Primary sourceArtifactc. 1520

Tapestry of the Field of the Cloth of Gold

Unknown · c. 1520

A Renaissance tapestry depicting the 1520 meeting between Henry VIII and François I of France.

A tapestry made during Henry VIII's reign depicting his famous diplomatic meeting with the French king.

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A large Renaissance tapestry with a red and gold border and a blue-green floral field. Figures in period dress include a trumpeter beside a blue shield with gold fleurs-de-lis, two men in a lattice-fenced garden, a man in red armour, a seated bearded king on a raised balcony, and a hound at lower right. — Anonymous, Tapestry of the Field of the Cloth of Gold, c. 1520, probably Tournai.

About this source

What it is

This tapestry, made around 1520 probably in Tournai, depicts the famous meeting known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold, where King Henry VIII met King François I of France. The maker is unknown, but the tapestry bears the coat of arms of the family who commissioned it.

Why it matters

The meeting was a grand display of diplomacy and wealth between England and France. This tapestry, woven during Henry's reign, shows how such events were commemorated in luxury textiles, with figures like François I shown holding a glove, and Queen Claude of France presenting a ring. It reflects how courts used art to record and celebrate political encounters.

Look closer

What activities and figures do you notice in the tapestry, and what might they tell you about the event?
Why do you think the tapestry includes the coat of arms of the family who commissioned it rather than only the kings?
What might a tapestry like this leave out about the real relationship between Henry and François?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Henry VIII on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Painting

Secondary source

Henry VIII Presiding at the Barber-Surgeons Act of Union

Hans Holbein (style of) · 1540 (depicted event); painting later

Stipple engraving of a group of five people in Tudor-style dress standing or seated behind a table draped with a curtain. On the left, a heavyset man in a fur-trimmed robe and jeweled cap holds a staff. Behind him, a man peers from the shadows. Three young people sit at the table: a boy in a dark cap and two young women in lace collars and hoods. Signed Hans Holbein Del. and F. Bartolozzi R.A. Sculpt.

Painting

Secondary source

Henry VIII and His Three Children with Will Summers

F. Bartolozzi after Hans Holbein the Younger · c. 1800

Hand-coloured woodcut print of a bearded man in a black hat with white feather plume, wearing a fur-trimmed black and gold robe over a pink doublet, holding a gold-hilted dagger. A crowned coat of arms with a Latin motto and a Dutch-language inscription at top are visible against a green backdrop.

Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Henry VIII of England

1547

Scanned black-and-white page of an early printed book in dense black-letter type, headed 'SERENISSIMO INVICTISSIMOQUE ANGLIAE' with a small woodcut decorative initial at left. The text is a Latin dedication, and a handwritten marginal note appears at the bottom left.

Document

Primary source

Dedication to Henry VIII in Compendiosa Anatomiae

Thomas Geminus · 1545

Engraved astrological birth chart in an oval frame. Central oval portrait of a man in a feathered cap and high collar, labeled HENRY VIII King of England, Born June 28.10 H.40 m.A.M. 1491. Zodiac signs and planetary symbols with numbers surround the portrait.

Artifact

Primary source

Astrological Birth Chart for Henry VIII

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