Wild Knight and the Black Lady

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The tournament of the Wild Knight and the Black Lady was an event held twice in Edinburgh by James IV of Scotland, in June 1507 and May 1508.[1]

Themes[edit]

James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor
Tapestry of a wild man held captive by a lady, c. 1500

The invitation to the tournament sent to France was illuminated with gold leaf.[2] It was issued by the Marchmont Herald on behalf of the Chevalier Sauvage à la Dame Noire, the Wild Knight to the Black Lady, and gave details of the events to be held at Edinburgh.[3] Bluemantle or Rothesay Herald, sent abroad in March 1507 to announce the birth of James, Duke of Rothesay, may have carried the invitation to the courts of France, Spain, and Portugal.[4]

James IV took part in the character of the Wild Knight. The Black Lady was a courtier, possibly Ellen More or Elizabeth Berlay. A contemporary racist poem by William Dunbar, Of Ane Blak-Moir, describes a woman of African origin, lately arrived in Scotland on a ship, who presided at a tournament.[5]

The Black Lady was carried in a triumphal chair from Edinburgh Castle to the tournament ground, escorted by Alexander Elphinstone (who subsequently married Elizabeth Berlay) and others.[6] "Wild men" at the jousting course or barriers were dressed in goat skins and wore hart horns from Tullibardine.[7]

On the first day of the events, challengers were to assemble at the "Tree of Esperance" at the tournament ground beneath Edinburgh castle, where the Black Lady kept the week's white shield, accompanied by the wild men. The tree of Esperance or Hope was decorated with artificial flowers, pears, and painted heraldic shields, moulded in leather by Simon Glasford, a buckler-maker.[8]

Combats and jousts were scored by judges and the ladies, women of Margaret Tudor's household and the court.[9] The competition and combats were said to "counterfeit the round table of King Arthur".[10]

Events concluded with three days of banqueting at Holyroodhouse. There was a masque and a dance organised by Lady Musgrave, Mistress of the Queen's Wardrobe.[11] The Black Lady came into the hall with Martin the Spaniard who was equipped with an archery bow and dressed in yellow.[12] A cloud descended from the roof and swept them both away.[13][14]

Occasions[edit]

The 1507 event may have been a celebration of the birth of a son to James IV and Margaret Tudor. The 1508 event seems to be linked to a visit of Bernard Stewart, 3rd Lord of Aubigny.[15] The royal treasurer's accounts include updates to equipment and costume. In 1508 the Black Lady's costume was renewed with a green woollen skirt, and new black leather sleeves and gloves. Her two maidens wore Bruges satin.[16]

Various payments in the treasurer's accounts, written in the Scots language, can be connected with the tournament and performances. In May 1508, the men who carried the Black Lady in her pageant car were paid two shillings each:

Item, the last day of Maij, to the xiiij (14) men that bure the blak lady fra the Castell to the barres and syne to the Abbay – xxviij (28) s.[17]

One 1508 payment seems to be a reference to the leatherworkers who made harnesses for the theatrical disappearance of Martin and the Black Lady at the Holyrood banquet:

Item, for bukkilling and grathing of Martin and the Blak lady agane the bancat –xiiij (14) s.[18]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Andrea Thomas, Glory and Honour: The Renaissance in Scotland (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2013), pp. 177–179.
  2. ^ Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1901), p. 365.
  3. ^ Marcus Vulson de la Colombière, La Science Heroique (Paris, 1644), pp. 453-457 or La science heroique (Paris, 1669), pp. 491-6
  4. ^ Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1901), pp. xxxii, xlvii, 371.
  5. ^ Andrea Thomas, Glory and Honour: The Renaissance in Scotland (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2013), p. 177.
  6. ^ Andrea Thomas, Glory and Honour: The Renaissance in Scotland (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2013), p. 179.
  7. ^ Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1901), pp. l, 358-9.
  8. ^ Morvern French & Roger Mason, 'Art, Artefacts, Artillery', Alexander Fleming & Roger Mason, Scotland and the Flemish People (John Donald, 2019), pp. 108-9: Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), pp. 120-1.
  9. ^ Louise Olga Fradenburg, City, Marriage, Tournament: Arts of Rule in Late Medieval Scotland (University of Wisconsin, 1991), pp. 227, 255: Marcus Vulson de la Colombière, La Science Heroique (Paris, 1644), pp. 453-457 or La science heroique (Paris, 1669), pp. 491-6
  10. ^ Louise Olga Fradenburg, City, Marriage, Tournament: Arts of Rule in Late Medieval Scotland (Wisconsin, 1991), pp. 233-34: Thomas Thomson, The History of Scotland, by John Lesley Bishop of Ross (Edinburgh, 1830), p. 78.
  11. ^ Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), pp. 64-5, 125: Michelle Beer, Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain (Woodbridge, 2018), p. 84.
  12. ^ Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), pp. 64, 121, 129.
  13. ^ Frank Shuffelton, 'An Imperial Flower: Dunbar's "The Goldyn Targe" and the Court Life of James IV of Scotland', Studies in Philology, 72:2 (April 1975), pp. 193-207, p. 202.
  14. ^ Lesley Mickel, 'Our Hielandmen': Scots in Court Entertainments at home and abroad 1507–1616', Renaissance Studies, 33:2 (April, 2019), pp. 185-203 at p. 202: Aeneas Mackay, Historie and Cronicles of Scotland, by Robert Lindesay of Pitscottie, vol. 1 (STS: Edinburgh, 1899), p. 244
  15. ^ Andrea Thomas, Glory and Honour: The Renaissance in Scotland (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2013), p. 179.
  16. ^ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), p. 64
  17. ^ Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), p. 119
  18. ^ Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), pp. lxxxiv, 129
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