with great magnificence. Proclaimed king on the 22nd of April at the age of eighteen, and married on the 3rd of June to Katherine of Arragon, widow of his deceased brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, the youthful Monarch and his Queen were afterwards crowned at Westminster Abbey by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and spent the first Christmas of their wedded life at Richmond. "And a very pleasant time it ought to have been to the Queen, for every species of entertainment was there got up by the handsome young king and his gallant company of courtiers, for her particular gratification. There was a grand tournament on the green, before the palace, which was rendered brilliant with pavilions, and the other gay structures always erected for these chivalrous ceremonies. The King and Queen took their places in the customary elevated position, surrounded by the nobles and beauties of the Court, to witness the feats of arms of the many gallant knights who had thronged to display their prowess before their sovereign; these, with their esquires, the heralds, pages, and other attendants, mounted and on foot, clad in their gay apparel, the knights wearing handsome suits of armour, and careering on gaily caparisoned horses, made a very inspiriting scene, in which the interest deepened when the usual combats between individuals or select companies commenced."[35]
"For every knight that loved chivalry, And would his thanks have a passant name, Hath prayed that he might be of that game, And well was him that thereto chosen was."[36]
The spectacle presented was one of great splendour; for "the commencement of the reign of Henry VIII., who was then styled by his loving subjects 'the rose without a thorn,' witnessed a remarkable revival of magnificence in personal decoration. So brilliant were the dresses of both sexes at the grand entertainment over which the King and Queen presided at Richmond, that it is difficult to convey an adequate idea of their splendour. But in the first half of the sixteenth century the principal Courts of Europe were distinguished by a similar love of display, which, though it fostered habits of luxury, afforded an extraordinary impulse towards art."[37] In England the love of finery became so general among the people that several statutes were passed during Henry's reign to restrain it. But while the King was quite willing that his subjects should observe due propriety in regard to their own dress and adornments, not exceeding the regulations laid down for their particular rank or station in life, he was lavish in his own expenditure, and it pleased the people to see Henry dressed in kingly fashion. He greatly increased his own popularity by taking part in the tournaments, in which "he did exceedingly well"; and he also assisted in the several curious and picturesque masques of Christmastide.
On one occasion the King with some of the chief nobles of his Court appeared apparelled as Robin Hood and his foresters, in which disguise he entered unexpectedly into the Queen's chamber, "whereat," says Holinshed, "the Queen and her ladies were greatly amazed, as well for the strange sight as for the sudden appearance."
The splendour of the Court festivities necessitated
Increased Expenditure for Christmas-Keeping,
notwithstanding that the King's domestic affairs were managed by "a good number of honourable, virtuous, wise, expert, and discreet persons of his Council." The preserved bills of fare show that the Court diet was liberal generally, but especially sumptuous at the grand entertainments of Christmas. And the Royal Household Accounts also show increased expenditure for the diversions, as well as for the banquetings, of the festival. For instance, the payments to the Lord of Misrule, which in Henry the Seventh's time never exceeded £6 13s. 4d., were raised by Henry the Eighth in his first year to £8 6s. 8d., and subsequently to £15 6s. 8d. In the first year is a payment to "Rob Amadas upon his bill for certain plate of gold stuf bought of him for the disguisings," £451 12s. 2d.; and another to "Willm. Buttry upon his bill for certen sylks bought of him for the disguisings," £133 7s. 5d. In the sixth year are charges "To Leonard Friscobald for diverse velvets, and other sylks, for the disguising," £247 12s. 7d.; and "To Richard Gybson for certen apparell, &c., for the disguysing at the fest of Cristemes last," £137 14s. ½d. Considerable payments are made to the same Gybson in after years for the same purpose, particularly in the eleventh, for revels, called a Maskelyn. In the tenth year large rewards were given to the gentlemen and children of the King's Chapel; the former having £13 6s. 8d. "for their good attendance in Xtemas"; and "Mr. Cornisse for playing affore the King opon newyeres day at nyght with the children," £6 13s. 4d.
Hall, in his Chronicle, Henry VIII. folio 15b, 16a, gives the following account of a
Royal Masquerade at Greenwich,