Secrets of Henry VIII’s wardrobe and linens revealed in a prize-winning book
After the death of Henry VIII in 1547, clerks compiled an inventory of his possessions; more than 50,000 items were listed, worth around £600,000. Details of the goods are now being revealed in a series of illustrated books containing listings and essays from leading scholars, co-edited by Southampton historian Professor Maria Hayward.
She has been awarded a Historians of British Art prize for the second volume The Inventory of King Henry VIII: textiles and dress. The book, co-edited with Philip Ward, shares the award for the best multi-authored work published in 2012*. The series was established in 1998 by popular historian Dr David Starkey, who was Maria’s PhD supervisor at the London School of Economics.
It discusses the ways in which textiles were made and used by Henry VIII and his court, from the elaborate tents and pavilions of The Field of Cloth of Gold and the linen used at table or for the royal beds, to the vestments and altar clothes used in divine worship in the Chapel Royal, as well as more than 2,000 pieces of tapestry.
“The listings tell us new stories about the familiar Tudor monarch,” explains Maria. “We learn Henry kept Jane Seymour’s clothes after her death, perhaps she was the wife he particularly cared for? Among my own favourites in the Inventory is a tiny hawk hood, which would have been used when the King went hawking. We have an illustration of one hood measuring 3.8 x 6.4cm made of cloth of gold.”
Dean of Humanities at Southampton and fellow historian, Professor Anne Curry says, “This is well-deserved international recognition for Maria’s work on the reign of Henry VIII”.
The Inventory of King Henry VIII: textiles and dress is published by the Society of Antiquaries in partnership with Brepols.
*It shares the best multi-authored book award with The English Prize: the capture of the Westmorland, edited by Maria Dolores Sanchez-Jaurequi Alpanes and Scott Wilcox. Volume three will list arms, armour and ordnance and volume four will cover decorative arts and everyday objects. The first book in the series is the transcribed Inventory itself.
Related Staff Member
Professor Maria Hayward BA, MA, PhD, LSE
I am a professor of early modern history with a particular interest in early modern textiles and clothing, especially in the context of the Tudor and Stuart courts.
View profile