Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in history class A production
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy D. Wilson. If you
Speaker 1: have read or seen a production of Shakespeare's Henry the Eighth,
Speaker 1: the Field of Cloth of Gold is a plot point
Speaker 1: in it. The author did take some liberties with the
Speaker 1: historical record. There are people at his version that we're
Speaker 1: not there. Um. In addition to some other stuff, the
Speaker 1: Field of cloth of Gold is kind of a mouthful
Speaker 1: of a name for an event. It was a summit
Speaker 1: and a celebration that was held to start what was
Speaker 1: hoped to be a long term alliance between France and England. Uh.
Speaker 1: It's not exactly an unknown piece of history. It comes
Speaker 1: up sometimes in classes. I feel like I never got
Speaker 1: a really big discussion of it. I could have maybe
Speaker 1: not been paying attention that day that happen and sometimes. Um,
Speaker 1: but some of the details about it are really really fascinating,
Speaker 1: So it seems worthy of a discussion about it, even
Speaker 1: if you have heard of it. In part too, because
Speaker 1: some of the most recent scholarship frames things a little
Speaker 1: a little bit differently than it's been discussed for years.
Speaker 1: This is a tricky one because it is a moment
Speaker 1: in time that represents so many moving parts and nuances
Speaker 1: of relationships that we're kind of having to do like
Speaker 1: the quick and dirty version on some of that. So
Speaker 1: just know, we try to cover some of those influences
Speaker 1: going in. But of course anything like this that happens,
Speaker 1: the web that branches out from it historically to touch
Speaker 1: other things is very intricate. Um, we're going to jump
Speaker 1: right into it. And first we are going to start
Speaker 1: with the very briefest of recaps of each of the
Speaker 1: two monarchs involved to set up how they found themselves
Speaker 1: at this giant festival slash party, slash turn and in
Speaker 1: a temporary city in northern France. And we're going to
Speaker 1: start with Henry the Eighth. Yes, So, Henry the Eighth
Speaker 1: took the throne at the age of seventeen, That was
Speaker 1: on April one, fifteen o nine, when his father, Henry
Speaker 1: the Seventh died. Henry the Seventh hadn't exactly been beloved,
Speaker 1: but he had kept England fairly peaceful after the Wars
Speaker 1: of the Roses, and then when he died, Henry the
Speaker 1: Eighth inherited what was a pretty ideal situation, although he
Speaker 1: did rebel against having a similar identity to that of
Speaker 1: his father. Henry the eighth was tall at six ft
Speaker 1: two and also athletic. He loved a good party, and
Speaker 1: he had very keen designs on France. By the time
Speaker 1: the Field of Cloth of Gold events took place, Henry
Speaker 1: had already been recognized by Pope Julius the Second as
Speaker 1: King of France. That happened in fifteen twelve after the
Speaker 1: French King Louis the twelfth had been excommunicated. But after
Speaker 1: a series of mixed results battles and the rise of
Speaker 1: Pope Leo the Tenth, Louis the twelfth was back in
Speaker 1: the papacy's good graces and Henry no longer had the
Speaker 1: support of the Holy See as the King of France.
Speaker 1: Henry himself, though, continued to see himself as just that,
Speaker 1: and he thought he deserved some tribute payments from France. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's a fun thing that didn't make it into the
Speaker 1: episode that I will talk about him and behind the scenes.
Speaker 1: But like Henry the eight, Francis the First, who was
Speaker 1: the actual King of France, was considered handsome and charming,
Speaker 1: and per accounts of the day, having quote an air
Speaker 1: of greatness about him, accompanied with a certain gracious humanity.
Speaker 1: Francis became king when Louis the twelfth died. He was
Speaker 1: Louis the twelfth son in law, and he married the
Speaker 1: predecessor king's daughter, Claude, and just as Henry the eighth,
Speaker 1: he was a young man when this happened, although he
Speaker 1: was not a teenager. Francis became King of France in
Speaker 1: fifteen fifteen at the age of twenty, and he had
Speaker 1: fought in several battles against the English before he took
Speaker 1: the throne, and again, like Henry, he had inherited a
Speaker 1: pretty stable kingdom, skirmishes with the papacy aside, and he
Speaker 1: was also ambitious like his English counterpart, although he had
Speaker 1: designs on gaining land and power, primarily from Italy although
Speaker 1: other places. Unlike Henry, he moved on this a little faster.
Speaker 1: He started to achieve his goals pretty quickly. For two
Speaker 1: men who were in some ways so similar, both leading
Speaker 1: countries and jockeying for power, it kind of seems like
Speaker 1: a rivalry was inevitable, and it's often written that the
Speaker 1: two of them actually kind of admired each other personally,
Speaker 1: but they would never have admitted as much publicly. So
Speaker 1: please keep in mind this is just the broadest discussion
Speaker 1: of these two monarchs, or trying to hit the points
Speaker 1: that are most salient in regard to the field of
Speaker 1: lot of gold. There were a lot of additional events
Speaker 1: that took place and colored the way these two men
Speaker 1: saw each other, and a lot of other nuance to
Speaker 1: have a lot of these events also shaped Europe's political
Speaker 1: climate in the early sixteenth century. In fifteen twenty, Francis
Speaker 1: the First of France and Henry the eighth of England
Speaker 1: through an incredibly lavish party together. You will also see
Speaker 1: this listed as a summit, as a tournament, etcetera. It
Speaker 1: was so big and so lavish that it is a
Speaker 1: noted historical event, and with good reason. This thing lasted
Speaker 1: two and a half weeks. So for these two people
Speaker 1: that had a rivalry, how did such a thing happen
Speaker 1: To even try to get to a point that England
Speaker 1: and France would be friends instead of rivals. That seems
Speaker 1: like it would have taken an immense leap of faith
Speaker 1: and imagination. The Hundred Years War had lasted from thirteen
Speaker 1: thirty seven to fourteen fifty three. That was followed immediately
Speaker 1: by England's internal conflict, the Wars of the Roses, starting
Speaker 1: in fourteen fifty five. The Wars of the Roses lasted
Speaker 1: thirty two years, and then France had its own domestic problems.
Speaker 1: The War of the Public Wheel was a conflict between
Speaker 1: King Louis the eleventh of France and the country's feudal
Speaker 1: nobles that took place in fourteen sixty five and ended
Speaker 1: with the crown making concessions to the nobility. A similar
Speaker 1: struggle for power between the feudal lords and the throne
Speaker 1: of France took place in fourteen eighty five, and this
Speaker 1: time it was complicated by the fact that the King
Speaker 1: of France at the time was Charles the Eighth, who
Speaker 1: was still a teenager his sister and de Bougeux was
Speaker 1: acting as regent. England and other countries supported this uprising
Speaker 1: of the nobility. Beyond these wars, there were additional conflicts
Speaker 1: with other nations and groups all throughout Europe and beyond.
Speaker 1: So in short, the were two countries that had lived
Speaker 1: in conflict more or less continuously for as long as
Speaker 1: anybody and who was alive in the early fift hundreds.
Speaker 1: Could remember many years ago we made a joke on
Speaker 1: the show about how there should be a website that
Speaker 1: was just was England at war with France and tell
Speaker 1: you yes or no, and then listeners made it. Two
Speaker 1: different listeners made such websites because these are two nations
Speaker 1: that have often been not in harmony. Being in close
Speaker 1: proximity made them kind of want things from each other
Speaker 1: and to have power over one another. And it just
Speaker 1: as we the list that we read is by no
Speaker 1: means conference right. There was a lot, a lot, a
Speaker 1: lot of ongoing conflict, but there were actually a lot
Speaker 1: of people starting the campaign for peace in the early
Speaker 1: sixteenth century. Humanists and philosophers of both countries as well
Speaker 1: as others, wrote pamphlets and papers on the matter. But
Speaker 1: this particular moment of peace was achieved in part because
Speaker 1: a pope had wanted war with non Christians. Pope Leo
Speaker 1: the Tenth, who was a Medici by birth, had become
Speaker 1: increasingly dismayed with the successful military efforts of the Ottoman Empire,
Speaker 1: and in fifteen seventeen he called on Europe's Christian nations
Speaker 1: to unite against that perceived religious threat and That meant
Speaker 1: that the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Portugal, France, and England
Speaker 1: all had to stop fighting one another so they could
Speaker 1: carry out the Pope's plan. The Pope absolutely knew that
Speaker 1: there had to be clear guidelines for such a union
Speaker 1: and started creating Truth's Plans and early fifteen eighteen. This
Speaker 1: involved a five year time frame in which the Pope
Speaker 1: would help the included nations work through all their disputes
Speaker 1: and rule on any of them as needed. Right up
Speaker 1: to this point, alliances and treaties were being signed and
Speaker 1: broken as various leaders sought to shift their positions and
Speaker 1: gain the most power. You know, five year thing was
Speaker 1: kind of like listen, I know, like you're not going
Speaker 1: to be friends forever, but could we for five years
Speaker 1: agree that we're going to fight people who aren't Christians?
Speaker 1: Could we all just table this conflict for five seconds.
Speaker 1: In late fifteen eighteen, Cardinal Thomas Woolsey successfully managed to
Speaker 1: get Europe's Christian superpowers of the time to sign the
Speaker 1: Treaty of Universal Peace. Woolsey was English and had finagled
Speaker 1: a great deal of power as an acting representative of
Speaker 1: the Pope, and he used that power to shift some
Speaker 1: of the conditions of the treaty that the Pope had
Speaker 1: laid out, with an aim to create a permanent piece
Speaker 1: rather than the five year term that Pope Leo had
Speaker 1: set out. That sounds lovely, but listen, there's always a
Speaker 1: shady enterprise going on. He was also angling throughout this
Speaker 1: whole thing to ensure that England came out with more
Speaker 1: power than anyone else, including naming Henry the Eighth as
Speaker 1: the arbiter of dispute rather than the Pope, which people
Speaker 1: actually agreed to. By the time Wolsey was done, there
Speaker 1: were additional treaties branching off of that main treaty. Those
Speaker 1: subtreaties established more specific agreements between nations, particularly between England
Speaker 1: and France, and one part of the agreement was that
Speaker 1: the Kings of England and France would have an in
Speaker 1: person meeting to seal the deal and assure one another
Speaker 1: that they were both all in on the Piece plan.
Speaker 1: Wolsey saw this as a way to make both men
Speaker 1: leaders to all the Christian nations of Europe, as they
Speaker 1: showed strength through cooperation and established kind of a behavioral
Speaker 1: model of reconciliation. That meant that this meeting had to
Speaker 1: be spectacular. Yeah, he does seem to have thought like,
Speaker 1: if I can show these two guys being cool with
Speaker 1: one another, other people will want to be cool. That's
Speaker 1: a bless his heart moment for me. One of the
Speaker 1: reasons that the in person meeting between England and France
Speaker 1: was arranged was to show very visibly and physically that
Speaker 1: Francis and Henry were going to be allies to the
Speaker 1: exclusion of another young and charismatic ruler of the day,
Speaker 1: that being Charles the Fifth, who had become ruler of
Speaker 1: the Holy Roman Empire in fifteen nineteen and was incidentally
Speaker 1: Catherine of Arragon's nephew, so kind of related to Henry
Speaker 1: the eighth. There was both statesmanship and ego in the mix.
Speaker 1: Henry had been jealous of an earlier agreement, before the
Speaker 1: Treaty of Universal Peace, in which Francis had allied with
Speaker 1: the Holy Roman Empire that was before Charles five, and
Speaker 1: that had left Henry feeling a little bit isolated and
Speaker 1: left out. Meanwhile, Francis the First had started to feel
Speaker 1: threatened by the military power that Charles the fifth commanded,
Speaker 1: so they both thought it would be good for them
Speaker 1: to be allies and leave Charles out. It was due
Speaker 1: to the transition from Maximilian to Charles the Fifth that
Speaker 1: the meeting of Henry and Francis did not happen for
Speaker 1: almost two years. They were supposed to have their summit
Speaker 1: in fifteen nineteen, after the return of the city of
Speaker 1: Tornaive to France by England. This had happened after a
Speaker 1: great deal of negotiation, but when Maximilian died, the office
Speaker 1: of Holy Roman Emperor was filled by election. In addition
Speaker 1: to Charles the Fifth, who was Maximilian's grandson, Francis the
Speaker 1: First and Henry the Eighth were also candidates, there were
Speaker 1: seven prince electors from the empire who determined who this
Speaker 1: successor would be, and this very active rivalry, of course,
Speaker 1: delayed the meeting of Henry and Francis has agreed to
Speaker 1: in the terms of the Universal Peace Treaty. Once Charles
Speaker 1: the Fifth was finally selected as successor, things once again
Speaker 1: started moving forward. Yeah, of Henry the Eighth of Francis
Speaker 1: the First, Francis was the only one that really had
Speaker 1: any kind of like possible um vote getting ability. Henry
Speaker 1: the eighth kind of was like me to um yourself
Speaker 1: in as a candidate to run the Holy Roman Empire.
Speaker 1: We will talk about the preparations involved in readying the
Speaker 1: chosen locations for royals and their retinues once this whole
Speaker 1: thing started actually happening, and we're going to do that
Speaker 1: after we pause for a sponsor break. If you are
Speaker 1: familiar with your tutor history, you know that Cardinal Woolsey,
Speaker 1: of course famously fell out of favor with the English
Speaker 1: king when he was unable to get Henry the eighth
Speaker 1: and the nullment in nine, But at the point in
Speaker 1: time we're discussing here, he was still a trusted ally
Speaker 1: of the young monarch. He also kind of became the
Speaker 1: de facto party planner for the field of cloth of gold.
Speaker 1: In addition to all of the festivities, he had to
Speaker 1: negotiate and carefully planned things so that neither ruler felt
Speaker 1: slighted or bested, and that there weren't any ways that
Speaker 1: either of these two men might suffer public embarrassment. Under Wolsey,
Speaker 1: each side had their own head of preparations. For France,
Speaker 1: this was Gaspar de Colonnie that was a military commander
Speaker 1: of high rank and esteem. And then on the English
Speaker 1: side there was Charles Somerset, Earl of Worcester, who was
Speaker 1: also a decorated war hero. The location for this party,
Speaker 1: which was billed as a tournament, was carefully chosen through
Speaker 1: negotiations between these men. This was between the towns of
Speaker 1: Green and ard. The reason it was a tournament was
Speaker 1: so the two monarchs could show cooperation and might. The
Speaker 1: tournament aspect was not so that these two men could
Speaker 1: compete against each other, though the rules were that they
Speaker 1: always competed on the same side. There had also been
Speaker 1: a plan laid out to ensure goodwill. During the feasts,
Speaker 1: each king would sit in the other king's court, although
Speaker 1: the queens each remained with their respective group. Yeah, there's
Speaker 1: some so much that went on just to pick the location,
Speaker 1: and we'll talk about all of it for clarity. You know,
Speaker 1: Guien was still held by England and there was sort
Speaker 1: of an English area called the Pale there, and then
Speaker 1: Arder was in French territory and the middle. What made
Speaker 1: the middle was a big deal because nobody the actual
Speaker 1: equidistance center still sat on English territory and it became
Speaker 1: a whole thing. Uh. This summit event took place from
Speaker 1: June seven to June. Each king brought six thousand people.
Speaker 1: That was a number agreed to by both sides, so
Speaker 1: that neither had more than the other. This feels like
Speaker 1: when you see kids and they get like fast food
Speaker 1: with their parents and you watch them portioning out by
Speaker 1: counting how many French fries each child has, so nobody
Speaker 1: gets jealous. That's very much what this feels like. But
Speaker 1: six thousand per person meant that there were more than
Speaker 1: twelve thousand people in attendance for eighteen days at this
Speaker 1: party slash tournament slash summit, and that, as you can imagine,
Speaker 1: meant a lot of logistics and temporary infrastructure. All of
Speaker 1: those people needed to be housed and fed. There needed
Speaker 1: to be space for all of the various planned events,
Speaker 1: and this had become so high profile that all of
Speaker 1: Europe was watching. That six thousand people per country number
Speaker 1: is also pretty interesting when you consider the population of
Speaker 1: each country and the extent of the nobility for each
Speaker 1: of them. The population of France was about fifteen million,
Speaker 1: England was about two point five million. The sizes of
Speaker 1: their respective nobilities were similarly proportioned, and so that meant
Speaker 1: that with six thousand people, Henry's entourage could include a
Speaker 1: lot more of England's nobility, whereas France had to exclude
Speaker 1: a lot of There's. One result was that there were
Speaker 1: a lot of very high ranking people in France who
Speaker 1: found themselves socializing with English attendees who were really pretty
Speaker 1: far below them in the hierarchy of nobility. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: read a stat that I didn't. It's kind of impossible
Speaker 1: to verify that France had about twenty five thousand noble
Speaker 1: households at this point, so a lot of them were
Speaker 1: left out. But this was kind of most of England's nobility,
Speaker 1: so it was a very interesting disparity in that regard.
Speaker 1: In February, more than five months before the meeting things
Speaker 1: really got under way, there had been a new treaty
Speaker 1: for each monarch to sign that laid out the specific
Speaker 1: plans in terms of who was financially responsible for what
Speaker 1: preparations and what activities would be involved, etcetera. Henry the
Speaker 1: Eighth was to set up his court at Guien, which
Speaker 1: had been taken by England and the thirt hundreds at
Speaker 1: this point, as I said, still under English control. Henry
Speaker 1: wanted buildings to be constructed around the existing castle at
Speaker 1: Green that would be available and appropriate for royal visitors,
Speaker 1: and this ended up being a rather lavish castle. Like
Speaker 1: They built a whole new little palace, which was described
Speaker 1: in a contemporary account as quote brilliant with kingly pomp.
Speaker 1: One of the design elements of this palace was a
Speaker 1: secret passage under the floor that connected the king's chambers
Speaker 1: with the queen's chambers, so that Henry could visit Catherine
Speaker 1: without anybody knowing their business. I love that little detail.
Speaker 1: There were also tents constructed around the castle, and that
Speaker 1: was where the nobility would stay. The French were headquartered
Speaker 1: at ard The two towns are near the northern coast
Speaker 1: of France and Patti calais close to the English Channel,
Speaker 1: and the meeting point was to be in between the
Speaker 1: two of them, the two or less than nine kilometers aparts,
Speaker 1: and this is at the village of bowing Him. The
Speaker 1: camp for the King of France at Ardre required a
Speaker 1: whole lot of work. Ardre had been damaged over the
Speaker 1: years in military battles kind of leading right up to
Speaker 1: when this meeting happened, and the castle needed a lot
Speaker 1: of repair. Additionally, tents were brought in to help house Frances.
Speaker 1: The first retinue. Military fortifications were also made to the
Speaker 1: castle and surrounding area. Even though this was ostensibly to
Speaker 1: be a peaceful meeting, more than three hundred tents were
Speaker 1: made just for this meeting on the French side, and
Speaker 1: they were lavish enough that the King of France could
Speaker 1: stay in them in both style and comfort. So this
Speaker 1: is not like the tent you would take out for
Speaker 1: a camping trip. It was a temporary but very beautiful building. Additionally,
Speaker 1: four houses and the town abbey were commandeered for the king.
Speaker 1: There's actually some debate over whether a house had actually
Speaker 1: been built from scratch for the proceedings. It's also unclear
Speaker 1: exactly where King France is the first staid. But the
Speaker 1: main tent for the French group was really spectacular. It
Speaker 1: was a hundred and twenty feet tall that's thirty six
Speaker 1: point five meters, and it was decorated with this exquisite
Speaker 1: blue velvet and cloth of gold. As a quick explainer
Speaker 1: in case anyone is wondering what cloth of gold is,
Speaker 1: it's not a thing I realized was a specific thing
Speaker 1: for reading over this. It is a woven fabric in
Speaker 1: which the threads that make up the weft of the fabric.
Speaker 1: There's are the ones that go side to side on
Speaker 1: the loom. Those are actually wrapped in gold. This events
Speaker 1: had a lot of it's just why it has the
Speaker 1: name that it does. Yes. Yeah, you can incidentally still
Speaker 1: buy cloth of gold. It's very hard to get and
Speaker 1: there's a lot of imitation cloth of gold. Some people
Speaker 1: in textiles will kind of make the direct line of
Speaker 1: like this is why we have LeMay. It's because people
Speaker 1: were trying to egg very cheap cloth of gold. Representatives, Listen,
Speaker 1: it works for stage. Uh. This entire enterprise for both
Speaker 1: countries of building these encampments was a huge economic driver
Speaker 1: for the months that it took to complete the set up.
Speaker 1: Each of them undertook the setup of the encampments separately,
Speaker 1: so that meant they each paid for their own stuff
Speaker 1: and they bolstered the industries of their own countries. And remember,
Speaker 1: in addition to just the housing that we've been talking about,
Speaker 1: they had to furnish all of those spaces. They had
Speaker 1: to provide bedding and dishware, and for the royal household,
Speaker 1: entire wardrobes had to be planned and constructed and then
Speaker 1: transported to the site. We'll talk a little bit about those,
Speaker 1: but these two kings were very into their clothes and
Speaker 1: both of them had a lot of direct say in
Speaker 1: what they wore. For this, there were feasts planned, which
Speaker 1: meant that not only did ovens have to be built
Speaker 1: on site, but all of the furniture, the linens, and
Speaker 1: other accouterment needed for banquets had to be ready. The
Speaker 1: two countries shared the expense of the millions and other
Speaker 1: facilities that were used for the tournament activities. In addition
Speaker 1: to all of the structures, there were food and drink logistics.
Speaker 1: There needed to be enough beer and wine for everyone
Speaker 1: to drink, as well as grain, meat, and cooking necessities
Speaker 1: like seasonings and spices. Every camp managed their own meat
Speaker 1: supply by traveling with livestock that would be killed and
Speaker 1: prepared as needed throughout the event, but also meant that
Speaker 1: there needed to be places for the animals to basically
Speaker 1: live to be stored before they were killed. Deer, sheep, poultry,
Speaker 1: and other livestock traveled across the English Channel or overland
Speaker 1: through France to get to the summit. These two countries
Speaker 1: built entire temporary towns just for this. Two and a
Speaker 1: half weeks of the tournament and festival, and because of
Speaker 1: the importance of this moment, no expense was spared. There
Speaker 1: are very few surviving plans or sketches of the layout
Speaker 1: of either of the camps. The majority of the information
Speaker 1: that we have about them is from descriptions. There is
Speaker 1: also a painting of the English camp, but that painting
Speaker 1: was commissioned by King Henry the Eighth, it's believed uh,
Speaker 1: and that didn't happen until twenty five years later in
Speaker 1: five It is not an accurate representation, although some of
Speaker 1: the details of it do definitely align with written accounts,
Speaker 1: including the lavish Golden Palace that the King of England
Speaker 1: had built, and throughout all of this construction it actually
Speaker 1: was being done over This entire foundation of risk cannot
Speaker 1: in terms of building structure, but because there was so
Speaker 1: much back and forth and renegotiation of terms and people
Speaker 1: disagreeing about how all of this was going to play out,
Speaker 1: that it was always possible at any moment that one
Speaker 1: of these kings was going to withdraw and refuse the
Speaker 1: entire meeting and the last days leading up to the
Speaker 1: summit there was ongoing negotiating. As Cardinal Wolseley traveled back
Speaker 1: and forth between the two kings, working out last minute
Speaker 1: disputes both about the event and about other issues, and
Speaker 1: just disagreements between the men. A betrothal between the countries
Speaker 1: was agreed upon, one that had previously been discussed but
Speaker 1: still needed confirmation. Henry's daughter, Princess Mary, was just four
Speaker 1: years old at the time and was affirmed as the
Speaker 1: future wife of Francis, the first son Daupha Francis. That
Speaker 1: arrangement would later be retracted, but in the final days
Speaker 1: of tension before the meeting, it was considered a settled matter,
Speaker 1: and the days before the official event kicked off, attendees
Speaker 1: arrived and they settled into their accommodations the encampments, and
Speaker 1: both spontaneous and very official meetings and introductions were conducted
Speaker 1: among all of these attending nobles. So make no mistake,
Speaker 1: even though there had been endless discussions about how this
Speaker 1: entire event was going to play out, to ensure equal
Speaker 1: city between Henry and Francis. As an assign I went
Speaker 1: with Francis for writing this instead of Francois because most
Speaker 1: history books that we have access to list him that way,
Speaker 1: just in case you're wondering um. But even though all
Speaker 1: of this discussion had gone on to make sure they
Speaker 1: appeared to be equal. Those two men did want to
Speaker 1: outdo one another in any way they could, and that
Speaker 1: carried through to their choice of clothing. Henry the Eighth,
Speaker 1: who at this point was twenty eight, he was kind
Speaker 1: of we we see paintings of him when he was
Speaker 1: later in life. Usually at this point he was kind
Speaker 1: of like in his young, hot prime. He was married
Speaker 1: to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, when this festival
Speaker 1: was mounted, and he began the festivals. In an article
Speaker 1: of clothing quote ribbed with cloth of gold of such
Speaker 1: shape and making that it was marvelous to behold. Later
Speaker 1: in the festivities, he is said to have worn a
Speaker 1: suit of armor that was trimmed with eleven pearls and
Speaker 1: an estimated two thousand ounces of gold. And according to
Speaker 1: an account written by a witness, because he had heard
Speaker 1: that Francis the First had a beard, Henry allowed his
Speaker 1: own beard to grow out. Because his beard was naturally read.
Speaker 1: It went with his gold everything else. There's more nuance
Speaker 1: to that story. He had actually promised the French king
Speaker 1: he would not shave his beard until the two men met.
Speaker 1: But that's like one of the tales that got told
Speaker 1: in real time about how this whole thing was going.
Speaker 1: For his part, Francis the First started the proceedings in
Speaker 1: a garment with swaths of golden embellishment and jewels kind
Speaker 1: of dripping off him, as well as these white, ostrich plumes.
Speaker 1: We will talk about how the field of cloth of
Speaker 1: gold began, including some trepidation on both sides, after we
Speaker 1: get back from a quick sponsor break. So to begin
Speaker 1: the festivities, the two kings road toward one another on horseback.
Speaker 1: This happened sometime between five pm and six pm on
Speaker 1: June seven. You'll see different times of day listed. As
Speaker 1: each of them set out from their encampment, three cannons
Speaker 1: were fired, so everyone was aware that they had started.
Speaker 1: If an onlooker didn't understand the context of this situation,
Speaker 1: it might very well have appeared that they were charging
Speaker 1: one another in anticipation of battle. Each of them had
Speaker 1: a whole procession with them, including infantry and mounted archers,
Speaker 1: and the exact arrangements of these attendants, like how they
Speaker 1: were positioned around their monarchs, has been debated for literal centuries.
Speaker 1: We don't really know, But of course, instead of fighting.
Speaker 1: As they approached one another, they doffed their caps, dismounted, embraced,
Speaker 1: and then entered into a gold draped pavilion built expressly
Speaker 1: for this opening ceremony meeting. The two kings proclaimed their
Speaker 1: willingness to adhere to the plan of brotherhood. Exact accounts
Speaker 1: of what was said in that tent differ. That is
Speaker 1: one of the things I want to talk about behind
Speaker 1: the scenes. But the result of all of this, even
Speaker 1: though accounts vary, is what matth nerd. The summit had
Speaker 1: officially started. The whole thing almost didn't happen, though, because
Speaker 1: of a bit of confusion as things began. As the
Speaker 1: processions came into sight of one another, both men were
Speaker 1: surprised by the size of the other countries group. Both
Speaker 1: processions stopped briefly wondering if they had been duped or
Speaker 1: lured into some kind of an attack. Each king needed
Speaker 1: to be reassured by an advisor that everything was fine,
Speaker 1: that it was all proceeding as agreed. No, No, that's
Speaker 1: the same size as your group, I promise, honey, let's go.
Speaker 1: The tournament aspect of this meeting was very much kind
Speaker 1: of like military training. Like we said, the two kings
Speaker 1: were going to be on the same side, so it
Speaker 1: wasn't serious combat, even though everyone is said to have
Speaker 1: done their best. Uh. There was a jousting competition, there
Speaker 1: was a mounted combat tourney, and then there was a
Speaker 1: competition of combat on foot. So the two kings headed
Speaker 1: up a team that would take on challengers, and no
Speaker 1: challenger was turned away. Although the number of times each
Speaker 1: competition could run was limited to eight, that only happened
Speaker 1: that limit number after a lot of negotiating, because initially
Speaker 1: the plan was will just keep going until everyone has
Speaker 1: gotten to fight that wants to, but that was not
Speaker 1: really a tenable plan. Competitions took place throughout the entire
Speaker 1: run of the summit, although they did not take place
Speaker 1: on holy days or feast days. The jousting on June sixteenth,
Speaker 1: for example, was based on record extremely vigorous. Each king
Speaker 1: broke more than a dozen lances. Francis the first, actually
Speaker 1: received a minor head wound at his temple. The kings
Speaker 1: had taken more than eight challenges that day because so
Speaker 1: many men wanted to participate and they both were game
Speaker 1: to keep going. At the end of the day, Henry
Speaker 1: and Francis had scored a win. Their numbers were the highest.
Speaker 1: Henry the Eighth had a special suit of armor made
Speaker 1: for the competition that covered his entire body, but was
Speaker 1: made of narrow plates of steel that were affixed to
Speaker 1: leather strips. This results to a high degree of articulation
Speaker 1: over a normal suit of armor, and the way that
Speaker 1: it balanced weight made it more comfortable for the wearer
Speaker 1: as well. That suit of armor is now part of
Speaker 1: the collection of the Royal Armories Museum in Leeds. You
Speaker 1: can see photos of it online. It's clear just how
Speaker 1: intricate its construction is even in the pictures. Yeah, they
Speaker 1: have actually done over the years. I didn't find one
Speaker 1: for this, but I'm sure there's still some online videos
Speaker 1: of a person wearing that armor and moving to show
Speaker 1: you just how much freedom of motion is available, which
Speaker 1: is not normally the case at all with a suit
Speaker 1: of armor. Uh. There were also entertainments and social events.
Speaker 1: Musicians played, There were masquerade parties. Apparently Henry the Eighth
Speaker 1: kept trying to fool people, but he was so obviously
Speaker 1: who he was, even in a costume that had never worked,
Speaker 1: and performers would enter aane attendees with dance and poetry, recitation,
Speaker 1: and other kinds of entertainment, and the clothes became their
Speaker 1: own entertainment. So we've been talking about them a few times,
Speaker 1: but each monarch seemed to wear one heavily embroidered and
Speaker 1: embellished outfit after another. Henry's are generally written about as
Speaker 1: though they were the more flamboyant, but Francis had his
Speaker 1: own unique style that I think it's kind of cool.
Speaker 1: Over the course, for example, of the jousting competitions, the
Speaker 1: clothes that he had had made for those competitions were
Speaker 1: embroidered with words, and each costumes words built on the
Speaker 1: previous one until he had assembled through wearing them the
Speaker 1: poetic line heart fastened in pain endless when she delivereth
Speaker 1: me not of bonds. During the course of the celebration,
Speaker 1: Henry the Eighth broke the rules about the monarch's not
Speaker 1: competing with each other when he challenged Francis to a
Speaker 1: wrestling match. Henry was intoxicated when he did this and
Speaker 1: kind of got his tail hand it to him. Francis,
Speaker 1: who Henry had not known was an expert in wrestling,
Speaker 1: had won the match quickly with a hip throw. This
Speaker 1: incident showed up in a lot of French accounts characterizing
Speaker 1: Henry the Eighth as an oath, and English accounts generally
Speaker 1: avoid all mention of it. This is an interesting one
Speaker 1: because it would have been incredibly embarrassing, But even most
Speaker 1: French accounts are pretty gracious about saying, oh, he handled
Speaker 1: the defeat graciously. He got up and went. You know,
Speaker 1: he allegedly challenged Frances again and Frances was like, no, dude. Um.
Speaker 1: We don't really know if he had hurt feelings about it.
Speaker 1: That is not recorded. The second to last day of
Speaker 1: the summit, during a mass that was given by Wolsey,
Speaker 1: a massive kite appeared in the sky, and this was
Speaker 1: a giant hoop kite, so uh fabric stretched around big hoops,
Speaker 1: and it was made to look like a beast. Does
Speaker 1: a matter of some debate, it was long and dragon
Speaker 1: like by many accounts. This has been stated by some
Speaker 1: to have been a Welsh dragon, which would have been
Speaker 1: a nod to Henry the eight ancestry, but it has
Speaker 1: also been recorded as a salamander, which was Francis. The
Speaker 1: first symbol in that painting that we mentioned earlier, commissioned
Speaker 1: by Henry the Eighth, it is very much a dragon,
Speaker 1: But as for who knows what it was in the day,
Speaker 1: no one uh all agreed that it was incredibly impressive,
Speaker 1: and some accounts even say that it breathed fire that
Speaker 1: would lead it over to the Welsh dragon side. If
Speaker 1: those accounts are accurate, the mythical salamander also has fire
Speaker 1: associated with it. June this was the final day of
Speaker 1: the gathering, and it was a Sunday. All the competition
Speaker 1: was complete. That last day included only dining and parties.
Speaker 1: Awards were given out to tournament prize winners. Henry and
Speaker 1: Francis had one last private meeting where they said good
Speaker 1: by to one another, and then the summit was considered
Speaker 1: a great success. You're probably wondering what all of this
Speaker 1: Shenanigan's costs. Estimates in recent years regarding what field of
Speaker 1: cloth of gold celebration would cost in modern currency landed
Speaker 1: at about nineteen million dollars. Currency conversion three time is
Speaker 1: very inexact. We always say that, so take that number
Speaker 1: with a grain of salt, but there is no denying
Speaker 1: that it was incredibly excessive and expensive. We do have
Speaker 1: some other statistics that do not need to be converted.
Speaker 1: Over the course of the event, twenty nine thousand fish,
Speaker 1: thousand eggs, six thousand, four hundred seventy five birds, two thousand,
Speaker 1: two hundred sheep, and two hundred sixteen thousand gallons of
Speaker 1: wine were served. Seventeen hundred swords were purchased for the
Speaker 1: various competitions, as well as armor of both metal and
Speaker 1: leather for all of the participants, and there had been
Speaker 1: four forges built near the field of the tournament so
Speaker 1: that weapons could be served ist is needed Throughout. This
Speaker 1: extravagant event is often described as being ultimately kind of
Speaker 1: a lot of fuss with no real benefit. It was
Speaker 1: not the harbinger of an extended period of peace between
Speaker 1: the two nations as it was built. Henry, for example,
Speaker 1: had been having meetings with Charles the fifth of the
Speaker 1: Holy Roman Empire right before the Field of Cloth of Gold,
Speaker 1: and the intent always was jockey for the best possible
Speaker 1: outcome for himself and England, and even the gestures Francis
Speaker 1: and Henry showed one another in the weeks leading up
Speaker 1: to the party kind of seemed like dares to the
Speaker 1: other to do something equivalent. So, for example, when Henry
Speaker 1: the Eighth sent one of his favorite and most trusted confidant,
Speaker 1: Sir Richard Wingfield to France as an ambassador. Francis the
Speaker 1: First gave the man the same access to himself and
Speaker 1: the royal apartments as he had had in England, which
Speaker 1: was unprecedented, and then in response, Henry gave a number
Speaker 1: of French nobles who were considered hostages in England similar treatment.
Speaker 1: They became as much a part of hunting parties and
Speaker 1: banquets as any member of the English court. It's like, oh,
Speaker 1: you are gracious to my people, while I am super gracious.
Speaker 1: Two years uh, it's the gracious off. Within a month
Speaker 1: of the Field of Cloth of Gold concluding, Henry had
Speaker 1: started an alliance with Charles the Fifth, which undermined the
Speaker 1: whole purpose of the Field of Cloth of Gold. The
Speaker 1: following year, France was at war with the Holy Roman Empire,
Speaker 1: and when England was officially drawn into the conflict in
Speaker 1: fifty two, it was in support of Charles the Fifth,
Speaker 1: pitting England and France against each other just like old time.
Speaker 1: So so much for all the brotherhood that they talked
Speaker 1: about in this event. After the summit, Henry and Frances
Speaker 1: did not see each other again for more than twelve years.
Speaker 1: In fifty two, Henry the Eight fled to France with
Speaker 1: a Lynn, asking Frances to intercede with the pope on
Speaker 1: their behalf so that Henry could have his marriage to
Speaker 1: Catherine Annuld. Historian Glenn Richardson makes the case in his
Speaker 1: book about the event that it had significance despite the
Speaker 1: way things played out in the aftermath of it, writing
Speaker 1: quote that medieval and Renaissance elites valued theatrical extravagance is
Speaker 1: beyond doubt. But this was a very different thing from
Speaker 1: pointless frivolity. By Richardson's reckoning, it was really more than
Speaker 1: the start of a truce. It offered Europe a moment
Speaker 1: of hope during a period of crisis, and hope that
Speaker 1: even long established rivalries might be put aside. Yeah, if
Speaker 1: you look at it that way, it kind of fulfills
Speaker 1: Woolsey's hopes that like no, I'm I'm showing you guys
Speaker 1: that we can be friends. People can be friends if
Speaker 1: they choose to. Warring countries can find a path through.
Speaker 1: There is also, if you look at the way that
Speaker 1: negotiations played out, each of these men walked into this
Speaker 1: thinking that they had gotten the upper hand, which is
Speaker 1: pretty interesting. Uh. Today the area where the tournament field
Speaker 1: was located remains undeveloped open land. There's actually a granite
Speaker 1: marker for it roughly a mile outside of Ardre, so
Speaker 1: you can go visit. Some of the exact locations of
Speaker 1: things are difficult to pin down because as we said,
Speaker 1: we we don't have plans surviving for most of it,
Speaker 1: and its surveying would have been very different than anyway
Speaker 1: to what we understand now. But uh, I just can't
Speaker 1: help but laugh. My dudes, Uh, do you want to
Speaker 1: hear some listener mail? That's very cute. This is some
Speaker 1: of the tail end of the stuff that I physically
Speaker 1: got from the office. So and this is when that
Speaker 1: I don't know if we have ever read any of
Speaker 1: brandy stuff before. She has sent us many things over
Speaker 1: the years which she talks about ah shrides. Dear Holly
Speaker 1: and Tracy, I would like to start off by wishing
Speaker 1: you both a magical Christmas reason and by thank hey
Speaker 1: you for all the knowledge that you passed into the
Speaker 1: world of podcasting for us listeners to enjoy. We sure
Speaker 1: did miss a lot in history class. Now I send you,
Speaker 1: ladies a Christmas card. Every year, each featuring one of
Speaker 1: our many pets. This year's highlights Vegas, my nine year
Speaker 1: old great Dane. I want to kiss that dog so bad.
Speaker 1: It's such a cutie pie. I love a great Dane.
Speaker 1: This photo was taken just one week before he had
Speaker 1: a tennis ball sized tumor removed from his chest. We
Speaker 1: did the photo shoot back in February because we were
Speaker 1: not sure whether or not he would survive surgery. We
Speaker 1: have lost a great dame to annesthesia in the past,
Speaker 1: or if he would be with us for pictures come
Speaker 1: the appropriate time of year. I'm ecstatic and grateful to
Speaker 1: say that our Vegas is still with us, as funky
Speaker 1: as ever, and still does not act as though he
Speaker 1: is actually a senior. Speaking of seniors, this brings me
Speaker 1: to the wallet sized photo that I have additionally included.
Speaker 1: Although we are strangers, I have heard both of your
Speaker 1: lovely voices every week for ten years, and I feel
Speaker 1: as though we are friends. I also knew that you
Speaker 1: ladies would appreciate just how cute this picture is. This
Speaker 1: is one of our engagement photos from back in May
Speaker 1: of this year. She wrote this in It's last year.
Speaker 1: My fiancee's dog Sibby, who was one of the two
Speaker 1: dogs that you featured on last year's Christmas card, is
Speaker 1: ten years old and she is actually the reason that
Speaker 1: we met. She accompanied us on our first date, so
Speaker 1: we found it quite fitting to have her with us
Speaker 1: for our engagement photo shoot, which was held at the
Speaker 1: same location as our first date. I just wanted to
Speaker 1: share these warm fuzzies with two of my favorite people.
Speaker 1: She also included some cat related gifts. I need to
Speaker 1: forward some of that parcel to you, Tracy. UM and
Speaker 1: she says, may every moment of your holidays be decorated
Speaker 1: with love and joy. Brandy, Brandy. I I don't know
Speaker 1: that I've ever mentioned on the show before, but I
Speaker 1: have always loved your Christmas cards because they are so sweet.
Speaker 1: There's always a sweet animal in them, and they're just
Speaker 1: darling pictures that look so joyous and beautiful. UM, so
Speaker 1: thank you, thank you. I love that from you. Your
Speaker 1: dog is as much a part of your relationship and
Speaker 1: her engagement as any as either of you. And congratulations.
Speaker 1: I don't know if their engagement has culminated in a
Speaker 1: wedding yet, but um, whenever that happens or has happened,
Speaker 1: I hope it was abundant joy. This is so sweet
Speaker 1: and they love these and they do make me feel
Speaker 1: a warm and fuzzy anything great, really cute. Um, if
Speaker 1: you would like to write to us, Unfortunately, as we've said,
Speaker 1: we don't have a physical office right now. Um, there's
Speaker 1: a little madness going on, but so email is the
Speaker 1: safe bet. You could do that at History podcast at
Speaker 1: iHeart radio dot com. You can also find us on
Speaker 1: social media as missed in History And if you have
Speaker 1: not subscribed to the show yet and you would like to,
Speaker 1: so easy you can do that on the I heart
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Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of
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