 Medallion commemorating the coronation of Edward VI, with text in Latin, Hebrew and Greek | |
| Date | 20 February 1547; 478 years ago (1547-02-20) |
|---|---|
| Location | Westminster Abbey,London, England |
| Participants | |
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Thecoronation ofEdward VI asKing ofEngland andIreland took place atWestminster Abbey, London, on 20 February 1547. Edward ascended the throne following the death ofKing Henry VIII.[1]
Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547. Edward was nine years old. He was brought fromHertford Castle toEnfield, where he joined his half-sisterElizabeth.[2] He was proclaimed king on 30 January.[3][4] Edward later wrote that the cause of his father's death wasdropsy. Henry was buried atWindsor next toJane Seymour, Edward's mother, on 16 February.[5]
ThePrivy Council deliberated on thelate King's will concerning the succession. Using theLiber Regalis, they made some changes to the traditional order of coronation ceremonies,[6] avoiding making any doctrinal comments on the proceedings, and explained:
for the tedious length of the same which should weary and be hurtsome peradventure to the King's Majesty being yet of tender age fully to endure and bide out; and also for that many points of the same were such as by the laws of the realm at this present were not allowable.[7]
The day chosen for the coronation wasShrove Sunday. An order of service was drawn up under the authority of theLord Protector,Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and the executors of Henry VIII.[8] After Edward was crowned withSt Edward's Crown, the Protector would be first to hold up his hand to pay homage.[9]
The king's older half-sistersMary and Elizabeth and attendant ladies and gentlewomen seem not to have been invited or present at the coronation events, possibly due to considerations ofrelative precedence and expense.[10]
Contemporary descriptions of the ceremonies of hisroyal entry on 19 February and the coronation on 20 February are held by theCollege of Arms and theSociety of Antiquaries.[11][12][13]
Three crowns would be used, including a new "imperial" crown made by the goldsmith Everart orEverard Everdyes from gold, precious stones, and pearls. The word "imperial" signifies the style of a crown, with raised arches.[14] Everdyes used scrap gold from the Secret Jewel House including a set of nine letters "I" or "J", perhaps originally made for Edward's motherJane Seymour. The new crown was set with pearls from Henry VIII's collars and caps, and may have included the largebalas ruby of theBlack Prince, astone sourced inMyanmar.[15] Everdyes' crown was detailed in Edward's inventory:
Item a Crowne of golde Imperiall made for the kinges majestie our Soveraigne Lorde Edwarde the vjth the nether Border sett with ix pointed diamountes and ix Settes of peerles and v peerles in every sett being uppon the same border certeyne Borders of Antiques of golde sett with viij rocke Rubies and xx peerles with foure borders which make the Crown Imperiall sett with iiij Emeraldes iiij rubies and iiij diamountes with lxxj peerles and with a Lardge Ballace in the toppe percede, sett with a litell crosse of golde in the toppe of the Ballace enameled.[16]
Everdyes also made a coronet for the Duke of Somerset, embellished with Henry VIII's diamonds. After the coronation, he returned unused pearls taken from the jewels of Henry VIII to theJewel House.[17] His workshop was located atWestminster Palace.[18] In 1604 the large ruby in Everdyes' crown was described again as "a verye greate ballace perced".[19]
New costume for the coronation was embroidered with damask gold and silver thread byGuillaume Brellant and Thomas andWilliam Ibgrave. The fur used to edge the royal gowns was supplied by Katherine Addington.[20]
Edward and his entourage travelled in aroyal entry procession from theTower of London to Westminster through the city of London on 19 February.[22] Twogentleman ushers,John Norris and William Raynesford, dressed in vintage costume as the Dukes of Normandy (or Gascony) andGuyenne, represented Edward's claim to these territories.[23] Edward was dressed in a "rich gown of cloth of silver all over embroidered with damask gold". During the procession, he sometimes walked a little ahead of the ceremonial canopy held above him, so "the people might better see his grace".[24]
Citizens of London were taxed to pay for the shows and pageants.[25] Edward was greeted atCheapside by actors playingValentine and Urson (Orson).[26] These were twin brothers, warriors who had been lost as children. Urson was brought up by a bear and became awild man or wodewose, while Valentine was found in a forest byPepin the Hunchback and raised as a courtier. In the London pageant, they undertook to defend King Edward.[27] Urson's verses included:
For I wild Urson doth here signify
an emperor's son of excellent majesty
notwithstanding in a forest nourished by a bear,
where many knights I there did conquer;
thus I am come, being nothing afraid
of all the rebels to defend King Edward;
whensover they come, early or late,
I shall them thrash here at the gate.[28]
The pageants at Cheapside were based on a performance staged in 1432 for the return ofHenry VI of England from France. The script involved material fromRobert Fabyan's edition of the works ofJohn Lydgate.[29][30]
AtFleet Street, Edward was addressed by "Ancient Truth", who had been restored by Henry VIII and looked forward to Edward's reign as a "young KingSolomon".[31] AtSt Paul's, an acrobat, "a man from the nation ofAragon",[32] slid down a cable ortightrope from the steeple battlements "so swiftly as he had been a bird",[33] or "an arrow out of a bow".[34] Edward watched him perform more tricks on the rope, and "laughed right hartely".[35] This was the only place where the procession paused for any length of time; the king at times bypassing pageants and ignoring speeches made to him.[36]
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The ceremony in the Abbey involved theCoronation Chair, which survives today. The chair, described as the "great white chair" was draped with rich white fabrics,[38] supplied by William Green.[39] On the back of the "white chair" were two carved lions on the corner posts and afleur-de-lis on a turret topping the centre. The chair was placed on steps on a stage called a "mounting scaffold" watched and guarded by the ushers, John Norris, William Raynesford, Richard Greenway, andRichard Blount ofIver andMapledurham.[40]
Edward showed himself at the four corners of the scaffold andThomas Cranmer,Archbishop of Canterbury said the words of "recognition", inviting the congregation to assent to the coronation by their "duties of allegiance".[41] As Edward was required to move to various positions in the abbey during the service, the ushers carried him in a portable chair.[42]
Thecoronation oath had been amended to reflect theReformation; mention of the privileges of the clergy were omitted and a veiled reference to theParliament of England was introduced, that new laws would be made "by the consent of your people".[43] In hissermon, Cranmer set out aProtestant agenda by likening Edward to the BiblicalJosiah, who had destroyed the pagan idols in Jerusalem, and said the new king would see "the tyranny of theBishops of Rome banished from your subjects andimages removed".[44] Edward was crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury.[45] Somerset assisted in the crowning, and with the Archbishop, brought the three crowns, a newly made crown, theImperial State Crown andSt Edward's Crown, to the altar and "set them one after another on his head".[46]
A generalpardon for prisoners was issued, excepting theDuke of Norfolk,Edward, Lord Courtenay, son of theMarquess of Exeter, Master Fortescue or Foskew,Cardinal Pole, and Doctor Pates.[47] Some sources addNicholas Throckmorton to the exceptions from the pardon.[48]
Edward came intoWestminster Hall from the abbey in procession. He wore the new crown made by Everart Everdyes.[50] TheMarquess of Dorset wasConstable of England, and theEarl of Arundel wasEarl Marshal. They rode intoWestminster Hall at the service of the first course. TheMarquess of Northampton was carver and he assayed, or tested, the food. TheEarl of Rutland held the king's towel in the place of Alan Apsley.[51]
At the conclusion of the service of dinner, theKing's Champion,Dymoke ofScrivelsby, rode into the hall in armour. He cast down his gauntlet as a challenge to any who questioned the king's right. Edward gave him his gold cup, and he was rewarded with the value of his arms and armour.[52] At the end of the meal the spiced winehippocras was served, followed by a course or "void" of spices andsugar confections.[53]
On Monday 21 February there was jousting, and a tournament on 22 February.[54] The competitors includedThomas Seymour,Anthony Kingston,Peter Carew,Francis Knollys, andEdward Shelley. According toJohn Hooker, Carew was newly married and wore his wife's glove as a favour on his helmet. Shelley was killed in Scotland later in the year at thebattle of Pinkie.[55]
After the tournament, or on the next evening, there was an interlude or "farce" which included the theatrical presentation ofOrpheus on a mount (refurbished byNiccolo da Modena),[56] and amasque including players dressed as friars and cardinals.[57] Edward may have performed in this entertainment in costume.[58]
English soldiers atBoulogne held a tournament to celebrate the coronation. Instead of tilting, they held courses ofrunning at the ring. One team of six were dressed "like Turks". Spectators were impressed by the performance ofHenry Dudley.[59]
The coronation of Edward VI is the backdrop ofMark Twain's 1881 novelThe Prince and the Pauper.[60][61] In the novel Edward is lost and helped by Miles Hendon to reach the abbey before the lookalikeTom Canty is crowned. The novel has beenadapted as a stage play and filmed many times, including,The Prince and the Pauper (1977 film) in which Hendon was played byOliver Reed.[62]
Twain may have read of the pageant of Valentine and Orson in his researches.[63] Chronicle accounts of the reign of Mary I mention an imposter,William Featherstone, the son of a miller and a servant ofPeter Meutas, who claimed to be Edward VI in 1555. He was shown to the people in Westminster Hall, and imprisoned. Featherstone was hanged in March 1555.[64][65]