The Field of Golden Cloth – an insanely luxurious and completely meaningless event (6 photos)

Balingham is an unremarkable village in north-east England. But it is famous because 500 years ago this quiet rural spot was the scene of one of the most extraordinary encounters in history - between rivals Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France.





For 18 days the two monarchs and their vast retinues took part in a grand celebration with banquets, tournaments, masquerades and religious services. The gathering was so magnificent, and the display of wealth and power so ostentatious, that it went down in history as the "Field of Cloth of Gold."



Henry VIII on board a ship in Dover

The balance of power in Europe in the early 16th century revolved around King Henry, King Francis, and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who had dominated the continent for decades, making and breaking alliances with each other as they saw fit. Threatened by Emperor Charles V's rapid expansion into central Europe, Henry decided to ally with Francis as an ally against the emperor. The meeting itself, however, was less talked about than the construction of the site.





Henry VIII

Both kings saw the meeting as an opportunity to demonstrate their wealth, culture, grandeur and refined taste. King Henry erected a magnificent tent, a whole castle, with an area of ​​almost 10,000 square meters, to receive his French counterpart. The length of the tent was 100 meters on each side, the walls were lined with 2-meter-high bricks, and on top of it there was another 10-meter-high wooden wall made of canvas, painted to look like brick. The roof was painted with oil paints on fabric and resembled tiles.

Outside this palace were two fountains from which red wine flowed to wash down the enormous quantities of food prepared for the thousands of people who had gathered there. Although the records do not indicate how many people attended the feast, to begin with, each ruler brought with him 500 horsemen and 3,000 footmen.

About 2,800 tents were erected to accommodate the guests, and over the course of two and a half weeks, 29,000 fish, 98,000 eggs, 6,475 birds, and 2,200 sheep were collected.



Francis I

The average feast consisted of three courses, with around 50 different variations. The options ranged from swans and peacocks to venison pie, candied orange peels, pears in wine, fruit jelly, wafers, spiced drink, gingerbread, porpoises and even a dolphin. Of particular note were the "delicates," or small sculptures made from sugar paste or marzipan. These intricate table decorations depicted scenes such as the Annunciation, the presentation of the kings to the mother of Christ, and an angel appearing to the shepherds on a hillside.

The sumptuous banquets were accompanied by archery and duels between Breton and Cornish fighters.

Moreover, the two young and boisterous kings were naturally drawn to rivalry again, and in the stormy atmosphere Henry VIII decided to challenge Francis I to a wrestling match. Having lost, Henry challenged Francis to an archery competition.



Cardinal Wolsey

On June 24, after eighteen magnificent days and nights of celebration, the series of festivities reached its peak and ended. Cardinal Wolsey gathered a huge crowd to celebrate Mass. At the end of the service, a firework was launched into the air - an impressive dragon. This huge serpent, a combination of the salamander of Francis I and the Welsh dragon of the Tudors, was launched to mark the end of the meeting. Then followed a final banquet and an exchange of gifts.



The Field of the Cloth of Gold, circa 1545, is in the Royal Collection at Hampton Court. Henry VIII on horseback, approaching, lower left

The extravagant event proved to be a colossal waste of time and money, because less than a month later King Henry met with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to form a separate alliance. In 1521, war broke out between France and the Empire, and England was forced to enter on Charles's side. The cost of the festivities was so great that both countries' treasuries went into deficit for the next few years.