Diplomacy with Axe, Lance and Sword: The Field of the Cloth of Gold, 1520
Event Information
About this Event
King Henry VIII was a great jouster and skilled swordsman, and he was fond of showing off his knightly prowess. But he only ever fought one field battle, 'The Battle of the Spurs', against the French in 1513. The ensuing Anglo-French peace-treaty was followed in 1520 by an attempt to outlaw all war between Christian kingdoms. At the Field of Cloth of Gold, in the Pas de Calais, Henry met the French King Francis I in a lavish courtly spectacle. The meeting took the form of an enormous tournament, with jousts and other supposedly friendly combats taking place over more than two weeks. Despite being one of the most famous events in Tudor history, the nature of the martial contests themselves has remained largely mysterious. On this 500th anniversary year, we shall delve into this oft-misunderstood subject, to uncover both the splendour and the sinister undertones of this extraordinary moment of history.
About Dr Tobias Capwell
Toby Capwell is Curator of Arms and Armour at the Wallace Collection in London, one of the world's great collections of medieval and Renaissance weapons, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers.
He completed his PhD on fifteenth-century armour in 2004, which later developed into the published work Armour of the English Knight 1400-1450 (2015) and the forthcoming continuations Armour of the English Knight 1450-1500 (Spring 2021) and Armour of the English Knight: Continental Armour in England 1435-1500 (Autumn 2021). His most recent books, Arms and Armour of the Medieval Joust (2018) and Arms and Armour of the Renaissance Joust (2020) are in-depth studies of this oft-misunderstood form of knightly combat.
Toby is both a scholar and a practitioner, an accomplished martial artist and a founding member of the historical jousting community. He appears regularly on television, most recently on Danny Dyer's Right Royal Family (BBC1, 2019) and Tony Robinson's History of Britain (forthcoming).
In 2015 he served as one of the two fully-armed horsemen who escorted the remains of King Richard III from the Bosworth battlefield to their final resting place in Leicester Cathedral.
10.30 – 11.30: The Field of Cloth of Gold: A Medieval Festival for a New Age.
11.30-12.00: Coffee-break.
12.00 – 13.00: The Tournament: A (Very) Brief History.
13.00-14.00: Lunch-break.
14.00-15.00: The Formal Combats at the Field of Cloth of Gold: Joust, Tourney and Foot Combat.
Some suggestions for optional background reading
- Anglo, Sydney, Spectacle, Pageantry, and Early Tudor Policy (London 1969)
- Capwell, Tobias, Arms and Armour of the Renaissance Joust (Leeds 2020)
- Richardson, Glenn, The Field of Cloth of Gold (Yale 2013)
- Russell, Joycelyne Gledhill, The Field of Cloth of Gold (London 1969)
What happens next:
If you haven't already done so, please create an account and sign in to Eventbrite in order to join the Zoom Meeting. After booking you will receive an email with a link to take you to a webpage with a timer counting down to the start of the event. When it reaches zero it will say 'Join Now'. Click on the link and Zoom will automatically start. It is wise to have set up and tested your Zoom configuration well in advance and be aware of how to use the controls. There is guidance and a test link here.
Please search for 'Wuffing' in the Online section of Eventbrite to find more Study Days from Wuffing Education. Also click on the 'Follow' button above to hear details about any new Wuffing events as soon as they are published. Also please click here to receive our email newsletter about future events.