had hired a scribe to make a complete transcription of
it before the fi re. The fi rst edition of Beowulf based on
Vitellius A.xv appeared in 1815 and relied on this tran-
scription. Attempts to preserve the manuscript from
further degradation in 1845 resulted in the loss of
hundreds of letters, many of which are diffi cult to
recover due to rebinding and so forth. Beginning in
1982, the manuscript has been the subject of an ongo-
ing electronic project intended to preserve digitally
what may disintegrate naturally.
Scholars date the manuscript anywhere from the
eighth through the 11th centuries. However, this does
not, necessarily date the poem to the same time frame,
as it may have been written down long after its compo-
sition. Some scholars believe the late date because of
parallels to the Blickling Homilies (11th-century ser-
mons) and orthographic styles, while others believe
the excessive praise of the Norse society’s values indi-
cate a much earlier date.
See also BEOWULF-POET.
COUPLET A couplet comprises two successive
lines of verse that usually share the same rhythm,
meter, and semantic message; thus, couplets are self-
contained, complete poetic units. It is a simple and
elegant poetic expression. In the 16th century, cou-
plets became particularly crucial as they often ended
SONNETs, completing the thought or narrative. There
are a number of variations built upon couplets, includ-
ing HEROIC COUPLETs (iambic pentameter), ALEXANDRINE
couplets (iambic hexameter), and elegiac couplets
(dactylic hexameter/dactylic pentameter). The latter
were used by Greek poets for small-scale epics and by
Romans for love poetry (e.g., OVID’s Amores).
See also ENGLISH SONNET.
COURT CULTURE (TUDOR COURT
CULTURE) (1485–1603) Life at the Tudor
court provided ample opportunity for engagement in
literary, musical, and theatrical pastimes during the
reigns of the fi ve monarchs who bore the surname:
Henry VII, HENRY VIII, Edward VI, MARY I, and ELIZA-
BETH I. Economics, religion, and politics played equal
parts in court behavior along with the individual per-
sonalities of the monarchs who reigned over it. The
House of Tudor controlled the throne of England for
118 years, from 1485 to 1603. With Henry VIII and
Elizabeth I combining to reign for 83 of those years,
their infl uence on court life and the legacy they left are
the most well-documented, though the other mon-
archs certainly played a part in shaping the culture of
the Tudor court.
Upon his father’s death, Henry VIII ascended to the
throne at the age of 18. He and his queen, Catherine of
Aragon quickly gathered around them courtiers who
shared their love for music, performance, and poetry.
Henry played several instruments, composed music,
wrote poetry, and performed in courtly masques. He
and his male courtiers once surprised the queen and her
ladies when they appeared unannounced as Robin Hood
and his band of Merry Men. The members of Henry’s
court were expected to participate in all that he enjoyed,
and the court of the 1510s and 1520s was fi lled with
music and poetry. Many times these artistic events were
linked to what is called the game of COURTLY LOVE. Unlike
a real romantic engagement, courtly love was intended
as a show of formal, noncommitted affection, though at
times it led to a more signifi cant attraction and relation-
ship. Single and married courtiers alike played the game,
showering each other with love poetry, music, and gifts.
Those at court during the time of these games of courtly
love included the poets SIR THOMAS WYATT; JOHN SKEL-
TON; and HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF SURREY.
As the early imprisonment of Surrey indicates, and a
later one confi rms, life at the Tudor court was not all
merriment, poetry, and dancing; at times it was also
perilous and precarious. The duke of Buckingham—
father to Elizabeth Stafford Howard and grandfather to
the earl of Surrey—was executed for treason around
the same time Skelton was composing GARLAND OF LAU-
REL. Henry’s subsequent fi nancial, marital, and reli-
gious troubles also made the court a dangerous place.
Henry expected complete, unquestioning support from
those around him and became petulant and vengeful
when it was not forthcoming. Offi cers of state were
executed as easily as commoners. Sometime lord chan-
cellor SIR THOMAS MORE, for instance, was beheaded for
refusing to accept Protestantism.
After Henry’s death in 1547, his nine-year-old son,
Edward, became king. Though Edward VI was oftenCOURT CULTURE 129