Crimson, Scarlet, Murrey and Carnation: Red at the Court of Henry VIII

2007/10/21 by Maria Hayward · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Historical Art and Culture Studies #Fashion and Cultural Textiles #Financial Crisis of the 21st Century

paper · doi:10.1179/004049607x229142

openalex publication_date 2007/10/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

Red, in all its various shades, was a colour with many associations at the court of Henry VIII. This article presents a thematic analysis of the key circumstances when red clothing was worn at Henry VIII's court, namely the robes worn at sessions of parliament by the nobility and secular clergy, the livery issued at coronations, as well as livery given to members of the king's household and his army in 1544. In addition, the king wore red for key days in the liturgical year as his medieval predecessors had, while it also formed part of his everyday wardrobe. Red was also significant for others at the Henrician court, including the secular and ecclesiastical élite. As such, it was a colour that was associated with wealth, status and parliamentary authority.

Discussions

• Hopping a few thousand years into the future from yestereday's rec: Hayward, M. (2007) 'Crimson, Scarlet, Murrey and Carnation: Red at the Court of Henry VIII', Textile History, 38(2), pp. 135-150. do [bsky, 5 points, 1 comments]

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