Costume for a Knight, by Inigo Jones: the plumed helmet, the "heroic torso" in armour and other conventions were still employed for opera seria in the 18th century.

The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy. (A public version of the masque was the pageant.) Masque involved music and dancing, singing and acting, within an elaborate stage design, in which the architectural framing and costumes might be designed by a renowned architect, to present a deferential allegory flattering to the patron. Professional actors and musicians were hired for the speech and song aspects of masquing. Often, the masquers who did not speak or sing were courtiers: James I's Queen Consort, Anne of Denmark, frequently danced with her ladies in masques between 1603 and 1611, Henry VIII and Charles I performed in the masques at their courts, and the Queen's ladies performed the masque of Florimène at the court of Charles I in 1642. Other times, professionals were joined by amateurs in a final dance. In the tradition of masque, Louis XIV danced in ballets at Versailles with music by Lully. Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Download high resolution version (358x646, 85 KB)Inigo Jones design for a Knight in a Court masque. ... Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Download high resolution version (358x646, 85 KB)Inigo Jones design for a Knight in a Court masque. ... Inigo Jones, by Sir Anthony van Dyck Inigo Jones (July 15, 1573–June 21, 1652) is regarded as the first significant English architect. ... Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and serious style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1720s to ca 1770. ... A royal or noble court as an instrument of government broader than a monarchical court of justice comprises an extended household centered on a patron who may hold imperial, royal, grand ducal, electoral or other rank. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... World map showing Europe (geographically) When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... A beauty contest, or beauty pageant, is a competition between people, based largely, though not always entirely, on the beauty of their physical appearance. ... Jump to: navigation, search ... Jump to: navigation, search For the musical group of the same name, see Louis XIV (band). ... Jump to: navigation, search The Waltz of the Snowflakes from Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker Ballet is the name given to a specific dance form and technique. ... Jump to: navigation, search Versailles: Louis Le Vau opened up the interior court to create the expansive entrance cour dhonneur, later copied all over Europe Monument of Louis XIV in the cour dhonneur The Château de Versailles —or simply Versailles— is a royal château, outside the... Jean-Baptiste Lully, originally Giovanni Battista Lulli (November 28, 1632–March 22, 1687), was an Italian-born French composer, who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. ...

The masque tradition developed from the elaborate pageants and courtly shows of ducal Burgundy in the late Middle Ages. Masques were typically a complimentary offering to the prince among his guests and might combine pastoral settings, mythological fable, and the dramatic elements of ethical debate. There would invariably be some political and social application of the allegory. Such pageants often celebrated a birth or marriage and invariably ended with a tableau of bliss and concord. Masque imagery tended to be drawn from Classical rather than Christian sources, and the artifice was part of the charm. Masque thus lent itself to Mannerist treatment in the hands of master designers like Giulio Romano or Inigo Jones. The New Historians probe the political subtexts of masques in works like the essays in The Politics of the Stuart Court Masque (David Bevington and Peter Holbrook, editors, 1998 ISBN 0521594367). The following is a list of the Dukes of Burgundy Richard of Autun, the Justicier (880–921) Rudolph of Burgundy (king of France from 923) (921–923) Hugh the Black (923–952) Gilbert of Chalon (952–956) Odo of Paris (956-965) Otto-Henry the Great (965–1002) Otto-William... Mannerism is the usual English term for an approach to all the arts, particularly painting but not exclusive to it, a reaction to the High Renaissance, emerging after the Sack of Rome in 1527 shook Renaissance confidence, humanism and rationality to their foundations, and even Religion had split apart. ... Giulio Romano (ca 1499? – November 1, 1546) was an Italian painter, architect, painter and decorator, the favorite pupil of Raphael, whose legacy Giulio Romano extended, and at the same time one of the inventors of 16th century Mannerism. ... Inigo Jones, by Sir Anthony van Dyck Inigo Jones (July 15, 1573–June 21, 1652) is regarded as the first significant English architect. ... David Bevington David Bevington is the Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor in the Humanities and in English Language & Literature, Comparative Literature, and the College at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1967. ...

Of all the arts of the Renaissance, the ephemeral masque, which occupied the most outstanding humanists, poets and artists at the full intensity of their powers but was generally as utterly lost after its single performance as a fireworks display, (though some poetical texts might survive, and some preparatory drawings for scenery), is the artistic form most alien to audiences today. Until the Puritans closed the English theaters in 1642, the masque remained the highest artform in England. Jump to: navigation, search Humanism is an active ethical and philosophical approach to life, focusing on human solutions to human issues through rational (reasonable) thought, without recourse to supernatural entities, such as a God or gods, or to sacred texts, traditions or religious creeds. ...

The masque has its origins in a folk tradition where masked players would unexpectedly call on a nobleman in his hall, dancing and bringing gifts on certain nights of the year, or celebrating dynastic occasions. The rustic presentation of "Pyramus and Thisbe" as a wedding entertainment in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream offers a familiar example. Spectators were invited to join in the dancing. At the end, the players would take off their masks to reveal their identities. A Midsummer Nights Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare written in the mid-1590s. ...

In England, Tudor court masques developed from earlier guisings, where a masked allegorical figure would appear and address the assembled company— providing a theme for the occasion— with musical accompaniment; masques at Elizabeth's court emphasized the concord and unity between Queen and Kingdom. A descriptive narrative of a processional masque is the masque of the Seven Deadly Sins in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (Book i, Canto IV). Later, in the court of James I of England, narrative elements of the masque became more significant. Plots were often on classical or allegorical themes, and were usually acted out by amateurs. At the end, the audience would join in a final dance. Ben Jonson wrote a number of masques with stage design by Inigo Jones. Their works are usually thought of as the most significant in the form. Sir Philip Sidney also wrote masques. Jump to: navigation, search Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. ... Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (c. ... Jump to: navigation, search Una and the Lion by Briton Rivière The Faerie Queene is an epic poem by Edmund Spenser, first published in 1590 (the first half) with the more or less complete version being published in 1596. ... Jump to: navigation, search James VI of Scots and James I of England and Ireland (Charles James) (19 June 1566–27 March 1625) ruled England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. ... Benjamin Jonson (June 11, 1572 – August 6, 1637) was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. ... Inigo Jones, by Sir Anthony van Dyck Inigo Jones (July 15, 1573–June 21, 1652) is regarded as the first significant English architect. ... Philip Sidney Sir Philip Sidney (November 30, 1554 - October 17, 1586) became one of the Elizabethan Ages most prominent figures. ...

Shakespeare wrote a masque-like interlude in The Tempest, understood by modern scholars to have been heavily influenced by the masque texts of Ben Jonson and the stagecraft of Inigo Jones. There is also a masque sequence in his Henry VIII. John Milton's Comus (with music by Henry Lawes) is described as a masque, though is generally reckoned as a pastoral play. Jump to: navigation, search Miranda and Ferdinand, Angelica Kauffmann, 1782. ... Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) from 22 April 1509 until his death. ... Jump to: navigation, search John Milton, English poet John Milton (December 9, 1608 - November 8, 1674) was a poet, best-known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. ... In Greek mythology, Comus or Komus is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. ... Henry Lawes (December 5, 1595 - October 21, 1662) was an English musician and composer. ...

The part-opera which developed in the latter part of the 17th century, a form in which John Dryden and Henry Purcell collaborated, borrows some elements from the masque and further elements from the contemporary courtly French opera of Jean-Baptiste Lully. John Dryden John Dryden (August 19, 1631 – May 12, 1700) was an influential English poet, literary critic, and playwright. ... Henry Purcell (IPA: ; September 10 (?), 1659 (?)–November 21, 1695), a Baroque composer, is generally considered to be one of Englands greatest composers — indeed, he has often been called Englands finest native composer. ... Jump to: navigation, search The foyer of Charles Garniers Opéra, Paris, opened 1875 Opera refers to an art form particular to Europe, which is made up of a dramatic stage performance set to music. ... Jean-Baptiste Lully, originally Giovanni Battista Lulli (November 28, 1632–March 22, 1687), was an Italian-born French composer, who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. ...

In the 20th century, Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote Job: A Masque for Dancing, although the work is closer to a ballet than a masque as it was originally understood. His designating it a masque was to indicate that choreography typical when he wrote the piece would not be suitable. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Ralph Vaughan Williams (October 12, 1872 – August 26, 1958) was an influential British composer. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Waltz of the Snowflakes from Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker Ballet is the name given to a specific dance form and technique. ... Choreography (also known as dance composition) is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ...

Constant Lambert also wrote a piece he called a masque, Summer's Last Will and Testament. Leonard Constant Lambert, (August 23, 1905 – August 21, 1951) was a British composer and conductor. ...

Other uses

The word masque is sometimes also used to mean a masquerade ball. A masquerade ball (or masque) is an event which the participants attend in costume, usually including a mask. ...

Masque was also the name used by the Canadian progressive rock band CANO on their 1981 album Camouflage. Jump to: navigation, search Progressive rock (shortened to prog, or prog rock when differentiating from other progressive genres) is an ambitious, eclectic, and often grandiose style of rock music which arose in the late 1960s, reached the peak of its popularity in the early 1970s, and continues as a musical... CANO were a Canadian progressive rock band in the 1970s and 1980s. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• "The Elizabethan origins of the masque"
• Cambridge History of English and American Literature: Popularity of the Masque in the age of Elizabeth
• Cambridge History of English and American Literature: The Masque in Spenser
• Florimène, 1635: the next-to-last masque of the court of Charles I
• "The Masque at Ashby": John Marston's only extant masque, written for the Dowager Countess of Derby's 1607 visit to Ashby-de-la-Zouche, recreated by students