Tethys' Festival facts for kids
Tethys' Festival was a special show called a masque. It was put on on June 5, 1610. The show celebrated Prince Henry becoming the Prince of Wales.
Prince Henry was the son of King James I and Queen Anne. He was made Prince of Wales in June 1610. To celebrate this big event, the masque Tethys' Festival was performed. It took place at Whitehall Palace and was acted out by people from the royal court.
Samuel Daniel wrote the story for the masque. Queen Anne asked him to write it. She even performed in the show herself! She played the part of Tethys, a goddess of the sea. Inigo Jones was in charge of designing the stage and all the scenery.
After the show, a story about the masque was printed. Someone from the court also wrote down what happened. A few days before, the City of London had put on its own show. It was called London's Love to Prince Henry and took place on the River Thames.
During the performance, Queen Anne gave Prince Henry a special sword. It had designs carved into it. This sword still exists today and is kept in the Wallace Collection museum.
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What Was Tethys' Festival?
The stage for the masque looked like Milford Haven. This is a port in Wales. There were boats floating in the water. Giant statues of Neptune and Nereus stood on either side. This setting reminded everyone of Henry's family history. King Henry VII had landed at Milford Haven a long time ago.
The show also connected to old stories about King Arthur. Prince Henry was meant to receive a sword from his mother during the masque. This was like a gift from the sea goddess Tethys.
The Story of the Masque
First, Prince Charles appeared. He played "Zephyrus," the messenger of spring. He wore fairy wings. Two strong "sea slaves" or Tritons were with him. Eight young noblewomen, called naiads, also joined them. They sang a song about Tethys bringing good things to the Ocean King, who was King James.
Next, one of the Tritons explained the masque's idea to King James and Prince Henry. The other Triton gave a sword to Prince Charles. Charles then got up and gave the sword to Henry. This sword was a gift from Tethys, or really, from Queen Anne. It was also called the sword of Astraea. Astraea was a goddess of justice, linked to Queen Elizabeth I. This special sword had diamonds on it. It was listed in records of the prince's jewels.
Henry also received a scarf. It was called the scarf of "Love and Amity." This scarf stood for the British Isles. King James received a trident. A trident is a three-pronged spear. It represented his rule over England, Scotland, and Wales.
The Triton explained why Milford Haven was important. It was a Welsh harbor where King Henry VII started the union of the York and Lancaster families. After these gifts were exchanged, Prince Charles went back to his spot. Then, twelve young women danced around him. They were all daughters of important noble families.
The Queen's Grand Entrance
Next, Queen Anne appeared in the harbor scene. She sat on a high throne. The back of her throne looked like a silver scallop shell. It was covered with gold cloth. Lanterns around it shone like jewels.
Princess Elizabeth sat at the queen's feet. She played the "Nymph of Thames." On each side of the stage were six women masquers. They were in caves or special spots. These women played the nymphs, or guardian spirits, of different rivers.
They came out of their caves one by one. They walked in a winding path towards the Tree of Victory. There, they offered flowers to the Ocean King. Tethys (Queen Anne) danced. Then she rested under the Tree of Victory, doing this twice. After that, the nymphs started to invite men from the audience to dance with them.
Near the end of the show, one of the tritons came back. He stopped the audience from going for refreshments too early. Then, Mercury, a god, came down from the roof. He announced that Charles and six friends should follow him. They needed to bring back the queen and her friends. They would change them back from their fishy forms.
A scene looking like a wood appeared. In this wood, the queen and her ladies were reunited with the king. Prince Charles and his friends brought them together. The show also had messages about supporting British fishing. It also asked to stop attacks on Spanish ships.
Who Performed?
Prince Charles played Zephyrus. Queen Anne played Tethys. Princess Elizabeth was the "Nymph of Thames." King James was called Oceanus, the King of the seas.
A person who watched the show wrote about it. Also, a book printed in 1610 named the other women who performed. They were in the Milford Haven harbor scene:
- Arbella Stuart was the "Nymph of Trent."
- The Countess of Arundel was the "Nymph of Arun."
- The Countess of Derby was the "Nymph of Derwent."
- The Countess of Essex was the "Nymph of Lee."
- The Countess of Dorset was the "Nymph of Air."
- The Countess of Montgomery was the "Nymph of Severn."
- The Countess of Haddington was the "Nymph of Rother."
- Elizabeth Grey was the "Nymph of Medway."
Four sisters also danced. They were daughters of Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester. They played rivers from Monmouthshire:
- Lady Catherine Windsor was the "Nymph of Usk."
- Katherine Petre was the "Nymph of Olwy."
- Elizabeth Guildford was the "Nymph of Dulesse" (Dulas).
- Mary Wintour was the "Nymph of Wye."
Amazing Costumes
A few drawings by Inigo Jones for the costumes still exist. Samuel Daniel described the costumes in detail. He wrote about them in his book Tethys' Festival, or The Queen's Wake (1610).
The river nymphs wore special headpieces. They looked like they were made from shells and coral. Veils were attached to them. Their top clothes were made of sky-blue taffeta fabric. They had sea-themed designs sewn onto them.
They wore short skirts of silver cloth with gold designs. The silver fabric was cut away in places. Underneath, they had longer underskirts called "bases." These were also made of sky-blue taffeta. Around the bottom edge of the skirt was a wavy lace design. It looked like a river with grassy banks and seaweed in gold.
At the shoulder, the design was the same as the short skirts. The upper sleeves puffed out. The lower sleeves matched the top part of the dress. They also had sea designs. Their satin shoes were embroidered like the short skirts.
People who supplied costumes included Dorothy Speckard. The embroiderer, Christopher Shawe, worked on the skirts. He made delicate silver lace that looked like cobwebs. It had silver and sea-green silk threads. He also stitched silver "O" shapes, or "oes," and gold "oes" onto a thin silk called tiffany. He also embroidered a pair of sea-green satin shoes with gold and silver. Later, Shaw asked for payment for his work on the masque. He also did other embroidery for the queen.
