Tori Carlisle
Prof. Sergi
ENG331H
04/04/14

Demonstrating Allegiance: Henry VII’s First Royal Progress

                                                   keywords: pageant, progress, procession, Henry VII, loyalty

When examining the Records of Early English Drama (REED) that detail Henry VII’s first royal progress from York to London in 1486 it is clear that the inhabitants of these cities had an agenda that they were trying to promote.[i] Through the creation and performances of pageants the inhabitants of York, Bristol, Herefordshire, and Worchester, were trying to make up for past animosity by asking for mercy and pledging their allegiance to the newly crowned Henry VII. I will argue that the progresses into the cities and the pageants themselves were highly orchestrated and formulaic so as to present an image of acceptance and create a mythology around the king that validated the legitimacy of his right to the throne.

The processions through the various cities were highly formulaic; in the records from York, Hereford, and Bristol the officials of the city met Henry VII outside the city in order to welcome him and lead him through the city in a procession.[ii] It is possible that the same practice took place in Worchester as well but the record states that though a pageant was prepared for his visit, he was not able to view it so a transcript was sent to him.[iii] Another practice that is common among the records is the gathering of the inhabitants of the cities along the procession route that called out Henry VII’s name and wished him well.[iv] This practice may seen a natural response to the visit of a King but the record of the preparations of Henry’s visit to York details that the city officials instructed children and other inhabitants to be “gaddard togiddre aboute saint Iames Chappell calling ioufully king henrie”, which illustrates how orchestrated these processions and pageants were to project an image of the inhabitants as accepting of his rule.[v]  The processions into the city were all extremely similar but the York record goes into great detail about what they wish to achieve through the processions and various pageants they presented to the king.[vi] the organizers of the pageant and those preparing for Henry VII’s entry into York wanted to ensure Henry VII would be “movid to think that said maier Alderman Sheriffes and other inheritances heyr be gladdid and loifull of the same his cowmyng as thei haue be in tymes past of seing ...of other kinges”, which indicates that they wanted to indicate their acceptance of his rule.[vii] It is also clear that York officials wished to use Henry VII’s progress into the city as a forum to address and put to rest underlying tensions that existed between the king and the inhabitants of York, through the pageants wishes to “fynd the king more gracious soueraine lord vnto the forsaide Citie”.[viii] By examining the records, especially those of York, it is clear that the processions into the city were an extension of the pageants themselves as they were also highly orchestrated and attempted to present a clear image of their loyalty to the crown.

            Henry VII won his crown at the Battle of Bosworth in August of 1485, by defeating the reigning King Richard III; Henry’s claim to the throne was not as strong as Richard’s because he did not follow directly in the line of succession, so his subjects had to validate his legitimacy and prove their allegiance to him in a variety of ways.[ix]  The pageants did not claim that Henry was the next legitimate heir of the Plantagenet line, but through the pageants they tied his legitimacy to God’s blessing or tried to connect him superficially to past monarchs.[x] Henry was also given the blessings of the patron saints of the cities he visited and received the blessing of Saint George, the patron saint of England.[xi]  In one of the York pageants Henry is welcomed into the city by Ebrauke, who claims to have been regent of the city by “cource of liniall sucession”, but despite Ebrauke’s legitimacy in the linear succession to rule the city he says, “To you henrie I submit! my Citie key and Croune”, which can be seen as a way for York to demonstrate that they too were submitting to Henry’s rule.[xii] The second pageant performed in York featured six kings representing the six previous King Henrys who hand their scepter to Salomon who then blesses Henry VII, presents him with the scepter and say that he is lineally descended from the line of Henrys which reinforces his right to the throne.[xiii] After Henry VII receives the scepter from Salomon, another pageant begins in which David blesses Henry and gives him his sword.[xiv] A final pageant then takes place outside the church in which the Virgin Mary blesses Henry.[xv] The fact that these biblical figures “submit” to Henry VII indicates his power and the image of legitimacy the inhabitants of York are attempting to depict. In Hereford the Virgin Mary also blesses Henry VII, but religious imagery features in all the pageants; by employing religious imagery, they are linking Henry’s legitimacy as king to God’s blessing and design.[xvi]

In Worchester, as in the second pageant at York, Henry is seen as heir or lineal descendent of a line of King Henrys; he is compared to Henry VI, and said to be “Next of my blood descended by alyaunce”, which indicates that the people of Worchester were trying to link Henry VII to the line of succession.[xvii] Worchester also compares Henry VII to King Arthur and said that he was the reincarnation of Prince Arthur, which can be seen as a further manifestation of these cities’ attempts to create a mythology around Henry that reinforces his legitimacy.[xviii] In Hereford when Henry VII enters the city a pageant featuring Saint George is presented in which he praises Henry’s virtues, as does the patron saint of Hereford King Ethelbert who calls Henry VII gracious and merciful.[xix] The fact that Henry is welcomed and praised by the patron saint of both the city and the country can be seen as a way to indicate to him that all of England accepts his rule. The word merciful also occurs in the pageant in Worchester where Henry VII is welcomed to the city by Henry VI who claims that he is his heir and gives him advice on how to be a more successful king than he was.[xx] One of the virtues Henry VI stresses is his ability to grant mercy, he says that Henry VII will be successful only if he grants mercy to those that have been his enemies in the past.[xxi] This idea of advocating mercy and forgiveness is present in all of the pageants; by advocating mercy, welcoming Henry VII and praising him as their rightful sovereign, these pageants can be seen as attempts for the inhabitants to ingratiate themselves to the new king, and to forget past animosities or allegiances.[xxii]

These pageants were highly orchestrated and clearly served a political purpose, they created a mythology around Henry VII by comparing him to other kings and claiming he had the blessing of God and the patron saints, but this was highly stylized. These pageants presented Henry as legitimate and created a mythology around him that reinforced that legitimacy. The pageants all praised Henry’s virtues and presented a positive image of him, but this idea that he was a strong, virtuous, and legitimate king can also be seen as political propaganda. A record from Coventry in 1485 shortly after the Battle of Bosworth presents a differing image of Henry than the pageants presented a year later; the record from Coventry presents Henry as a usurper that mistreated and demeaned the body of King Richard III, and whom they had to pay in order to get him to depart the city.[xxiii] The mythology of Henry as descendent from a line of kings or as heir to King Arthur was not apparent in this depiction of him, which proves that these pageants are not necessarily as positive as they seem on the surface, they can be said to be a manifestation of fear of violence and a necessary step to appease their new king and achieve peace in England.[xxiv] The pageants and Henry’s progress and procession through York, Bristol, Hereford, and Worcester presented an image of Henry as a legitimate and adored king but this may have simply been a necessary performance on the part of the inhabitants.[xxv] Performance is always about influencing an audience and has the potential to have political ramifications; these pageants were no different, simply on a larger scale. By influencing the common people to believe Henry to be a merciful and just king, and by proving to Henry VII that his subjects were loyal, the pageants were able to bring about the peace and stability that England had been lacking.

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[i] David N. Klausner, Records of Early English Drama: Herefordshire Worcestershire (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1990), 279. 

[ii] Klausner, REED: Herefordshire Worcestershire, 113-14, 406; Mark C. Pilkinton, Records of Early English Drama: Bristol (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997), 10-11; Alexandra F. Johnston, Records of Early English Drama: York vol. 1(Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1979), 137-138.

[iii] Klausner, REED: Herefordshire Worcestershire, 406.

[iv]Klausner, REED: Herefordshire Worcestershire, 114; Pilkinton, REED: Bristol, 13; Johnston, REED: York, 139.

[v] Johnston, REED: York, 139.

[vi] Ibid, 137-143.

[vii] Ibid, 138.

[viii] Ibid, 138.

[ix] “History: Henry VII and Elizabeth of York,” The Dean and Chapter of Westminster, 2013, http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/burials/henry-vii-and-elizabeth-of-york.

[x] Klausner, REED: Hereford Worcestershire; Pilkinton, REED: Bristol; Johnston, REED: York.

[xi] Klausner, REED: Herefordshire Worcestershire, 114-115; Johnston, REED: York, 139-143; Pilkinton, REED: Bristol, 11-14;   Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Saint George", accessed March 15, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/229970/Saint-George.

[xii] Johnston, REED: York, 140.

[xiii] Ibid, 141.

[xiv] Ibid, 141-142.

[xv] Ibid, 142-143.

[xvi] Klausner, REED: Herefordshire Worcestershire, 115.

[xvii] Klausner, REED: Herefordshire Worcestershire, 406.

[xviii] Ibid, 410.

[xix] Ibid, 114-115.

[xx] Ibid, 406-410.

[xxi] Ibid, 406-409.

[xxii] Klausner, REED: Herefordshire Worcestershire, 114, 406-410; Pilkinton, REED: Bristol, 114; Johnston, REED: York, 140-142.

[xxiii] R.W. Ingram, Records of Early English Drama: Coventry (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1981), 66.

[xxiv] Klausner, REED: Herefordshire Worcestershire, 410.

 

 

 

Works Cited

Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Saint George", accessed April 03, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/229970/Saint-George.

“History: Henry VII and Elizabeth of York,” last modified 2013. http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/burials/henry-vii-and-elizabeth-of-york.

Ingram, R.W. Records of Early English Drama: Coventry. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1981.

Johnston, Alexandra F. Records of Early English Drama: York vol. 1. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1979.

Klausner, David. Records of Early English Drama: Herefordshire Worcestershire. Toronto:  University of Toronto Press, 1990.

Pilkinton, Mark C. Records of Early English Drama: Bristol. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997.