The Field of Cloth and Gold

In 1520, at the Field of Cloth of Gold, King Francis I of France and King Henry VIII of England met and held a tournament. This was the aegis under which it was hoped the two Kings would form a friendship and an alliance to the potential exclusion of the German Emperor Charles V. Henry and Francis were both under thirty years old, active and self-willed.

The Field of Cloth of Gold was named after the magnificent (and very costly) cloth of gold pavilions embellishing an otherwise drab setting in the Pale of Calais. Cloth of gold (drap d'or) is a textile woven with a weft of gold and a warp of silk. The "Field" was one of the most extrordinary paradoxes of the period.

Even today it is a byword for chivalry and extravagance. Despite this renown, it was in political terms an utter failure from the start. An elaborate protocol governed every move. Yet there was a deep mistrust which manifested itself in a bid by each side to out-do the other and score points of precedence. Although it was ostensibly set as a tournament, there is little contemporary discussion of the forms of combat. Edward Hall for example concentrated on describing the costumes worn at the masked ball, rather than the suits of armour worn at the tournament. The scene-setting for the Field of Cloth of Gold was certainly elaborate. The palaces, pavilions of cloth of gold and the tournament lists were erected especially for the event and removed afterwards.

The site was chosen with care. Just south of Calais was a neutral ground bordered on the one side by the French town of Ardres and on the other by the English town of Guisnes. Each king was therefore able to lodge in his own territory. Ardres and Guisnes were suitable aggrandised for the occasion.

On the 7th of June, 1520, each king set out towards a centrally-located ground called the "Golden Valley". In the centre was a pavilion of cloth of gold. There Henry and Francis embraced and engaged in formal introductions. This was the first time the two kings had met. Two days later the opening ceremonies began at the lists which were similarly centrally placed although a little closer to Guisnes.

The field was about 900 feet by 320 feet and surrounded by a ditch. Around the field were stands for spectators, tents for each king and a triumphal arch at each end. But it was the "Tree of Honour" which excited most contemporary comment, for it epitomised the chivalrous nature of the tournament. An artificial hawthorn tree and raspberry bush were symbolic of Henry and the raspberry of Francis. It was on this tree that the challengers hung their shields.

The tournament proper began on Monday 11th June and lasted for eleven days. The three main forms of combat were the tilt, the tourney and the foot combat at the barrier. Other sports took place during inclement weather.

On one such day there was wrestling and archery. Henry had great success with the bow, while Francis took little or no part in the archery. Afterwards, Henry, rather surprisingly, challenged Francis himself to a wrestling match, but he was quickly thrown by the French King and suffered a subsequent loss of face. The challenge was suprising, as the carefully planted rules of the tournament had agreed that the two Kings would fight as brothers-in-arms. As "brothers" they would not actually fight one another and so would avoid the embarrassment of a defeat.

Tilting (jousting over a barrier) was the predominant form of combat, lasting over a week. The object of the course was to break a lance on an opponent, and for this purpose rebated (blunted) lances were used. This did not, however, prevent injury: one French knight died tilting against his brother. The barrier was about 240 feet long and ran the length of the field. Originally there were counter-lists erected on either side of the barrier to keep the horses running in a straight line, but they were removed at Henry's request with the result that some horses ran wide. Each day's events were formalised according to chivalric ideals. The queens and spectators arrived first and were seated. A knight entered with a band of about ten men as challengers. They paraded around the lists and gave reverence to the queens. The answerers entered and did likewise. The individual jousts then began, with heralds and judges keeping order. The two kings took a full and active part in the tilting, breaking many lances. On one occasion Francis I is said to have received a black eye.

The tourney and "the tourney course" followed the tilt and lasted two days. The tourney was a contest between two groups of mounted combatants, who normally charged with lances and then fought with swords. According to Edward Hall however, the combatants at the Field of Cloth of Gold fought with swords only. The long tilt-barriers were removed as this contest was in effect a mock battle fought in a wide open space. The type of armour worn would have been similar to that for war, but with additional reinforces and with a locking gauntlet for the right hand. The two kings also fought a "tourney course" (similar to the tourney, but fought between two single contestants). It was in this combat that Henry VIII encountered Robert III de la Marck, seigneur de Fleuranges. Henry drove him back and disarmed him, breaking a pauldron (shoulder defence). In the Musee de l'Armee, Paris is preserved an armour made in Henry's workshop at Greenwich, which according to a tradition already current in the 17th century, belonged to Fleuranges. It is datable to about 1525 and was possibly given by King Henry to Fleuranges in recompense.

The last day of the tournament (Friday the 22nd of June) was given over to foot combat at the barrier. In this contest the combatants were separataded by a long bar erected the length of the field. They fought two by two over this barrier. The combat was fought with the two-handed sword which was optional, as it was deemed dangerous. The spears were either used for close combat or were thrown.

There are two armours made in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich. Both are for foot combat, yet both are different. One armour completely encloses the body, front and rear, with numerous lames encircling each limb. However, the armour appears to be unfinished and still in the Master Armourers workshop in the 17th century. The other armour is distinguished by its tonlet (steel skirt). All the pieces are decorated en suite. Yet it is composed of disparate pieces. So it seems one armour was unfinished and one was hurriedly put together. They are datable to 1520. Mr C. Blair and Mr I. Eaves have plausibly postulated that they may both have been made for the foot combats at the Field of Cloth of Gold. One armour was nearly finished and conformed to regulations which specified the wearing of an ordinary war armour with light closed helmet and reinforcing extra pieces. Then, only three months before the Tournament, the French King changed the rules. The foot combats at the barrier's were now to be fought in a tonlet and bascinet helmet.

The pageantry of the Tournament was augmented by magnificent banquets and masked balls, with much music and dancing. Each Sunday was entirely devoted to such festivities. The Field of Cloth of Gold ended on Sunday, 24th of June, 1520 after a final banquet with prizes awarded and gifts given... and promises of continuing friendship exchanged. Within weeks Henry was meeting the German Emperor Charles V to negotiate a contrary alliance. Within months England and France were at war.