A theme of unrequited love, damsels in distress, lavish costumes, a peal of guns, fruit throwing and dancing - the ingredients of the lavish entertainment put on for the royal court on this day in 1522. And two of the participants were King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn!
In today's "on this day in Tudor history" video, I share an account of the spectacular Château Vert pageant performed at York Place (Whitehall Palace) on 4th March 1522 as part of the Shrovetide entertainment.
Also on this day in history:
- 1526 - Birth of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, courtier and administrator, son of Mary Boleyn and nephew of Anne Boleyn.
- 1584 – Death of Bernard Gilpin, reformer, theologian, Church of England clergyman and preacher. He was known as the "Apostle of the North" due to him carrying out preaching tours in Northern England. Some say he died in 1583.
- 1590 – Execution of Christopher Bales, Catholic Priest, in Fleet Street, London. He was found guilty of treason under the “Acts against Jesuits and Seminarists”.
- 1606 – Death of Sir Edward Fitton, member of Parliament and administrator, in London. He was buried in Gawsworth Church in Cheshire. Fitton served Elizabeth I as Receiver-General for Ireland, and was involved in the plantation of Ireland.
- 1607 – Death of George Coryate, clergyman and Latin poet, at Odcombe in Somerset. He was Rector there and died in his parsonage. He was buried in the chancel of his church. His son, Thomas, published some of George's work, Posthuma fragmenta poematum Georgii Coryati Sarisburiensis, in his own book, “Crudities”.
- 1609 - Death of William Bullokar at Chichester. Bullokar was a spelling reformer and grammarian. His works included the 1580 book "A Short Introduction or Guiding to Print, Write, and Reade Inglish Speech", "The Booke at Large", a translation of Aesop's Fables and the "Pamphlet for Grammar". He also reformed the alphabet.
Hi Claire,
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful account of this pageant! I certainly agree that if I could travel back in time, this event would definitely be at the top of my list to witness! It must have been so magnificent!!
Yes, I agree that the Tudors did very well reconstructing this wonderful pageant and it was very visual and atmospheric. I doubt Thomas Boleyn had to bribe the organiser as he did in the series, but as one of the ladies of the Court Anne would have stared naturally in these special pageants. Here all the star ladies of around the same age and playing the worthies and the dangerous ladies holding them prisoner. Mary Tudor, playing Beauty, Anne as Perseverance and Mary Boleyn as Kindness. The Tudors did this exactly and beautifully. They really brought this to life. Henry and Charles Brandon led the masked men coming to the rescue of these ladies and in the series Henry noticed Anne and danced with her. This is probably true, but there is no evidence of anything more than that, certainly no relationship for another three years at least.
The Tudors certainly did go in for entertainment in a colourful and magnificent way. I too would have loved to be a fly on the wall at this Chateaux Vert.