 Jousting was a favourite pastime of Henry VIII (at dire cost to his health), and his daughter Elizabeth I made her Accession Day tilts a highlight of the court's calendar, focused on hyperbolic declarations of loyalty and devotion in the style of contemporary verse epics.Even late in her reign, courtiers gained favour by participating and dressing the part.The workshop produced bespoke armour for the nobility; relatively mass-produced government orders for the military mainly went elsewhere.