No more then dare he say. So that was law yisterday, is no lawe thys daye. But flatterynge lasteth always, ye may me beleve. The specifics of the allegation being made here are certainly debatable and broadly irrelevant: that the author of included this humorous exchange is Godly Queene Hester proof enough that there was a commonly-held public conception that Wolsey twisted both the law and the courts to suit his own devices, and that he could be manipulated by flattery. The second element of the of image is the itself. An “cloke justice” ‘cloak’ image which participates in one of the most vivid and enduring Wolsey-tropes—that of clothing and outward wealth as inversely indicative of his moral failings—the Wolsey’s provides a small but crucial link to this particular theme across the literary sweep ‘cloak’ of the sixteenth century. critics rarely failed to connect the Wolsey’s Cardinal’s penchant for spectacle and costume with pride. Skelton alleges throughout his satires that Wolsey used ostentatious displays of wealth to compensate for his lack of noble blood. Foxe used sumptuous clothing as a metaphor for the Wolsey’s pride and deception of the Cardinal. In Shakespeare and Fletcher had Henry VIII, enemies all make references to his clothing. Cavendish, Wolsey’s Wolsey’s usher, displays his heritage as the son of a mercer by listing the enormous quantities of expensive cloth in the household. The public image of Wolsey, bedecked in Cardinal’s scarlet silks and velvets, always attended by his two cross-bearers (carrying the silver crosses symbolizing his cardinalate and archbishopric) and mounted on a mule covered in yet more red silks was a powerful one, and consciously used as such. It was utilized not only by the Cardinal to impress, but also by his enemies as an example of his proud nature (Foxe in particular made much of displays of personal wealth). This Wolsey’s image was used so heavily by critics that the very color of his Wolsey’s scarlet, as befitting his rank of cardinal—became linked with treason. One of the brief but vivid clothing-related images in comes late in the Godly Queene Hester
No more then dare he say. So that was law yisterday, is no lawe thys daye. But flatterynge lasteth always, ye may me beleve. The specifics of the allegation being made here are certainly debatable and broadly irrelevant: that the author of Godly Queene Hester included this humorous exchange is proof enough that there was a commonly-held public conception that Wolsey twisted both the law and the courts to suit his own devices, and that he could be manipulated by flattery. The second element of the “cloke of justice” image is the ‘cloak’ itself. An image which participates in one of the most vivid and enduring Wolsey-tropes—that of Wolsey’s clothing and outward wealth as inversely indicative of his moral failings—the ‘cloak’ provides a small but crucial link to this particular theme across the literary sweep of the sixteenth century. Wolsey’s critics rarely failed to connect the Cardinal’s penchant for spectacle and costume with pride. Skelton alleges throughout his satires that Wolsey used ostentatious displays of wealth to compensate for his lack of noble blood. Foxe used Wolsey’s sumptuous clothing as a metaphor for the pride and deception of the Cardinal. In Henry VIII, Shakespeare and Fletcher had Wolsey’s enemies all make references to his clothing. Cavendish, Wolsey’s displays his heritage as the son of a mercer by listing the enormous quantities of expensive cloth in the Cardinal’s household. The public image of Wolsey, bedecked in scarlet silks and velvets, always attended by his two cross-bearers (carrying the silver crosses symbolizing his cardinalate and archbishopric) and mounted on a mule covered in yet more red silks was a powerful one, and consciously used as such. It was utilized not only by the Cardinal to impress, but also by his enemies as an example of his proud nature (Foxe in particular made much of Wolsey’s displays of personal wealth). This image was used so heavily by Wolsey’s critics that the very color of his scarlet, as befitting his rank of cardinal—became linked with treason. One of the brief but vivid clothing-related images in Godly Queene Hester comes late in the usher,
GSL_PhD_Thesis_Library_Copy.docx