LORDS OF MISRULE

 

'Sports and follies against the Pope'

"... the eruption of misrule registered under Henry and Edward ... that festive mode characterized by licence, parody, and inversion known in England as misrule ... early Tudor evangelical propaganda as characterized by a 'gleeful destructiveness' in 'utilising public ridicule against traditional devotion' while employing a 'savagely symbolic overturning of the past'."

     "Insight into the motives behind evangelical topsy-turveydom is provided by what amounts to a strategy statement left to us by Thomas Cromwell's secretary Richard Morison, entitled A Discourse Touching the Reformation of the Lawes of England (1534-5). Since carnivalesque processions and plays are 'daily by all meanes ... inculked and driven into the peoples heddes' to prop up 'the bysshop of Rome', Morison reasons, reformers must fight back with the same weapons, while eradicating Catholic traditions:

'Howmoche better is it that [their] plaies shuld be forbodden and deleted and others dyvysed to set forthe ... lyvely before the peoples eies the abbomynation and wickednes of the bisshop of Rome, monkes, ffreers ... and suche like'.

To make reform appeal to 'the commen people', for whom 'thynges sooner enter by the eies, then by eares', some things 'are to be born withal, thowghe som thing in them ... be misliked'; Morison thus advocates that the English 'ought [to] ... go in procession' as  a festive 'memoryall of the distruction of the bishop of Rome out of this Realm'. In short, Morison's plan promoted the appropriation of the carnivalesque as a means of inculcating Reformation."

     "Following late-Henrician efforts to repress it, evangelical misrule expanded during the zealous reign of Edward VI (1547-53), when royally sponsored entertainments at court were dominated by anti-papist revels. Such revels were initially organised by Sir Thomas Cawarden, Master of Revels and a 'committed evangelical' who 'collaborated in devising and producing propaganda under Somerset['s Protectorship]'. Revels accounts indicate that the first season of Edwardian entertainment, at Shrovetide, 1547-8, included an anti-papist play in  which Edward himself performed as a priest' and which required 'Cardynalles hates for players' and 'ffyne golde for the making of Crownes & Crosses for the poope in the play. The 1550-1 season likewise involved papist 'me[i]ters for plaiers'."

     "When we turn to Christ's College [Cambridge], here too we find striking Edwardian enthusiasm for misrule. After a hiatus following innovation in the misrule of 1539-40, there are extant records of costume chests in 1550-1, of visits by parish Lords of 'trinitie parish' and 'saint andrewes' who performed 'shewes' in 1552-3, and of payments to 'ye carpenter for ... setting ... vp ... ye houses and other things' in connection with 'S. Stephenson['s] play' in 1551-2. This play was likely the mock-Terentian Gammer Gurton's Needle, which features iconoclastic, carnivalesque mock-rituals involving conjuring, superstitious oaths, kneeling, candles, ass-kissing, and excrement ...

['footnote: See especially the following carnivalesque parody of the Catholic mass:

TYB: Nay, break it you Hodge, according to your word.

HODGE: Gog's sides, fye, it stinks; it is a cat's turd!

When Hodge breaks the 'turd' in search of the needle, the staging self-consciously offers a parody of the breaking of the bread in the mass. Hodge completes the debased ritual in offering to make the kneeling Tyb eat the turd, as the timely oath ('by the Mass!') drives home the point'.]

... 'Christ's College was Edwardian ... in its sympathies ... there was rapid turnover in  personnel in the years [of his Catholic sister Queen Mary's reign]', including the absence of William Stephenson, apparent author of Gammer Gurton's Needle, as a Marian exile to 1559."

     "But it is especially entertainments performed by the favourite George Ferrers, 'promoted to the royal household ... by Cromwell in 1539', and later appointed as the Lord of Misrule for the last two years of Edward's reign, that best reveal the incredible scale ― and zeal ― of Edwardian misrule."

Robert Hornback, 2007, 'The Reasons of Misrule Revisited: Evangelical Appropriation of Carnival in Tudor Revels', Early Theatre, vol 10, no 1, pp 36, 37, 43, 49 (ftnt 105), 43-44.

January 1552, City of London

The iiij day of Januarii was made a grett skaffold [in Ch]epe hard by the crosse, 

On 4th day of January there was made a great scaffold in Cheap, right next to the Cross,

agaynst the kynges lord of myss[rule] cumyng from Grewych: and landed at Towre warff,

ready for the King's Lord of Misrule coming from Greenwich, and landing at Tower Wharf,

[and with] hym yonge knyghts and gentyllmen a gret mombur on [horse b]ake

and with him young knights and gentlemen, a great number on hoprseback,

sum in gownes and cotes and chynes abowt ther nekes, every man havyng a balderyke

some in gowns and cloaks and chains around their necks, every man having a baldric

of yelow and grene abowt ther nekes, and on the Towre hyll ther they [went in] order,

of yellow and green around their necks, and on Tower Hill they went in procession,

first a standard of yelow and grene sylke with Sant Gorge, and then gonnes and skuybes,

first a standard of yellow and green silk with Saint George, and then guns and squibs,

and trompets and bagespipes, and drusselers and flutes, and then a gret compeny 

and trumpets and bagpipes, and drumslades and flutes, and then a great company 

all in yelow and gren, and docturs declaryng my lord grett, 

all in yellow and green, and university men declaring my lord [of misrule (is)] great,

and then the mores danse, dansing with a tabret and afor xx of ys consell on horsbake

and then the Morris Dancers, dancing with a tabret in front of 20 of his Council on horseback

in gownes of chanabulle lynyd with blue taffata and capes of the sam, lyke sage (men);

in gowns of 'changeable' colour lined with blue taffeta and caps of the same, like wise men;

then cam my lord with a gowne of gold furyd with fur of the goodlyest collers as ever youe saw

then came my lord in a gown of gold dressed with fur of the best colours that you ever saw,

and then ys ... and after cam alff a hundred in red and wyht, tallmen [of] the gard,

and the his .... and after him came half a hundred in red and white, tall-men of the Guard,

with hods of the sam coler, and came into the cete, the whyche cared the pelere,

with hoods of the same color, and they came into the City, with a cart which carried the pillory,

the a ... [the] jubett, the stokes, and at the crose in Chepe a gret broad s[kaffold] to go up;

the a ... the gibbet, the stocks, and at the Cross in Cheap a great broad scaffold to climb up,

then cam up the trumpeter, the harold [and the] doctur of the law, and ther was a 

then came up the trumpeter, the herald and the doctor of the law, and there was a

proclamasyon mad of my lord['s] progeny, and of ys gret howshold that [he kept],

proclamation made of my lord's inheritors, and of his great household that he kept,

and of ys dyngnyte; and there was a hoghed of wyne [at] the skaffold, 

and of his dignity; and there was a hogshead barrel of wine at the scaffold,

and ther my lord dranke, and ys consell, and [had] the hed smyttyn owt 

and ther my lord drank, and so did his Council, and they had the head knocked out

that every body mytht drinke, and [money] cast about them,

so that every body there might drink, and coins were cast about them,

and after my lord['s] grase rod unto my lord mer and all ys men to dener,

and afterwards my Lord of Misrule rode on to my Lord Mayor's for dinner with all his men,

for there was dener as youe have sene;

for there was as great a dinner as you have ever seen;

and after he took his hers, and rod to my Lord Tresorer at Frer Austens,

and after that he took his horse, and rode to my Lord Treasurer's at Austin Friars,

and so to Bysshopgate, and so to Towre warff, and toke barge to Grenwyche.

and then to Bishopsgate, and then to Tower Wharf, and then by barge back to Greenwich.

ed. JG Nichols, 1848, The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant Taylor of London, 1550-1563, Camden Record Series, vol 42, p 13

A PANORAMA OF LONDON (before the Fire of London in 1666)

'The King's Lord of Misrule'

     "Among the entertainments offered by Ferrers in 1551-2, for example, was 'a dronken Maske'. Special direction was also provided in the Revels Accounts for Misrule's fool, this time played by one of the King's Players, John Smith: 'one vices dagger & a ladle with a bable pendante ... delivered to the Lord of misrules foole ... & other weapons for the lorde of Mysrule & his fooles'. But the highlight, as described by diarist Henry Machyn, was Ferrer's arrival at Tower Wharf and the subsequent procession as the Lord of Misrule on 4 January in Lonbdon where, in an iconoclastic public entertainment, there 'was mad[e] a grett skaffold in Chepe hard by the crosse' ― later confirmed as 'at the crosse in Chepe'. This site 'right at the heart of the city' ... was 'London's leading monument' and featured a 'wealth of religious imagery' and 'problematical iconography', including a standing figure of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child and, at the very top, a cross; it was at this Catholic monument, which zealous reformers would call 'that gorgeous Idoll', where 'my lord dranke'. Here the Lord of Misrule came in procession with 'a gret company all in yelow and gren', colors traditionally associated with misrule, but also, following the Lord himself, a hooded retinue of '[h]alff a hundred in red and wyht, colors associated with 'papistry' ..."

     "Hints of anti-papist import are even indicated in Machyn's description of the 1551-2 season procession being led by 'furst a standard of yelow and grene sylke with Sant Gorge'. This saint's appearance reflected the recent Edwardian assault on St. George as a figure of Catholic legend. By the January 1550-1 season, Edward had already purged papist vestiges from the Order of St. George, which he renamed the Order of the Garter, and whose observances he moved from the feast of the saint, near summer, to the fall [autumn]. The new statutes read: 'First, it is agreed that, whereas this ordre was called the ordre of saint George, whereby th'onour due to God was gevin to a creature, it shall no more be so called, nor yet saint George reputed as patron thereof, but it shall be called th'ordre of the gartier, or defence of the trueth.' In misrule the following year, which, Ferrers warned a rival, 'was not of our device but of the Counseill's appoyntement', St. George in turn became the patron of disorder and superstition."

     "Furthering anti-papist hostility, Ferrer's 1551-2 entertainment in London, culminating in his arrival at the scaffold at Cheapside Cross, required 'stockes', 'a pyllary', 'a payer of manacles', 'Ieylers', and, most ominously, a 'hedding block', all of which were 'boghte for the lord of misrule and occupied abowte hym' (in Revels Accounts). Ferrers evidently staged a popish Misrule's elaborate mock-execution before a massive audience, according to Machyn, on 'a gret brod skaffold' at the cross-idol in Cheapside where 'there was a hoghed of wyne [at] the skaffold, and ther my lord dranke'. Misrule's entry into London the following year similarly featured not just friars and fools, but ys gayllers ..., stokes, and ys axe, gyffes, and boltes, sum fast by the leges and sum by the nekes'. In employing such theatrics, Ferrers became a semi-professional stage clown, jeering against now-criminalised Catholicism."

Hornback 2007, excerpts from pp 51, 52, 53

January 1553, City of London

     The same day ['The iiij day of January] a-ffore non landyd at the Towre w[harf]

     On the 4th day of January, before noon, there landed at the Tower Wharf

      the Kynges lord of myssrulle, and ther met with hym the [Shreffes] lord of myssrule
      the King's Lord of Misrule, where they were met by the Sheriff's Lord of Misrule

      with ys men, and every on having a reby[nd of bllue] and whytt a-bowt ther nekes,

      with his men, and every one having a ribbon of blue and white around their necks,

     and then ys trumpet, [druws], mores dansse, and tabrett, and he took a swaerd

     and also his trumpet, drums, Morris Dancers, and tabret, and he took a sword

     and bare yt a-fore the kynges lord of myssrule, for that lord was gorgyusly a[rrayed in]

     and raised it in front of the King's Lord of Misrule, who was gorgeously arrayed in

     purprelle welvet furyd with armyn, and ys robe braded with spangulls of selver full;

     purple velvet lined with ermine, and his robe was braided with spangles of pure silver;

     and a-bowt ym syngers, and a-for him on gret horses and in cottes and cloaks of ...

     and around him singers, and in front of him on great horses and in coats and cloaks of ...

     in-brodered with gold and with balderykes a-bowt ther nekes, whytt and blue sarsenets,

     embroidered with gold and with baldrics around their necks, white and blue sarsenets,

     and the rest of ys servands in blux garded with whytt, and next a-for ys consell

     and the rest of his servants in blue edged with white, and next in front his Council

     in bluw taffata and ther capes of whytt ... ys trumpeters, taburs, drumes, and flutes

     in blue taffeta and their caps of white ... his trumpeters, tabors, drums, and flutes

     and fulles and ys mores dansse, gunes, mores-pykes, bagpypes, and ys 

     and fools and his Morris Dancers, guns, morris-instruments, bagpipes, and his 

  

     mass ... and ys gayllers with pelere, stokes, and ys axe, gyffes, and boltes

     messengers ... and his gaolers with pillory, stocks, and his axe, shackles, and bolts,

     sum fast by the leges and sum by the nekes, and so rod through Marke lane,

     some held by the legs and some by the necks, and so [they] rode through Marke Lane,

     and so thrugh Grasyus strett and Cornhylle; and ...

     and so through [Graschestret] and Cornhill; and ...

     .......

     trompet blohying, makyng a proclamasyon ... and so the kyn g('s) lord was cared

     trumpet blowing, making a proclamation ... and so the King's Lord of Misrule was carried

     from the skaffold; and after the shreyffes lord; and the kynges [lord gave] the

     from the scaffold; and then the Sheriff' Lord; and the King's Lord gave the

     the shreyffes lord a gown with gold and sylver, and a[non] after he knelyd downe

     the Sheriff's Lord a gown with gold and silver, and then after he kneeled down

     and he toke a sword and gayffe [him three] strokes and mad ym knyght,

     and he took a sword and gave him three strikes and made him a knight,

     and after they dran[k one to t]hodur a-pon the skaffold, and ys coffrer castyng

     and after they drank to one another upon the scaffold, and his cofferer casting

     gold and sylver in every plase as they rod, and after ys co[ffrer] ys carege 

     gold and silver in every place as they rode, and after ys co[ffrer] his carriage

     with hys cloth-saykes on horsse back; [and so went] a-bowt Chepe,

     with his cloth sacks on horseback; and they all went about Cheapside,

     with ys gayllers and ys presoners; and [afterwards] the ij lordes toke ther hossys 

     with his gaolers and his prisoners; and afterwards the two lords took their horses

     and rod unto my [lord] mare to dener; and after he cam bake thrugh [Chepe] 

     and rode to my Lord Mayor's to have dinner, and after he came back through Cheap

     to the crosse, and so done Wodstrett unto the shreyffes  [house for] more (than)

     to the Cross, and then down Wood Street to the Sheriff's house for more than

     alff a nore and so for the Olde Jewry and Lo[ndon wall unto my lord tresorer plasse,

     half an hour; and then down Old Jewry and London Wall to my Lord Treasurer's place,

     and ther they had a [great] banket the spasse of alff a nore; and so done to

     and there they had a great banquet in the space of half an hour; and so down to

     Bysshopgate and to Ledenhall and thrughe Fanchyrche strett and so to the

     Bishopsgate and to  Leadenhall and through Fenchurch Street and then to the

     Towre warffe, and the shreyff['s] lord gohyng with him with torche-lyght and ther 

     Tower Wharf, and the Sheriff's Lord going with him by torch-light and there

 

     the kynges lord toke ys pynnes with a grett shott of gonnes, and so the shreyffes

     the King's Lord took to his pinnace with a great shot of guns, and so the Sheriff's

     lord toke ys leyff of ym and cam home merele with ys mores dansse danssyng

     Lord took his leave of him and came home merrily with his Morris Dancers dancing

     and so forth.

     and so forth.

  Nichols 1848, Machyn's Diary manuscript continued, p 28

'Which The Visitors Liked Not'

      "A final striking example of evangelical use of humorous carnivalesque cultural vehicles as propaganda may be found in the prominence of the Morris dance and its characteristic Hobby horse in Ferrer's entertaining ... The revels of 1551-2 included a mock combat featuring several 'hoby-horses' ... In the end, there were thirteen Hobby-horse, including a grotesque one 'with 3 heads' for the Lord of Misrule' ... The entertainments of 1552-3 would require still more ― 'xxvj Hobby horses'. (Revels Accounts).

       On both occasions, Machyn's diary repeatedly confirms the conspicuousness of 'morse danse dansyng' (1551-2), the 'mores dansse', 'ys mores dansse', and 'ys mores dansse danssyng' (1552-3), ... It is significant that Morison [1534, A Discourse] made special mention of Morris dance 'playes of Robyn hoode and mayde Marian' which featured 'rebawdry' that could be appropriated for propaganda.

       At Edward's court, Morison's proposed arrogation of the Morris in anti-papist festivity was put to use alongside foolish priests, monks, friars, jugglers, tumblers, fools, religious processions, and the mass. Here, in full, was ... spectacle employed to create and increase horror at purported Catholic impiety and to arouse hatred ... to promote precisely the iconoclastic impulses later exhibited ..."

      "Over the three decades that the Reformation had established a strong footing in England, misrule had become less about the temporary inversion of accepted authority than the iconoclastic tearing down of 'popery'. From the traditionalists' perspective, misrule was now ... associated ... with heresy ... Because evangelical propaganda and polemic had promoted the idea that Catholicism was folly, Marian authorities laboured to disassociate irreverence and religion by censoring evangelical misrule.

       [Queen] Mary's first proclamation [II no. 390, 1 Mary 1, (1553), 6] forbade religious satire, singling out 'playing' in any way 'touching the high points and mysteries of Christian religion'. In 1554, as Parliament reenacted medieval statutes against heresy, the visitation articles of Bishop Bonner (... 'Bloody Bonner') sought printers and booksellers associated with 'slanderous books, ballads, or plays, contrary to Christian religion' or any lay people who 'jangled ... or played the fool during mass or otherwise mocked the priests'."

      "As for London misrule, after a gap of four years following Edward's death in 1557, within days of 'Gospellers' trying to publicly perform a mock mass suggesting 'the communion was play', after which the ringleaders were burned for 'herese', Machyn records a Lord of Misrule now defiantly riding through the city. This time, he set out from the now Catholic Westminster with 'm[a]ny disgyssyd in whytt'. Misrule himself 'was browth [brought] in-to the contur in the Pultre [i.e. the Compter in the Poultry, a small prison at Cheapside run by a City sheriff] and dyver[se] of ys men lay all nyght ther'. Contrary to the patronage misrule had experienced under Edward, under Mary the Lord's company was treated to a night in gaol."

Hornback 2007, extracts from pp 53-4, 55-6, 57.