The Field of Cloth of Gold , or in French Le Camp du Drap d'Or, is the name given to a place in Balinghem, between Guînes and Ardres, in France, near Calais. Guînes (Gizerne in Dutch)is the chief town of the canton of the north of France in the Pas-de-Calais (62) department of Calais. ... Ardres is a town of northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, 101 mi. ... Calais is a town in northern France, located at 50°57N 1°52E. It is in the département of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ...

The solecism Field of the Cloth of Gold has entered general use in the English language since at least the eighteenth century. In linguistic prescriptivism, a solecism is a grammatical or other mistake or absurdity. ...

It was the site of a spectacular meeting that took place from June 7 to June 24, 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting was arranged to increase the bond of friendship between the two kings following the Anglo-French treaty of 1518. June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... mary elline m. ... For other meanings see Henry VIII (disambiguation). ... Francis I (François Ier in French) (September 12, 1494 – March 31, 1547), called the Father and Restorer of Letters (le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres), was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547. ... Events A plague of tropical fire ants devastates crops on Hispaniola. ...

Background

Two great powers were emerging in Europe at this time, France under Francis I and the Habsburg Empire under Charles V. England, still a lesser power, was being courted as an ally by the two major powers. The 1518 Treaty of London, a non-aggression pact between major European powers to help resist the Ottoman expansion into southeastern Europe, had just been signed. Henry also held less spectacular meetings with Charles V a month before the Field of Cloth of Gold in the Netherlands and again afterwards at Calais. Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. ... Charles V (24 February 1500 - 21 September 1558) was ruler of the Burgundian territories (1506-1555), King of Spain (1516-1556), King of Naples and Sicily (1516-1554), Archduke of Austria (1519-1521), King of the Romans (or German King), (1519-1556 but did not formally abdicate until 1558) and... Events A plague of tropical fire ants devastates crops on Hispaniola. ... Treaty of London in 1518 was a non aggresion pact between the major European nations. ...

Both Henry and Francis wished to be seen as Renaissance princes. Renaissance thinking held that a strong prince could choose peace from a place of strength. The meeting was designed to show how magnificent each court was and how this could be a basis for mutual respect and peace between nations who were traditional enemies. Henry and Francis were also similar figures of similar age and dashing reputations, so there was almost certainly a mutual curiosity.

Everything was arranged to provide equality between the two sides. The meeting place was at the very edge of the English territory around Calais. The valley where the first meeting took place was landscaped to provide areas of equal elevation for the two national parties. The whole event was planned and executed by Cardinal Wolsey, who as a Papal legate had immense power in the name of the Pope. He was charismatic, eloquent and a master diplomat. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (c. ... A papal Legate, from the Decretals of Boniface VIII (1294 to 1303). ... The current Pope is Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger), who was elected at the age of 78 on 19 April 2005. ...

The meeting

Each king tried to outshine the other, with dazzling tents and clothes, huge feasts, music, jousting, and games. The tents and the costumes displayed so much cloth of gold, an expensive fabric woven with silk and gold thread, that the site of the meeting was named after it. Jousting is a staple entertainment at Renaissance Fairs. ... Cloth of gold is a fabric woven with a gold-wrapped or spun weft - referred to as a spirally spun gold strip. In most cases, the core yarn is silk wrapped with a band/ or strip of high content gold filé. In rarer instances, fine linen and wool have been...

The most elaborate arrangements were made for the accommodation of the two monarchs and their large retinues; and on Henry's part especially no efforts were spared to make a great impression in Europe with this meeting. Before the castle of Guides, a temporary palace covering an area of nearly 12,000 square yards (about 10,000 square metres), was erected for the reception of the English king. The palace was in four blocks with a central courtyard; each side was about 300 feet (91 metres) long. The only solid part was the brick base about 8 feet (2½ metres) high. Above the brickwork, the 30-foot- (10-meter-) high walls were made of cloth or canvas on timber frames, painted to look like stone or brick. The slanting roof was made of oiled cloth painted to give the colour of lead and the illusion of slates. Contemporaries commented especially on the huge expanse of glass, which made visitors feel they were in the open air. It was decorated in the most sumptuous fashion and was furnished with a profusion of golden ornaments. Red wine flowed from the two fountains outside. The chapel was served by thirty-five priests. Composer Jean Mouton was most likely in charge of the musical production by Francis I; the French royal chapel had one of the finest choirs in Europe, and contemporary accounts indicated that they "delighted their hearers." ^[1] The wooden ceiling for one of the tents may later have been installed in the New Chapel at Ightham Mote where, with its colours faded, one with appropriate features can still be seen.^[2] Jean Mouton (c. ... Ightham Mote (pronounced like item moat) is a medieval moated manor house close to the village of Ightham, near Sevenoaks in Kent. ...

Some idea of the size of Henry's following may be gathered from the fact that in one month 2200 sheep and other viands in a similar proportion were consumed. In the fields beyond the castle, tents to the number of 2800 were erected for less distinguished visitors, and the whole scene was one of the greatest animation. Ladies gorgeously clad, and knights, showing by their dress and bearing their anxiety to revive the glories and the follies of the age of chivalry, jostled mountebanks, mendicants and vendors of all kinds. Bors Dilemma - he chooses to save a maiden rather than his brother Lionel Chivalry[1] is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood. ... A charlatan is a person practicing quackery or some similar confidence trick in order to obtain money or advantage by false pretenses. ... The term mendicant refers to begging or otherwise relying on charitable donations, and is most widely used for religious followers or ascetics who rely exclusively on charity to survive. ...

Journeying from Calais Henry reached his headquarters at Guines on the 4th of June 1520, and Francis took up his residence at Ardres. After Cardinal Wolsey, with a splendid train, had visited the French king, the two monarchs met at the Val d'Or, a spot midway between the two places, on the 7th. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (c. ...

The following days were taken up with tournaments, in which both kings took part, but not against each other. There were banquets in which the kings entertained each other's queens. The many other entertainments included archery displays and wrestling between Breton and English wrestlers.

Wolsey said mass and the two sovereigns separated on the 24th of June, Corpus Christi day. The mass itself was interrupted by a mysterious event in which a flying dragon or salamander flew over the congregation. The superstitious saw this as a great portent, but it was probably a firework accidentally or deliberately set off. The sermon was read by Richard Pace an intimate friend of Erasmus. Wolsey gave a general indulgence for the forgiveness of the sins of all present. Corpus Christi celebrations in Antigua Guatemala, 14 June 1979 This article is about the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi. ... Richard Pace (c. ... Desiderius Erasmus in 1523 Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (also Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam) (October 27, probably 1466 – July 12, 1536) was a Dutch humanist and theologian. ... In Latin Catholic theology, an indulgence is the remission granted by the Church of the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven by God. ...

Engraving of "The Field Of The Cloth Of Gold", by James Basire in 1774, from a 16th century oil painting in the collection of George III of Great Britain

Image File history File links Field_of_the_cloth_of_gold. ...

Consequences

This meeting made a great impression on contemporaries, but its political results were very small. By one French account it apparently turned sour for Henry when he lost a wrestling match with Francis.

Relations between the two countries worsened soon after the event when Henry's advisor, Thomas Wolsey, arranged an alliance with Charles, Prince of Castile, the Holy Roman Emperor, who declared war on France later that year. Charles V (24 February 1500 - 21 September 1558) was ruler of the Burgundian territories (1506-1555), King of Spain (1516-1556), King of Naples and Sicily (1516-1554), Archduke of Austria (1519-1521), King of the Romans (or German King), (1519-1556 but did not formally abdicate until 1558) and... The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ...

References

• Russell, J.G. (1969). Field of Cloth of Gold: men and manners in 1520. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-7100-6207-9. 

1. ^ Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance, p. 291. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4
2. ^ Nicholson, N. & Fawcett, E. Ightham Mote. National Trust (1994)

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Gustave Reese (November 29, 1899 – September 7, 1977) was an American musicologist and teacher. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External links

• Detailed description of the image from Alecto Historical Editions - Publications Group
• RealAudio stream and edited transcript from BBC Radio 4 discussion (6 October 2005, 42')