Book contents
- Leicester’s Men and their Plays
- Leicester’s Men and their Plays
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Starting Points
- Chapter 2 The First Decade (1558–1567)
- Chapter 3 The Second Decade (1567–1577)
- Chapter 4 The Third Decade (1578–1588)
- Afterword
- Book part
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Appendices
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 November 2023
Book contents
- Leicester’s Men and their Plays
- Leicester’s Men and their Plays
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Starting Points
- Chapter 2 The First Decade (1558–1567)
- Chapter 3 The Second Decade (1567–1577)
- Chapter 4 The Third Decade (1578–1588)
- Afterword
- Book part
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
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- Information
- Leicester's Men and their PlaysAn Early Elizabethan Playing Company and its Legacy, pp. 213 - 235Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023
References
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Bentley, John. [Proposed c. 1578 to 1583] Renowned for performing tragic or heroic parts, may have inspired adoption of epic plays by Leicester’s Men at court, 1579 to 1581. Recruited to the Queen’s Men.Google Scholar
Bridges, John. [Proposed c. 1566 to 1571] Named as a player in the parish records of St. Mary Stratford Bow. Likely brother of Thomas Clarke’s first wife, Dorothy Bridges.Google Scholar
Bryan, George. [c. 1578 to 1588] Possible as apprentice player 1578 to 1584. One of five players sent by Leicester to Denmark in 1586 and served in Saxony 1586–7. Later a member of Strange’s Men and Lord Chamberlain’s/King’s Men.Google Scholar
Burbage, James. [1558 to 1581] First player named on the letter of 1572 and the royal patent of 1574. Likely became leading member after loss of Lawrence Perkin by 1562. Was married to Helen Brayne, sister of John Brayne, who financed the Red Lion in 1567 and the Theatre in 1576.Google Scholar
Clarke, Thomas. [c. 1561 to 1573] Last player named on the letter of 1572. His first wife was Dorothy Bridges, with whom he was likely father to the Mary Clarke alias Wood and Dorothy Clarke named in Thomas Pope’s will. Second wife was Annes Maddock, the childhood friend of Thomas Pope. Possible reference to early recruitment to Dudley’s Players in Gammer Gurton’s Needle (presuming the Prologue was added c. 1561).Google Scholar
Cowley, Richard. [Proposed c. 1586 to 1588] Later paired with William Kempe as Verges to Dogberry in Much Ado about Nothing, with Cowley’s age making a similar pairing in Leicester’s Men a possibility circa 1586–7. Later member of both Strange’s Men and Lord Chamberlain’s Men.Google Scholar
Garland, John. [Proposed c. 1575 to 1583] Marriage to Joan Herne in St. Mary Whitechapel indicates likely membership of Leicester’s Men while still at the Red Lion. Recruited to the Queen’s Men.Google Scholar
Heminges, John. [Proposed c. 1587 to 1588] Freed as a Grocer in 1587, and married Rebecca Knell, widow of William Knell, shortly afterwards. Likely joined Leicester’s Men at this time. Later a member of Strange’s Men and Lord Chamberlain’s/King’s Men, and with Henry Condell responsible for compilation of Shakespeare’s First Folio.Google Scholar
Hind, Augustine. [Hired boy 1577–8] Contracted with his brother John to the company of John Brayne and James Burbage, around age seventeen to eighteen. Died due to plague, 17 September 1578.Google Scholar
Hind, John. [Hired boy, 1577–8] Contracted with his brother Augustine, around age twenty to twenty-one.Google Scholar
Johns, Daniel. [c. 1582 to 1588] Apprentice clown to William Kempe. Recorded with Kempe at the court of Frederick II of Denmark, Elsinore, in 1586.Google Scholar
Johnson, William. [c. 1563 to 1583] Likely recruited to Dudley’s Players following the loss of Lawrence Perkin. Named fourth on the letter of 1572 and the royal patent of 1574. Recruited to the Queen’s Men.Google Scholar
Kempe, William. [c. 1578 to 1588] Possible recruitment following the loss of John Perkin. Appears in Dudley’s household accounts in 1585–6 as both solo fool and as player. Recorded as spending two months of service at the court of Frederick II of Denmark, Elsinore, in 1586. Developed the stage jig, likely contribution to Leicester’s Men repertory, 1586–7. Later a member of Strange’s Men and Lord Chamberlain’s Men.Google Scholar
King, Thomas. [c. 1583 to 1587] Likely addition following loss of key players in 1583 or during the next two years. One of five players sent by Leicester to Denmark in 1586 and served in Saxony 1586–7. Died soon after return to England, and widow Margery married printer Thomas Creede.Google Scholar
Knell, William. [Proposed c. 1581 to 1585] Possibly apprenticed to a member of Leicester’s Men in 1581 when named as ‘Wily Will’ in the ‘sharer’ scene of Robert Wilson’s The Three Ladies of London. A member of Queen’s Men at the time of his death, killed by John Towne in 1587. His widow Rebecca married John Heminges.Google Scholar
Laneham, John. [c. 1559 to 1583] Moved to St. Stephen Coleman Street to join the company by 1559. Named third on the letter of 1572 and the royal patent of 1574. Recruited to the Queen’s Men.Google Scholar
Percy, Robert. [c. 1581 to 1588] Possibly recruited to the company following the departure of James Burbage. One of five players sent by Leicester to Denmark in 1586 and served in Saxony 1586–7.Google Scholar
Perkin, John. [1558 to 1578] Member of an established family of St. Stephen Coleman Street before formation of the company. Suggested identification as ‘Parkins’, third in order of succession in the boys assisting George Ferrer, Lord of Misrule at the court of Edward VI in 1552–3. Named second on the letter of 1572 and the royal patent of 1574. Death is likely recorded in 1578.Google Scholar
Perkin, Lawrence. [Proposed 1558 to 1562] Older brother of John Perkin, proposed as the most likely candidate for the identity of ‘Laurens’ named in the Dudley household accounts as leading member of the players in 1559. Death is recorded in 1562.Google Scholar
Pope, Thomas. [c. 1581 to 1588] Possibly apprenticed to a member of Leicester’s Men in 1581 when named as ‘Tom Beggar’ in the ‘sharer’ scene of Robert Wilson’s The Three Ladies of London. One of five players sent by Leicester to Denmark in 1586 and served in Saxony 1586–7. Took in the daughters of Thomas Clarke from his first marriage, as he was childhood friend to their stepmother, following Clarke’s death (most likely in 1582). Later a member of Strange’s Men and Lord Chamberlain’s/King’s Men. Left shares in the Curtain and Globe playhouses to the eldest daughter of Thomas Clarke, Mary Clarke alias Wood.Google Scholar
Stevens, Thomas. [c. 1583 to 1588] Likely joined Leicester’s Men following the loss of key players to the Queen’s Men. One of five players sent by Leicester to Denmark in 1586 and served in Saxony 1586–7.Google Scholar
Wilson, Robert. [c. 1566 to 1583] Starting date with Leicester’s Men is unclear but repertory study in Chapter 2 suggests inclusion by 1566. Named fifth on the letter of 1572 and the royal patent of 1574. Author of Three Ladies of London (1581). Recruited to the Queen’s Men.Google Scholar
Huff, Suff, and Ruff (1560, Wiggins no. 336). Performed at Whitehall during the Christmas revels 1560–1. Lost play, proposed here to be a play of Ireland based on items in the Revels Office accounts for this year.Google Scholar
The Pedlar’s Prophecy (1561, Wiggins no. 344). Extant play with clear resonances of John Heywood’s The Four PP in the collection of John Dudley. Final scene address to the Queen and to the performers’ ‘Lord and maister’ suggests court performance at this time, making Dudley’s Players the best candidate.Google Scholar
Romeus and Juliet (1561, Wiggins no. 343). The dramatic source for Arthur Brooke’s poem, Romeus and Juliet (1562). Lost play but well-known storyline based on ‘Giuletta et Romeo’ in the second volume of Matteo Bandello’s Novelle (1554). Attribution to Dudley’s Players based here on Brooke’s reference to the ‘noble crest’ of Robert Dudley in the address to the reader.Google Scholar
Gammer Gurton’s Needle (c. 1553, Wiggins no. 253). Extant play written earlier, believed to be the Diccon of Bedlam registered in 1562–3 to Thomas Colwell. Possibly acquired by Dudley’s Players during visits to Cambridge in the two years prior. Attribution is loosely based on thematic overlap with other titles in this list and the reference in the Prologue to ‘Tom our clarke’.Google Scholar
The Trial of Treasure (c. 1563, Wiggins no. 446). Extant play normally dated to 1567, but possibly much earlier. Attributed by some to William Wager. Strong connections to Enough is as Good as a Feast suggest the same playwright or high level of influence of one on the other. Suspected specialisation of John Perkin in the many Vice figures in Trial and the Wager plays.Google Scholar
The Cruel Debtor (before 1566, Wiggins no. 421). Interlude attributed to William Wager, of which four leaves survive. Attribution based here on assignment of Wager’s plays to Leicester’s Men by Paul Whitfield White.Google Scholar
The Story of Samson (1567, Wiggins no. 449). Identified in John Brayne’s complaint at the King’s Bench as the play due to be performed at the Red Lion upon construction by 8 July 1567. Lost play but biblical storyline is evident.Google Scholar
Enough is as Good as a Feast (1568, Wiggins no. 468). Extant proverbial play by William Wager with allegorical figures. Attribution based on assignment of Wager’s plays to Leicester’s Men.Google Scholar
The Longer Thou Livest, the More Fool Thou Art (1569, Wiggins no. 477). Extant proverbial play by William Wager with allegorical figures. Attribution based on assignment of Wager’s plays to Leicester’s Men.Google Scholar
’Tis Good Sleeping in a Whole Skin (c. 1570, Wiggins no. 485). Lost play attributed to Wager and assigned to the company here on this basis. Proverbial themes are apparent from the title alone, with likely requirement for swordplay. Possibly among the unnamed plays performed by Leicester’s Men at court after Christmas 1572.Google Scholar
The Cradle of Security (c. 1572, Wiggins no. 532). Lost play known from account by Richard Willis in Gloucestershire. Attribution based on Willis’s description suggesting overlap with apparel and properties prepared for unnamed Leicester’s Men play by the Revels Office at Christmas, 1572.Google Scholar
The Play of Fortune (1573, Wiggins no. 537). Known only from Revels Office accounts for 1572–3 and not linked to any other company so assigned to Leicester’s Men only by process of elimination. Could be the play for which ‘a wilderness’ and a vizard for ‘an apes face’ were prepared, suggesting a play requiring a performer skilled in mime or mimicry.Google Scholar
New Custom (c. 1573, Wiggins no. 544). Extant play with obvious links to the lost play Old Custom (Wiggins no. 155), in the John Dudley collection, based on the older play’s surviving list of characters. Cast size based on doubling chart matches the company personnel following departure of Thomas Clarke.Google Scholar
Predor and Lucia (1573, Wiggins no. 547). Performed at court on 26 December 1573. Lost play, with the name and items in the Revels Office accounts suggesting a story based on The Golden Ass (1566), William Adlington’s translation of Metamorphoses by Lucius Apuleius.Google Scholar
Mamillia (1573, Wiggins no. 550). Performed at court on 28 December 1573. Lost play but the name and stage properties prepared by the Revels Office indicate storyline linked to one of the founding families of Tusculum, the Mamilia gens.Google Scholar
Philemon and Philecia (1574, Wiggins no. 558). Performed at court on 21 or 22 February 1574. Lost play associated here with the story of lovers Felis and Felismena from Jorge de Montemayor’s Diana (1559), which includes the sage Felicia whose potions are central to the plot.Google Scholar
Panecia (1574, Wiggins no. 567). Performed at court 26 December 1574. Lost play, but the elaborate ‘rock’ device prepared for the Revels Office suggests the story is based on Matteo Bandello’s ‘Timbreo and Finecia’, in which the Finecia character fakes her own death.Google Scholar
Plaudina (1575). Proposed as the unnamed play performed at court on 1 January 1575, based on properties indicating a story requiring a chimney, as can be found in ‘Cornelio and Plaudina’ from Geoffrey Fenton’s translation of selections from Bandello (1567).Google Scholar
Captain Mario (c. 1576, Wiggins no. 599). Lost play by Stephen Gosson, assigned here to Leicester’s Men, tentatively, on that basis alone, given the more confident claim for Catiline’s Conspiracies. Gosson’s brief description suggests Bandello’s comical story of Mario Organiero as a source.Google Scholar
The History of the Collier (1576, Wiggins no. 602). Performed at court on 30 December 1576. Possibly revived the original Collier character from Old Custom (not used in New Custom). Lost play but apparel and properties in the Revels Office accounts used here to propose a storyline based on ‘Alerane and Adelasia’ from William Painter’s Palace of Pleasure (1566).Google Scholar
Myngs (1577, Wiggins no. 611 as Mingo). Performed by Leicester’s Men in the Guildhall in Bristol between 20 and 26 October 1577. The title ‘Myngs’ is more accurate but most follow John Latimer’s transcription based on E. K. Chambers preferring this term as a potential reference to song about a French drunkard. Here the term ‘myngs’ is taken to refer to the verb ‘to ming’, for a warning, making this yet another proverbial play in the company’s repertory.Google Scholar
Praise at Parting (c. 1577, Wiggins no. 612). Lost play by Stephen Gosson, the proverbial story and assignment of the following title to Leicester’s Men suggesting this was in their repertory as well.Google Scholar
Catiline’s Conspiracies (c. 1578, Wiggins no. 632). Lost play by Stephen Gosson, assigned to Leicester’s Men on the basis that Gosson links the play to the Theatre before 1579. The story is of the Catiline conspiracy to overthrow the Roman consulate in 63 BC and likely includes Cicero’s exposure of the conspiracy and lobbying for Catiline’s execution without trial.Google Scholar
The Blacksmith’s Daughter (c. 1578, Wiggins no. 647). Lost play assigned to Leicester’s Men with Gosson linking it to the Theatre alongside the previous title. May be the first play to negatively stereotype Turkish people on the English Tudor stage.Google Scholar
A Greek Maid (1578, Wiggins no. 655). Performed at court on 4 January 1579, and before in London. Lost play but identified as a pastoral in Revels Office accounts, making prior assumptions that the play involves Hiren the Greek or Timoclea of Thebes unlikely. A fisherman’s coat means the story is more likely based on a Greek pastoral featuring a fisherman and a siren or a fisher-maid who loses her life at the sea’s edge. Might have recycled the ‘rock’ stage device as a result.Google Scholar
Short and Sweet (c. 1579). Mentioned by Thomas Lodge as ‘a peece surely worthy prayse, the practise of a good scholler’ compared to Gosson’s Catiline’s Conspiracies (q.v.), suggesting Catiline content. Linked to Leicester’s Men on the basis of the attribution to Wilson. See also the Roman court play, 1580.Google Scholar
An unnamed Roman play (1580). Revels accounts omit the title of the play Leicester’s Men performed at court on 6 January 1580, but comparison of apparel and properties lists for other titles this season indicate a play with both a provincial and a city setting in Italy. John Bentley’s potential membership at this time adds scope for this to have been a story featuring a tragic hero. Could this have been Robert Wilson’s Short and Sweet, supposed by some to be a second play on the Catiline conspiracy?Google Scholar
Delight (1580, Wiggins no. 691). Comedy performed at court on 26 December 1580. Lost play but the ‘one cittie, one battlement’ listed in the Revels Office accounts taken to suggest George Whetstone’s ‘Castle of Delight’ from The Rock of Regard (1576). Might also have recycled the old ‘rock’ device as a result.Google Scholar
Another unnamed Roman play (1581). Revels accounts omit the title of the play Leicester’s Men performed at court on 7 February 1581, but use of the same city staging suggests another play based on Roman material.Google Scholar
The Three Ladies of London (1581, Wiggins no. 700). Play by Robert Wilson while still a member of Leicester’s Men, possibly lampoons the departed James Burbage in the Christian-turned-Turk scene, and records two apprentices as potential future sharers in the Wily Will (William Knell) and Tom the Beggar (Thomas Pope) scene.Google Scholar
Telomo (1583, Wiggins no. 736). Performed at court on 10 February 1583. Lost play, but I adopt here the explanation by Domenico Lovascio that the most likely source would be the tale of Telamon and Castibula in Brian Melbancke’s Philotimus (1583). Both this play and Delight would therefore also structure preliminary action around the plot device of the ‘complaint’.Google Scholar
The Forces of Hercules (1586). A performance was recorded during Leicester’s European campaign on 23 April 1586, associated with ‘dauncing, vaulting, and tumbling’, but was most likely not a play, as such.Google Scholar
Rowland (c. 1586–7; Wiggins no. 837). Stage jig written by William Kempe, proposed here as Kempe’s solution to the need for plays with a heavily diminished company as the bulk of the company were stationed in Denmark and Saxony, 1586–7. There being a German version of Rowland, it is proposed here that Kempe probably wrote this jig while stationed in Denmark in 1586, and then his colleagues took a copy with them to Saxony.Google Scholar