The Scots entourage would do extraordinarily well from their exclusive access to the King. Of the twenty-nine individuals who received 75 percent of all crown patronage between 1588 (the year of the Armada) and 1641 (during the reign of Charles I), ten were gentlemen of James’s Bedchamber. Of the nine individuals who took 45 percent, six were in his Bedchamber. They made at least £40,000 year, excluding grants of land and James’s periodic payment of their vast debts. The gravy train, set in motion with the sale of knighthoods during the progress south, would now pick up considerable speed, inspiring the following verse, among many similar ones:
Hark! Hark!
The dogs do bark,
The beggars have come to town.
…
Some in rags,
And some in tags
And some in velvet gowns.
Source:
Lisle, Leanda De. "Hope and Fear" After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England. New York: Ballantine, 2005. 188-89. Print.
Original Source(s) Listed:
Young, James and Homosexuality, pp. 28-9; see also Stone, Crisis of the Aristocracy.
Further Reading:
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