Bull-Baiting Courtyard at Rochester

Crowds pack the open Rochester courtyard for a brutal bull-baiting spectacle, where dogs savage a chained bull amid roars and dust. Anne of Cleves fixates on the chaos, blind to Henry VIII's masked approach through the throng. The clamor drowns diplomatic signals, turning rowdy entertainment into the unwitting stage for royal revulsion and Cromwell's looming downfall. Harsh daylight exposes every flinch in this public arena of distraction.