Plenty of Nothing

Print Shop

A print of a print shop, c. 1520, possibly by Albrecht Dürer. Source.

Fagundes

Portuguese navigator João Álvares Fagundes explored the Atlantic coast of Canada in 1520. This statue stands in his home town of Viana do Castelo in northern Portugal. Source.

Tent of the Field of the Cloth of Gold

From June 7th to 24th, 1520, Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France staged a tournament and diplomatic summit at a site in the Pais de Calais dubbed the Field of the Cloth of Gold for the occasion. The English brought a lot of cloth of gold, like this palatial tent. Source.

Cleanse the Causeway

On this date in 1520 a street fight erupted on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh between the men of Archibald Douglas (left), 6th Earl of Angus, Chief of Clan Douglas, and brother-in-law of Henry VIII; and the supporters of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, and Chief of Clan Hamilton. About 70 combatants were killed, most of them Hamiltonian. In the pursuit of political advantage Archibald Douglas went on to fight pretty nearly everyone else in Scotland, including the forces of his wife Margaret Tudor.

Death of Raphael

The death of Raphael on April 6th, 1520 was a favourite theme among nineteenth-century artists who were not as good as him. Source. See also.

Antwerp 1520

An ink drawing of the port of Antwerp in 1520 by Albrecht Dürer. This year marks the 500th anniversary of his visit there. Source.

A Procession in Antwerp, 1520

Albrecht Dürer Visiting Antwerp, by Henri Leys.

   On the Sunday after Assumption I saw the great procession of the Church of Our Lady of Antwerp, at which the whole town were present, all the crafts and ranks, each splendidly dressed according to his rank. Each guild and rank had its emblem by which it might be recognized. Before each group, great and splendid candles were carried, and long, silver Frankish trumpets. And there were also, like in Germany, many pipes and drums, blown loudly and beaten vigorously. I also saw in the procession the long train, widely spaced, of goldsmiths, painters, stonemasons, silk-borderers, sculptors, joiners, carpenters, sailors, fishermen, butchers, tanners, clothmakers, bakers, tailors, shoemakers, and every kind of craftsman and many artisans and traders ... Similarly there were the shopkeepers and merchants and their various assistants. There followed those who shoot with the gun, bow and arquebus, and the horsemen and infantry. And after them came a great contingent of the town's officials; and then, a cavalcade of distinguished men, nobly and splendidly, attired, proceded by the various Orders and Foundations in their different robes, and very devout. There was also in this procession a large group of widows, who supported themselves and observe a special rule, all dressed in white linen that covered them from head to foot, very moving to see. Among them I saw many distinguished persons. And at the end of the procession came the Chapter of the Church of Our Lady with all the priests and scholars in all their splendour. Twenty persons carried the Image of the Virgin and Child, adorned most magnificently, to the honour of the Lord. And in the procession were many magnificent things, splendidly contrived and adorned. There were many carts, and plays performed on ships, and other devices. Among these were the Prophets in their order, followed by the New Testament: thus, the Annunciation, the Three Kings mounted on large camels, and other strange beasts, ingeniously contrived, like Our Lady on the Flight into Egypt, very devout; and many another thing which for the sake of brevity we shall omit. Towards the end came a large dragon led by a girdle by Saint Margaret and her maidens, and she was especially lovely. There followed Saint George with his squires, a very charming knight. There also rode in this group boys and girls from many lands, splendidly dressed in their native costumes, representing different Saints. From the beginning to the end, the procession took more than two hours to pass our house. There was so much that I could not write it in a book, and I leave the rest ....

Albrecht Dürer, Diary, August 19th, 1520.

Vasaloppet

Today is Vasaloppet, the annual 90 kg cross-country ski race between Sälen and Mora in Dalarna, Sweden. It commemorates a legendary escape made on skis by the future King Gustav I in 1520. When you win the Vasaloppet a local young person in folk costume chases you down the home stretch and plays ring toss with a large wreath and your head. Or tries!