Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly
Encyclopedia
Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly was a Jacobean era masque
, written by Ben Jonson
and designed by Inigo Jones
, with music by Alfonso Ferrabosco
. It was performed on February 3, 1611
at Whitehall Palace, and published in 1616
.
Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly proved to be the last masque in which Anne of Denmark
, King James I
's Queen, performed.
had established a pattern of staging a major (and expensive) masque in the Christmas season, often on Twelfth Night
. James's queen, Anne of Denmark
, was a prime mover is these entertainments, and repeatedly performed in them herself, as in the masques of Blackness
(1605
), Beauty
(1608
), and Queens
(1609
). 1611 saw a divergence from this pattern: the major masque of that season was Oberon, the Faery Prince
, which starred Anne's and James's eldest son Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
. Anne got a masque of her own a month later, though it was a more modest affair than previous events; while the bills for earlier masques regularly ran into the thousands of pounds, the total for Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly was only £719. (Anne's masque had originally been scheduled for December 1610, and then for Twelfth Night, January 6, 1611; it was postponed twice because of delays in the arrival of the French ambassador, in the wake of the assassination of Henri IV
.)
s, who clue the god to the correct answers to the Sphinx's riddles (which are "Britain" and "King James"). The Queen and Daughters of the Morn also must be released from the Sphinx's imprisonment. Once they are released they appear in a cloud in the sky above their former prison.
earned £5 for arranging the songs for lutes and violins. The five boys who played the Sphinx, Cupid, and the Graces got £2 apiece, but the twelve actors (male) who played the she-fools got only £1 each.
in 1616, and was reprinted in the second folio
of 1640
and in subsequent Jonson collections.
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
, written by Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
and designed by Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
, with music by Alfonso Ferrabosco
Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger
Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger was an English composer and viol player of Italian descent. He straddles the line between the Renaissance and Baroque eras.-Biography:...
. It was performed on February 3, 1611
1611 in literature
The year 1611 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - Oberon, the Faery Prince, a masque written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace....
at Whitehall Palace, and published in 1616
1616 in literature
The year 1616 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Nicolaus Copernicus' De revolutionibus is placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Roman Catholic Church....
.
Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly proved to be the last masque in which Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
, King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
's Queen, performed.
Background
During the previous six years, the English Court of King James IJames I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
had established a pattern of staging a major (and expensive) masque in the Christmas season, often on Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night (holiday)
Twelfth Night is a festival in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas.It is defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the...
. James's queen, Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
, was a prime mover is these entertainments, and repeatedly performed in them herself, as in the masques of Blackness
The Masque of Blackness
The Masque of Blackness was an early Jacobean era masque, first performed at the Stuart Court in the Banqueting Hall of Whitehall Palace on Twelfth Night, January 6, 1605. The masque was written by Ben Jonson at the request of Anne of Denmark, the queen consort of King James I, who wished the...
(1605
1605 in literature
The year 1605 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - The Queen's Revels Children perform George Chapman's All Fools at Court....
), Beauty
The Masque of Beauty
The Masque of Beauty was a courtly masque composed by Ben Jonson, and performed to inaugurate the refurbished banqueting hall of Whitehall Palace on January 10, 1608. It was a sequel to the preceding Masque of Blackness, which had been performed three years earlier, on January 6, 1605...
(1608
1608 in literature
The year 1608 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 10 - Ben Jonson's The Masque of Beauty is performed by Queen Anne and her retinue at the Banqueting House, Whitehall, a sequel to The Masque of Blackness....
), and Queens
The Masque of Queens
The Masque of Queens, Celebrated From the House of Fame is one of the earlier works in the series of masques that Ben Jonson composed for the House of Stuart in the early 17th century...
(1609
1609 in literature
The year 1609 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - the Children of the Blackfriars perform Middleton's A Trick to Catch the Old One at Court....
). 1611 saw a divergence from this pattern: the major masque of that season was Oberon, the Faery Prince
Oberon, the Faery Prince
Oberon, the Faery Prince was a masque written by Ben Jonson, with costumes, sets and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones, and music by Alfonso Ferrabosco and Robert Johnson...
, which starred Anne's and James's eldest son Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...
. Anne got a masque of her own a month later, though it was a more modest affair than previous events; while the bills for earlier masques regularly ran into the thousands of pounds, the total for Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly was only £719. (Anne's masque had originally been scheduled for December 1610, and then for Twelfth Night, January 6, 1611; it was postponed twice because of delays in the arrival of the French ambassador, in the wake of the assassination of Henri IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
.)
The show
The masque featured a dozen primary masquers: Anne's ladies in waiting as Daughters of the Morn, with Anne herself as the Queen of the Orient. The anti-masque correspondingly featured twelve Follies or "she-fools." The masque begins with a long conversation between Cupid and a Sphinx; the conceit is that the Sphinx has captured "Love," who must in turn be liberated from this captivity — hence the title. (Cupid's nakedness was simulated with a flesh-colored satin costume.) Cupid is freed by the priests of the MuseMuse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
s, who clue the god to the correct answers to the Sphinx's riddles (which are "Britain" and "King James"). The Queen and Daughters of the Morn also must be released from the Sphinx's imprisonment. Once they are released they appear in a cloud in the sky above their former prison.
Fees
Both Jonson and Jones received their standard fee of £40 for the masque, though a "dancing master" named Confess who taught the ladies their choreography was paid £50, and his assistant Bohan got £20. Ferrabosco received £20, and musical assistants Robert Johnson and Thomas LupoThomas Lupo
Thomas Lupo was an English composer and viol player of the late Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Along with Orlando Gibbons, John Coprario, and Alfonso Ferrabosco, he was one of the principal developers of the repertory for viol consort.-Life:He was part of a distinguished family of musicians, who...
earned £5 for arranging the songs for lutes and violins. The five boys who played the Sphinx, Cupid, and the Graces got £2 apiece, but the twelve actors (male) who played the she-fools got only £1 each.
Publication
The text was published in the first folio collection of Jonson's worksBen Jonson folios
The folio collections of Ben Jonson's works published in the seventeenth century were crucial developments in the publication of English literature and English Renaissance drama. The first folio collection, issued in 1616, treated stage plays as serious works of literature instead of popular...
in 1616, and was reprinted in the second folio
Ben Jonson folios
The folio collections of Ben Jonson's works published in the seventeenth century were crucial developments in the publication of English literature and English Renaissance drama. The first folio collection, issued in 1616, treated stage plays as serious works of literature instead of popular...
of 1640
1640 in literature
The year 1640 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 21 - Salmacida Spolia, a masque written by Sir William Davenant and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace — the final royal masque of the Caroline era.*March 17 - Henry Burnell's play Landgartha...
and in subsequent Jonson collections.