Hymenaei

Hymen, the Roman god of marriage, was represented by a figure in saffron robes, with yellow hose and a circlet of roses and marjoram on his head; he was accompanied by a white-clad bride and groom.

But Reason, dressed in a blue gown spangled with stars and mathematic symbols and carrying a lamp, emerged from the top half of the sphere to intervene and halt the disruption.

[3] The masque has been described, somewhat romantically, as a work of "fragile, transient loveliness," featuring "noble dancers in their crimson satin and white, with herons' feathers waving and jewels flashing, as they made their graceful movements in the torchlight.

[5] The Countess of Rutland bought some items of her costume including a coronet, and gave £80 to Anne of Denmark's usher Zachary Bethell towards the costs of staging the masque.

The marriage celebrated by the masque had been arranged by King James I, perhaps at the suggestion of Robert Cecil the Lord Treasurer, as a means of settling the rivalry of the Devereux and Howard families.

Combatants in the Barriers fighting for virginity were dressed in the colours of the executed Earl of Essex and several had been knighted in his service, while those defending marriage included members of the Howard family and their allies.

Lady Frances went on to marry James's favorite Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, and to play her part in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury.