''The Coronation Triumph'' is a Jacobean era literary work, usually classed as an "entertainment," written by

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 ...

for the coronation of King

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

and performed on 15 March

1604 Events January–June * January 1 – ''The Masque of Indian and China Knights'' is performed by courtiers of James VI and I at Hampton Court. * January 14 – The Hampton Court Conference is held between James I of England, ...

. Jonson's work was half of a total performance, the other half written by Thomas Dekker. The work was especially significant in the developing literary career of Jonson, in that it marked the commencement of his role as a writer of

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 masq ...

s and entertainments for the Stuart Court, a role he would fill for the next three decades. The entertainment "confusingly goes by several names" – including ''The King's Entertainment,'' and ''Part of the King's Entertainment in Passing to His Coronation.'' Under the latter title, Jonson's work was entered into the

Stationers' Register The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including prin ...

on 19 March 1604 and published later that year along with another of his Stuart entertainments, '' The Entertainment at Althorp,'' in a

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

printed by Valentine Simmes for the bookseller

Edward Blount Edward Blount (or Blunt) (1562–1632) was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras, noted for his publication, in conjunction with William and Isaac Jaggard, of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays in 1623. He ...

. The work was reprinted in the first folio collection of Jonson's works in 1616, and was included in the collected works thereafter. (Dekker's portion, which included contributions from

Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...

John Webster John Webster (c. 1580 – c. 1632) was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies '' The White Devil'' and '' The Duchess of Malfi'', which are often seen as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. His life and c ...

, and Stephen Harrison, was published separately in the same year, as ''The Magnificent Entertainment Given to King James.'') Jonson's text is dominated by a range of mythological figures (

Euphrosyne Euphrosyne (; grc, Εὐφροσύνη), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, was one of the Charites, known in ancient Rome as the ''Gratiae'' (Graces). She was sometimes called Euthymia (Εὐθυμία) or Eutychia (Εὐτυχία). F ...

;

Plutus In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Plutus (; grc-gre, Πλοῦτος, Ploûtos, wealth) is the god and the personification of wealth, and the son of the goddess of agriculture Demeter and the mortal Iasion. Family Plutus is most common ...

; others) and personifications (

Agape In Christianity, agape (; ) is "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for man and of man for God". This is in contrast to philia, brotherly love, or philautia, self-love, as it embraces a deep and profound sacrificial love ...

;

Eudaimonia Eudaimonia ( Greek: εὐδαιμονία ; sometimes anglicized as eudaemonia or eudemonia, ) is a Greek word literally translating to the state or condition of 'good spirit', and which is commonly translated as 'happiness' or 'welfare'. In w ...

;

Eleutheria The Greek word "ἐλευθερία" (capitalized Ἐλευθερία; Attic Greek pronunciation: ), transliterated as eleutheria, is an Ancient Greek term for, and personification of, liberty. Eleutheria personified had a brief career on coins ...

; Theosophia; Tamesis, for the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

; others) reciting the praises of the new monarch. It was performed while James's coronation procession passed through a series of triumphal arches. E. K. Chambers, ''The Elizabethan Stage'', 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923; Vol. 3, p. 391. Jonson's first attempt to win royal patronage had not been a success: his play ''

Cynthia's Revels ''Cynthia's Revels, or The Fountain of Self-Love'' is a late Elizabethan stage play, a satire written by Ben Jonson. The play was one element in the ''Poetomachia'' or War of the Theatres between Jonson and rival playwrights John Marston and T ...

'' was a failure when acted at Court in

1601 This epoch is the beginning of the 400-year Gregorian leap-year cycle within which digital files first existed; the last year of any such cycle is the only leap year whose year number is divisible by 100. January 1 of this year (1601-01-01) ...

, and led to no preferment from

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen ...

. His luck with the new dynasty was much better: Jonson composed several more entertainments in the early

Jacobean era The Jacobean era was the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of James VI of Scotland who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I. The Jacobean era succeeds the Elizabethan era and precedes the Ca ...

, and in 1605 his first masque, ''

The Masque of Blackness ''The Masque of Blackness'' was an early Jacobean era masque, first performed at the Stuart Court in the Banqueting Hall of Whitehall Palace on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1605. It was written by Ben Jonson at the request of Anne of Denmark, the ...

,'' was presented at

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...

. From that time down to '' Chloridia'' in

1631 Events January–March * January 23 – Thirty Years' War: Sweden and France sign the Treaty of Bärwalde, a military alliance in which France provides funds for the Swedish army invading northern Germany. * February 5 &ndash ...

, Jonson was the primary author of masques for the Stuart Court.

References

External links

Facsimile of the original 1604 quarto edition

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coronation Triumph, The Masques by Ben Jonson English Renaissance plays 1604 plays