Luminalia
Encyclopedia
Luminalia or The Festival of Light was a late Caroline era masque
or "operatic show
", with an English libretto
by Sir William Davenant
, designs by Inigo Jones
, and music by composer
Nicholas Lanier
. Performed by Queen Henrietta Maria
and her ladies in waiting on Shrove Tuesday
, February 6, 1638
, it was one of the last and most spectacular of the masques staged at the Stuart
Court.
in 1631
, Jones's contentious, quarter-century-long masquing collaboration with Ben Jonson
came to an end; in their long-running contest of wills and egos, Jones had won and Jonson had lost. With Aurelian Townshend
's 1632
masques, Albion's Triumph and Tempe Restored
, Jones's influence became paramount. Jones, however, was not a literary man; the text of Luminalia has been called "in terms of poetry and literary ideas...the most incoherent and meaningless of the masques...."
Davenant's-or-Jones's story for the masque involves the Muse
s of classical Greek mythology
. Driven from Greece by Thracian
invaders, and then from Italy by the Vandals and Goths
, the Nine wander in search of a new home, finally finding it in Britain, "the garden of Britanides," with a welcoming king and queen. The production was unusual in that the comic and grotesque figures in the anti-masques were played by "gentlemen of quality," including the Duke of Lennox
and the Earl of Devonshire
. This was a major departure from earlier practice: when Jonson first introduced the anti-masque in his The Masque of Queens
(1609
), the roles in the anti-masque were filled by professional actors, and no aristocrat would have lowered himself to such an activity.
.) Innovative lighting effects continued through the work: it concluded with an "aerial ballet" in which Henrietta Maria, portraying the "Earthly Deity," descended from the clouds in "a glory of rays, expressing her to be the queen of brightness."
The sheer abundance of illumination forced a change of venue for the masque's performance. Masques were usually staged in the Banqueting House
at Whitehall Palace—but it was feared that the new Rubens murals on the ceiling there would be damaged by candle soot. Luminalia was moved to a temporary structure, which Puritan
detractors dubbed "the Queen's dancing barn."
printed by J. Haviland for the bookseller Thomas Walkley
, with the fulsome title Luminalia or the Festivall of Light Personated in a Masque at Court by the Queenes Majestie and her Ladies. Davenant's name is not mentioned in the first edition, while Jones's is prominent. Early scholars and critics, confused by similar titles in the historical records, actually tried to attribute Luminalia to Thomas Lodge
and Robert Greene
, though both men were long dead by 1638.
. One of his songs for the work, called the Song of Night (beginning with the line "In wet and cloudy mists I slowly rise"), was something of a popular hit in its era; its verses were often reprinted.
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...
or "operatic show
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
", with an English libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Sir William Davenant
William Davenant
Sir William Davenant , also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned both the Caroline and Restoration eras and who was active both before and after the English Civil...
, designs 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...
, and music by composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Nicholas Lanier
Nicholas Lanier
Nicholas Lanier, sometimes Laniere was an English composer, singer, lutenist and painter....
. Performed by Queen Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I...
and her ladies in waiting on Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...
, February 6, 1638
1638 in literature
The year 1638 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*February 6 - Luminalia, a masque written by Sir William Davenant and designed by Inigo Jones, is staged at the English Court....
, it was one of the last and most spectacular of the masques staged at the Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
Court.
Text
Modern critics have disputed how much of the masque's text was actually generated by Davenant. The current view is that "Davenant was responsible for the songs, and perhaps for the prose descriptions, but the action and argument were plagiarized from Italian sources by Inigo Jones." This was in keeping with Jones's primacy in the courtly masque in the 1630s. After ChloridiaChloridia
Chloridia: Rites to Chloris and Her Nymphs was the final masque that Ben Jonson wrote for the Stuart Court. It was performed at Shrovetide, February 22, 1631, with costumes, sets and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones.-The masque:...
in 1631
1631 in literature
The year 1631 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 9 - Love's Triumph Through Callipolis, a masque written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, is staged at Whitehall Palace....
, Jones's contentious, quarter-century-long masquing collaboration with 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...
came to an end; in their long-running contest of wills and egos, Jones had won and Jonson had lost. With Aurelian Townshend
Aurelian Townshend
Aurelian Townshend was a seventeenth-century English poet and playwright.-Life:Very little is well established about Townshend's life...
's 1632
1632 in literature
The year 1632 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*On February 14, Tempe Restored, a masque written by Aurelian Townshend and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace....
masques, Albion's Triumph and Tempe Restored
Tempe Restored
Tempe Restored was a Caroline era masque, written by Aurelian Townshend and designed by Inigo Jones, and performed at Whitehall Palace on Shrove Tuesday, February 14, 1632...
, Jones's influence became paramount. Jones, however, was not a literary man; the text of Luminalia has been called "in terms of poetry and literary ideas...the most incoherent and meaningless of the masques...."
Davenant's-or-Jones's story for the masque involves the Muse
Muse
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 of classical Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
. Driven from Greece by Thracian
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
invaders, and then from Italy by the Vandals and Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
, the Nine wander in search of a new home, finally finding it in Britain, "the garden of Britanides," with a welcoming king and queen. The production was unusual in that the comic and grotesque figures in the anti-masques were played by "gentlemen of quality," including the Duke of Lennox
James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond
James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox was a Scottish nobleman. He was the eldest son of Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox and his wife Katherine Clifton, 2nd Baroness Clifton....
and the Earl of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire was the son of William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire....
. This was a major departure from earlier practice: when Jonson first introduced the anti-masque in his The Masque of 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....
), the roles in the anti-masque were filled by professional actors, and no aristocrat would have lowered himself to such an activity.
Illumination
As its title indicates, Luminalia featured remarkable lighting effects. This was entirely consistent with what Jones had achieved in the masque form over the previous three decades; contemporary accounts of Jacobean and Caroline Court masques often stress the sheer dazzling abundance of light in the productions. In a world limited to candlelight and firelight, the spectacles of the masques showed audiences a brilliance of illumination they saw nowhere else. The season's previous masque, Britannia Triumphans, had ended with the fall of night, and Luminalia picked up from that point, opening with a moonlit forest scene with deep shadows of trees and artificial moonlight glinting off a "calm river." The anti-masques, featuring thieves and watchmen and various dream figures, are set in a City of Sleep. (Luminalia has been interpreted as a work of Catholic propaganda, in which the Queen of Night is the Protestant Queen ElizabethElizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
.) Innovative lighting effects continued through the work: it concluded with an "aerial ballet" in which Henrietta Maria, portraying the "Earthly Deity," descended from the clouds in "a glory of rays, expressing her to be the queen of brightness."
The sheer abundance of illumination forced a change of venue for the masque's performance. Masques were usually staged in the Banqueting House
Banqueting House, Whitehall
The Banqueting House, Whitehall, London, is the grandest and best known survivor of the architectural genre of banqueting house, and the only remaining component of the Palace of Whitehall...
at Whitehall Palace—but it was feared that the new Rubens murals on the ceiling there would be damaged by candle soot. Luminalia was moved to a temporary structure, which Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
detractors dubbed "the Queen's dancing barn."
Publication
The text of the masque was published shortly after its 1638 performance, in a quartoBook size
The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
printed by J. Haviland for the bookseller Thomas Walkley
Thomas Walkley
Thomas Walkley was a London publisher and bookseller in the early and middle seventeenth century. He is noted for publishing a range of significant texts in English Renaissance drama, "and much other interesting literature."-Career:...
, with the fulsome title Luminalia or the Festivall of Light Personated in a Masque at Court by the Queenes Majestie and her Ladies. Davenant's name is not mentioned in the first edition, while Jones's is prominent. Early scholars and critics, confused by similar titles in the historical records, actually tried to attribute Luminalia to Thomas Lodge
Thomas Lodge
Thomas Lodge was an English dramatist and writer of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.-Early life and education:...
and Robert Greene
Robert Greene (16th century)
Robert Greene was an English author best known for a posthumous pamphlet attributed to him, Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit, widely believed to contain a polemic attack on William Shakespeare. He was born in Norwich and attended Cambridge University, receiving a B.A. in 1580, and an M.A...
, though both men were long dead by 1638.
Music
The music for the masque was composed by Nicholas LanierNicholas Lanier
Nicholas Lanier, sometimes Laniere was an English composer, singer, lutenist and painter....
. One of his songs for the work, called the Song of Night (beginning with the line "In wet and cloudy mists I slowly rise"), was something of a popular hit in its era; its verses were often reprinted.
Sources
- Britland, Karen. Drama at the Courts of Queen Henrietta Maria. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2006.
- Findlay, Alison. Playing Spaces in Early Women's Drama. Cambridge, Cambridge University press, 2006.
- Leapman, Michael. Inigo: The Troubled Life of Inigo Jones, Architect of the English Renaissance. London, Headline Book Publishing, 2003.
- Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith, eds. The Later Jacobean and Caroline Dramatists: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama. Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1978.
- Orgel, StephenStephen OrgelStephen Orgel is Professor of English at Stanford University. Best known as a scholar of Shakespeare, Orgel writes primarily about the political and historical context of Renaissance literature....
. The Authentic Shakespeare, and Other Problems of the Early Modern Stage. London, Routledge, 2002. - Shell, Alison. Catholicism, Controversy, and the English Literary Imagination, 1558–1660. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999.
- Walls, Peter. Music in the English Courtly Masque, 1604–1640. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1996.