ART. XII.-Court Recels in the Reign of Henry the Seventh.

The following very curious and unprinted details are copied from MS. Harl., No. 69. They clearly deserve perpetuating; and this end may be accomplished through the medium of the Shakespeare Society, by being included in its Papers. Court Revels, Disguisings, and Pageantry, are intimately connected with the origin and history of our Stage: and how important an influence they had upon it may easily be seen by reference to the "Hist of Engl. Dram. Poetry," where many particulars of the kind are furnished. What follows is not there, the author apparently not having been acquainted with the manuscript in which it is found. It is not contemporaneous, but was transcribed from the now lost originals by Ralph Starkey, in 1617. He entitles the volume, "The Booke of certaine Triumphes," and the ensuing particulars are thus headed :

"The first booke of the Justs and Banketts and Disguisings used at the Intertaynement of Katherine, wife to Prince Arthure, eldest sonne to King H[enry] 7."

According to Stow and other chroniclers, the marriage took place at St. Paul's, on the 14th November: a grand entertainment was afterwards given in Westminster Hall; but we have nothing to do with any part of the ceremony but the "Disguising," which appears to have been of the most cumbrous and costly description. We shall not forestal the forcible simplicity of the old narrator of the show, but give it in his own very intelligible, but at the same time quaint language. We are sure that the members of the Shakespeare Society generally would not like it to be modernized.

"The Queene, my Ladye the King's Mother, the Ladye Princesse, with a goodly company of fresh ladyes and gentle

women of the Court and realme awaiting on her, had made to the said Hall their repair all. And in this foresaid place, when the K. and the Q. had taken their noble seates under their clothes of estate, and every other nobles were ordered in their roomes worshipfull and convenient, then began and entered this most goodly and pleasant disguising, convayed and showed in pageants proper and subtile, of whom the first was a Castle, right cunningly devised, sett upon certaine wheeles and drawne into the said great hall of fower great beasts, with chaines of gold. Two of the first beasts were lyons, one of them of gold and thother of silver: one of the other was a hart with guilt hornes, aud the second of the same was an Ibeke, which every each of the which foure beastes were two men, one in the fore part, and another in the hinder part, secretly hid and apparelled, nothing seene but their leggs, and yet those were disguised after the proportion and kinde of the beasts that they were in. And thus this Castle was by the foure beastes properly convayed from the nether part of the hall before the K. and Q., being in the upper part of the same hall. There were within the same Castle disguised viij. goodly and fresh ladyes, looking out of the windowes of the same, and in the foure corners of this Castle were iiii. turretts, that is to say in every square one sett and appearing above the height of it, in the which of every of these turretts was a little child apparelled like a maiden. And so all the foure children singing most sweetly and harmoniously in all the comming the length of the hall till they came before the K. Matie, where, when it had come, conveyed and set himself somewhat out of the waye towards the one side of the hall.

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The second Pageant was a shippe, in likewise sett upon wheeles without any leaders in sight, in right goodly apparell, having her mast toppes, sayles, and her tackling and all other appertenances necessary unto a seemly vessell, as though it had been sayling in the sea, and so passed through the hall by the whole length, till they came before the King somewhat besides

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the Castle. At the which time the maskers of the shippe and their company, in their countenances, speaches, and demeanor, used and behaved themselves after the manner and guise of mariners, and there cast their anchors somewhat besides the said Castle in the which shippe there was a goodly and a faire ladye in her, apparelled like unto the Princesse of Spaine : out and from the said shippe descended downe by a ladder two well beseene and goodly persons, calling themselves Hope and Desire, passing towards the rehearsed Castle with their banners, in manner and forme as ambassadors from knights of the Mount of Love unto the ladyes within the Castle, making a great instance in the behalfe of the said knights for the intent to attaine the favour of the said ladyes present, making their meanes and entreates as wooers, and breakers of the maters of love betweene the knights and the ladyes: the said ladyes gave their small answer of utterly refuse, and knowledge of any such company, or that they were ever minded to the accomplishment of any such request, and plainely denied their purpose and desire. The two said embassadors therwith taking great displeasure, shewed the said ladyes that the knights would for this unkind refusall make battayle and assault, so and in such wise to them and their Castle, that it should be grievous to abyde their power and malice.

"Incontinent came in the third Pageant, in likeness of a great hill or mountaine, in whom there was inclosed viij. goodly knights with their banners spredd and displayed, naming themselves knights of the Mount of Love, the which passed through the said Hall towards the King's grace, and there they took their standing upon the other side of the shippe. And then these two ambassadors departed to the knights, being within the Mount, their Mrs. shewing the disdaine and refusall with the whole circumstance of the same. So as they, therwith not being content, with much malice and courageous minde, [went] a little from the said Mount with their banners displayed, and hastely

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sped them to the rehearsed Castle, which they forthwith assaulted soe and in such wise that the ladyes yealding themselves descended from the Castle and submitted themselves to the power grace and will of those noble knights, being right freshly disguised and the ladyes also, fower of them after the English fashion, and the other foure after the manner of Spaine, daunced together divers and many goodly daunces, and in the time of their dauncing the three Pageants, the Castle, the Shippe and the Mountaine moved and departed. The same wise the disguisers rehersed, as well the knights as the ladyes after certaine leasure of their solace and disport avoyded and vanished out of their sight and presence. And then came downe the L. Prince and the Lady Cecill, and daunced two baas daunces and departed up againe, the L. Prince to the King and the Lady Cecill to the Queene. Eftsoones the Lady Princesse, and one of her Ladyes with her, in apparell after the Spanish guise, came downe, there dauncing other two baas daunces, and departed againe bothe up to the Queene. Third and last came downe the Duke of Yorke, having with him the Ladye Margret, his sister, in his hand, and daunced two baas daunces, and afterwards he, perceiving himselfe to be accombred with his clothes, sodainly cast of his gowne and daunced in his jackett with the said Ladye Margaret in so goodly and pleasant manner, that it was to the King and Q. right great and singular pleasure, and so departed againe, the Duke to the Kinge and the Ladye to the Queene. This disguising royall thus ended, beganne the voydee to enter in this manner of a bankett," &c.

To this succeeds a list of the rich presents of plate and treasure to the Spaniards who had escorted the Princess Katherine to this country; and before they quitted the kingdom, a Spaniard, who had come with them, exhibited feats of ropedancing before the king, queen, and court: it is very evident,

from the style and nature of the description, that such a display was then quite a novelty in this country, but afterwards it became common enough. We are told

"Also there was sett up and areared two high and great posts with croches, these posts fast sett and driven into the ground: over the croches was a great cable stretched stedfastly and drawn with a wheele, and stayd upon both the sides with divers cordes, so great that the sight of it was like unto the rigging of an house upon the frame and cable ascended and went up a Spanyard, the whiche shewed there many wonders and deliverous points of tumbling and dauncing, and other sleights."

After the Spaniard had thus exhibited, to the great satisfaction of the royal party and their attendants, another "disguising" took place, into the details of which, after what we have already given, it would perhaps be tedious to enter. We may mention, however, that by way of variety live rabbits and doves were introduced, the first let out by male, and the last let fly by female dancers.

The same manuscript from which the above are extracted contains also "certein notes" of "an entertainment of Katherine Dowager," on her subsequent and unfortunate marriage with Henry VIII. These have no peculiar claim to notice, farther than that Jaques Hault, who is not unfrequently mentioned in connexion with the court amusements of that date, was principally concerned in making the preparations.

ALFRED T. GOODWIN.