Friday, October 25, 2019

TheTimes.co.uk: Black musician played for Henry VIII

Upper Left: Henry and his father employed a black trumpeter named John Blanke between 1507 and 1512. 

The Times of London


Hand on hip and cheeks puffed, the smartly dressed trumpeter looks the part as he plays his horn in a scene that also depicts King François I of France watching a wrestling match.

Some viewers of the Tudor tapestry, which goes on public display for the first time at Hampton Court, may be surprised to see the musician is black.

Curators for Historic Royal Palaces said that although the unnamed man was one of numerous black musicians known to have played in royal courts in Europe, it was a rare depiction.

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