Читать книгу Henry VIII: History in an Hour - Simon Court - Страница 8

Henry and Francis were too alike and too jealous of each other to be friends, but they recognized their mutual strength and avoided direct confrontation. The tense diplomatic stand-off between them was magnificently displayed when they met just outside the English-held territory around Calais in June 1520. This was called the ‘Field of Cloth of Gold’ – so named because of the silk and gold thread in the hundreds of tents and costumes.

A huge temporary palace was erected for the reception of Henry, where 30-foot-high walls made of canvas were painted to appear as brick or stone, with a slanting cloth roof giving the illusion of leaded slates. Outside, two fountains spouted red wine, and Henry’s following alone consumed up to 2,200 sheep in a month. Francis was greatly taken with two monkeys which accompanied Henry’s retinue, and insisted that they attend every banquet.

Although the Field of Cloth of Gold was supposed to secure a lasting peace in Europe, it actually achieved nothing. Both as a man and a king Henry remained frustrated. Foolishly, he challenged Francis to a wrestling contest and lost. This severely dented his pride, and soon afterwards the relations between England and France worsened, with Henry forming an alternative alliance with Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, who then declared war on France. The Field of Cloth of Gold ended up symbolizing the ultimate failure of Henry’s diplomatic ambitions – with France in particular, and also in general. Throughout the rest of his reign he continually and futilely switched allegiances between the major European powers, and finally in 1544, a last invasion of France succeeded in capturing Boulogne but at the cost of bankruptcy. Henry’s dream to emulate the glories of Henry V was never realized.