47. Mummers.—XIV. Century.
These, and the other figures in the subjoined engraving, are taken from a beautiful manuscript in the Bodleian Library, written and illuminated in the reign of Edward III. [552]
48. Mummers.—XIV. Century.
The performance seems to have consisted chiefly in dancing, and the mummers are usually attended by the minstrels playing upon different kinds of musical instruments.
Many of these stately shows are described at length by Hall and Holinshed; and, as some of my readers may not have those authors near at hand, I will subjoin the account of two of them in Hall's own words. In the fifth year of the reign of Henry VIII, his majesty kept his Christmas at Greenwich; and, "according to olde custome," on twelfth night, [553] "there came," says the historian, "into the greate hall, a mount called the riche mount. This mount was set full of riche flowers of silke, and especially of brome [554] slippes full of poddes, the branches were grene sattin, and the flowers flat gold of damaske which signified Plantagenet: on the top stood a goodly bekon [555] giving light, rounde above the bekon sat the king and five other al in coates and cappes of right crimosin velvet, embroudered with flat gold of damaske, their coates set full of spangelles of gold; and foure woodhouses drew the mount 'till it came before the queen, and then the kyng and his compaigne discended and daunced; then suddainly the mount opened, and out came six ladies all in crimosin satin and plunket, embroudered with golde and perle, with Frenche hoodes on their heddes, and they daunced alone. Then the lordes of the mount tooke the ladies and daunced together, and the ladies re-entered, and the mount closed, and so was conveyed out of the hall." [556] The woodhouses, in the preceding quotation, or wodehouses, as they are sometimes called, were wild or savage men; and in this instance, men dressed up with skins, or rugs resembling skins, so as to appear like savages. These pageants were frequently moveable and drawn upon wheels. In honour of the marriage of Arthur, prince of Wales, with Catherine of Spain, there were three pageants exhibited in Westminster Hall, which succeeded each other, and were all of them drawn upon wheels: the first was a castle with ladies; the second a ship in full sail, that cast anchor near the castle; and the third a mountain with several armed knights upon it, who stormed the castle, and obliged the ladies to surrender. The show ended in a dance, and the pageantry disappeared. [557]
XIV.—PLAY IN HONOUR OF THE PRINCESS MARY.
In the tenth year of the same king's reign, in honour of his sister the princess Mary's marriage with the king of France, [558] there was exhibited in the great hall at Greenwich, "a rock ful of al maner of stones very artificially made, and on the top stood five trees: the first was an olive tree, on which hanged a shield of the armes of the church of Rome; the second was a pyne aple tree, [559] with the arms of the emperor; the third was a rosyer, [560] with the armes of England; the fourth a braunche of lylies, bearing the armes of France; and the fifth a pomegranet tree, bearing the armes of Spayn; in token that all these five potentates were joined together in one league against the enemies of Christe's fayth: in and upon the middes of the rock satte a fayre lady, richely appareyled, with a dolphin in her lap. In this rock were ladies and gentlemen appareled, in crimosyn sattyn, covered over with floures of purple satyn, embroudered with wrethes of gold knit together with golden laces, and on every floure a hart of gold moving. The ladies' tyer [561] was after the fashion of Inde, with kerchiefes of pleasaunce [562] hached with fyne gold, and set with letters of Greeke in gold of bullion, and the edges of their kerchiefes were garnished with hanging perle. These gentlemen and ladyes sate on the neyther part of the rock, and out of a cave in the same rock came ten knightes armed at all poyntes, and faughte together a fayre tournay. And when they were severed and departed, the disguysers dissended from the rock and daunced a great space, and sodeynly the rock moved and receaved the disguysers and imediately closed agayn. Then entred a person called report, appareled in crymosyn satin full of tongues, sitting on a flying horse with wynges and feete of gold called Pegasus; this person in Frenche declared the meaning of the rocks, the trees, and the tourney." [563]