Our reading group on 30 June was led by Kristen Vitale Engel. In it, we discussed ‘The Function of the Ceremonial in the Reign of Henry VIII‘ by Jennifer Loach.

Kristen prepared the following prompts:

The analytical framework of the article is that a function of the ceremonial was to perform the relationships (whether positive or negative) between the King and his nobility (p. 66), to or for the church. Do you agree with the conceptions of audience/reception in this article?

In your view, who was this pageantry meant for? Who was the target audience? Who was the idealized reception of the performance, and the subsequent interpretation of it, aimed at/for?

In your view, who was this pageantry meant for? Who was the target audience? Who was the idealized reception of the performance, and the subsequent interpretation of it, aimed at/for?

Loach affirms that the “effectiveness” or “ineffectiveness” of Tudor pageantry is “subjective”. Do you agree? How would one study, research, and understand the effectiveness of such pageantry? What school of historical methodology and inquiry (social, intellectual, political, economic, etc.) would aid us in illuminating
this answer?