Editing Inner Temple (section)

===Elizabethan age===
The Elizabethan age saw a large amount of rebuilding and beautification within the Temple, and with over 100 sets of chambers it was the second largest Inn (after [[Gray's Inn]]), with 155 residential students reported in 1574.<ref name=hist1/>

In winter 1561, the Inner Temple was the scene of an extraordinary set of [[revels]] that celebrated the raising of [[Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester|Robert Dudley]] as the Temple's "Christmas Prince", a role he was granted in gratitude for his intervention in a dispute with the [[Middle Temple]] over [[Lyon's Inn]], one of the [[Inns of Chancery]] that had historically been tied to the Inner Temple. Dudley's influence swayed [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth]] into asking [[Nicholas Bacon (courtier)|Nicholas Bacon]] to rule in favour of the Inner Temple, and in gratitude the Parliament and Governors swore never to take a case against Dudley and to offer him their legal services whenever required.<ref name="Axton 1970 p.365">Axton (1970) p.365</ref>

This pledge was always honoured, and in 1576 the Inner Temple Parliament referred to Dudley as the "chief governor of this House".<ref name="Axton 1970 p.365"/> The play was partially documented by [[Gerard Legh]] in his ''Accedens of Armory'', a book of heraldry woodcuts, which described Dudley's role as Prince Pallaphilos, the lieutenant of [[Athena]] and Patron of the Order of the Pegasus.<ref>Axton (1970) p.368</ref>