1520—France

King Henry VIII of England meets with King Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. One observer describes music at the meeting: “Then up blewe the Trumpettes, Sagbuttes, Clarions, and all other Minstrelles on bothe sides, and the kynges descended doune towarde the bottome of the valley of Andern…and embrassed the twoo kynges eache other” (Stevens, Music & Poetry 238). At another point in the festivities, Francis’s cors de sabuttes (sackbuts) accompany a sung Mass (Herbert, Sackbut 79). At another point, trombones perform with other winds during a banquet (Russell 177). At yet another point in the celebrations, at nearby Guines (France), King Francis leads a dance accompanied by his own fifes and trombones (Russell 164).