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| Giving and Receiving; Richard FitzJames | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 11 2012, 05:51 PM (148 Views) | |
| King Henry VIII | Jan 11 2012, 05:51 PM Post #1 |
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Christmastide this year was admittedly bittersweet. As he received gifts from courtiers while firmly entrenched on his throne in a gold doublet with scarlet red, the throne by his side was empty. He had not a son and not a wife; he had lost two wives and had only a daughter. He would not put his sister through this task, as gifts for him were assuredly not also for her. He bore the royal burden alone with a few of his gentlemen nearby to serve him. The king shifted ever so slightly, in some discomfort from sitting so long in this selfsame position. Henry enjoyed the receiving of such grand gifts and such homage, but it was still a duty of Christmastide to do so. It would be far more convenient to not formally receive so many. He would place on his smile, incline his head and pretend that his eyes didn't speak of boredom with more than half of these simpering fools. It was difficult to look sufficiently impressed by the tenth goblet or tapestry. He idly wondered which of these men would truly know their king well enough to give him an inspired gift. Or which would outdo their gift of the year prior. In previous years, he would enjoy the rivalry between those of the highest of his courtiers, seeking to impress him the most. Now, he reflected, many of them were no longer what they once were. His fist clenched on the arm of his throne as his jaw set, his eyes momentarily afire as he thought of Buckingham and Northumberland. Rich men, fine gifts, no more. Arrogant. Was he to suffer it? He was king, he would not. He had not forgotten Norfolk's privy council comments about the French and dissent against the man was heavy in the wake of that. A setting sun perhaps, no longer what it once was; he would see, the man had gone broke throwing the masque. That had increased his popularity, for a time. Nor had he forgotten Oxford's words, although the haughty man had acquitted himself well with the French despite his apparent distaste at the end of summer. Which was well, because Henry would be obeyed. His pleasure would be their pleasure to see to. Oxford was good at that. Even his boy was amusing. Linley, or the boy he had speared twice in a joust before somersaulting the poor viscount through the air. What was left of the older lords were those who could not rise from their own machinations, they were not smart enough. It was the onset of relative newcomers that would perhaps be most entertaining. Warwick, who if he had good sense would gift him something for hunting; although he had to concern over the scene the man had made over having a daughter, of all things, whether the man did have strong enough sense. A huff escaped his lips. It was like announcing your failings to celebrate them. Wilmington, whose ambitions seemed to be to breed children and horses, with his cousin no less, and make generous donations at the card table like a beacon of congeniality. Last year he had gifted two fine horses which would be difficult to outdo. He wondered how much money he had caused the half-French Englishman to spend on hosting the French? And FitzWalter. Well, FitzWalter had gained a few more baronies with his marriage, had he not? His gift had better be very grand if he had a hope of being considered worth note; he had a bit of jealousy for anything which had once belonged to his brother. That only made him think of the own costs to his treasury for this alliance which had been much depleted by the war. Christmastide always was an expensive affair as he could spare no expense in splendor lest word travel. How was it that a baron was allowed that many horses and that many beds for his servants! He could not think of one that deserved to have that many paid for at his king's expense! It mattered little that Henry had two-hundred horses himself or hundreds of servants. Such thoughts did not enter his mind. He would have to talk to Wolsey about cutting down these generous allowances. Waving away a man who had presented him with another gold and bejeweled chalice, His Majesty turned to see who was stepping in for an audience with him now. He was yet to even come to the worst of it, as those with titles and positions were received first. He knew it was sinful of him but the King of England was not used to subjugating his desires for anyone. When the next man approached, he straightened with a bit more interest. The Bishop of London. He had been around more as of late, and the king had to admit, he admired the man's words at mass. They were strong, permeated by a quality even in his own eloquence, Henry could not describe. The man had been seen with Powis, whom Henry was indifferent toward as he was rather unremarkable, but he had also been seen with More and with Wilmington. It intrigued him a bit. A man of significant mind, it would seem, with those sort of companions. He gave the man a nod and a smile, his eyes glinting with expectation. "My Lord Bishop," he greeted. "We bid you a happy Christmas and New Year," he added, speaking in the royal we, which set him above all people, as he was wont to do for formal occasions. |
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[align=center]His Majesty is in 3 threads. plotter[/align] | |
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| Richard FitzJames | Jan 14 2012, 05:31 AM Post #2 |
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Bishop of London
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It was the time of the year when their saviour Jesus Christ was born, and so it was a time of joy and celebration as well as generosity and kindness. Richard did not know in what extent any of this was practiced, but certainly the King must feel that generosity for he received gifts in loads. Yet Christmas was an expensive affair for the court Richard imagined, since the Christmas celebration was a very grand happening. Perhaps the King received as much as he gave and so it would be even. For surely the King was given many items which he already had, such as goblets and hunting knives, and so he could sell them of harbour them in his treasury, which was rather empty it seemed, at least form what Richard had heard, but one should not trust seemingly idle gossip too much. Christmas was also a good opportunity for people like Richard to promote themselves before the King. Offering the King the right gifts it could mean he would remember them and associate them with kindness and generosity. This was what Richard hoped would happen this day, he had given much thought to the gifts he had brought with him, and he hoped sincerely that they would please the King. All of this was a result of Richard’s ambition to promote himself, for ever since he was a boy he had felt a burning ambition within him, to rise higher and higher. This also conflicted him, was he sinful or was this burning feeling a sign from God, a token of acceptance from the Holy Father? This was a perpetual question, one that Richard would probably have to ask himself the remainder of his life. But to be generous to towards the King whom God had sent to rule them was surely not a sin, thought Richard as he walked the halls of Hampton Court Palace. He was dressed in his best garment, a purplish dress embodied with winding wines in silk, almost invisible due to the likeness of the colour of the silk-thread and the garment. A golden cross hung from around his neck, decorated with a few gemstones, amethysts matching the colour of his robe. A zucchetto was placed upon his head, he preferred the zucchetto over the biretta. Richard moved over the wooden floor, discreetly and carefully. The court was lively as ever, the cheerfulness of the season seemed to be reflected in everyone’s faces, one dances and talked and laughed. The court had taken upon itself its typical Christmas dress, bearberry and mistletoes everywhere. It was indeed beautiful and fitting for the season. Richard greeted those he knew and stopped to talk a little with one of his old friends, one of the few he had had ever since he became bishop of Rochester. He wished the man a merry Christmas and a Good New Year and continued on his way to the King’s quarters, where he knew the King held an audience to receive gifts. As he arrived a short queue had formed, but he did not know any of the gentleman standing in it and so he patiently waited for his time to come. In his mind he planned what to say to the King, he was always nervous talking to magnates like nobleman and princes, and especially to this particular prince, King Henry whom had the power to both raise and destroy Richard as he wished. The queue shortened and finally it was time for Richard to enter the throne room where the king sat in all his majesty. His heart raced a little, it was as if before him sat a semi-god from some Greek tale, Richard being a humble servant coming to offer his offerings hoping they would be pleasing to his master. Richard bowed graciously, not overly in a servile manor, just very respectful. “0Your Gracious Majesty, I thank you for receiving me” he said kindly and returned the smile which the King had given him, probably thinking he would wish no other than for the old buffer to leave. King Henry did not seem to surround himself with old buffers anymore, it was only Wolsey whom was of any significant age, and even he was young compared to many other people, especially other princes of the church. “Thank you Your Majesty, you are most kind” answered Richard and bowed his head lightly as a token of gratefulness. ”I have come before you to wish your majesty a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. And in the spirit of the season, which would be generosity and kindness I would like to offer your majesty a couple of gifts, if I may of course?” he asked politely but with an almost playful smile, he knew the King did not like old rigours boring buffers, so he did his best to seem cheerful. “As I am sure your Majesty have observed a human is both temporal and spiritual, therefore it would only be fair to offer your Majesty two gifts, one for each side of the human” he explained, still not in a boring or lifeless way, but rather vividly and constantly with a glimpse in his eye. “The first one being spiritual…” he said and the servant approached with his gift in his hand, covered with a black silk cloth, as the king would order the display of the gift he would find it was a silver cross, a cross such as one could place on one’s private altar. It was beautifully done of course, but it was in its simplicity the beauty laid, at least that was what Richard thought. |
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| King Henry VIII | Jan 19 2012, 01:22 PM Post #3 |
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The king gave the man a gracious nod of permission--for the umpteenth time--so the man could present him with his gifts. The one thing that Henry had always liked about clerics of this degree, was that they all had a mind and education. Some may think them more drab because of their vows to God but not Henry; he rather thought most of his courtiers drab and without good education. There were not many men like More around on the temporal side of affairs, who were graced with excessive wit and ability in philosophical or doctrinal matters. There were far more men of learning among the nobility of the cloth than of his own nobility. That said, the man's explanation of two gifts brought a rare small smile to his face that was real and appreciative of the words. To give him any measure of amusement right now was directly related to his feelings of well-being for any of these men. Which meant that FitzJames was not doing bad for himself in comparison to some of the pandering buffoons who had come before him barely speaking a modicum of english which the king could readily understand. From the north. How he hated the north, it had done nothing good for him recently. He motioned the servant to show the gift to him, and his eyebrows went up momentarily as it was revealed. The finish on it was very fine, like a mirror. "We shall be most happy to receive it," he replied, almost pulled instantly in to the anticipation of what sort of temporal gift might then be his. For a split second, that burst of childhood eagerness pleased him. That such silly things pleased him was likely an indicator of how poorly others had done and how much boredom he had been forced to endure. How he wished to simply play tennis with Tony or Will, who were silent by his side, only throwing him knowing glances between bouts of nobles who knew nothing of their king. "I do not know how you shall outdo yourself, My Lord, but we shall be most pleased if you succeed." His eyes gleamed perhaps a bit greedily, but after what he had sat through, he did not feel very badly for it. |
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[align=center]His Majesty is in 3 threads. plotter[/align] | |
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| Isabel Leigh | Mar 9 2014, 08:08 PM Post #4 |
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Virtue alone is invincible.
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This thread has been archived either due to forwarding of board timeline or because of a month of inactivity. If you would like to continue, please PM an Admin! |
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[align=center]Mistress Leigh Isabel is in 8 threads and can has more! App | Plot[/align] | |
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10:58 AM Jul 11