Dear all,
In these times where a growing fetish for masks is burgeoning all around
should we not take a backwards glance at the masks of years gone by, or, to
be more precise, the *masques* of yesteryear.
Concerning "The World Tossed at Tennis," a masque written by Thomas
Middleton and William Rowley (1620), we read that it was an attempt to
convince King James I to join in the protestant war on the continent (the
"Thirty Years' War," so-called). Among the ploys used to persuade the king
was a curious yellow starch; it was a reference to one Mistress Anne
Turner, who, supposedly, had brought ruffs and dyed yellow into fashion
just prior to being sent to the gallows for the murder of Sir Thomas
Overbury. The judge, the story goes, ruled that Mistress Turner be hanged
wearing her yellow bands, since "as she was the person who had brought
yellow starched ruffs into vogue, she should be hanged in that dress, that
the same might end in shame and detestation."
So much for wearing yellow bands, a passing fashion at the time,
demonstrating, as it did a risqué reference to the murderess Turner.
Nonetheless, the Wikipedia entry reveals little as to the role of tennis in
said masque. Should we assume that its authors, the mildly famous pair
Middleton and Rowley, sought to put forward the position that, since the
world had become a tosser at tennis it had no time for real serious and
manly pursuits (like joining the Lutheran exploits on the battlefield)?
We are at a loss. Whence tennis?
Mvh. / Yours sincerely,
Torgeir Fjeld <https://torgeirfjeld.com/>
~~ ereignis <https://ereignis.no/>: taking you to who you are ~~
