James IV: Tournaments

The tournament of the Black Knight and Lady, one of the great set-piece pageants of James' reign, took place in the summer of 1507. The tournament was announced by Marchmont Herald, to take place in the lists (the tournament ground) at Edinburgh Castle. The event was to last five weeks and the idea was that the Black Knight and his supporters would prove his Lady to be the fairest in the land, at the point of a sword.

A large silk pavilion was set up, with a couple of smaller canvas ones. From the top fluttered various standards of taffeta. In the grounds was set the Tree of Esperance (hope), planted in the garden of Patience and bearing the leaves of Pleasure, the flower of Nobleness and the fruit of Honour. Over the five week duration of the event, each week the shield of a new challenger was hung on the tree. This again suggests familiarity with the Arthurian romances – the illustration from the 12 ^th century manuscript by Chretien de Troyes shows just such an arrangement. The pavilions had fringes of silk and painting the shields and blazons required six books of fine gold leaf.

James himself was to be the defending Black Knight. Parts of his sumptuous costume were delivered from London in a couple of locked trunks. His outfit included a gold clasp for the gorget that encircled his throat, an arming jacket (presumably worn under the armour) of black satin. His squires were dressed in cloth-of-gold and black velvet with matching bonnets (caps) and hose. Payments for silver horns suggest that his armour might have looked something like the helmet presented by the Emperor Maximilian to Henry VIII in 1514.

The Black Lady (who was probably black in fact, as well as name) was dressed in a gown of damask with flowers of gold. The dress was decorated with yellow and green taffeta and the Lady sported leather gloves. She was carried in some sort of litter, imported from Flanders, which was draped with around 160 yards (160 metres) of Flemish taffeta in various colours. The Lady had four attendants – two squires, dressed in white damask, and two girls, clad in more yellow taffeta. The horses, too, were sumptuously decked out.

The Black Lady (who was probably black in fact, as well as name) was dressed in a gown of damask with flowers of gold.The dress was decorated with yellow and green taffeta and the Lady sported leather gloves. She was carried in some sort of litter, imported from Flanders, which was draped with around 160 yards (160 metres) of Flemish taffeta in various colours. The Lady had four attendants – two squires, dressed in white damask, and two girls, clad in more yellow taffeta. The horses, too, were sumptuously decked out.

Although there are no details of exactly how the tournament played out, the King was, (not altogether surprisingly!), the winner and claimed the Lady's hand as his prize.

So successful was the event, that it was repeated the following year, on an even grander scale. By staging spectacles of this sort, James was showing, not just that he was sufficiently master of his country to spend time on leisure, but that Scotland's court and nobles were the equivalent in skill and sophistication of Burgundy or France.

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