A Righte Merrie Christmasse: The Story of Christ-Tide — John Shaqi
A Righte Merrie Christmasse: The Story of Christ-TideAshton, John
History
A Righte Merrie Christmasse: The Story of Christ-Tide
Ashton, John
Christmas -- History
In 1513, "The king kept a solemne Christmasse at Greenwich, with
danses and mummeries in most princelie manner. And on the Twelfe daie
at night came into the hall a mount, called _the_ rich mount. The
mount was set full of rich flowers of silke, and especiallie full of
broome slips full of cods, the branches were greene sattin, and the
flowers flat gold of damaske, which signified Plantagenet. On the top
stood a goodlie beacon giving light; round about the beacon sat the
king and five others, all in cotes and caps of right crimsin velvet,
embrodered with flat gold of damaske, their cotes set full of spangles
of gold. And foure woodhouses (? _wooden horses_) drew the mount till
it came before the queene, and then the king and his companie
descended and dansed. Then, suddenlie, the mount opened, and out came
six ladies in crimsin sattin and plunket, embrodered with gold and
pearle, with French hoods on their heads, and they dansed alone. Then
the lords of the mount tooke the ladies and dansed together; and the
ladies re-entered, and the mount closed, and so was conveied out of
the hall. Then the king shifted him, and came to the queene, and sat
at the banket, which was verie sumptuous."
1514, "This Christmasse, on New Yeares night, the king, the Duke of
Suffolke, and two other were in mantels of cloath of silver, lined
with blew velvet; the silver was pounced in letters, that the velvet
might be seene through; the mantels had great capes like to the
Portingall slops, and all their hosen, dublets, and coats were of the
same fashion cut, and of the same stuffe. With them were foure ladies
in gowns, after the fashion of Savoie, of blew velvet, lined with
cloath of gold, the velvet all cut, and mantels like tipets knit
togither all of silver, and on their heads bonets of burned gold: the
foure torch-bearers were in sattin white and blew. This strange
apparell pleased much everie person, and in especiall the queene. And
thus these foure lords and foure ladies came into the queenes chamber
with great light of torches, and dansed a great season, and then put
off their visors, and were all well knowne, and then the queene
hartily thanked the king's grace for her goodlie pastime and desport.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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