the mask was ordered by James himself, or contributed out of the loyalty of others. James appears to have paid, in whole or in part, for at least fourteen of the twenty-five court masks traceable during the years 1603-16. These include the six Queen's masks (Twelve Goddesses, Blackness, Beauty, Queens, Tethys' Festival, Love Freed), two Prince's masks (Oberon, Love Restored), and five other masks by lords and gentlemen, one at the first Christmas of the reign (Indian and Chinese Knights), one at his daughter's wedding (Lords), one at Somerset's (Squires), and two of later date (Mercury Vindicated, Golden Age Restored). He may also have paid for the Mask of Scots in 1604 and the Irish Mask in 1613, but these were probably non-spectacular and cheap. As to the finance of the Winchester mask of 1603 and of the Twelve Months nothing is known, or whether the latter, evidently planned for a Prince's mask, was ever in fact performed. To Oberon and Love Restored James contributed amounts of at least £387 and at least £280 respectively, but so far as Oberon is concerned this was by no means the whole cost, for a sum of £1,076 6s. 10d. was charged to Henry's personal account, and it is probable that the burden of Love Restored was similarly divided. I have no evidence that Anne's personal account was ever charged with any part of the cost of the Queen's masks. Certainly it was not so with Love Freed in 1611, for of this mask, and of this alone, a full balance-sheet happens to be available. It was a comparatively cheap mask, deliberately so, because Tethys' Festival in the summer before had been 'excessively costly'. It was intended that it should cost no more than £600. In fact the total expenditure came to £719 1s. 3d. Of this £238 16s. 10d. went to Inigo Jones on 'his byll', doubtless for the scenery; £69 17s. 5d. in minor items of costume; £292 in 'rewards', making a total of £600 14s. 3d., of which £400 had already been received from the Exchequer. This agrees closely with the original estimate, but there was a further amount of £118 7s. due to the Master of the Wardrobe for materials which he had supplied for costumes, and the document concludes with a memorandum signed by the Earls of Suffolk and Worcester to the effect that this amount, over and above the £600 14s. 3d., is payable. These lords, one as Lord Chamberlain, the other as Master of the Horse, seem regularly to have had the supervision of 'emptions and provisions for masks given at the royal expense.[1] The financial procedure was as follows. At an early date, the King directed a warrant under the privy
- ↑ They certainly supervised Queens, Tethys' Festival, Love Freed, Lords' Mask.
