange from the January 1604 masques at Hampton Court. William Bankes and his famous horse had visited Edinburgh in April 1596.
The courtier
Roger Wilbraham
Sir Roger Wilbraham (4 November 1553 – 31 July 1616) was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and held a number of positions at court under James I, including Master of Requests and survey ...
wrote a summary of his impressions of the entertainments at court in January 1604 and their costs;
King James was at his court at Hampton, where the French, Spanish, and Polonian ambassadors were severallie solemplie feasted, many plaies & daunces with swordes, one mask by English & Scottish lords, another by the Queen's Maiestie & eleven more ladies of her chamber presenting giftes as goddesses. These maskes, especially the laste, costes £2000 or £3000, the aparells, rare musick, fine songes, and in jewels most riche £20,000, the least to my judgment, & her Majestie £100,000">ewels forher Majestie £100,000, after Christmas was running at the ring Running at the ring or tilting at the ring was an equestrian tournament activity practiced at European royal courts. Participants rode at full speed to thrust the point of the lance through a ring or to hook a ring and carry it off. A performer was ...
by the King & 8 or 9 lords for the honour of those goddesses & then they all feasted together privatelie."
The masquers
The eight courtiers wore robes of crimson satin embroidered with gold and dressed with silver lace over silver doublets, with swords and hats with an Indian bird feather. These costumes, according to Dudley Carleton, were too cumbersome for dancing.
*
Thomas Somerset, Master of Horse to Anne of Denmark
*
Henry Goodere or Goodyer (c.1571-1627), a friend of
John Donne
John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...
and
William Fowler. His daughter Lucy was a member of the household of
Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford
Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford ( Harington; 1580–1627) was a major aristocratic patron of the arts and literature in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, the primary non-royal performer in contemporary court masques, a letter-writer, and a ...
and married
Francis Nethersole
Sir Francis Nethersole (1587–1659) was an English diplomat, secretary to the Electress Elizabeth, Member of Parliament for Corfe Castle, Dorset, and a Civil War political pamphleteer.
Early life
Francis Nethersole was second son of John Neth ...
.
[Maurice Lee, ''Dudley Carleton to John Chamberlain, 1603-1624'' (Rutgers UP, 1972), p. 307.]
*
William Herbert
*
Philip Herbert
*
Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox
Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond (29 September 157416 February 1624), lord of the manor, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a Scotland, Scottish nobleman who through their paternal lines was a second cousin o ...
*
Esmé Stewart, Lord Aubigny
*
James Hay James Hay may refer to:
*James Hay (bishop) (died 1538), Scottish abbot and bishop
*James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle (c.1580–1636), British noble
*James Hay, 2nd Earl of Carlisle (1612–1660), British noble
*James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll (1726 ...
*
Richard Preston
Richard Preston (born August 5, 1954) is a writer for ''The New Yorker'' and bestselling author who has written books about infectious disease, bioterrorism, redwoods and other subjects, as well as fiction.
Biography
Preston was born in Cambri ...
References
External links
Shakespeare, Plague, and Christmas at Hampton Court, Brett Dolman, HRP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masque of Indian and China Knights
English Renaissance plays
1604 plays
1604 in England
Masques
Court of James VI and I
European court festivities
Hampton Court Palace