Chivalry and Pageantry

This is an eighteenth century watercolour copy of the Tudor painting ‘The Embarkation of Henry VIII at Dover’- the first of two large paintings commemorating the celebrated meeting between King Henry and the French monarch Francis I at the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520.

Commissioned by Henry VIII and now in the Royal Collection, the painting shows the monarch setting sail for Calais and was no doubt designed to capture the might of his newly- established royal navy. (It is likely no accident that the perspective has been skewed to emphasise the impressive scale of Henry’s newly built warships).

The summit, instigated by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (Henry VIII’s chief minister), was intended as a very public celebration of the Treaty of Universal Peace, signed two years earlier. It also served as an opportunity to further unite the two nations. Before the treaty, the two young monarchs had been rivals, with Henry having invaded France in 1513. They were now united against the common threat of the Ottoman Empire and in their unease for the ever-growing empire of Charles of Hapsburg, ruler of the Netherlands, King of Spain, and Holy Roman Emperor. However, Henry’s personal pride and political ambition ensured that he still intended to exhibit the might and majesty of his forces and the magnificence of the English court and he travelled with a fleet of purpose-built warships, c. 800 elaborate tents, a portable palace and over 6000 noblemen, women, and servants.

Henry can be seen standing in the waist of a ship adorned with golden sails, presumably the Henry Grace à Dieu.

Pictured is an engraving by James Basire, taken from the second of two large paintings created to commemorate the occasion of Henry’s meeting with Francis I at the Field of Cloth of Gold.

The 7 June 1520 marked the start of an 18-day celebration known as the Field of Cloth of Gold in Guisnes, not far from the then English-owned Calais. One of the most spectacular events of Henry VIII’s reign, the summit consisted of a range of festivities: sports events, religious ceremonies, tournaments, entertainment, fireworks*, and banqueting.

The competitive magnificence between the two courts saw the English erect a full-sized temporary palace in the classical style, complete with brick foundations, classical pillars, glass windows, and carved sculptures; a chapel, a gallery, and a castle; Henry dined in a tent of cloth of gold (which can be seen directly behind the palace); and gold fountains ran with wine and beer. Not to be outdone, Francis had a large tent constructed, that stood 120 feet high. The tent of cloth of gold was adorned with astrological symbols and supported by two large mast-like structures, and the French king had the noblewomen of his court appear in the latest Italian Renaissance fashions. So lavishly decorated and sumptuous were the tents, pavilions, furniture and costumes of the attendees that the summit came to be known as the Field of Cloth of Gold.

The events that took place were equally impressive with chivalric jousting tournaments and feats of arms (combat on horseback and on foot) held every day except Sundays. Both monarchs were young, ambitious, and competitive and both were impressive in the joust. The jousting and feats of arms allowed them to display the strength and force of which they were both capable.

Here, the festivities that took place are shown in one composite view. The right foreground is dominated by the magnificent palace structure and behind this can be seen the jousting arena with the two royal couples watching the events. The impressive structure of Francis’ tent can be seen in the central distance, and the kite that took the form of a dragon can be seen hovering over the field in the top left. Henry appears three times.

This vellum jousting cheque is a rare and prestigious example of the scoresheets used in jousting tournaments during the Tudor period, with this particular cheque tallying the scores of a series of jousting contests hosted at the Field of Cloth of Gold during a meeting of King Henry VIII and the French King, Francis I, in 1520.

The cheque you see here would have been produced by a Herald – the officiator of the jousting tournament – and displays the shield of arms of Francis I with the collar of the Order of St Michael (top left) and Henry’s shield within the collar of the Garter (top right).

Between the royal arms you can see the score charts for nine pairs of knights, each of whom ran eight ‘courses’ – meaning they participated in eight stages of the event. The two columns of rectangles record several key elements of each jouster’s performance: Marks on the top line of each rectangle record successful hits – with marks above the top line showing a hit to the head, and below the line showing a hit to the body. Scores against the middle line tally how many lances were broken, and scores on the bottom line tally how many faults took place during each joust.

Jousting was one of the principal forms of entertainment for Tudor noblemen, with tournaments granting participants the chance to showcase their strength, athleticism and military prowess. Both Henry VIII and Francis I were highly skilled jousters, although the nature of this meeting – a peace summit – meant they didn’t participate in this particular tourney.

Typically three types of contest were blended during the course of a tournament – the Tilt, which saw two opposing knights joust across a barrier; the Barrier – when opposing groups of knights fought on foot with spears and swords across a barrier; and the Tourney during which groups of mounted knights fought with swords. We know from written accounts that the tournaments held at the Field of Cloth of Gold summit were mainly tilting contests, broken up by tourneying and barriers.

Apart from a small collection at the College of Arms, very few jousting cheques survive due to the degradable nature of the Vellum (stretched and treated animal skin).

Here we have three works representing the three leading powers in Western Europe in the early sixteenth century: The Society’s portrait of the young Francis I of France (we know he is young here as the portrait is based on a portrait type created when he was still beardless); an engraving of a miniature showing the young King Henry; and the arms of Charles of Habsburg- painted beside Henry’s on this garter roll.

These young, ambitious monarchs were now united by the Treaty of London, with the Field of Cloth of Gold summit having further strengthened alliances (Henry had held a successful meeting with Charles V days before meeting with Francis).

Henry had centred himself in the peace talks; he had showcased his military might and the magnificence of his Court; and Henry and Francis had used their meeting to satisfy their mutual curiosity and display their athleticism, strength, and power. However, England remained the smallest of the leading powers when compared to powerful, wealthy, and expanding France and Charles’ empire – the biggest in Europe in the last 700 years. Henry obsessed over how he compared to these other European monarchs. If he was going to prove his worth and continue to exercise power in European geo-politics, he needed something more. With Francis I known as Christianissimus (most Christian) and Charles V having recently been named Holy Roman Emperor, Henry needed a title.