Tapestry in Court Performances
Sarah Ann M. Ill, Visibility and Resonance: Tapestries on and around the Early Modern Stage. Masters thesis, Mary Baldwin College, 2007.
“Plays first performed in halls at court transfer easily to indoor playhouses because of their similar architecture.” Lord Chamberlain’s Men / King’s Men performed in halls at court; Records of Early English Drama document performances in “halls of aristocratic homes, colleges, inns of court, and guilds throughout the country. The architecture of these halls likely influenced Burbage’s purchase of the Blackfriars for playing in the winter months.” (p. 20)
Windows set high, with sills 20 ft above the floor, permiting “soft descending light.” Tapestries below.
Marriage of Arthur and Catherine of Aragon, 1501, Richmond Palace. p. 20.
On the glowing character of tapestry: citation from German traveler Henz in 1598:
“We were led into two chambers called the Presence or Chambers of Audience, which shone with tapestry of gold and silver and silk in different colours … all the other rooms, being very numerous, are adorned with tapestry of gold, silver and velvet, in some of which were woven history pieces … in one chamber are several excessively rich tapestries, which are hung up when the Queen gives audience to foreign Ambassadors … in short, all the walls of the palace shine with gold and silver.” (p. 21; cited from Band, p. 21).
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