''Tethys' Festival'' was a

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 mas ...

produced on 5 June 1610 to celebrate the investiture of Prince Henry (1594–1612) as

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. Prince Henry, the son of

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 King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

and

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

, was made

in June 1610. Among the formalities and festivities of the occasion, the masque ''Tethys' Festival'' was performed by courtiers at

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...

. The script was written by

Samuel Daniel Samuel Daniel (1562–1619) was an English poet, playwright and historian in the late-Elizabethan and early- Jacobean eras. He was an innovator in a wide range of literary genres. His best-known works are the sonnet cycle ''Delia'', the epic ...

at the request of the queen, who appeared in person as Tethys, a goddess of the sea.

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...

designed the staging and scenery. A narrative of the masque was printed and a courtier also wrote a description of the event. The City of London had staged their pageant ''

London's Love to Prince Henry ''London's Love to Prince Henry'' (31 May 1610), was a pageant on the River Thames organised by the city of London for the investiture of Prince Henry as Prince of Wales. Organisation and composition This pageant was performed on the Thames betw ...

'' on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

on 31 May. During the performance Anne of Denmark gave Prince Henry an engraved sword, which may be the jewelled sword surviving in the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquess of Hertford, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wall ...

. The sword, set with diamonds, was supplied by the goldsmiths George Heriot and John Spilman, and described in inventories of the prince's jewels.

Summary

The stage was set with a representation of

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has been used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was ...

, a Welsh port, with boats bobbing in the harbour, framed by giant statues of

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

and

Nereus In Greek mythology, Nereus ( ; ) was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia ( the Earth), with Pontus himself being a son of Gaia. Nereus and Doris became the parents of 50 daughters (the Nereids) and a son ( Nerites), with whom Nereus ...

. The setting evoked Henry's Tudor ancestry, as Henry VII had landed at Milford Haven. Perhaps as an heir to a Tudor Arthurian tradition, during the masque Henry was to be presented with a sword by his mother. Robert Peake the Elder Henry Frederick Prince of Wales in Armour

Robert Peake the Elder Henry Frederick Prince of Wales in Armour

First

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

took the part of "Zephyrus", the messinger of spring, wearing fairy wings. He was flanked by two muscular "sea slaves" or Tritons, accompanied by eight young aristocratic women or

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who embodied ...

s, to a song describing how Tethys brought blessings to the Ocean King, who was King James. Next one of the Tritons explained the idea of the masque to James and Prince Henry, while the other gave a sword to Prince Charles. Charles got up and gave the sword to Henry, which was understood to be a gift from Tethys or rather Anne of Denmark, and also the sword of

Astraea In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Astraea (; ), also spelled Astrea or Astria, is a daughter of Astraeus and Eos. She is the virgin goddess of justice, innocence, purity, and precision. She is closely associated with the Greek goddess of ...

, a goddess of justice associated with

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 B ...

. Henry also received a scarf of "Love and Amity" which represented the British Isles. James got a trident representing rule over the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Wales. In his speech the Triton explained the particular significance of Milford Haven as a harbour in Wales where Henry VII began his Union of York and Lancaster. After this gift exchange, Charles returned to his position while twelve maidens, "all of them daughters of earls and barons", danced around him. Next in the harbour appeared Anne of Denmark seated on a raised throne with a back made like a silver scallop shell draped with gold cloth, set around with lanterns that showed liked jewels. Princess Elizabeth, as the nymph of Thames, sat at the queen's feet. On either side in caves or niches were six women masquers who represented the

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

s or guardian spirits of various rivers. They came down from their caverns one by one and marched in a meandering path towards the Tree of Victory where they offered flowers to the Ocean King. Tethys danced and then reposed under the Tree of Victory, twice. The nymphs then began to take out men from the audience to dance with. Near the end of the show, one of the tritons reappeared to prevent the audience making for the refreshments. Mercury descended from the roof to announce that Charles and six companions should follow him to bring back the queen and her companions, and restore them from their fishy forms. A scene resembling a wood appeared, from which the queen and her ladies were reunited with the king by Charles and his companions. The nautical theme included topical allusions in support of British fisheries and the herring industry, and an appeal against attacks on Spanish shipping.

Cast

Prince Charles was Zephyrus. Anne of Denmark was Tethys. Princess Elizabeth appeared as the companion or daughter of Tethys, the "Nymph of Thames". King James was addressed as Oceanus, King of the seas. The account by a spectator and the 1610 publication name the other women who appeared in Milford Haven harbour as;

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 ...

the "Nymph of Trent"; the Countess of Arundel the "Nymph of Arun"; the Countess of Derby the "Nymph of Derwent"; the Countess of Essex the "Nymph of Lee"; the Countess of Dorset the "Nymph of Air"; the Countess of Montgomery the "Nymph of Severn"; the Countess of Haddington the "Nymph of Rother"; Elizabeth Grey the "Nymph of Medway". Four sisters, daughters of

Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester, KG, Earl Marshal (c. 1550 – 3 March 1628) was an English aristocrat. He was an important advisor to King James I (James VI of Scots), serving as Lord Privy Seal. Career He was the only son of thre ...

danced as rivers of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

; Lady Catherine Windsor the "Nymph of Usk"; Katherine Petre (1575–1624) the "Nymph of Olwy"; Elizabeth Guildford the "Nymph of Dulesse" ( Dulas); and Mary Wintour the "Nymph of Wye".

Costumes

A handful of drawings by Inigo Jones for costumes survive. Daniel described the costumes in detail in his publication ''Tethys' Festival, or The Queen's Wake'' (1610). The river nymphs wore head-attire that appeared to be made from shells and coral, with veils attached. Their upper garments were of sky-blue taffeta embroidered with maritime motifs. They had half-skirts of silver cloth worked with gold (the groundwork cut-away), and longer underskirts called "bases" in the sky-blue taffeta. Around the hem of the skirt was a meander of lace like a river with sedge and seaweed banks in gold. At the shoulder was the same work as the half-skirts, with ruffed-out upper sleeves. The lower sleeves matched the bodice with maritime motifs. The satin shoes were embroidered like the short skirts. Costume suppliers included Dorothy Speckard and the Queen's silkman Thomas Henshawe (died 1611). The embroiderer

Christopher Shawe Christopher Shawe or Shaw (died 1618) was an English embroiderer and textile artist who worked on masque costume for Anne of Denmark. He was a member of the Worshipful Company of Broderers. Career In September 1589, Shawe married Isobel Buttes, o ...

worked on the skirts and produced cobweb silver lace with veins of silver and sea green silk, stitched with silver "O" shapes or " oes", and embroidered gold "oes" on tiffany. He also embroidered a pair of sea green satin shoes with gold and silver. Shaw later petitioned for payment for work done for the masque and other embroidery for the queen.

Mary Anne Everett Green Mary Anne Everett Green ( Wood; 19 July 1818 – 1 November 1895) was an English historian and archival editor. After establishing a reputation for scholarship with two multi-volume books on royal ladies and noblewomen, she was invited to assis ...

, ''CSP Domestic, James I: 1603–1610'' (London, 1857), p. 656 (TNA SP14/59 f.14).

References

Bibliography

* Samuel Daniel, ''Tethys festival, or, The Queenes wake'' (John Budge, London, 1610). * David M. Bergeron, 'Creating Entertainments for Prince Henry's Creation (1610)', ''Comparative Drama'', vol. 42, No. 4 (Winter 2008), pp. 433–449. * John Pitcher, '"In those figures which they seeme", Samuel Daniel's Tethys' Festival', in David Lindley, ''The Court Masque'' (Manchester, 1984), pp. 33–46.

External links

Sword of Henry, Prince of Wales, Wallace Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tethys' Festival 1610 plays 1610 in England English Renaissance plays Masques Court of James VI and I European court festivities Works by Samuel Daniel Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Anne of Denmark