THE ELIZABETHAN FAIRIES

APPEARANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS 89
pense account for the costumes of the masque of Oberon,
played January I 6 I 0-1 6 I I, furnishes evidence of the
magnificence of the clothing of Oberon and his train,g7
as does the description of the Queen of the Fayry in The
Queenes Majesties Entertainment at Woodst~cke,~~ but
beyond the use of silver embroidery, and the phrase,
6 6 very costly apparrelled," there is no indication in either
reference of the cut or fashion of the clothes of the fairy
court.
There is no doubt, however, that the fairies had a
traditional or national costume of their own, and that the
Elizabethans were most familiar with it, judging from
their references to such disguisings as:
. . . they shewed him two attired like the king and queene of
fayries, and by them elves and gob ling^,^^
God's will then, queen of Fairy,
On with your tire,loO
The water nymphes, and feyries streight appears
In uncouth formes, and fashion strange to view.lOl
In Merry Wives of Windsor, much trouble and great
pains were taken to make Anhe Page and her troupe of
boys instantly recognizable as fairies. To this end, they
finally appeared " mask'd and vizarded " and " loose
enrob'd " in " white and green " with " ribbands pendant,
flaring, 'bout " their heads upon which were " rounds of
waxen tapers." lo2 The nymphs, whose costumes later
97 Cunningham, Extr. from Accts. of Revels in Reigns of Eliz. and
James I, Introd., pp. viii-ix.
98 Page 98.
99 Cozenages of the Wests, HazIitt rpt., p. 227.
loo Jonson, Gifford ed., Alchemist, 111, 2.
lol Nichols, Prog. of Eliz., Vol. 11, p. 186.
IV, 4 and 6.