Court masque documents

Princess Elizabeth's Wedding masques and entertainments 1613 (source: Venetian ambassador's state papers)

I will now close this account of the wedding festivals with some curious details about the Masques. The first, which was at the King's charges, and was danced by ladies and gentlemen of title, was remarkable for the decoration of the theatre, for three changes of scene, for the dresses and for nine choruses of voices and instruments. The Masque of Monday appeared in this order. First came a hundred gentlemen on horseback, accompanied by a hundred grooms with lights in their hands. Then followed a little Masque on horseback with a large number of torches all alone; then two triumphal cars with musicians dressed in silver with turbans on their heads. These represented the priests of the Sun in Virginia. Then came the great Masque, all being dressed in cloth and silver, golden suns, and plumes. They represented Princes of Virginia with crowns of feathers and pearls on their heads, and their hair down to their shoulders as is the custom of that country; their horses, too, were all caparisoned in silver and suns. Then came a hundred blacks dressed in gold and blue, the dress of Indian slaves. Then came a great number of lights borne by men on horseback, dressed in silver and gold, like the great Masque, except the crowns. Then a triumphal car with two figures inside, representing Honour and Riches, and round it marched two hundred halberdiers. When the King entered the Hall one saw a mountain all full of crags and on the top the Temple of Honour, made of silver; an octagon with silver statues round the cornice; on its summit two golden wings sprang from a silver ball, signifying that Fortune and her son Honour had resolved to settle for ever in this Kingdom. Hard by the Temple was a wood and in it a huge tree-trunk which contained the whole of the little Masque. Hardly had the King appeared when the crags came forward five paces towards his Majesty; clouds gathered, the mountain split, and there appeared a rich mine of gold with all the Masque inside and a vast number of torches; it all took place in a moment. Then appeared the sun as at its setting; the priests adored it and part of them sang to lutes; they were answered by voices and instruments from the Temple, and from other parts of the Hall. Then Riches began to speak and again the crags moved; then after great eulogies of the couple, pronounced by Riches and Honour, all the Masque began to dance a ballet, with such finish that it left nothing to be desired.

The last Masque (fn. 1) arrived by the river. It was preceded by twelve boats, filled partly with gentlemen and partly with music, all of them full of lights. On board the King's great brigantine came the Masque, followed by many other boats full of lights. At the entrance of their Majesties and their Highnesses, one saw the scene, with forests; on a sudden half of it changed to a great mountain with four springs at its feet. The subject of the Masque was that Jove and Juno desiring to honour the wedding and the conjunction of two such noble rivers, the Thames and the Rhine, sent separately Mercury and Iris, who appeared; and Mercury then praised the couple and the royal house, and wishing to make a ballet suitable to the conjunction of two such streams, he summoned from the four fountains, whence they spring and which are fed by rain, four nymphs who hid among the clouds and the stars that ought to bring rain. They then danced, but Iris said that a dance of one sex only was not a live dance. Then appeared four cupids, while from the Temple of Jove, came five idols and they danced with the stars and the nymphs. Then Iris, after delivering her speech, summoned Flora, caused a light rain to fall, and then came a dance of shepherds. Then in a moment the other half of the scene changed, and one saw a great plateau with two pavilions, and in them one hundred and fifty knights of Olympus, then more tents, like a host encamped. On the higher ground was the Temple of Olympian Jove, all adorned with statues of gold and silver, and served by a number of priests with music and lights in golden candelabra. The knights were in long robes of silk and gold, the priests in gold and silver. The knights danced, their robes being looped up with silver, and their dance represented the introduction of the Olympian games into this kingdom. After the ballet was over their Majesties and their Highnesses passed into a great Hall especially built for the purpose, where were laid long tables laden with comfits and thousands of mottoes. After the King had made the round of the tables everything was in a moment rapaciously swept away.

From: 'Venice: May 1613', Calendar of State Papers Relating to English Affairs in the Archives of Venice, Volume 12: 1610-1613 (1905), pp. 529-545. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=95717&strquery=masque Date accessed: 22 April 2013.

Letter from privy counsel to King, Whitehall, December1604, regarding the expense of Masque of Blackness

[The Council] to the King.

[1604 Dec.]

We have received your Majesty's letter of yesterday this morning at 9 o'clock, whereof the beginning worketh so great grief to our minds (because it expresseth the trouble of yours), as we shall find a thorn at our hearts until this letter be in your hands. In the rest of your letter concerning the masque, we observe what was your own intention; secondly what now you wish could be done; lastly the true judgment you make of your own estate and unwillingness to sign the warrant. In the first we perceive your Majesty had no purpose to give cause of any such charges at this time, but only wished some masque might be thought on (at such a festival time) to prevent any conceit of ominous presage. Wherein though we concur sofar, yet because we find, how justly you judge of those that wish your estate to be more safe by stay of expense, than it is in respect of your great necessities, we are bold to let your Majesty know how many Christmases pass without any such note; dancing, comedies, plays, and other sports having been thought sufficient marks of mirth, except some great strange prince or extraordinary marriages fell in that time. Secondly, where your Majesty conceiveth the Queen might have been in a masque, that should have had some fine ballets or dances, we are bold to say it were the ready way to change the mirth of Christmas, to offer any conditions where her Majesty's person is an actor; whereby we need say little because you know more than we of her Majesty's princely disposition, though we discern that we should make but an ill conclusion of such distinctions. And where your Majesty speaks that the Queen may bear her own charges if not the ladies', or else that commandment should be given to noblemen and gentlemen to make some jousts or barriers, we will be bold to say that the expenses of the Queen'sperson is the least part of the matter; and for particular expenses to be imposed upon others, your Majesty shall find two things—one that seeing there are not many able to undergo those charges, which are incident to the very halcyon days ofMarch, you may not expect to find many willing to undergo extraordinary charge often, which in former times hath been but seldom imposed upon them; the rather that many of thosethat did perform them then have made that a reason of that poverty wherein you found them, so it is much better when you will have the Queen in these exercises, to resolve beforehand that the expense must be your own; for as she will think it a scorn to draw such as are fit to attend her Majesty and suffer them to be at charges, so you must be assured in barriers there be few disposed for such exercises, that will not think every 100l.of theirs should deserve for a just ground for a suit of so many thousands. All which considered, we beseech your Majesty,that things may be so carried, that you fall not upon one rock when you would shun another. For although we must confess that some expenses, even in the government of richest princes ,receive not at all times the same interpretation, yet the change of this matter now for the saving of 4000l. would be more pernicious than the expense of ten times the value; for when ambassadors of foreign princes shall understand that eithe rking or queen would have a masque (if they had 4000l.), the judgment that will follow will be neither safe nor honourable.And therefore, seeing we may gather such continual comfort(by the too severe discipline which you are apt to use upony our personal desire), that you will well distinguish who they are, and what is their intention that shall go about by information to possess your ears, that kings cannot be served with love or counted grateful because your Majesty seeks to redeem your own estate from lack and your credit from discredit. We beseech your Majesty not to take it in ill part that we have presumed to suspend the knowledge of your mind for alteration by showing your letter written to ourselves, or by delivering this which we return to you again, whereby we may cross our own counsels, if the contents be like to the letter we have received; who intend to make provision of all things necessary, and think it standeth with our duties to offer this our humble advice.—Undated.
Draft corrected by Cranborne. 4 pp. (109. 89.)

From: 'Cecil Papers: December 1604,', Calendar of the Cecil Papers in Hatfield House, Volume 16: 1604 (1933), pp. 373-393. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=112210&strquery=masque Date accessed: 22 April 2013.