THE MOST FAMOUS AFRICAN IN TUDOR ENGLAND
John Blanke in his resplendent turban on the Westminster Tournament Roll
COLLEGE OF ARMS MS WESTMINSTER TOURNAMENT ROLL. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF THE KINGS, HERALDS AND PURSUIVANTS OF ARMS
Although at least 200 Africans lived in Tudor England, John Blanke is the only one for whom we have a portrait. Indeed, he appears twice – both times in the Westminster Tournament Roll, a 60ft vellum manuscript commissioned by Henry VIII in 1511. It was his proximity to the King that explains why he was portrayed. For John Blanke had worked at the Tudor court as a trumpeter to Henry VII and Henry VIII since at least 1507.