The Masque of Flowers was an entertainment on 6 January 1614 to celebrate the marriage of Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset and Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset. [2]
The Masque of Flowers was an entertainment on 6 January 1614 to celebrate the marriage of Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset and Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset. [2]
The masque was performed by the gentlemen of Gray's Inn at the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace. [3] Francis Bacon gave £2000 towards the expenses, refusing an offer of £500 from Henry Yelverton so that he would pay the whole charge and have the honour. [4] Courtiers called it "Mr Attorney's Masque". [5] Bacon owed his promotion to Attorney General to Somerset. [6] Flowers was the last of a number of entertainments, including Thomas Campion's The Somerset Masque, Ben Jonson's A Challenge at Tilt and The Irish Masque at Court, and Thomas Middleton's lost Masque of Cupids. [7] [8]
The author is unknown. The masque was published with a dedication to Francis Bacon. The music is attributed to John Coprario and John Wilson. James VI and I, Anne of Denmark, and Prince Charles attended and afterwards held a banquet with the performers. [9]
The theme has the Sun devise a contest between Winter "Invierno" and Spring "Primavera". That wine was more worthy than tobacco was debated. Men transformed to flowers would be men again. [10]
Silenus, companion of Dionysus the ancient god of wine, entered riding an artificial ass. "Kawasha" dressed with tobacco leaves was carried into the hall by two actors dressed as the inhabitants of Florida, followed by his sergeant carrying a tobacco pipe as big as a caliver rifle. Thirteen masque dancers represented flowers. [11]
Kawasha was the name of a Native American god of tobacco in Virginia, according to Thomas Harriot. [12] [13] Samuel Purchas described the worship of "Kiwasa" in Florida. [14] The wedding entertainments reference colonial enterprise because the bride's father, Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, was an investor. [15]
According to the 1614 publication, the flower dancers were "apparelled in doublets and round hose of white satin; long white silk stockings; white satin pumps; the doublet richly embroidered in curious panes with embossed flowers of silver, the panes bordered with embroidery of carnation silk and silver; the hose cut in panes answerable to the embroidery of the doublets; the skirts of the doublets embroidered and cut into lily-flowers, and the wings set forth with flowers of several colours, made in silk and frosted with silver; ruff-bands edged with a lace of carnation silk and silver, spangled very thick, and stuck full of flowers of several kinds; fair vizards and tresses; delicate caps of silk and silver flowers of sundry kinds, with plumes of the same, in the top whereof stuck a great bunch of egrets; every Masker's pump fastened with a flower suitable to his cap; on their left arms a white scarf fairly embroidered sent them by the Bride, and on their hands a rich pair of embroidered gloves, sent them by the Bridegroom". [16]
Bacon, probably informed by his experience funding The Masque of Flowers, [17] wrote: "colours that show best by candlelight are white, carnation, and a kind of sea-water green; and oes and spangs as they are of no great cost, so they are of most glory. As for rich embroidery it is lost and not discerned". Sea green costume was used in the masques of Anne of Denmark and also appears in her wardrobe inventory. [18] [19]
Katherine Howard, Countess of Suffolk was an English court office holder who served as lady-in-waiting to the queen consort of England, Anne of Denmark.
Margaret Stuart, Scottish aristocrat and courtier in England. She served as lady-in-waiting to the queen consort of England, Anne of Denmark. She was the daughter of James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray, and Elizabeth Stuart, 2nd Countess of Moray. The sailor and patron of Ben Jonson, Sir Frances Stuart was her brother.
Hymenaei, or The Masque of Hymen, was a masque written by Ben Jonson for the marriage of Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, and Lady Frances Howard, daughter of the Earl of Suffolk, and performed on their wedding day, 5 January 1606. The costumes, sets, and scenic effects were designed by Inigo Jones, and the music composed by Alfonso Ferrabosco.
Sir Henry Yelverton was an English lawyer, politician, and judge.
Thomas Somerset, 1st Viscount Somerset (1579–1651) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1601 and 1611. He was raised to the Peerage of Ireland in 1626.
Lady Audrey Walsingham was an English courtier. She served as Lady of the Bedchamber to queen Elizabeth I of England, and then as Mistress of the Robes to Anne of Denmark from 1603 until 1619.
Tethys' Festival was a masque produced on 5 June 1610 to celebrate the investiture of Prince Henry (1594–1612) as Prince of Wales.
Sir Edward Zouch of Woking was a courtier to English kings James and Charles I, a masque actor, and Knight Marshal of the King's Household.
Mary Gargrave was a courtier to Anne of Denmark.
Elizabeth Howard (1564—1646) was an English aristocrat and courtier to Elizabeth I of England.
Elizabeth Howard, Lady Knollys, was a courtier to Anne of Denmark.
Cecilia Crofts, courtier and maid of honour to Henrietta Maria, subject of poems.
Dorothy Speckard or Speckart or Spekarde was a courtier, milliner, silkwoman, and worker in the wardrobe of Elizabeth I of England, Anne of Denmark, Prince Henry, and Henrietta Maria. Her husband, Abraham Speckard, was an investor in the Somers Isles Company which colonised Bermuda.
Elizabeth Southwell (1584–1631) was an English courtier who lived in Florence.
The wardrobe of Mary, Queen of Scots, was described in several contemporary documents, and many records of her costume have been published.
Anne of Denmark (1574–1619) was the wife of James VI and I. She visited Bath, Somerset in the belief that drinking and bathing in mineral waters could improve her health. The warm springs at Bath had been used for medicinal purposes since Roman times. During her progresses to Bath she was entertained at country houses along the way. The court physician Théodore de Mayerne left extensive notes in Latin describing his treatment of Anne of Denmark from 10 April 1612 to her death. Primarily, she was seeking help for gout or dropsy, a swelling of the legs and feet which made walking difficult. Her companion and servant Jean Drummond described an occasion when the queen was unable to set her swollen foot on the ground. During these progresses, Anne of Denmark visited or came near some of the lands and manors included in her jointure lands, including Corston, and was able to promote the image of the Stuart monarchy.
The wedding of Elizabeth Stuart (1596–1662), daughter of James VI and I, and Frederick V of the Palatinate (1596–1632) was celebrated in London in February 1613. There were fireworks, masques, tournaments, and a mock-sea battle or naumachia. Preparations involved the construction of a "Marriage room", a hall adjacent to the 1607 Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace. The events were described in various contemporary pamphlets and letters.
Oes or owes were metallic O-shaped rings or eyelets sewn on to clothes and furnishing textiles for decorative effect. Made of gold, silver, or copper, they were used on clothing and furnishing fabrics and were smaller than modern sequins. They were made either from rings of wire or punched out of a sheet of metal.
Christopher Shawe or Shaw 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.
Benjamin Henshawe (1585–1631) was a London merchant tailor and silkman who supplied fabrics and passementerie for costume and furnishings for the royal court. His widow, Anna Henshawe, continued in business with William Geere.