Authored by a unique combination of university academics and heritage professionals, this book offers new perspectives on journeys made by Henry VIII and other monarchs, their political and social impact and the logistics required in undertaking such trips. It explores the performance of kingship and queenship by itinerant monarchs, investigating how, by a variety of means, they engaged and interacted with their subjects, and the practical and symbolic functions associated with these activities. Moving beyond the purely English experience, it provides a European dimension by comparing progresses in England and France. Royal marriage and the royal progress share common features which are considered through an analysis of the trans-European journeys made by future spouses, notably Anne of Cleves. Also, the book reveals the significance of the art and architecture of houses and palaces, and how the celebrated meeting of English and French kings at the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520 was part of a wider diplomatic performance full of symbolism including the exchange of gifts and socialising between the two royal courts.
Drawing on contemporary art, material culture and surviving buildings, the book will be of interest to all who enjoy the intrigue and splendour of sixteenth-century courts.
Author(s): Anthony Musson. P. D. Cooper
Series: Routledge Research in Early Modern History
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 260
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series
Title
Copyright
Contents
List of Figures
List of Abbreviations
List of Contributors
Reconstructing Royal Journeys in Early Modern Europe
Royal Itineraries
1 The Court on the Move: Problems and Perspectives
2 Progresses and Personal Monarchy in the Reign of Henry VIII
3 The French Kings on the Road: The Court’s Journeys in Renaissance France
The Logistics of Progresses
4 Preparing to Progress: The Great Wardrobe and the Royal Progresses of Henry VIII
5 On Display: The Role of Clothing and Livery on Henry VIII’s Progresses
6 Monastic Lodgings: Housing the King Before and After the Reformation
7 Anne of Cleves: Bound for England
The Spectacle and Symbolism of Progresses
8 Travelling Grooms: A Royal Progress or A Wedding Journey?
9 ‘Pleasaunt Pastime’ or Drunken Diplomacy? Ladies and Gentlewomen at the Field of Cloth of Gold
10 Magnificence on the Move
The Political Culture of Progresses
11 Justice on Progress in Early Tudor England
12 Palaces, Progresses, Panache and Pictures: The Field of Cloth of Gold and Tudor History Painting
13 Performing Power and Theatricalisation at the Field of Cloth of Gold
14 ‘These Princes were Mortal and Mutable’: Context and Consequences of the Field of Cloth of Gold
Index
