#historian: samantha harper

[richmond-rex]

Henry VII also had a fondness for tennis, both as a player and a spectator. Payments for tennis balls and arrangements for ‘tenesplay’ are common particularly in the 1490s. A loss in 1494 to Sir Robert Curson in 1494 cost the king 27s; the opponent to whom he lost to in 1499 was perhaps of a lesser quality, as he received only 8s. New opponents often received generous rewards, such as the 40s given to ‘a spanyard the tenes pleyer’ in 1494, slightly less generous than the £4 given to the ‘new pleyer at tenes’ in 1496. That these men were not named or previously known to the king suggests he was not fussy about the social standing of his opponent, only the quality of his game. The last payment for tennis appears in 1499, suggesting that perhaps the king no longer remained fit enough to play after this time.

— Margaret Condon, Samantha Harper and James Ross, The Chamber Books of Henry VII and Henry VIII, 1485-1521: An Analysis of the Books and a Study of Henry VII and his Life at Court.

#henry vii #historian: margaret condon #historian: samantha harper #historian: james ross

[richmond-rex]

Of note was the multi-cultural nature of the king’s personal staff. Though the majority of Henry VII’s closest servants in the Privy Chamber were derived from the families of minor gentry, there are named within the payment books a profusion of Bretons, French and Welsh household servants and courtiers. This perhaps might have been expected initially, given the composition of Henry’s supporters at Bosworth and the fourteen years he spent in Breton and French exile prior to the battle, but the numbers remained or were renewed throughout the reign.

— Margaret Condon, Samantha Harper and James Ross, The Chamber Books of Henry VII and Henry VIII, 1485-1521: An Analysis of the Books and a Study of Henry VII and his Life at Court.

To illustrate the point, two of the highest paid, and probably among the most intimate body servants of the king, are elusively mysterious. Piers Champion and Piers Barbour may have been Breton in origin, and may have come to England with the king in 1485. Both received the same salary of 66s 8d per quarter from the Chamber in the 1490s, and both were trusted to receive money intended for the king’s hands in the first receipt book (1488-1490).

#i didn't know about those two! #henry vii #historian: margaret condon #historian: samantha harper #historian: james ross

[richmond-rex]

The regularity of payments to servants of Sir Walter Herbert for bringing of gifts to [Henry VII] is suggestive of a long-standing relationship maintained until the end of their lives. Every year, in August, Sir Walter Herbert sent a gift of a hawk to the king. It is possible this was to commemorate the king’s Bosworth battlefield victory, where Walter may have had fought, or simply because it was hunting season and the King’s love of hawking was well known. Herbert was not alone in gifting the king hawks, of course, but he does appear to be the most consistent in his gifts.

— Margaret Condon, Samantha Harper and James Ross, The Chamber Books of Henry VII and Henry VIII, 1485-1521: An Analysis of the Books and a Study of Henry VII and his Life at Court.

Walter Herbert was the second son of Sir William Herbert (later earl of Pembroke), who had been awarded the custody and wardship of the young Henry, then earl of Richmond, in 1461. [Herbert]'s two eldest boys, William and Walter, were of an age with Henry and the boys would have had lessons together in subjects such as literacy, Latin and numeracy, and they would have trained together in the tiltyard. If not close friends, certainly they were close acquaintances for the eight years that Henry lived at Raglan, and Walter’s regular gifts suggest the former was true.

#henry vii #sir walter herbert #was also the one who received henry #in monmouth in 1502 after henry visited raglan #i do think they might have been friends #considering the gift-giving and henry's willingness #to meet him in 1502 #historian: margaret condon #historian: samantha harper #historian: james ross