provinces were put up in their order very elegantly. "As soon as the King approached the Church, all the trumpets, which were placed in various parts of the Church, began to sound; but when he entered the Chapel, the musicians, who were ranged on both sides of it, began to play their music. In advance of the King first went 12 Heralds, with their sceptres, dressed in cloth of gold, who bore the royal arms upon their coats, both in front and behind; next followed the Dignitaries of the Law; after them those of the Parliament, the Counsellors and Officers from the provinces and cities. After these 100 Knights, called Knights of the Bath, all of whom the King had knighted on the preceding day [Sunday]; they wore long dresses or robes of violet, in other respects were apparelled all in white, with white feathers in their hats. Then came the Guards (Yeomen of the Guard], of whom there are 50, being nobles, all with peculiar halberds and long silk dresses of crimson damask (the ordinary Guards keep watch at the doors); and after them all the Knights of the Order of the Garter, Earls, Lords, Princely Personages, two and two, in long scarlet robes lined with ermine, and with red caps, round which were coronets, and the brims in like manner lined with ermine. After these went several Bishops in violet vestments, and then 4 heralds bearing 4 sceptres. Next, two Earls who carried drawn swords; then one with the regal sword in the sheath; another bore the crown, and, lastly, two others, one of whom carried the Order of the Garter, the other a drinking vessel and a gold dish. "Afterwards came the King under a state or canopy, in a similar robe and hat as worn by the before-mentioned Lords; on either side of him walked the two ArchbishopsYork and Canterbury;* upon the State or Canopy of cloth of gold hung four small bells.t And following the King was the * In the programme, "the Bishops of London and Durham." † The Barons of the Cinque Ports on this occasion claimed their ancient right to carry the canopy over the head of the King, and another over the head of the Queen, from the waterside to the church and within the church; the canopies to be of gold cloth or purple silk, with four silvered staves, and at each staff a silver bell gilt with gold, and at each staff four Captain of the Guard, with an unspeakable number of Nobles and other persons among whom there was no order. "As soon as the King had come up to the Chapel, he sat down on a Chair which was raised several steps on the right hand, and the Lords stood round him for the others were not allowed to go up to the Chapel, but had to remain at the entrance until the Queen should come there. "Before Her Majesty went her Chamberlain and some few officers. She was borne under a canopy like that of the King's. A Bishop stood on each side. On her head was a large heavy coronet, with many precious stones; her hair long and flowing ('mit langen fliegenden haaren '), her bosom open -as is the custom in England-and she was besides attired in a scarlet [crimson (?) or purple (?)*) robe, furred with ermine ('mit ein rotem scharlacken mit Hermelin gefutertem Rock'). Next after her, under the canopy, walked Madame Arbela [Arabella Stuart), the Princess next in blood to the King; and after her, Countesses, Ladies ('Laidin') and other princely Ladies, all in scarlet ('rot scharlach') dresses lined with ermine, and wide ermine quite in the antique fashion, walking two and two, and carrying their coronets on their left arms. "The Queen immediately sat down in the other chair which was placed near to and on of the said Barons, making in all the number of thirtytwo persons; which canopy, staves, and bells they claimed as their fees. They sustained their claims before the Lords Commissioners, who directed the thirty-two persons to appear before the Earl of Nottingham, the Lord Steward, on the day before the coronation, viz., Sunday, July 24, " to the intent that he should survey them, and allow as many of them as he thought meet to do the service, the others to make such deputies as the Lord Steward should appoint." (See Reports of Sir Francis Moore, Serjeant-at-Law, 1688, p. 748.) * The words for "scarlet" and "purple" were formerly frequently interchanged: purple is often employed in an indifferent sense to signify bright red, and all colours that had a mixture of red in them (Kitto). In Matt. xxvii. 28 the soldiers put on our Saviour “χλαμυδα κοκκινην," rendered by Wiclif "a reede [red] mantil;" by Tyndale, "a purpyll robe;" Cranmer, "a purpill robe;" the Geneva version, "a purple robe;" Rheims, "a scarlet cloke." In Mark xv. 17 and John xix. 2: "They clothed Him with purple-a purple robe “ πορφυραν ;" “ ιματιον πορφυρουν." Chaucer and Spenser speak of "scarlet red" robes. the left of the King's; after this they conducted the King towards the altar, dressed him in another manner, and brought him again near the former seat, although somewhat higher. From here they showed him to the people in the four corners of the Church, in which direction he turned himself about, demanding 'whether they would acknowledge him for their King, and whether there was any present who would say to the contrary?' Whereupon all the people, with one clear, joyous shout, cried out 'Yea' ('ja, geschrien '), held up their hands and hats, so that nothing could be heard or seen because of the noise and clamour of the trumpets and horns. After this the King was conducted before the altar, where he made an offering; afterwards he was presented to the people, and anointed with oil upon his head and left shoulder, where his doublet had been cut open. Then the Archbishop of Canterbury [Whitgift] said a prayer; after which, the King, having been habited again in a long royal robe, they placed him in a Chair in front of the altar, under which lies the stone upon which the Patriarch Jacob is said to have rested when he saw the Angels in heaven ascending and descending (this a King of England, in former times, had taken in Scotland in battle); the sword was girt on him, and the spurs; afterwards the crown was placed upon his head, a sceptre in one hand, and another sceptre, with a cross on it, in the other. Thus attired, he was conducted again to the raised seat, presented once more to the people, and a Herald proclaimed from the four corners of the Church that 'now each and all must acknowledge JAMES, the sixth of that name King of Scotland, the first of this name as King of England, France, and Ireland, and be true and faithful to him,' with other like words; at which the people again set up a tremendous shout of applause, such as might well make the King laugh ('dessen der König woll lachen mögen'). His crown was so heavy with large precious stones that two Bishops had to hold it upon his head. "When the clamour had ceased, the Archbishops brought him a book, on which he was obliged to swear to uphold the privileges of the Clergy, Nobles, Statesmen and Commoners - not to suppress them and to reign as a good King and Father of his people; whereupon, on the other hand, all orders swore to him, especially all the Earls and Lords present, who approached his chair and took the oath before him. This being ended, a Bull ('Bullen ') was read, wherein the King liberated all Prisoners, and pardoned other delinquents, except those who had been guilty of the crime 'læsæ Majestatis' (high treason); whereupon the people once more applauded ('gefrolocket'). The whole time the organs, voices, and other music resounded at intervals. "Meanwhile the Queen was in like manner as the King anointed and crowned, and finally drink was offered to them both before the altar. And because it was excessively hot, and the ceremony had lasted some hours, they went into the Sacristy (or Vestry) and partook of a collation there; likewise the Royal, Electoral, and Princely Ambassadors were conducted according to their rank, so that all were feasted in the Church, being dressed differently, not in Pontificals, but in their usual garments. The King, with his head uncovered, returned to his Palace by water, accompanied by the Queen, innumerable boats following as far as the Bridge; and on that occasion some thousand guns were fired off for joy from the Tower and other places. "LIST OF ALL THE KNIGHTS OF THE ORDER OF THE GARTER, 26 IN NUMBER, WHICH CANNOT BE EXCEEDED. TAKEN FROM THE ORIGINAL IN HIS MAJESTY'S OWN HANDWRITING. "The head of this Order is the King himself. The Prince of Wales ('Valles'), his The King of France. The Duke of Wirtemberg. (He was not The Earl of Nottingham, Admiral. Earl of Shrewsbury ('Schrasbery '). Lord Sheffield ('Schiefeldt'). Sir Henry Lee. Earl of Derby. Duke of Lennox. Earl of Mar. Lord Buckhurst, High Treasurer. Earl of Cumberland. Earl of Worcester, Grand Marshal. Earl of Suffolk, Chamberlain. Earl of Devonshire ('Vonshere '). Lord Montjoy. Earl of Sussex. Lord Scrope ('Strope'). Lord Burghley. Earl of Southampton. Earl of Pembroke. "In the Chapel at Windsor hang likewise on both sides the banners and arms of the Knights in this order, but the places for Denmark and Wirtemberg remain empty. "LIST OF THE AMBASSADORS WHO ARE AT THE ROYAL ENGLISH COURT, WITH THE NUMBER OF THEIR RETINUES, AND WHERE THEY ARE LODGED. TAKEN FROM THE OFFICIAL ACCOUNT. "The LORD MARQUIS DE RHOSNY [Duke of Sully] has come on behalf of the King of France with 120 nobles, and formerly altogether 250 persons; he has had his lodging in the City of London, because the mortality at that time was not so great.* "The COUNT DE BEAUMONT, Ambassador to the late King [of France), always follows the Court as Ordinary, with his family and servants, and is some 60 persons strong. "CHRISTIAN FRIESS, Chancellor of Denmark, and HEINRICH VON BULAW, both Royal Danish Ambassadors, lodged at Richmond with 34 nobles, and altogether 120 persons. "The COUNT OF ARENBERG, the Duke of Brabant's Ambassador, lodged at Staines ('Steens'), followed the Court with some * Sully was not complimentary to "our James," when, in his Memoirs, he called him "The wisest fool in Christendom. What say the Divines of 1611? They hail him as the "Wonder of the World " -the "Sun in his Strength." It would be difficult to find a more servile and fulsome dose of flattery administered to any mortal than that by the translators (or rather revisers) of the Bible, in their dedicatory Epistle to King James of the Authorised Version. Ben Jonson offers likewise a draught of nectar to the "British Solomon:" Never came man more long'd for, more desir'd, And being come, more reverenc'd, lov'd, admir'd! 50 persons; he had with him at first 200, whom he afterwards sent back. "COUNT OTTO VON SOLMS and WOLRADT VON PLESSEN, Ambassadors of the Elector Palatine, with 40 persons, were lodged in London before the great mortality. "HERR N. VON LOUEN, Ambassador of the Elector of Brandenburg, was lodged at an inn at Kingston ('Kinsthon '), with 4 nobles, and in all 17 persons. "MONSIEUR DE BOURBON, Ambassador of the Duke of Lorraine and High Steward, lodged at Mortlake' ('Mort lac') 'with 20 nobles, and in all about 60 persons. "HERR ADAM CRAUSE, Ambassador of the Duke of Brunswick, lodged at Twickenham, with 10 nobles, and in all about 60 persons. "HERR BENJAMIN BUWINCKHAUSEN VON WALMERADT, Ambassador of the Duke of Wirtemberg, lodged at Richmond, with 8 nobles, and in all about 30 persons. The VENETIAN ORDINARY AMBASSADOR lodged at Maidenhead ('Medenhid'), with some 30 persons. AND "HENRY, PRINCE OF ORANGE COUNT OF NASSAU, HERR JOHAN VAN OLDEN BARNEVELT, Lord of Tempel, Advocate and Keeper of the Seals in Holland, HERR JACOB FALCK, Treasurer of Zealand (who died there), Ambassadors of the States General, were lodged at first in London, with some 100 persons. "HERR LARON, the present Resident Agent of Stade, follows the Court with 15 persons. "The Ambassador of the City of GENEVA likewise follows the Court, but he has not yet had an audience. "AMBASSADORS WHO ARE DAILY "DON JUAN TAXIS (Tassis) PostmasterGeneral, Royal Spanish Ambassador, will come here with remarkable pomp and grandeur. "The COUNT OF MONTECUCULO, Ambassador of the Grand Duke of Florence, will arrive with 100 persons. "SIGNOR DUODO and CAVALIERO MARINO (Niccolo Molino), Venetian Ambassadors Extraordinary, will arrive with 200 persons. "For the same purpose the Ambassadors Lady Arabella Stuart, in a letter written in December, 1603, says that the King would at Christmas feast all the Ambassadorsthis "confusion of imbassages." From a contemporary Spanish narrative (see Rye's England as Seen by Foreigners) it appears that Don Juan Tassis, Count of Villamediana, the Spanish Ambassador above mentioned, arrived at Dover with a large train, on August 31, 1603, and reached London on September 9. He did not, however, stop here on account of the Plague, which in the previous week had swept off 4,900 persons, but proceeded by water to Kingston (Kuirckston), afterwards to Hampton Court, Staines, Windsor (Wunyer), Maidenhead, Henley, Oxford, and Southampton. After considerable delay, by reason of one of his retinue dying, as it was reported, of the Plague at Oxford, he received an audience of the King at Winchester, on October 4. It is stated that in eight weeks upwards of 30,000 persons had died of the Plague in London. Don Juan remained two years in London as Ordinary Ambassador, living with a "magnificence worthy of the monarch whom he represented." He sent out to Spain, as presents to Philip III. and his principal ministers, no less than two hundred English horses of great value; but the beautiful and rich presents that he received from King James he dedicated to the service of God in the Church of the Convent of St. Augustine of Valladolid (Chifflet, Maison de Tassis, 1645, p. 186). The office of Postmaster was hereditary in the Tassis family. Count Villamediana is one of the personages represented in the large "Conference" picture which was acquired for the National Portrait Gallery at the Hamilton Palace sale in July, 1882. It represents the Conference at Somerset House, between the English and Spanish Commissioners for the treaty of peace concluded in August, 1604. Velasco, Constable of Castile, and the Count of Aremberg are likewise conspicuous figures. Mr. Scharf is of opinion that it is the work of Marc Gheeraedts, rather than of Juan Pantoja, the Spanish painter, to whom it had been attributed. This important historical picture was purchased for £2,520. Among other valuable presents bestowed on the Constable of Castile on this occasion by King James, was a very ancient gold enamelled pyx, one of the crown jewels, which the recipient, soon after his return to Spain, gave to the Convent of Medina del Pomar; the Abbess, being in want of money, sold it, and a few years ago it was purchased in Paris, by Baron Pichon, who considers it of very great value. The Duke of Frias, a descendant of the Constable, endeavoured by a legal process to recover it, but was unsuccessful. It was stated at the trial (1885), in Paris that a magnificent pearl necklace, which had been sent as a present from Queen Anne, of Denmark, to the Constable's wife, and which had cost £1,400, had then recently been sold by the Duke to a jeweller. The "Venetian Ordinary Ambassador " above mentioned must have been the Secretary Giovanni Carlo Scaramelli, who, after forty-four years' cessation of diplomatic relations with England, had been specially despatched by the Senate to Queen Elizabeth, in order to complain of the injuries inflicted by the English on Venetian vessels. He arrived in London in the beginning of February, 1603, and received his first and only audience with the aged Queen on Sunday, February 16, just six weeks before her death. After allowing him to kiss her hand, she addressed the envoy thus: "Welcome to England, Mr. Secretary, it is high time for the Republic to send to see a Queen who on every occasion has done it so much honour." In October, Scaramelli was lodging at Kingston, and left for Venice soon afterwards. Pietro Duodo and Nicolo Molino, who came to congratulate King James, arrived in England in November; the former left at the beginning of 1604, and Molino remained as Ordinary Ambassador; his Report ("Relazione") is printed in Barozzi's collection. Buwinckhausen, the Wirtemberg Ambassador, and the writer of the German account of the Coronation, returned in August, 1603. |