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17 July 2015

Peer-Reviewed Article on The Sounds of Pageantry by Trudell

MoEML is delighted to publish a new peer-reviewed Encyclopedia Topics article on The Sounds of Pageantry by Dr. Scott Trudell, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Maryland, College Park.
A treatise of artificial fire-vvorks both for vvarres
                            and recreation, 1629. Image courtesy of LUNA at
                        the Folger Shakespeare Library.
A treatise of artificial fire-vvorks both for vvarres and recreation, 1629. Image courtesy of LUNA at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Discription of a maske, presented before the Kinges
                            Majestie at White-Hall, 1607. Image courtesy of LUNA at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Discription of a maske, presented before the Kinges Majestie at White-Hall, 1607. Image courtesy of LUNA at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Trudell’s essay offers an introduction to the sounds of early modern pageantry. Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century royal entries and Lord Mayor’s Shows resounded with the piercing blares of trumpets, the clamor of boisterous crowds, the poetry of dramatic performances, and the melodies of virtuosic child singers. Many of the period’s most prominent poets, from George Gascoigne to Thomas Heywood, wrote ornate verses for outdoor pageants, along with printed records outlining the allegorical significance of the events. Yet pageant books are only a starting point for exploring instrumental music, raucous celebrations, explosions of fireworks, and other ephemeral sounds that were not or could not be recorded. This essay traces how diaries, treatises, plays, poems, and livery company account books convey the rich variety of noises that echoed through the streets of London on pageant days.
Trudell’s research and teaching focus on early modern literature, media theory and music. In addition to his current book project about song and mediation from Sidney and Shakespeare to Jonson and Milton, he has research interests in gender studies, digital humanities, pageantry and itinerant theatricality.