Dragons that spat fire.
Masked dancers sweeping through palace halls.
Henry VIII himself turning up in disguise…

Welcome to Tudor Twelfth Night, the most spectacular, theatrical, and joyfully chaotic night of the entire Christmas season.

I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway, and for Day 8 of my Tudor Christmas Advent series, we’re stepping into the dazzling world of masques, mumming, disguisings, pageantry and revelry at the Tudor court.

You’ll discover:

• What Tudor “disguisings” really were- How mumming evolved into masked processions of luck and mischief
• Why the morris dance became a Tudor Christmas favourite
• The Italian-style masque Henry VIII introduced
• How Edward VI’s court staged elaborate moral allegories, mock battles, and a banquet of 120 dishes
• And how Twelfth Night became the grand, magnificent finale of Christmastide

From wild pageant carts to torchlit dances… from Robin Hood characters to allegorical triumphs… Twelfth Night was where Tudor magnificence reached its peak.

Thank you for joining me for today’s Advent instalment!
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