MoEML Mayoral Shows: London’s Tempe

London’s Tempe

London’s Tempe,

the Field of Happiness,

in which field are planted several trees* of magnificence, state, and beauty to

celebrate the solemnity of the Right Honourable James Cambell*, at his inauguration into the honourable office of praetorship, or mayoralty of London, on Thursday the 29 of October, 1629.

All the particular inventions, for the pageants, shows of triumph, both by water and land being here fully set down, at the sole cost and liberal charges of the Right Worshipfull Society of Ironmongers.

Written by Thomas Dekker.

Quando magis dignos licuit spectare triumphos?*

To the Right Honourable James Cambell, lord mayor of the most renowned city of London.

Honourable Praetor:

The triumphs which these few leaves of paper present

to your view, albeit

their glories are but short-lived, as glittering only for a day,

* boldly show their faces* unto the eye of the world, as servants attending on your lordship only to do you honour.

With much care, cost, and curiosity are they brought forth; and, with exceeding greatness of love, a free-handed bounty of their purse*, a noble and generous alacrity of spirit, have your worthy fraternity, and much to be honoured brotherhood of Ironmongers, bestowed them upon you.

It much wins upon them to

have such a chief; and you cannot but be glad to have such a society. By

a free election are you London’s praetor; the suffrages of commoners call you to your seat. A succession to the place takes

you by the hand; your industry hath met with blessings, those blessings given you ability, and that ability makes you fit for a magistrate.

Yet there is a music in your own bosom, whose strings* being touched yields as harmonious a sound to you, as all these: and that is, to see yourself heir to that patrician dignity with which your father* was invested. It was an honour to him to wear that robe of scarlet. It

is a double glory to you, in so short an age, to

have his sword borne before you.

You have the voice of senators breathing out your welcome; a

confluence* of grave citizens adding

state to your state; the

acclamations of people ushering

you along. Whilst I (the least part of this triumphant day) spend such sand as I have to help to fill up the hourglass, my service running.*

Attending your lordship,

Thomas Dekker.

London’s Tempe

Were it possible for a man in

the compass of a day to

behold, as the sun does, all

the cities in the world, as if he went with walking beams* about him, that

man should never see, in any part of the year any

city so

magnificently adorned with all sorts of triumphs, variety of music,* of bravery, of beauty, of feastings, of civil (yet rich) ceremonies, with gallant lords and ladies, and throngs of people, as

London is enriched with on the first day that

her great lord (or lord mayor, for ’tis all one)* takes that

office upon him.

In former ages, he was not encompassed with such glories; no

such firmaments of stars were to be seen in Cheapside. Thames

drank no such costly healths to London, as he does now. But as Troynovant* spread in fame, so our English kings shined upon

her with favours.

In those homespun times, they had no collars of S’s,* no mace, sword, nor cap of maintenance.* These came by degrees, as additamenta honoris, additions or ensigns of more honour, conferred by several princes on this city. For,

in the time of Edward Confessor,* the chief ruler of the city was called reeve, greeve, or portreeve; the

next to him in authority, provost.

Then in the first of Richard I,

* two bailiffs carried the sway. This

continued till the ninth of King John,* who by letters patent gave the citizens power, yearly, to choose themselves a lord mayor and two sheriffs.

Then, King Henry III* made the first aldermen in London (yet the name of ealdorman* was known in the Saxons’ time*, for Alwine,* in

the reign of Edgar,* was alderman of all England, that is to say, chief justice)

and those aldermen of London had

rule then, as now, over

the wards of the city, but were every year changed, as the sheriffs* are in these days.

Then,

Edward I* ordained that the lord mayor should, in

the king’s absence, sit in all places within London, as chief justice, and

that every alderman that had been lord mayor should be a justice of peace for London and Middlesex* all his life after.

Then in the reign of Henry VII,*

Sir John Shaa,

* goldsmith, being lord mayor, caused the aldermen to ride from the Guildhall* to the waterside* when

he went to take his oath at Westminster,* where

before they rode by land thither, and

at his return to ride again to the Guildhall, there to dine—all

the kitchens and other offices there, being built by him—since

which time, the feast has there been kept, for

before, it was either at Grocers’ Hall* or

the Merchant Taylors’.*

Thus small roots grow in time to cedars, shallow streams to

rivers, and a hand of government to be the strongest arm in a kingdom.* Thus you see* London in her mean attire, then in robes majestical; and sitting in that pomp, cast your eye upon

those alluring objects, which she herself beholds with admiration.

The First*

The first scene is a waterwork, presented by Oceanus, king of the sea*, from

whose name the universal main sea is called the ocean.

He, to celebrate the ceremonies and honours due to this great festival and to show the world his marine chariot,* sits triumphantly in the vast, but quaint, shell of silver scallop, reining in the heads of two wild seahorses,* proportioned to the life, their manes falling about their necks, shining with curls of gold*.

On his head, which (as his beard) is knotted, long, carelessly* spread, and white, is placed a

diadem, whose bottom is

a conceited coronet of gold. The

middle over that is

a coronet of silver scallops and

on the top a fair spreading branch of coral, interwoven thickly with pearl. In his right hand is a

golden trident or three-forked sceptre.

His habit is antique,* the stuff* watchet* and

silver: a mantle crossing his body, with silver waves, bases,* and buskins cut likewise at the top into silver scallops. And in this language he congratulates his lordship.

Oceanus, his Speech

Thus mounted, hither comes the king of waves,

Whose voice charms roughest billows into slaves,

Whose foot treads down their necks with as much ease

As in my shelly coach, I rein* up these.*

Loud echoes called me from my glittering throne

To see the noble Thamesis,*—a son

To this my queen and me, Tethys,* whose

ear

Ne’er jewelled up such music as sounds here.

For our unfathomed world roars* out with none

But horrid sea fights, navies overthrown,*

Islands half-drowned in blood, pirates’ pell-mell,*

Turks’ slavish* tugging oars, the Dunkirks’* hell,

The Dutchman’s thunder, and the Spaniard’s lightning,*

To whom, the sulph’rous breath gives heat and height’ning

O! These are the dire tunes my consort* sings,

But here!* Old Thame* outshines the beams of kings.*

This city adds new glories to Jove’s court.*

And to all you, who to this hall* resort,

This Lactia via* as a path

is given,

Being paved with pearl,* as that with stars in heaven.

I could, to swell my train,

beckon the Rhine.*

But

the wild boar has tusked up his vine.

I could swift Volga* call, whose curled head lies

On seven rich pillows, but

in merchandise

The Russian, him employs

—I could to these

Call Ganges, Nilus, long-haired Euphrates,*

Tagus,* whose golden hands clasp Lisbon walls,

Him could I call too, but

what need these calls?

Were they all here, they would weep out their eyes,

Mad that New Troy’s high towers on tiptoe rise

To hit heaven’s roof: mad, to see Thames this day,

For all his age,

in wanton windings play,*

Before his new

grave praetor, and before

These senators, best

fathers of the poor.

That grand canal, where stately

once a year

A fleet of bridal gondoletts* appear,

To marry with a golden ring that’s

hurled,

Into the sea,

that minion of the world

Venice to Neptune, a

poor lantscip* is,

To these full braveries of Thamesis.

Go therefore up to Caesar’s* court,* and

claim

What honours there are left to Cambell’s name

As by descent, whilst we* tow up a tide,

Which shall run sweating* up by your

barge’s side:

That done, time shall Oceanus’ name enrol,

For guarding* you to London’s capitol.*

The Second Presentation*

The invention is a proud swelling sea on

whose waves is borne up a sea lion,* as a proper and eminent body, to marshal in the following triumphs. In regard it is one of the supporters of the East Indian Company,* of which his lordship is free, and a great adventurer. And these marine creatures are

the more fitly employed in regard also

that his lordship is mayor of the Staple,* governor of the French Company,* and free of the Eastland Company*.

On this lion, which

is cut out of wood* to the life, rides

Tethys, wife to Oceanus and

queen of the sea, for

why should the king of waves be in such a glorious progress* without his queen, or she without him? They both therefore twin* themselves together to heighten these solemnities.

Her hair is long and dishevelled. On

her head is an

antique* sea tire*, encompassed with a coronal of gold and pearl, her garments rich and proper to her quality, with a taffeta mantle fringed with silver crossing her body. Her right hand supporting

a large streamer, in which are the lord mayor’s arms.

On each side of this lion attend a mermaid and

merman, holding two banners with the arms of the two new sheriffs,** several fishes swimming as it were about the border. And these two, having

dispatched on the water, hasten to advance themselves on land.

The Third*

The third show is an ostrich,* cut out of timber to the life, biting a horseshoe.* On this bird rides an Indian boy,* holding in one hand a long tobacco pipe,* in the other a dart.* His attire* is proper to the country.

At the four angles of the square where the ostrich stands are placed a Turk and a Persian, a

Pikeman and a Musketeer.*

The Fourth*

The fourth presentation is called the Lemnian Forge.* In it are Vulcan,* the Smith of Lemnos, with his servants, the Cyclopes,

whose names are Pyracmon, Brontes, and Sceropes,* working at the anvil. Their

habit* are waistcoats and leather aprons; their

hair black and shaggy in

knotted curls.

A fire is seen in the forge, bellows blowing, some filing, some at other works; thunder and lightning* on occasion. As the smiths are at work, they sing in praise of iron, the anvil, and hammer, by

the concordant* strokes and sounds of which Tubal Cain*

became the first inventor of music.

The Song

The Cyclopes

Brave iron! Brave hammer! From your sound,

The art of music has her ground,

On the anvil, thou keep’st time,

Thy knick-a-knock* is a smith’s best chime,

Yet thwick-a-thwack,*

Thwick, thwack-a-thwack-thwack,

Make our brawny sinews crack,

Then pit-a-pat-pat, pit-a-pat-pat,

Till thickest bars be beaten flat.

We shoe the horses of the sun,**

Harness the dragons of the moon,*

Forge Cupid’s quiver, bow, and arrows,

And our dame’s* coach, that’s drawn with sparrows.*

Till thwick-a-thwack, etc.*

Jove’s roaring cannons,* and his rammers,

We beat out with our Lemnian hammers,

Mars* his gauntlet, helm, and spear,*

And Gorgon shield* are all made here.

Till thwick-a-thwack, etc.

The grate which shut

the day out-bars,

Those golden studs which nail the stars,*

The Globe’s case,

and the Axletree,*

Who can hammer these but we?

Till thwick-a-thwack, etc.

A warming-pan to heat earth’s bed,

Lying i’ th’ frozen zone* half-dead,

Hob-nails* to serve the man i’ th’ moon,*

And sparrow-bills* to clout Pan’s shoon.*

Whose work but ours?*

Till thwick-a-thwack, etc.

Venus’ kettles, pots, and pans,*

We make or else she brawls and bans,*

Tongs, shovels, and irons have their places,

Else she scratches* all our faces.

Till thwick-a-thwack, etc.

Cupid sits in one place of this forge: on

his head a curled yellow hair*, his eyes hid in lawn,* a bow and quiver, his armour; wings

at his back; his body in light colours, a changeable silk mantle* crossing it. Golden

and silver* arrows are ever and anon reached up* to him, which he shoots upward into the air, and is still supplied with more from the forge.

On the top sits Jove, in a rich antique* habit, a long white reverend* hair on his head, a beard long and curled, a

mace of triple fire* in his hand burning, who calling to Vulcan, this language passes between them.

Jove.

Ho, Vulcan.

Vulcan.

Stop your hammers:* what ails Jove?

We are making arrows for my slip-string* son,

Here—reach

him those two dozen*; I must now

A golden handle make for my wife’s fan:*

Work, my

fine smugs.*

Jove.

First hear; you shall not play,*

The fates would scold should you keep holiday.*

Vulcan.

What then?*

Jove.

Command thy brawny-fisted slaves to sweat

At th’anvil, and to dust their hammers’ beat*,

To stuff with thunderbolts Jove’s armouries,

For vices, mountain-like,

in black heaps rise,

My sinews crack to fell them—idiot

pride

Stalks upon stilts—ambition,

by her side,

Climbing to catch stars, breaks her neck i’ th’ fall,

The gallant roars*—roarers*

drink oaths and gall,*

The beggar curses—avarice

eats gold

Yet ne’er is filled—learning’s

a wrangling scold,

War has a fatal hand—peace,

whorish eyes;

Shall not Jove beat

down such impieties?

Is’t not time, is’t not true justice then,

Vulcan,

for thee and

thy tough hammer-men

To heat* thy anvil—and

blow fires to flames

To burn these broods, who kill even with their names?*

Vulcan.

Yes, Jove,

’tis more than time.*

Jove.

And what helps this, but iron! O then, how high

Shall this great Troy text

up* the memory

Of you her noble praetor, and all those,

Your worthy brotherhood,

through whose care goes

That rare, rich prize of iron to

the whole land?

Iron! Far more worth than Tagus’ golden sand.*

Iron! Best of metals! Pride of minerals!

Heart of the Earth! Hand of the world, which falls

Heavy when it strikes home—by

iron’s strong charms

Riots lie bound—war

stops her rough alarms.

Iron earthquakes

strikes in foes—knits

friends in love;

Iron’s that main hinge,* on which the world doth move:

No kingdom’s globe can turn even,

smooth, and round,

But that his axletree* in iron is found:

For armies

wanting iron are

puffs of wind,

And, but for iron, who thrones of peace would mind?

Were there no gold, nor

silver in the land:

Yet navigation, which on iron does stand,

Could fetch it in—gold’s darling to the sun,

But iron, his hardy boy, by whom is done

More than the t’other dare: the merchant’s gates,

By iron, bar out thievish assassinates:

Iron is the shopkeeper’s both lock and kay,*

What are your courts* of guard, when iron’s away?

How would the corn prick-up her golden ears:

But that iron ploughshares, all the labour bears

In earth’s strange midwifery? Brave iron! What praise

Deserves it? More ’tis beat, more it obeys,

The more it suffers, more it smooths offence:

In drudgery, it shines with patience.

This fellowship was

then with judging eyes,

United to the twelve great companies:

It being far more worthy, than to fill

A file inferior*—yon’s

the sun’s gilt hill:*

On to’t: Jove guards you on: Cyclopes,

a ring*

Make with your hammers, to whose music sing.

The Fifth

The fifth presentation is called London’s Tempe, or The Field of Happiness, thereby

reflecting upon the name of Campe-bell, or Le Beau Champ*, a fair and glorious field. It is an arbor, supported by four great terms:* on the four angles, or corners over the terms, are placed four pendants with arms* in them.

It is round about furnished with trees and flowers: the upper part with several fruits, intimating

that as London is the best-stored garden in the kingdom for plants, herbs, flowers, roots, and such like; so, on this day, it is the most glorious city in the Christian world.

And therefore Titan, one of the names of the sun,

in all his splendour with

Flora, Ceres, Pomona, Ver, and Estas are

seated in this Tempe*. On the top of all stands a lion’s head, being the lord mayor’s crest.*

Titan, being the speaker, does in this language court his lordship to attention.

Titan, his Speech

Welcome, great praetor,

now hear Titan speak,

Whose beams to crown this day, through clouds thus break*

My coach of beaten gold* is set aside,

My horses to ambrosial mangers tied,

Why is this done? Why leave I mine own sphere?

But here to circle you, for a whole year:

Embrace then Titan’s counsel—now

so guide

The chariot of your sway in a just pace,*

That all to come hereafter

may with pride,

Say, “none like you did noblier quit the place.”

Lower than now you are in fame, never fall,

Note me, the sun,

who in my noon career,

Renders a shadow, short or none at all,

And so, since honour’s zodiac* is your sphere,

A shrub to you must be the tallest pine,

On poor and rich you equally must shine.

This, if

you do, my arms shall ever spread

About those rooms you feast in*—from

her head

Flora, her garlands pluck, being queen of flowers,

To dress your parlours up like summer’s bowers:

Ceres,* lay golden sheafs on your full board,

With fruit you from Pomona* shall be stored,

Whilst Ver and Estas,Spring and Summer,

drive

From this your Tempe, winter, till he dive

I’ th’ frozen zone, and Titan’s radiant shield

Guard Campe-bell’s Beau Champ, London’s fairest* field.

The Sixth and Last Presentation*

This is called Apollo’s palace because

seven persons representing the seven liberal sciences* are richly enthroned in this city. Those seven are in loose robes of several colours, with mantles according, and holding in their hands escutcheons, with emblems* in them proper to every one’s

quality.

The body of this work is supported by twelve silver columns.* At the four angles of it, four pendants play with the wind; on the top is erected a square tower, supported by four golden* columns. In every square is presented the embossed antique head of an emperor, figuring the four monarchs of the world,* and in them, pointing at our four

kingdoms.*

Apollo is the chief person:

on his head a garland of bays, in his hand a lute.

** Some hypercritical censurer, perhaps,

will ask, why having Titan, I should bring in Apollo, sithence they both are names proper to the sun?

But the youngest novice in poetry can answer for me, that the sun when he shines in heaven is called Titan, but being on Earth (as he is here) we call him Apollo. Thus, therefore,

Apollo tunes his voice:*

Apollo’s

speech

Apollo never stuck in admiration till now;

my Delphos* is removed

hither; my oracles are spoken here; here

the sages utter their wisdom, here the sibyls their divine verses.

I see senators this day in scarlet riding to the capitol*, and tomorrow the same men riding up and down the field* in armours:

gowned citizens, and warlike gown-men.* The gun here gives place, and the gown

takes the upper hand. The gown and the gun march in one file together*.

Happy king that has such people, happy land in such a king! Happy praetor so graced with honours! Happy senators so obeyed by citizens. And happy citizens that can command such triumphs.

Go on

in your full glories, whilst Apollo

and these mistresses of the learned sciences waft

you to that honourable shore,* whither time bids you hasten to arrive.

A speech at night, at taking*

leave of his lordship at his gate, by Oceanus

After the glorious troubles of this day,

Night* bids you welcome home—Night who does lay

All pomp, all triumphs by, state, now defends;

Here our

officious train their service ends,

And yet not all, for see: the golden sun,*

Albeit

he has his day’s work fully done,

Sits up above his hour, and does his best

To keep the stars from lighting you to rest.

Him will I take along to lay his head

In Tethys’ lap;* peace therefore guard your bed:

In your year’s Zodiac

may you fairly move,

Shined on by angels, blessed with good men’s

love.

Thus much, his own worth, cries up the workman, Master Gerard Christmas,

* for his invention:

that all the pieces were exact and

set forth lively, with much cost. And this year gives one remarkable note to after times: that

all the barges followed one another (every company in their degree) in a stately and majestical order, this

being the invention of a noble citizen, one of the captains of the city.*

Finis.

Annotations

trees

Trees are not literally planted, so the word likely refers to any structure or figure, natural or artificial, of branched form (OED tree, n.6.b). Trees thus points to the land presentations that are planted around London by Dekker and Christmas.

James Cambell

James Cambell (1570-1642), the Lord Mayor and subject of Dekker’s pageant. In the original text, Dekker played on the wording of Cambell’s name to establish a direct connection with the pageant’s title, much as Anthony Munday did with his father’s name in his 1609 show for Thomas Cambell. Campe-bell, for Dekker, corresponds with Beau Champ, which is French for beautiful field. I have used Cambell as the spelling of the lord mayor’s surname, which is in keeping with the Oxford National Dictionary of Biography, but I have retained Campe-bell wherever it is clear that Dekker is establishing this play on words.

Quando magis dignos licuit spectare triumphos?

The Latin roughly translates to when were more worthy, valued triumphs seen? Hoy notes that the phrase is adapted from Ovid’s felices, quibus, o, licuit spectare triumphos (Ex Ponto 11.2.91), which loosely translates to, when were more fruitful, O, valued triumphs seen? (Hoy 4.48). However, the Latin phrase actually originates from Martial’s nineteenth epigram in his fifth book of epigrams (Martial 3).

these few leaves of paper … glittering only for a day,

Dekker rhetorically downplays his role as dramatist by referring to the printed book as these few leaves to praise the glory of the mayor, but by mentioning the fact that the event only lasted a day, he highlights the printed pageant book’s commemorative purpose and lasting nature. This address to the lord mayor also allows readers to situate themselves in either Cambell’s shoes or those of his entourage of sheriffs, aldermen, and others as they read through the printed book. Readers receive the privileged view of the spectacles and can thereby relive what London’s lord mayor was meant to have experienced.

faces

A pun on the faces of the book’s pages and the faces of the actors in the presentations or the crowds in attendance. Another possible reference is the face of a given presentation, if we are asked to see them as living only for a day.

bounty of their purse

Fairholt lists the total cost of the pageant as £180 (35), but this was the amount given to Dekker and Christmas to put on the show. The actual total figure taken from their records was £537 11s 10d (Gordon and Robertson 119), which includes the sum of £180 given to Dekker and Christmas as well as several other fees associated with the pageant. This value is considerably more than was allocated to Cambell’s father’s 1609 show, which was not a tremendous success.

strings

The reference to the strings of the mayor’s bosom or heart aligns him with Apollo in the final pageant before the feast, as Apollo plays a lute and this is the only string instrument in the show. This early reference distinguishes his music from that of the Cyclopes who use hammers to make music instead. The vogue for the lute rather than the harp that Jennifer Linward Wood identifies in later shows like London’s Tempe makes the mythological figure of Apollo of Renaissance England’s present rather than an imagined past and thereby connects the god more directly to the mayor (117).

father

Sir Thomas Cambell (?-1614) was James Cambell’s father and had also held the title of lord mayor. The customary items of the lord mayor that James Cambell receives, and which Dekker subsequently mentions, thus entail an additional hereditary value in this show.

confluence

The word literally refers to a crowd of people, but is also the junction and union of two or more streams or moving fluids (OED confluence, n.1.a), foreshadowing the water shows that correlate Cambell with Oceanus. Much as Oceanus brings the various nautical networks to a confluence at London, Cambell’s merchant adventurers use them for trade.

Whilst I … my service running.

Dekker is deploying the common modesty topos. Underlying this suggestion that his efforts and writings are insignificant by comparison to the mayor’s greatness is perhaps another meaning concerning the amount of payment Dekker and Christmas received for the pageant. They asked for £200, but they were only given £180. We know that Dekker struggled with money for most of his life and the references to sand correspond with the allusions to Tagus, whose sands were golden and who is later mentioned in Oceanus’ pageant. The idea might be that he is spending all of the money the Ironmongers gave him, especially since the day’s occasions are brought forth with much cost.

walking beams

Aligns the person in question (ultimately the mayor) with the sun and thus Titan and Apollo, who are said to represent different diurnal positions of the sun, in the final pageants.

variety of music

From the Ironmongers’ records we know that Dekker and Christmas were in charge of arranging music for this pageant (Gordon and Robertson 115). No records of what was played survive, but drummers, fifers, and trumpeters were employed, all of which signal militaristic processions. We also know that Apollo plays a lute in the final pageant and that the Cyclopes play music on their anvil in the Lemnian forge pageant.

lord … all one

Lord could refer to God, Charles I, or both. The line communicates authority’s importance no matter whether it is a lord mayor or the lord, so the dual-meaning of lord is likely intended. The ambiguity reinforces the importance of the lord mayor by associating him with these figures of higher power.

Troynovant

Latin for New Troy.

collars of S’s

In Troia-Nova Triumphans, Dekker also lists it as collars of Esses (Dekker 556), denoting the band of S’s the mayor wore.

mace, sword, nor cap of maintenance

All parts of the lord mayor’s traditional attire that were also worn by Cambell’s father in 1609.

Edward Confessor

Edward, the Confessor, King of England (1042-1066). Dekker draws attention to the ruler’s creation of the portreeve. Hoy draws upon Stow to illuminate how the words Porte and gerefe mean respectively town and guardian (Hoy 4.48). The word Portreeve thus denotes what Edward deemed London’s chief ruler, after himself (Dekker, Britannia’s Honour 355).

Richard I

Richard I, King of England (1157-1199), and known as Richard the Lionheart.

King John

John I, King of England (1167-1216).

King Henry III

Henry III, King of England (1207-1272).

ealdorman

Dekker distinguishes the modern spelling aldermen from ealdorman based upon early definitions of this distinction, as found in Richard Verstegan’s A Restitution of Decayed Intelligence (1605) or John Cowell’s The Interpreter (1607). However, the OED specifies that recent historical writers have used the late West-Saxon and Kentish ealdorman; but the general O.E. form was aldormann (OED alderman, n.1). I have preserved the spelling to highlight the earlier discrepancy, but I make this note to stress the inaccuracy of Dekker’s and other early understandings of Old English.

Saxons’ time

Dekker’s mention here of Saxons’ time should be taken as referring to the group of Germanic conquerors from Saxony prior to the Norman invasion of 1066, from whom the language of Old English in part derives. Mary Rambaran-Olm has written extensively on the misguided and dangerous understandings that later emerge around seeing Saxons (as well as the erroneous term Anglo-Saxon) as autochthonous to England and establishing a native English identity. Most recently, she addresses the hegemonic view that the only migration that matters is the Saxon migration (and later Norman one); everything happening apart from this narrative is culturally insignificant (Rambaran-Olm 387). Dekker deriving his understanding from early lexicons (see previous note) highlights early signs of this tendency, especially given how the show makes deliberate efforts to signal the supremacy of London and England over other nations and thereby establish the lineage through a false autochthonous affiliation. While this idea is still nascent in the historiography of the show, a change is clearly underway to create a false sense of ancestry, which would take a fuller shape in the next century. Take Joseph Nicol Scott’s definition of Sunday from A New Universal Etymological English Dictionary (1755), for example, which distinguishes the Saxons’ pagan worship of the sun from early modern subjects’ worship of the Christian god, but simultaneously labels them our Saxon ancesters.

Alwine

Alwine refers to the Earl of East Angle and kinsman to King Edgar (Hoy 4.49). Dekker spells Alwine as Alwin, but I have opted to change the spelling to differentiate this historical figure clearly from Richard Fitz Alwin.

Edgar

King Edgar of England (959-975).

Little is recorded of Edgar’s reign. This dearth of material has led to the king being the focus of many legends and stories shaped around the time of his rule (Williams). Dekker and Stow’s references to Alwine could be one of these fictions.

sheriffs

Dekker’s spelling shreiffes does not exist according to the OED or LEME, so I am led to believe that the spelling is an error on the compositor’s part, who accidentally reversed the order of the “r” and the “e”. As a result, I have modernized the spelling, as there is no clear variation in meaning.

Edward I

King Edward I of England (1272-1307).

Hoy asserts that Dekker was mistaken (Hoy 4.49-50). Fabyan, however, states that Edward III carried through the changes to governance that Dekker mentions (Fabyan 4.49).

Middlesex

Middlesex is a county in England.

Henry VII

King Henry VII of England, (1457-1509).

Hoy again refers to Stow to show that Henry VII was the first king to knight the lord mayor in 1501 and thus began the ritual of travelling along the Thames to Westminster for the purpose of this ceremony (Hoy 4.50). Water pageantry is especially prominent in this show, given recent naval affairs and references to trade. Its mention again more explicitly here, especially after Dekker has already said that Thames drank no such costly healths to London, as he does now, accentuates this fact.

Sir John Shaa

Sir John Shaa was the first lord mayor to be knighted. Dekker spells his name Shaw, but I have used Shaa as per MoEML and MASL, though the ODNB uses both spellings.

Guildhall

The Guildhall is where the company would feast at the end of the day and is where the final pageants took place, making it London’s tempe or fair field.

to the waterside

The traditional route of the lord mayor’s procession (Manley 226).

Westminster

Westminster Palace, at court, where the mayor gives his oath to the king.

Grocers’ Hall

The Grocers’ Hall belongs to the Grocers, one of the twelve livery companies.

Merchant Taylors’

The Merchant Taylors’ Hall belongs to the Merchant Taylors, one of the twelve livery companies.

small roots … kingdom

The tree metaphor that is mentioned on the title page continues here. A gradual progression in history, age, and status is linked to natural growth, suggesting that Cambell and Londoners are in full bloom.

Thus you see

Dekker rhetorically shifts his readers’ gaze back to the present moment after having drawn attention back to the trees (with historic roots into present cedars); the confluence of people (as streams) into the train and crowd (as river) for this day; and connected all of this imagery with imperial supremacy and legacy. He then directs his readers to gaze upon the pageants printed hereafter with this supersessional history in mind to glorify the 1629 mayor, show, and company.

The First

Bergeron suggests that the presentation takes place before the group arrives at Westminster and was followed by the third on land (Bergeron 175), but Booth’s account clearly denotes that the pageant was delivered very close to Whitehall, since the King, Queen and other Great Ones hung out of the windows, seeing these pageants (Lusardi and Gras 22).

king of the sea

Given England’s recent naval failures in the Anglo-French War (1627-1629), such a figure—the God of all oceans—declaring the Thames as the marvel of the world likely serves to strengthen the country’s nationalism and to confirm its wealth, security, and prosperity at home, on its own waters, while still conveying supremacy through English trade that spans the oceans corresponding with the god’s name.

marine chariot

The first of many chariots referenced or represented in the show. The idea of a rider and his or her reins harks back to Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella (Sonnet 49; Ringler 189). The metaphor encourages people to harness their passions, the (sea)horses, in the seat of reason, the chariot.

wild seahorses

The adjective wild reinforces the passions which the rider must control.

curls of gold

Compare with Cupid’s hair, later in the Lemnian Forge pageant, as this character is also presented as in need of restraint.

carelessly

The word could either suggest that Oceanus cares little for his appearance or pertains to his lack of anxiety or concern, but his hair more likely symbolizes the water networks he represents rather than metaphorically commenting on his person. Although his lack of care for his hair could be perceived to indicate an untamed nature, it likely corresponds with the various bodies and networks of water that Oceanus represents.

antique

David Bevington notes the variant spellings of the words antic and antique. He states, ‘Anticʼ, ‘antikeʼ, ‘antickeʼ, and ‘antiqueʼ are reasonably interchangeable in early modern English (Bevington 151). He goes on to specify that antic, taken from the Italian antico, means grotesque, whereas antique bears a more ancient and classical meaning. For Oceanus it is possible to choose antic, given his carelessness concerning his hair. However, Oceanus manages to rein in the seahorses, and the rest of his vestments suggest a regal or refined quality. I therefore preserve Dekker’s antique with the understanding that the carelessness of his hair reflects that of water networks outside the Thames that London is no longer interested in venturing upon for naval matters.

stuff

Clothing.

watchet

Light blue, tending towards green (OED watchet, A.n.1, B.adj.c). Hoy also states, [t]he symbolic meaning of the color was ‘fayned stedfastnesseʼ (Linthicum, pp. 28-9) (Hoy 2.147).

bases

Hoy defines base as a plaited skirt made of cloth or velvet that reached from the waist to the knee and was popular during the Tudor era (Hoy 4.50).

rein

Rein carries both the literal meaning of Oceanus reining in the seahorses from the chariot and of him reigning over them as sovereign of the sea. The action of reining up the seahorses corresponds with reigning over the lower recesses of the body politic.

these

A cue for the actor playing Oceanus to point towards the seahorses.

Thamesis

Latin for Thames.

Tethys

According to mythology, Tethys was not only Oceanus’ wife but also his sister. The fact that Thames is labelled as their son likely means that Dekker is not referring to Tethys with such an image in mind and instead draws from Spenser’s Faerie Queene Book IV as Hoy suggests (Hoy 4.50).

our unfathomed … roars

Establishes a contrast being the ordered music associated with London and the tempestuous roaring of a chaotic world.

navies overthrown

The English navy had recently been overthrown by the French. Although a peace treaty had been signed by this point, the defeat is likely to have still been a serious wound to the country’s national image.

pell-mell

Confusion or disorder and sometimes a hand-to-hand fight (OED pell-mell, C.n). The latter definition seems more appropriate to the pirates, but the former is also possible.

Turks’ slavish

The reference to slavery and Turks plausibly perpetuates recent xenophobia. In 1628, a sermon entitled A returne from Argier was printed with a preface to its reader recounting a man taken by Turkish Pyrats, made a slave on the ship, and was eventually converted from Christianity or turned Turke (A2r). The references to piracy, naval affairs, and religion surrounding this stanza in the speech suggest a connection with this printed text.

Dunkirksʼ

A town in France on the Straits of Dover, 22 m. E. of Calais and 174 N. of Paris Lying on the boundary between the Spanish Provinces and France, and close to England, it was held from time to time by each of these powers (Sugden 159).

At the time, Dunkirk was under Spanish rule. Hoy notes that its broader significance is as a safe haven for pirates and that the word is often used by Dekker to signify a kind of band or company so ill-assorted that it can absorb anything, a sort of ultimate wantonness (Hoy 2.37).

The Dutchman’s … lightning

The line highlights the ongoing conflict between the Dutch and the Spanish. Leslie Thomson’s article on the stage purposes of thunder and lightning as a sign of intervention in human affairs by the demonic or divine likely aligns this military business with action the English do not want to enter (14). The ambivalent religious connotations also carefully distinguish the forces so that the Dutch could potentially be in league with the divine.

height’ning

Contraction added to stress meter.

consort

Both a musical composition in which several instruments work harmoniously together and a reference to one’s partner, typically in marriage.

The reference seems to suggest that several pieces play a forlorn melody or that Tethys, already mentioned, sings such unhappy tunes. I contend that both meanings are at play.

But here!

The actor’s sudden exclamation highlights the transition from the rest of the world to the Thames’ prowess.

old Thame

Dekker’s spelling has been preserved here to signal the personified figure of the river rather than the body of water itself.

beams of kings

The line refers back to Dekkerʼs mention of the beams that are emitted from the mayor on this day at the outset of his pageant book. See note on walking beams.

Jove’s court

Jove thus represents Charles I, given that these presentations were most likely staged in close proximity to Westminster according to Booth’s account. Jove will also appear in a later pageant, which continues this association.

this hall

Westminster Palace.

The words’ immediacy supports Booth’s account that the presentation is performed in the waters just outside of court before the fleet disembarks (Lusardi and Gras 22).

Lactia via

Milky Way (Lat.). Ovid’s Metamorphoses 1.168-169 (Hoy 4.50). Dekker is referring to the Thames as this celestial pathway.

Being paved … pearl

They set out from the Guildhall in the morning, so the sun would likely be shining brightly upon the waves at this point, giving them a pearly look.

the Rhine

From Booth’s account we know that the Dutch witnessed the day’s events, so it would be fitting to begin with the Rhine.

the wild board has tusked up his vine.

This bizarre line has some topical associations with Catholicism, as Richard Field describes the Pope as a wild Boare who hath layd wast the Vineyard of the Lord (V4v). This association in relation to the previous remark about the Rhine possibly criticizes Dutch trade with the Spanish. But preceding this line marks an obstacle to Oceanus’ ability to journey to the Rhine, so Dekker is likely drawing this connection with the Spain.

Volga

River in Russia.

curled head … pillows

Hoy refers to Dekker’s Brittannia’s Honor and Artillery Garden where Dekker refers to the speed of the river, and he also draws upon Fletcher’s remark on Volga hiding his seven curl'd heads from The Loyal Subject (4.51). Dekker, however, only refers to a single curled head, which associates Volga with Cupid in the show. The golden arrows Cupid fires aimlessly in this later pageant correspond with the lavish rich pillows on which Volga rests his head. Moreover, in The Seven Deadly Sins, Dekker refers to the seuen-headed Nylus who is associated with the seven sins (G2v). The reference to seven pillows here allows Dekker to return to his earlier simile anew so as to link the curly haired and wanton Cupid with the river whose hair Dekker has styled similarly, possibly due to its appearance when geographically represented on a map.

Ganges, Nilus, long-haired Euphrates

The Ganges and the Niles are rivers located in Egypt. The reference to the Euphrates river stretching from Iraq to Turkey is possibly referred to as long-haired because of how long the river is, but like Oceanus’ hair, it could connote an untamed nature and might be commenting negatively upon the region’s inhabitants.

Tagus

River in Spain and Portugal, whose golden sands Dekker refers to in his epistle and mentions to the mayor later near the end of Jove’s speech to Vulcan. The reference to golden hands that clasp perhaps indicates that wealth and greed through what the English perceived as corrupt trade practices have taken hold of the Portugese and Spanish. This portrait suggests a different relationship with water than the English have with the Thames in this pageant. Both images are preoccupied with power, but whereas the English control the Thames, the water networks bind Spain and Portugal as prisoners to sinful indulgence.

For all … play

Cambell was 59 years of age when he became lord mayor. The Thames as old yet energetic bolsters the image of Cambell as an older but powerful lord mayor.

gondoletts

A small gondola (OED gondolet, n).

That grand … Neptune

An annual Venetian tradition that is today called la Sensa and still practiced, according to contemporary travel guides.

Sugden refers to it as The Marriage of the Adriatic (Sugden 544) and Hoy also sources its mention in Wonder of a Kingdom 3.1.82-84, where he notes Coryate, in page 219 of his Crudities (1611), referring to it as the Bucentoro (3.293). The term minion in reference to Venice portrays the city as obliged to marry the dominant, masculine Neptune. The use of gondoletts instead of gondolas emphasizes the insignificance of the public performance in comparison to the lord mayor’s barges. The use of words like hurled negatively portray the event as disorganized and non-majestic, thereby emphasizing the propaganda of the English mayoral show.

lantscip

John Florio, in his translation of Montaigne’s Essays (1611), writes of the grotesca as ‘anticke or landskip worke of painters ʼ […] The word came from the Dutch, landschap, a technical term for the genre of painting natural scenery (Lerer 151).

Caesarʼs

Bowers has kept the old spelling of Cæasar, but I have taken the additional “a” to be an error since I cannot find any variant spelling of Caesar in the OED to support maintaining this spelling. Fairholt emends it to read Cæsar (Fairholt).

Caesar’s court

A continuation of the Roman theme, clearly a reference to Charles I.

A likely reference to himself and Tethys, signalling the next presentation.

sweating

Suggesting labour.

guarding

To attend, accompany, or escort (to a place) as a guard (OED guard, v.1.d).

capitol

A citadel on the head or top of a hill. esp. The great national temple of Rome (OED Capitol, 1). Here, it refers to Westminster.

The Second Presentation

It is atypical to divide the water pageantry into two distinct shows. However, the alignment of Tethys with the East India Company and her later joining Oceanus who recounts chaotic military affairs on oceans and seas abroad shows a renewed focus regarding London’s role in the world’s water networks. Trade, associated here with the mayor, overtakes naval conquest (given recent battles) as the new focus, and the symbolic union of Oceanus (the oceans) and Tethys (the East India Company) conveys this redirected attention.

sea lion

There are two sea lions on the East India Company’s crest. There is also a lion on Cambell’s coat of arms.

East India Company

Established in 1600, James Cambell and his father before him were both merchant adventurers that had significant roles in the East Indian Company.

mayor of the Staple

Hoy, citing Stow, notes that Staple here refers to the first and most ancient English Company of Merchants, trading in Wools (Hoy 4.52). E.E. Rich notes that the title Mayor of the Staple refers to an earlier royal title that changed after 1353 when instead of this Royal official, there were appointed fifteen local men, representing the mercantile element in the English ports (122). It is possible that Dekker is alluding to this earlier designation, but it is also likely that given Stow’s reference to Feldynge as mayor of the Staple at Westminster that Dekker is merely drawing a stronger connection between Cambell and the space at which the pageant transpires.

the French Company

The Company of French Merchants.

Cambell was an active member in the company. The recent peace treaty between England and France strengthens the importance of Cambell’s association with both the East India and French Companies.

the Eastland Company

The Eastland Company was established in 1579 and traded with Scandanavia, Russia, and various other countries in the Baltic Sea.

cut out of wood

Dekker notes the materiality of Christmas’s craft here, as he does later with the ostrich. The fact that the Ironmongers requested to keep only the seahorses and ostrich but not the sea lion perhaps speaks to Tracey Hill’s point that the shows serve to prioritize the livery company. The decision to keep the Ironmongers’ traditional ostrich but not the sea lion associated with the East India Company reflects these anxieties (20).

progress

Going on, progression; ourse or process (of action, events, narrative, time, etc.) (OED progress, n.3.a).

twin

To be coupled; to join, combine, unite; to be parallel or equal, to agree. spec. Of a town or city: to become twinned with (another) (OED twin, v.2.2.b). The word communicates a union of two gods and two nations, seeing as how Tethys is symbolically linked with the French company. The union takes on additional significance with the presence of King Charles and the French Queen Henrietta. Their twinning thus suggests an end to previous conflicts between England and France.

antic

C.f. note on antique.

sea tire

A covering, dress, or ornament for a womanʼs head; a head-dress (OED tire, n.1.3). Given that it is encompassed by a coronal, we are led to believe this is a head-garb rather than a tiara or crown. This potential exoticism might strengthen Tethys’ association with trade.

two new sheriffs

Humphrey Smith and Edmund Wright.

sheriffs

Spelled shrieves in the quarto. I have proceded with a modernized spelling since this spelling holds no different meaning from that of sheriffs. Moreover, the OED does not list shrieves as coming into existence until 1682 (OED). LEME lists the earliest occurence as Joshua Poole’s The English Parnassus (1657), and the headword has no definition listed (Poole, Shrieve). While Dekker’s spelling shows that it was in use prior to this date, we have no reason to believe it carried any additional significance.

The Third

Bergeron notes that the presentation was performed upon landing at Westminster (Bergeron 175); however, Booth’s account has the mayor arrive at Westminster, take the necessary oaths, and then proceed on land whereupon they see this presentation. This pageant therefore likely took place at St Paul’s before or after the mayor heard a sermon.

ostrich

One could make an argument that the quarto’s original spelling, Estridge, bears significant meaning, as Bevington suggests it might in different contexts (152). It could refer to the now extinct species of the species of ostrich, but there is nothing in Booth’s drawing or Dekker’s text to suggest that it is this species of the bird. The carving also survives in the Ironmongers’ Hall today, and it resembles the living ostrich we are familiar with today.

horseshoe

There are a few references to horses (Apollo’s horses and Oceanus’ seahorses) in the presentations. The Cyclopes also claim that they make horseshoes for Apollo’s horses. The idea of fitting them with shoes possibly communicates taming wild behaviour. Hoy draws upon Munday’s 1618 mayoral show to explain that the Ostrich bites the horseshoe because they were thought to naturally digest steel and iron (Hoy 4.53).

Indian boy

The Indian boy is ultimately an icon and manifestation of white supremacy. Hill posits that the boy might be a Black child because of Booth’s illustration, but as she notes earlier, his drawings contain discrepancies with respect to the pageant book and company records (145). Since the bird is described as being cut out of timber but the boy is not, we can assume an actor plays him, but regardless of whether it is a Black child or a white boy in blackface, the Indian boy is a manifestation of the emergent British empire’s competing and conflicting conceptions of an Indian boy rather than an actual Indian boy. As the note below on his attire further elucidates, the Indian boy is a conglomeration of racialized misunderstandings and white commercial interests localized in a white author’s creation for a white company and recorded in the drawings of a white diplomat. This white editor, however, stresses that the exoticism of this pageant, which suggests Black children were not Londoners, is at odds with the Black lives Imtiaz Habib historicizes in the English archives and London throughout the early modern era (15).

long tobacco pipe

Tobacco was one of the East India Company’s exports. The pipe’s length refers to the convention usage of clay pipes with long stems during the period. Dekker and Middleton’s Moll Cutpurse smokes such a pipe in The Roaring Girl.

dart

A pointed missile weapon thrown by the hand; a light spear or javelin; also applied to pointed missiles in general, including arrows, etc (OED dart, n.1.a). From Booth’s illustration, it could be an arrow, given the inclusion of a bow, but the sketch could also be inaccurate.

attire

Hill has commented on how Booth’s drawing is inaccurate: the boy’s accessories actually suggest the Americas more than India (20). As the previous note on the boy suggests, the depictions of him in Dekker’s show and Booth’s account represent an inaccurate exoticization.

a Turk … musketeer

Booth illustrates only the Turk and the Persian. This choice leads one to question whether the subsequent references to the pikeman and musketeer are clarifying the weaponry the Turk and Persian carry (listing these as other titles they hold) or if there are indeed meant to be four distinct figures. Given Dekker’s specificity that there are four corners to the square, I have opted to see these as four distinct characters or persons in Dekker’s pageant and have therefore capitalized their names. As previously noted, Hill has indicated that Booth’s illustrations are flawed.

The Fourth

This performance likely takes place at the Cross in Cheapside, as pageants in mayoral shows regularly do. The earlier reference to Cheapside and a firmament of stars perhaps alludes either to the stars that the Cyclopes nail or to those that Ambition attempts to reach. It is also likely that a canopy accompanies Jove to signal the heavens relative to the mundane Lemnian Forge.

Lemnian Forge

Although Vulcan’s forge was located with the other gods, his Greek counterpart, Hephaestus, was cast out of Olympus to the isle of Lemnos, hence the Lemnian Forge. The use of the Roman names draws upon the Mars and Venus narratives from Ovid while the Lemnos reference associates the forge with terrestrial rather than heavenly affairs.

Vulcan

Vulcan married Venus, the god of love, who had amorous relations with Mars, the god of war. Venus and Mars are also mentioned in this pageant.

Pyracmon … Sceropes

Hoy’s reference to the Aeneid, VIII.425 portrays these three Cyclopes as fashioners of Arrowes of Ignorance and contempt, to shoote at Learning (Hoy 4.53). Cupid shoots the arrows directly up into the air, which makes this allusion to Virgil fitting. This depiction likely symbolizes the folly of previous military affairs abroad.

habit

Bowers emends this word to read habits; however, given the OED’s definition of habit being [a] set or suit of clothes, dress (OED habit, n.I.1.b) and that all the Cyclopes wear the same articles of clothing, I find it more suiting to retain the spelling of habit, despite the lack of agreement between the subject (habit) and its verb (are), which could also refer to multiple items of clothing making up a singular habit. Fairholt also retains the quarto’s spelling of habite (Fairholt).

thunder and lightning

If there is thunder and lightning, then the suggestion might be that the music being played is not beautiful or peaceful. The thunder and lightning also refers back to the Dutch thunder and Spanish lightning from Oceanus’ speech, associating the forge further with the subterranean Greek equivalent. See note on The Dutchmanʼs … lightning.

concordant

If the consort plays unhappy music, then it results in unified sorrow, whereas if they are harmonious with a proper purpose, then they flourish.

Tubal-Cain

Tubal-cain (Sumer). Tubhal-Kayin (Hebrew). God of the forge and inventor of implements. Son of Lumha (Ea). Near East (Leach 631).

Hoy cites Genesis 4:21 here and contends that Dekker has confused him with his half-brother Jubal, who is actually the creator of music (Hoy 4.53). Hoy might be correct that Dekker is wrong; however, Dekker’s error seems to reflect a common misunderstanding in the time period. The Treasury of Ancient and Modern Times describes him as Tuball, or Tubal-Kaine, that inuented the Art of Musick (H5r). The connection Dekker makes between the Cyclopes and the figure of Tubal Cain plays into a hierarchy of musical originators in the period as well. In the stage play The Travels of Three English Brothers, for example, the figure of the Jew claims that this sweete Musique is heauens rethorique, The Arte was first reueald to Tuball Cain, Good Hebrew (F2r). The link between Tubal Cain and Jewishness, however, is emphasized here when the Jew continues by asserting that all other associations with the origins of music (such as Pythagorus with the Greeks or Orpheus with the Thracians) are false: All errors, Tuball, Tuball, Hebrew Tuball (F2r), which creates a hegemonic distinction between Tubal Cain and other originators of music that is ironically meant to be the inverse for the Christian audience. Dekker seems to play on this power dynamic in the show by linking the bombastic music of the Cyclopes with Tubal Cain and establishing their hammers as producing a lesser form of music when compared to the stringed instruments of Apollo, which are connected with the mayor in the dedicatory epistle.

knick-a-knock

The word knick has Dutch origins and means to lightly snap or crack as one would with their fingers, whereas knock means to strike, as one would with a hammer (OED knick, n.1). Described as a smith’s best chime, Dekker draws a contrast between this ideal sound and the noise of the Cyclopes.

thwick-a-thwack

Also used in The Virgin Martyr (Hoy 4.53), it is defined as [t]he repetition or exchange of thwacks (OED thwick-thwack, n), thereby eliminating the knick and instead producing two knocks. The grace of the movement is thus lost. Hoy’s note to The Virgin Martyr also includes a lengthy note on the phrase’s history as originating as a scrap from Richard Stanyhurst’s attempts at onomatopoeia in the ‘poetical devicesʼ appended to his translation of the Aeneid, I-IV, which were later ridiculed by authors such as Nashe and Peele among others (Hoy 3.223-224). This background emphasizes the grace and elegance these words lack. As mentioned in the introduction, Kara Northway has brilliantly connected the use of this notorious translation of Virgil’s epic poem with an effort on Dekker’s part to disuade the mayor from emulating the poor past example of his father, who was mayor in 1609 (Northway 181).

horses … sun

The line evokes the chariot of Apollo and continues the show’s metaphorical use of chariots to convey iron’s role in governance.

sun

The word is probably pronounced as soon in order to rhyme with moon in the following line. The actors could still stress the meaning of sun by motioning towards it. For an audience familiar with the mythological creatures, the meaning would also be implicit.

dragons … moon

London’s crest has two dragons on it. Reprinted four years after London’s Tempe, Stow’s A Survey of London (1633) features a printed illustration of London’s crest.

our dame’s

Venus, Vulcan’s spouse.

coach … sparrows

Hoy notes that Venus’ carriage was drawn by sparrows, which were thought to be lecherous birds (Hoy 4.53). Such a reference complements the idea of riders controlling their passions, given that Venus as the Goddess of Love lets hers run rampant. Indeed, the final two lines of this stanza suggest wanton or foolish desires, whereas the two that precede them convey restraint and order.

etc.

It is likely that in order to avoid writing it out each time, Dekker includes etc. to mark that the final five lines of the previous stanza repeat each time. It is also possible that the compositors in the print shop adopted this habit to conserve type. In his reading of the smiths’ song, the late Stanley Plumly opts to repeat the refrain.

Jove’s roaring cannons

Recalling the reference to Jove that alludes to Charles I in Oceanus’ speech, this line likely implies the ongoing war with Spain.

Mars

The god of war is notably absent from any of the presentations, though he is mentioned here, possibly alluding to England’s lingering militaristic presence in the Netherlands.

gauntlet … spear

In Metamorphoses, Ovid refers to Mars’ armour as being for adornment rather than defence (Ovid 12.87-91). Like Cupid’s arrows, this reference could suggest the pointless nature of recent military endeavours.

Gorgon shield

Used to defend against the gorgons—three female mythical creatures, whose glare could turn their victims to stone.

nail the stars

Likely alluding to the firmament of stars Dekker writes about at the outset of the pageant book. The reference thus suggests that this pageant was performed in or near Cheapside.

The Globe’s case, and the Axletree,

While the capitals have been preserved here to carry out the metaphor initiated in the previous line with the stars, Globe’s case likely refers to an ammunition supply for military affairs abroad, given the definition of a Case shott from Henry Mainwaring’s Nomenclator Navalis (Mainwaring). The Axletree here is both that of the world and the common military device that relied upon iron hoistings.

frozen zone

Winter, or the cooling period—likely in a basin of water—after the metal has been hammered into form on the anvil.

Hob-nails

A nail with massive head and short tang, used for protecting the soles of heavy boots and shoes (OED hobnail, n.1).

man ’i ’th moon

Either a reference to John Lyly’s Endymion, The Man in the Moon, which features Endymion questing after the love of Cynthia (the moon), or to the common medieval and Elizabethan folklore tale of the man in the moon, who carries a bundle of thorntwigs and is accompanied by a dog (Simpson and Roud). The reference to hob-nails in the same line suggests the latter rather than the former, given the implications that he has heavy boots or shoes for laborious activity.

sparrow-bills

Nails (Hoy 4.53).

shoon

An alternative plural of shoe (OED shoon, n.1.a, c). I have retained the original spelling in order to preserve the rhyme. Given the lack of association of Pan with shoes, particularly since the god was part human and part goat, this passage refers to his hooves. Dekker is likely referring to Silvanus, given his mention of the deity in The Gull’s Horn-Book: Sylvanus, I invoke thy assistance; thou that first taughtest Carters to wear hob-nails (B3r). The Oxford Companion to World Mythology identifies that the Romans often associated him with Pan, but Silvanus was commonly depicted as an older man.

Whose … ours?

Bowers preserves the quarto’s printing of this phrase alongside the repeated refrain as a single line in the text. I have opted to include the phrase as a separate line from the refrain of Thwick-a-thwack, etc that follows it because it makes more sense for this added line to stand out on its own and for the regular Thwick-a-thwack, etc to follow it. The pride in their work that has been featured over the previous four refrains of the chorus, as well as in the one containing this line, is contrasted by the chorus that follows this refrain, wherein they portray themselves as slaves to a tyrannical Venus.

pans

Both Fairholt and Bowers emend the text’s pennes to pannes, which suggests a continuation of the domestic theme established with kettles and pots. While the OED notes that pennes is a plural form of penny, the listings are both from pre-seventeenth-century forms (OED penny, n.). Furthermore, the reference to pens as writing devices does not work here since pennes refers to quills, which were not made out of iron. This edition therefore favours Fairholt’s and Bowers’ emendation, especially since it completes the rhyme with “bans”.

brawls and bans

In contrast to the mutual love of Oceanus and Tethys, we are presented with Venus who scolds her husband and his employees. Both women are silent, but Tethys is obviously portrayed as ideal in her silence while Venus is described as a loud, violent, chaotic embodiment of women. Therefore, although Dekker is keen to present an image of Oceanus and Tethys that, as I have argued elsewhere, is more ameliorative than that of other pageant writers (Kaethler 74), this positive and mutual union is later contrasted with the misogyny Dekker directs toward Venus in this pageant.

scratches

The verb portrays Venus as a violent ruler of the shop, who runs it like a monstrous tyrant. The animalistic imagery negatively portrays Venus as a bestial woman that needs to be tamed. While her aggressive behaviour is implemented to ensure that things are in their correct places (see the Cyclopesʼs speech), her hostility is closely linked with tyranny rather than harmonious governance.

a curled yellow hair

The fact that a yellow curly set of hair rests on his head suggests both that it is artificial to the boy actor playing Cupid and that this artificiality links the hair with the manes attached to the sculpted seahorses in Oceanus’ opening pageant. The inference, then, is that Cupid here also represents passions that should be restrained by Vulcan (his father), but he is instead allowed to shoot lavish arrows carelessly and without guidance from his father or even himself (given the blindfold). Unlike the patriarch Oceanus who reins in the seahorses, Vulcan indulges Cupid’s behaviour.

lawn

A kind of fine linen, resembling cambric; pl. pieces or sorts of this linen (OED lawn, n.1.1). This costuming follows the proverb that love is blind, but adopts it in an ableist framework to mock Cupid’s inability to direct his arrows.

changeable silk mantle

The word changeable could refer to various (OED changeable, a.4) colours. Hoy notes a different definition from the OED that suggests a more elaborate costume that changes colour under different aspects (OED changeable, a.3.a; Hoy 2.133). However, looking to LEME, we find that John Rider defines Praetexta or a praetexta toga in his Bibliotheca Scholastica as a garment of changeable silke. This garment may correspond with the Scutulata vestis that he mentions were mixed with purple silke for noble mens children to weare (Rider, A garment).

Golden and silver

Contrasted with the gold and silver attire of Oceanus and Tethys, Cupid’s frivolous and pointless use of this unlimited arsenal connotes equally misguided military affairs of recent history that need to be reconsidered and whose resources need to be redirected home. The fact that these precious metals are associated with Oceanus and Tethys earlier might also indicate that the crown should halt these expenses by bringing troops home. The two gods associated with them arrive from abroad to London on the Thames, so they redirect wealth home where the drama contends it should belong.

reached up

Cupid is likely stationed on a higher platform on the presentation’s stage space.

antique

C.f. note on antique. I have chosen antique in this case due to Jove’s god-like position in the upper level of the presentation.

His appearance is rich and reverend.

reverend

Whereas Oceanus’ beard is carelessly spread (link), Jove’s is reverend. The presentation’s stage space, with Jove on the upper scaffold, also establishes a moral symbolism of the space with heaven above and earth below. Having just come from court, the pageant reinforces the lord mayor’s duty to court and king, given the earlier references to Charles as Jove (see Oceanusʼs speech and the Cyclopesʼs speech).

mace … fire

The mace derives from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, wherein the cyclopes fashion another fiery mace for Jove but with less lightning and force, which connects with Jove’s request that they shift their priorities and alter their song (Ovid, Book 3).

Stop your hammers

The line signals a contrast between heavenly words and earthly sounds, as Vulcan must ask them to hault their music and song to hear Jove.

slip-string

One who deserves to be hanged; a rogue or rascal (OED slip-string, n.).

two dozen

The reference to twenty-four more golden and silver arrows for no apparent purpose emphasizes the wasteful use of these precious materials, but it also serves to direct attention away from gold and silver and toward iron.

A golden … fan

The line reinforces that Venus regulates the shop. A concentration on the wanton desires of Cupid and Venus is set in opposition to Jove’s needs.

smugs

Blacksmiths (OED smug, n.1).

play

Jove’s description of their work as play establishes a binary of good work in opposition to bad play, which also refers back to the song they play.

holiday

Given Dekker’s The Shoemaker’s Holiday, the reference could be a reminder to the Lord Mayor that these presentations are to be enjoyed but that he must also be diligent in his governance following this day.

What then?

While I have earlier opted to frame the dialogue between Jove and Vulcan as continuous (see Joveʼs speech and Vulcanʼs speech), here I have isolated Vulcan’s words as a single line. My reasoning is that the former combination of speech parts into single lines preserves the ten syllable structure of the individual lines, whereas including these words as part of either the previous or the later line would both disrupt the metre and the rhyme of the passage. Furthermore, the line breaks the conversation and signals a long monologue that Jove will deliver.

to dust their hammers’ beat

Although this could read as to dust their hammers beat (suggesting that through beating the hammers, they are dusting them), Jove requests that the forge be utilized for new purposes, so the previous music or beat is what needs to be dusted here.

the gallant roars

The line resembles Oceanus’ mention of the wider world roaring (link). The line thus picks up on the imagery of The Campe in which the religious concerns of soldiers are the same for those living in the city. In other words, pride and ambition can turn Londoners into monstrous tyrants.

roarers

Those loud, boisterous youths who cause a public disturbance (OED roarer, n.1.1.b).

drink oaths … gall

These oaths contrast with the pure oath the mayor has just taken at Westminster. The connection between drinking and galling insinuates that the roarers drink alcohol and then fight one another.

heat

Both Fairholt and Bowers change this to beat, but it seems perfectly logical to keep it as heat. The dash followed by and might suggest that since Jove immediately tells them to blow fires to flames, he has told them to do something else first. However, I think it could be there to reinforce the need for fire, especially since Vulcan was the god of fire. Moreover, the Cyclopes have been beating the anvil, and Jove’s question (Is’t not time?) implies a change in action rather than a continuation of what has preceded it. Heat could also be produced through successive blows to the anvil.

these broods … names

The word broods likely refers to Englishmen since brood means offspring and in this context, given that Dekker links Jove with Charles I in the pageant, it takes on a national significance. On the one hand, it likely refers to the roaring gallants Jove mentions earlier, who quarrel in civic disputes. However, it also connotes the English soldiers fighting in the Netherlands. The implication is that the fire supplies the iron to the soldiers while tempering the civic brawlers.

Yes Jove … time

See note on play for reasoning.

text up

Inscribe (Hoy 4.54).

Tagus’ golden sand

Ovid describes the sand as gold (Metamorphoses, 2.251). As noted previously, Dekker concludes his dedicatory epistle with an allusion to this sand, possibly requesting more fiscal compensation.

main hinge

The axis of the earth; the two poles about which the earth revolves, and, by extension, the four cardinal points (OED hinge, n.I.3).

axletree

The imaginary or geometrical line which forms the axis of revolution of any body, e.g. the earth, a planet, the heavens (OED axle-tree, n.4.a).

gold’s darling … boy

The contrast between the iron boy and the golden boy establishes an ideal rugged masculinity. The reference to golden boy could refer back to Cupid’s yellow hair and golden arrows, especially with his attire described as armour when it is hardly that of a soldier.

courts

Fairholt and Bowers emend the quarto’s cours to read courts, and I have chosen to abide by their decision. Although cours could both mean the [o]nward movement in a particular path (OED course, n.I.2.a) and might be a pun on the French word for heart, the passage’s context—referring to gates and iron—leads me to conclude that courts makes more sense, as they would be enclosed by such materials.

kay

Key. I have kept the quarto’s original spelling to maintain the rhyme with away.

a file inferior

A file likely means a small body of men typically no more than twelve in number. The definition typically has military connotations. A file inferior thus exemplifies the governing prowess of Cambell and his troupe by comparison (OED file, n.2.II.7.c).

the sun’s … hill

A reference to the location of the next presentation, London’s Tempe. It is possible that gilt hill corresponds through onomatopoeia with Guildhall. This choice would make sense, given that it shifts the focus away from naval and other military affairs (as well as trade) abroad in order to celebrate the livery companies. This promotes the civic boosterism that Hill argues the mayoral shows recentre attention upon to compensate for a gradual loss of power (Hill 27).

On to’t … sing

It is likely that the actor playing Jove guards Cambell to the next presentation, much like Oceanus does to the next segment of the water presentations (The Second Presentation).

ring

The word literally refers to the ring of the hammers against the anvil, but it likely also alludes to a marriage ring, given the relationship between Vulcan and Venus as well as the prior mention Oceanus makes to a golden ring in the Venetian custom (see Oceanusʼs speech).

Le Beau Champe

French for beautiful field. See note on Cambell’s name from the title page for more information.

terms

Arch. A statue or bust like those of the god TERMINUS, representing the upper part of the body, sometimes without the arms, and terminating below in a pillar or pedestal out of which it appears to spring; a terminal figure (OED term, n.V.15). Terminus was the god who presided over boundaries and landmarks (OED terminus, n.3.a).

pendants with arms

The word pendant here likely refers to a downwardly projecting ornamental knop or terminal (OED 3 pendant, n.I.1.c) that contain what are likely representations of coats of arms, possibly those of Cambell, his two sheriffs, and the Ironmongers, as these are the four coats of arms presented throughout the day.

Tempe

The valley between Mounts Olympus and Ossa through which the river Peneius runs.

lion’s head … crest

The lion also recalls the sea lion from the water pageantry.

thus break

These words are printed at the end of the following line in the quarto. I have followed Bowers’ decision to position the words here instead to preserve the metre and rhyme scheme.

coach … gold

Dekker establishes Titan and Apollo as the same character, who changes his name when he descends to the earthly sphere. In other words, we can take this to be Apollo’s chariot of the sun, the horses of which were previously mentioned as being shoed by the Cyclopes. The fact that the horses have been designated to their mangers perhaps speaks to the shift in attention from military conquest abroad to commerce brought or presently at home.

The chariot … pace

The line readdresses the need for the lord mayor to guide his passions in order to govern the civic body properly. It also makes it clear that all the chariot riders thus far, including Titan, are models for the mayor to emulate.

zodiac

The twelve zodiacs were thought to correspond with the twelve livery companies (Manley 278).

A shrub … shine

Continuing the theme of Londoners as trees, the poor are here compared to shrubs, and it is the lord mayor’s duty as gardener to tend to all life in London, great and small.

those rooms you feast in

This line gives further credence to the earlier suggestion that London’s Tempe or the gilt hill is the Guildhall, where the mayor and his train would dine.

Ceres

Dekker tells us who Flora is, but Ceres is the Roman goddess of agriculture, of the growth of plant life, of crops. Mother of Proserpine. Same as Demeter (Leach 523).

Pomona

Roman goddess of fruit trees. Wife of Vertumnus (Leach 544).

fairest

The use of fairest rather than fair here could offer further evidence that it is the Guildhall, given that this tempe or place is prized above all other locations or fields in London.

The Sixth and Last Presentation

Based upon preliminary translations of the later portions of Booth’s account that were not included in Gras and Lusardi’s article, there is a strong likelihood that the two pageants were in quick succession and in close proximity to the Guildhall. A translation is forthcoming that will accompany this edition.

seven liberal sciences

Hoy states, In Munday’s Himatia-Poleos appear ‘the seauen liberall Sciences (all attired like graceful Ladies)ʼ (1614, B2v) (Hoy 4.152). Their silent roles would be in keeping with this depiction, as they would be played by boy actors, none of whom have speaking roles thus far. They are grammar, logic, rhetoric, music, geometry, astronomy, and arithmetic.

emblems

Emblems have a long-standing tradition in mayoral shows. Sarah Briest builds upon the earlier work of Bergeron and Hill on the topic, noting that the emblems referred to in the shows do not equate to the emblem book’s pairing of text and image (10-11). However, dramatists would be unable to reproduce this dynamic in street performances where visibility was limited for most spectators. It is possible as well that the emblems the liberal sciences bear contain some text, and the pairing of speech and spectacle could represent an alternative early modern understanding of emblem that emerged.

twelve silver columns

Booth’s illustration does not include these. The use of twelve here, however, links them with the twelve livery companies who would dine at the Guildhall, where this pageant ostensibly took place.

On … kingdoms

None of this is represented in Booth’s illustration.

golden

The use of golden and earlier silver columns reminds us of Oceanus and Tethys as well as Cupid. The ongoing use of this imagery moves from fluidity and frivelousness toward adamant columns here, thereby promoting that this wealth remains at London with the livery companies. The localism of the show is thus visually communicated.

the four monarchs of the world

There are two possibilities here. Either they correspond to the four monarchic kingdoms depicted in Ania Loomba’s introduction to Middleton’s The Triumphs of Honour and Virtue (Asia, Africa, Europe, America) or they are Charles’ four kingdoms: England, Scotland, France, and Ireland (Loomba 1715-1716). The former would suggest British supremacy over the world. All the waters flow towards the most magnificent Thames in the presentation and London is presented as the seat of trade over Venice. On the other hand, the latter works to strengthen British nationalism and the benefits of a recent peace treaty with France. Hoy makes reference to Petrus Plancius’ work, which outlines five Princes of the world (China, Persia, Turke, Ethiopia, Russia), but I am more inclined to favour my two readings simply because there are four monarchs listed rather than five (Hoy 4.54-55). I would also suggest that both of my readings are simultaneously in play, communicating England’s insular power and its global supremacy.

On his … lute

Although there seems to be some confusion again with Booth’s illustration, as the figure on high does not carry these items and instead the central figure below does, the illustration possibly signals a continuity of Titan above and Apollo below. Both speeches are short, and Dekker has already paired two brief water shows in close succession of one another, listing them as the first and second pageants. The evidence concerning the Guildhall in tandem with this earlier atypical scheme makes the proximity of these two pageants likely.

lute

The drums and fifes that begin the day are gradually subdued, allowing for this peaceful finale that brings harmony and order to London. The choice of a lute instead of a harp also signals taste more contemporary to the time, as Wood has noted (Wood 123).

Thus … his voice

The shift from verse to prose in Apollo’s speech distinguishes him from all other speaking actors. Given Dekker’s explanation that Apollo has descended from on high, it could present a change in character and a need to tune his voice to an earthly territory, implying celestial brilliance in comparison to worldly, unrhymed prose. I have been unable to find any rhyme or rhythm pattern in Apollo’s speech to suggest it was intended as verse.

my Delphos

Apollo’s son.

The reference links back to Thames being Oceanus’ son and shows New Troy to be youthful and strong.

senators this day in scarlet riding to the capitol

We know that the mayor and his train left from the Guildhall to Westminster, which has been referred to already as the capitol. It is logical to infer that Apollo is referring to having seen them depart from the Guildhall in the morning, to which they have returned now, which offers further credence that the pageant is performed at the Guildhall.

the field

Likely a reference to the Artillery Garden.

gowned citizens … gown-men

Gown here likely means an article worn by the holder of a civil or legal or parliamentary office, e.g., an alderman, a judge, magistrate (OED 3 gown, n.4.a). The later distinction between gun and gown in the next line emphasizes the gown’s civility and that military power is only regulated by this sense of civility and governance, creating warlike gown-men.

The gown and gun march in one file together

This line suggests that the Crown’s continued but refocused military ambitions abroad and the City’s strength at home are aligned. This unified message might be a way to respond to the fact that Charles had dissolved Parliament earlier this year.

honourable shore

The Guildhall for supper.

taking

Fairholt and Bowers also emend the quarto’s taken to taking. While the word is left uncorrected in the NLS copy, allowing for the argument that it should remain as taken, since the compositor did not change it, this fact does not mean it was not erroneously overlooked. The following OED definition of taking leave also supports the emendation: to obtain permission to depart (obs. rare); hence, to depart with some expression of farewell; to bid farewell (OED leave, n.1.2.a). Although the OED notes the variant form of taken leave, all the citations listed are from over two-hundred years after the printing of Dekker’s pageant and all are syntactically logical unlike Dekker’s usage. The phrase does not appear in LEME, and there is also no change in meaning between taking leave and taken leave. I have therefore emended it.

Night

This is delivered to Cambell between leaving the Guildhall and retiring home for sleep, so it is likely approaching night time by now.

for see … sun

Likely a cue for the actor to point toward the sun as it is setting.

Tethys’ Lap

The sun sets in the west, so this could be a way of referring to Tethys as a representation of the East India Company whose goods have made their return to England, much as the mayor returns to his home at the end of his day’s journey.

Master Gerard Christmas

See MoMS entry on Gerard Christmas. The Ironmongers clearly appreciated his work since they asked to keep the seahorses and the ostrich, the latter of which still resides in the Ironmongers’ Hall today.

And this … city

Hoy cites W.A. Jackson’s Records of the Court of Stationers’ Company, 1602-1640 to highlight how in previous mayoral shows the barges were disorganized, whereas this year they ostensibly moved in a controlled fashion, given the appointment of some Masters of the Watermen to direct the barges (Hoy 4.55). This reference is particularly poignant given England’s recent naval defeats. The ending serves to boast naval prowess at home despite past failures, impressing a strong national image upon the water pageantry. The reference to a captain of the city also shows militaristic leadership of an urban corpus. Dekker providing this statement also suggests that the pageant book was printed after the day’s processions.

Work … play,

Jove completes Vulcanʼs part line.

Authority title	London’s Tempe
Type of text	Primary Source Text
Short title	TEMP3: M
Publisher	The Map of Early Modern London on the Linked Early Modern Drama Online platform
Series	MoEML Mayoral Shows anthology
Source	This edition by Mark Kaethler uses the NLS as its copytext. The NLS copy contains the same variant on B1r that the British Library copy does, but it also contains variants on C1v and C2r that are also corrections; these have not been previously discussed, as Bowers was unaware of the NLS copy’s existence. The editor regards these variants in NLS as corrections. Although the NLS contains these changes, the bottom of its title page is torn and missing.
Editorial declaration	Prepared according to the MoMS Editorial Guidelines
Edition	Released with MoEML Mayoral Shows 1.0
Encoding description	Encoded in TEI P5 according to the LEMDO Customization and Encoding Guidelines
Document status	published, peer-reviewed
Licence/availability	Intellectual copyright in this edition is held by the editor, Mark Kaethler. The XML file of the modern text is licensed for reuse under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license, which means that it is freely downloadable without permission under the following conditions: (1) credit must be given to the editor, MoMS, and LEMDO in any subsequent use of the files and/or data; (2) derivatives (e.g., adapted scripts for performance) must be shared under the same CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license; and (3) commercial uses are not permitted without the knowledge and consent of the editor, MoMS, and LEMDO.

London’s Tempe

Written by Thomas Dekker.

London’s Tempe

The First*

The Second Presentation*

The Third*

The Fourth*

The Fifth

The Sixth and Last Presentation*

Annotations

Collations

Characters

Performers

Prosopography

Janelle Jenstad

Kate LeBere

Mark Kaethler

Martin Holmes

Navarra Houldin

Rylyn Christensen

Thomas Dekker

Tracey El Hajj

Bibliography

Orgography

LEMDO Team (LEMD1)

MoEML Mayoral Shows (MOMS1)

University of Victoria (UVIC1)

Witnesses

Metadata