Three romances of Eastern conquest 9781526107930

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e. a. j. h o n i g m a n n, rob e rt s ma l lwoo d and peter co rbin former editors j. r. m u l ryn e, s usa n b ro c k and su sa n c e r asano general editors For over forty years The Revels Plays have offered the most authoritative editions of Elizabethan and Jacobean plays by authors other than Shakespeare. The Companion Library provides a fuller background to the main series by publishing important dramatic and non-dramatic material that will be essential for the serious student of the period. Three seventeenth-century plays on women and performance  eds ch a l me rs, sa n d e rs & to ml i ns o n Doing Kyd: A collection of essays on The Spanish Tragedy  ed. cinpo es¸ ‘Art made tongue-tied by authority’  c lare Drama of the English Republic, 1649–60  clare Three Jacobean witchcraft plays  eds. c or b in & s ed ge The Stukeley plays  ed. e de l ma n Beyond The Spanish Tragedy: A study of the works of Thomas Kyd  erne Three sixteenth-century dietaries  ed. f i t zpatrick Playhouse Wills 1558–1642  eds. h on i g ma nn & bro ck John Ford’s political theatre  h op k ins Three Renaissance usury plays  ed. k e r mo d e John Lyly and early modern authorship  ed. kes s o n The works of Richard Edwards  k ing Marlowe and the popular tradition: Innovation in the English drama before 1595  l u n n e y Banquets set forth: Banqueting in English Renaissance drama  mead s Thomas Heywood: Three marriage plays  ed. merch ant Three Renaissance travel plays  ed. parr John Lyly  p i n c omb e A textual companion to Doctor Faustus  r as mus s en Documents of the Rose Playhouse  rutter John Lyly: Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England  ed. sc r ag g Pap with an Hatchet, John Lyly: An annotated, modern-spelling edition  sc r ag g Richard Brome: Place and politics on the Caroline stage  s teggle

Three romances of Eastern conquest

t h e r e v e l s plays c o mpan io n li brary

Three romances of Eastern conquest The comical history of Alphonsus, King of Aragon by Robert Greene The tragedy of Soliman and Perseda by Thomas Kyd The Four Prentices of London by Thomas Heywood Edited by Ladan Niayesh

Manchester University Press

Copyright © Ladan Niayesh 2018 The right of Ladan Niayesh to be identified as the editor of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by Manchester University Press Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7190 7857 6 hardback First published 2018 The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

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contents

l i st o f i l l us t r ati on s 

page vi

g e n e r a l e d i to rs ’ preface 

vii

ackn owl e d ge me nts 

viii

a b b r e v i at i o ns a n d referen ces 

ix

i n t ro duc t i o n

1

Romance and conquest in early modern England The plays The texts

1 7 40

the plays The comical history of Alphonsus, King of Aragon by Robert Greene The tragedy of Soliman and Perseda by Thomas Kyd The Four Prentices of London by Thomas Heywood i n de x

51 121 201 291

l is t o f i l l u s t r at ion s

1 Title-page of The Comicall Historie of Alphonsus, King of Aragon (1599). Courtesy of Huntington Library. Catalogue number 31188 2 Title-page of The Tragedye of Solyman and Perseda (n.d.). Courtesy of the British Library. Catalogue number C.34.b.44 3 Title-page of The Foure Prentises of London (1615). Courtesy of the Bodleian Libraries. The University of Oxford. Mal.249 (1)

page 9 23 33

ge ne r a l e d i to rs ’ p r efac e

Since the late 1950s the series known as The Revels Plays has provided for students of the English Renaissance drama carefully edited texts of the major Elizabethan and Jacobean plays. The series includes some of the best-known drama of the period and has continued to expand, both within its original field and, to a lesser extent, beyond it, to include some important plays from the earlier Tudor and from the Restoration periods. The Revels Plays Companion Library is intended to further this expansion and to allow for new developments. The aim of the Companion Library is to provide students of the Elizabethan and Jacobean drama with a fuller sense of its background and context. The series includes volumes of a variety of kinds. Small collections of plays, by a single author or concerned with a single theme and edited in accordance with the principles of textual modernisation of The Revels Plays, offer a wider range of drama than the main series can include. Together with editions of masques, pageants and the non-dramatic work of Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights, these volumes make it possible, within the overall Revels enterprise, to examine the achievements of the major dramatists from a broader perspective. Other volumes provide a fuller context for the plays of the period by offering new collections of documentary evidence on Elizabethan theatrical conditions and on the performance of plays during that period and later. A third aim of the series is to offer modern critical interpretation, in the form of collections of essays or of monographs, of the dramatic achievement of the English Renaissance. So wide a range of material necessarily precludes the standard format and uniform general editorial control which is possible in the original series of Revels Plays. To a considerable extent, therefore, treatment and approach are determined by the needs and intentions of individual volume editors. Within this rather ampler area, however, we hope that the Companion Library maintains the standards of scholarship that have for so long characterised The Revels Plays, and that it offers a useful enlargement of the work of the series in preserving, illuminating and celebrating the drama of Elizabethan and Jacobean England. j. r . mulry ne susa n b roc k susa n c er asa no

ac k n ow l e d g e m e n ts

Editing the three travel and conquest plays of this volume has been quite a journey in itself, stretching over a period of several years and involving colleagues and friends from near and far. The project was first planned as a collaboration with Charles Whitworth, my then habilitation supervisor and head of the IRCL (Institut de Recherches sur la Renaissance, l’Âge Classique et les Lumières) at the University of Montpellier 3. Although the project was much delayed due to changing professional and personal circumstances for both of us – not least of which the loss of two dear fathers – I am most grateful to Charles for having given me the start and introduced me to series editor Susan Brock and commissioning editor Matthew Frost. The greatest debt I have incurred along the way is definitely to Susan, without whose unfailing support and professionalism this book could simply not have seen the light. Her gentle encouragements over several years and her countless helpful suggestions deserve not just gratitude but deep respect. I wish to extend my thanks to both my former and current research centres, IRCL and LARCA (Laboratoire de Recherches sur les Cultures Anglophones, University of Paris Diderot – Paris 7), which generously funded several of my research trips. As with all my research projects, this one also owes much to the valuable resources and friendly library staff of the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham at Stratford-upon-Avon, to whom many thanks. I am also grateful to the Bodleian, British and Huntington libraries for the permissions to reproduce the title-pages of the first quarto editions of the three plays brought together in this volume. Interactions with and suggestions from many colleagues and friends have been very helpful at various points. It would be impossible to list them all, but special thanks are due to Gerd Bayer, Dan Carey, Leo Carruthers, Line Cottegnies, Nandini Das, Mat Dimmock, Jane Grogan, Christophe Hausermann, Claire Jowitt, Florian Kläger, Frank Lestringant, Jean-Marie Maguin, David McInnis, Gordon McMullan. It goes without saying that any shortcomings and remaining mistakes in this edition are entirely my own. As this journey now reaches its destination, the final acknowledgements are for my lovely sisters, Niloufar and Farinaz, cheerful and ever supportive companions on the continuing journey of life. la da n niay esh

abbre vi at i o n s a n d r e f e r en c es e dit ions col l at e d Alphonsus, King of Aragon Q The Comicall Historie of Alphonsus, King of Aragon. As hath bene sundrie times Acted. Made by R.G. (London: Thomas Creede, 1599). STC 12233. Ed. W.W. Greg, Malone Society Reprints (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1926). Dyce Alexander Dyce, ed., The Dramatic and Poetical Works of Robert Greene and George Peele (London: Routledge, 1874), pp. 221–48. Gros. Alexander Grosart, ed., The Life and Complete Works in Prose and Verse of Robert Greene, 15 vols (1881–86. Rep. New York: Russell & Russell, 1964), vol. 13, pp. 325–415. Collins John Churton Collins, ed., The Plays and Poems of Robert Greene, 2 vols (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905), vol. 1, pp. 77–135. Soliman and Perseda Q1 The Tragedye of Solyman and Perseda. Wherein is laide open, Loues constancy, Fortunes inconstancy, and Deaths Triumphs (London: Edward Allde for Edward White, n.d.). STC 22894. Q2 The Tragedie of Solimon and Perseda. Wherein is laide open, Loues constancie, Fortunes inconstancie, and Deaths Triumphs (London: Edward Allde for Edward White, 1599). STC 22895. Boas Frederick S. Boas, ed., The Works of Thomas Kyd (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1901), pp. 161–229. Murray John J. Murray, ed., The Tragedye of Solyman and Perseda (New York and London: Garland, 1991). The Four Prentices of London Q1 The Foure Prentises of London. With the Conquest of Ierusalem. As it hath bene diuerse times Acted, at the Red Bull, by the Queenes Maiesties Seruants (London: John Wright, 1615). STC 13321. Q2 The Foure Prentises of London. With the Conquest of Ierusalem. As it hath bene diuers times acted at the Red Bull, by the Queenes Maiesties Seruants with good applause (London: Nicholas Okes, 1632). STC 13322. Gasior Mary Ann Weber Gasior, ed., Thomas Heywood’s The Four Prentices of London: A Critical, Old-Spelling Edition (New York and London: Garland, 1980). editions of dram at ic works cit e d in c o m m e n ta ry Cornelia

Thomas Kyd, Cornelia, ed. Frederick S. Boas, in The Works of Thomas Kyd (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1901), pp. 99–160.

x

abbrevi ati on s

Edelman Jonson Kyd Marlowe Munday Peyré Sanders Shakespeare

George Peele, The Battle of Alcazar, in The Stukeley plays, ed. Charles Edelman, The Revels Plays Companion Library Series (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005). Ben Jonson, The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson, gen. eds David Bevington, Martin Butler and Ian Donaldson, 7 vols (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012). Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy, ed. Philip Edwards, The Revels Plays (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991). Christopher Marlowe: Doctor Faustus and Other Plays, ed. David Bevington and Eric Rasmussen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995; 2008). Anthony Munday, Fidele and Fortunio, the Two Italian Gentlemen, ed. Percy Simpson, Malone Society Reprints (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1909). Soliman et Perside, trans. and ed. Yves Peyré, in La Prise de Rhodes par Soliman le magnifique, ed. Jean-Luc Nardone (Cahors: La Louve, 2010). Norman Sanders, ‘An Edition of Greene’s Farewell to Folly and Alphonsus, King of Aragon’ (PhD Diss. University of Birmingham, 1957). William Shakespeare, The Complete Works. 2nd Compact Edition, gen. eds Stanley Wells, Gary Taylor, John Jowett and William Montgomery (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005).

pr ima ry no n- dram at ic works cit e d in c o m m e n ta ry Aeneid Virgil, The Aeneid, trans. Frederick Ahl (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008). Apollodorus Apollodorus (Pseudo-), The Library of Greek Mythology, trans. James George Frazer, 2 vols (London: Heinemann, 1961). Arrian Arrian, Alexander the Great: Selections from Arrian, trans. J.G. Lloyd (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981). Burton Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, ed. N.K. Kiessling, T.C. Faulkner and R.L. Blair (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990). Cicero Cicero, First and Second Speeches against Catiline, ed. H.E. Gould and J.L. Whiteley (London: Macmillan and Co, 1943). Dio Cassius Dio Cassius, Dio’s Roman History, trans. Earnest Cary (London: Heinemann, 1914). Dio Chrysostom Dio Chrysostom, Discourses, trans. J.W. Cohoon and H. Lamar Crosby (London: Heinemann, and Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1932). Fasti Ovid, Fasti, trans. A.J. Boyle and R.D. Woodard (London: Penguin, 2000). Gesta Romanorum Anon., Gesta Romanorum, trans. Charles Swan, rev. Wynnard Hooper (1876; repr. New York: Dover Publications, 1959). Henslowe Henslowe’s Diary, ed. R.A. Foakes, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002). Herodotus Herodotus, The Histories, trans. Robin Waterfield (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998). Heroides Ovid, Heroides, trans. Harold Isbell (London: Penguin, 1990). Hesiod Hesiod, Theogony & Works and Days, trans. M.L. West (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988).

abbrevi ati on s

xi

Iliad Homer, The Iliad, trans. Robert Fagles (London: Penguin, 1991). Johnson Richard Johnson, The Nine Worthies of London (London: Thomas Orwin for Humphrey Lownes, 1592). Metamorphoses Ovid, Metamorphoses, trans. Arthur Golding, ed. Madeleine Forey (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002). Nashe Thomas Nashe, The Unfortunate Traveller and Other Works, ed. J.B. Steane (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972). Odyssey Homer, The Odyssey, trans. Edward McCrorie (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004). Pliny Pliny’s Natural History. A Selection from Philemon Holland’s Translation, ed. J. Newsome (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964). Plutarch Selected Lives from the Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, trans. Thomas North, ed. Paul Turner, 2 vols (Fontwell: Centaur Press, 1963). Spenser Edmund Spenser, The Yale Edition of the Shorter Poems of Edmund Spenser, gen. ed. William A. Oram (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1989). Terence Terence, The Brothers, trans. Charles Mercier (Newburyport: Focus Publishing, 1998). Topsell Edward Topsell, The History of Four-Footed Beasts, 1607, ed. Willy Ley (New York: Da Capo Press, 1967). sec ondary works cit e d in com m e n ta ry Abbott

Edwin Abbott, A Shakespearian Grammar (London: Macmillan, 1870). Chambers E.K. Chambers, The Elizabethan Stage, 4 vols (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923; 1951). Dessen and Thomson  Alan C. Dessen and Leslie Thomson, A Dictionary of Stage Directions in English Drama, 1580–1642 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999). EEBO Early English Books Online, Tilley Morris Palmer Tilley, A Dictionary of the Proverbs in England in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1950). other ab br e viat ions : t e xt ual col l at io n s, n o t e s Arch. Archaic Fr. French Reg. Regnat Sig. Signature

i n t ro du c t i o n Romance is a twilight zone in studies of late sixteenth-century literary genres in England. Half-way between the nostalgia of medieval chivalry and the enterprising spirit of early modern exploration, piracy and commerce as preludes to a future empire, it is both very old-fashioned and innovatively modern. Appearing in narrative as well as in dramatic forms, romance lays simultaneous claims to history and imagination, which were not necessarily in opposition in the period, and caters for a readership of servants and citizens while equally finding its way into Spenserian epic, Sidneyan pastoral or even late Shakespearian tragicomedy and Miltonian poetry. The three plays grouped in this volume are early modern attempts at conquering that twilight zone in a context of expanding contacts with Muslim lands around the Mediterranean. ro ma nc e a nd con qu es t i n early m oder n engla nd ‘The structural core of all fiction’ for Northrop Frye, who sees it as a means to translate mythical archetypes into human experience,1 romance is also ‘a notoriously slippery category’, as Barbara Fuchs warns.2 The basic definition with which Helen Cooper starts her authoritative study of the genre is a primarily narrative fiction in the vernacular which appears from the twelfth century onward, characterised by exotic settings, distant in time and/or place, concerned with love and/or chivalry, and involving high-ranking individuals engaged in some ideal quest. It may include such recurrent patterns as encounters with the supernatural, obscured identities or miraculous conversions.3 Patricia Parker’s earlier deconstructionist approach complicates this definition by insisting on the proliferating digressions which form the structure of romance and defer its closure and collective coherence.4 For Fuchs, this aspect is crucial to the definition of romance, as ‘capaciousness and waywardness’ are precisely what distinguishes it from ‘the single-minded, collective purposefulness of epic’.5 Adventure, fantasy and personal prowess thus appear to constitute the core of romance, which focuses on individual rather than collective self-fashioning and accomplishment. Romance’s expansiveness and maverick sense of heroism made it a particularly apt literary vehicle to express the ambitions and fantasies of the last decades of the sixteenth century, marked for England by both religious war and cross-cultural encounters achieved through privateering, commerce and early colonial undertakings. The war with Spain, and

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especially the Armada crisis of 1587–88, which was perhaps the period’s most crucial event for cementing an English national identity, largely translated into the chivalric revival studied by Arthur B. Ferguson and others.6 Cutting across all strata of society, the trend is exemplified by a monument of courtly literature like Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene (1590 and 1596) as much as by more popular work like Richard Johnson’s The Seven Champions of Christendom (part one 1596, part two 1597). Such works largely drew on romance materials, whether Arthurian or crusading in origin, but adapted them to the spirit of protestant patriotism characteristic of the time, with for example Philip II of Spain recognisable in the traits of the evil Sultan of Book 5 of The Faerie Queene. Some critics have associated early modern romance with a discourse of imperial and colonial fantasy accompanying the New World enterprises of the likes of John Hawkins, Francis Drake and Walter Ralegh.7 But for Benedict S. Robinson romance, as ‘the preeminent literary form through which medieval Christendom had imagined its global contacts and conflicts’,8 was also an ideal instrument for encoding early modern England’s concepts of religion, race, gender and nation in its contacts with Muslim lands around the Mediterranean. Medieval romances’ fantasies of conquest over – or assimilation of – Saracens had already to a large extent accompanied and responded to the failure of the Crusades in various European literatures, taking imaginative possession of what could not be won or kept by military means. Taking the example of the ten metrical romances of the Carolingian tradition surviving in Middle English, Dorothee Metlitzki notes that three were concerned with Fierabras and four with Otinel, both of them Saracen heroes won over to the Christians’ side and helping them triumph over their former coreligionists.9 Overcoming the Saracens through the double means of chivalry and love was also central to the plot of the most popular Middle English romances, Sir Bevis of Hampton (c. 1300) and The Sultan of Babylon (fifteenth century). Through such stereotypical characters as the converted Saracen won over by the Christians’ courtesy or chivalry, the Muslim princess falling in love with a Christian knight and turning her back on her people and faith, or the humbled sultan doubting the efficacy of his gods against the Christian forces, these romances explore other scenarios for conquest besides sheer military victory.10 In keeping with the etymology of the word ‘conquest’ (to quest with), such plots explore not just the prospect of overcoming and submitting the Muslim others but also the alternative option of accommodating and assimilating them, with such self-questioning corollaries as intermarriages, shared inheritances and divided allegiances. Such scenarios found a particular resonance in late sixteenth-century England, at a time when an excommunicated Elizabeth I was entertaining

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diplomatic correspondence with the Ottoman Sultan Murad III and his wife Safiye, while commercial negotiations with the Turks were soon to lead to the foundation of the Levant Company (1592). Five Moroccan ships famously joined Essex’s forces in his raid against Cadiz (1596),11 while some years before the English recusant mercenary Captain Thomas Stukeley had taken part in the battle of Alcazar (1578) to support the deposed Moroccan ruler Abu Abdallah Muhammad II (the Muly Mahamet of George Peele’s dramatised version of the same name).12 Read against such a background of ‘traffic and turning’,13 early modern romances of cross-cultural contacts with the Muslim East are at the heart of that ‘space of negation, negotiation and confusion of identity’ considered by Daniel Vitkus to be the resolutely non-Saidian marker of late sixteenth-century English literature’s reflections on the boundaries of the Self and the Other.14 The category of stage romances holds a sometimes contested ground within the larger body of romances in the period. It is true that the term was not applied to plays at the time, and most of the plays now referred to as ‘romances’ were then simply called ‘histories’, as in The History of the Two Valiant Knights, Sir Clyomon of the Golden Shield, Son to the King of Denmark, and Clamydes the White Knight, Son to the King of Suavia, which is the original title for Clyomon and Clamydes in its first printed edition by Thomas Creede in 1599. Even today, Cyrus Mulready remarks, the category of stage romances prior to Shakespeare’s late plays remains understudied by critics,15 while Shakespeare’s own so-called ‘romances’ received that questionable categorisation only in 1875, in Edward Dowden’s Shakspere: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art. Critical interest in Shakespeare has tended to obscure the centrality and popularity of stage romances for earlier audiences, as well as the fact that many narrative romances found their way to the stage with the rise of commercial theatre in London after the 1570s.16 Clyomon and Clamydes, Common Conditions and The Rare Triumphs of Love and Fortune may be the only survivors of a much larger group of romantic plays from the 1570–85 period, but, if titles of lost plays are to be accepted as indicative of their contents, Betty J. Littleton surmises that at least 23 out of a body of 63 plays produced during that period were romances.17 Insisting on the influence and legacy of Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine (part one 1587, part two 1588) for the theatre of the time, Peter Berek notes that ‘of the 38 extant plays for the public theatre first performed in England between 1587 and 1593, ten show clear debts to Tamburlaine’.18 The importance of that ground-breaking play cannot be overestimated, yet we need to remember that, despite its undeniable innovations and many iconoclastic statements, that work too owes much to the romance

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tradition, with its episodic structure, raging sultan, abducted and enamoured princess, vast and fabulous geography, and mixture of historical and legendary figures. The title-page of the 1590 edition of the two parts of Tamburlaine calls them ‘tragicall discourses’. Such generic hesitation, or rather syncretism, was not an exception at the time. As noted above, plays involving romance material often appeared under the title of ‘histories’, as is the case with Robert Greene’s The History of Orlando Furioso (1592), itself based on an epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto (1532). Many writers of prose romances like Greene or Thomas Lodge were also playwrights, and adaptations of the same material to various literary forms were most frequent, as is exemplified by the lost ballad of 1592 and the lost play of 1593 based on the famous fifteenth-century romance of Guy of Warwick, or the anonymous play Tom a Lincoln, based on Richard Johnson’s prose romance of the same name (part one 1599, part two 1607). Vitkus’s ‘space of negation, negotiation and confusion of identity’ thus turns out to be as much open to the form and structure of dramatic romances of conquest as it is to their subject matter. The three plays grouped in this volume all find their place and significance within the extended family of early modern stage romances of conquest over a Muslim East. Probably written just before the Armada, Robert Greene’s The Comical History of Alphonsus, King of Aragon (c. 1587) can still afford to stage a Spanish hero, albeit an invented one, who in true fashion of the Christian heroes of Saracen romances transforms his military conquest over the Turks into an act of assimilation by marrying the Ottoman sultan’s daughter and inheriting his realm. The postArmada Tragedy of Soliman and Perseda (c. 1589), attributable to Thomas Kyd, goes one step further in embracing what Helen Moore recalls as the historia fingida (feigned history) trend of many sixteenthcentury romances,19 by revisiting Soliman the Magnificent’s historical defeat of the Knights of Rhodes in 1522 and transforming it into the symbolic victory of a fictional Christian woman defending her island and humbling and conquering the Sultan in both love and death. Finally, Thomas Heywood’s The Four Prentices of London (c. 1594) makes the fantasy of reconquest a homely and popular one, through the tour de force of transforming medieval crusading heroes’ successes in the Holy Land into contemporary English ones by proxy, by providing them with a background story of apprenticeship in London. True to the tradition of romance, these plays do not just record ‘conquests’ in war and love, but more intriguingly ‘quest with’ the Other in exploring a variety of options for crossing over the religious and national boundaries of the Self. Some of these crossings involve renegades, such

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as Belinus, the treacherous king of Naples in Alphonsus, who defects to his ‘cousin’ in kingship, the Great Turk Amurath, preferring his land before his faith. But the scenario of renegadism is made rather more complex for Erastus, the defecting knight of Rhodes in Soliman and Perseda. He treads the path of treason only half-way, becoming the Sultan’s favourite companion, but keeping his Christian faith and refusing to fight either for or against his homeland. The ethical and spiritual failure of the hero in his untenable choice of neutrality is made explicit through his caricature double in the same play, the braggart Basilisco, whose cutting of the bonds of allegiance to his homeland and faith is materialised in the comic cutting of ‘a collop of his tenderest member’. The Four Prentices of London offers no such instance of defecting to the Muslim enemy, but experiments with virtually all possible combinations for interChristian fights between the various crusading parties from all over Europe before their final union in Jerusalem. As Robinson reminds us, romance was from its very beginnings in crusading Europe ‘a transnational form’, a dream of unity in a common quest as well as a cultural inheritance which belonged to no nation in particular and which widely circulated and adapted itself to local traditions along the way.20 Something of that transcultural background remains in all three plays, with the Great Turk in Alphonsus wedded to the queen of the Amazons, advised by the sorceress Medea, and siring a daughter whose very name, Iphigina, recuperates her and her family culturally by revisiting the classical model of the Trojan war. Likewise, notes Jane Hwang Dagenhardt, the plot of Soliman and Perseda starts with an international jousting competition in Rhodes which ‘invokes the medieval fantasy of a chivalric code that transcends religious and national differences’.21 As for The Four Prentices of London, its action-launching shipwreck separating the brothers results in drawing half a dozen European nations into a common crusading enterprise. If the contract for a play called The Comical History of Alphonsus can only be a happy ending and success in the formation of an empire, while The Tragedy of Soliman and Perseda announces the failure of the same endeavour from its very title, both plays show in their many reversals of plots how much the process of building a common power and a shared identity can be messy and hazardous, a trait which is shared by the amateurism of the apprentice-crusaders of The Four Prentices of London. If the romance ideal of the absorption of the Muslim adversary prevails in Alphonsus, the other two plays also explore the limits of that model by insisting on what ultimately remains unassimilable in the Other, despite the courage and chivalry of which he can at times be capable. Soliman and Perseda in particular makes this point clear through the asides given

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to the Turkish champion Brusor in the opening tournament, revealing immediately that, despite his tiltyard bravery, his intentions are treacherous, as he has joined the occasion merely to spy on the Christians and prepare the invasion of Rhodes. Likewise, Soliman in the same play may at times display chivalry and magnanimity in his contacts with Erastus and Perseda, but his character as cruel oriental tyrant is predetermined, with his ordering the murder of his own brother in true Ottoman dynastic fashion in the very first scene in which he appears. Through such revisitings of the romance model, our plays position themselves vis-à-vis a long tradition of romance, while questioning the validity and limits of its idealistic resolutions of difference for their own time. Alex Davis goes further in this direction by insisting on the fact that, despite romance’s overall assimilative drive, the genre is also concerned in its early modern iterations with justifying rank and lineage while apparently forwarding valour as the main source of distinction and social advancement.22 Indeed, the recurrent trope of the hero in disguise or the young nobleman cut off from his inheritance and who regains it by becoming a famous knight is revisited in many forms in our three plays, opening up additional possibilities for exploring the limits of individually achieved heroisms and collectively received identities before a normative scene of recognition overcomes apparent contradictions and resolves the plot. Both Alphonsus and The Four Prentices experiment with this pattern. This happens early in Greene’s play for the rightful heir to the throne of Aragon who learns about his true pedigree from his long-deposed father, while Heywood’s disguised aristocrats triumph throughout in their wars both as London apprentices and as true heirs to the deposed earl of Boulogne. Valour and lineage thus ultimately coincide for all these heroes, despite an outward illusion of social promotion for simple folks. In that respect too, the romance model shows the limits of its imaginative resolutions, as the iconoclastic, Tamburlanian schema of promotion through individual valour for supposedly low-born heroes is revealed to be a short-lived illusion in our plays. The same normative romance resolution is imposed on the female cross-dressers of all three plays, after they have offered ample opportunity for exploring the boundaries of self-definition through gender confusions, and also after they have pushed the heroes dangerously close to harrowing prospects such as fratricide and incest in the extreme case of the four prentices’ disguised sister Bella Franca. If Iphigina and Perseda turn the tables on their victors and overcome them, this is ultimately done through feminine charms for both, added to a poisonous kiss in Perseda’s case. But be it in a wedding (Iphigina in Alphonsus, the French princess in The Four Prentices) or in death (Perseda in Soliman and Perseda), all female

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protagonists in our plays finally regain their full feminine status after a more or less long experimentation with cross-dressing, and they end up united in life or in death to the Christian heroes of the plays. If exogamous desire, a staple of romance plots, has been amply explored in the case of these cultural and sexual go-betweens, the endings of all three plays impose in extremis a normative discourse of male domination over that of wayward female sexuality. A genre of contest and conquest in its tropes, themes and characterisation, romance is also a genre reaching wide to conquer terrain over other genres and assimilating them in its ever expanding scope. It is significant in this respect that all three plays should come complete with a selfreflexive paratext elaborating on their generic indeterminacy, or rather inclusiveness. Offering a blend from its very title, The Comical History of Alphonsus punctuates its action with choruses resulting from the alliance of Venus the goddess of love and Calliope the Muse of heroic poetry defending the plot and its hero’s fame against the rest of the Muses. A similarly disputatious induction and choruses in Soliman and Perseda oppose the principles of Love, Fortune and Death, standing for the contending options of romantic comedy, heroic romance and love tragedy. Death gets the last word on this occasion, but its final tribute to ‘sacred Cynthia’ and her friend escaping its power suggests that other options remain open to similar plots. The same contention appears to oppose the three prologues of The Four Prentices, one pale like death, a second holding an old history book as the authority behind its material and a third willing to excuse the play’s shortcomings in the benevolent fashion of comedy. This time they unite in an overall logic of incorporation characteristic of romance. Engaged in an endless pattern of repetitions with a twist, revisiting expected scenarios to envisage subversive developments before an obligatory normative ending, this play, like our other two romances of conquest in this volume, paradoxically articulates both the nostalgia of tradition and the entrepreneurism of innovation. the plays Alphonsus, King of Aragon Authorship, date, staging The Stationers’ Register makes no mention of Alphonsus, King of Aragon. The play’s first known edition is the quarto printed by Thomas Creede in 1599, of which three copies are extant. Nothing is known for certain of the play’s staging history, apart from the assertion on Creede’s title-page that the play ‘hath bene sundrie times Acted’. However, G.M. Pinciss believed that the play may have been in the repertory of the Queen’s Men

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formed in 1583, on the grounds that ‘no acted play entered or printed by Creede before 1600 is claimed on its title page for any company other than the Queen’s, and only four plays attributed to this company were not published by him’.23 Recent scholarship has agreed with this view, with Creede’s role being more and more acknowledged as ‘a major conduit by which Queen’s plays came into print’.24 The title-page attributes the play to ‘R.G.’, traditionally identified as Robert Greene,25 who is known to have written Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay for the Queen’s Men, and whose Gwydonius: The Carde of Fancie and Mamillia, both printed in 1593, had been the first books bearing Creede’s imprint.26 Otherwise Alphonsus is not known for certain to have been performed after the reign of Elizabeth. Martin Wiggins mentions a Tragicomoedia von einem König in Arragona performed by an English company at the Court of Saxony in Dresden in 1626, but believes Jacob Ayrer’s Comedia von der Schönen Phaenicia, printed in 1618 and also featuring a king of Aragon, is a likelier candidate for that performance.27 Alone among the play’s editors, John Churton Collins believed that it must have been composed in 1591, after the publication of Spenser’s Complaints, to which the prologue in Alphonsus bears some similarity.28 But, as Collins himself acknowledged, manuscripts of Spenser’s poems were circulating for some years prior to their publication, so that this argument is far from being conclusive. Alphonsus is more likely to have been composed in the wake of the success of Marlowe’s 1 Tamburlaine (c. 1587), which Greene’s play imitates rather heavy-handedly. Furthermore, the laboured quality of Greene’s blank verse, obtained at the cost of such licence as the persistent use of ‘for’ before verbal infinitives, archaically lengthened forms (e.g. ‘becomen’ for ‘become’, ‘whereas’ and ‘whenas’ for ‘where’ and ‘when’) and numerous inversions, has led most critics to regard Alphonsus as Greene’s first theatrical attempt.29 Similarly contrived end-stopped iambic pentameters are common in the verse sections of Greene’s other works published around the same time. Such is the case with ‘The description of Siluestros ladie’ and ‘Lacenas Riddle’ in The Second Part of the Tritameron of Love (1587).30 Greene’s dedication ‘To the Gentlemen readers’ in his Perimedes the Blacke-Smith (1588) includes a response to a recent incident involving ‘two Gentlemen Poets’, who ‘had it in derision, for that I could not make my verses iet vpon the stage in tragicall buskins, euerie worde filling the mouth like the faburden of Bo-Bell, daring God out of heauen with that Atheist Tamburlan’.31 This passage is commonly read as a testimony of the cold reception which Greene’s awkward imitation of Marlowe’s style must have received from fellow University Wits, entailing his temporary retreat from the stage.32

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1  Title-page of The Comicall Historie of Alphonsus, King of Aragon (1599)

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An early date of composition, around 1587, would equally agree with the suggestion that George Peele could be alluding to Alphonsus in his occasional poem entitled A Farewell to Sir John Norris and Sir Francis Drake (1589), in which he indirectly mentions several recently staged plays: ‘Bid theatres and proud tragedians, / Bid Mahomet’s Pow, and mighty Tamburlaine, / King Charlemagne, Tom Stukeley, and the rest, / Adieu. To arms, to arms, to glorious arms!’33 As W.W. Greg among others suggests, if ‘Mahomet’s Pow’ (or ‘Mahomet’s Poo’ in the original 1589 edition) is to be understood as ‘Mahomet’s poll’, meaning his head, Peele may be referring to Mahomet’s brazen head which appears in Alphonsus, 4.1. This could be the same as the ‘owld Mahemetes head’ listed by Philip Henslowe in his inventory of the properties belonging to the Admiral’s Men in 1598.34 But, Chambers notes, Peele’s reference may be to his own lost play of The Turkish Mahomet and Hiren the Fair Greek.35 Sanders rightly objects that the latter play is unlikely to have required the use of a ‘Mahomet’s head’.36 Agreeing with both, I believe ‘Mahomet’s Poo’ may simply be a metrical licence or a typesetter’s mistake on Mahomet’s ‘power’ or ‘pow’r’, which would be balanced by the reference to ‘mighty Tamburlaine’ in the same line. ‘Mahomet’s pow’r’ is certainly less sensational than ‘Mahomet’s poll’, but it is more plausible in context. This reading would make the Peele quotation refer either to Alphonsus or to Andrew Gurr’s candidate for the Mahomet play, The Battle of Alcazar (attributed to Peele), in which the central character is the Moor Muly Mahamet.37 Starting in 1591, Henslowe’s Diary provides no record of earlier stagings of Alphonsus. But it mentions the revival by the Admiral’s Men of a Mahomet play, bought from Edward Alleyn. According to Pinciss, this and other Alleyn plays may have been acquired from Strange’s Men (in whose repertory a large number of Queen’s plays appeared in the early 1590s), when Alleyn worked for that company in 1592.38 Henslowe’s Mahomet play was staged several times between 14 August 1594 and 5 February 1595, and again in August 1601.39 This play could be Greene’s Alphonsus, but again it could equally be Peele’s Mahomet and Hiren, The Battle of Alcazar or even some other play now lost. Indeed, as Greg rightly remarks, since Mahomet’s brazen head merely appears in one scene in Alphonsus, the likelihood of having Mahomet as an alternative title for Greene’s play is not very strong.40 The ‘owld Mahemetes head’ of the 1598 inventory is more likely to refer to the brazen head used in Alphonsus and, as Jenny Sager argues, capitalised on by the company through its reuse in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (c. 1589), another play by Greene.41 In all cases, the possibility of revivals by the Admiral’s Men in

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the second half of the 1590s would agree with the ‘sundrie times Acted’ of the 1599 title-page. As may be conjectured from the printed text, Alphonsus could be performed by a company of twelve actors for its most crowded scene (5.2), with a few extras for the non-speaking parts. The actors playing the female parts of Venus and the speaking Muses could double as Fausta, Iphigina and Medea. We may further postulate that, since the Duke of Milan surprisingly never appears on the stage at the same time as his confederates Belinus and Amurack, the actor holding that part may also double as either of Alphonsus’s two chief adversaries. The epilogue in Alphonsus promises a second part to the play, possibly in imitation of a similar project for Tamburlaine. But whether such a second part was ever staged or even composed remains at present subject to doubt. In his edition of Selimus, Alexander Grosart makes a rather weak case for that other Turk play being the promised second part of Alphonsus.42 This seems unlikely, for not only do the characters and incidents of Alphonsus appear nowhere in Selimus but the latter play itself claims to be the first of two parts of The Tragicall raigne of Selimus, according to its epilogue and the title-page of its 1594 quarto edition, by the same Thomas Creede who was to print Alphonsus five years later.43 Sources The characters and incidents in Alphonsus are not directly inspired by any genuine historical figures or events, but result from a series of conflations. Greene’s protagonist may be loosely modeled on Alfonso V of Aragon (1396–1458), who was named heir to the kingdom of Naples by Joanna II, before she changed her mind and chose instead René of Anjou, second son of Louis II of France, forcing Alfonso to invade Naples in order to reassert his claim to the crown. But although he was a supporter of the Albanian rebel Scanderbeg in the latter’s wars against the Turks, Alfonso V defeated no Turkish sultan and married no Turkish princess. Greene may have conflated this figure with that of Alfonso I of Aragon, nicknamed ‘the Battler’ (fl. 1104–34). The latter lived long before the Ottoman empire was founded by Osman I at the end of the thirteenth century and had no connection with Italy, but he was famous for his many victories over Muslim armies in Andalusia.44 Among the sources for the life of Alfonso V which may have been available to Greene, although not in English, Collins mentions Bartolomeo Facio’s De Rebus Gestis ab Alphonso Primo Neapolitanorum Rege Commentariorum Libri Decem (1560 and 1563) and Albertus Timannus’s De Alfonso Rege Aragonum … Oratio (1573).45 Sanders adds a

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third possible source to this list, Vespasiano da Bisticci’s fifteenth-century Vite di Uomini Illustri, not published until 1839, although it may have circulated in manuscript form.46 Yet, as both editors acknowledge, even if Greene had access to those works, he kept nothing from them beyond his protagonist’s name and a connection with Naples and Milan. The hero’s adversary, the Ottoman Sultan Amurack, may likewise have been named after at least two historical figures: Murad II (reg. 1420–44 and 1446–51), a contemporary of Alfonso V, and Murad III (reg. 1574– 95), who ruled the empire at the time when Greene’s play was composed. Murad III in particular was commonly referred to as ‘Amurack’ or ‘Amurath’ in contemporary accounts, such as Francis Billerbeg’s Most Rare and Straunge Discourses, of Amurathe the Turkish Emperor, translated into English in 1584.47 The name was frequently given to Turkish princes or sultans in contemporary plays, as in Soliman and Perseda, in which Amurath is one of Sultan Soliman’s brothers, or John of Bordeaux, in which Ameroth is the sultan who loses his crown, robe and scimitar to English Bacon’s magic tricks. But more than any historical source, Marlowe’s Tamburlaine is commonly acknowledgd as the chief model for Greene’s play. As early as 1878, Nicholas Storojenko recognised that ‘from the dramatis personae and situations down to the very blank verse, everything in Greene’s Alphonsus bears the unmistakable sign of being imitated from Marlowe’s Tamburlaine’.48 Indeed, like Marlowe’s overreaching hero, Alphonsus rises from poverty to vanquish many mighty monarchs, chief among whom is the Turkish Sultan. Like Tamburlaine, he captures his enemy’s daughter and persuades her to marry him. Both heroes are accompanied by three faithful lieutenants (Techelles, Usumcasane and Theridamas in Tamburlaine’s case, and Lælius, Miles and Albinius in Alphonsus’s), whom they crown as their tributary kings. Similarly, in both plays the Turkish Sultan is followed by his tributary kings (the kings of Fez, Morocco and Argier in Tamburlaine, and Claramount of Barbary, Arcastus of the Moors, Faustus of Babylon and Crocon of Arabia in Alphonsus), who lose their crowns and heads in spectacular manner to the hero and his lieutenants. In both cases, the Turk’s fall provides an occasion for imprecations against Mahomet, the false god who has abandoned him (1 Tamburlaine, 3.3.269–71, Alphonsus, 3.2.129–34).49 Verbal echoes are equally numerous between the two plays, exemplified by a few samples: Tamburlaine. I hold the Fates bound fast in iron chains And with my hand turn Fortune’s wheel about. (1 Tamburlaine, 1.2.174–5)

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Alphonsus. I clap up Fortune in a cage of gold, To make her turn her wheel as I think best. (Alphonsus, 4.3.129–30) Tamburlaine. Our quivering lances shaking in the air. (1 Tamburlaine, 2.3.18) Iphigina. And make their spears to shiver in the air. (Alphonsus, 5.2.26) Tamburlaine. The host of Xerxes, which by fame is said To drink the mighty Parthian Araris, Was but a handful to that we will have. (1 Tamburlaine, 2.3.15–17) Amurack. So, sir, I hear you, but can scarce believe That Mahomet would charge them go before Against Alphonsus with so small a troop, Whose number far exceeds King Xerxes’ troop. (Alphonsus, 4.3.17–20)

Alphonsus shares with Tamburlaine its abundant recourse to classical allusions, endless lists of polysyllabic place names and titles, and frequent hyperbolic assertions. There is even a direct allusion to the figure of Tamburlaine, defined by his Homeric epithet ‘mighty’ in one of Amurack’s speeches to his soldiers, in which he mocks and belittles Alphonsus and the Aragonian forces by comparing them to that acknowledged standard: ‘remember with yourselves / What foes we have: not mighty Tamburlaine, / Nor soldiers trainèd up amongst the wars’ (Alphonsus, 4.3.91–3). But to imitate is of course not to equal. Judging by Greene’s bitter words in his address ‘To the Gentlemen readers’ in Perimedes the BlackeSmith, his attempt at out-Tamburlaining Tamburlaine’s style and incidents was not well received by his contemporaries. As for the position of modern critics on Greene’s close imitation of Tamburlaine, it is perhaps best represented by Irving Ribner’s uncharitable summary: ‘Marlovian in rhetoric but not in genius’.50 Like the other members of the family of Turk and/or Moor plays humorously nicknamed ‘Tamburlaine’s weak sons’ by Peter Berek,51 Alphonsus attempts to turn Tamburlanian heroic posture and bombast into an entertaining, marketable formula in its own right, without integrating its predecessor’s complex moral substance. By doing so, Berek contends, such works as Alphonsus, The Battle of Alcazar, Soliman and Perseda, John of Bordeaux and Selimus, all written within five years of Tamburlaine’s first staging and following on the heels of either its original production or its revivals,52 are not so much imitations as interpretations of Marlowe’s original along the normative lines of romance.

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Conquering the generic margin Looking at Alphonsus through the lens of romance, we realise that many of the dramaturgical shortcomings commonly attributed to the play by modern critics actually correspond to key components of that genre, and by the same token denote the necessary influence of Greene the romance writer over the work of Greene the tyro playwright. Chief among the criticisms against Greene’s play as extensively listed and detailed by Werner Senn are its lack of character consistency, shifting motivation and the killing of suspense,53 all three of which are in fact in keeping with the aforementioned ‘capaciousness and waywardness’ retained by Fuchs as the essential characteristics of romance.54 As an example of character inconsistency, Senn cites old Carinus’s revenge taken on the Duke of Milan in 4.2, while the character had earlier been portrayed as a stoic pacifist in 1.1. Carinus’s motivations appear to Senn as fitful as those of Alphonsus himself, whose revenge against the usurper Flaminius is complete as early as the beginning of 2.1, necessitating the introduction of Tamburlanian ambition as a new driving force for the hero and his plot. As for suspense, Senn considers that it is clumsily and systematically smothered in the choruses and the conjuring scene (3.2), which all anticipate future events by establishing them as inevitable. While all these elements are obviously weaknesses by the standards of Tamburlaine with which we are now more familiar, they find their justification in the context of romance, which is focused primarily not on realism and individual emotion but on set situations and spectacle. Retaining mostly the external qualities of Tamburlaine, such as its sensationalism and rhetoric of heroic bombast, but replacing its subversive ideology with the normative heritage of romance, Alphonsus and the other ‘sons of Tamburlaine’ do not so much imitate an original as dispute the philosophy of history upheld by Marlowe’s unorthodox hero, the ‘Atheist Tamburlan’ of Greene’s preface to Perimedes. To take but one example, if both Tamburlaine and Alphonsus undergo a from-rags-toriches conversion, Greene takes pains to make it clear from the beginning that his hero is no genuine outsider or upstart, but the son of a deposed king stereotypically setting out to reclaim honours and possessions which are due to him by reason of his birthright. It follows that, contrary to what happens in such seditious episodes as the defection of the Persian general Theridamas to the Scythians early in 1 Tamburlaine, his Greenian counterpart Albinius, the Aragonian general of Belinus’s army, is not won over by eloquent promises of glory and riches made by Alphonsus, but submits to him in the name of his older knightly oath to his rightful sovereign (1.1.78–99). Triumphant in their superlative military and rhetorical skills, Tamburlaine and Alphonsus boast in nearly identical lines

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about their ability to make Fortune turn her wheel at their command (1 Tamburlaine, 1.2.174–5, Alphonsus, 4.3.129–30, both quoted above). Yet, it is worth noticing that in Alphonsus’s case, such a boast is clearly presented as an exercise in verbal virtuosity, rather than a Tamburlainian ideological posturing. Indeed, Venus’s opening Prologue, immediately introducing Alphonsus as the minion of gods rather than their challenger (‘that man of Jove his seed’, 1.Prol.21–5), as well as her other choric interventions are there to make it clear that Providence and Fortune, rather than Alphonsus’s individual prowess alone, are to be credited for his triumph over the Great Turk (‘at the length, so God and Fates decreed, / Alphonsus was the victor of the field’, 5.Prol.15–16). In that sense, framing devices such as the choruses, the conjuring scene, the sorceress Medea’s anticipations and the other characters’ reactions to them, are not solely attributable to the play’s weak dramaturgy and smothering of suspense, but primarily serve to moralise the plot and signpost its development as both inevitable and just: Medea. In vain it is to strive against the stream; Fates must be followed, and the gods’ decree Must needs take place in every kind of cause. (3.2.315–17) Fausta. Iphigina, she sayeth nought but truth: Fates must be followed in their just decrees. (3.2.341–2) Iphigina. Since Fausta wills, and Fates do so command, Iphigina will never it withstand. (3.2.346–7)

The explanatory framework of romance imposed on the Tamburlainian material of Greene’s play thus results in an ideological positioning which consists in accepting destiny, rather than challenging it. The framing devices used in Alphonsus also allow it to incorporate generic contradiction, which G.K. Hunter sees as the distinctive mark of what he calls ‘Greenian comedy’, a group of plays written in the late 1580s and early 1590s and attributed or attributable to Greene, including among others Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, James IV and John of Bordeaux.55 All these plays are heroic romances hovering between the genres of history and comedy, as stated in the full title of James IV in Thomas Creede’s edition of 1598: The Scottish Historie of James IV, Slaine at Flodden. Entermixed with a Pleasant Comedie, Presented by Oboram King of Fayeries. Like that play, Alphonsus is claimed to be a ‘comicall historie’ on its title-page, and the alliance of Venus the goddess of love and Calliope the Muse of heroic poetry in the opening Prologue serves to

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dramatise the play’s promised generic mix. Despite the foregrounding of war as the main component of the play’s plot, Venus’s recurrent interventions serve again the purpose of orienting audience response, by reminding us of the play’s original ‘contract’ as a romantic comedy in which the ultimate victor is expected to be not an overreaching hero but all-conquering Love. Assuming that the stage directions in the printed text of Alphonsus are authorial, modern scholars such as Kirk Melnikoff have commented on the play’s mixture of narrative and theatrical stage directions as a further proof of Greene’s lack of experience as a playwright and his ‘tenuous familiarity’ with the conventions of the professional theatre of the late 1580s,56 in which, according to Linda McJannet, narrative stage directions survived only in vestigial form.57 Yet, the use of an old-fashioned theatrical vocabulary finds its meaning in the context of the play’s overall generic self-consciousness and helps link it to the surviving examples of older dramatic romances printed in the same years, such as Clyomon and Clamydes (1599). In this respect, both Melnikoff and Alan Dessen cite the prevalence of stage directions starting with ‘let’ in Alphonsus as an example of Greene’s outdated theatrical vocabulary.58 Such is the case with the opening ‘let venus be let down from the top of the stage’, which recalls the stage direction at the start of Scene 8 in Clyomon and Clamydes: ‘Here let them make a noyse as though they were Mariners’ (ll. 718–19).59 We may add that if Alphonsus is claimed for a Queen’s Men’s play, and if its manuscript was not authorial, but prepared for the printing house by the same person who prepared the printed text of Clyomon and Clamydes, then the old-fashioned ‘let’ of Alphonsus further connects it with that specific play in the company’s repertory as stated on its 1599 title-page. The same could be said of the permissive stage direction in the epilogue of Alphonsus, ‘Exit venus, or if you can conveniently, let a chair come down from the top of the stage and draw her up’ (Epilogue.21.SD), which recalls an equally permissive stage direction at the start of Scene 4 in Clyomon and Clamydes: ‘Enter King Alexander the Great, as valiantly set forth as may be’ (l. 358). Venus’s descent at the start of Alphonsus and her ascent at the end of the play also possibly echo the same device involving the allegorical figure of Providence in Scene 18 of Clyomon and Clamydes (SD ll. 1549 and 1565). So, more than solely indicating theatrical illiteracy or lack of experience on the part of a novice playwright copying older plays, I believe that the many non-dramatic characteristics and archaisms of Alphonsus rather serve the purpose of generic positioning along the normative lines of romance conventions, either by the author or by the people involved in

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the printing of his play. This generic choice also has a determining role in the portrayal of Islam and the Turks as one of the major attractions of the play. Opening the cultural margin60 According to Senn’s computation, the character of Alphonsus has an overall share of about twenty per cent of the lines in the play bearing his name, compared to Tamburlaine’s thirty per cent in Marlowe’s play.61 And it is not just the number of his lines but also their distribution in the play which makes Alphonsus a much less dominating presence in the action than his Marlovian model. The character is absent from the stage for a long central section from 3.2 to 4.3, and when he comes back, late into the final scene of Act 4, he speaks a total of only twenty-five lines before the end of the act. In his absence, the stage has been most spectacularly filled by the Great Turk Amurack, shown with his court, tributary kings and janissaries, his Amazonian wife and marriageable daughter, the sorceress Medea conjuring for them, Mahomet’s temple and his misleading prophecy determining the future course of action for all. Except for the desolate no-man’s-land of 4.2 in which Carinus finds and kills his old enemy the Duke of Milan, all these scenes appear to take place in Turkish territory which, despite the Aragonian promise of the play’s title, becomes its main locale and centre of attention. One of the features which strike us most when looking at these Turkish scenes in Alphonsus is the abundance of the classical and mythological references which they contain. The recourse to Greek and Latin mythological frames of reference is of course a recurrent characteristic of the plays composed by the University Wits, regardless of their subject matter, and Greene, who particularly boasted of his background as ‘master of arts in both universities’ on the title-pages of many of his published works, could not be expected to be sparing in his use of classical allusions. But it is worth noticing that, in Alphonsus, many of the classical references used by or about the Turks recall the Homeric background of the Trojan War, as if the plot was to a certain extent a variation on (or re-enactment of) that archetypal confrontation between Europe and Asia. Trojan references in the play notably include the conjuring of Calchas (3.2.84ff), the soothsayer whose prophesy at the start of Homer’s Iliad entailed the sacrifice of Agamemnon’s daughter Iphigenia, to whom the name and circumstances of Amurack’s daughter are somewhat similar, even though Iphigina is not the invader’s but the conquered enemy’s daughter, and in her case the ‘sacrifice’ is of her virginity to the victorious enemy rather than her death. Further in the play, the intervention of the Amazonian queen Fausta and her armies in support of the Turks (5.1 and 5.2) can

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be seen as reminiscent of Penthesilea’s intervention and defeat on the Trojans’ side in Homer’s epic. Finally, when the Turks are overcome and Amurack has to acknowledge his defeat, he submits himself to Alphonsus by wishing him to ‘live King Nestor’s years’ (5.2.329), a reference to the oldest of the Greek victors of Troy. As far as I am aware, none of Alphonsus’s editors has tried to find an explanation for these persistent Trojan allusions. Collins dismisses their overall effect as ‘a phantasmagorical medley’,62 while Storojenko finds fault with the play’s ‘strange conglomeration of epochs’.63 But I believe these allusions serve, not just to classicise but also to a certain extent to familiarise the Turks by recalling the legend of their Trojan origin. This was a minority view still held by at least one Renaissance author against the dominant theory of the Turks’ more threatening ‘obscure and base’ origin in Scythia or further east, which is better known to the readers of Richard Knolles’s The Generall Historie of the Turkes (1603).64 According to Terence Spencer, besides the fact that from the late thirteenth century the Turks occupied a geographical space formerly inhabited by the Trojans, the confusion between the two nations may have had its origin in the similarity of the terms Teucri, used by Virgil to refer to the Trojans, and Turci, which is the Latin word for ‘Turks’. An early example of this conflation quoted by Spencer is Isidore of Kiev’s account of the siege of Constantinople (1453), which contains a description of Mahomet II as ‘Teucrorum princeps et dominus’ (‘prince and chief of the Trojans’).65 Following the rise and decline of this legend in fifteenthcentury European thinking, James G. Harper believes that, for a time, it may have served both the purpose of dignifying the new victors with a noble origin, and of making them less terrifying by suggesting that, once the Turks had fulfilled their destiny as the descendants of the Trojans, they might settle down.66 By the end of the sixteenth century, the hope had of course long vanished, but vestiges of this alternative myth of origins are still visible in some Elizabethan works. In this respect, it is worth noticing that, besides accounting for the Trojan connections of the Turks in Alphonsus, the legend may also explain a number of similarly neglected allusions in the drama of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. One may think, for example, of Pistol’s ‘Base Phrygian Turks!’ in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1.3.83),67 which many editors either acknowledge for ‘one of the “Phrygian mysteries”’68 or rather uninformatively gloss as ‘a term of abuse’.69 The classicised and romanticised Turks of Alphonsus convey very little of the fear which accompanies the portrayals of the ‘present terror[s] of the world’ in contemporary accounts of wars on the fringes of Europe.

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At the most, Calchas’s surplice and cardinal’s mitre as his ghost is conjured at the court of the Great Turk (3.2.91SD) may briefly evoke Luther’s assimilation of the Pope and the Turk as two incarnations of Antichrist, within and without Christendom.70 But this markedly Roman Catholic note is as fleeting in the play as the appearance put in by the Turk’s janissaries, merely providing local colour here in a single stage direction at the start of 4.3. The costumes for Amurack and his janissaries, the elite corps admired and feared in the reports of the sultan’s armies, may have introduced additional Turkish stereotypes onstage, in the same way as the ‘Turkish cap, / A black mustachio and a fauchion’ mentioned by Hieronimo as the costume notes needed for the part of Soliman in the play-within-the-play of The Spanish Tragedy (4.1.144–5),71 or ‘thy croune thy robe / & semeter’ which Bacon snatches away from the Great Turk Amurack/ Amewroth in John of Bordeaux (ll. 171–2).72 But as it is, neither the stage directions nor the dialogues in Alphonsus provide any such explicit details about the Turks and their costumes. The one characteristic that is foregrounded in the portrayal of the Turks in Alphonsus is their religious faith, introduced as early as Amurack’s first speech, in which he invokes Mahomet in his words of welcome and comfort to Belinus (3.2.6). But, as noted by Matthew Dimmock, Greene ‘chooses to return to an essentially “medieval” conception of the Ottomans and Islam in order that simpler oppositions may be imposed’.73 By ‘medieval’ is meant a representation of Muslim beliefs mostly inherited from propagandist writings dating back to the Crusades, such as Raoul de Caen’s Gesta Tancredi (c. 1112–31), describing how Tancred’s armies found and destroyed a silver idol of Mahomet in the temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.74 In such accounts, as well as in the Carolingian Chansons de Geste translated into English in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Islam is not the aniconic (and anti-iconic), priestless religion of the prophet called Muhammad, but either an extension of ancient paganism or a heretical distortion of Christianity, based on the worship of an unholy trinity of idols, Apollyon, Tervagant and Mahomet.75 Accordingly, the ‘medievalised’ Mahomet of Alphonsus (4.1) is a fire-breathing, oraclepronouncing idol served by two terrified priests. His apparent function is to help the Turks by giving them superior knowledge about the future, but as in many Saracen romances, such as the anonymous fifteenth-century Sultan of Babylone, the one and only true function of this false god is to lead his own people to their defeat.76 At once fantastic and menacing with his fire-spitting appearance, and comic and down-to-earth through his propensity to take offence and his consulting with his priests over the

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prophecy which will make him even with Amurack (4.1.24ff), Mahomet’s intervention discredits the Turks and provides from the start the vicious circle which renders their defeat inevitable. Indeed, it is because Amurack, foreseeing his god’s treacherous prophecy in a dream magically inspired by Medea, curses Mahomet in his sleep (3.2.129–30) that the latter takes offence and decides to prophesy in such a treacherous manner. Beyond his spectacular appearance, Mahomet’s main contribution to the play is therefore to provide the conditions for what Daniel calls the ‘Tervagant convention’ in Saracen romances, that is to say an obligatory scene of renunciation in which the Muslim leader, disappointed by his gods, publicly rejects them and offers to destroy their statues as a preliminary to (or an acknowledgement of) the Christians’ utter triumph.77 As an illustration, Chew quotes the following passage from The Sultan of Babylone, in which the defeated Sultan Laban orders his idols to be brought before him and beaten: ‘Fye upon thee, Appolyn. Thou shalt have an evil end. And much sorrow shall come to thee also, Termagant. And as for thee, Mahound, Lord of all the rest, thou art not worth a mouse’s turd.’78 A similar fate awaits Mahomet in Amurack’s prescient dream in Alphonsus: And dost thou think, thou proud, injurious god, Mahound I mean, since thy vain prophecies Led Amurack into this doleful case, To have his princely feet in irons clapped, Which erst the proudest kings were forced to kiss, That thou shall scape unpunished for the same? No, no, as soon as by the help of Jove I scape this bondage, down go all thy groves, Thy altars tumble round about the streets, And whereas erst we sacrificed to thee, Now all the Turks thy mortal foes shall be! (3.2.129–39)

This preordained renunciation is what makes the Turks assimilable on Christian terms and paves the way for the happy union of Iphigina and Alphonsus, through which the Christian hero legitimately inherits Amurack’s empire. Many of the images of Islam in early modern works of fiction are ‘imaginary resolutions of real anxieties about Islamic wealth and might’, writes Daniel Vitkus.79 By reversing the actual Ottoman advances on Europe in the sixteenth century into both a territorial and a cultural conquest of his classicised Turks and medievalised Muslims by a largely fabricated Christian hero, Greene’s rewriting of history offers such a resolution to his audiences within the realms of fantasy and romance.

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Forays into the Shakespearean margin This survey of Alphonsus in its cultural context would not be complete without a reference to a possible parodic reworking of the main character and his style in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, composed around the time of Creede’s publication of Greene’s play in 1599. Even the head title The Comicall History of the Merchant of Venice in the first quarto version of 1600 (sig. A2r) could be considered a generic nod to The Comical History of Alphonsus, King of Aragon. In fact, few of Greene’s contemporary dramatists could be said to have borrowed more from his works than the ‘upstart crow’ whom he venomously accused of ‘beautifying’ himself with the University Wits’ feathers.80 A well-known later example of this debt is of course the plot of The Winter’s Tale, largely based on that of Greene’s Pandosto, and several other passing references to Greene, including Hamlet’s ‘beautified Ophelia’ (2.2.109), are suspected by Stephen Greenblatt.81 But Shakespeare’s earlier production also contains many nodding references, mostly in parodic form, to both the material and the style of Tamburlaine and his ‘weak sons’, as in 2 Henry IV, in which Pistol’s bombastic outbursts contain rather explicit mocking references to Tamburlaine’s ‘pampered jades of Asia’, ‘Hiren the Greek’ of Peele’s lost play of The Turkish Mahomet and Hiren the Fair Greek, and the ‘fair Caliopolis’ episode of The Battle of Alcazar (2.4.161, 172, 176). In The Merchant of Venice, Nicholas Brooke sees parodic renderings of Marlovian heroism through the characters of Portia’s ineffectual suitors, the Princes of Morocco and Aragon.82 In his opinion, Morocco’s self-identification with Hercules/Alcides (2.1.35) recalls Marlowe’s ‘Herculean hero’ Tamburlaine,83 while Aragon’s confidence in his own deserts evokes Guise’s ‘What glory is there in a common good, / That hangs for every peasant to achieve?’ (The Massacre at Paris, Scene 2, ll. 97–8). Though finding his suggestions plausible, I believe that Morocco’s offer to ‘mock the lion when a roars for prey, / To win the lady’ (2.1.29–31) more closely parodies the abovementioned ‘fair Caliopolis’ episode in The Battle of Alcazar, in which Muly Mahamet, the usurper of the throne of Morocco, steals a lion’s prey to feed his fainting lady while they are stranded in the desert (2.3.70ff).84 Following on the heels of Morocco in Belmont, the Prince of Aragon can in turn be seen to complete the picture, both as another of Tamburlaine’s epigones making a cameo appearance in the play and as one more inappropriate stereotyped suitor for Portia. ‘Brisk, assertive, and ludicrously (because so wrongheadedly) sententious’ in the words of Lawrence Danson,85 Aragon recalls the worst of Greene’s hero in his conceitedness. But his many metrical imperfections, with nearly half his pentameters being out of joint, and his excessive taste for

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anaphoras and parallel structures also evoke some of the most blatant of Greene’s stylistic failures in Alphonsus, as is exemplified by the following quotations: Alphonsus’ fame unto the heavens should climb, Alphonsus’ fame, that man of Jove his seed. (Alphonsus, 1.Prol.20–1) How much unlike thou art to Portia! How much unlike my hopes and my deservings! (The Merchant of Venice, 2.9.55–6) And all his acts drowned in oblivion. And all his acts drowned in oblivion? (Alphonsus, 1.Prol.30–1) How many then should cover that stand bare, How many be commanded that command? (The Merchant of Venice, 2.9.55–6)

In the latter part of his scene in The Merchant of Venice, Aragon’s propensity to pick up the doggerel rhythm and rhymes of the scroll in the casket and to speak his final lines in that style may further be construed as a parodic nod to Greene’s well-remembered knack for plagiarising other authors’ successful recipes. One overall effect of Morocco and Aragon’s scenes in Shakespeare’s play may thus be to evoke two inferior standards parodied from the wellknown works of rival predecessors, so as to invite us to measure against these foils the superiority of both Shakespeare’s own style and his alternative suitor for Portia. Soliman and Perseda Authorship, date, staging Soliman and Perseda was first entered on the Stationers’ Register on 20 November 1592. The undated quarto of the play, on which the present edition is based, is generally assumed to have been printed not long after this entry. It was printed by Edward Allde and published by Edward White. It is worth noticing that The Spanish Tragedy, entered only a few weeks before Soliman, on 6 October 1592, has a similarly undated edition printed by Allde and published by White.86 This is only the first of a long series of connections and coincidences linking the two plays together and constituting the basis for the attribution of Soliman to Thomas Kyd who has been considered, ever since an allusion in Thomas Heywood’s Apology for Actors (1612), as the probable author of The Spanish Tragedy.

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2  Title-page of The Tragedye of Solyman and Perseda (n.d.)

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Kyd’s authorship of Soliman was first specifically suggested by Thomas Hawkins in his 1773 The Origin of the English Drama.87 His claim was founded on the coincidence of the play’s plot with that of Hieronimo’s play-within-the-play of ‘Soliman and Perseda’ in The Spanish Tragedy. Both versions are based on the first of the five tales in A Courtlie Controversie of Cupids Cautels (1578), itself an English translation by Henry Wotton of Jacques Yver’s Printemps d’Yver (Paris, 1572). Also arguing for Kyd’s authorship, Frederick Boas noted that Francis Coldocke, who, along with Henry Bynneman, printed Cupid’s Cautels, was a close friend of Thomas Kyd’s father, a scrivener.88 Arthur Freeman adds to this argument by noticing that no other playwright of the era uses either Wotton’s compilation or its continental original as a source.89 Although by no means unconvincing, the case for attributing Soliman to Kyd primarily rests on Heywood’s allusion and is mostly supported by internal evidence. In this respect, Boas mentions various parallels in dramatic structure between Soliman and The Spanish Tragedy, for example with the repartee between Erastus and Perseda (Soliman, 2.1) and between Balthazar and Bel-Imperia (The Spanish Tragedy, 1.4), or with the rescue at the point of death of Perseda (Soliman, 4.1) and of Alexandro (The Spanish Tragedy, 3.1).90 He further notices how both works depart from Wotton’s plot in their conclusions with, for example, Perseda/Bel-Imperia not getting killed by Turkish bullets as in the original source, but contriving more directly the means both of Soliman/Balthazar’s death and her own. The two plays are equally similar in their choice of a superstructure of allegorical figures (Love, Fortune and Death in Soliman, Revenge keeping company with Andrea’s ghost in The Spanish Tragedy) acting as chorus and returning regularly to comment on the action. Both Boas and Félix Carrère (although the latter does not believe in Kyd’s authorship of Soliman)91 also provide long lists of verbal echoes between the two plays, as well as between Soliman and Cornelia (1594), Kyd’s translation of a French original by Robert Garnier (Paris, 1574). Most of those verbal coincidences are included in the notes to the present edition. It would be tedious to repeat them all, but a few meaningful examples can be quoted here: What boots complaining where’s no remedy? (Soliman, 5.2.86) What boots complaint, when there’s no remedy? (The Spanish Tragedy, 1.4.92)92 Ah no, my nightly dreams foretold me this. (Soliman, 5.3.25)

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Ay, ay, my nightly dreams have told me this. (The Spanish Tragedy, 1.3.76) Fair springing rose, ill-plucked before thy time! (Soliman, 5.4.81) Sweet lovely rose, ill-pluck’d before thy time. (The Spanish Tragedy, 2.5.46) For whom weep you? Ah, for Fernando’s dying! For whom mourn you? Ah, for Erastus’ flying! (Soliman, 3.2.17–18) ’Tis I that love. Whom? Bel-Imperia. But I that fear. Whom? Bel-Imperia. (The Spanish Tragedy, 3.10.96–7)

Both Boas and James E. Routh underline that metrical characteristics, such as the frequency of three regular rhyme schemes (aca, abab and aaa) in The Spanish Tragedy, Soliman and Perseda and Cornelia, strengthen the argument in favour of Kyd’s authorship of all three works.93 Routh attributes the unusual frequency of these rhyme patterns to the influence of Garnier’s French strophes on Kyd, not just in his translation but also in his two earlier works.94 Further arguments in favour of Kyd’s authorship of Soliman have been put forward in recent years by Thomas Merriam and MacDonald Jackson, based on computer-assisted analysis.95 To conclude on the issue of authorship, in the absence of any definitive external proof, we can tentatively, yet plausibly, attribute Soliman to Kyd. The attribution is equally accepted as the most likely option by the play’s latest editor, Lukas Erne for the Malone Society Reprints.96 The only alternative name suggested as the author of Soliman is that of George Peele.97 The hypothesis is based on a single passage in the apocryphal The Merry Conceited Jests of George Peele (published in 1607), in which Peele’s persona reports that, while he was short of money in Bristol, he made the citizens pay to watch a play of his called The Knight of Rhodes, a title which may be reminiscent of Soliman and Perseda. But the jest ends in Peele’s fleeing with the money while the play does not actually get performed, so that its very existence remains debatable.98 Closely related to the issue of Soliman’s authorship is the question of the order of composition of Soliman and The Spanish Tragedy. One could

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be tempted to believe that Hieronimo’s playlet in The Spanish Tragedy takes up a recent stage success possibly written by the same author. Yet a closer look at the playlet’s details reveals a greater proximity to Wotton’s original than to Soliman, such as the fact that the Bashaw (whose part is played by Hieronimo himself) remains a stereotyped villain as in Wotton’s version, rather than receiving the more complex and, if not quite sympathetic, at least duly motivated characterisation with which Brusor is provided in Soliman. Therefore, following Boas’s persuasive argument on the more elaborate treatment of Wotton’s material in Soliman,99 I agree with him and most later critics, including Freeman and Erne, who believe that Soliman is likely to have been an attempt to capitalise on the prior success of The Spanish Tragedy.100 Erne further suggests that the publication of the two plays by the same stationer at close interval may have been motivated by Kyd’s selling the two manuscripts to White at the same time, since the two plays were unlikely to have been owned by the same company.101 Performances of The Spanish Tragedy by the Lord Strange’s Men (probably at the Rose Theatre) are recorded in 1592 in Henslowe’s Diary,102 while Soliman and Perseda is never mentioned by him and is likely to have been owned by the Earl of Pembroke’s Men, who may have played it at Court, as is suggested by the compliment to the Queen as ‘sacred Cynthia’ in the play’s epilogue.103 Beyond its obvious connection with The Spanish Tragedy (c. 1582–92), Soliman offers a whole network of echoes linking it to plays both before and after it, and those echoes help us date it more closely than just through the terminus a quo of the publication of Cupids Cautels (1578) and the terminus ad quem of the Stationers’ Register’s entry (1592). Chief among those plays is again Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine. Several scholars, including Freeman and Erne, note that a comic episode in Soliman involving the braggart knight Basilisco and the mischievous servant Piston pricking his backside with a pin could be a parody of the very solemn passage in 2 Tamburlaine in which the eponymous hero evokes the dart of death about to hit him:104 Tamburlaine.  See where my slave, the ugly monster Death    Shaking and quivering, pale and wan for fear,    Stands aiming at me with his murdering dart,    Who flies away at every glance I give,    And when I look away, comes stealing on. (2 Tamburlaine, 5.3.67–71) Basilisco.  Why, sawst thou not how Cupid, god of love,    Not daring look me in the martial face,    Came like a coward stealing after me,    And with his pointed dart pricked my posteriors? (Soliman, 4.2.45–8)

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Another possible parody is worth mentioning here, with Techelles’s line ‘Our swords shall play the orators for us’ in 1 Tamburlaine (1.2.132) which seems to me to be remembered in Basilisco’s boast at the opening tournament, as he points to his sword with the following words: ‘I fight not with my tongue: this is my oratrix’ (Soliman, 1.2.69). Erne further notices that the reference to the siege of Rhodes in Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta (c. 1589) could have been inspired by Soliman.105 Indeed, the Spanish admiral Del Bosco’s ‘not a man survived / To bring the hapless news to Christendom’ (The Jew of Malta, 2.2.50–1) is not consistent with the historical accounts of the siege, at the end of which the knights surrendered on terms and were allowed by the Turks to leave Rhodes.106 It is rather reminiscent of the ending in Soliman in which the dying Sultan orders a general massacre: ‘Let me see Rhodes recovered ere I die! / Soldiers, assault the town on every side, / Spoil all, kill all, let none escape your fury!’ (5.4.119–21). It has also been suggested, by both Freeman and Erne, that Soliman’s framing chorus of Love, Fortune and Death may have been inspired by a similar choric device in the anonymous Rare Triumphs of Love and Fortune, an older romance play (c. 1582) which was first printed in 1589, also for Edward White.107 The argument is not conclusive in itself since, as Freeman acknowledges, the frame story in Soliman could equally be an elaboration on the following lines from the lovers’ epitaph at the end of Wotton’s version of their story: ‘By Fortune, Envie, and by Death, / This couple caughte their bane.’108 Yet, corroborated by the Jew of Malta allusion, this reference can encourage us to consider 1589 as a possible date of composition for Soliman. This hypothesis is strengthened by a potential echo of The Battle of Alcazar (c. 1589) in Soliman, with Erastus’s description of ‘The Moor upon his hot barbarian horse’ (1.1.56) recalling the Soldier’s account of Muly Mahamet’s last moments in Alcazar: ‘He mounteth on a hot Barbarian horse’ (5.1.239). Freeman’s other suggested echoes and parallels, which seem less convincing to me, include the names of the Sultan’s brothers Haleb and Amurath in Soliman (1.4) which according to him may find a parallel in the names of two secondary characters in Selimus (c. 1590–91), the courtier Hali Bassa and Selimus’s nephew Amurath.109 But besides the fact that the borrowing could work both ways between the two plays, the two names are fairly commonplace in the writings of the time, especially since Murad III (reg. 1574–95) was the incumbent sultan. Almost alone among scholars who have worked on the dating of Soliman, T.W. Baldwin attributes to its composition a much earlier, preArmada date, on the grounds that the Spanish Knight and Spanish bravery could not be praised (as he contends they are in 1.2) in a play written after 1587–88.110 But his argument does not seem convincing to me, as

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it would hardly have been conceivable to see the tournament in Rhodes with its representatives of the prominent nations of the West without the presence of a single Spaniard in it. As it is, in Soliman the Spanish Knight enters after both the English and the French knights, preceding only the Turkish Brusor. As for the single feat he mentions, that is to say his killing of a German challenger with a single shot at the age of fourteen, it is much less impressive than the others’ achievements, such as the Englishman’s taking the standard from the King of France on the battlefield, or Brusor’s having thrice been commander in chief against the Sophy’s armies and having marched in conquest over both Asia and Africa, a passage which, again, could be reminiscent of 2 Tamburlaine, in particular of Techelles’s description of his African triumphs (1.3.186–205). Death’s reference to ‘Cynthia’s friend’ in the closing lines of Soliman (Epilogue.34–41) has suggested Court performance to both Baldwin and Erne, but it is not in itself indicative of any specific date for the play. Following his hypothesis of an early date, Baldwin claims the play for the Admiral’s Men, whose last recorded pre-Armada performances at Court took place on 27 December 1585 and 6 January 1586, allowing a twenty-year-old Edward Alleyn to play the part of a twenty-year-old Erastus.111 Meanwhile, Erne argues for a Court performance on either 26 December 1592 or 6 January 1593, with Pembroke’s Men acting it shortly after the play was entered on the Stationers’ Register (on 20 November 1592), which could explain why the Court performance was not advertised on the title-page.112 His suggestion is based on inter-play borrowings connecting Soliman to the True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York printed in 1595 and claiming on its title-page to have been acted by Pembroke’s Men.113 Erne’s hypothesis would agree with a late reference in Thomas Dekker’s Satiromastix (1601), in which the character of Tucca claims he played ‘Zulziman’ (a possible deformation of ‘Soliman’) at Paris Garden, that is to say the Swan Theatre built in 1595, where Pembroke’s Men acted from 1597 on and where a revival of Soliman could have been staged by its then proprietors. But there is no indication of auspices on the title-pages of either Soliman’s undated edition or its 1599 edition. Another character from the play, Basilisco, is also remembered in a line spoken by the Bastard in Shakespeare’s King John, composed sometime in the mid-1590s: ‘Knight, knight, good mother, Basilisco-like!’ (1.1.244). One last connection links the play to a non-dramatic text, which is John Donne’s ‘Elegy 11: The Bracelet’. Helen Gardner, following Herbert Grierson, considers that Donne’s poem may contain references to the loss and recovery of Perseda’s chain offered to Erastus, in particular

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with this evocation of the Crier recalling a similar episode in Soliman, 1.3.26–58:114 Oh be content that some loud squeaking crier Well-pleased with one lean threadbare groat, for hire, May like a devil roar through every street, And gall the finder’s conscience, if they meet. (ll. 55–8)

Gardner uses this element in conjunction with the poem’s other reference to ‘libells, or some interdicted thing, / Which negligently kept, thy ruine bringe’ (ll. 101–2), which she considers to be a reference to the notorious case of Kyd’s arrest in 1593 and the charge of atheism brought against him after compromising documents were found in his possession. This brings her to assign the date of 1593–94 to Donne’s poem, and it also strengthens the case in favour of Kyd’s authorship of Soliman, but the poem’s other allusions to the current political situation in France, Scotland and the Low Countries are too vague to help us any further in dating Soliman. In conclusion, if the terminus ad quem for Soliman remains the 1592 entry in the Stationers’ Register, we can take the play’s belonging to the post-Tamburlainian vogue of Turkish plays, as well as its direct parody of 2 Tamburlaine as indicative of a terminus a quo in 1588, with the Jew of Malta and Battle of Alcazar references suggesting 1589 as the likeliest date for its composition. Sources As seen in the above section, the main source for Soliman is the first tale in Henry Wotton’s A Courtlie Controversie of Cupid’s Cautels (1578), itself a translation from the French Printemps d’Yver (1572) by Jacques Yver, with its earlier versions going back to Jacques Fontaine’s De Bello Rhodio (1524).115 Yet the play offers a number of significant additions to Wotton’s storyline, which suggest the presence of some secondary influences. As mentioned earlier, the presence of the framing chorus in Soliman may have been motivated by a similar device in The Rare Triumphs of Love and Fortune. Yet we must remember that framing choruses, especially those involving a generic contention between allegorical figures representing tragedy, history or romantic comedy, are frequent throughout the Elizabethan period. The chorus of Venus and the Muses in Alphonsus, written in the same years as Soliman and also edited in this volume, is another example of that trend, and so is the somewhat later disputation of Comedy, History and Tragedy in the anonymous A Warning for Fair Women (1599).116

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Among the other additions to Wotton’s storyline in Soliman are 1.4 briefly introducing the Sultan’s brothers and staging a double fratricide which has no historical grounding, and 4.2 describing Basilisco’s conversion to Islam and his circumcision. Such sensational details of the Turks’ cruelties and religious customs are common in sixteenth-century accounts of them, such as Hugh Gough’s translation of Bartholomew Georgiewitz’s The Ofspring of the House of Ottomanno (1569), which besides an account of the rituals related to a circumcision (sig. D1r–D3v), has an appendix devoted to ‘The horrible acte, and wicked offence of Soltan Solimam [sic] Emperour of the Turkes, in murtheringe his eldest sonne Mustapha, the yeare of our Lorde. 1553’ (sig. J5r–M3v). Closer to the date of Soliman, we may also think of the English edition of Francis Billerbeg’s Most Rare and Straunge Discourses, of Amurathe the Turkish Emperor (1584) and its appendix devoted to ‘The true description of the magnificall Tryumphes and Pastimes, represented at Constantinople, at the solemnizing of the Circumcision of the Soldan Mauhmet [sic], the sonne of Amurath, the thyrd of that name, in the yeere of our Lorde God 1582’. It may also be worth mentioning, as a dramatic analogue to the fratricide in Soliman, the one taking place in the contemporary play of Selimus which, as we saw above, has also two character names closely resembling those of the Sultan’s brothers in our play. Other accounts of circumcisions or Turk-turning ceremonies are found in much later plays, most notably Robert Daborne’s A Christian Turned Turk (c. 1609–10) and Philip Massinger’s The Renegado (c. 1623–24), but I have not seen any earlier example. The most important additions of Soliman to the material in Cupid’s Cautels are the episodes involving the comic characters of Basilisco and Piston, in whom Erne sees distant descendants of Plautus’s miles gloriosus (later the Capitano of commedia dell’arte) and the witty slave of Roman comedy.117 Closer to home, the two characters recall the mock-hero Ralph Roister Doister in Nicholas Udall’s eponymous play (c. 1553), accompanied by the parasite Matthew Merrygreek. Freeman notes as an additional influence Luigi Pasqualigo’s Il Fedele (1576), translated into English before 1584 by Anthony Munday under the title of Two Italian Gentlemen, or Fedele and Fortunio, in which the bragging, but cowardly character of Captain Crack-stone wooing the heroine Victoria closely resembles Basilisco, while Pedante the parasite, servant to Fedele, may have served as a model for Piston.118 We may add to this hypothesis by mentioning that at least one mock-salutation, ‘Basilus Codpeece for an olde Manus’ in Munday’s play (1.1.50, sig. B1v),119 may involve a similar joke to ‘I meant nothing but a Basolus Manus’ in Soliman (4.2.36), when Piston gives Basilisco ‘the privy stab’ (l. 37).

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Although connections are hard to establish for plays with both uncertain dates and disputed authors, we cannot help but notice that Basilisco and Piston have their equivalents in Locrine (c. 1591), with the two comic characters of the braggart Strumbo and his man Trompart. Commenting on the many comic coinages of these different characters, such as Trompart’s ‘you cockatrices and you bablatrices’ (Locrine, l. 911),120 Strumbo’s ‘Ile giue you a canuasado with a bastinano’ (Locrine, ll. 632–3), Piston’s ‘Ferdinando had the prickado’ (Soliman, 2.2.22) and Basilisco’s ‘this is my oratrix’ (Soliman, 1.2.69), Nick de Somogyi sees in them an English merging of the type figures of the Braggart and the Pedant, or the Capitano and the Dottore of commedia dell’arte, announcing also Shakespeare’s Falstaff and Pistol to come in the following years.121 Don Armado in Love’s Labour’s Lost also comes to mind as another example of that merging. All these additional elements greatly contribute to Soliman’s peculiar generic mix, for which Erne even coins a new term, ‘comitragic’, implying the use of comic material to reach a tragic outcome.122 Launching at the ‘comitragic’ frontier Much of the dramatic force of Soliman and Perseda is paradoxically based on its being, as Jeremy Lopez aptly calls it, a ‘drama of disappointment’, introducing stereotypes mostly to deconstruct them so as to break new ground in dramatic potentialities and pathos.123 The play’s opening revisits the chivalric and romantic fantasy of an international tournament transcending the cultural boundaries of difference, but it undermines it from the start by revealing the Turkish champion to be a spy. Erastus’s victory establishes him as the heroic knightly figure, only to change him into a traitor who turns his back on his homeland and serves the Turks. The play also introduces Perseda as the stock figure of the delicate and loving heroine, but the vengeful cruelty she eventually exercises in stabbing Lucina when learning how the latter’s beloved Brusor caused Erastus’s fall, jars with that picture. The barbarousness of the act in 5.3 is felt even more through the contrasting attitude of Basilisco, whose refusal to commit the murder pushes Perseda to do it herself. For Freeman, this mixed scene brings out both the seriousness of Perseda’s transgression and ‘the essential humaneness of the comic crew, caught up in the web of tragic intrigue’.124 What is true of Basilisco, an essentially comic character cast in a tragic context, equally applies to the other comic character of the play, Erastus’s servant Piston. Accompanying Perseda on her final confrontation with Soliman, both sidekicks offer not comic relief but downright pathos. As Erne notes, Basilisco dies with Perseda’s kiss and Kyd’s iambic pentameter

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on his lips,125 while Piston dares a moving, albeit short, lament (5.4.75–7) for which he pays with his life. The unprepared and unmotivated killings of the two clownish characters make us go even further in horror by showing how triumphant tragedy swallows even those very last helpless patches of comedy. Building on this reading, Lopez notes a parallel in both structure and content between Basilisco’s ‘Where is … where is …’ speech following the death of Lucina (5.3.63–81) and Death’s own final ‘Where is … where is …’ triumph over Love and Fortune (Epilogue.14–29).126 His suggestion that the two parts may have been played by the same actor is most tempting.127 It would add a twist beyond the completion of the plot itself, putting in perspective the seemingly utter victory of the allegorical character of Death, who on the one hand can be said to have subsumed even a comic figure turned into its final spokesperson, and on the other hand can be considered paradoxically downplayed by that comic figure brought back to life in order to speak the play’s epilogue while wearing Death’s own robes. Keeping to the end a precarious balance between the principles of life and death, comedy and tragedy, with the allegorical figure of Death both triumphing and bowing down before ‘sacred Cynthia’s friend’ in the final line of the epilogue, Soliman and Perseda thus proves a fascinating experiment in ‘con-quering’ (querying with) generic boundaries and pushing them back. The Four Prentices of London Authorship, date, staging The earliest known edition of The Four Prentices of London is the 1615 quarto printed for I.W. (John Wright) and naming Thomas Heywood as the author on its title-page, as well as including an epistle to the reader signed by Heywood himself. Used as copy text for the present edition, it will henceforth be referred to as Q1. A second edition, referred to here as Q2, was printed by Nicholas Okes in 1632, and claimed on its title-page to be ‘Written and newly revised by THOMAS HEYWOOD’. Despite this claim, it presents few departures from the Q1 text. The changes mostly concern simple corrections in spelling and sense, which could be attributable to the printer or the typesetter, making Q2 qualify overall as a reprint, rather than a fully revised edition. In the introduction to her edition of the play, Mary Ann Weber Gasior discusses the most significant of those changes, which is the substitution of an ‘Ey’ for a ‘Zounds’ (6.21), in accordance with the 1606 Statute against profanity on stage.128 No other early modern edition is known.

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3  Title-page of The Foure Prentises of London (1615)

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If Heywood’s authorship is beyond doubt, the play’s date is subject to conjecture. According to the 1615 epistle, The Four Prentices of London was Heywood’s very first play, since the author explicitly refers to it as ‘my infancy of judgement in this kind of poetry, and my first practice’. He excuses the play’s (many) shortcomings on the grounds that ‘as plays were then some fifteen or sixteen years ago, it was in the fashion’. This quotation has sometimes been taken to mean that the play was actually written around 1599, while it merely states that it was successful at that time. The date could very well correspond to a revival, which may or may not have involved rewriting of the play’s original material. An earlier date of composition could relate the play to a 19 June 1594 entry in the Stationers’ Register, at a time when Heywood would have been in his early twenties and at the very start of his career as a writer: ‘an enterlude entituled Godfrey of Bulloigne with the Conquest of Jerusalem’, registered for John Danter, a printer best remembered for the first edition of Titus Andronicus in 1594 and the pirate, bad quarto of Romeo and Juliet in 1597. Danter’s registered title is close to the full title that we now have for Heywood’s play, that is to say The Four Prentices of London, with the Conquest of Jerusalem, but both are different from the title included in Q1’s prologue, which is True and Strange, or The Four Prentices of London. If Heywood himself was responsible for the later change of title, this leaves room for the possibility of his revising the material over the years, while the play registered by Danter is not likely to be The Four Prentices in its final form, all the more since the 1615 epistle deplores its hasty publication ‘in such a forwardness ere it came to my knowledge, that it was past prevention’. Still according to the epistle, the publication came ‘short of that accurateness both in plot and style’ that the author would have wished later in his career. All this suggests a first publication in the play’s current form in 1615, rather than a re-edition of a work already available in print many years before and that the author would have had ample time to revise. But Danter’s registered title from 1594 is also very similar to two play titles appearing in Henslowe’s Diary. The first is ‘Jerusalem’, mentioned as performed by the Lord Strange’s Men at the Rose Theatre on 22 March and 25 April 1592.129 The second is the ‘2 pte of godfrey of bullen’, first performed by the Admiral’s Men at the Rose on 19 July 1594, and marked by Henslowe as ‘ne’, possibly meaning ‘new’.130 If this was indeed a new play, it may have been timed to capitalise on the success of an old Jerusalem play (not marked ‘ne’ even in 1592) which Danter had registered shortly before. Could the new 1594 play be a first version of Heywood’s The Four Prentices, or did he later revise either or both the 1592 and 1594 plays to produce the one that we have today and which could have

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been staged around 1599? Did Danter print the play which he had registered, and which may or may not have included part of Heywood’s material? All this is subject to conjecture, but an additional element which may plead in favour of an early date of composition for The Four Prentices is Frances Meres’s inclusion of Heywood’s name among our ‘best for Comedy’ in his Palladis Tamia of 1598.131 If Heywood’s reputation as a dramatist was established by 1598, and if by his own confession in the 1615 epistle The Four Prentices was his first theatrical attempt, then the play must have existed in some form early in his career, around the time when he allegedly composed the narrative poem Oenone and Paris. Significantly, the 1594 edition of Oenone and Paris also opens with an epistle to the reader signed ‘T.H.’, in which the author presents his work in terms similar to those of The Four Prentices’s 1615 epistle, referring to it as ‘the first fruits of my indeuours, and the Maiden heade of my Pen’. Therefore, in the absence of more conclusive evidence, we may risk the hypothesis that Heywood composed at least a first version of The Four Prentices, his first play, by 1594, as a response to a different ‘Jerusalem’ play already existing in 1592, which may or may not have been printed by John Danter following the Stationers’ Register’s entry in 1594. The Four Prentices was possibly revised, or at least revived, around 1599, before being finally published for the first time in its current form in 1615. If 1594 is retained as the likely date for the composition of The Four Prentices, the twelve performances of ‘2 pte of godfrey of bullen’ by the Admiral’s Men at the Rose correspond to the play’s first stagings, starting on 19 July, for which the highest of the collected sums for this play – £3 11s – is recorded by Henslowe, and running till 16 September 1595.132 Several revivals can be inferred from surviving documents left over the subsequent years. One possible revival is sometimes inferred from the 8s loan to the company that Henslowe records on 3 September 1602 ‘to bye iiij Lances for the comody of thomas hewedes & mr smythes’.133 That ‘Mr Smith’ is possibly Wentworth Smith, known to have collaborated with Heywood on a number of other plays in 1602,134 but his name is nowhere else associated to The Four Prentices, so the purchase is more likely to have concerned another play. A more convincing proof of revival is the abovementioned 1615 epistle to the reader in Q1, recalling that the play was in fashion ‘some fifteen or sixteen years ago’. Q1’s title-page also boasts that the play ‘hath bene diuerse times Acted, at the Red Bull, by the Queenes Maiesties Seruants’. This is consistent with the often quoted reference to Heywoood’s play in Francis Beaumont’s The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607), in which the Citizen advises a boy actor to ‘read the play of the Foure Prentices of London, where they tosse their pikes

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so’ (4.1.53–5).135 The quotation refers to the lances episode from The Four Prentices which appears to have enjoyed fame long before being pictured on the title-page of the 1615 edition. A revival around 1606 at the Red Bull, a theatre which was specifically associated with rowdy apprentice audiences, could also suggest interesting connections with another adventure play set in the East, that is to say Day, Wilkins and Rowley’s The Travels of the Three English Brothers, first revived there on 29 June 1607. The latter play shares with The Four Prentices its episodic nature and the trope of the brothers separated in their travels and discovered in dumb show in different parts of the Earth. The finale of The Travels of the Three English Brothers, with its promise of the forthcoming christening of Robert Sherley’s child with the Sophy acting as godfather, is also remembered in the same scene in The Knight of the Burning Pestle (4.1.32–5). It is further worth noticing that the induction in The Four Prentices requires three doors for three prologues, just as the epilogue in The Travels of the Three English Brothers necessitates the use of three doors for the three brothers. If the Red Bull was a theatre with three doors, this could buttress Martin Wiggins’s hypothesis that The Four Prentices’s induction was added at the occasion of such a revival, since the rest of the play suggests the use of only two doors.136 Several decades later, the Red Bull revival of The Four Prentices – or its fame at least – finds its way into A Satire Against Separatists, a pseudonymous anti-Puritan pamphlet attributed to Peter Hausted or Abraham Cowley and first published in 1660, which contains the following mockery: ‘Go on brave Heroes, and performe the rost [sic], / Increase your fame each day a yard at least, / ’Till your high names are growne as glorious full / As the foure London Prentises at the Red bull.’137 No other staging is recorded after the Red Bull performances satirised by Beaumont and remembered in A Satire, and the play seems indeed to have stopped being ‘in the fashion’ at that point, as stated in the Q1 epistle. It is not known to have been revived in modern times. Sources It would be tempting to think of Torquato Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered (La Gerusalemme liberata), first published in Ferrara in 1581, as the play’s most readily available source, all the more since Thomas Carew’s English translation of the first five cantos of Tasso’s poem appeared in 1594 under the title Godfrey of Bulloigne, or the Recouerie of Hierusalem. But despite their both having the major episodes of the First Crusade as their general background, the two works have little in common in terms of style or details, so that it is difficult to prove a direct connection between the two. Such sensational staples as a maiden cross-dressing to

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follow her beloved and being attacked by enemies in the wilderness (Erminia following Tancredi in Tasso, the French Lady following Guy in Heywood), or her finding refuge in the Christian camp and causing the knights to fight each other over her love (Armida in Tasso, Bella Franca in Heywood) are common features in heroical romances and do not link the two works in a conclusive way. The lost Jerusalem play may have included Tasso among its sources and may have in turn inspired Heywood’s enterprise, but all this remains conjectural. Equally difficult to establish is the status of the ‘manuscript, a book writ in parchment’ mentioned by the character of the Second Prologue in Heywood’s play as its direct source. But if such a manuscript did exist, its material must have been related in some way to William of Tyre’s history of the First Crusade, the standard authority on the subject throughout the Middle Ages. The original Latin version of that work was composed in Palestine between 1163 and 1183, and it was first printed in English translation by William Caxton in 1481. Caxton’s translated version, entitled Godfrey of Bologne, or the Siege and Conqueste of Jerusalem, shares many features with Heywood’s Four Prentices besides, obviously, its episodic format involving the heroic deeds of different figures put in parallel in their journeys and adventures through Europe and the Holy Land. Among the specific circumstances shared by Caxton’s and Heywood’s Godfreys is the attribution of three brothers to the hero, rather than the historical two mentioned in other sources such as Raoul de Caen’s Gesta Tancredi (before 1118).138 In Caxton’s version, Baldwin and Eustace accompany Godfrey to the Holy Land, while the youngest brother William stays in Boulogne to look after their old mother (chapter 195). Also shared by the two versions is Godfrey’s refusal to be crowned with anything but a wreath of thorn upon his accepting to become King of Jerusalem (chapter 199 in Caxton, final scene in Heywood). All the same, The Four Prentices is not a dramatic transposition of Caxton’s Godfrey of Bologne, which is a work of much larger scope, starting with an account of the Nine Worthies before focusing on Godfrey and following his adventures to his death, with digressions on Peter the Hermit and other major figures from the First Crusade who do not appear in Heywood’s play. The story of the Nine Worthies is a recurring background to several heroic works in prose or verse appearing in the 1590s and specifically targeting the same audience of London apprentices as The Four Prentices, though it is impossible to establish with any degree of certainty whether they are sources or mere analogues to Heywood’s play. Chief among them is Richard Johnson’s The Nine Worthies of London (1592), which unambiguously identifies its preferred readership on its title-page:

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‘Pleasant for Gentlemen, not vnseemely for Magistrates, and most profitable for Prentises’. Accordingly, the preface, not unlike Heywood’s in the 1615 edition of his play dedicated to ‘the honest and high-spirited Prentises’, is addressed ‘To the Gentlemen Readers, as well Prentices as others’.139 The book is an account in verse of the life and achievements of nine London apprentices from different periods, who rose to fame and glory through their heroic deeds. The ninth and last, the grocer Henry Malevert surnamed Henry of Cornhill, who fought in the Holy Land at the time of Henry IV, particularly recalls the brothers in Heywood’s play, and his profession is the same as that of the youngest of them, Eustace. A later prose work by the same author, The Seven Champions of Christendom (first part 1596, second part 1597), includes among its characters a cruel Sultan of Persia and a sympathetic, though heathen, King of Babylon, but their circumstances have little in common with those of the Sultan of Babylon and the Sophy of Persia who become the Crusaders’ adversaries in Heywood’s play.140 The name and character of Heywood’s Sultan of Babylon are likelier to have derived, directly or indirectly, from the anonymous fifteenth-century Sultan of Babylon, a romance staging the defeat and humiliation of a fictitious Saracen ruler by Christian heroes.141 Mary Ann Weber Gasior also mentions a possible analogue in Thomas Lodge’s The Famous, True and Historicall Life of Robert Second Duke of Normandy (1591).142 That book is not concerned with the life of the same Robert of Normandy as in Heywood’s play, yet its plot involves a Sultan of Babylon, although the latter invades Rome rather than being invaded by Christians in his own land. He does it in the hope of winning the hand of the Holy Roman Emperor’s daughter, before being overcome by Robert and leaving in shame. Occasions and contexts The prologue in The Four Prentices of London invites the spectators to ‘see Jerusalem ye never saw, [rather] than London that ye see hourly’ (l. 34–5). Based on that promise, one might be tempted to consider the play primarily as an escapist romance for apprentices largely obliterating the context of the crisis of wages in the 1590s, entailing riots and Elizabeth I’s proclamations specifically imposing curfews on apprentices with a view to curbing social unrest.143 Indeed, the play makes very few references to its time and place of production, a rare exception being Eustace’s wistfully remembering his old friends from ‘Eastcheap, Canwick Street and London Stone’ (5.226) while he is stranded in Ireland. But this would be a reductive view of the play’s original contexts of reception.

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A first element firmly grounding the play in the London life of its time is the occasion for its publication, made explicit in its 1615 epistle to the readers. With references to ‘the honour of the City’ (l. 42–43) and the Artillery Garden (l. 18), the epistle motivates the publication by timing it with the revival of the Honourable Artillery Company. First chartered by Henry VIII in 1537 and revived under James I with a new charter in 1612, that urban military company, supported by a group of London citizens praised in Heywood’s epistle, was instrumental in promoting civic and national sentiments as a means to increase social cohesion and divert youthful energies from random riots. Training in an area next to Moorfields known as Artillery Garden, the Company drew enthusiasts from all ranks in the City, even and especially apprentices, to practise ‘artillery’, that is to say light weapons like the pike, the musket and the ‘caliver’, which was a light harquebus. In August and September 1615 the Company held spectacular musters remembered in several occasional works, such as Richard Niccols’s London’s Artillery (1616), dedicated to Sir John Jolles, a draper and merchant who had just been appointed Lord Mayor of London. The publication of The Four Prentices tunes well with the mood of civic chivalry and English patriotism characteristic of the London guild culture of the time in general, and of the Artillery Company and its 1615 musters in particular.144 Its frontispiece, showing the four brothers wielding their pikes, adds even more to the occasional dimension of the publication. Mixing the chivalric and the civil, the engraving shows the brothers wearing medieval armour while keeping their apprentices’ flat caps, thus clearly accommodating chivalric romance to the tastes and interests of London’s guild culture of the likes of Sir John Jolles. Fenella MacFarlane sees further signs of this accommodation of chivalric material to the mercantile interests of London by considering the geographic scope of the play.145 She points out that the plot takes us both to Ireland, where Eustace materialises a fantasy of easy colonial rule by making the mourning Irish immediately trust him and serve under his command, and the Levant which holds promises of spiritual as well as material fulfilment. The apprentices’ trades, dealing with textiles (mercer and haberdasher) and spices (grocer), also chime with the commercial interests of the English merchants in an area where the Levant Company, chartered in 1592, was highly active and aroused public interest at the time of the play’s composition and first staging. The choice of the play’s locations thus tunes itself to an English spirit of expansionism in both colonial and commercial forms, envisioning overseas territories as a terrain to conquer for English ambitions and encouraging the upward social aspiration of the trades’ apprentices in that context. Even if the

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plot dresses apprentice ambitions in the borrowed robes of nobility since the four brothers are actually an earl’s sons, a tale of aristocratic chivalry is appropriated to celebrate the City and its guilds, with the brothers’ scutcheons regularly recalling that background presence throughout the action, as well as featuring prominently on the frontispiece engraving. Ultimately, the two-part structure of the full title of the play, The Four Prentices of London, with the Conquest of Jerusalem, well renders the ambiguity of a plot as well as of a genre balanced between the here and now of mercantile London and expansionist England, and the there and then of a spiritual and chivalric ideal. The link between the two remains the scope of the romance itself as a terrain preordained for conquest. the texts Alphonsus, King of Aragon There is only one extant quarto edition of Alphonsus, King of Aragon, printed by Thomas Creede in 1599 (STC 12233). The three known surviving copies are Victoria and Albert Dyce 4248.26.Box.16.5, Huntington 31188 (accessible on EEBO) and Folger co.1578 (formerly known as the Devonshire copy). For this edition, I have relied on W.W. Greg’s Malone Society Reprint of the Dyce copy, which he completes by using the Huntington copy for the missing leaf A4. Fewer than a dozen minor press variants between the three copies are listed by Norman Sanders.146 Three published modern editions are cited in the textual collation. Alexander Dyce’s modernised text, in The Dramatic and Poetical Works of Robert Greene and George Peele (1861), is based on the Dyce copy. Alexander Grosart’s edition, in volume 13 of The Life and Complete Works in Prose and Verse of Robert Greene (1881–86), though in old spelling and based on the Devonshire/Folger copy, follows most of Dyce’s emendations regarding metre and lineation. The same is true of John Churton Collins’s old-spelling text, in volume 1 of The Plays and Poems of Robert Greene (1905), which collates Dyce’s copy and Grosart’s Devonshire/Folger copy. Norman Sanders’s unpublished edition (submitted for PhD in 1957) is an old-spelling collation of all remaining copies of the original quarto. Since the three copies offer very few press variants and since his edition has not been published, I have chosen not to collate it, though I cite his work in the commentary, mostly in connection with the presswork and typesetting cruces. The Q text has headings for acts, but no divisions for scenes. The divisions in the present edition follow Greg’s suggestions, and are based upon the clearing of the stage. I have regularised all speech headings, supplying and commenting on a few missing ones. The stage directions

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have been kept in their original form (mostly optative and sometimes narrative), as likely to be indicative of authorial work. Original lineation has been preserved, but blank verse lines set up as half lines are pointed out and glossed, and some previous editors’ suggestions for emendations are listed. Nevertheless, no attempt has been made in this edition to correct and improve the metrical shortcomings of Greene’s verse in Alphonsus, famously remembered for its failing to ‘iet vpon the stage in tragicall buskins’.147 The spelling and punctuation have been modernised as consistently as possible. Among the exceptions are the verb terminations for the second person singular, which I have chosen to keep for the needed extra syllable they provide in verse, and a few archaisms rendered necessary by the metre or offering an alliterative or rhyming effect, such as ‘king nor kaiser’ rather than ‘king nor Caesar’ (2.2.22), or ‘sain’ rather than ‘said’, rhyming with ‘train’ (2.1.165–6). Soliman and Perseda Soliman and Perseda was entered in the Stationers’ Register on 20 November 1592. The entry reads: ‘Ent. E. White: lic. the Bisshop of London: the tragedye of Salamon and Perseda’. The undated quarto printed by Edward Allde for Edward White, of which only one copy (British Library C.34.b.44) is extant, may reasonably be assumed to correspond to that entry, and therefore be tentatively dated 1592 (STC 22894). I have retained that quarto as the Q1 text and the basis for the present edition. The copy is reproduced on EEBO. A 1599 edition, printed after Kyd’s death in 1594, was also printed by Allde for White. Sixteen copies of that edition are listed in Pollard and Redgrave’s Short Title Catalogue, six of them with the phrase ‘Newly corrected and amended’ added on the title-page (respectively STC 22895 and 22895a). I have collated the Huntington Library copies of the two variants of this edition as the Q2 text, using the reproductions available on EEBO. Q1 and Q2 differ greatly in matters of spelling and punctuation, and on a couple of occasions, of lineation as well. Overall, Q2 tries to correct some of the most blatant mispunctuations and mislineations in Q1, as well as some typesetting mistakes, although it introduces some of its own. I have retained about a dozen of Q2’s emendations, indicating them in the textual collations and explaining them in the notes. I have also collated the two available modern editions produced by Frederick S. Boas (The Works of Thomas Kyd, 1901) and John J. Murray (Garland’s Renaissance Imagination series, 1991), both of which are oldspelling editions. Boas’s edition relies on Q1 and a British Library copy

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of Q2 (161.b.4), as well as a third British Library quarto (c.57.c.15, formerly British Museum 11773.c.11) which he believed was another 1599 edition, but which has since been proved a modern reprint by W.W. Greg.148 Murray’s edition mostly reproduces Boas’s collations of Q1 and Q2 (although there are many typographical and other mistakes in his edition), but he discards the forgery. The two editions differ on matters of lineation, with Boas choosing to keep the original lineation, while Murray substitutes prose whenever the verse becomes consistently irregular. Lineation is a difficult issue to settle for Soliman and Perseda. With a few exceptions (which I have reproduced), the text is printed as verse, but the frontier between prose and verse is not clear, in terms either of printing or of distribution between the different characters. Since parody plays a major role in this play, especially in the scenes involving the vainglorious knight Basilisco and the crafty servant Piston, I have chosen to keep in its original form any passage that could qualify as doggerel verse, rather than normalising it into prose or rearranging it into iambic pentameters. I have taken into account both Boas’s and Murray’s notes, as well as the notes accompanying a recent translation of the play into French by Yves Peyré.149 Peyré’s translation is entirely in prose. I have obviously not collated it, although I have consulted and used some of his editorial choices, which I mention in the notes. Except an opening ‘Actus primus’, neither Q1 nor Q2 has headings for acts or divisions for scenes. I have supplied the divisions, based on the clearing of the stage. I have also regularised the speech headings. The stage directions I have mostly kept in their original form, modifying only a couple of past tenses for the sake of consistency with the dominant present tense. The spelling and punctuation have been modernised as consistently as possible. The Four Prentices of London There are eight known copies of the 1615 edition (STC 13321) of The Four Prentices (Q1) listed by Pollard and Redgrave. These are located at the Dyce collection (V&A), Bodleian (2 copies), National Library of Scotland (Edinburgh), Petworth House (Sussex), Folger, Huntington (titlepage only), Newberry Library (Chicago). Comparing the Folger, Library of Congress and Bodleian copies for her edition, Gasior has found no press variant between them.150 For this edition I have used the Bodleian copy available on EEBO as copy text. I have collated it with the Harvard and Huntington copies of the 1632 Q2 (STC 13322) also available on EEBO, and have retained twenty-four of the emendations that Q2 offers on Q1. Gasior’s old-spelling edition (1980) has also been collated. There has been no modern spelling edition before this one.

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There are no act and scene divisions in Q1 beyond the opening ‘Actus primus, Scoena prima’. Given the essentially episodic nature of this heroic romance, it has proved difficult to divide it into acts. I have therefore supplied scene divisions only, based on the clearing of the stage. The stage directions have been kept in their original form, except for occasional Latin locutions (‘exeunt omnes’ changed to ‘exeunt all’, ‘manet’ changed to ‘remains’, according to the practice of the Revels Plays Companion Library series). Abbreviated speech prefixes have been expanded, but otherwise kept in their original forms except in cases of manifest typographical error. Spelling and punctuation have been modernised as consistently as possible. Distinction between passages in verse and prose is generally clearly marked in Q1, except where lines are broken up so as to be distributed evenly between the brothers, and where cramming on the printed page has been needed in Q1 to gain space. I have expanded those into verse lines, but have otherwise followed the lineation as it appears in Q1. n otes 1 Northrop Frye, The Secular Scripture: A Study of the Structure of Romance (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1976), pp. 15, 139, 142. 2 Barbara Fuchs, Romance (London and New York: Routledge, 2004), p. 1. 3 Helen Cooper, The English Romance in Time: Transforming Motifs from Geoffrey of Monmouth to the Death of Shakespeare (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 9–10. 4 Patricia Parker, Inescapable Romance: Studies in the Poetics of a Mode (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979). 5 Fuchs, Romance, p. 69. 6 Arthur B. Ferguson, The Indian Summer of English Chivalry: Studies in the Decline and Transformation of Chivalric Idealism (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1960) and The Chivalric Tradition in Renaissance England (Washington, DC: Folger Shakespeare Library, 1986). 7 See for example Jennifer R. Goodman, Chivalry and Exploration, 1298–1630 (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1998), and Joan Pong Linton, The Romance of the New World: Gender and Literary Formations of English Colonialism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). 8 Benedict S. Robinson, Islam and Early Modern English Literature: The Politics of Romance from Spenser to Milton (New York and Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), p. 2. 9 Dorothee Metlitzki, The Matter of Araby in Medieval England (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1977), p. 120. 10 For more on each of those categories, see the various chapters in Norman Daniel, Heroes and Saracens: An Interpretation of the Chansons de Geste (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1984). 11 For more on this, see Jane Pettegree, Foreign and Native on the English Stage, 1588–1611: Metaphor and National Identity (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), p. 130.

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12 See Charles Edelman’s introduction to his edition of the play, The Stukeley plays, Revels Plays Companion Library (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005). 13 I am borrowing the phrase from Jonathan Burton’s title Traffic and Turning: Islam and English Drama, 1579–1624 (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2005). 14 Daniel Vitkus, Turning Turk: English Theater and the Multicultural Mediterranean, 1570–1630 (New York and Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2003), p. 13. 15 Cyrus Mulready, Romance on the Early Modern Stage: English Expansion before and after Shakespeare (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), p. 20. 16 Mulready cites several examples, including Guy of Warwick, Old Fortunatus and The Seven Wise Masters (p. 20). 17 See Appendix B (‘The Romantic Play 1570–1585’) in her edition of Clyomon and Clamydes (Paris and The Hague: Mouton, 1968), pp. 195–8. 18 Peter Berek, ‘Tamburlaine’s Weak Sons: Imitation as Interpretation before 1593’, Renaissance Drama 13 (1982): 55–82, p. 58. 19 Helen Moore, ‘The Eastern Mediterranean in the English Amadis Cycle, Book V’, Yearbook of English Studies 41.1 (2011): 113–25, p. 116. Moore focuses in particular on the Spanish Amadis de Gaula cycle, with Amadis’s son Esplandian refighting the battle for Constantinople to make the Christian side victorious. 20 Robinson, Islam and Early Modern English Literature, p. 16. 21 Jane Hwang Dagenhardt, Islamic Conversion and Christian Resistance on the Early Modern Stage (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010), p. 162. 22 Alex Davis, Chivalry and Romance in the English Renaissance (Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2003), p. 3. 23 G.M. Pinciss, ‘Thomas Creede and the Repertory of the Queen’s Men, 1583– 1592’, Modern Philology 67 (1970): 321–30, p. 322. 24 Roslyn L. Knutson, Playing Companies and Commerce in Shakespeare’s Time (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), p. 66. See also Scott McMillin and Sally-Beth MacLean, The Queen’s Men and Their Plays: William Shakespeare’s Early Career and the Acting Companies, 1577–1594 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). 25 ‘Alphonsus’, in Chambers, vol. 3, p. 327. 26 Akihiro Yamada, ‘Thomas Creede’, in The British Literary Book Trade, 1475– 1700, ed. James K. Bracken and Joel Silver, Dictionary of Literary Biography 170 (Detroit: Gale Research, 1996), pp. 65–70, p. 65. 27 Martin Wiggins, British Drama 1533–1642: A Catalogue, 10 vols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), vol. 2 (1567–1589), p. 384. 28 The Plays and Poems of Robert Greene, ed. John Churton Collins, 2 vols (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905), vol. 1, pp. 70–1. 29 For a summary of critical arguments on this aspect, see Norman Sanders, ‘An Edition of Greene’s Farewell to Folly and Alphonsus, King of Aragon’, unpublished PhD Dissertation, University of Birmingham (October 1957), p. lv. 30 The Life and Complete Works in Prose and Verse of Robert Greene, ed. Alexander B. Grosart, 15 vols (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964; first published 1881– 86), vol. 13, pp. 123, 125. 31 Grosart, The Life and Complete Works, vol. 3, pp. 7–8. 32 See Charles Crupi, Robert Greene (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1986), p. 18. 33 The Works of George Peele, ed. A.H. Bullen, 2 vols (London: John C. Nimmo, 1888), vol. 2, p. 238. 34 This argument is summarised by W.W. Greg in the introduction of his Malone Society edition of Alphonsus (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1926), pp. viii–ix.

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The reference can be found in Henslowe’s Diary, ed. R.A. Foakes, 2nd edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 319. 35 Chambers, vol. 3, p. 327. 36 Sanders, pp. xxvii–xxviii. 37 Andrew Gurr, Shakespeare’s Opposites: The Admiral’s Company 1594–1625 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), p. 206, n. 16. 38 Pinciss, ‘Thomas Creede’, p. 324. 39 Henslowe, pp. 23–7, 178, 180. 40 Greg, Alphonsus, p. ix. 41 Jenny Sager, The Aesthetics of Spectacle in Early Modern Drama and Modern Cinema: Robert Greene’s Theatre of Attractions (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), p. 85. 42 The Tragical Reign of Selimus, ed. Alexander B. Grosart (London: J.M. Dent, 1898), p. xiv. 43 The Tragical Reign of Selimus, ed. W. Bang, Malone Society Reprints (Oxford: Chiswick Press, 1908; 1964). 44 See for details David Abulafia, The Western Mediterranean Kingdoms 1200–1500: The Struggle for Dominion (London and New York: Longman, 1997), pp. 195–245. 45 Collins, vol. 3, p. 76. 46 Sanders, p. xxxviii. The reference is to the version included in Spicilegium Romanum (Rome: Typis Collegii Urbani, 1839). 47 Francis Billerbeg, Most Rare and Straunge Discourses, of Amurathe the Turkish Emperor that Now Is (1584). 48 Nicholas Storojenko, Robert Greene: His Life and Works. A Critical Investigation (Moscow, 1878), trans. E. A. Brayley Hodgetts, in Grosart, The Life and Complete Works, vol. 1, pp. 1–256, pp. 175–6. 49 All quotations from Marlowe’s plays are from Christopher Marlowe: Doctor Faustus and Other Plays, ed. David Bevington and Eric Rasmussen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995; 2008). 50 Irving Ribner, ‘Greene’s Attack on Marlowe: Some Light on Alphonsus and Selimus’, Studies in Philology 52 (1955): 162–71, p. 163. 51 Peter Berek, ‘Tamburlaine’s Weak Sons: Imitation as Interpretation Before 1593’, Renaissance Drama n.s. 13 (1982): 55–82. 52 On this aspect, see also Roslyn L. Knutson, ‘Marlowe Reruns: Repertorial Commerce and Marlowe’s Plays in Revival’, in Marlowe’s Empery: Expanding His Critical Contexts, ed. Sara Munson Deats and Robert A. Logan (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2002), pp. 25–42. 53 Werner Senn, Studies in the Dramatic Construction of Robert Greene and George Peele (Bern: Francke Verlag, 1973), pp. 44, 72, 144. 54 Fuchs, Romance, p. 69. 55 G. K. Hunter, English Drama 1586–1642: The Age of Shakespeare (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997), pp. 101–2. 56 Kirk Melnikoff, ‘“That will I see, lead and ile follow thee”: Robert Greene and the Authority of Performance’, in Writing Robert Greene: Essays on England’s First Notorious Professional Writer, ed. Kirk Melnikoff and Edward Gieskes (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008), pp. 39–51, p. 43. 57 Linda McJannet, The Voice of Elizabethan Stage Directions: The Evolution of a Theatrical Code (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1999), p. 65. 58 Alan C. Dessen, ‘Robert Greene and the Theatrical Vocabulary of the Early 1590s’, in Melnikoff and Gieskes, Writing Robert Greene, pp. 25–37, p. 30.

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59 Edition used: Littleton, ed., Clyomon and Clamydes. 60 Part of the material in this section is based on my previous work in ‘Europeanizing the Turks in Robert Greene’s Alphonsus, King of Aragon’, in Early Modern Constructions of Europe: Literature, Culture, History, ed. Florian Kläger and Gerd Bayer (New York and London: Routledge, 2016), pp. 57–67. 61 Senn, Studies in the Dramatic Construction, pp. 115–16. 62 Collins, vol. 3, p. 73. 63 Storojenko, Robert Greene, p. 174, n. 138. 64 Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes (1603), sig. A4r. 65 Terence Spencer, ‘Turks and Trojans in the Renaissance’, Modern Language Review 47 (1952): 330–3. Isidore’s account quoted on p. 331 is taken from the version of his letter in Bernard von Breydenbach’s Peregrinatio ad terram sanctam (1486). For more details on the alleged Trojan origins of the Turks in Renaissance writings, see Robert Schwoebel, The Shadow of the Crescent: The Renaissance Image of the Turk (1453–1517) (Nieuwkoop: B. de Graaf, 1967), pp. 148–9. 66 James G. Harper, ‘Turks as Trojans; Trojans as Turks: Visual Imagery of the Trojan War and the Politics of Cultural Identity in Fifteenth-Century Europe’, in Postcolonial Approaches to the European Middle Ages: Translating Cultures, ed. Ananya Jahanara Kabir and Deanne Williams (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), pp. 151–79, p. 157. 67 Unless stated otherwise, the quotations from Shakespeare’s plays are taken from William Shakespeare: The Complete Works, 2nd Compact Edition, ed. Stanley Wells, Gary Taylor, John Jowett and William Montgomery (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2005). 68 The Merry Wives of Windsor, ed. H.C. Hart, The Arden Shakespeare (London: Methuen, 1904; rev. ed. 1932), p. 44, n. 97. 69 The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd edition, ed. G. Blakemore Evans et al. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997), p. 329, fn. 88. 70 See Samuel Chew, The Crescent and the Rose: Islam and England during the Renaissance (New York: Oxford University Press, 1937), pp. 101–2, and more recently Stephen Schmuck, ‘The “Turk” Antichrist and Elizabeth I: Reformation Politics and “The Turkes Storye” from John Foxe’s Acts and Monuments (1570)’, Reformation 10 (2005): 1–24. 71 Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy, ed. Philip Edwards, The Revels Plays (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991). 72 John of Bordeaux or the Second Part of Friar Bacon, ed. William Lindsay Renwick, Malone Society Reprints (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1936). 73 Matthew Dimmock, New Turkes: Dramatizing Islam and the Ottomans in Early Modern England (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005), p. 181. 74 Quoted in John V. Tolan, Saracens: Islam in the Medieval European Imagination (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002), pp. 119–20. 75 See for details Metlitzki, The Matter of Araby, pp. 117–20. 76 Anon., ‘The Romance of the Sowdone of Babylone and of Ferumbas His Sone who Conquered Rome’, in Three Middle English Charlemagne Romances, ed. Alan Lupack (Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 1990). 77 Daniel, Heroes and Saracens, p. 141. 78 Quoted in modernised English in Chew, The Crescent and the Rose, p. 392. 79 Daniel Vitkus, Three Turk Plays from Early Modern England (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000), p. 7. 80 ‘For there is an vpstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers heart wrapt in a Players hide, supposes he is as well able to bumbast out a blanke

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47

verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Iohannes fac totum, is in his owne conceit the onely Shake-scene in a countrie.’ (Greenes Groats-worth of Wit, in Grosart, The Life and Complete Works, vol. 12, p. 144). 81 Stephen Greenblatt, Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare (London: Jonathan Cape, 2004), pp. 215–25. 82 Nicholas Brooke, ‘Marlowe as Provocative Agent in Shakespeare’s Early Plays’, Shakespeare Survey 14 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961), pp. 34–44, pp. 41–2. 83 Brooke, ‘Marlowe as Provocative Agent’, p. 42. 84 Edition used: The Battle of Alcazar in Edelman, The Stukeley plays, pp. 59–128. 85 Lawrence Danson, The Harmonies of The Merchant of Venice (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1978), p. 101. 86 Chambers, vol. 4, p. 383: ‘Appendix L: Printed Plays’. 87 Thomas Hawkins (ed.), The Origin of the English Drama (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1773). 88 The Works of Thomas Kyd, ed. Frederick S. Boas (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1901), p. xxiii. 89 Arthur Freeman, Thomas Kyd: Facts and Problems (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967), p. 140. 90 For this and Boas’s other arguments in favour of Kyd’s authorship, see Boas, pp. lvi–lix. 91 Félix Carrère, Le Théâtre de Thomas Kyd: Contribution à l’étude du drame élizabéthain (Toulouse: E. Privat, 1951), pp. 428–33. 92 All references to The Spanish Tragedy are to Philip Edwards’s The Revels Plays edition (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991). 93 For the full list of occurrences in all three plays, see James E. Routh Jr, ‘Thomas Kyd’s Rime Schemes and the Authorship of Soliman and Perseda and The First Part of Jeronimo’, Modern Language Notes 20.2 (February 1905): 49–51. 94 Routh, p. 51. 95 Thomas Merriam, ‘Possible Light on a Kyd Canon’, Notes and Queries 240, n.s. 42 (1995): 340–1; MacDonald P. Jackson, ‘New Research on the Dramatic Canon of Thomas Kyd’, Research Opportunities in Renaissance Drama 47 (2008): 107–27. 96 Soliman and Perseda, ed. Lukas Erne, Malone Society Reprints (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2014), p. xi. 97 See Chambers, vol. 4, pp. 46–7. But, choosing not to take sides in the authorship debate, Chambers lists the play as anonymous. 98 George Peele, ‘The Jest of George Peele at Bristow’, in Bullen, The Works of George Peele, vol. 2, pp. 389–90. 99 Boas, p. lvii. 100 Freeman, p. 150; Lukas Erne, Beyond The Spanish Tragedy: A Study of the Works of Thomas Kyd (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2001), p. 160. 101 Erne, Soliman and Perseda, p. xvi. 102 Henslowe, pp. 16–19. 103 The argument for this attribution, based on inter-play borrowings, is developed in Alfred Hart, Stolne and Surreptitious Copies: A Comparative Study of Shakespeare’s Bad Quartos (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press in association with Oxford University Press, 1942), pp. 352–90, quoted by Erne, Soliman and Perseda, p. xi. 104 Freeman, p. 149; Erne, Beyond The Spanish Tragedy, p. 158. 105 Erne, Beyond The Spanish Tragedy, p. 159.

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106 Details of the fall of Rhodes in 1522 and the Knights’ leaving on terms were available in England as early as 1524, with Robert Copland’s translation of Jacques de Bourbon’s account (possibly from a manuscript version) in The Begynnynge and Foundacyon of the Holy Hospytall, to which The Syege, Cruell Oppugnacyon and Lamentable Takynge of the Cyte of Rodes is appended. The earliest known printed version of Jacques’s account in French, of which a copy is kept at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (B.N. Rés K 1311), is dated 1525. 107 Freeman, p. 148; Erne, Beyond The Spanish Tragedy, p. 164. 108 Jacques Yver, A Courtlie Controuersie of Cupids Cautels, trans. Henry Wotton (1578), p. 71 (misnumbered 69). 109 Freeman, p. 149. 110 T.W. Baldwin, ‘On the Chronology of Thomas Kyd’s Plays’, Modern Language Notes 40.6 (June 1925): 343–9. 111 Ibid., pp. 347–8. 112 Erne, Beyond The Spanish Tragedy, p. 163. 113 Ibid., p. 163. 114 John Donne, The Elegies and the Songs and Sonnets, ed. Helen Gardner (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965), pp. 112–13. 115 For a compilation of sources on the siege of Rhodes and their correspondences, see Jean-Luc Nardone (ed.), La Prise de Rhodes par Soliman le Magnifique: Chroniques et textes turcs, français, italiens, anglais et espagnols (XVIe–XVIIe siècles) traduits et commentés (Cahors: Louve, 2010). 116 For more details on generic debates in Elizabethan framing choruses, see Hunter, English Drama, p. 99. 117 Erne, Beyond The Spanish Tragedy, pp. 193–5. 118 Freeman, pp. 147–8. 119 Anthony Munday, Fidele and Fortunio, the Two Italian Gentlemen, ed. Percy Simpson, Malone Society Reprints (London: Chiswick Press, 1909). 120 Anon., The Tragedy of Locrine, ed. Ronald B. McKerrow, Malone Society Reprints (London: Chiswick Press, 1908). 121 Nick de Somogyi, Shakespeare’s Theatre of War (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998), pp. 146–54. 122 Erne, Beyond The Spanish Tragedy, p. 198. 123 Jeremy Lopez, Theatrical Convention and Audience Response in Early Modern Drama (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 134. 124 Freeman, p. 166. 125 Erne, Beyond The Spanish Tragedy, p. 197. 126 Lopez, p. 145. 127 Ibid., p. 146. 128 Mary Ann Weber Gasior, Thomas Heywood’s The Four Prentices of London: A Critical, Old-Spelling Edition (New York and London: Garland, 1980), p. liii. 129 Henslowe, p. 17. 130 Ibid., p. 22. 131 Frances Meres, Palladis Tamia (1598), fol. 283v. 132 Henslowe, pp. 22–31. 133 Ibid., p. 215. 134 Alfred Harbage, rev. Samuel Schoenbaum and Sylvia Stoler Wagonheim, Annals of English Drama, 975–1700, 3rd edition (London and New York, 1964; 1989), pp. 86–7. 135 Francis Beaumont, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, ed. Andrew Gurr, Fountainwell Drama Texts (Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1968).

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36 Wiggins, p. 408. 1 137 A.C., A Satyre Against Separatists (1660), p. 7. 138 The Gesta Tancredi of Ralph of Caen: A History of the Normans on the First Crusade, trans. and ed. Bernard S. Bachrach and David S. Bachrach (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005), p. 60. 139 Richard Johnson, The Nine Worthies of London (1592), sig. A3r. 140 Richard Johnson, The Seven Champions of Christendom (1596–7), ed. Jennifer Fellows (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003). The Souldan of Persia is introduced in part 1, chapter 3, and the King of Babylon in part 2, chapter 11. 141 ‘The Romance of the Sowdone of Babylone and of Ferumbas His Sone who Conquered Rome’, in Lupack, Three Middle English Charlemagne Romances, pp. 1–103. 142 Gasior, pp. xxii–xxiii. 143 For more on this, see Mihoko Suzuki, ‘The London Apprentice Riots of the 1590s and the Fiction of Thomas Deloney’, Criticism 38.2 (Spring 1996): 181–217. 144 See for more details William Hunt, ‘Civic Chivalry and the English Civil War’, in The Transmission of Culture in Early Modern Europe, ed. Anthony Grafton and Ann Blair (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990), pp. 204–37, pp. 213–17. 145 Fenella MacFarlane, ‘To “try what London prentices can do”: Merchant Chivalry as Representational Strategy in Heywood’s The Four Prentices of London’, Medieval and Renaissance Drama in English 13 (2001): 136–64. 146 Sanders, p. xii. 147 Stanley Wells, Perymedes the Blacksmith and Pandosto by Robert Greene: A Critical Edition (PhD Dissertation, University of Birmingham, 1961; New York: Garland, 1988), p. xix. 148 W.W. Greg, ‘Mr. Farmer’s Facsimiles’, Athenaeum 4455 (15 March 1913): 316. 149 Soliman et Perside, trans. and ed. Yves Peyré, in Nardone, La Prise de Rhodes, 383–458. 150 Gasior, p. lii.

THE COMICAL HISTORY OF ALPHONSUS, KING OF ARAGON BY ROBERT GREENE

l i s t o f c h a r ac t ers a ppeari n g i n the prologues v e nus. The Muses: me l p o m en e, cli o, calli ope, er ato (others not named and mute). fi rs t appeari n g i n i taly c a r i nus, rightful heir to the throne of Aragon. a l p h o ns us, his son. a l b i ni us, friend to Alphonsus and follower of Belinus. b e l i nus, King of Naples. fab i us, follower of Belinus. f l a mi ni us, usurping King of Aragon.* l a e l i us, follower of Flaminius. m ile s, follower of Flaminius. du k e o f mi l a n.

5

10

f i rs t appeari n g i n tu rki s h ter r itory a m u r ac k, the Great Turk. a rc as t us, King of Moors.* c l a r a mo unt, King of Barbary. baja z e t, a Turkish lord.* m e d e a, a Sorceress. fausta, Amurack’s wife. i p h i gi na, their daughter. The spirit of c a l c has. Two p r i e s t s of Mahomet. m ah o me t, speaking from the Brazen Head. c ro c o n, King of Arabia. faus t us, King of Babylon. m e s s e nge r, a soldier of Belinus. Soldiers, Janissaries, Lords, Attendants, a Provost.

* Mute character.

15

20

25

ac t 1 [1.Prol.] After you have sounded thrice, let v e n u s be let down from the top of the stage and, when she is down, say: Venus.  Poets are scarce when goddesses themselves Are forced to leave their high and stately seats, Placed on the top of high Olympus mount, To seek them out, to pen their champions’ praise. The time has been when Homer’s sugared muse Did make each echo to repeat his verse, That every coward that dares crack a spear, And tilt and tourney for his lady’s sake, Was painted out in colours of such price As might become the proudest potentate. But nowadays so irksome idlesse, slights And cursèd charms have witched each student’s mind, That death it is to any of them all, If that their hands to penning you do call. O, Virgil, Virgil! Wert thou now alive, Whose painful pen in stout Augustus’ days, Did dain to let the base and silly flea To scape away without thy praise of her, I do not doubt but long or ere this time, Alphonsus’ fame unto the heavens should climb. Alphonsus’ fame, that man of Jove his seed, Sprung from the loins of the immortal gods, Whose sire, although he habit on the earth, May claim a portion in the fiery pole,

5

10

15

20

1. Prol.] This ed.; Ind. Greg;

Collins; not in Q.  1.  SP.]  This ed.; not in Q.  11.  idlesse, slights]  This ed.; idels slights Q.   8.  tourney]  joust and perform in a tournament.   11.  idlesse]  idleness (arch. in OED).   17.  dain]  OED, citing this line, gives ‘dain’ as a syncopated form of ‘disdain’. This form is used several times in Alphonsus (see for example 1.Prol.90, 3.2.290, 4.2.34).   17.  flea]  possible reference to The Gnat, a minor poem attributed to Virgil, a contemporary of the first Roman emperor Augustus (first century BC) mentioned in the previous line. Spenser’s translation of the poem was first published in his Complaints (1591), alongside ‘The Tears of the Muses’, which bears similarities with this prologue. Donne’s poem ‘The Flea’ is undated, but is unlikely to have preceded Greene’s play.

 54

alphon s u s , ki n g of aragon

[act 1

As well as anyone whate’er he be. But setting by Alphonsus’ power divine, What man alive or now amongst the ghosts Could countervail his courage and his strength? But thou art dead, yea, Virgil, thou art gone, And all his acts drowned in oblivion. And all his acts drowned in oblivion? No, Venus, no, though poets prove unkind, And loth to stand in penning of his deeds, Yet rather than they shall be clean forgot, I, which was wont to follow Cupid’s games, Will put in ure Minerva’s sacred art, And this my hand, which usèd for to pen The praise of love, and Cupid’s peerless power, Will now begin to treat of bloody Mars, Of doughty deeds and valiant victories.

25

30

35

40

Enter m e l p o me n e, c l i o, e r ato, with their sisters, playing all upon sundry instruments, c a l l i op e only excepted, who coming last, hangs down the head, and plays not of her instrument. But see whereas the stately Muses come, Whose harmony doth very far surpass The heavenly music of Apollo’s pipe. But what means this? Melpomene herself With all her sisters sound their instruments, Only excepted fair Calliope,

45

31.]  Q; line cut in Dyce, Gros.   28.  countervail]  equal, match (OED v 2).   31.]  Dyce and Grosart believe the repetition is a misprint. But the question mark at the end of the echoed line in Q clearly shows that this is a rhetorical question, answered in the following line. Epizeuxis is typical of the rhetoric of Alphonsus, mostly with characters catching up each other’s words or cues in disbelief or mockery (e.g. 2.1.153 and 157, or 2.1.180–1). The device is reminiscent of Marlowe’s style in 1 Tamburlaine (e.g. 1.1.92–3 or 2.5.49–50).   36.  put in ure]  put in or into use (OED n 1.a.).   36.  Minerva]  goddess, among other things, of warlike poetry.   40.  doughty]  brave (OED n 1.b.).   40.1.]  The Muses were nine sister goddesses in Greek mythology presiding over song, poetry, arts and sciences. Melpomene was the Muse of tragedy, Clio of history, Erato of lyric and love poetry, Calliope of heroic poetry. The remaining Muses were Euterpe for music, Thalia for comedy, Terpsichore for dancing and choral song, Polymnia for sacred hymn and eloquence and Urania for astronomy.   41.  whereas] where (arch. OED rel. adv. 1). See Abbott, 116. Greene frequently prefers this form in Alphonsus, possibly for metrical reasons, which may have motivated a similar preference for ‘whenas’ (see note to 1.1.21).

pro.]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

55

Who, coming last and hanging down her head, Doth plainly show by outward actions What secret sorrow doth torment her heart. Stands aside. Melpomene.  Calliope, thou which so oft didst crake How that such clients clustered to thy court By thick and threefold, as not anyone Of all thy sisters might compare with thee, Where be thy scholars now become, I trow? Where are they vanished in such sudden sort, That, while as we do play upon our strings, You stand still lazing, and have nought to do? Clio.  Melpomene, make you a why of that? I know full oft you have in authors read, The higher tree, the sooner is his fall, And they which first do flourish and bear sway, Upon the sudden vanish clean away. Calliope.  Mock on apace, my back is broad enough To bear your flouts, as many as they be. That year is rare, that ne’er feels winter’s storms, That tree is fertile which ne’er wanteth fruit. And that same Muse has heapèd well in store, Which never wanteth clients at her door. But yet, my sisters, when the surgent seas Have ebbed their fill, their waves do rise again And fill their banks up to the very brims. And when my pipe has eased herself a while, Such store of suitors shall my seat frequent, That you shall see my scholars be not spent. Erato.  ‘Spent’, quoth you, sister? Then we were to blame, If we should say your scholars all were spent. But pray now tell me when your painful pen

50

55

60

65

70

75

52.  not anyone]  Dyce; not any anyone Q.  59. in] Dyce; not in Q.   50.  crake]  variant of ‘crack’, meaning ‘boast, brag’ (OED v 2).   51.  clients]  followers (OED n 2.b.).   52.  by thick and threefold]  in great numbers. Proverbial (Tilley, T100).   54.  I trow]  possibly meaning here ‘I wonder’, rather than its usual sense ‘I believe’ (OED v 4.b.).   60.  The higher … fall]  proverbial (Tilley, T489: ‘The highest tree has the greatest fall’).   69.  surgent]  surging (OED a 1.a.).   74.  spent]  passed, gone (OED pa. pple. 2).   75.  quoth]  said (arch. in OED).

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[act 1

Will rest enough? Melpomene. When husbandmen shear hogs. Venus.  Melpomene, Erato and the rest, From thickest shrubs Dame Venus did espy The mortal hatred which you jointly bear Unto your sister high Calliope. What, do you think if that the tree do bend, It follows therefore that it needs must break? And since her pipe a little while does rest, It never shall be able for to sound? Yes, Muses, yes, if that she will vouchsafe To entertain Dame Venus in her school, And further me with her instructions, She shall have scholars which will dain to be In any other Muse’s company. Calliope.  Most sacred Venus, do you doubt of that? Calliope would think her three times blessed, For to receive a goddess in her school, Especially so high a one as you, Which rules the earth, and guides the heavens too. Venus.  Then sound your pipes, and let us bend our steps Unto the top of high Parnassus hill, And there together do our best devoir For to describe Alphonsus’ warlike fame, And in the manner of a comedy, Set down his noble valour presently. Calliope.  As Venus wills, so bids Calliope. Melpomene.  And as you bid, your sisters do agree.

80

85

90

95

100

Exeunt.

[1.1] Enter ca r i n u s the Father, and a l p ho ns us his son. Carinus.  My noble son, since first I did recount The noble acts your predecessors did In Aragon, against their warlike foes, 95.  a one]  This ed.; an one Q. 0.1. Carinus] This ed.; Clarinus Q.   78.  When … hogs]  not listed as proverbial by Tilley. But in C871 (‘Great cry and little wool’), he quotes from Gosson’s School of Abuse (1579): ‘As one said at the shearing of hogs, great cry and little wool, much adoe and small help’.   98.  Parnassus]  a mountain in Greece, consecrated to Apollo and the Muses.   99.  devoir]  duty (Fr.).  [1.1]  Collins.

sc.1]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

I never yet could see thee joy at all, But hanging down thy head as malcontent, Thy youthful days in mourning have been spent. Tell me, Alphonsus, what might be the cause That makes thee thus to pine away with care? Has old Carinus done thee any offence In reckoning up these stories unto thee? What, ne’er a word but mum? Alphonsus, speak, Unless your father’s fatal day you seek. Alphonsus.  Although, dear father, I have often vowed Ne’er to unfold the secrets of my heart To any man or woman whosome’er Dwells underneath the circle of the sky, Yet do your words so conjure me, dear sire, That needs I must fulfil that you require. Then so it is, amongst the famous tales Which you rehearsed done by our sires in war, Whenas you came unto your father’s days, With sobbing notes, with sighs and blubbering tears, And much ado, at length you thus began: ‘Next to Alphonsus should my father come, For to possess the diadem by right Of Aragon, but that the wicked wretch, His younger brother, with aspiring mind, By secret treason robbed him of his life, And me, his son, of that which was my due.’ These words, my sire, did so torment my mind, As had I been with Ixion in hell,

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24–9]  ‘Next to … my due’ Dyce; not in Q.   5.  as malcontent] (a) as if you were discontented; (b) like the type figure of the Malcontent in plays (as in John Marston’s later play, The Malcontent, c. 1604). Compare also 3 Henry VI, 4.1.10 (‘you stand pensive, as half-malcontent’).   15.  whosome’er] whosoever.   17.  conjure me]  urge me.   20.  rehearsed] reported.   21. whenas]  when (arch.). See Abbott, 116. Greene frequently prefers this form in Alphonsus, possibly for the same metrical reasons as in the case of ‘whereas’ (see note to 1.Prol.41).   24–9.]  Dyce, followed by Grosart and Collins, adds quotation marks to this section, for the sake of clarity.   24.  Next … come]  Carinus’s grandfather (also called Alphonsus) should have been succeeded by Carinus’s father (mentioned later in the play as Ferdinandus, 4.2.91).   31.  Ixion]  a character in Greek mythology, who offended Zeus by trying to seduce the latter’s wife Hera. He was bound to a fiery wheel which turns for ever in the sky. Greene seems to be mistaking him for the giant Tityos, bound in Hades, with two vultures tearing ceaselessly at his liver as a punishment for his having attempted to

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The ravening bird could never plague me worse, For ever since my mind has troubled been Which way I might revenge this traitorous fact, And that recover which is ours by right. Carinus.  Ah, my Alphonsus, never think on that, In vain it is to strive against the stream. The crown is lost, and now in hucksters’ hands, And all our hope is cast into the dust. Bridle these thoughts, and learn the same of me: A quiet life does pass an empery. Alphonsus.  Yet, noble father, ere Carinus’ brood Shall brook his foe for to usurp his seat, He’ll die the death with honour in the field, And so his life and sorrows briefly end. But did I know my froward fate were such As I should fail in this my just attempt, This sword, dear father, should the author be, To make an end of this my tragedy. Therefore, sweet sire, remain you here a while, And let me walk my fortune for to try. I do not doubt but ere the time be long, I’ll quite his cost, or else myself will die. Carinus.  My noble son, since that thy mind is such For to revenge thy father’s foul abuse, As that my words may not a whit prevail To stay thy journey, go with happy fate, And soon return unto thy father’s cell, With such a train as Julius Caesar came To noble Rome, whenas he had achieved The mighty monarch of the triple world.

[act 1

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37.  strive]  Dyce; sttive Q. assault Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis. The two figures are mentioned close to each other in Ovid’s Metamorphoses (X, 44 and 47), and they appear together in The Spanish Tragedy, 4.5.31–3 (‘Let loose poor Tityus from the vulture’s gripe, / And let Don Cyprian supply his room: / Place Don Lorenzo on Ixion’s wheel’) and The Battle of Alcazar, 4.2.90–2 (‘Racked let him be in proud Ixion’s wheel, … Pray let him be to Tityus’ greedy bird’).   37.  In vain … stream]  proverbial (Tilley, S927: ‘It is hard (folly, in vain) to strive against the stream’).   38.  hucksters] pedlars.   41.  empery]  the office or position of an emperor.   46.  froward]  adverse, unfavourable (OED a 2.a.).   53.  quite] requite.   61.  the triple world]  the three continents (Europe, Africa, Asia). Compare 1 Tamburlaine, 4.4.78–9 (‘those blind geographers / that make a triple region in the world’) and 2 Tamburlaine, 4.3.63 (‘Before I conquer all the triple world’).

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Meantime Carinus in this silly grove Will spend his days with prayers and orisons To mighty Jove, to further thine intent. Farewell, dear son Alphonsus, fare you well. Alphonsus.  And is he gone? Then hie, Alphonsus, hie, To try thy fortune where thy fates do call. A noble mind disdains to hide his head, And let his foes triumph in his overthrow.

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Exit.

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Enter a l b i n i u s. al p h o n s u s make as though thou goest out. albinius say: Albinius.  What loitering fellow have we spièd here? Presume not, villain, further for to go, Unless you do at length the same repent.

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al p ho n su s comes towards a l b i n ius. Alphonsus.  ‘Villain’, sayst thou? Nay, ‘villain’ in thy throat! What, knowst thou, skipjack, whom thou ‘villain’ callst? Albinius.  A common vassal I do ‘villain’ call. Alphonsus.  That shalt thou soon approve, persuade thyself, Or else I’ll die, or thou shalt die for me. Albinius.  What, do I dream, or do my dazzling eyes Deceive me? Is’t Alphonsus that I see? Does now Medea use her wonted charms For to delude Albinius’ fantasy? Or does black Pluto, king of dark Avern,

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63. orisons] Dyce; horizons Q.   62.  silly]  simple, plain (OED a 3.c.).   69.  triumph] perhaps a monosyllable in this line, since Q has ‘ouerthrow’, rather than ‘o’erthrow’, at the end of the line.   69.1.]  an instance of authorial advice to actors.   72.  unless]  lest (OED conj. 4.a.).   74.  skipjack]  a pert shallow-brained fellow. The term originally referred to a horsedealer’s boy or jockey, who rode horses for sale (OED n 2).   76.  approve]  test (OED v1 II.8.).   77.  Or else … or …]  either … or … .   80. Medea]  sorceress of Colchis. The reference here is possibly to the late part of her myth when, after her revenge on Jason, she finds refuge in Athens, marrying Aegeus whom she tries to delude into believing that Theseus is not his son, so as to promote her own child. This reference is unrelated to the character of the sorceress Medea appearing later in the play.   82.  Pluto]  also known as Hades, god of the underworld in classical mythology.   82. Avern]  Lake Avernus is the entrance to the underworld in Virgil’s Aeneid (Book VI). By extension, the term is often used as a synonym for the underworld. Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 1.1.27–9 (‘Then was the ferryman of hell content / To pass me over to the slimy strond / That leads to fell Avernus’ ugly waves’).

 60

alphon s u s , ki n g of aragon Seek to flout me with his counterfeit? His body like to Alphonsus framèd is, His face resembles much Alphonsus’ hue, His noble mind declares him for no less. ’Tis he indeed! Woe worth Albinius, Whose babbling tongue has caused his own annoy! Why does not Jove send from the glittering skies His thunderbolts to chastise this offence? Why does dame Terra cease with greedy jaws To swallow up Albinius presently? What, shall I fly and hide my traitorous head From stout Alphonsus whom I so misused? Or shall I yield? Tush, yielding is in vain, Nor can I fly, but he will follow me. Then cast thyself down at his grace’s feet, Confess thy fault, and ready make thy breast To entertain thy well-deservèd death.

[act 1

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a l b i n i u s kneels down. Alphonsus.  What news, my friend? Why are you so blank That erst before did vaunt it to the skies? Albinius.  Pardon, dear lord, Albinius pardon craves For this offence, which by the heavens I vow, Unwittingly I did unto your grace. For had I known Alphonsus had been here, Ere that my tongue had spoke so traitorously, This hand should make my very soul to die. Alphonsus.  Rise up, my friend, thy pardon soon is got. But prithee, tell me, what the cause might be That in such sort thou erst upbraidedest me?

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a l b i n i u s rises up. Albinius.  Most mighty Prince, since first your father’s sire Did yield his ghost unto the sisters three,   87.  woe worth]  woe be unto (arch., OED v1 1.c.).   89.  Jove]  The sky god, also called Jupiter, was the hurler of the thunderbolt (Jupiter Lapis) in Roman mythology, analogue of Greek Zeus.   91.  Terra]  the earth goddess in Roman mythology, analogue of Greek Gaia.   91.  cease]  desist from (OED v I.1.a.).   95.  Tush]  an interjection expressing disdain.   100.  blank]  pale (Fr. blanc).   101.  erst before]  erstwhile, formerly.   112.  the sisters three]  the Fates, controllers of individual human destinies in Greek mythology, conceived of as three old women spinning and then severing the thread of life (see Tilley, S490: ‘The three Sisters’).

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And old Carinus forcèd was to fly His native soil and royal diadem, I, for because I seemèd to complain Against their treason, shortly was forewarned, Ne’er more to haunt the bounds of Aragon On pain of death. Then, like a man forlorn, I sought about to find some resting-place, And at the length did hap upon this shore, Where showing forth my cruel banishment, By King Belinus I am succourèd. But now, my lord, to answer your demand: It happens so, that the usurping King Of Aragon makes war upon this land, For certain tribute which he claimeth here. Wherefore Belinus sent me round about His country, for to gather up men For to withstand this most injurious foe. Which being done, returning with the King, Despitefully I did so taunt your grace, Imagining you had some soldier been, The which, for fear, had sneakèd from the camp. Alphonsus.  Enough, Albinius, I do know thy mind. But may it be that these thy happy news Should be of truth, or have you forgèd them? Albinius.  The gods forbid that e’er Albinius’ tongue Should once be found to forge a feignèd tale, Especially unto his sovereign lord. But if Alphonsus think that I do feign, Stay here a while, and you shall plainly see My words be true, whenas you do perceive Our royal army march before your face; The which, if’t please my noble lord to stay, I’ll hasten on with all the speed I may. Alphonsus.  Make haste, Albinius, if you love my life. But yet beware, whenas your army comes, You do not make as though you do me know, For I a while a soldier base will be, Until I find time more convenient To show, Albinius, what is mine intent. Albinius.  Whate’er Alphonsus fittest does esteem, Albinius for his profit best will deem.

153. for] Dyce; fot Q.   116.  shortly]  on short notice.

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[act 1

Alphonsus.  Now do I see both gods and fortune too Do join their powers to raise Alphonsus’ fame; For in this broil I do not greatly doubt But that I shall my cousin’s courage tame. But see whereas Belinus’ army comes, And he himself, unless I guess awry. Whoe’er it be, I do not pass a pin: Alphonsus means his soldier for to be.

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Enter be l i n us King of Naples, Al b i n i u s, fabius, marching with their soldiers. Belinus.  Thus far, my lords, we trainèd have our camp, For to encounter haughty Aragon, Who with a mighty power of straggling mates Has traitorously assailèd this our land, And burning towns and sacking cities fair, Does play the devil wheresome’er he comes. Now, as we are informèd by our scouts, He marches on unto our chiefest seat, Naples I mean, that city of renown, For to begirt it with his bands about, And so at length, the which high Jove forbid, To sack the same as erst he others did. If which should hap, Belinus were undone, His country spoiled, and all his subjects slain. Wherefore your sovereign thinketh it most meet, For to prevent the fury of the foe, And Naples succour, that distressèd town, By entering in, ere Aragon does come, With all our men, which will sufficient be, For to withstand their cruel battery. Albinius.  The silly serpent, found by country swain, And cut in pieces by his furious blows,

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170. renown] This ed.; renowme Q.  173.  others]  This ed.; other Q.  175. subjects]  Gros.; subject Q.   160.  not pass a pin]  a possible variation on the proverbial ‘Not to care a pin’. Tilley, P333, gives, among other examples: ‘Of Goddes ferfull vengance the[y]  passyde note a pynne’.   164.  straggling]  vagabond, vagrant (OED ppl. a).   167.  wheresome’er] wherever.   171.  begirt] encircle.   173. others]  other cities.   182.  silly]  stupefied, dazed (OED a 6).   182–93.]  Topsell, quoting Pliny, describes the same phenomenon, and draws from it a moral lesson of constancy: ‘Even as when a Serpent is set upon and stroken, by all

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Yet if her head do scape away untouched, As many write, it very strangely goes To fetch an herb, with which in little time Her battered corpse again she does conjoin. But if by chance the ploughman’s sturdy staff Do hap to hit upon the serpent’s head, And bruise the same, though all the rest be sound, Yet does the silly serpent lie for dead, Nor can the rest of all her body serve To find a salve which may her life preserve. Even so, my lord, if Naples once be lost, Which is the head of all your grace’s land, Easy it were for the malicious foe To get the other cities in their hand. But if from them that Naples town be free, I do not doubt, but safe the rest shall be. And therefore, mighty king, I think it best To succour Naples, rather than the rest. Belinus.  ’Tis bravely spoken. By my crown I swear, I like thy counsel and will follow it.

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Point toward a l p ho n su s. But hark Albinius, dost thou know the man That doth so closely overthwart us stand? Albinius.  Not I, my lord, nor never saw him yet. Belinus.  Then prithee, go and ask him presently, What countryman he is, and why he comes Into this place? Perhaps he is someone That is sent hither as a secret spy, To hear and see in secret what we do.

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al bi n i us and fa b i u s go toward a l p h o ns us. Albinius.  My friend, what art thou, that so like a spy Dost sneak about Belinus’ royal camp? Alphonsus.  I am a man. Fabius. A man? We know the same! But prithee, tell me, and set scoffing by,

215

184. her] Dyce; his Q. the means she can she hideth her head, and exposeth all her other parts to blows, reserving that sound; so you, when you are persecuted by Tyrants, preserve your head, that is, your faith, and deny not your God to death’ (Topsell, p. 604).   193.  salve]  healing ointment.   203.1.]  another instance of authorial acting advice.   205.  overthwart]  opposite, facing (OED prep. 2).

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[act 1

What countryman thou art, and why you come, That we may soon resolve the King thereof? Alphonsus.  Why, say I am a soldier. Fabius. Of whose band? Alphonsus.  Of his that will most wages to me give. Fabius.  But will you be content to serve Belinus in his wars? Alphonsus.  Ay, if he will reward me as I do deserve, And grant whate’er I win, it shall be mine incontinent. Albinius.  Believe me, sir, your service costly is. But stay a while, and I will bring you word What King Belinus says unto the same.

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a l b i n i u s go towards b e l i n us. Belinus.  What news, Albinius? Who is that we see? Albinius.  It is, my lord, a soldier that you see, Who fain would serve your grace in these your wars, But that, I fear, his service is too dear. Belinus.  Too dear? Why so? What does the soldier crave? Albinius.  He craves, my lord, all things that with his sword He does obtain, whatever that they be. Belinus.  Content, my friend. If thou wilt succour me, Whate’er you get, that challenge as thine own. Belinus gives it frankly unto thee, Although it be the crown of Aragon. Come on, therefore, and let us hie apace, To Naples town, whereas by this, I know, Our foes have pitched their tents against our walls. Alphonsus.  March on, my lord, for I will follow you, And do not doubt but ere the time be long, I shall obtain the crown of Aragon.

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Exeunt be l i nu s, a l b i n i u s, fa b i u s, a l p ho ns us, with the soldiers. As soon as they are in, strike up alarum a while, and then enter v e n u s.

225.1. Belinus] Dyce; Alphonsus Q.  240. SP.] Dyce; not in Q.  242.1. Exeunt] This ed.; Exeunt. Enter Q.  242.1. soldiers] This ed.; soldier Q.   221–2.] an instance of the archaic poulter’s measure (a hexameter, followed by a heptameter). This is consistent with the play’s frequent recourse to archaisms.  222.  incontinent]  immediately (OED adv. a.).   228.  fain]  gladly, willingly.   240–2.]  Q wrongly prints this as a continuation of Belinus’s speech.   242.1.]  Q’s odd ‘Exeunt. Enter’ could perhaps mean ‘They leave the stage to enter the tiring-house’. ‘Enter’ has been dropped for the sake of clarity in this edition.

ac t 2 [2.Prol.] Venus.  Thus from the pit of pilgrim’s poverty Alphonsus ’gins by step and step to climb Unto the top of friendly Fortune’s wheel. From banished state, as you have plainly seen, He is transformed into a soldier’s life, And marches in the ensign of the king Of worthy Naples, which Belinus hight, Not for because that he does love him so, But that he may revenge him on his foe. Now on the top of lusty barbèd steed He mounted is, in glittering armour clad, Seeking about the troops of Aragon, For to encounter with his traitorous niece. How he does speed, and what does him befall, Mark this our act, for it does show it all.

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[2.1] Strike up alarum. Enter f l a mi n i u s at one door, alph o ns us at another. They fight. a l p ho n su s kill f l a mi nius, and say: Alphonsus.  Go pack thou hence unto the Stygian lake, And make report unto thy traitorous sire

Act 2]  This ed.; Act. 2. Of the Historie of Alphonsus Q.  2. Prol.] This ed.; II. Chor. Greg; Collins; not in Q.  15.1.]  This ed.; Exit Venus Q.   2.  ’gins] begins.   3.  Fortune’s wheel]  Medieval representations of Fortuna show her turning a wheel which takes people to the top, from where they are cast down again. See also Tilley, F617 (‘Fortune’s wheel is ever turning’).   7.  which Belinus hight]  who is called Belinus.   8.  for because]  because (arch., OED prep. 21.e.).   9.  revenge him]  revenge himself.   10. barbèd]  armed or caparisoned with a barb or bard, a protective covering made of metal plates (OED ppl. a).   13.  niece]  a male relative (OED n 2) Also in 3.2.161.   1.  Stygian lake]  The Styx, marking the boundary between the world of the living and the underworld in Greek mythology. It is usually referred to as a river, but is mentioned as a lake in Ovid’s Metamorphoses (III, 362).

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[act 2

How well thou hast enjoyed the diadem Which he by treason set upon thy head. And if he ask thee who did send thee down, Alphonsus say, who now must wear the crown.

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Strike up alarum. Enter l a e l i u s, who seeing that his king is slain, upbraids a l p h on s u s in this sort: Laelius.  Traitor, how dar’st thou look me in the face, Whose mighty king thou traitorously hast slain? What, dost thou think Flaminius has no friends For to revenge his death on thee again? Yes, be you sure that, ere you scape from hence, Thy gasping ghost shall bear him company, Or else myself, fighting for his defence, Will be content by those thy hands to die. Alphonsus.  Laelius, few words would better thee become, Especially as now the case doth stand; And didst thou know whom thou dost threaten thus, We should you have more calmer out of hand. For, Laelius, know that I Alphonsus am, The son and heir to old Carinus, whom The traitorous father of Flaminius Did secretly bereave of his diadem. But see the just revenge of mighty Jove: The father dead, the son is likewise slain By that man’s hand who they did count as dead, Yet does survive to wear the diadem, When they themselves accompany the ghosts Which wander round about the Stygian fields.

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l a e l i u s gaze upon a l p ho n sus. Muse not hereat, for it is true, I say: I am Alphonsus, whom thou hast misused. Laelius.  The man whose death I did so oft lament?

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Kneel down. Then pardon me for these uncourteous words, The which I in my rage did utter forth, 31. SP.] Dyce; not in Q.   18.  we should you have]  we should have you.   18.  more calmer]  For the double comparative, see Abbott 11.   31.  SP.]  The missing speech prefix at the top of sig. C1v in Q seems to point to a typesetting accident, since the catchword at the bottom of sig. C1r reads ‘Kneele’. This may correspond to a displaced stage direction, which could have been ‘Kneele downe Laelius, and say’.

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Pricked by the duty of a loyal mind. Pardon, Alphonsus, this my first offence, And let me die if e’er I slight again. Alphonsus.  Laelius, I fain would pardon this offence, And eke accept thee to my grace again, But that I fear that, when I stand in need And want your help, you will your lord betray. How say you, Laelius? May I trust to thee? Laelius.  Ay, noble lord, by all the gods I vow; For first shall heavens want stars, and foaming seas Want watery drops, before I’ll traitor be Unto Alphonsus, whom I honour so. Alphonsus.  Well then, arise, and for because I’ll try If that thy words and deeds be both alike, Go haste and fetch the youths of Aragon, Which now I hear have turned their heels and fled. Tell them your chance, and bring them back again Into this wood, where in ambushment lie Until I come or send for you myself. Laelius.  I will, my lord. Exit laelius. Alphonsus.  Full little thinks Belinus and his peers What thoughts Alphonsus casteth in his mind; For if they did, they would not greatly haste To pay the same the which they promised me.

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Enter be l i n u s, a l b i n i u s, fa b i u s, with their soldiers, marching. Belinus.  Like simple sheep, when shepherd absent is Far from his flock, assailed by greedy wolf, Do scattering fly about, some here, some there, To keep their bodies from their ravening jaws, So do the fearful youths of Aragon Run round about the green and pleasant plains, And hide their heads from Neapolitans. Such terror have their strong and sturdy blows Struck to their hearts, as for a world of gold, I warrant you, they will not come again. But, noble lords, where is the knight become Which made the blood besprinkle all the place Whereas he did encounter with his foe? My friend Albinius, know you where he is?

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36. slight] This ed.; flight Q.  42. Ay] Dyce; I Q.   37.  fain]  See note to 1.1.228.   38. eke]  in addition.   59.  wolf]  The singular form in Q seems to be generic: ‘the wolf’, as opposed to ‘the sheep’. Both are taken up by plural pronouns in l. 61.   70.  whereas]  See note to 1.Prol.41.

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[act 2

Albinius.  Not I, my lord, for since in thickest ranks I saw him chase Flaminius at the heels, I never yet could set mine eyes on him. al bi n i u s spies out a l p ho n su s, and shows him to belinus. But see, my lord, whereas the warrior stands, Or else my sight does fail me at this time. Belinus.  ’Tis he indeed, who, as I do suppose, Has slain the King, or else some other lord; For well I wot, a carcass I do see, Hard at his feet, lie struggling on the ground.

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be l i n us and a l b i n i u s go towards a lph o ns us. Come on, Albinius, we will try the truth. b e l i n u s say to a l p ho n su s: Hail to the noble victor of our foes! Alphonsus.  Thanks, mighty prince, but yet I seek not this. It is not words must recompense my pain, But deeds. When first I took up arms for you, Your promise was, whate’er my sword did win In fight, as his Alphonsus should it crave.

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Show be l i n u s f l a mi n i u s, who lies all this while dead at his feet. See, then, where lies thy foe Flaminius, Whose crown my sword has conquered in the field; Therefore, Belinus, make no long delay, But that discharge you promised for to pay. Belinus.  Will nothing else satisfy thy conquering mind Besides the crown? Well, since thou hast it won, Thou shalt it have, though far against my will.

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al p h o n s u s sit in the chair. b e l i n u s takes the crown off of f l am in i u s’s head, and puts it on a l ph o ns us. Here does Belinus crown thee with his hand The King of Aragon. What, are you pleased?

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Sound trumpets and drums within. Alphonsus.  Not so, Belinus, till you promise me All things belonging to the royal crown

  79.  I wot]  I know.   91.]  But discharge that which you promised to pay.   94.1–2.]  The verbs in this SD waver between the old practice of addressing the actors and the newer one of describing the characters’ actions.

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Of Aragon, and make your lordings swear For to defend me to their utmost power Against all men that shall gainsay the same. Belinus.  Mark, what belongèd erst unto the crown Of Aragon, that challenge as thine own; Belinus gives it frankly unto thee. I swear by all the powers of glittering skies To do my best for to maintain the same; So that it be not prejudicial Unto mine honour or my country’s soil. Albinius.  And by the sacred seat of mighty Jove Albinius swears that first he’ll die the death, Before he’ll see Alphonsus suffer wrong. Fabius.  What erst Albinius vowed, we jointly vow. Alphonsus.  Thanks, mighty lords, but yet I greatly fear That very few will keep the oaths they swear. But what, Belinus, why stand you so long, And cease from offering homage unto me? What, know you not that I thy sovereign am, Crownèd by thee and all thy other lords, And now confirmèd by your solemn oaths? Feed not thyself with fond persuasions, But presently come yield thy crown to me, And do me homage, or by heavens I swear, I’ll force thee do it maugre all thy train. Belinus.  How now, base brat? What, are thy wits thine own, That thou dar’st thus upbraid me in my land? ’Tis best for thee these speeches to recall, Or else, by Jove, I’ll make thee to repent That e’er thou settst thy foot on Naples’ soil. Alphonsus.  ‘Base brat’, sayst thou? As good a man as thou! But say I came but of a base descent, My deeds shall make my glory for to shine As clear as Luna in a winter’s night. But for because thou braggst so of thy birth, I’ll see how it shall profit thee anon.

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105.  I swear]  This ed.; And sweare Q.  108.  country’s soil]  This ed.; Countrey soyle Q.  125.  upbraid]  This ed.; abraide Q.   99.  your lordings]  a diminutive of ‘lords’, used in contempt, as meaning little lords or petty ones (OED n 2). Alphonsus’s attitude towards Belinus gradually becomes haughty (compare with his earlier ‘Thanks, mighty prince’, l. 83).   105.  I swear]  The third person singular for Belinus in his previous line in Q is not consistent with ‘to do my best’ further in the sentence.   123.  maugre]  in spite of (arch., from Fr. malgré).

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Fabius.  Alphonsus, cease from these thy threatening words, And lay aside this thy presumptuous mind, Or else be sure thou shalt the same repent. Alphonsus.  How now, sir boy, will you be prattling too? ’Tis best for thee to hold thy tattling tongue, Unless I send someone to scourge thy breech. Why, then, I see ’tis time to look about, When every boy Alphonsus dares control! But be they sure, ere Phoebus’ golden beams Have compassèd the circle of the sky, I’ll clog their tongues, since nothing else will serve To keep those viled and threatening speeches in. Farewell, Belinus, look thou to thyself: Alphonsus means to have thy crown ere night.  Exit alph o ns us. Belinus.  What, is he gone? The devil break his neck! The fiends of hell torment his traitorous corpse! Is this the quittance of Belinus’ grace, That he did show unto that thankless wretch, That runagate, that rakehell, yea, that thief? For well I wot he has robbed me of a crown. If ever he had sprung from gentle blood, He would not thus misuse his favourer. Albinius.  ‘That runagate, that rakehell, yea, that thief’? Stay there, sir king, your mouth runs over much. It ill becomes the subject for to use Such traitorous terms against his sovereign. Know thou, Belinus, that Carinus’ son Is neither rakehell, nor runagate. But be thou sure, that ere the darksome night Do drive god Phoebus to his Tethys’ lap,

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146.  viled]  This ed.; vilde Q.  164. Tethys] This ed.; Thetis Q.   140.  Unless]  See note to 1.1.72.   142.]  when every boy dares challenge (OED v 3.b) Alphonsus.   143.  Phoebus]  Roman name of Apollo, the sun god.   145.  clog]  in its literal sense of fastening a weight on them.   146.  viled]  vile (arch., OED a).   151.  quittance]  recompense, requital (OED n 3).   153.  runagate] an apostate (arch.), a deserter or a vagabond (OED n 1, 2, 3). Compare 1 Tamburlaine, 3.3.57.   153.  rakehell]  an immoral or dissolute person, a scoundrel (OED n 2). At line 162 the word must be read as a trisyllable if the line is a pentameter.   164.  Tethys]  wife of Neptune, and goddess of the sea. Q’s ‘Thetis’ may be a misspelling, or otherwise Greene’s mistake, possibly derived from Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, 1.1.23 (‘Ere Sol had slept three nights in Thetis’ lap’). The sea nymph Thetis was one of the Nereids and the mother of Achilles (Apollodorus, 3.13.5).

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Both thou and all the rest of this thy train Shall well repent the words which you have sain. Belinus.  What, traitorous villain, dost thou threaten me? Lay hold on him, and see he do not scape; I’ll teach the slave to know to whom he speaks. Albinius.  To thee I speak, and to thy fellows all; And though as now you have me in your power, Yet doubt I not but that in little space These eyes shall see thy treason recompensed, And then I mean to vaunt of our victory. Belinus.  Nay, proud Albinius, never build on that. For though the Gods do chance for to appoint Alphonsus victor of Belinus’ land, Yet shalt thou never live to see that day; And therefore, Fabius, stand not lingering, But presently slash off his traitorous head. Albinius.  ‘Slash off his head’? As though Albinius’ head Were then so easy to be slashèd off! In faith, sir, no: when you are gone and dead, I hope to flourish like the pleasant spring. Belinus.  Why, how now, Fabius! What, do you stand in doubt To do the deed? What fear you? Who dares seek For to revenge his death on thee again, Since that Belinus did command it so? Or are you waxed so dainty that you dare Not use your sword for staining of your hands? If it be so, then let me see thy sword, And I will be his butcher for this time.

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fabi u s give be l i n u s thy sword drawn. b e l i n us say as follows: Now, sir Albinius, are you of the mind That erst you were? What, do you look to see And triumph in Belinus’ overthrow? I hope the very sight of this my blade Hath changed your mind into another tune. Albinius.  Not so, Belinus, I am constant still. My mind is like to the asbestos stone,

195

170.  SP.]  Dyce; not in Q.  199. asbestos] This ed.; Abeston Q.   166.  sain]  said (arch.), possibly rhyming with ‘train’ in the previous line.   170.  SP.]  This SP is required between two cues uttered by Belinus.   190.  for staining]  for fear of staining.   199.  asbestos stone]  a fabulous stone, the heat of which, when once kindled, was alleged to be unquenchable. This may be a distorted reference to the phenomenon observed in pouring cold water on quicklime (OED).

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[act 2

Which, if it once be heat in flames of fire, Denieth to becomen cold again. Even so am I, and shall be till I die; And though I should see Atropos appear With knife in hand, to slit my thread in twain, Yet ne’er Albinius should persuaded be But that Belinus he should vanquished see. Belinus.  Nay then, Albinius, since that words are vain For to persuade you from this heresy, This sword shall sure put you out of doubt.

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be l i n u s offers to strike off a l b i n i u s’s head. Strike up alarum. Enter al p h o n s u s and his men. Fly b e l i n u s and fabius. Follow a l p h on s u s and a l b i n i u s.

[2.2] Enter l a e l i u s, mi l e s and his servants. Laelius.  My noble lords of Aragon, I know You wonder much what might the occasion be That Laelius, which erst did fly the field, Does egg you forwards now unto the wars. But when you hear my reason, out of doubt You’ll be content with this my rash attempt. When first our king – Flaminius I do mean – Did set upon the Neapolitans, The worst of you did know and plainly see How far they were unable to withstand The mighty forces of our royal camp, Until such time as froward Fates (we thought, Although the Fates ordained it for our gain) Did send a stranger stout, whose sturdy blows

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201.  Denieth]  Dyce; Deineth Q. 0.1.  miles]  Dyce; Milos Q.   200.  heat]  heated (see Abbott, 342).   201.  becomen]  become (see Abbott, 322). The extra syllable is needed for metrical reasons.   203. Atropos]  the last of the Three Fates spinning human destinies. She is in charge of severing the thread of life.   209.1.  offers to]  threatens to.   0.1.  miles]  The name appears as ‘Milos’ in the original SD, but, this being the only occurrence of that spelling in Q, it has been normalised to ‘Miles’. The name appears to be disyllabic throughout the play.   12.  froward]  See note to 1.1.46.

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And force alone did cause our overthrow. But to our purpose: this same martial knight Did hap to hit upon Flaminius, And lent our king then such a friendly blow As that his gasping ghost to Limbo went; Which, when I saw, and seeking to revenge, My noble lords, did hap on such a prize As never king nor kaiser got the like. Miles.  Laelius, of force we must confess to thee, We wondered all whenas you did persuade Us to return unto the wars again; But since our marvel is increasèd much By these your words, which sound of happiness. Therefore, good Laelius, make no tarrying, But soon unfold thy happy chance to us. Laelius.  Then, friends and fellow soldiers, hark to me: When Laelius thought for to revenge his king On that same knight, instead of mortal foe, I found him for to be our chiefest friend. Miles.  Our chiefest friend? I hardly can believe That he which made such bloody massacres Of stout Italians, can in any point Bear friendship to the country or the king. Laelius.  As for your king, Miles, I hold with you, He bore no friendship to Flaminius, But hated him as bloody Atropos. But for your country, Laelius does avow, He loves as well as any other land, Yea, sure he loves it best of all the world. And for because you shall not think that I Do say the same without a reason why, Know that the knight ‘Alphonsus’ has to name, Both son and heir to old Carinus, whom

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  19.  Limbo]  Hell, Hades (OED n1 1.c.). See also 4.1.74.   22.  kaiser]  emperor, an alternative spelling for ‘Caesar’. OED mentions the alliterative phrase ‘king or kaiser’ as common from thirteenth to seventeenth century. See also Tilley, K55 (‘Better to be King of a molehill than a kaiser’s slave’) and K56 (‘He fears nor king nor kaiser’).   24.  whenas you did persuade]  when you pleaded with us.   26.  since]  since then.   36.  Italians]  There seems to be a confusion about Alphonsus’s adversaries here, or perhaps an anticipation. So far, he has only fought and killed the Aragonian King, Flaminius. He will fight the Italians only later in this scene.   40.  Atropos]  See note to 2.1.203.   46.  the knight … name]  Know that the knight’s name is Alphonsus.

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alphon s u s , ki n g of aragon

[act 2

Flaminius’ sire bereavèd of his crown; Who did not seek the ruin of our host For any envy he did bear to us, But to revenge him on his mortal foe, Which by the help of high celestial Jove He hath achieved with honour in the field. Miles.  Alphonsus, man? I’ll ne’er persuaded be That e’er Alphonsus may survive again, Who with Carinus many years ago Was said to wander in the Stygian fields. Laelius.  Truth, noble Miles, these mine ears have heard For certainty, reported unto me, That old Carinus, with his peerless son, Had felt the sharpness of the Sisters’ shears; And had I not of late Alphonsus seen In good estate, though all the world should say He is alive, I would not credit them. But, fellow soldiers, wend you back with me, And let us lurk within the secret shade Which he himself appointed unto us; And if you find my words to be untroth, Then let me die to recompense the wrong.

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Strike up alarum. Enter a l b i n i u s with his sword drawn, and say: Albinius.  Laelius, make haste! Soldiers of Aragon, Set lingering by, and come and help your king – I mean Alphonsus – who, whilst that he did Pursue Belinus at the very heels, Was suddenly environèd about With all the troops of mighty Milan land. Miles.  What news is this? And is it very so? Is our Alphonsus yet in human state, Whom all the world did judge for to be dead? Yet can I scarce give credit to the same.

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  57.  Stygian fields]  Possible conflation of two classical references, the Styx (the river leading to the underworld) and the Elysian fields (the abode of the blessed in the afterlife).   58.  Truth]  elliptic form, meaning ‘in truth’ (OED n 14.c.).   61.  the Sisters’ shears]  the shears with which Atropos, the third Fate, allegedly cuts the thread of human lives.   65.  wend you back]  turn back, return.   68.  untroth]  untruth, falsehood (OED n 3).   76.  very]  verily, truly (OED adv 1).

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Albinius.  Give credit, yes, and since the Milan Duke Has broke his league of friendship, be he sure, Ere Cynthia, the shining lamp of night, Does scale the heavens with her horned head, Both he and his shall very plainly see The league is burst that causèd long the glee. Laelius.  And could the traitor harbour in his breast Such mortal treason ’gainst his sovereign, As when he should with fire and sword defend Him from his foes, he seeks his overthrow? March on, my friends: I ne’er shall joy at all, Until I see that bloody traitor’s fall.

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90 Exeunt.

Strike up alarum. Fly b e l i n u s, follow l a e l i u s; fly fabius, follow al bi n i u s; fly the du k e of mi l a n, follow miles.

80. SP.] This ed.; not in Q.   80.  SP.]  missing in Q. But the break in the speech and the repetition of ‘give credit’ make little sense without it.   82.  Cynthia] the moon goddess, traditionally represented with the crescent of the waxing moon on her forehead.   85.  causèd long the glee]  was long a cause for rejoicing.

ac t 3 [3.Prol.] Strike up alarum. Enter v e n u s. Venus.  No sooner did Alphonsus with his troop Set on the soldiers of Belinus’ band, But that the fury of his sturdy blows Did strike such terror to their daunted minds That glad was he which could escape away, With life and limb, forth of that bloody fray. Belinus flies unto the Turkish soil, To crave the aid of Amurack their king; Unto the which he willingly did consent, And sends Belinus, with two other kings, To know god Mahomet’s pleasure in the same. Meantime the empress, by Medea’s help, Did use such charms that Amurack did see, In soundest sleep, what afterward should hap. How Amurack did recompense her pain, With mickle more, this act shall show you plain.

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Exit venus.

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[3.1] Enter one carrying two crowns upon a crest; alph o ns us, al bi n i u s, l a e l i u s and mi l e s, with their soldiers. Alphonsus.  Welcome, brave youths of Aragon, to me. Yea, welcome Miles, Laelius, and the rest, Whose prowess alone has been the only cause

3. Prol.] This ed.; III. Chor. Greg;

Collins; not in Q.  1. SP.] Dyce; not in Q.   4.  daunted]  (a) tamed, subdued (akin to Fr. dompté); (b) dispirited, overcome with fear (OED).   11.  god Mahomet] This view of Mahomet as a pagan god rather than a prophet was inherited from medieval romances (see Introduction). The name becomes a dissyllable in this line.   16.  mickle more]  much more.   0.1.  crest]  The apex or ‘cone’ of a helmet; hence, a helmet or headpiece (OED n1 4). Dessen and Thomson mention a similar prop in Peele’s Edward I: ‘with headpieces and Garlands on them’ (under ‘Headpiece’).

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That we, like victors, have subdued our foes. Lord, what a pleasure was it to my mind To see Belinus, which not long before Did with his threatenings terrify the gods, Now scud apace from warlike Laelius’ blows! The Duke of Milan, he increased our sport, When doubting that his force was over-weak For to withstand, Miles, thy sturdy arm, Did give more credence to his frisking skips Than to the sharpness of his cutting blade. What Fabius did to pleasure us withall, Albinius knows as well as I myself; For well I wot, if that thy tired steed Had been as fresh and swift in foot as his, He should have felt, yea, known for certainty, To check Alphonsus did deserve to die. Briefly, my friends and fellow peers in arms, The worst of you do deserve such mickle praise As that my tongue denies for to set forth The demi-parcel of your valiant deeds; So that perforce I must by duty be Bound to you all for this your courtesy. Miles.  Not so, my lord, for if our willing arms Have pleasured you so much as you do say, We have done nought but that becometh us, For to defend our mighty sovereign. As for my part, I count my labour small, Yea, though it had been twice as much again, Since that Alphonsus does accept thereof. Alphonsus.  Thanks, worthy Miles, lest all the world Should count Alphonsus thankless for to be, Laelius, sit down, and Miles, sit by him, And that receive the which your swords have won.

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Sit down l a e l i u s and mi l e s. First, for because thou, Laelius, in these broils, By martial might, didst proud Belinus chase From troop to troop, from side to side about, And never ceased from this thy swift pursuit, Until thou hadst obtained his royal crown, Therefore I say, I’ll do thee nought but right, And give thee that which thou well hast won.

  23.  demi-parcel]  half share.

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alphon s u s , ki n g of aragon

[act 3

Set the crown on his head. Here does Alphonsus crown thee, Laelius, king Of Naples town, with all dominions That erst belongèd to our traitorous foe, That proud Belinus in his regiment.

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Sound trumpets and drums. Miles, thy share the Milan dukedom is, For well I wot, thy sword deserved no less; Set the crown on his head. The which Alphonsus frankly giveth thee, In presence of his warlike men at arms. And if that any stomach this my deed, Alphonsus can revenge thy wrong with speed.

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Sound trumpets and drums. Now to Albinius, which in all my toils I have both faithful, yea, and friendly found. Since that the gods and friendly Fates assign This present time to me to recompense The sundry pleasures thou hast done to me, Sit down by them, and on thy faithful head

55

Take the crown from thy own head. Receive the crown of peerless Aragon. Albinius.  Pardon, dear lord, Albinius at this time. It ill becomes me for to wear a crown, Whenas my lord is destitute himself. Why, high Alphonsus, if I should receive This crown of you, the which high Jove forbid, Where would yourself obtain a diadem? Naples is gone, Milan possessèd is, And nought is left for you but Aragon. Alphonsus.  And nought is left for me but Aragon? Yes, surely yes, my Fates have so decreed That Aragon should be too base a thing For to obtain Alphonsus for her king. What, hear you not how that our scattered foes – Belinus, Fabius and the Milan duke – Are fled for succour to the Turkish court?

  47.  regiment]  governance, royal authority (OED n 1.a.).   52.  stomach]  to be offended at, resent (OED v 1).

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And think you not that Amurack, their king, Will, with the mightiest power of all his land, Seek to revenge Belinus’ overthrow? Then doubt I not but ere these broils do end, Alphonsus shall possess the diadem That Amurack now wears upon his head. Sit down, therefore, and that receive of me The which the Fates appointed unto thee. Albinius.  Thou king of heaven, which by thy power divine Dost see the secrets of each liver’s heart, Bear record now with what unwilling mind I do receive the crown of Aragon.

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a l bi n i u s sit down by l a e l i u s and mi l e s. a l p h o ns us set the crown on his head, and say: Alphonsus.  Arise, Albinius, King of Aragon, Crownèd by me, who till my gasping ghost Do part asunder from my breathless corpse, Will be thy shield against all men alive, That for thy kingdom any way do strive.

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Sound trumpets and drums. Now, since we have in such a happy hour Confirmed three kings, come, let us march with speed Into the city, for to celebrate With mirth and joy this blissful festival.

95 Exeunt all.

[3.2] Enter am u rack the Great Turk, b e l i n u s, fa bius, arcas tus King of Moors, c l a r a mou n t King of Barbary, bajazet a lord, with their train. Amurack.  Welcome, Belinus, to thy cousin’s court, Whose late arrival in such posting pace Does bring both joy and sorrow to us all.

  85.  liver]  living person.  [3.2]  Collins. This location can be inferred from lines 67–8 below.   1.  cousin]  used as a term of friendship and familarity between sovereigns (OED n 5.a.).   2.  Whose late arrival]  Belinus’s lately arriving.   2.  posting pace]  riding with speed, like a courier bearing an urgent letter.

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alphon s u s , ki n g of aragon

Sorrow, because the Fates have been so false To let Alphonsus drive thee from thy land; And joy, since that now mighty Mahomet Has given me cause to recompense at full The sundry pleasures I received of thee. Therefore, Belinus, do but ask and have, For Amurack does grant whate’er you crave. Belinus.  Thou second sun, which with thy glimpsing beams Dost clarify each corner of the earth, Belinus comes not, as erst Midas did To mighty Bacchus, to desire of him That whatsoe’er at any time he touched Might turnèd be to gold incontinent. Nor do I come as Jupiter did erst Unto the palace of Amphitryon, For any fond or foul concupiscence Which I do bear to Alcumena’s hue. But as poor Saturn, forced by mighty Jove To fly his country, banished and forlorn, Did crave the aid of Troos, King of Troy, So comes Belinus to high Amurack; And if he can but once your aid obtain, He turns with speed to Naples back again. Amurack.  My aid, Belinus? Do you doubt of that? If all the men at arms of Africa, Of Asia likewise, will sufficient be To press the pomp of that usurping mate, Assure thyself thy kingdom shall be thine, If Mahomet say ‘ay’ unto the same; For were I sure to vanquish all our foes, And find such spoils in ransacking their tents As never any kaiser did obtain, Yet would I not set foot forth of this land If Mahomet our journey did withstand.

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  11.  glimpsing]  glimmering (OED ppl. a.).   13–16.]  Midas, king of Phrygia, was granted this power by Dionysus/Bacchus as a reward for services rendered (Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book XI).   16.  incontinent]  See note to 1.1.222.   17–20.]  Alcmene, or Alcmena (the extra syllable in ‘Alcumena’ may have been added by Greene for the sake of the measure, Dyce believes) begot Heracles by Jupiter who visited her nightly, disguised as her husband Amphitryon (Apollodorus, 2.4.8).   21–3.]  Tros (according to Dyce, the extra syllable in ‘Troos’ may have been added for the measure) was the ruler of Troy and eponym of that city. Yet in Roman mythology, Saturn is said to have fled not to Troy but to Rome, following his defeat by Jupiter.

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Belinus.  Nor would Belinus for King Croesus’ trash, Wish Amurack to displease the gods, In pleasuring me in such a trifling toy. Then, mighty monarch, if it be thy will, Get their consents, and then the act fulfil. Amurack.  You counsel well. Therefore, Belinus, haste, And Claramount, go bear him company, With King Arcastus, to the city walls. Then bend with speed unto the darksome grove Where Mahomet this many a hundred year Has prophesied unto our ancestors. Tell to his priests that Amurack, your king, Is now selecting all his men at arms, To set upon that proud Alphonsus’ troop. The cause you know, and can inform him well, That makes me take these bloody broils in hand; And say that I desire their sacred god, That Mahomet which ruleth all the skies, To send me word, and that most speedily, Which of us shall obtain the victory.

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Exeunt omnes, except baja z e t and a murack. You, Bajazet, go post away apace To Syria, Scythia and Albania, To Babylon, with Mesopotamia, Asia, Armenia and all other lands Which owe their homage to high Amurack. Charge all their kings with expedition To gather up the chiefest men at arms Which now remain in their dominions; And on the twentieth day of the same month To come and wait on Amurack their king At his chief city, Constantinople. Tell them, moreover, that whoso does fail, Nought else but death from prison shall him bail.

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Exit bajaze t. As soon as he is gone, sound music within.

66. twentieth] (twentie[th]) Dyce; twentie Q.   38.  King Croesus’ trash]  Croesus, king of Lydia, was renowned for his wealth. He was overcome by Cyrus the Persian, whom he was encouraged to challenge by an ambiguous oracle at Delphi (Herodotus, Histories, 1.84–9). His fate ironically foreshadows Amurack’s as the latter likewise trusts Mahomet’s oracle. trash: contemptuously applied to money or cash (OED n 3.d).

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[act 3

What heavenly music soundeth in my ear? Peace, Amurack, and harken to the same. Sound music. Harken a mu r ac k and fall asleep. Enter m e d e a, fau s ta the empress, i p hi g i na her daughter. Medea.  Now have our charms fulfilled our minds full well. High Amurack is lullèd fast asleep, And doubt I not, but ere he wakes again, You shall perceive Medea did not gibe Whenas she put this practice in your mind. Sit, worthy Fausta, at thy spouse his feet;

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fau s ta and i p h i g i n a sit down at a murack’s feet. Iphigina, sit thou on the other side. Whate’er you see, be not aghast thereat, But bear in mind what Amurack does chat.

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m e d e a do ceremonies belonging to conjuring, and say: Thou which were wont in Agamemnon’s days To utter forth Apollo’s oracles At sacred Delphos, Calchas I do mean, I charge thee come, all lingering set aside, Unless the penance you thereof abide. I conjure thee by Pluto’s loathsome lake, By all the hags which harbour in the same, By stinking Styx and filthy Phlegethon,

85

89. Phlegethon] Dyce; Flegeton Q.   76.  gibe] mock.   77.  practice]  scheme, conspiracy.   81.  chat]  say informally (OED v1 3).   81.1.  ceremonies belonging to conjuring]  Contemporary examples of such ceremonies can be found in 2 Henry VI, 1.4.23ff, as well as in Greene’s own Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. See Dessen and Thomson, ‘Conjure, conjurer’.   84.  Calchas] The soothsayer Calchas prophesied to Agamemnon in Aulis, not Delphi (Homer, Iliad, I). Following his prophecy and in order to gain favourable winds allowing the Greek fleet to sail towards Troy, Agamemnon’s daughter Iphigenia was sacrificed to appease the goddess Artemis, who had been offended by Agamemnon. The parallel with the characters and plot of Alphonsus is obvious.   88.  hags]  a possible reference to the Erinyes or Furies, deities of vengeance in the underworld, ruled by Pluto or Hades.   89. Phlegethon]  Phlegethon, like the Styx, was one of the rivers of the underworld in Greek mythology. See Æneid, VI.550. See also The Spanish Tragedy, 3.15.4 (‘by Styx and Phlegethon in hell’).

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To come with speed and truly to fulfil That which Medea to thee straight shall will.

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Rise cal ch as up in a white surplice and a cardinal’s mitre, and say: Calchas.  Thou wretched witch, when wilt thou make an end Of troubling us with these thy cursèd charms? What meanst thou thus to call me from my grave? Shall ne’er my ghost obtain his quiet rest? Medea.  Yes, Calchas, yes, your rest does now approach. Medea means to trouble thee no more, Whenas thou hast fulfilled her mind this once. Go get thee hence to Pluto back again, And there enquire of the Destinies How Amurack shall speed in these his wars. Peruse their books, and mark what is decreed By Jove himself and all his fellow gods; And when thou knowst the certainty thereof, By fleshless visions show it presently To Amurack, in pain of penalty. Calchas.  Forced by thy charm, though with unwilling mind, I haste to hell, the certainty to find.

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cal c h as sink down where you came up. Medea.  Now, peerless princess, I must needs be gone; My hasty business calls me from this place. There resteth nought, but that you bear in mind What Amurack in this his fit does say; For mark what dreaming, madam, he does prate, Assure yourself, that that shall be his fate. Fausta.  Though very loath to let thee so depart, Farewell, Medea, easer of my heart.

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Exit me d e a.

109.  princess]  Dyce; Princes Q.   91.  shall will]  shall order (OED v1 1.3).   91.1.]  A surplice is a liturgical white tunic with wide sleeves. A mitre is a headdress worn as a symbol of episcopal office. The association between Roman catholicism and black magic is frequent on the early modern English stage (e.g. Barnabe Barnes’s The Devil’s Charter (1607) features Pope Alexander VI selling his soul to the devil Astaroth).   100.  Destinies]  the three Fates or Parcae.   109.  princess]  Q’s ‘Princes’ has been emended for its spelling rather than its meaning, since the rest of the speech is addressed to Fausta alone, not to Fausta and Iphigina, and only Fausta answers it.

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[act 3

Sound instruments within. a mu r ac k, as it were in a dream, say: Amurack.  What, Amurack, dost thou begin to nod? Is this the care that thou hast of thy wars? As when thou shouldst be prancing of thy steed, To egg thy soldiers forward in thy wars, Thou sittest moping by the fireside? See where thy viceroys grovel on the ground, Look where Belinus breatheth forth his ghost, Behold by millions how thy men do fall Before Alphonsus like to silly sheep. And canst thou stand still lazing in this sort? No, proud Alphonsus, Amurack does fly To quail thy courage, and that speedily.

120

125

Sound instruments a while within, and then amurack say: And dost thou think, thou proud, injurious god, Mahound I mean, since thy vain prophecies Led Amurack into this doleful case, To have his princely feet in irons clapped, Which erst the proudest kings were forced to kiss, That thou shall scape unpunished for the same? No, no, as soon as by the help of Jove I scape this bondage, down go all thy groves, Thy altars tumble round about the streets, And whereas erst we sacrificed to thee, Now all the Turks thy mortal foes shall be!

130

135

Sound instruments a while within. a murack say: Behold the gem and jewel of mine age, See where she comes, whose heavenly majesty Does far surpass the brave and gorgeous pace Which Cytherea, daughter unto Jove, Did put in ure whenas she had obtained

140

  119.  of thy steed]  i.e. on thy steed (Dyce).   130.  Mahound]  an alternative form for ‘Mahomet’. Both forms are used in Alphonsus (e.g. ‘Mahomet’ in 3.Prol.11, ‘Mahound’ in 4.Prol.13), for metrical reasons or as a misreading of two close forms in Elizabethan secretary hand.   133.] See 1 Tamburlaine, 4.2.65 (‘Whose feet the kings of Africa have kissed’).   143.  Cytherea] another name for the goddess Aphrodite, in reference to Cythera, her alleged birthplace and a centre of her cult. In Hesiod’s Theogony, she is not Jove’s daughter but is born of the foam produced by Ouranos’s semen as his genitals are cast into the sea following his castration by Kronos.   144.  put in ure]  See note to 1.Prol.36.

sc.2]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

The golden apple at the shepherd’s hands. See, worthy Fausta, where Alphonsus stands, Whose valiant courage could not daunted be, With all the men at arms of Africa! See now, he stands as one that lately saw Medusa’s head, or Gorgon’s hoary hue!

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Sound instruments a while within. a mu r ack say: And can it be that it may happen so? Can fortune prove so friendly unto me As that Alphonsus loves Iphigina? The match is made, the wedding is decreed; Sound trumpets, ho! Strike drums for mirth and glee! And three times welcome, son-in-law, to me!

155

fau sta rise up as it were in a fury, wake a mu rack, and say: Fausta.  Fie, Amurack, what wicked words be these? How canst thou look thy Fausta in the face Whom thou hast wrongèd in this shameful sort? And are the vows so solemnly you swore Unto Belinus, my most friendly niece, Now washed so clearly from thy traitorous heart? Is all the rancour, which you erst did bear Unto Alphonsus, worn so out of mind As where thou shouldest pursue him to death, You seek to give our daughter to his hands? The gods forbid that such a heinous deed With my consent should ever be decreed. And rather than thou shouldst it bring to pass, If all the army of Amazones Will be sufficient to withhold the same, Assure thyself that Fausta means to fight Against Amurack, for to maintain the right.

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165

170

  145.  golden apple]  a reference to the judgement of the shepherd-prince Paris, awarding the golden apple to Aphrodite, competing against Athena and Hera to determine who of the three was the fairest goddess.   150.  Medusa’s head]  the sight of the Gorgon Medusa’s face was enough to turn the onlookers to stone.   150.  Gorgon’s hoary hue]  The reference may be either to Medusa again or to one of the remaining two Gorgons, Stheno and Euryale. ‘Hoary’ means grey or greyish white (OED a 2).   161.  niece]  See note to 2.Prol.13.   170.  Amazones]  a tetrasyllable here and elsewhere in the play.

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[act 3

Iphigina.  Yea, mother, say (which Mahomet forbid) That in this conflict you should have the foil, Ere that Alphonsus should be called my spouse, This heart, this hand, yea, and this blade should be A readier means to finish that decree.

175

am u r ac k rise in a rage from thy chair. Amurack.  What threatening words thus thunder in mine ears? Or who are they, amongst the mortal troops, That dare presume to use such threats to me? The proudest kings and kaisers of the land Are glad to feed me in my fantasy; And shall I suffer then each prattling dame For to upbraid me in this spiteful sort? No, by the heavens, first will I lose my crown, My wife, my children, yea, my life and all! And therefore, Fausta, thou which Amurack Did tender erst, as the apple of mine eye, Avoid my court, and if thou lov’st thy life, Approach not nigh unto my regiment. As for this carping girl, Iphigina, Take her with thee to bear thee company; And in my land, I rede, be seen no more, For if you do, you both shall die therefore. Exit amurack. Fausta.  Nay then, I see ’tis time to look about, Delay is dangerous, and procureth harm. The wanton colt is tamèd in his youth, Wounds must be cured when they be fresh and green, And pleurisies, when they begin to breed, With little ease are driven away with speed.

180

185

190

200

205

181.  dare]  Dyce; dares Q.  189. Did] Dyce; Didst Q.   175.  foil] defeat.   181.  dare] I have retained Dyce’s modernisation of Q’s grammatical archaism ‘dares’, a singular form which in Elizabethan times was possible after a relative pronoun referring to a plural subject (Abbott, 247).   188.  thou which]  See Abbott, 265.   191. regiment]  See note to 3.1.47.   192.  carping] fault-finding.   199.  rede]  advise, counsel (OED v1 III.6).   202–6.]  a succession of proverbial statements. Several analogues are found in Tilley: D195 (‘Delay breeds danger (is dangerous)’), C522 (‘Of a ragged colt comes a good horse’), W927 (‘A green wound is soon healed’).   205.  pleurisies]  Pleurisy (or pleuritis) is an inflammation of the chest often associated with tuberculosis.

sc.2]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

Had Fausta, then, when Amurack began With spiteful speeches to control and check, Sought to prevent it by her martial force, This banishment had never happed to me. But the echinus, fearing to be gored, Does keep her younglings in her paunch so long, Till, when their pricks be waxen long and sharp, They put their dam at length to double pain; And I, because I loathed the broils of Mars, Bridled my thoughts and pressèd down my rage; In recompense of which my good intent I have received this woeful banishment. ‘Woeful’, said I? Nay, ‘happy’ I did mean, If that be happy which does set one free! For by this means I do not doubt ere long But Fausta shall with ease revenge her wrong. Come, daughter, come, my mind foretelleth me, That Amurack shall soon requited be.

87

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220

Make as though you were going out. me d e a meet her and say: Medea.  Fausta, what means this sudden flight of yours? Why do you leave your husband’s princely court, And all alone pass through these thickest groves, More fit to harbour brutish, savage beasts Than to receive so high a queen as you? Although your credit would not stay your steps From bending them into these darkish dens, Yet should the danger, which is imminent To everyone which passeth by these paths, Keep you at home with fair Iphigina. What foolish toy has tickled you to this? I greatly fear some hap has hit amiss. Fausta.  No toy, Medea, tickled Fausta’s head, Nor foolish fancy led me to these groves,

225

230

235

207. began] This ed.; begunne Q.   210.  happed] happened.   211.  echinus] sea-urchin, sometimes confused with a hedgehog, as in the legend referred to here and explained in Topsell: ‘When the female is to bring forth her young ones, and feeleth the natural pain of her delivery, she pricketh her own belly, to delay and put off her misery, to her further pain’ (p. 218).   214.  dam]  mother (OED n2 2).   227.  these thickest groves]  a change of location is implied here. Though the characters have not left the stage, they seem to be no longer at court but in the woods. Collins’s change of scene and location to ‘A Grove’ makes this explicit. Dyce and Grosart suggest the same in a note.

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But earnest business eggs my trembling steps To pass all dangers whatsoe’er they be. I banished am, Medea! I, which erst Was empress over all the triple world, Am banished now from palace and from pomp! But if the gods be favourers to me, Ere twenty days I will revengèd be. Medea.  I thought as much, when first from thickest leaves I saw you trudging in such posting pace. But to the purpose: what may be the cause Of this strange and sudden banishment? Fausta.  The cause, ask you? A simple cause, God wot. ’Twas neither treason, nor yet felony, But for because I blamed his foolishness. Medea.  I hear you say so, but I greatly fear, Ere that your tale be brought unto an end, You’ll prove yourself the author of the same. But pray, be brief: what folly did your spouse? And how will you revenge your wrong on him? Fausta.  What folly, quoth you? Such as never yet Was heard or seen, since Phoebus first ’gan shine! You know how he was gathering in all haste His men at arms, to set upon the troop Of proud Alphonsus; yea, you well do know How you and I did do the best we could To make him show us in his drowsy dream What afterward should happen in his wars. Much talk he had, which now I have forgot, But at the length, this surely was decreed, How that Alphonsus and Iphigina Should be conjoined in Juno’s sacred rites; Which, when I heard, as one that did despise That such a traitor should be son to me, I did rebuke my husband Amurack; And since my words could take no better place,

[act 3 240

245

250

255

260

265

270

249. strange] This ed.; strnnge Q.   242.  the triple world]  See note to 1.1.61.   249.  strange] Q’s ‘strnnge’ is an obvious misprint (the letter ‘u’ may have been turned by the typesetter).   255.  prove … same]  You too will act foolishly.   259.  ’gan]  began to.   269.  Juno’s sacred rites] marriage.

sc.2]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

My sword, with help of all Amazones, Shall make him soon repent his foolishness. Medea.  This is the cause, then, of your banishment? And now you go unto Amazone, To gather all your maidens in array, To set upon the mighty Amurack? O foolish queen, what meant you by this talk? Those prattling speeches have undone you all! Do you disdain to have that mighty prince – I mean Alphonsus – counted for your son? I tell you, Fausta, he is born to be The ruler of a mighty monarchy. I must confess, the powers of Amurack Be great, his confines stretch both far and near; Yet are they not the third part of the lands Which shall be rulèd by Alphonsus’ hands. And yet, you dain to call him son-in-law? But when you see his sharp and cutting sword Piercing the heart of this your gallant girl, You’ll curse the hour wherein you did deny To join Alphonsus with Iphigina. Fausta.  The gods forbid that e’er it happen so. Medea.  Nay, never pray, for it must happen so. Fausta.  And is there, then, no remedy for that? Medea.  No, none but one, and that you have forsworn. Fausta.  As though an oath can bridle so my mind As that I dare not break a thousand oaths, For to eschew the danger imminent. Speak, good Medea, tell that way to me, And I will do it, whatsoe’er it be. Medea.  Then, as already you have well decreed, Pack to your country, and in readiness, Select the army of Amazones; When you have done, march with your female troop To Naples town, to succour Amurack; And so, by marriage of Iphigina, You soon shall drive the danger clean away.

89 275

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310

  274.  Amazones] See note to 3.2.170. Fausta appears here as a variation on the model of Hippolyta, the Amazonian consort of Theseus, king of Athens. In some versions of her myth, the Amazons attack Athens to rescue her (the Attic War or ‘Amazonomachy’).   277.  Amazone]  land of the Amazons.   290.  dain]  See note to 1.Prol.17.   305.  pack] depart.

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Iphigina.  So shall we soon eschew Charybdis’ lake, And headlong fall to Scylla’s greedy gulf! I vowed before, and now do vow again: Before I wed Alphonsus, I’ll be slain. Medea.  In vain it is to strive against the stream; Fates must be followed, and the gods’ decree Must needs take place in every kind of cause. Therefore, fair maid, bridle these brutish thoughts, And learn to follow what the Fates assign. When Saturn heard that Jupiter, his son, Should drive him headlong from his heavenly seat Down to the bottom of the dark Avern, He did command his mother presently To do to death the young and guiltless child. But what of that? The mother loathed in heart For to commit so vile a massacre. Yea, Jove did live, and, as the Fates did say, From heavenly seat drove Saturn clean away. What did avail the castle all of steel, The which Acrisius causèd to be made To keep his daughter Danae cloggèd in? She was with child, for all her castle’s force, And by this child Acrisius, her sire, Was after slain, so did the Fates require. A thousand examples I could bring hereof, But marble stones need no colouring,

[act 3

315

320

325

330

335

336. need] This ed.; needs Q.   312–13.]  The sea-monster Charybdis was said to reside in a whirlpool faced by a rock which was the abode of Scylla, another sea-monster. Together, they guarded the two sides of a strait traditionally associated with the Strait of Messina, off the coast of Sicily. The cliché phrase ‘between Scylla and Charybdis’ refers to a situation in which avoiding one danger makes one embrace another dangerous course. ‘Gulf’ here is meant in the sense of a yawning chasm ready to swallow the monster’s victim (OED n 4).   315.]  proverbial (Tilley, S927: ‘It is hard (folly, in vain) to strive against the stream’).   322.  Avern]  See note to 1.1.82. See also 1 Tamburlaine, 1.2.160 (‘to pierce Avernus’ darksome vaults’) and 4.4.18 (‘Dive to the bottom of Avernus’ pool’).   323.  his mother]  Zeus/Jupiter/Jove’s mother, Rhea, is meant. She hid her child away to avoid his being killed by her husband Kronos/Saturn. Zeus grew up to overthrow his father and imprison him in the underworld.   329–34.] Danae, daughter of King Acrisius, was imprisoned by him in a bronze tower, because an oracle had told him that he would be killed by a child of hers. But Zeus impregnated Danae in the form of a shower of gold, and she conceived Perseus, who later fulfilled the prophecy by accidentally throwing a discus at Acrisius.   336.]  proverbial (Tilley, M639: ‘The fine marble needs no painting’).

sc.2]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

91

And that which everyone does know for truth Needs no examples to confirm the same. That which the Fates appoint, must happen so, Though heavenly Jove and all the gods say no. Fausta.  Iphigina, she sayeth nought but truth: Fates must be followed in their just decrees; And therefore, setting all delays aside, Come, let us wend unto Amazone, And gather up our forces out of hand. Iphigina.  Since Fausta wills, and Fates do so command, Iphigina will never it withstand.

340

345 Exeunt all.

341. sayeth] Dyce; sayth Q.

ac t 4 [4.Prol.] Enter v e n u s. Venus.  Thus have you seen how Amurack himself, Fausta his wife, and every other king Which holds their sceptres at the Turk his hands, Are now in arms, intending to destroy And bring to nought the Prince of Aragon. Charms have been used by wise Medea’s art, To know before what afterward shall hap; And King Belinus, with high Claramount, Joined to Arcastus, which with princely pomp Does rule and govern all the warlike Moors, Are sent as legates to god Mahomet, To know his counsel in these high affairs. Mahound, provoked by Amurack’s discourse, Which, as you heard, he in his dream did use, Denies to play the prophet any more; But, by the long entreaty of his priests, He prophesies in such a crafty sort As that the hearers needs must laugh for sport. Yet poor Belinus, with his fellow kings, Did give such credence to that forgèd tale As that they lost their dearest lives thereby, And Amurack became a prisoner Unto Alphonsus, as straight shall appear.

5

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15

20 Exit venus.

Act 4]  Dyce; Act. 3. Q.  4.  Prol.]  This ed.; IV. Chor. Greg;

Collins; not in Q.  1. SP.] This ed.; not in Q.  9. Arcastus] Dyce; Alphonsus Q.   3.  holds their sceptres]  on the mixture of singular and plural forms with ‘other’, see Abbott, 12.   3.  the Turk his hands]  the Turk’s hands (see Abbott, 217).   9. Arcastus]  Q’s ‘Alphonsus’ is clearly a misprint.   13.  Mahound]  See notes to 3.Prol.11 and 3.2.130.   15.  play the prophet]  prophesy, act as oracle.   18.  needs must]  must necessarily. ‘Needs’ is used as an adverb here (OED adv 3b).

sc.1]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

93

[4.1] Let there be a brazen head set in the middle of the place behind the stage, out of the which cast flames of fire. Drums rumble within. Enter two p r i e s t s. 1 Priest.  My fellow priest of Mahound’s holy house, What can you judge of these strange miracles Which daily happen in this sacred seat? Drums rumble within. Hark what a rumbling rattleth in our ears! Cast flames of fire forth of the brazen head. See flakes of fire proceeding from the mouth Of Mahomet, that god of peerless power! Nor can I tell, with all the wit I have, What Mahomet by these his signs does crave. 2 Priest.  Thrice ten times Phoebus with his golden beams Has compassèd the circle of the sky, Thrice ten times Ceres has her workmen hired And filled her barns with fruitful crops of corn, Since first in priesthood I did lead my life. Yet in this time I never heard before Such fearful sounds, nor saw such wondrous sights; Nor can I tell, with all the wit I have, What Mahomet by these his signs does crave.

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1. priest] Dyce; priests Q.   [4.1]  Collins.   0.1. brazen head] This prop is used again by Greene is Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. ‘Old Mahomet’s head’ is mentioned among the items on Henslowe’s inventory (see Introduction).   1.  priest]  Q’s ‘priests’ contradicts the SD above, as well as the rest of the scene, and has therefore been amended. A description of Mahomet’s priests and the devilish rites which they are supposed to perform is found in 1 Tamburlaine, 4.2.2–4 (‘Ye holy priests of heavenly Mahomet, / That, sacrificing, slice and cut your flesh, / Staining his altars with your purple blood’).   5.  flakes of fire]  a portion of ignited matter thrown off by a burning or incandescent body (OED n2 2).   11.  Ceres]  Roman goddess of agriculture, especially associated with the growing of cereals (hence the etymology of the latter word).   16–17.]  This couplet is repeated from 7–8. Rhetorical refrains are frequent in the plays of the late 1580s and early 1590s (e.g. Tamburlaine’s ‘And shall I die, and this unconquered?’ speech in 2 Tamburlaine, 5.3.115–60).

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[act 4

Speak out of the brazen head. Mahomet.  You cannot tell, nor will you seek to know. O perverse priests, how careless are you waxed, As when my foes approach unto my gates, You stand still talking of ‘I cannot tell’! Go pack you hence, and meet the Turkish kings, Which now are drawing to my temple ward. Tell them from me, God Mahomet is disposed To prophesy no more to Amurack, Since that his tongue has waxen now so free As that it needs must chat and rail at me.

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25

Kneel down both. 1 Priest.  O Mahomet, if all the solemn prayers Which from our childhood we have offered thee, Can make thee call this sentence back again, Bring not thy priests into this dangerous state! For when the Turk does hear of this repulse, We shall be sure to die the death therefore. Mahomet.  Thou sayest truth, go call the princes in. I’ll prophesy unto them for this once, But in such wise as they shall neither boast, Nor you be hurt by any kind of wise.

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Enter be l i n u s, c l a r a mou n t, a rc as t u s. Go both the pries ts to meet them. The first say: 1 Priest.  You kings of Turkey, Mahomet our god, By sacred science having notice that You were sent legates from high Amurack Unto this place, commanded us, his priests, That we should cause you make as mickle speed As well you might, to hear for certainty Of that shall happen to your king and ye. Belinus.  For that intent we came into this place, And sithence that the mighty Mahomet Is now at leisure for to tell the same, Let us make haste and take time while we may,

40

45

19. priests] priest[s] Dyce; priest Q.  31. priests] Dyce; priest Q.  37.2. them]  Collins; him Q.        

23.  to my temple ward]  toward my temple. 31. priests]  The singular ‘priest’ in Q may be meant as a generic form. 42.  as mickle speed]  as much speed. 46.  sithence] since.

sc.1]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

For mickle danger happ’neth through delay. 1 Priest.  Truth, worthy king, and therefore you yourself, With your companions, kneel before this place, And listen well what Mahomet does say.

95 50

Kneel all down before the brazen head. Belinus.  As you do will, we jointly will obey. Mahomet.  Princes of Turkey, and ambassadors Of Amurack to mighty Mahomet, I needs must muse that you, which erst have been The readiest soldiers of the triple world, Are now become so slack in your affairs As when you should, with bloody blade in hand, Be hacking helms in thickest of your foes, You stand still loitering in the Turkish soil. What, know you not how that it is decreed, By all the gods, and chiefly by myself, That you with triumph should all crownèd be? Make haste, kings, lest when the Fates do see How carelessly you do neglect their words, They call a council, and force Mahomet, Against his will, some other thing to set. Send Fabius back to Amurack again, To haste him forwards in his enterprise; And march you on with all the troops you have To Naples ward, to conquer Aragon. For if you stay, both you and all your men Must needs be sent down straight to Limbo den. 2 Priest.  Muse not, brave kings, at Mahomet’s discourse, For mark, what he forth of that mouth does say, Assure yourselves it needs must happen so. Therefore, make haste. Go, mount you on your steeds, And set upon Alphonsus presently. So shall you reap great honour for your pain, And scape the scourge which else the Fates ordain.

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Rise all up. Belinus.  Then, proud Alphonsus, look thou to thy crown. Belinus comes in glittering armour clad,

77. yourselves] Dyce; your selfe Q.   49.]  proverbial (Tilley, D195: ‘Delay breeds danger (is dangerous)’).   74.  Limbo den]  a periphrasis for hell. Limbo literally means ‘edge’ or ‘threshold’. It is the first circle of Inferno in Dante’s Divine Comedy. See also 2.2.19.

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All ready pressed for to revenge the wrong Which, not long since, you offered unto him; And since we have god Mahound on our side, The victory must needs to us betide. Claramount.  Worthy Belinus, set such threats away, And let us haste as fast as horse can trot, To set upon presumptuous Aragon. You, Fabius, haste, as Mahound did command, To Amurack with all the speed you may. Fabius.  With willing mind I hasten on my way. Belinus.  And thinking long till that we be in fight, Belinus hastes to quail Alphonsus’ might.

[act 4 85

90 Exit fabius. 95 Exeunt all.

[4.2] Strike up alarum a while. Enter c a rinus. Carinus.  No sooner had god Phoebus’ brightsome beams Begun to dive within the western seas, And darksome Nox had spread about the earth Her blackish mantle, but a drowsy sleep Did take possession of Carinus’ sense, And Morphey showed me strange disguisèd shapes. Methought I saw Alphonsus, my dear son, Placed in a throne all glittering clear with gold, Bedecked with diamonds, pearls and precious stones, Which shone so clear and glittered all so bright, ‘Hyperion’s coach’ that well be termed it might. Above his head a canopy was set,

5

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6. Morphey] This ed; Morphei Q.  11. coach] Dyce; couch Q.        

84.  pressed]  making haste (OED v1 8.a.). 87.  betide] befall. 94.]  finding the time long until we begin the fight. 95.  quail]  overpower, put an end to (OED v3 3).

  3.  Nox] the Latin form for Nyx, the primordial goddess of the night in Hesiod’s Theogony.   6.  Morphey]  Morpheus was the Greek god of dreams. The variant form in -ey (spelt -ei in Q) may have been chosen for metrical reasons. Sanders notes that Golding’s 1587 translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Book XI) likewise favours forms in -ey over forms in -eus (e.g. Orphey and Persey for Orpheus and Perseus).   7.  Methought I saw]  See Tamburlaine’s triumph foreseen by Techelles in 1 Tamburlaine, 1.2.55 (‘Methinks I see kings kneeling at his feet’).   11.  Hyperion’s coach]  the chariot in which Helios Hyperion, the sun god of Greek mythology, was believed to ride each day across the sky.

sc.2]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

Not decked with plumes, as other princes use, But all beset with heads of conquered kings, Installed with crowns, which made a gallant show, And struck a terror to the viewers’ hearts. Under his feet lay grovelling on the ground Thousand of princes, which he in his wars By martial might did conquer and bring low. Some lay as dead as either stock or stone, Some other tumbled, wounded to the death; But most of them, as to their sovereign king, Did offer duly homage unto him. As thus I stood, beholding of this pomp, Methought Alphonsus did espy me out, And, at a trice, he, leaving throne alone, Came to embrace me in his blessèd arms. Then noise of drums and sound of trumpets shrill Did wake Carinus from his pleasant dream. Something, I know, is now foreshown by this: The gods forfend that aught should hap amiss.

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cari n u s walk up and down. Enter the du k e o f milan in pilgrim’s apparel, and say: Duke.  This is the chance of fickle Fortune’s wheel: A prince at morn, a pilgrim ere it be night! I, which erewhile did dain for to possess The proudest palace of the western world, Would now be glad a cottage for to find To hide my head, so Fortune has assigned. Thrice Hesperus, with pomp and peerless pride, Has heaved his head forth of the eastern seas; Thrice Cynthia, with Phoebus’ borrowed beams, Has shown her beauty through the darkish clouds, Since that I, wretched duke, have tasted aught, Or drunk a drop of any kind of drink.

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42.  duke]  Dyce; Dulce Q.   20.  either stock or stone]  The phrase is generally applied contemptuously to an idol or a sacred image, with ‘stock’ and ‘stone’ standing for ‘gods of wood and stone’ (OED n1 1.d.). But it can also be used proverbially, to represent what is lifeless, motionless or void of sensation (OED n1 1.c. quotes Lydgate (c. 1407): ‘As deffe as stok or ston’).   32.  Fortune’s wheel]  See note to 2.Prol.3.   34. dain]  See note to 1.Prol.17.   38.  Hesperus]  personification of the evening star in Greek mythology (Roman equivalent: Vesper).   40.  Cynthia]  See note to 2.2.82.

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Instead of beds set forth with ebony, The greenish grass has been my resting place; And for my pillow stuffed with down, The hardish hillocks have sufficed my turn. Thus I, which erst had all things at my will, A life more hard than death do follow still. Carinus.  Methinks I hear, not very far from hence, Some woeful wight, lamenting his mischance. I’ll go and see, if that I can espy Him where he sits, or overhear his talk. Duke.  O Milan, Milan, little dost thou think How that thy Duke is now in such distress. For if thou didst, I soon should be released Forth of this greedy gulf of misery. Carinus.  The Milan Duke! I thought as much before, When first I glanced mine eyes upon his face. This is the man which was the only cause That I was forced to fly from Aragon. High Jove be praised, which has allotted me So fit a time to quite that injury. Pilgrim, God speed. Duke. Welcome, grave sir, to me. Carinus.  Methought as now I heard you for to speak Of Milan land. Pray, do you know the same? Duke.  Ay, agèd father, I have cause to know Both Milan land and all the parts thereof. Carinus.  Why then I doubt not but you can resolve Me of a question that I shall demand. Duke.  Ay, that I can, whatever that it be. Carinus.  Then, to be brief: not twenty winters past, When these my limbs, which withered are with age, Were in the prime and spring of all their youth, I, still desirous, as young gallants be, To see the fashions of Arabia, […]

[act 4 45

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49.  more]  Dyce; mo e Q.  67.  SP.]  Dyce; not in Q.  77.  Hiatus]  This ed; not in Q.   63.  quite]  requite, avenge.   67.  SP.]  The SP seems to have been forgotten in this line, which is the last one on sig. F4r.   77.]  The main verb is lacking in this clause, suggesting that a line has been dropped. ‘Began’ can only be the main verb in the second part of the sentence, which starts with ‘and’. The verb in the missing line may have been ‘left’ or ‘departed from’, which would go with ‘My native soil’ at the start of line 78.

sc.2]

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My native soil, and in this pilgrim’s weed, Began to travel through unkennèd land. Much ground I passed, and many soils I saw, But when my feet in Milan land I set, Such sumptuous triumphs daily there I saw, As never in my life I found the like. I pray, good sir, what might the occasion be That made the Milans make such mirth and glee? Duke.  This solemn joy whereof you now do speak, Was not solemnizèd, my friend, in vain. For at that time, there came into the land The happiest tidings that they e’er did hear; For news was brought upon that solemn day, Unto our court, that Ferdinandus proud Was slain himself, Carinus and his son Were banished both for ever from Aragon, And for these happy news that joy was made. Carinus.  But what, I pray, did afterward become Of old Carinus with his banished son? What, hear you nothing of them all this while? Duke.  Yes, too, too much, the Milan Duke may say. Alphonsus first by secret means did get To be a soldier in Belinus’ wars; Wherein he did behave himself so well As that he got the crown of Aragon; Which being got, he dispossessed also The king Belinus which had fostered him. As for Carinus, he is dead and gone; I would his son were his companion. Carinus.  A blister build upon that traitor’s tongue! But for thy friendship, which thou showèdst me, Take that of me, I frankly give it thee.

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Stab him. Now will I haste to Naples with all speed, To see if Fortune will so favour me To view Alphonsus in his happy state.

110 Exit carinus.

  79.  unkennèd]  unknown, strange (OED).   85.  Milans]  the inhabitants of Milan. See ‘Amazones’ above (3.2.170).

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[act 4

[4.3] Enter am u rac k, c roc o n King of Arabia, faus tus King of Babylon, fa b i u s, with the Turk’s janissaries. Amurack.  Fabius, come hither. What is that thou sayst? What did god Mahound prophesy to us? Why do our viceroys wend unto the wars Before their king had notice of the same? What, do they think to play bob-fool with me? Or are they waxed so frolic now of late, Since that they had the leading of our bands, As that they think that mighty Amurack Dares do no other than to soothe them up? Why speakst thou not? What fond or frantic fit Did make those careless kings to venture it? Fabius.  Pardon, dear lord. No frantic fit at all, No frolic vain, nor no presumptuous mind Did make your viceroys take these wars in hand; But forced they were, by Mahound’s prophecy, To do the same, or else resolve to die. Amurack.  So, sir, I hear you, but can scarce believe That Mahomet would charge them go before Against Alphonsus with so small a troop, Whose number far exceeds King Xerxes’ troop. Fabius.  Yes, noble lord, and more than that, he said That ere that you, with these your warlike men, Should come to bring your succour to the field, Belinus, Claramount, and Arcastus too, Should all be crowned with crowns of beaten gold,

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17. scarce] Dyce; scare Q.   0.2. janissaries] (from Turkish Yeniçeri, meaning ‘new militia’) Turkish infantry men, forming the Sultan’s personal guard and the main part of his standing army. The janissary corps was first created by Murad I, the first Ottoman sultan (reg. 1359–89) and perhaps one of the models for Greene’s Amurack. This reference marks a rare instance of local colour in the play. Janissaries and pashas likewise appear in 1 Tamburlaine (e.g. 3.3.61: ‘Bassoes and janizaries of my guard’), and are mentioned in The Battle of Alcazar, 1.1.32–3 (‘sturdy janissaries / Of Amurath, son to Sultan Solimon’).   5.  play bob-fool]  make a fool of, befool, possibly derived from the name of a game or a form of diversion (OED bob v1 3).   6.  waxed so frolic]  become so free and liberal (OED a 2).   10.  fond] foolish.   20.  King Xerxes’ troop]  On the legends about the size of the Persian king Xerxes’s army as he launched his war on the Greek states, see Herodotus, Histories, 7.20–1 and 41. See also 1 Tamburlaine, 2.3.15–17 (‘The host of Xerxes, which by fame is said / To drink the mighty Parthian Araris, / Was but a handful to that we will have’).

sc.3]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

And borne with triumph round about their tents. Amurack.  With triumph, man? Did Mahound tell them so? Provost, go carry Fabius presently Unto the Marshalsea. There let him rest, Clapped sure and safe in fetters all of steel, Till Amurack discharge him from the same. For be he sure, unless it happen so As he did say Mahound did prophesy, By this my hand, forthwith the slave shall die.

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Lay hold of fa b i u s, and make as though you carry him out. Enter a soldier and say: Messenger.  Stay, provost, stay, let Fabius alone. More fitteth now that every lusty lad Be buckling on his helmet, than to stand In carrying soldiers to the Marshalsea. Amurack.  Why, what art thou, that darest once presume For to gainsay that Amurack did bid? Messenger.  I am, my lord, the wretchedest man alive, Born underneath the planet of mishap; Erewhile, a soldier of Belinus’ band, But now– Amurack. What now? Messenger. The mirror of mishap, Whose captain is slain, and all his army dead, Only excepted me, unhappy wretch. Amurack.  What news is this? And is Belinus slain? Is this the crown which Mahomet did say He should with triumph wear upon his head? Is this the honour which that cursèd god Did prophesy should happen to them all?

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26. triumph] Dyce; triumphes Q.  39. Why … presume] This ed.; Why what art thou, / That darest once presume, Q.  41.  I … alive,]  This ed.; I am my Lord / The wretcheds man aliue: Q.  41.  wretchedest]  Dyce; wretcheds Q.   26.  triumph]  Q’s plural form is not consistent with the repetition in the following line.   29.  Marshalsea]  an anachronistic reference to a prison in Southwark, London (originally the prison of the Court of the Marshalsea), which was under the control of the Knight Marshal (OED n 2.a.). See also The Spanish Tragedy, 1.1.25 (‘Don Horatio, our Knight Marshal’s son’).   39.]  Sanders believes that Q’s lineation here, as well as for lines 41 and 56, is indicative of a compositor’s finishing his stint at the end of a sheet. The text is stretched and blanks are added so as to fill the bottom half of sig. G1v and sig. G2r.

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O Daedalus, an wert thou now alive, To fasten wings upon high Amurack! Mahound should know, and that for certainty, That Turkish kings can brook no injury! Fabius.  Tush, tush, my lord, I wonder what you mean, Thus to exclaim against high Mahomet. I’ll lay my life that ere this day be passed, You shall perceive his tidings all be waste. Amurack.  We ‘shall perceive’, accursèd Fabius? Suffice it not that thou hast been the man That first didst beat those babbles in my brain, But that to help me forward in my grief, Thou seekest to confirm so foul a lie?

[act 4

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Stab him. Go get thee hence, and tell thy traitorous king What gift you had, which did such tidings bring. And now, my lords, since nothing else will serve, Buckle your helms, clap on your steelèd coats, Mount on your steeds, take lances in your hands; For Amurack does mean this very day Proud Mahomet with weapons to assay. Messenger.  Mercy, high monarch! ’Tis no time now To spend the day in such vain threatenings Against our god, the mighty Mahomet. More fitteth thee to place thy men at arms In battle-ray, for to withstand your foes, Which now are drawing towards you with speed.

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Sound drums within. Hark how their drums with dub-a-dub do come. To arms, high lord, and set these trifles by, That you may set upon them valiantly.

80

  52.  an]  and if, if only (OED conj 2).   52–3.]  Daedalus, the craftsman who had made the Labyrinth for King Minos, was imprisoned by him in a tower, to preserve the secret of his achievement. He and his son Icarus managed to escape the tower by fabricating wings which they fastened to their backs (Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book VIII).   59.  his tidings] Q’s ‘his tidings’ would make little sense (other than ironic) if Mahomet’s tidings were meant. Dyce therefore suggests ‘these tidings’ in a note, and the suggestion is followed by Grosart and Collins. I retain ‘his tidings’, as referring to the news brought by the Messenger.   62.  babbles]  idle, foolish talks.   76. battle-ray]  battle array (arch., OED battle n 14).   78.  dub-a-dub]  the sound made in beating a drum (OED).

sc.3]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

Amurack.  And do they come? You, kings of Turkey, Now is the time in which your warlike arms Must raise your names above the starry skies. Call to your mind your predecessors’ acts, Whose martial might, this many a hundred year, Did keep those fearful dogs in dread and awe, And let your weapons show Alphonsus plain, That though that they be clappèd up in clay, Yet there be branches sprung up from those trees In Turkish land, which brook no injuries. Besides the same, remember with yourselves What foes we have: not mighty Tamburlaine, Nor soldiers trainèd up amongst the wars, But fearful bodies, picked from their rural flock, Which till this time were wholly ignorant What weapons meant, or bloody Mars does crave. More would I say, but horses that be free Do need no spurs, and soldiers which themselves Long and desire to buckle with the foe, Do need no words to egg them to the same.

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Enter al p h o n s us with a canopy carried over him by three lords, having over each corner a king’s head, crowned with him. albinius, l ae l i u s, m i l e s with crowns on their heads, and their soldiers. Besides the same, behold whereas our foes Are marching towards us most speedily. Courage, my lords, ours is the victory. Alphonsus.  Thou pagan dog, how dar’st thou be so bold To set thy foot within Alphonsus’ land? What, art thou come to view thy wretched kings, Whose traitorous heads bedecked my tents so well? Or else, thou hearing that on top thereof There is a place left vacant, art thou come To have thy head possess the highest seat?

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107. bedecked] This ed.; bedeckt Q; bedeck Dyce.   92.  mighty Tamburlaine] The reference may be to the historical figure or to the eponymous hero of Marlowe’s play (c. 1587–88).   97–8.  horses … spurs]  proverbial (Tilley, H638: ‘Do not spur a free horse’).   100.1. canopy] made of either fabric or wood (Dessen and Thomson, ‘Canopy’). Henslowe’s inventory lists ‘one wooden canopy’ (Appendix 2, 65).   100.2.  crowned with him]  crowned by him (OED prep. 37.b.). This is an instance of narrative stage direction.   107.  bedecked]  Q’s past tense possibly refers to the action, rather than its resulting state.

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If it be so, lie down, and this my sword Shall presently that honour thee afford. If not, pack hence, or by the heavens I vow Both thou and thine shall very soon perceive That he that seeks to move my patience Must yield his life to me for recompense. Amurack.  Why, proud Alphonsus, thinkst thou Amurack, Whose mighty force does terrify the gods, Can e’er be found to turn his heels and fly Away for fear from such a boy as thou? No, no, although that Mars this mickle while Has fortified thy weak and feeble arm, And fortune oft hath viewed with friendly face Thy armies marching victors from the field, Yet at the presence of high Amurack Fortune shall change, and Mars, that god of might, Shall succour me, and leave Alphonsus quite. Alphonsus.  Pagan, I say, thou greatly art deceived. I clap up Fortune in a cage of gold, To make her turn her wheel as I think best. And as for Mars, whom you do say will change, He moping sits behind the kitchen door, Pressed at command of every scullion’s mouth, Who dares not stir, nor once to move a whit, For fear Alphonsus then should stomach it. Amurack.  Blasphemous dog, I wonder that the earth Does cease from renting underneath thy feet, To swallow up that cankered corpse of thine! I muse that Jove can bridle so his ire, As when he hears his brother so misused, He can refrain from sending thunderbolts By thick and threefold to revenge his wrong. Mars, fight for me, and Fortune, be my guide; And I’ll be victor whatsome’er betide!

[act 4

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116.  to me]  Dyce; to thee Q.  138. that] Dyce; those Q.   121.  this mickle while]  this short while.   129–30.] See 1 Tamburlaine, 1.2.174–5 (‘I hold the Fates bound fast in iron chains, / And with my hand turn Fortune’s wheel about’).   133.  scullion]  domestic servant of the lowest rank.   137.  cease from]  See note to 1.1.91.   140.  his brother]  unexplained. Ares/Mars, god of war, was Zeus/Jupiter’s son, not his brother, according to Hesiod’s Theogony.

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105

Albinius.  Pray loud enough, lest that you pray in vain. Perhaps god Mars and Fortune is asleep, And Mars lies slumbering on his downy bed. Yet do not think but that the power ye have, Without the help of those celestial gods, Will be sufficient, yea, with small ado, Alphonsus’ straggling army to subdue. Laelius.  You had need as then to call for Mahomet, With hellish hags to perform the same. Faustus.  High Amurack, I wonder what you mean, That when you may, with little toil or none, Compel these dogs to keep their tongues in peace, You let them stand still barking in this sort. Believe me, sovereign, I do blush to see These beggars’ brats to chat so frolicly. Alphonsus.  How now, sir boy! Let Amurack himself, Or any he, the proudest of you all, But offer once for to unsheath his sword, If that he dares, for all the power you have. Amurack.  What, dar’st thou us? Myself will venture it. – To arms, my mates!

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am u rack draw thy sword. a l p h on s u s and all the other kings draw theirs. Strike up alarum. Fly a mu r ac k and his company. Follow a l p ho n su s and his company.

148.  ye have]  This ed.; we have Q.   146.  is asleep] In Elizabethan usage, a singular verb is acceptable if two or more singular nouns are the subject (see Abbott, 336).   148.]  Dyce, Grosart and Collins keep Q’s ‘we have’, but at the expense of attributing the speech to Amurack, rather than to Albinius.   151.  Alphonsus’ straggling army] This vision of Alphonsus’s army as a crew of adventurous vagrants mockingly reproduces Amurack’s paradoxical perspective, at once belittling the danger and needing the help of all the gods to overcome it.   153.  hellish hags]  See note to 3.2.88.

ac t 5 [5.Prol.] Strike up alarum. Enter v e n u s. Venus.  Fierce is the fight, and bloody is the broil. No sooner had the roaring cannon shot Spit forth the venom of their firèd paunch, And with their pellets sent such troops of souls Down to the bottom of the dark Avern, As that it covered all the Stygian fields, But on a sudden, all the men at arms, Which mounted were on lusty coursers’ backs, Did rush together with so great a noise As that I thought the giants one time more Did scale the heavens, as erst they did before. Long time Dame Fortune tempered so her wheel, As that there was no vantage to be seen On any side, but equal was the gain. But at the length, so God and Fates decreed, Alphonsus was the victor of the field, And Amurack became his prisoner; Who so remained, until his daughter came, And by her marrying did his pardon frame.

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Exit venus.

5. Prol.] This ed.; V. Chor. Greg;

Collins; not in Q.  0.1. Strike]  This ed.; Srike Q.  1.  SP.]  This ed.; not in Q.   2.  shot]  an uninflected plural form, now arch. (OED n1 7.c.).   3. paunch]  stomach. Used figuratively about the cannons’ bulky forms.   5.  Avern]  See notes to 1.1.82 and 3.2.322.   6.  Stygian fields]  See note to 2.1.1.   10.  the giants]  The Giants or Titans rebelled against their kinsmen, the Olympian gods, who had confined them to Tartarus following the deposition of Uranus by his son Kronos (see Hesiod’s Theogony).

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107

[5.1] Strike up alarum. Fly a mu r ac k, follow a l p ho ns us, and take him prisoner. Carry him in. Strike up alarum. Fly cro co n and fau s t us. Enter fau s ta and i p hi g i n a with their army, and meet them and say: Fausta.  You Turkish kings, what sudden flight is this? What means the men, which for their valiant prowess Were dreaded erst clean through the triple world, Thus cowardly to turn their backs and fly? What froward fortune happened on your side? I hope your king in safety does abide. Crocon.  Ay, noble madam, Amurack does live, And long I hope he shall enjoy his life. But yet I fear, unless more succour come, We shall both lose our king and sovereign. Fausta.  How so, King Crocon? Dost thou speak in jest, To prove if Fausta would lament his death? Or else hath anything happed him amiss? Speak quickly, Crocon, what the cause might be That thou dost utter forth these words to me. Crocon.  Then worthy Fausta, know that Amurack, Our mighty king and your approvèd spouse, Pricked with desire of everlasting fame, As he was pressing in the thickest ranks Of Aragonians, was, with much ado, At length took prisoner by Alphonsus’ hands; So that, unless you succour soon do bring, You lose your spouse, and we shall want our king. Iphigina.  O hapless hap! O dire and cruel fate! What injury has Amurack, my sire, Done to the gods, which now I know are wroth, Although unjustly and without a cause? For well I wot, not any other king, Which now does live, or since the world began Did sway a sceptre, had a greater care To please the gods, than mighty Amurack; And for to quite our father’s great good will, Seek they thus basely all his fame to spill? 6. abide.] Dyce; abide? Q.  [5.1]  Collins.   26.  wroth]  wrathful (OED a).   32.  quite]  See note to 4.2.63.

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[act 5

Fausta.  Iphigina, leave off these woeful tunes. It is not words can cure and ease this wound, But warlike swords; not tears, but sturdy spears. High Amurack is prisoner to our foes: What then? Think you that our Amazones, Joined with the forces of the Turkish troop, Are not sufficient for to set him free? Yes, daughter, yes, I mean not for to sleep Until he is free, or we him company keep. March on, my mates!

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[5.2] Strike up alarum. Fly a l p ho n su s. Follow i p h igina and say: Iphigina.  How now, Alphonsus! You which never yet Could meet your equal in the feats of arms, How haps it now that in such sudden sort You fly the presence of a silly maid? What, have you found mine arm of such a force As that you think your body overweak For to withstand the fury of my blows? Or do you else disdain to fight with me, For staining of your high nobility? Alphonsus.  No, dainty dame, I would not have thee think That ever thou or any other wight Shall live to see Alphonsus fly the field From any king or kaiser whosome’er. First will I die in thickest of my foe, Before I will disbase mine honour so. Nor do I scorn, thou goddess, for to stain My prowess with thee, although it be a shame For knights to combat with the female sect. But love, sweet mouse, has so benumbed my wit, That, though I would, I must refrain from it.

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12. Alphonsus] Dyce; Alphnosus Q.  [5.2]  Collins.   4.  silly]  helpless, defenceless (OED a 1.b.).   9.  for staining]  for fear of staining.   11.  wight]  living being, creature (arch.).   15. disbase]  OED, quoting this line, offers ‘disbase’ as a variant for ‘debase’.   18.  the female sect]  could be understood both as a member of the female sex (see note in Dyce and Grosart) and as an Amazon.   19.  sweet mouse]  an archaic term of endearment (OED n 3.a.).

sc.2]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

Iphigina.  I thought as much when first I came to wars. Your noble acts were fitter to be writ Within the tables of Dame Venus’ son, Than in god Mars his warlike registers. Whenas your lords are hacking helms abroad, And make their spears to shiver in the air, Your mind is busied in fond Cupid’s toys. Come on, i’faith, I’ll teach you for to know, We came to fight, and not to love, I trow. Alphonsus.  Nay, virgin, stay, and if thou wilt vouchsafe To entertain Alphonsus’ simple suit, Thou shalt ere long be monarch of the world. All christened kings, with all your pagan dogs, Shall bend their knees unto Iphigina. The Indian soil shall be thine at command, Where every step thou settest on the ground Shall be receivèd on the golden mines. Rich Pactolus, that river of account, Which does descend from top of Tmolus mount, Shall be thine own, and all the world beside, If you will grant to be Alphonsus’ bride. Iphigina.  Alphonsus’ bride? Nay, villain, do not think That fame or riches can so rule my thoughts As for to make me love and fancy him Whom I do hate, and in such sort despise As, if my death could bring to pass his bane, I would not long from Pluto’s port remain! Alphonsus.  Nay then, proud peacock, since thou art so stout As that entreaty will not move thy mind For to consent to be my wedded spouse,

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23. son] Dyce; sun Q.  39. Tmolus] Dyce; Tiuole Q.   23.  Dame Venus’ son]  Cupid. This speech sends us back to Venus’s opening resolve to chronicle Alphonsus’s deeds, rather than leave the task to Mars as god of war (1.Prol.32–40).   26.] See 1 Tamburlaine, 2.3.18 (‘Our quivering lances shaking in the air’).   33–41.] See Tamburlaine’s profession of love to Zenocrate, 1 Tamburlaine, 1.2.82–105.   38–9.]  Pactolus is a river near the Aegean coast of modern Turkey, rising from Mount Tmolus (spelt ‘Tiuole’ in Q, possibly due to the compositor’s misreading of ‘m’ in secretary hand as ‘iu’). In ancient times, that river contained gold sands which were said to have been produced by King Midas’s washing himself in it to lose his golden touch (Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book XI).   46.  his bane]  what brings about his death or destruction.   48.  proud peacock]  proverbial (Tilley, P157: ‘As proud as a peacock’).

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[act 5

Thou shalt, in spite of gods and Fortune too, Serve high Alphonsus as a concubine. Iphigina.  I’ll rather die than ever that shall hap. Alphonsus.  And thou shalt die unless it come to pass. al p h o n s u s and i p h i g i n a fight. i p hi g ina fly; follow al p h o n s u s. Strike up alarum. Enter a l p h on s us with his rapier; al bi n i u s, l a e l i u s, mi l e s, with their soldiers; amurack, fau sta, i p h i gi n a, c ro c on and fau s t u s all bound with their hands behind them. a mu r ac k look angrily on faus ta. Enter me de a and say: Medea.  Nay, Amurack, this is no time to jar! Although thy wife did in her frantic mood Use speeches which might better have been spared, Yet do thou not judge the same time to be A season to requite that injury. More fitteth thee, with all the wit thou hast, To call to mind which way thou mayst release Thyself, thy wife, and fair Iphigina, Forth of the power of stout Alphonsus’ hands; For well I wot, since first you breathèd breath, You never were so nigh the snares of death. Now, Amurack, your high and kingly seat, Your royal sceptre and your stately crown, Your mighty country and your men at arms, Be conquered all, and can no succour bring. Put then no trust in these same paltry toys, But call to mind that thou a prisoner art, Clapped up in chains, whose life and death depends Upon the hands of thy most mortal foe. Then take thou heed that whatsome’er he say, Thou dost not once presume for to gainsay. Amurack.  Away, you fool! Think you your cursèd charms Can bridle so the mind of Amurack As that he will stand crouching to his foe? No, no, be sure that, if that beggar’s brat

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72. death] This ed.; deaths Q.   55.  to jar]  to quarrel, to dispute (OED v1 12).   58.  the same time]  the present time.   72.  life and death depends]  singular verb following two singular nouns as subject (Abbott, 336).   74.  whatsome’er]  whatsomever (dial.), whatsoever.   75.  gainsay]  speak against, contradict.   78.  stand crouching]  bear to crouch.

sc.2]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

Do dare but once to contrary my will, I’ll make him soon in heart for to repent That e’er such words ’gainst Amurack he spent. Medea.  Then, since thou dost disdain my good advice, Look to thyself, and if you fare amiss, Remember that Medea counsel gave Which might you safe from all those perils save. But Fausta, you, as well you have begun, Beware you follow still your friend’s advice: If that Alphonsus do desire of thee To have your daughter for his wedded spouse, Beware you do not once the same gainsay, Unless with death he do your rashness pay. Fausta.  No, worthy wight, first Fausta means to die, Before Alphonsus she will contrary. Medea.  Why then, farewell. – But you, Iphigina, Beware you do not oversqueamish wax, Whenas your mother giveth her consent. Iphigina.  The gods forbid that e’er I should gainsay That which Medea bids me to obey.

111 80

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Exit med ea.

Rise up al p h o nsu s out of his chair, who all this while has been talking to a l b i n i u s, and say: Alphonsus.  Now, Amurack, the ‘proud blasphemous dogs’ (For so you termed us) which did brawl and rail Against god Mars and fickle Fortune’s wheel, Have got the goal for all your solemn prayers. Yourself are prisoner, which as then did think That all the forces of the triple world Were insufficient to fulfil the same. How like you this? Is Fortune of such might, Or has god Mars such force or power divine As that he can, with all the power he has, Set thee and thine forth of Alphonsus’ hands? I do not think but that your hope’s so small As that you would with very willing mind, Yield for my spouse the fair Iphigina,

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  86.  safe … save]  deliver you from those dangers so that you would be unharmed by them.   92.  unless]  See note to 1.1.72.   94.  contrary] contradict.   96.  oversqueamish wax]  grow too coy.

 112

alphon s u s , ki n g of aragon

[act 5

On that condition that, without delay, Fausta and you may scot-free scape away. Amurack.  What, thinkst thou, villain, that high Amurack Bears such a mind as, for the fear of death, He’ll yield his daughter, yea, his only joy, Into the hands of such a dunghill knight? No, traitor, no, for as now I lie Clapped up in irons and with bolts of steel, Yet do there lurk within the Turkish soil Such troops of soldiers that with small ado, They’ll set me scot-free from your men and you. Alphonsus.  ‘Villain’, sayst thou? ‘Traitor’ and ‘dunghill knight’? Now, by the heavens, since that thou dost deny For to fulfil that which in gentle wise Alphonsus craves, both thou and all thy train Shall with your lives requite that injury. Albinius, lay hold of Amurack, And carry him to prison presently, There to remain until I do return Into my tent; for by high Jove I vow, Unless he wax more calmer out of hand, His head amongst his fellow kings shall stand.

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al bi n i u s carry a mu r ac k forth, who, as he is agoing, must say: Amurack.  No, villain, think not that the fear of death Shall make me calmer while I draw my breath. Alphonsus.  Now, Laelius, take you Iphigina, Her mother Fausta, with these other kings, And put them into prisons severally; For Amurack’s stout stomach shall undo Both he himself and all his other crew.

140

fau s ta kneel down. Fausta.  O sacred prince, if that the salt-brine tears, Distilling down poor Fausta’s withered cheeks, Can mollify the hardness of your heart, Lessen this judgement, which thou in thy rage Hast given on thy luckless prisoners. Alphonsus.  Woman, away! My word is gone and past;

       

115.  scot-free]  exempt from injury (OED adj 1.a.). 134.  more calmer]  See note to 2.1.18. 140.  severally]  separately, individually. 141.  stout stomach]  obstinacy (OED a III.14).

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sc.2]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

Now, if I would, I cannot call it back. You might have yielded at my first demand, And then you needed not to fear this hap. Laelius, make haste, and go thou presently, For to fulfil that I commanded thee.

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Rise up fau s ta. Kneel down i p hi g i n a and say: Iphigina.  Mighty Alphonsus, since my mother’s suit Is so rejected that in any case You will not grant us pardon for her sake, I now will try if that my woeful prayers May plead for pity at your grace’s feet. When first you did, amongst the thickest ranks, All clad in glittering arms encounter me, You know yourself what love you did protest You then did bear unto Iphigina. Then for that love, if any love you had, Revoke this sentence which is too, too bad. Alphonsus.  No, damsel, he that will not when he may, When he desires shall surely purchase ‘nay’. If that you had, when first I proffer made, Yielded to me, mark, what I promised you, I would have done. But since you did deny, Look for denial at Alphonsus’ hands.

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Rise up i p h i gi n a, and stand aside. a l p h on s us talk with al bi n i u s. Enter c a r i n u s in his pilgrim’s clothes, and say: Carinus.  O friendly Fortune, now thou showst thy power, In raising up my son from banished state Unto the top of thy most mighty wheel! But what be these which at his sacred feet Do seem to plead for mercy at his hands? I’ll go and sift this matter to the full.

175

151. needed] Dyce; need Q.  165. damsel] Dyce; damsel damsel Q.  171. SP.] This ed.; not in Q.   149.  if I would]  even if I wanted.   151.  you needed not]  you would not have needed.   165–6.]  may be proverbial. Possible analogues in Tilley: M769 (‘Who that may not as they would, will as they may’), M769a (‘Who that may not as they will, must will as they may’).   167.  proffer]  an act of offering (OED n 1).   176.  sift]  examine closely (OED v 3).

 114

alphon s u s , ki n g of aragon

[act 5

Go toward a l p ho n su s, and speak to one of his soldiers: Sir knight, and may a pilgrim be so bold To put your person to such mickle pain For to inform me what great king is this, And what these be, which in such woeful sort Do seem to seek for mercy at his hands? Soldier.  Pilgrim, the king that sits on stately throne Is called Alphonsus, and this matron hight Fausta, the wife to Amurack the Turk; That is their daughter, fair Iphigina; Both which, together with the Turk himself, He did take prisoners in a battle fought.

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al p ho n su s spy out c a r i n u s and say: Alphonsus.  And can the gods be found so kind to me, As that Carinus now I do espy? ’Tis he indeed. Come on, Albinius: The mighty conquest which I have achieved, And victories the which I oft have won, Bring not such pleasure to Alphonsus’ heart As now my father’s presence does impart.

190

al p h o n s u s and a l b i n i u s go toward c a r i nus. alph o ns us stand looking on c a r i n u s. c a r i n us say: Carinus.  What, ne’er a word, Alphonsus? Art thou dumb? Or does my presence so perturb thy mind That, for because I come in pilgrim’s weed, You think each word which you do spend to me A great disgrace unto your name to be? Why speakst thou not? If that my place you crave, I will be gone, and you my place shall have. Alphonsus.  Nay, father, stay. The gods of heaven forbid That e’er Alphonsus should desire or wish To have his absence whom he does account To be the lodestone of his life. What, though the Fates and Fortune, both in one, Have been content to call your loving son

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187.1. Alphonsus] This ed.; not in Q.  192. have] Dyce; haue haue Q.   177.  and]  if (Abbot, 101).   183.  hight]  is called (OED v1 4).   187.1.]  I have made explicit Q’s ‘Spie out Carinus’ by attributing it to Alphonsus. It is obvious that the soldier speaking the preceding cue to Carinus is already aware of the latter’s presence.   205.  lodestone]  magnet, something that attracts.

sc.2]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

From beggar’s state unto this princely seat, Should I therefore disdain my agèd sire? No, first both crown and life I will detest, Before such venom breed within my breast! What erst I did, the sudden joy I took To see Carinus in such happy state Did make me do, and nothing else at all, High Jove himself do I to witness call. Carinus.  These words are vain, I knew as much before. But yet, Alphonsus, I must wonder needs That you, whose years are prone to Cupid’s snares, Can suffer such a goddess as this dame Thus for to shed such store of crystal tears. Believe me, son, although my years be spent, Her sighs and sobs in twain my heart do rent. Alphonsus.  Like power, dear father, had she over me, Until for love, I, looking to receive Love back again, not only was denied, But also taunted in most spiteful sort; Which made me loathe that which I erst did love, As she herself with all friends shall prove. Carinus.  How now, Alphonsus! You which have so long Been trainèd up in bloody broils of Mars, What, know you not that castles are not won At first assault, and women are not wooed When first their suitors proffer love to them? As for my part, I should account that maid A wanton wench, unconstant, lewd and light, That yields the field before she venture fight, Especially unto her mortal foe, As you were then unto Iphigina. But for because I see you fitter are To enter lists and combat with your foes Than court fair ladies in god Cupid’s tents, Carinus means your spokesman for to be, And if that she consent, you shall agree. Alphonsus.  What you command, Alphonsus must not fly, Though otherwise perhaps he would deny.

115

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218. prone] Dyce; proue Q.  244.  What … fly]  Dyce; What … commaund, / Alphonsus … flie Q.   217.  wonder needs]  necessarily wonder.   218.  prone]  Q’s ‘proue’ is probably due to a turning of the type or a misreading of minims.   223.  Like] Such.

 116

alphon s u s , ki n g of aragon

Carinus.  Then, dainty damsel, stint these trickling tears, Cease sighs and sobs, yea, make a merry cheer. Your pardon is already purchasèd, So that you be not overcurious In granting to Alphonsus’ just demand. Iphigina.  Thanks, mighty prince. No curiouser I’ll be Than does become a maid of my degree. Carinus.  The gods forbid that e’er Carinus’ tongue Should go about to make a maid consent Unto the thing which modesty denies! That which I ask is neither hurt to thee, Danger to parents, nor disgrace to friends, But good and honest, and will profit bring To thee and those which lean unto that thing. And that is this: since first Alphonsus’ eyes Did hap to glance upon your heavenly hue, And saw the rare perfection of the same, He has desirèd to become your spouse. Now, if you will unto the same agree, I dare assure you that you shall be free. Iphigina.  Pardon, dear lord, the world goes very hard When womankind are forcèd for to woo. If that your son had lovèd me so well, Why did he not inform me of the same? Carinus.  Why, did he not? What, have you clean forgot What ample proffers he did make to you, When hand to hand he did encounter you? Iphigina.  No, worthy sir, I have not it forgot. But Cupid cannot enter in the breast Where Mars before had took possession. That was no time to talk of Venus’ games When all our fellows were pressed in the wars. Carinus.  Well, let that pass. Now, canst thou be content To love Alphonsus and become his spouse? Iphigina.  Ay, if the high Alphonsus could vouchsafe To entertain me as his wedded spouse. Alphonsus.  If that he could? What, dost thou doubt of that?

  246.  stint]  cease, stop (OED v).   249.  overcurious]  too fastidious or particular (arch.).   259.  lean unto]  rely on (OED v1 3).

[act 5

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sc.2]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

Jason did jet whenas he had obtained The golden fleece by wise Medea’s art; The Greeks rejoicèd when they had subdued The famous bulwarks of most stately Troy; But all their mirth was nothing in respect Of this my joy, since that I now have got That which I long desirèd in my heart. Carinus.  But what says Fausta to her daughter’s choice? Fausta.  Fausta does say the gods have been her friends To let her live to see Iphigina Bestowèd so unto her heart’s content. Alphonsus.  Thanks, mighty empress, for your gentleness. And if Alphonsus can at any time With all his power requite this courtesy, You shall perceive how kindly he does take Your forwardness in this his happy chance. Carinus.  Albinius, go call forth Amurack: We’ll see what he does say unto this match.

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Exit a l b i n i u s. Bring forth a mu r ack. Most mighty Turk, I, with my warlike son, Alphonsus, loathing that so great a prince As you should live in such unseemly sort, Have sent for you to proffer life or death: Life, if you do consent to our demand, And death, if that you dare gainsay the same. Your wife, high Fausta, with Iphigina, Have given consent that this my warlike son Should have your daughter for his bedfellow. Now resteth naught but that you do agree, And so to purchase sure tranquillity. Amurack.  (Aside) Now, Amurack, advise thee what thou sayest; Bethink thee well what answer thou wilt make: Thy life and death dependeth on thy words. If thou deny to be Alphonsus’ sire, Death is thy share; but if that thou consent,

305

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312. Aside]  This ed.; not in Q.   283.  Jason]  The leader of the Argonauts was able to overcome the dragon guarding the golden fleece, thanks to the magic arts of Medea who had fallen in love with him (Metamorphoses, Book VII).   283.  jet]  strut, swagger (OED v1 1).   315.  sire] father-in-law.

 118

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[act 5

Thy life is saved. Consent? Nay, rather die! Should I consent to give Iphigina Into the hands of such a beggar’s brat? What, Amurack, thou dost deceive thyself: Alphonsus is the son unto a king. What then, the worthy of thy daughter’s love! She is agreed, and Fausta is content; Then Amurack will not be discontent.

320

Take i p h ig i n a by the hand, give her to alph o ns us. Here, brave Alphonsus, take thou at my hand Iphigina: I give her unto thee. And for her dowry, when her father die, Thou shalt possess the Turkish empery. Take her, I say, and live King Nestor’s years, So would the Turk and all his noble peers. Alphonsus.  Immortal thanks I give unto your grace. Carinus.  Now, worthy princes, since by help of Jove, On either side the wedding is decreed, Come, let us wend to Naples speedily, For to solemnise it with mirth and glee. Alphonsus.  As you do will, we jointly do agree.

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330

335 Exeunt all.

[Epilogue] Enter v e n u s with the mu s e s, and say: Venus.  Now, worthy Muses, with unwilling mind, Venus is forced to trudge to heavens again, For Jupiter, that god of peerless power, Proclaimèd has a solemn festival, In honour of Dame Danae’s luckless death;

5

322.  What … worthy] This ed.; What then? the[n] worthy Dyce; What then? The worthy Q. Epilogue]  This ed.; Conclusion Greg; Collins; not in Q, Dyce, Gros.   322.  What then]  In that case (OED adv 4.a.).   327.  die]  shall come to die.   329.  King Nestor’s years]  Nestor, the wise king of Pylos, was the oldest of the Greek leaders in the Trojan war.   2.  trudge]  walk wearily or reluctantly.   5.  Danae]  See note to 3.2.329–34. Greene is possibly mistaking Danae for Semele, Dionysus’s mortal mother who asked her lover Zeus to reveal himself to her in all his divine glory and who died at the sight (Metamorphoses, Book III).

epil.]

a lphon s u s , ki n g of arag on

119

Unto the which, in pain of his displeasure, He has invited all the immortal gods And goddesses, so that I must be there, Unless I will his high displeasure bear. You see Alphonsus has, with much ado, At length obtainèd fair Iphigina, Of Amurack her father, for his wife; Who now are going to the temple wards, For to perform Dame Juno’s sacred rites; Where we will leave them till the feast be done, Which in the heavens by this time is begun. Meantime, dear Muses, wander you not far Forth of the path of high Parnassus hill; That, when I come to finish up his life, You may be ready for to succour me. Adieu, dear dames! Farewell, Calliope!

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Exit ve n u s, or if you can conveniently, let a chair come down from the top of the stage and draw her up. Calliope.  Adieu, you sacred goddess of the sky! Well, loving sisters, since that she is gone, Come, let us haste unto Parnassus hill, As Cytherea did lately will. Melpomene.  Then make you haste her mind for to fulfil. Exeunt all, playing on their instruments.

25

FINIS

11. obtainèd] Dyce; obtaind Q.   18.  Parnassus]  See note to 1.Prol.98.   19.  his life]  Alphonsus’s life. Dyce believes that Greene may have intended a sequel to Alphonsus, possibly in imitation of Marlowe’s two-part Tamburlaine.   25.  Cytherea]  See note to 3.2.143.

THE TRAGEDY OF SOLIMAN AND PERSEDA BY THOMAS KYD

l i s t o f c h a r ac t ers a ppeari n g i n the prologues l ov e f o rt une d e at h fi rs t appeari n g i n rhod es p h i l i p p o, Governor of Rhodes p r i nc e o f cy p rus, his son-in-law e r as t us, a knight of Rhodes p e rs e da, beloved of Erastus f e r d i na nd o, kinsman to Philippo l u c i na, beloved of Ferdinando g u e l p i o, j ul i o, friends to Erastus p is to n, Erastus’s servant bas i l i s c o, a braggart knight e n gl i s h ma n, f r en chm an, s pan i ard, Christian knights brus o r, Turkish knight A Messenger, Knights, a Page, a Crier, a Drummer, Soldiers.

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fi rs t appeari n g i n tu rk ey s o l i ma n, Emperor of the Turks ha l e b, a mur at h, his brothers l or d ma rs h a l t wo wi t ne s s e s A Captain, Janissaries.

20

ac t 1 [1.Prol.] Enter l ov e, f ort u n e, de at h. Love.  What, Death and Fortune cross the way of Love? Fortune.  Why, what is Love, but Fortune’s tennis ball? Death.  Nay, what are you both, but subjects unto Death? And I command you to forbear this place, For here the mouth of sad Melpomene Is wholly bent to tragedy’s discourse, And what are tragedies but acts of death? Here means the wrathful Muse, in seas of tears And loud laments, to tell a dismal tale, A tale wherein she lately has bestowed The husky humour of her bloody quill, And now for tables takes her to her tongue. Love.  Why, thinks Death Love knows not the history Of brave Erastus and his Rhodian dame? ’Twas I that made their hearts consent to love, And therefore come I now as fittest person To serve for chorus to this tragedy. Had not I been, they had not died so soon. Death.  Had I not been, they had not died so soon. Fortune.  Nay then, it seems you both do miss the mark. Did not I change long love to sudden hate, And then rechange their hatred into love, And then from love deliver them to death? Fortune is chorus. Love and Death, be gone! Death.  I tell thee, Fortune, and thee, wanton Love, I will not down to everlasting night

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Act 1]  This ed.; Actus primus Q1, Q2.  1. Prol.] This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  5.  Melpomene]  the Muse of tragedy.   11.  husky humour]  Black bile or melancholy, associated with tragedy, is a husky (in the sense of ‘dry’) humour in Hippocratic medicine.   12.  for tables]  for the record.   17.] Boas compares this to Revenge’s offer in The Spanish Tragedy, 1.1.91: ‘And serve for Chorus in this tragedy’.   26.  everlasting night]  the Greek underworld, considered to be a place of ‘deep darkness’ (Erebos). Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 2.2.57: ‘send thy soul into eternal night’.

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[act 1

Till I have moralised this tragedy, Whose chiefest actor was my sable dart. Love.  Nor will I up into the brightsome sphere From whence I sprang, till in the chorus’ place I make it known to you and to the world What interest Love has in tragedies. Fortune.  Nay then, though Fortune have delight in change, I’ll stay my flight and cease to turn my wheel Till I have shown by demonstration What interest I have in a tragedy. Tush, Fortune can do more than Love or Death. Love.  Why stay we then? Let’s give the actors leave, And, as occasion serves, make our return.

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35

Exeunt.

[1.1] Enter e r ast u s and p e rse da. Erastus.  Why when, Perseda, will thou not assure me, But shall I like a mastless ship at sea Go every way and not the way I would? My love has lasted from mine infancy, And still increasèd as I grew myself. When did Perseda pastime in the streets, But her Erastus over-eyed her sport? When didst thou, with thy sampler in the sun,

5

  27.  moralised]  shown the moral of.   28.  sable]  the black colour of mourning. Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 1.3.19–20: ‘let Fortune do her worst, / She will not rob me of this sable weed’. For contemporary examples of the dart as the attribute of Death, see Kyd’s translation of Cornelia, 2.237 (‘th’ineuitable dart of Death’) and 2.281 (‘With brandisht dart’), as well as Marlowe’s 2 Tamburlaine, 5.3.67–9 (‘See where my slave, the uglie monster death … Stands aiming at me with his murthering dart’).   29.  brightsome] bright-looking.   34.  my wheel]  In medieval allegories, Fortuna is shown with a wheel that she turns constantly, as a symbol for her changing nature. See also Tilley, F617: ‘Fortune’s wheel is ever turning’.  1.  Why when]  an exclamation expressing impatience. See also 5.2.125 below, and compare The Spanish Tragedy, 3.1.47: ‘No more, I say! to the tortures! when!’.   2.  like a mastless ship]  Compare Tilley, S347: ‘Like a ship without a helm’.   6. pastime]  pass the time pleasantly.   7.]  Without her Erastus’s watching over her entertainment.   8. sampler]  an exercise in embroidery.

sc.1]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Sit sewing with thy feres, but I was by, Marking thy lily hand’s dexterity, Comparing it to twenty gracious things? When didst thou sing a note that I could hear, But I have framed a ditty to the tune, Figuring Perseda twenty kinds of ways? When didst thou go to church on holy days, But I have waited on thee to and fro, Marking my times as falcons watch their flight? When I have missed thee, how have I lamented, As if my thoughts had been assurèd true! Thus in my youth, now since I grew a man, I have perseverèd to let thee know The meaning of my true heart’s constancy. Then be not nice, Perseda, as women wont To hasty lovers whose fancy soon is fled. My love is of a long continuance, And merits not a stranger’s recompense. Perseda.  Enough, Erastus, thy Perseda knows. She, whom thou wouldst have thine, Erastus, knows. Erastus.  Nay, my Perseda knows, and then ’tis well. Perseda.  Ay, watch you vantages? Thine be it then! I have forgot the rest, but that’s th’effect; Which to effect, accept this carcanet. My grandam on her deathbed gave it me, And there, e’en there, I vowed unto myself To keep the same until my wandering eye Should find a harbour for my heart to dwell. E’en in thy breast do I elect my rest: Let in my heart, to keep thine company!

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15.  holy days]  This ed.; hollidaies Q1, hollydaies Q2.  30.  Ay … vantages?]  This ed.; I watch you vauntages Q1, I watch you vantages Q2.   9.  feres]  companions, comrades.   10.  lily hand]  proverbial (see Tilley, L296: ‘As white as a lily’).   23. nice]  shy, coy.   23.  wont]  are in the habit of.   30.  vantages]  opportunities, chances.   31.  effect]  the sum and substance.   32.  effect]  bring about.   32.  carcanet]  an ornamental collar or necklace.   33.  grandam] grandmother.   35–6.]  Boas sees an elaboration on this metaphor in The Spanish Tragedy, 2.2.7–9: ‘My heart, sweet friend, is like a ship at sea: / She wisheth port, where riding all at ease, / She may repair what stormy times have worn’.

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Erastus.  And, sweet Perseda, accept this ring To equal it; receive my heart to boot. It is no boot, for that was thine before. And far more welcome is this change to me Than sunny days to naked savages, Or news of pardon to a wretch condemned That waiteth for the fearful stroke of death. As careful will I be to keep this chain, As does the mother keep her children From water-pits or falling in the fire. Over mine armour will I hang this chain, And when long combat makes my body faint, The sight of this shall show Perseda’s name, And add fresh courage to my fainting limbs. This day the eager Turk of Tripolis, The Knight of Malta, honoured for his worth, And he that’s titled by the golden spur, The Moor upon his hot barbarian horse, The fiery Spaniard bearing in his face The impress of a noble warrior, The sudden Frenchman and the big-boned Dane, And English Archers, hardy men at arms, Yclept ‘lions of the western world’, Each one of these approvèd combatants, Assembled from several corners of the world, Are hither come to try their force in arms In honour of the Prince of Cyprus’ nuptials. Amongst these worthies will Erastus troop, Though like a gnat amongst a hive of bees. Know me by this, thy precious carcanet, And if I thrive in valour, as the glass That takes the sunbeam’s burning with his force,

[act 1 40

45

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60

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70

59. big-boned] This ed.; bigbound Q1; bigbon’d Q2.  60.  Archers, hardy men]  Q2; Arthers hardy men Q1.   40.  to boot]  in addition.   48. water-pits] reservoirs.   56.] Compare Alcazar, 5.1.239: ‘He mounteth on a hot Barbarian horse’. Barb or Barbary horses are known for their speed and stamina.   59.  sudden]  ‘hasty, passionate’ (Boas).   61. Yclept]  called (arch.).   66.  troop]  take his place, join in.   67.  like … bees] like a worthless gnat in the midst of many honey-making bees. Compare Tilley, B210 (‘As thick as bees’) and G149 (‘Not worth a gnat’).

sc.1]

s oli m an an d pers eda

I’ll be the glass and thou that heavenly sun From whence I’ll borrow what I do achieve. And, sweet Perseda, unnoted though I be, Thy beauty yet shall make me known ere night. Perseda.  Young slips are never graft in windy days, Young scholars never entered with the rod. Ah, my Erastus, there are Europe’s knights, That carry honour graven in their helms, And they must win it dear that win it thence. Let not my beauty prick thee to thy bane, Better sit still than rise and overta’en. Erastus.  Counsel me not, for my intent is sworn, And be my fortune as my love deserves. Perseda.  So be thy fortune as thy features serve, And then Erastus lives without compare.

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85

Enter a Messenger. Here comes a messenger to haste me hence. I know your message: has the Princess sent for me? Messenger.  She has, and desires you to consort her to the triumphs. Enter p i s to n. Piston.  Who saw my master? O sir, are you here? The Prince and all th’outlandish gentlemen Are ready to go to the triumphs; they stay for you. Erastus.  Go, sirrah, bid my men bring my horse And a dozen staves. Piston.  You shall have your horses and two dozen of staves.  Exit pis to n. Erastus.  Wish me good hap, Perseda, and I’ll win Such glory as no time shall e’er raze out, Or end the period of my youth in blood.

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84.  thy features serve]  Q2; thy features serues Q1.   75.  slips]  twigs, scions.   75.  graft]  for the omission of the past participle’s termination after ‘d’ and ‘t’, see Abbott 342.   75–6.]  possibly proverbial expressions.   76.  entered]  admitted to a school.   81.]  Compare Tilley, S493 (‘He sits not sure that sits too high’).   84.  thy features serve]  for the singular inflection with the plural subject in Q1, see Abbott 333.   88.  consort] escort.   95.  hap] luck.

128

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[act 1

Perseda.  Such fortune as the good Andromache Wished valiant Hector wounded with the Greeks, I wish Erastus in his maiden wars. O’ercome with valour these high-minded knights, As with thy virtue thou hast conquered me. Heavens hear my hearty prayer and it effect!

100

Exeunt.

[1.2] Enter p h i l i p p o, the p r i n c e o f cy p ru s, bas ilis co and all the knights. Philippo.  Brave knights of Christendom and Turkish both, Assembled here in thirsty honour’s cause, To be enrollèd in the brass-leaved book Of never wasting perpetuity! Put lamb-like mildness to your lion’s strength, And be our tilting like two brothers’ sports, That exercise their war with friendly blows. Brave Prince of Cyprus and our son-in-law, Welcome these worthies by their several countries, For in thy honour hither are they come, To grace thy nuptials with their deeds at arms. Cyprus.  First welcome, thrice-renownèd Englishman. Graced by thy country, but ten times more By thy approvèd valour in the field.

5

10

  98.  Andromache]  In Homer’s Iliad, Book VI, far from encouraging the Trojan hero Hector, his wife Andromache tries to convince him not to fight, but he disregards her advice. Peyré sees ‘a sinister irony’ in Perseda’s reference.   99.  wounded with]  wounded by (Abbott 193).   100.  maiden wars]  first experience of wars.   103.  Heavens hear]  a subjunctive used optatively or imperatively (Abbott 364). This can be understood as ‘may heavens hear’ or ‘heavens, hear’.   103.  it effect]  effect it.  0.2.  all the knights]  Brusor, not named in this stage direction, is one of them.   3.  brass-leaved]  brass is taken as a type of hardness and imperishableness (OED n 1.c.).   5.] Compare Tilley, L34 (‘As gentle (quiet, meek, mild) as a lamb’) and L311 (‘A lion in the field, a lamb in the town’).   9.  these worthies]  a possible reference to the Nine Worthies of ancient and medieval history and legend. The number was traditionally composed of three Jews (Joshua, David and Judas Maccabaeus), three Gentiles (Hector, Alexander and Julius Caesar) and three Christians (Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Bouillon). Here the group of knights includes both Christians and Muslims from several countries.

sc.2]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Upon the onset of the enemy, What is thy motto when thou spurst thy horse? Englishman.  In Scotland was I made a knight at arms, Where for my country’s cause I charged my lance. In France I took the standard from the King, And give the flower of Gallia in my crest. Against the light-foot Irish have I served, And in my skin bear tokens of their skenes. Our word of courage all the world has heard: Saint George for England, and Saint George for me! Cyprus.  Like welcome unto thee, fair knight of France; Well famed thou art for discipline in war. Upon th’encounter of thine enemy, What is thy mot, renownèd knight of France? Frenchman.  In Italy I put my knighthood on, Where, in my shirt, but with my single rapier, I combated a Roman much renowned, His weapon’s point empoisoned for my bane, And yet my stars did bode my victory. Saint Denis is for France, and that for me! Cyprus.  Welcome Castilian too, among the rest, For fame does sound thy valour with the rest. Upon thy first encounter of thy foe, What is thy word of courage, brave man of Spain? Spaniard.  At fourteen years of age was I made knight, When twenty thousand Spaniards were in the field; What time a daring rutter made a challenge To change a bullet with our swift flight shot, And I, with single heed and level, hit

129 15

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30

35

40

  20.  give]  display, bear (OED v 24).   20.  flower of Gallia]  the heraldic lily, borne on the royal arms of France.   22.  skenes]  A skene was a form of knife or dagger, in former times one of the chief weapons of the Irish kerns (OED n1).   24.  Saint George]  the patron saint of England, adopted by Edward III as patron of the Order of the Garter.   28.  mot]  either short for ‘motto’ (the knight’s war cry) or the French ‘mot’ (‘word’).   30.  but] only.   32.  bane]  murder, destruction.   33.  bode]  announce, proclaim.   34.  Saint Denis]  the first bishop of Paris and the patron saint of France.   36.  sound] possibly both in the sense of proclaiming (OED v1 10) and of testing and trying (OED v2 6.b.).   41.  what time]  at which time (OED pron 1.a.).   41.  rutter]  a cavalry soldier, especially a German one (OED n1 1.a.).   42.]  to determine which of a bullet fired or one of our arrows shot would be faster.   43.  with … level]  with a single look and my aim taken once.

130

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The haughty challenger and struck him dead. The Golden Fleece is that we cry upon, And Jacques, Jacques is the Spaniards’ choice! Cyprus.  Next, welcome unto thee, renownèd Turk, Not for thy lay, but for thy worth in arms. Upon the first brave of thine enemy, What is thy noted word of charge, brave Turk? Brusor.  Against the Sophy in three pitchèd fields, Under the conduct of great Soliman, Have I been chief commander of an host, And put the flint-heart Persians to the sword. The desert plains of Afric have I stained With blood of Moors, and there in three set battles fought, Marched conqueror through Asia, Along the coasts held by the Portuguese. E’en to the verge of gold, aboarding Spain, Has Brusor led a valiant troop of Turks, And made some Christians kneel to Mahomet. Him we adore, and in his name I cry: Mahomet for me and Soliman! Cyprus.  Now, signor Basilisco, you we know, And therefore give not you a stranger’s welcome. You are a rutter born in Germany. Upon the first encounter of your foe, What is your brave upon the enemy? Basilisco.  I fight not with my tongue: this is my oratrix.

[act 1 45

50

55

60

65

58. Portuguese] This ed.; Portinguze Q1; Portinguize Q2.   45.  The Golden Fleece] the Order of the Golden Fleece is the highest Spanish distinction.   46.  Jacques]  Saint James the Great, patron saint of Spain.   48.  lay]  religious law or faith (OED n3).   49.  brave]  bravado, challenge (OED n 2).   51.  Sophy]  king of Persia.   51.  pitchèd fields]  fields set in orderly array for fighting.   54.  flint-heart]  hard-hearted (OED, ‘flint’, n C3.).   59.  the verge of gold]  possibly the Gold Coast, today’s Ghana, formerly a Portuguese colony.   59.  aboarding] bordering.   61.  Mahomet]  the name both of the prophet of Islam and of the Ottoman Sultan who conquered Constantinople in 1453 and was father to the historical Soliman. The name is offered here like a Turkish equivalent to a patron saint.   64.  Basilisco] a possible Italianate deformation of the ‘basilisk’, a large cannon generally made of brass and throwing a shot of about 200 pounds weight (OED n 3).   66.  rutter]  See note to 1.2.41.   69.  oratrix]  a feminised form for the masculine ‘orator’.

sc.2]

s oli m an an d pers eda

131

Laying his hand upon his sword. Cyprus.  Why, signor Basilisco, is it a she-sword? Basilisco.  Ay, and so are all blades with me. Behold my instance: Pardie! Each female is the weaker vessel, And the vigour of this arm infringes The temper of any blade. Quoth my assertion, And thereby gather that this blade, being approved weaker than this limb, may very well bear a feminine epitheton. Cyprus.  ’Tis well proved. But what’s the word that glories your country? Basilisco.  Sooth to say, the earth is my country, As the air to the fowls, or the marine moisture To the red-gilled fish. I repute myself no coward, For humility shall mount. I keep no table To character my fore-passed conflicts. As I remember, there happened a sore drought In some part of Belgia, that the juicy grass Was seared with the sun god’s element. I held it policy to put the men children Of that climate to the sword That the mothers’ tears might relieve the parched earth. The men died, the women wept, and the grass grew. Else had my Friesland horse perished,

70

75

80

85

90

  71–7.]  The passage is printed partly as verse and partly as prose in both Q1 and Q2. This edition has kept the same presentation.   72.  Pardie]  by God (Fr. ‘par Dieu’).   72.  weaker vessel]  a frequently quoted biblical image (1 Peter, 3.7).   73.  infringes]  breaks, shatters (OED v1 1).   74.  temper] the particular degree of hardness and elasticity or resilience imparted to steel by tempering (OED n 5).   74.  Quoth]  utter (OED v 4).   76.  epitheton]  Greek for ‘epithet’.   78–119.]  The passage is printed as irregular verse in both quartos.   78.  Sooth to say]  more correctly speaking (OED v1 11.a.).   78–80.] Peyré gives the Ovidian original for this quotation, from Fasti, 1.494–5: ‘Omne solum forti patria est, ut piscibus aequor, / Ut volucri vacuo quicquid in orbe patet’ (‘The whole universe is a homeland to the brave, as water is to fish, or air to birds’).   80.  red-gilled] This occurrence precedes OED’s first recorded one (1594), from Marlowe and Nashe’s Dido (4.5): ‘A silver stream, / Where thou shalt see the red-gill’d fishes leap’.   81.  table] record.   82.  character]  engrave, inscribe (OED v 1.a.).   84.  Belgia]  The Low Countries.   90.  Friesland horse]  Friesland horses are sometimes praised in Elizabethan writings. Compare Johnson, The Nine Worthies of London: ‘Where as the Frizeland horse doth breake the launce’ (sig. F1v).

132

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Whose loss would have more grieved me Than the ruin of that whole country. Upon a time in Ireland I fought On horseback with an hundred kerns, From Titan’s eastern uprise to his western downfall, Insomuch that my steed began to faint. I, conjecturing the cause to be want of water, dismounted In which place there was no such element; Enraged therefore, with this scimitar, All on foot, like an Herculean offspring, Endured some three or four hours’ combat; In which process my body distilled such dewy showers of sweat That from the warlike wrinkles of my front My palfrey cooled his thirst. My mercy in conquest is equal with my manhood in fight; The tear of an infant has been the ransom of a conquered city, Whereby I purchased the surname of ‘Pity’s adamant’. Rough words blow my choler, As the wind does Mulciber’s workhouse. I have no word, because no country. Each place is my habitation, Therefore each country’s word mine to pronounce. Princes, what would you? I have seen much, heard more, but done most. To be brief, he that will try me, let him waft me with his arm. I am his, for some five lances. Although it goes against my stars to jest, Yet to gratulate this benign prince, I will suppress my condition. Philippo.  He is beholding to you greatly, sir.

[act 1

95

100

105

110

115

120

  94.  kerns]  light-armed Irish foot-soldiers (OED n1).   95.  From Titan’s … downfall]  From sunrise to sunset. Helios the sun god in Greek mythology was the son of the Titan Hyperion.   100.  Herculean offspring] ‘From Pyrgopolinices and Thraso to Ralph Roister Doister the tradition holds that each miles gloriosus must trace his lineage to Hercules’ (Murray).   107.  Pity’s adamant] an oxymoron, as ‘adamant’, a hard metal, is a byword for inflexibility (OED adj 2). Compare 4.1.98.   108.  choler]  yellow bile, the hot and dry humour associated with anger.   109.  Mulciber’s workhouse]  Vulcan’s forge. Mulciber is an alternative name for that Roman god of fire and metalworking.   115.  waft]  wave, beckon.   118.  gratulate] congratulate.   118.  benign]  benevolent, kind.   120.  beholding]  beholden, obliged (arch.).

sc.2]

s oli m an an d pers eda

133

Mount ye, brave lordings! Forwards to the tilt! Myself will censure of your chivalry, And with impartial eyes behold your deeds. Forward, brave ladies, place you to behold The fair demeanour of these warlike knights. 125 Exeunt. basi l is co remains. Basilisco.  I am melancholy: an humour of Venus beleaguers me. I have rejected with contemptible frowns The sweet glances of many amorous girls, or rather ladies. But certes, I am now captivated with the reflecting eye Of that admirable comet, Perseda. 130 I will place her to behold my triumphs, And do wonders in her sight. O heavens, she comes, accompanied with a child Whose chin bears no impression of manhood: Not an hair, not an excrement. 135 Enter Er ast u s, p e rse da and p i sto n. Erastus.  My sweet Perseda.

Exeunt e r as t u s and pers eda. Basilisco.  Peace, infant, thou blasphemest. Piston.  You are deceived, sir, he swore not. Basilisco.  I tell thee, jester, he did worse: he called that lady his. Piston. ‘Jester’? O extempore, o flores! 140 Basilisco.  O harsh uneducate, illiterate peasant! Thou abusest the phrase of the Latin! Piston.  By God’s fish, friend, take you the Latins’ part, I’ll abuse you too!

  122.  censure of]  estimate, judge.   126.  humour of Venus]  a lover’s melancholy.   126.  beleaguers me]  besets me.   128.  amorous … ladies]  ‘Basilisco insists on using the vocabulary of the chivalric romances. He is a burlesque of this tradition long before The Knight of the Burning Pestle’ (Murray).   129.  certes]  certainly (Fr.).   129. reflecting eye] proverbial (Tilley, E231a: ‘The eye sees not itself but by reflection’).   135.  excrement] outgrowth (OED n2). Compare Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost: ‘with my excrement, with my mustachio’ (5.1.98–9).   140.  O ... flores]  a parodic corruption of ‘O tempora! o mores!’ (‘Oh the times! Oh the customs!’) in Cicero’s Catiline Orations, 1.   143.  God’s fish]  Ichthys, meaning ‘fish’ in Greek, was a secret symbol used by early Christians, based on the anagram for ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour’.   143. Latins]  Roman Catholics (OED n 3). Piston puns on the two meanings of the word ‘Latin’ (language and religious faith).

134

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Basilisco.  What, sans dread of our indignation? Piston.  ‘Sans’? What language is that? I think thou art a word-maker by thine occupation. Basilisco.  Ay, termst thou me ‘of an occupation’? Nay then, this fiery humour of choler is suppressed By the thought of love. Fair lady – Piston.  Now, by my troth, she is gone. Basilisco.  Ay, has the infant transported her hence? He saw my anger figured in my brow, And at his best advantage stole away. But I will follow for revenge. Piston.  Nay, but hear you, sir, I must talk with you before you go.

[act 1 145

150

155

Then p i s to n gets on his back and pulls him down. Basilisco.  O, if thou beèst magnanimous, come before me! Piston.  Nay, if thou beèst a right warrior, get from under me! Basilisco.  What, wouldst thou have me a Typhon, To bear up Pelion or Ossa? Piston.  Typhon me no Typhons, But swear upon my dudgeon dagger Not to go till I give thee leave, But stay with me and look upon the tilters. Basilisco.  O, thou seekst thereby to dim my glory! Piston.  I care not for that. Wilt thou not swear? Basilisco.  O, I swear, I swear!

160

165

He swears him on his dagger. Piston.  By the contents of this blade – Basilisco.  By the contents of this blade – Piston.  I, the aforesaid Basilisco – Basilisco.  I, the aforesaid Basilisco – Knight, good fellow, knight, knight –

170

  145.  sans]  without (from Fr.).   147.  occupation]  a play on the two meanings of the word: an activity, and an inferior employment (e.g. mechanical or mercantile, see OED n 4.c.).   160–1.  a Typhon … Ossa] Basilisco mixes the two distinct myths of Typhon, defeated by Zeus who buries him under Mount Etna (Metamorphoses, V.445–7), and of the Giants trying to ascend the skies and reach Olympus by piling Mount Ossa on Mount Pelion (Apollodorus, 1.7.4).   163.  dudgeon dagger]  a dagger with a wooden hilt (OED n1 2). Note the contrast between the servant’s simple, short weapon and the vainglorious knight’s ‘oratrix’ sword made mute.   173–4.]  This passage is recalled in Shakespeare’s King John, 1.1.244: ‘Knight, knight, good mother, Basilisco-like!’

sc.2]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Piston.  Knave, good fellow, knave, knave – Will not offer to go from the side of Piston – Basilisco.  Will not offer to go from the side of Piston – Piston.  Without the leave of the said Piston obtained. Basilisco.  Without the leave of said Piston, Licensed, obtained and granted. Piston.  Enjoy thy life and live: I give it thee. Basilisco.  I enjoy my life at thy hands, I confess it. I am up but that I am religious in mine oath. Piston.  What would you do, sir, what would you do? Will you up the ladder, sir, and see the tilting?

135 175

180

They go up the ladders, and they sound within to the first course. Basilisco.  Better a dog fawn on me than bark. Piston.  Now, sir, how likest thou this course? Basilisco.  Their lances were couched too high, And their steeds ill borne. Piston.  It may be so, it may be so.

185

Sound to the second course. Now, sir, how like you this course? Basilisco.  Pretty, pretty, but not famous. Well for a learner, but not for a warrior. Piston.  By my faith, methought it was excellent. Basilisco.  Ay, in the eye of an infant, a peacock’s tail is glorious.

190

Sound to the third course. Piston.  Oh, well run! The bay horse with the blue tail And the silver knight are both down! By cock and pie and mouse-foot, The Englishman is a fine knight! Basilisco.  Now, by the marble face of the welkin, He is a brave warrior.

195

200

  182.  but that]  only because (Abbott 128).   184.1.  first course]  first bout in a tournament.   185.]  parodying the proverbial phrase (Tilley, D445: ‘Better to have a dog fawn on you than bite you’). The prospect of ‘barking’ is enough to discourage Basilisco.   194.]  ‘The peacock has fair feathers but foul feet’ (Tilley, P158).   197.  by cock and pie]  an emphatic oath, originally from ‘cock’ or ‘gock’ as a perversion of the word ‘god’ (OED). See also 2 Henry IV, 5.1.1–2: ‘By cock and pie, you shall not away tonight’.   197.  mouse-foot]  ‘by the mouse-foot’ is mentioned in the OED as a mild oath.   199.  by … welkin]  by the cold and indifferent face of the heavens.

136

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[act 1

Piston.  What an oath is there? Fie upon thee, extortioner! Basilisco.  Now comes in the infant that courts my mistress. Sound to the fourth course. O that my lance were in my rest, And my beaver closed for this encounter! Piston.  Oh, well run! My master has o’erthrown the Turk! Basilisco.  Now fie upon the Turk! To be dismounted by a child, it vexes me!

205

Sound to the fifth course. Piston.  Oh, well run, master! He has overthrown the Frenchman! Basilisco.  It is the fury of his horse, not the strength of his arm. I would thou wouldst remit my oath, That I may assail thy master. Piston.  I give thee leave, go to thy destruction. But sirrah, where’s thy horse? Basilisco.  Why, my page stands holding him by the bridle. Piston.  Well, go mount thee, go. Basilisco.  I go, and Fortune guide my lance! Exit. Piston.  Take the braggingest knave in Christendom with thee! Truly I am sorry for him. He joust like a knight? He’ll jostle like a jade! Is it a world to hear the fool prate and brag? He will jet as if it were a goose on a green! He goes many times supperless to bed, And yet he takes physic to make him lean. Last night he was bidden to a gentlewoman’s to supper, And because he would not be put to carve, He wore his hand in a scarf and said he was wounded. He wears a coloured lath in his scabbard, And when ’twas found upon him, he said he was wrathful,

210

215

220

225

220.  Is it]  This ed.; It it Q1; It is Q2.   201.  extortioner]  Peyré interprets this as Piston’s accusing Basilisco of having stolen the oath from some literary source.   204.  beaver]  helmet visor.   217.  braggingest]  most bragging. For the use of comparative and superlative inflections with ‘-ing’ forms, see Abbott 7–8.   219.  jostle]  struggle and push against the opponent in tournament.   219.  jade]  horse of inferior breed.   221.  jet]  walk in an ostentatious manner, strut (OED v1 1.a.). Geese are proverbial for their stupidity.   223.  physic] medicine.   227.  lath]  wooden sword.

sc.2]

s oli m an an d pers eda

He might not wear no iron. He wears civet, And when it was asked him where he had that musk, He said all his kindred smelled so. Is not this a counterfeit fool? Well, I’ll up and see how he speeds.

137 230

Sound the sixth course. Now, by the faith of a squire, he is a very faint knight. Why, my master has overthrown him And his curtal, both to the ground! I shall have old laughing: It will be better than the fox in the hole for me.

235

Sound. Enter p h i l i p p o, e r as t u s, f e r d i n a n d o, lucina and all the knights. Cyprus.  Brave gentlemen, by all your free consents, This knight unknown has best demeaned himself. According to the proclamation made, The prize and honour of the day is his. But now unmask thyself, that we may see What warlike wrinkles time has charactered With age’s print upon thy warlike face. Englishman.  Accord to his request, brave man at arms, And let me see the face that vanquished me. Frenchman.  Unmask thyself, thou well approvèd knight. Brusor.  I long to see thy face, brave warrior. Lucina.  Nay, valiant sir, we may not be denied. Fair ladies should be coy to show their faces, Lest that the sun should tan them with his beams. I’ll be your page this once, for to disarm you!

240

245

250

229.  not wear no iron]  Q1; not weare iron Q2.   229.  not wear no iron]  for Q1’s double negative as possibly an emphatic form, see Abbott 406. Q2 replaces this with the standard simple negation.   229.  civet]  the musky secretion produced by the civet-cat and used as perfume.   236.  curtal]  a horse with its tail cut short, sometimes a horse of small size (OED n 1).   237.  old]  plentiful, great, enjoyable, memorable (OED a 15).   238.  fox in the hole]  Murray explains this allusion to an old game by quoting from Halliwell’s A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words: ‘Boys who played it hopped on one leg, and beat one another with gloves or pieces of leather tied to the end of strings.’   240.  demeaned] behaved.   244.  charactered]  See note to 1.2.82.   253.  for to]  in order to.

138

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[act 1

Piston.  That’s the reason that he shall help Your husband to arm his head. O, the policy of this age is wonderful! Philippo.  What, young Erastus, is it possible? Cyprus.  Erastus, be thou honoured for this deed. Englishman.  So young, and of such good accomplishment! Thrive, fair beginner, as this time does promise, In virtue, valour and all worthiness. Give me thy hand: I vow myself thy friend. Erastus.  Thanks, worthy sir, whose favourable hand Has entered such a youngling in the war; And thanks unto you all, brave worthy sirs. Impose me task, how I may do you good: Erastus will be dutiful in all. Philippo.  Leave protestations now, and let us hie To tread lavolta, that is women’s walk. There spend we the remainder of the day.

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Exeunt. f e r d i n a n d o remains. Ferdinando.  Though overborne and foiled in my course, Yet have I partners in mine infamy. ’Tis wondrous that so young a toward warrior Should bide the shock of such approvèd knights As he this day has matched and mated too. But virtue should not envy good desert: Therefore Erastus happy, laud thy fortune. But my Lucina, how she changed her colour When at th’encounter I did lose a stirrup, Hanging her head as partner of my shame. Therefore will I now go visit her, And please her with this carcanet of worth Which by good fortune I have found today. When valour fails, then gold must make the way.

275

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Exit.

  255.  arm his head]  get the cuckold’s horns.   264.  entered … youngling]  introduced such a beginner.   269.  lavolta] ‘a lively round dance of Italian origin’ (Boas). Compare Henry V, 3.5.32–3: ‘to the English dancing-schools, / And teach lavoltas high and swift corantos’.   271.  overborne] overcome.   271.  foiled]  trampled down (OED v1).   273.  toward]  promising, hopeful (OED a 3).   275.  matched and mated]  faced and defeated (from ‘checkmate’ in chess).   277.  laud]  praise, celebrate.   284.]  Compare Tilley, G295: ‘You may speak with your gold and make other tongues dumb’.

sc.3]

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139

[1.3] Enter bas i l i sc o riding of a mule. Basilisco.  O cursèd Fortune, enemy to Fame, Thus to disgrace thy honoured name, By overthrowing him that far has spread thy praise, Beyond the course of Titan’s burning rays! Enter p i s to n. Page, set aside the jester of my enemy. Give him a fiddler’s fee and send him packing. Piston.  Ho, God save you, sir. Have you burst your shin? Basilisco.  Ay, villain, I have broke my shin bone, My back bone, my channel bone and my thigh bone, Beside two dozen small inferior bones. Piston.  A shrewd loss, by my faith, sir. But where’s your courser’s tail? Basilisco.  He lost the same in service. Piston.  There was a hot piece of service, where he lost his tail. But how chance his nose is slit? Basilisco.  For presumption, for covering the Emperor’s mare. Piston.  Marry, a foul fault! But why are his ears cut? Basilisco.  For neighing in the Emperor’s court. Piston.  Why then, thy horse has been a colt in his time! Basilisco.  True, thou hast said. Oh, touch not the cheek of my palfrey, Lest he dismount me while my wounds are green. Page, run bid the surgeon bring his incision. Yet stay, I’ll ride along with thee myself. Exit. Piston.  And I’ll bear you company.

5

10

15

20

25

 0.1.]  Peyré compares this to Thomas Nashe’s play Summer’s Last Will and Testament (1592), in which Bacchus enters the stage riding a mule.   6.  fiddler’s fee]  proverbial (Tilley, F204 and F205: ‘Fiddler’s fare, meat, drink, and money’, ‘To give one a fiddler’s fee’).   9.  channel-bone]  collar-bone, clavicle.   11.  shrewd]  severe, sharp.   12.  courser]  large and powerful horse.   13–14. service]  a double-entendre on serving and copulating.   17.  foul fault]  a possible pun on foul/foal, with the foul fault consisting in begetting a foal.   19. colt]  a double-entendre on a young horse and a wanton or lascivious one (OED n1 2.c.).   23.  incision]  blood-letting, practised by surgeon-barbers as a cure.

140

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[act 1

p i s to n gets up on his ass and rides with him to the door, and meets the Crier. Enter the Crier. Piston.  Come, sirrah, let me see how finely you’ll cry this chain. Crier.  Why, what was it worth? Piston.  It was worth more than thou and all thy kin are worth. Crier.  It may be so, but what must he have that finds it? Piston.  Why, a hundred crowns. Crier.  Why then, I’ll have ten for the crying of it. Piston.  Ten crowns? And had but six pence For crying a little wench of thirty years old and upwards That had lost herself betwixt a tavern and a bawdy house! Crier.  Ay, that was a wench, but this is gold. She was poor, but this is rich. Piston.  Why then, by this reckoning, a hackneyman Should have ten shillings for horsing a gentlewoman, Where he has but ten pence of a beggar. Crier.  Why, and reason good: Let them pay that best may, As the lawyers use their rich clients, When they let the poor go under forma pauperis. Piston.  Why then, I pray thee, cry the chain for me, Sub forma pauperis, For money goes very low with me at this time. Crier.  Ay, sir, but your master is, though you be not. Piston.  Ay, but he must not know That thou cryest the chain for me. I do but use thee to save me a labour That am to make enquiry after it. Crier.  Well, sir, you’ll see me considered, will you not?

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31.  crying of it]  Q2; crying it Q1.   33.  wench]  wanton woman, prostitute.   37.  hackneyman] a man who keeps hackney horses (horses for ordinary riding, rather than war-horses) or hackney-carriages for hire.   38.  horsing]  a double-entendre on providing with horses and having sex with.   43. forma pauperis] from the Latin legal phrase ‘in forma pauperis’ meaning ‘in form (or name) of a pauper’ (and therefore paying little).   45.  Sub forma pauperis]  below the status of a pauper. Piston is inventing an ultrapoor category for himself to pay even less.   47.  your master is]  implying ‘your master is rich’.   52.  see me considered]  help me get advancement, recommend me.

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Piston.  Aye, marry will I. Why, what lighter payment can there be than consideration? Crier. Oyez!

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Enter e r as t u s. Erastus.  How now, sirrah, what are you crying? Crier.  A chain, sir, a chain that your man bade me cry. Erastus.  Get you away, sirrah, I advise you Meddle with no chains of mine! Exit Crier. You, paltry knave, how dar’st thou be so bold To cry the chain, when I bid thou shouldst not? Did I not bid thee only underhand Make privy enquiry for it through the town, Lest public rumour might advertise her Whose knowledge were to me a second death? Piston.  Why, would you have me run up and down the town, and my shoes are done? Erastus.  What you want in shoes, I’ll give you in blows! Piston.  I pray you, sir, hold your hands, And as I am an honest man, I’ll do the best I can to find your chain! Exit pis to n. Erastus.  Ah, treacherous Fortune, enemy to Love, Didst thou advance me for my greater fall? In dallying war, I lost my chiefest peace; In hunting after praise, I lost my love; And in love’s shipwreck will my life miscarry. Take thou the honour, and give me the chain, Wherein was linked the sum of my delight. When she delivered me the carcanet, ‘Keep it,’ quoth she, ‘as thou wouldst keep myself.’ I kept it not, and therefore she is lost, And lost with her is all my happiness, And loss of happiness is worse than death! Come, therefore, gentle Death, and ease my grief; 66.  you]  Q2; ye Q1.              

55.  Oyez]  the usual crier’s call (Fr. for ‘hear’). 62.  underhand]  in a secret manner. 64.  advertise her]  catch her attention (OED v 4). 66.  and]  even if, although (OED conj 14). 74.  dallying]  toying, trifling. 76.  miscarry]  perish, be lost. 80.  quoth she]  she said.

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s oli m an an d pers eda Cut short what malice Fortune misintends. But stay a while, good Death, and let me live: Time may restore what Fortune took from me. Ah no, great losses seldom are restored! What if my chain shall never be restored? My innocence shall clear my negligence. Ah, but my love is ceremonious, And looks for justice at her lover’s hand. Within forced furrows of her clouding brow, As storms that fall amid a sunshine day, I read her just desires, and my decay!

[act 1 85

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Exit.

95

[1.4] Enter s o l i ma n, h a l e b, a mu r at h and janissaries. Soliman.  I long till Brusor be returned from Rhodes, To know how he has borne him ’gainst the Christians, That are assembled there to try their valour; But more to be well assured by him How Rhodes is fenced, and how I best may lay My never failing siege to win that plot; For by the holy Alcoran I swear, I’ll call my soldiers home from Persia And let the Sophy breathe, and from the Russian broils Call home my hardy, dauntless janissaries, And from the other skirts of Christendom Call home my bashaws and my men of war, And so beleaguer Rhodes by sea and land. That key will serve to open all the gates Through which our passage cannot find a stop Till it have pricked the heart of Christendom,

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  85.  misintends] The OED, citing this line, explains the verb as ‘to intend or direct wrongfully’.   88.]  seems proverbial. Compare Cornelia, 2.251: ‘The losse is great that cannot be restor’d’.   91.  ceremonious]  given to ceremony, insisting on formalities.   95.  just desires]  desires for justice.  7.  Alcoran]  the Qur’an.  10.  janissaries]  the Sultan’s elite guard and the main part of his standing army, first formed in the fourteenth century (literally ‘new militia’).   12.  bashaws]  Turkish military leaders (from Turkish ‘bash’, meaning ‘head’).   13.  beleaguer]  See note to 1.2.126.

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Which now that paltry island keeps from scathe. Say, brother Amurath, and Haleb, say: What think you of our resolution? Amurath.  Great Soliman, heaven’s only substitute, And earth’s commander under Mahomet, So counsel I, as thou thyself hast said. Haleb.  Pardon me, dread sovereign, I hold it not Good policy to call your forces home From Persia and Polonia, bending them Upon a paltry isle of small defence. A common press of base superfluous Turks May soon be levied for so slight a task. Ah Soliman, whose name has shaked thy foes, As withered leaves with autumn throwèn down, Fog not thy glory with so foul eclipse! Let not thy soldiers sound a base retire Till Persia stoop, and thou be conqueror. What scandal were it to thy mightiness, After so many valiant bashaws slain, Whose blood has been manurèd to their earth, Whose bones have made their deep ways passable, To sound a homeward, dull and harsh retreat Without a conquest or a mean revenge! Strive not for Rhodes by letting Persia slip: The one’s a lion almost brought to death, Whose skin will countervail the hunter’s toil; The other is a wasp with threat’ning sting, Whose honey is not worth the taking up. Amurath.  Why Haleb, didst thou not hear our brother swear Upon the Alcoran religiously That he would make an universal camp Of all his scattered legions, and dar’st thou Infer a reason why it is not meet, After his highness swears it shall be so?

37. have] This ed.; hath Q1, Q2.                

17.  paltry]  petty, contemptible. 17.  scathe]  harm, damage. 25.  Polonia] Poland. 27.  press]  compulsory enlistment (OED n3 1.a.). 33.  stoop] surrender. 38.  dull] inglorious. 42.  countervail]  compensate, make up for. 49.  infer]  bring on, cite.

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s oli m an an d pers eda

Were it not thou art my father’s son, And striving kindness wrestled not with ire, I would not hence till I had let thee know What ’twere to thwart a monarch’s holy oath! Haleb.  Why, his highness gave me leave to speak my will, And far from flattery I spoke my mind, And did discharge a faithful subject’s love. Thou Aristippus-like didst flatter him, Not like my brother or a man of worth. And for his highness’ vow I crossed it not, But gave my censure, as his highness bade. Now for thy chastisement, know Amurath, I scorn them as a reckless lion scorns The humming of a gnat in summer’s night! Amurath.  I take it, Haleb, thou art friend to Rhodes! Haleb.  Not half so much am I a friend to Rhodes, As thou art enemy to thy sovereign! Amurath.  I charge thee say wherein, or else by Mahomet, I’ll hazard duty in my sovereign’s presence! Haleb.  Not for thy threats, but for myself, I say It is not meet that one so base as thou Shouldst come about the person of a king! Soliman.  Must I give aim to this presumption? Amurath.  Your highness knows I speak in duteous love. Haleb.  Your highness knows I spoke at your command And to the purpose, far from flattery. Amurath.  Thinkst thou I flatter? Now I flatter not!

[act 1

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Then he kills ha l e b. Soliman.  What dismal planets guide this fatal hour? Villain, thy brother’s groans do call for thee – Then s o l i ma n kills a mu r at h. To wander with them through eternal night! Amurath.  O Soliman, for loving thee I die!

80

78.  guide]  This ed.; guides Q1, Q2.   58.  Aristippus]  Hedonistic philosopher of Cyrene (fourth century BC). Murray and Peyré believe the reference may also be to the sycophant of the same name at the court of Dionysius of Syracuse in Richard Edwards’s play Damon and Pythias (1571).   63–4.]  Compare Tilley, L310: ‘A lion fears no bugs’.   69.  hazard]  venture to offer (OED v 3.b.).   73.  give aim to]  encourage. ‘The phrase is taken from the observer’s role in archery, which was to estimate the distance at which arrows fell short of the mark’ (Murray).   80.  eternal night]  See note to 1.Prol.26.

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145

Soliman.  No, Amurath, for murdering him thou diest! O Haleb, how shall I begin to mourn, Or how shall I begin to shed salt tears, For whom no words nor tears can well suffice? Ah, that my rich imperial diadem Could satisfy thy cruel destiny! Or that a thousand of our Turkish souls, Or twenty thousand millions of our foes’ Could ransom thee from fell Death’s tyranny! To win thy life would Soliman be poor, And live in servile bondage all my days! Accursèd Amurath, that for a worthless cause In blood has shortened our sweet Haleb’s days! Ah, what is dearer bond than brotherhood? Yet, Amurath, thou wert my brother too, If wilful folly did not blind mine eyes! Ay, ay, and thou as virtuous as Haleb, And I as dear to thee as unto Haleb, And thou as near to me as Haleb was! Ah Amurath, why wert thou so unkind to him For uttering but a thwarting word? And Haleb, why did not thy heart’s counsel Bridle the fond intemperance of thy tongue? Nay, wretched Soliman, why didst not thou Withhold thy hand from heaping blood on blood? Might I not better spare one joy than both? If love of Haleb forced me on to wrath, Cursed be that wrath that is the way to death! If justice forced me on, cursed be that justice That makes the brother butcher of his brother! Come, janissaries, and help me to lament, And bear my joys on either side of me – Ay, late my joys, but now my lasting sorrow! Thus, thus let Soliman pass on his way, Bearing in either hand his heart’s decay.

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115 Exeunt.

ac t 2 [2.Prol.] Enter Chorus. Love.  Now, Death and Fortune, which of all us three Has in the actors shown the greatest power? Have not I taught Erastus and Perseda By mutual tokens to seal up their loves? Fortune.  Ay, but those tokens, the ring and carcanet, Were Fortune’s gifts: Love gives no gold or jewels. Love.  Why, what is jewels, or what is gold but earth, An humour knit together by compression, And by the world’s bright eye first brought to light, Only to feed men’s eyes with vain delight? Love’s works are more than of a mortal temper: I couple minds together by consent. Who gave Rhodes’ princess to the Cyprian prince, but Love? Fortune.  Fortune that first by chance brought them together; For, till by Fortune persons meet each other, Thou canst not teach their eyes to wound their hearts. Love.  I made those knights of several sect and countries Each one by arms to honour his beloved. Fortune.  Nay, one alone to honour his beloved. The rest, by turning of my tickle wheel, Came short in reaching of fair honour’s mark. I gave Erastus only that day’s prize; A sweet renown, but mixed with bitter sorrow, For in conclusion of his happiness, I made him lose the precious carcanet Whereon depended all his hope and joy. Death.  And more than so, for he that found the chain, Even for that chain shall be deprived of life. Love.  Besides, Love has enforced a fool, The fond braggardo to presume to arms.

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Act 2]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  2. Prol.] This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  8.  humour]  moisture in the earth (OED n 2).   17.  sect]  religious faith.   20.  my tickle wheel]  my easily moved wheel (OED, ‘tickle’, a 3.a.). See also note to 1.Prol.34.   30.  fond braggardo]  foolish braggart.

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147

Fortune.  Ay, but thou seest how he was overthrown By Fortune’s high displeasure. Death.  Ay, and by Death had been surprised, If Fates had given me leave. But what I missed in him and in the rest, I did accomplish on Haleb and Amurath, The worthy brethren of great Soliman. But wherefore stay we? Let the sequel prove Who is greatest: Fortune, Death or Love?

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[2.1] Enter f e r d i n a n d o and l u c i n a. Ferdinando.  As fits the time, so now well fits the place To cool affection with our words and looks, If in our thoughts be semblance sympathy. Lucina.  My words, my looks, my thoughts are all on thee: Ferdinando is Lucina’s only joy. Ferdinando.  What pledge thereof? Lucina. An oath, a hand, a kiss. Ferdinando.  O holy oath, fair hand and sugared kiss! O never may Fernando lack such bliss! But say, my dear, when shall the gates of heav’n Stand all wide ope for celestial gods With gladsome looks to gaze at Hymen’s robes? When shall the Graces’ or Lucina’s hand With rosy chaplets deck thy golden tresses, And Cupid bring me to thy nuptial bed, Where thou in joy and pleasure must attend A blissful war with me thy chiefest friend? Lucina.  Full fraught with love and burning with desire,

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8. Fernando] Q1; Ferdinando Q2.  3.  semblance sympathy]  similar sympathy.   8. Fernando] Q1’s shortened form produces an iambic pentameter. Later in the play Fernando, Ferdinand and Ferdinando are used alternatively.   11.  gladsome]  cheerful. Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 1.2.110: ‘A gladsome sight, I long to see them here.’   12.  the Graces]  The three Graces were goddesses of beauty and fertility in Greek and Roman mythology.   12.  Lucina]  goddess of childbirth in Roman mythology.   13.  rosy chaplets]  garlands of roses.   16.]  See a similar ‘war’ between Horatio and Bel-imperia in The Spanish Tragedy, 2.4.36–49.

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I long have longed for light of Hymen’s lights. Ferdinando.  Then that same day, whose warm and pleasant sight Brings in the spring with many gladsome flowers, Be our first day of joy and perfect peace; Till when, receive this precious carcanet, In sign that, as these links are interlaced, So both our hearts are still combined in one, Which never can be parted but by death.

[act 2

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Enter basi l i sc o and p e rse da. Lucina.  And if I live this shall not be forgot. But see, Ferdinando, where Perseda comes, Whom women love for virtue, men for beauty, All the world loves, none hates but Envy. Basilisco.  All hail, brave cavalier! Good morrow, madam! The fairest shine that shall this day be seen, Except Perseda’s beauteous excellence, Shame to love’s queen and empress of my thoughts! Ferdinando.  Marry, thrice happy is Perseda’s chance, To have so brave a champion to her squire! Basilisco.  Her squire? Her knight! And whoso else denies, Shall feel the rigour of my sword and lance! Ferdinando.  O sir, not I! Lucina.  Here’s none but friends, yet let me challenge you, For gracing me with a malignant style That I was fairest, and yet Perseda fairer. We ladies stand upon our beauties much. Perseda.  Herein, Lucina, let me buckler him! Basilisco.  Not Mars himself had e’er so fair a buckler! Perseda.  Love makes him blind, And blind can judge no colours! Lucina.  Why then, the mends is made, and we still friends. Perseda.  Still friends? Still foes: she wears my carcanet! Ah false Erastus, how am I betrayed! Lucina.  What ails you, madam, that your colour changes? Perseda.  A sudden qualm. I therefore take my leave.

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  18.  light of Hymen’s lights]  the lighting of Hymen’s torches, a reference to the Greek god of wedding ceremonies. Note the double antanaclasis in this line (long/longed and light/lights).   31.  shine]  brightness or radiance (OED n1 1.a.).   36.  whoso] whoever.   43.  buckler]  shield, defend (OED v 1).   45.]  proverbial (Tilley, L506: ‘Love is blind’).   47.  mends] amends.   51.  qualm]  a fit (OED n3 1.a.).

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Lucina.  We’ll bring you home. Perseda. No, I shall soon get home. Lucina.  Why then, farewell. Fernando, let’s away. Exeunt f e r i n a n d o and lucina. Basilisco.  Say, world’s bright star, Whence springs this sudden change? Is it unkindness at the little praise I gave Lucina with my glozing style? Perseda.  No, no, her beauty far surpasses mine, And from my neck, her neck has won the praise. Basilisco.  What, is it then, if love of this my person, By favour and by justice of the heavens, At last have pierced through thy translucent breast, And thou misdoubtst, perhaps, that I’ll prove coy? O, be assured ’tis far from noble thoughts To tyrannise over a yielding foe. Therefore be blithe, sweet love, abandon fear, I will forget thy former cruelty. Perseda.  Ah, false Erastus full of treachery! Basilisco.  I always told you that such coward knights Were faithless swains and worthy no respect. But tell me, sweet love, what is his offence, That I with words and stripes may chastise him, And bring him bound for thee to tread upon? Perseda.  Now must I find the means to rid him hence! Go thou forthwith, arm thee from top to toe, And come an hour hence unto my lodging. Then will I tell thee this offence at large, And thou in my behalf shalt work revenge. Basilisco.  Ay, thus should men of valour be employed. This is good argument of thy true love. I go, make reckoning that Erastus dies, Unless forewarned, the weakling coward flies! Exit. Perseda.  Thou foolish coward! ‘Flies’? Erastus lives, The fairest shape, but foulest-minded man That e’er sun saw within our hemisphere!

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82.  weakling]  Q2; weakoning Q1.   57.  glozing] flattering.   59.  praise]  Peyré notes a possible pun with ‘prize’.   62.] Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 1.4.97: ‘In whose translucent breast my heart is lodg’d’.   62.  have pierced]  a subjunctive. The full sentence can be paraphrased as: ‘What, if I take it that the love of my person, by favour and justice of the heavens, has pierced through your translucent heart, can it be that you have fears of my proving coy?’.

150

s oli m an an d pers eda My tongue to tell my woes is all too weak, I must unclasp me or my heart will break! But inward cares are most pent in with grief, Unclasping therefore yields me no relief. Ah, that my moist and cloud-compacted brain Could spend my cares in showers of weeping rain! But scalding sighs, like blasts of boisterous winds, Hinder my tears from falling on the ground, And I must die by closure of my wound! Ah, false Erastus, how had I misdone, That thou shouldst quit my love with such a scorn?

[act 2

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Enter e r as t u s. Perseda.  Here comes the Sinon to my simple heart! I’ll frame myself to his dissembling art. Erastus.  Desire persuades me on, fear pulls me back. Tush, I will to her: innocence is bold! How fares Perseda, my sweet second self? Perseda.  Well, now Erastus, my heart’s only joy, Is come to join both hearts in union. Erastus.  And till I came whereas my love did dwell, My pleasure was but pain, my solace woe. Perseda.  What love means my Erastus? Pray thee, tell. Erastus.  Matchless Perseda, she that gave me strength To win late conquest from many victors’ hands. Thy name was conqueror, not my chivalry; Thy looks did arm me, not my coat of steel; Thy beauty did defend me, not my force; Thy favours bore me, not my light-foot steed; Therefore to thee I owe both love and life. But wherefore makes Perseda such a doubt, As if Erastus could forget himself? Which if I do, all vengeance light on me! Perseda.  Ay me, how graceless are these wicked men! I can no longer hold my patience!

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  88.  pent in]  shut up. Compare Tilley, G449: ‘Grief pent up will break the heart’.   92.] Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 2.5.44: ‘Blow, sighs, and raise an everlasting storm’.   97.  Sinon] the treacherous Greek captive who in Aeneid, Book II, convinces the Trojans to move the giant horse left by the Greeks into their city.   100.  innocence is bold]  proverbial (Tilley, I82).   101.  my sweet second self] Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 2.4.9: ‘as trusty as my second self’.   104.  whereas]  where (see Abbott 135).

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Ah, how thine eyes can forge alluring looks, And feign deep oaths to wound poor silly maids! Are there no honest drops in all thy cheeks, To check thy fraudful countenance with a blush? Callst thou me love, and lov’st another better? If heavens were just, thy teeth would tear thy tongue For this thy perjured false disloyalty! If heavens were just, men should have open breasts, That we therein might read their guileful thoughts! If heavens were just, that power that forces love Would never couple wolves and lambs together! Yes, heavens are just, but thou art so corrupt That in thee all their influence does change, As in the spider good things turn to poison. Ah, false Erastus, how had I misdone, That thou shouldst pawn my true affection’s pledge, To her whose worth will never equal mine? What, is Lucina’s wealth exceeding mine? Yet mine sufficent to encounter thine. Is she more fair than I? That’s not my fault, Nor her desert. What’s beauty but a blast, Soon cropped with age or with infirmities? Is she more wise? Her years are more than mine. Whate’er she be, my love was more than hers! And for her chastity, let others judge! But what talk I of her? The fault is thine! If I were so disgracious in thine eye That she must needs enjoy my interest, Why didst thou deck her with my ornament? Could nothing serve her but the carcanet, Which as my life I gave to thee in charge? Couldst thou abuse my true simplicity, Whose greatest fault was overloving thee? I’ll keep no tokens of thy perjury: Here, give her this, Perseda now is free, And all my former love is turned to hate!

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  132.] The OED cites Robert Greene’s Repentance (1592) as a contemporary example of this common belief: ‘They with the spider sucke poison out of the most pretious flowers’ (sig. C4v).   139.  beauty … blast]  proverbial (Tilley, B167: ‘Beauty is a blaze (blast)’).   146.  my interest]  my share, my part (OED n 1.c.).   153.  give her this]  Here Perseda probably gives back the ring she received for the carcanet in 1.1.39–40.

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Erastus.  Ah stay, my sweet Perseda, hear me speak! Perseda.  What are thy words but Sirens’ guileful songs, That please the ears, but seek to spoil the heart? Erastus.  Then view my tears, that plead for innocence. Perseda.  What are thy tears but Circe’s magic seas, Where none ’scape wrack, but blindfold mariners? Erastus.  If words and tears displease, then view my looks, That plead for mercy at thy rigorous hands. Perseda.  What are thy looks but like the cockatrice, That seeks to wound poor silly passengers? Erastus.  If words, nor tears, nor looks may win remorse, What then remains? For my perplexèd heart Has no interpreters but words, or tears, or looks. Perseda.  And they are all as false as thou thyself! Erastus.  Hard doom of death, before my case be known! My judge unjust, and yet I cannot blame her, Since love and jealousy mislead her thus. Myself in fault, and yet not worthy blame, Because that Fortune made the fault, not Love. The ground of her unkindness grows because I lost The precious carcanet she gave to me. Lucina has it, as her words import, But how she got it, heaven knows, not I. Yet this is some allegement to my sorrow, That if I can but get the chain again, I boldly then shall let Perseda know That she has wronged Erastus and her friend. Ah Love, and if thou be’st of heavenly power, Inspire me with some present stratagem! It must be so, Lucina’s a frank gamester, And like it is, in play she’ll hazard it.

[act 2 155

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160.  wrack]  This ed.; wrackt Q1, Q2.   156–60]  There seems to be a confusion here between several episodes from Homer’s Odyssey. The enchantress Circe’s magic cup turned men into swine, and the Sirens’ alluring song led mariners to their destruction. Odysseus was blindfolded on neither occasion, but was so by his host Alcinous, to keep secret the location of the latter’s happy island.   160.  wrack]  shipwreck (OED n2 2.a.).   168.  cockatrice] proverbial (Tilley, C495: ‘The cockatrice slays by sight only’). Compare Romeo and Juliet, 3.2.47: ‘the death-darting eye of cockatrice’. The cockatrice was a mythical creature with a reptilian body and a cock’s head, reputed for its deadly glance.   183.  allegement]  alleviation, relief (Fr.).   187.  and if]  if (see Abbott 101).   190.  like it is]  it is likely (OED a 8).

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153

For if report but blazen her aright, She’s a frank gamester, and inclined to play. – Ho, Piston! Enter p i s to n. Piston.  Here sir, what would you with me? Erastus.  Desire Guelpio and Signor Julio come speak with me, And bid them bring some store of crowns with them. And sirrah, provide me four vizards, Four gowns, a box and a drum, For I intend to go in mummery. Piston.  I will, sir. Erastus.  Ah virtuous lamps of everlasting heavens, Incline her mind to play, and mine to win. Nor do I covet but what is mine own. Then shall I let Perseda understand How jealousy had armed her tongue with malice. Ah, were she not Perseda, whom my heart No more can fly than iron can adamant, Her late unkindness would have changed my mind!

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Enter g u e l p i o, j u l i o and p i sto n. Guelpio.  How now, Erastus, wherein may we pleasure thee? Erastus.  Sirs, thus it is: we must in mummery Unto Lucina, neither for love nor hate, But if we can, to win the chain she wears; For though I have some interest therein, Fortune may make me master of mine own, Rather than I’ll seek justice ’gainst the dame. But this assure yourselves: it must be mine By game or change, by one device or other. The rest I’ll tell you when our sport is done. Julio.  Why then, let’s make us ready and about it. Erastus.  What store of crowns have you brought?

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  191.  blazen]  proclaim (OED v2 2.a.).   195.  some store of crowns]  a supply of gold coins.   196. vizards]  visors, masks.   197.  box]  money box.   198.  in mummery]  in fancy dress. Mummers traditionally disguised themselves and acted in mime, hence Erastus and his companions’ silence in their meeting with Lucina.   206.  adamant]  a magnet.   207.1.]  Though not mentioned in this stage direction, the Drummer too probably enters here.   212.  interest]  see note to 2.1.146 above.   216.  by game or change]  by gambling or exchange (OED n 2.b.).

154

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[act 2

Guelpio.  Fear not for money, man, I’ll bear the box! Julio.  I have some little reply, if need require. Piston.  Ay, but hear you master, was not he a fool That went to shoot and left his arrows behind him? Erastus.  Yes, but what of that? Piston.  Marry, that you may lose your money, And go without the chain, unless you carry false dice. Guelpio.  Mass, the fool says true, let’s have some got. Piston.  Nay, I use not to go without a pair of false dice: Here are tall men and little men. Julio.  High men and low men, thou wouldst say. Erastus.  Come sirs, let’s go. Drumsler, play for me And I’ll reward thee; and, sirrah Piston, Mar not our sport with your foolery. Piston.  I warrant you, sir, they get not one wise word of me.

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Sound up the Drum to l u c i n a’s door. Enter l u c i n a. Lucina.  Ay, marry, this shows that Charlemagne is come! What, shall we play here? Content, Since Signor Ferdinand will have it so.

235

Then they play, and when she has lost her gold, eras tus points to her chain, and then she says: Ay, were it Cleopatra’s union! Then e r as t u s wins the chain and loses his gold, and l u c i n a says: Signor Fernando, I am sure ’tis you; And gentlemen, unmask ere you depart,

240

231.  play]  Boas, Murray; pray Q1, Q2.  237.1–2.]  This ed.; pointed … said Q1, Q2.   221.  reply]  supply (OED n 3, quoting this line as an example).   227.  Mass]  by the Mass (a mild oath, OED n1 4.a.).   229–30.] ‘High men’ and ‘low men’ (corrupted into ‘tall men’ and ‘little men’ by Piston) were dice loaded so as to turn up high numbers and low numbers. Compare Nashe, The Unfortunate Traveller (p. 263): ‘The dice of late have grown as melancholy as a dog; high men and low men both prosper alike’.   231.  Drumsler] drummer.   235.  Charlemagne]  the king of hearts in a pack of cards.   238. Cleopatra’s union] Cleopatra’s pearl (OED, ‘union’, n2 a). The reference is possibly to the pearl which the Queen of Egypt dissolved in vinegar and drank following a bet with Mark Antony (Pliny, book 9, p. 98).

sc.1]

s oli m an an d pers eda

That I may know to whom my thanks is due For this so courteous and unlooked for sport. No? Will’t not be? Then sup with me tomorrow. Well then, I’ll look for you. Till then, farewell. Erastus.  Gentlemen, each thing has sorted to our wish. She took me for Fernando, marked you that? Your gold shall be repaired with double thanks; And, fellow drumsler, I’ll reward you well. Piston.  But is there no reward for my false dice? Erastus.  Yes sir, a guarded suit from top to toe!

155

Exit.

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250

Enter f e r d i n a n d o. Ferdinando.  Dazzle mine eyes, or is’t Lucina’s chain? False treacher, lay down the chain that thou hast stole! Erastus.  He lewdly lies that calls me treacherous! Ferdinando.  That lie my weapon shall put down thy throat! Then e r ast u s slays f e r d i n a n d o. Julio.  Fly, Erastus, ere the Governor have any news, 255 Whose near ally he was, and chief delight! Erastus.  Nay gentlemen, fly you and save yourselves, Lest you partake the hardness of my fortune!  Exeunt g u e l p io and j ulio. Ah, fickle and blind guideress of the world, What pleasure hast thou in my misery? 260 Was’t not enough, when I had lost the chain, Thou didst bereave me of my dearest love? But now, when I should repossess the same, To cross me with this hapless accident? Ah, but if time and place would give me leave, 265 Great ease it were for me to purge myself, And to accuse fell Fortune, Love and Death, For all these three conspire my tragedy.

  241.  my thanks is]  for the singular verb used with a plural noun, see Abbott 333.   247.  repaired] restored.   250.  guarded suit]  trimmed, embroidered livery (OED a 3.a.). But there is a possible pun with a ‘suit’ (a set) in a game of cards, in which the higher cards are ‘guarded’ (protected) by the lower one.   252. treacher]  deceiver, cheat (Fr. ‘tricheur’).   253.  lewdly] vilely.   258.1.]  The Drummer, not mentioned in the stage direction, possibly exits here too.   259.  guideress]  feminine form for ‘guide’, since Fortuna is a female figure.   266.  purge myself]  This is reminiscent of tragic catharsis, literally meaning ‘purge’. The genre is referred to at line 268.

156

s oli m an an d pers eda

[act 2

But danger waits upon my words and steps; I dare not stay, for if the Governor Surprise me here, I die by martial law. Therefore I go. But whither shall I go? If into any stay adjoining Rhodes, They will betray me to Philippo’s hands, For love, or gain, or flattery. To Turkey must I go: the passage short, The people warlike, and the king renowned For all heroical and kingly virtues. Ah hard attempt, to tempt a foe for aid! Necessity yet says it must be so, Or suffer death for Ferdinando’s death, Whom honour’s title forced me to misdo, By checking his outrageous insolence. Piston, here, take this chain and give it to Perseda, And let her know what has befallen me. When thou hast delivered it, take ship and follow me. I will be in Constantinople. Farewell my country, dearer than my life; Farewell sweet friends, dearer than country’s soil; Farewell Perseda, dearest of them all, Dearer to me than all the world besides! Exit. Piston.  Now am I growing into a doubtful agony What I were best to do: to run away with this chain, Or deliver it and follow my master? If I deliver it and follow my master, I shall have thanks, But they will make me never the fatter. If I run away with it, I may live upon credit All the while I wear this chain, Or domineer with the money when I have sold it. Hitherto all goes well, but if I be taken, Ay, marry sir, then the case is altered, aye, and haltered too! Of all things I do not love to preach With a halter about my neck!

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289.  country’s soil]  This ed.; countrey soyle Q1, Q2.   273.  stay]  a place where one can stay, a fixed abode (OED n3 6.b.).   282.  misdo]  harm, injure.   299.  domineer]  to assume lordly airs, play the master (OED v 1.b.).   301.  the case is altered]  proverbial (Tilley, C111). See also the title of a later play by Ben Jonson, The Case Is Altered (c. 1597).   303.  halter]  a rope with a noose to hang a condemned man.   302–3.]  a reference to the practice of the ‘neck-verse’, which allowed a condemned man about to be executed to prove his clerical status by reading a Latin verse and thereby save his neck.

sc.1]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Therefore, for this once, I’ll be honest against my will: Perseda shall have it. But before I go, I’ll be so bold As to dive into this gentleman’s pocket, for good luck’s sake, If he deny me not. How say you sir? Are you content? A plain case: Qui tacet consitiri videtur.

157 305

Enter p hi l i p p o and j u l i o. Julio.  See where his body lies. Philippo.  Ay, ay, I see his body all too soon. What barbarous villain is’t that rifles him? Ah Ferdinand, the stay of my old age, And chief remainder of our progeny! Ah loving cousin, how art thou misdone By false Erastus! Ah no, by treachery, For well thy valour has been often tried! But whilst I stand and weep, and spend the time In fruitless plaints, the murderer will escape Without revenge, sole salve for such a sore! Say, villain, wherefore didst thou rifle him? Piston.  Faith, sir, for pure good will. Seeing he was going towards heaven, I thought to see if he had a passport to Saint Nicholas or no. Philippo.  Some sot he seems to be, ’twere pity to hurt him. Sirrah, canst thou tell who slew this man? Piston.  Ay, sir, very well, it was my master Erastus. Philippo.  Thy master? And whither is he gone now? Piston.  To fetch the sexton to bury him, I think. Philippo.  ’Twere pity to imprison such a sot. Piston.  Now it fits my wisdom to counterfeit the fool. Philippo.  Come hither, sirrah. Thou knowest me For Governor of the city, dost thou not? Piston.  Ay, forsooth, sir. Philippo.  Thou art a bondman, and wouldst fain be free? Piston.  Ay, forsooth, sir.

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306.  good luck’s sake]  This ed.; good luck sake Q1, Q2.   308.  Qui ... videtur]  Piston misquotes the Latin phrase ‘qui tacet consentire videtur’, which is equally proverbial in English (Tilley, S446: ‘Silence is (gives) consent’).   311.  rifles him]  steals from him by searching his pockets. Piston gets arrested here.   319.  salve]  a healing ointment for application to wounds.   323.  Saint Nicholas]  possibly ‘the old Nick’, a humorous or familiar nickname for the Devil (OED n). See also Tilley, N161: ‘Old Nick’.   324.  sot]  fool (Fr.).   334.  fain]  gladly, willingly.

158

s oli m an an d pers eda

[act 2

Philippo.  Then do but this, and I will make thee free, And rich withal: learn where Erastus is And bring me word, and I’ll reward thee well. Piston.  That I will, sir. I shall find you at the castle, shall I not? Philippo. Yes. 340 Piston.  Why, I’ll be here, as soon as e’er I come again. Exit pis to n. Philippo.  But for assurance that he may not ’scape, We’ll lay the ports and havens round about, And let a proclamation straight be made, That he that can bring forth the murderer 345 Shall have three thousand ducats for his pains. Myself will see the body borne from hence, And honourèd with balm and funeral. Exit.

[2.2] Enter p i sto n. Piston.  God send fortune to fools! Did you ever see wise man escape as I have done? I must betray my master, ay, but when, can you tell? Enter p e rse da. See where Perseda comes, to save me a labour. ‘After my most hearty commendations, This is to let you understand That my master was in good health at the sending hereof, Yours for ever and ever and ever. In most humble wise, Piston.’

5

Then he delivers her the chain. Perseda.  This makes me think that I have been too cruel. How got he this from off Lucina’s arm? Piston.  Faith, in a mummery, and a pair of false dice. I was one of the mummers myself, simple as I stand here. Perseda.  I rather think it cost him very dear. Piston.  Ay, so it did, for it cost Ferdinando his life. Perseda.  How so?

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337.  withal]  Q2; wiihall Q1. 9.1. delivers] This ed.; deliuered Q1, Q2.  11. off] This ed.; of Q1, Q2.   337.  withal]  in addition (see Abbott 196).   346.  ducats]  a gold coin of varying value, formerly in use in many European countries, especially in Venice.

sc.2]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Piston.  After we had got the chain in mummery, And lost our box in counter-cambio, My master wore the chain about his neck. Then Ferdinando met us on the way, And reviled my master, saying he stole the chain; With that they drew, and there Ferdinando had the prickado. Perseda.  And whither fled my poor Erastus then? Piston.  To Constantinople, whither I must follow him. But ere he went, with many sighs and tears, He delivered me the chain, and bade me give it you, For perfect argument that he was true, And you too credulous. Perseda.  Ah stay, no more, for I can hear no more! Piston.  And I can sing no more. Perseda.  My heart had armed my tongue with injury, To wrong my friend whose thoughts were ever true. Ah, poor Erastus, how thy stars malign! Thou great commander of these swift-winged winds, And dreadful Neptune, bring him back again! But Eolus and Neptune, let him go, For here’s nothing but revenge and death! Then let him go, I’ll shortly follow him, Not with slow sails, but with love’s golden wings! My ship shall be borne with tears and blown with sighs! So will I soar about the Turkish land, Until I meet Erastus my sweet friend; And then and there fall down amid his arms, And in his bosom there pour forth my soul, For satisfaction of my trespass past.

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45

Enter basi l i sc o, armed.

33.  malign]  Boas, Murray; maling Q1, Q2.  18.  counter-cambio] The OED, citing this line, explains this as ‘counterchange, exchange’ (from Italian ‘contracambio’).   22.  prickado] The OED, citing this line, explains this as ‘a stab with a sword’. To Murray, the mock-Italianate phrase is likely to be one of Piston’s coinages, recalling the ‘passado’ (a forward thrust with the foil).   27.  argument]  proof, token (OED n 1).   30.  sing]  ‘Piston is referring to the ballad mongers of the day who “sang” the news, especially if it were a spectacular event like a hanging or murder’ (Murray).   31.  injury]  insult, calumny.   33.  malign] act wickedly (OED v 1.a.). ‘“mal-align,” i.e., have an evil influence’ (Murray).   36.  Eolus and Neptune]  the Greek gods of the wind and the sea.

160

s oli m an an d pers eda

[act 2

Basilisco.  Fair love, according unto thy command, I seek Erastus and will combat him. Perseda.  Ay, seek him, find him, bring him to my sight, For till we meet, my heart shall want delight! Exit. Basilisco.  My petty fellow, where hast thou hid thy master? Piston.  Marry, sir, in an armourer’s shop, Where you had not best go to him. Basilisco.  Why so? I am in honour bound to combat him. Piston.  Ay, sir, but he, knowing your fierce conditions, Has planted a double cannon in the door, Ready to discharge it upon you when you go by: I tell you for pure good will. Basilisco.  In knightly courtesy, I thank thee. But hopes the coistrel to escape me so? Thinks he bare cannon shot can keep me back? Why, wherefore serves my targe of proof, but for the bullet? That once put by, I roughly come upon him; Like to the wings of lightning from above, I with a martial look astonish him! Then falls he down, poor wretch, upon his knee, And all too late repents his surquidry. Then do I take him on my finger’s point, And thus I bear him thorough every street, To be a laughing stock to all the town. That done, I lay him at my mistress’ feet, For her to give him doom of life or death. Piston.  Ay, but hear you sir, I am bound, In pain of my master’s displeasure, To have a bout at cuffs, afore you and I part. Basilisco.  Ha, ha, ha! Eagles are challenged by paltry flies! Thy folly gives thee privilege; be gone, be gone!

50

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74.  a bout]  Boas, Murray; about Q1, Q2.   54.  conditions]  dispositions, temper (OED n 11.a.).   59.  coistrel]  knave, base fellow.   60.  bare] mere.   61.  targe]  light shield.   61.  of proof]  of proven strength, resistant.   66.  surquidry]  arrogance, presumption (from Fr. ‘surcuiderie’).   74.  a bout at cuffs]  a fist fight.   75.  Eagles … flies] reminiscent of the proverbial ‘The eagle does not catch flies’ (Tilley, E1).

sc.2]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Piston.  No, no, sir, I must have a bout with you, sir, that’s flat; That, for retaining one so virtuous, Lest my master turn me out of service. Basilisco.  Why, art thou weary of thy life? Piston.  No, by my faith, sir. Basilisco.  Then fetch thy weapons, and with my single fist I’ll combat thee, my body all unarmed. Piston.  Why, lend me thine, and save me a labour. Basilisco.  I tell thee, if Alcides lived this day, He could not wield my weapons. Piston.  Why, wilt thou stay till I come again? Baslisco.  Ay, upon my honour. Piston.  That shall be when I come from Turkey. Exit. Basilisco.  Is this little desperate fellow gone? Doubtless he is a very tall fellow, And yet it were disgrace to all my chivalry To combat one so base. I’ll send some crane to combat with the pygmy, Not that I fear, but that I scorn to fight. Exit.

161

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  77.  that’s flat]  that is the absolute, undeniable truth (OED a3 6.b.).   78.]  This line, at the top of sig. E2r in Q1, is printed in Q2 at the bottom of sig. E2v, corresponding to 3.1.34. Both possibilities have been kept in this edition, as they both make sense in terms of meaning. Here, the line could be paraphrased as ‘That is done (or I am doing that) to delay a very valiant fighter’, and Piston could be striking Basilisco as he says ‘That’. Nevertheless, in both Q1 and Q2 the catchword is ‘Least’ at the bottom of sig. E1v, and ‘That’ at the bottom of sig. E2v, which makes Q2’s version likelier to be correct.   85.  Alcides] Hercules.   91.  tall fellow]  good at arms, valiant (OED a 3). A series of wordplays on height follow.   93.  base]  a pun on base-born and low in height.   94.]  for the legend of the pygmies fighting the cranes, see Pliny VII, p. 51, and the anonymous Gesta Romanorum (tale 175, p. 339).

ac t 3 [3.Prol.] Enter Chorus. Love.  Fortune, thou mad’st Fernando find the chain, But yet by Love’s instruction he was taught To make a present of it to his mistress. Fortune.  But Fortune would not let her keep it long. Love.  Nay, rather Love, by whose suggested power Erastus used such dice as, being false, Ran not by Fortune, but necessity. Fortune.  Meantime I brought Fernando on the way, To see and challenge what Lucina lost. Death.  And by that challenge I abridged his life, And forced Erastus into banishment, Parting him from his love, in spite of Love. Love.  But with my golden wings I’ll follow him, And give him aid and succour in distress. Fortune.  And doubt not too, but Fortune will be there, And cross him too, and sometimes flatter him And lift him up, and throw him down again. Death.  And here and there in ambush Death will stand, To mar what Love or Fortune takes in hand.

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Exeunt.

[3.1] Enter s o l i ma n and b ru s o r, with Janissaries. Soliman.  How long shall Soliman spend his time And waste his days in fruitless obsequies? Perhaps my grief and long continual moan Adds but a trouble to my brothers’ ghosts,

Act 3]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  3. Prol.] This ed.; not in Q1, Q2. 3–4.]  Q2; lines in reverse order in Q1.  4.  ghosts]  This ed.; ghost Q1; ghoast Q2.  17.]  another reference to Fortune’s wheel (see note to 1.Prol.34).   19.  Love or Fortune takes]  for the inflection in ‘s’ with two singular subjects, see Abbott 336.  2.  obsequies]  funeral rites, mourning.

sc.1]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Which but for me would now have took their rest. Then farewell sorrow, and now revenge draw near! In controversy touching the isle of Rhodes My brothers died; on Rhodes I’ll be revenged. Now tell me, Brusor, what’s the news at Rhodes? Has the young Prince of Cyprus married Cornelia, daughter to the Governor? Brusor.  He has, my lord, with the greatest pomp That e’er I saw at such a festival. Soliman.  What, greater than at our coronation? Brusor.  Inferior to that only. Soliman.  At tilt, who won the honour of the day? Brusor.  A worthy knight of Rhodes, a matchless man; His name Erastus, not twenty years of age, Not tall, but well proportioned in his limbs. I never saw, except your excellence, A man whose presence more delighted me; And had he worshipped Mahomet for Christ, He might have borne me throughout all the world, So well I loved and honourèd the man. Soliman.  These praises, Brusor, touch me to the heart, And makes me wish that I had been at Rhodes, Under the habit of some errant knight, Both to have seen and tried his valour. Brusor.  You should have seen him foil and overthrow All the knights that there encountered him. Soliman.  Whate’er he be, even for his virtues’ sake, I wish that fortune of our holy wars Would yield him prisoner unto Soliman; That for retaining one so virtuous, We may ourselves be famed for virtues. But let him pass, and Brusor, tell me now, How did the Christians use our knights? Brusor.  As if that we and they had been one sect. Soliman.  What thinkst thou of their valour and demeanour? Brusor.  Brave men at arms, and friendly out of arms; Courteous in peace, in battle dangerous; Kind to their foes, and liberal to their friends; And all in all, their deeds heroical.

34.]  Q2; not in Q1.   26.  makes]  for the third person plural in -s, see Abbott 333.   29. foil]  defeat (OED v1 4.a.).   34.]  See note to 2.2.78.

163 5

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s oli m an an d pers eda

Soliman.  Then tell me, Brusor, how is Rhodes fenced? For either Rhodes shall be brave Soliman’s, Or cost me more brave soldiers Than all that isle will bear. Brusor. Their fleet is weak; Their horse, I deem them fifty thousand strong; Their footmen more, well exercised in war; And as it seems, they want no needful victual. Soliman.  However Rhodes be fenced by sea or land, It either shall be mine, or bury me!

[act 3 45

50

Enter e r as t u s. What’s he that thus boldly enters in? His habit argues him a Christian. Erastus.  Ay, worthy lord, a forlorn Christian. Soliman.  Tell me, man, what madness brought thee hither? Erastus.  Thy virtuous fame, and mine own misery. Soliman.  What misery? Speak, for though you Christians Account our Turkish race but barbarous, Yet have we ears to hear a just complaint, And justice to defend the innocent, And pity to such as are in poverty, And liberal hands to such as merit bounty. Brusor.  My gracious sovereign, as this knight Seems by grief tied to silence, So his deserts binds me to speak for him: This is Erastus, the Rhodian worthy, The flower of chivalry and courtesy. Soliman.  Is this the man that thou hast so described? Stand up, fair knight, that what my heart desires, Mine eyes may view with pleasure and delight! This face of thine should harbour no deceit. Erastus, I’ll not yet urge to know the cause That brought thee hither, Lest with the discourse thou shouldst afflict thyself, And cross the fullness of my joyful passion. But that we are assured: Heavens brought thee hither for our benefit.

           

44.  fenced] fortified. 48.  their horse]  their cavalry. 49.  footmen] infantry. 66.  binds]  See note to 3.1.26. 67. worthy]  See note to 1.2.9. 76.  cross] spoil.

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sc.1]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Know thou that Rhodes, nor all that Rhodes contains, Shall win thee from the side of Soliman, If we but find thee well inclined to us. Erastus.  If any ignoble or dishonourable thoughts Should dare attempt, or but creep near my heart, Honour should force disdain to root it out; As air-bred eagles, if they once perceive That any of their brood but close their sight When they should gaze against the glorious sun, They straightway seize upon him with their talons, That on the earth it may untimely die, For looking but askew at heaven’s bright eye. Soliman.  Erastus, to make thee well assured How well thy speech and presence liketh us, Ask what thou wilt: it shall be granted thee. Erastus.  Then this, my gracious lord, is all I crave, That being banished from my native soil, I may have liberty to live a Christian. Soliman.  Ay, that or anything thou shalt desire! Thou shalt be captain of our janissaries, And in our council shalt thou sit with us, And be great Soliman’s adopted friend. Erastus.  The least of these surpass my best desert, Unless true loyalty may seem desert. Soliman.  Erastus, now thou hast obtained thy boon, Deny not Soliman this one request: A virtuous envy pricks me with desire To try thy valour. Say, art thou content? Erastus.  Ay, if my sovereign say content, I yield. Soliman.  Then give us swords and targets.

165 80

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105

88.  talons]  This ed.; talents Q1, Q2.  92. presence] This ed.; presents Q1, Q2.  104.  one]  This ed.; owne Q1, Q2.   85–90.]  an elaboration on the proverbial ‘Only the eagle can gaze at the sun’ (Tilley, E3). Peyré also mentions a possible reference to Pliny’s Natural History, 10.3.10 (description of the Haliaetus or sea eagle).   88.  talons]  hinder claws. Q1 and Q2’s ‘talents’ is given in the OED as an alternative form for ‘talons’.   92.  presence] Q1 and Q2’s ‘presents’ is probably a typesetting mistake, as the ‘forlorn’ knight of Rhodes has not offered any presents, but merely his presence to Soliman.   92.  liketh]  For the inflection in ‘s’ for a verb with two singular subjects, see Abbott 336.   103.  boon]  request (OED n1 1.b.).   108.  targets]  round shields, small targes (see note to 2.2.61).

166

s oli m an an d pers eda And now, Erastus, think me thine enemy, But ever after thy continual friend, And spare me not, for then thou wrongst my honour.

[act 3 110

Then they fight, and e r as t u s overcomes s o liman. Nay, nay, Erastus, throw not down thy weapons, As if thy force did fail! It is enough That thou hast conquered Soliman by strength; By courtesy let Soliman conquer thee! And now, from arms to counsel sit thee down. Before thy coming, I vowed to conquer Rhodes. Say, wilt thou be our lieutenant there, And further us in manage of these wars? Erastus.  My gracious sovereign, without presumption If poor Erastus may once more entreat, Let not great Soliman’s command, To whose behest I vow obedience, Enforce me sheathe my slaughtering blade In the dear bowels of my countrymen. And were it not that Soliman has sworn, My tears should plead for pardon to that place. I speak not this to shrink away for fear, Or hide my head in time of dangerous storms. Employ me elsewhere in thy foreign wars: Against the Persians or the barbarous Moor, Erastus will be foremost in the battle. Soliman.  Why favourst thou thy countrymen so much, By whose cruelty thou art exiled? Erastus.  ’Tis not my country, but Philippo’s wrath, It must be told, for Ferdinando’s death, Whom I in honour’s cause have reft of life. Soliman.  Nor suffer this or that to trouble thee. Thou shalt not need Philippo, nor his isle, Nor shalt thou war against thy countrymen; I like thy virtue in refusing it. But that our oath may have his current course, Brusor, go levy men, Prepare a fleet, to assault and conquer Rhodes. Meantime, Erastus and I will strive

       

119.  manage]  management (OED n2 1.b.). 123.  behest] command. 137.  reft]  bereft, deprived. 142.  current]  easy and swift (OED a 2).

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sc.2]

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By mutual kindness to excel each other. Brusor, be gone, and see not Soliman Till thou hast brought Rhodes in subjection. Exit brus o r. And now, Erastus, come and follow me Where thou shalt see what pleasures and what sports 150 My minions and my eunuchs can devise, To drive away this melancholy mood. Exit. Enter p i s to n. Piston.  O master, see where I am! Erastus.  Say, Piston, what’s the news at Rhodes? Piston.  Cold and comfortless for you. 155 Will you have them all at once? Erastus. Ay. Piston.  Why, the Governor will hang you and he catch you; Ferdinando is buried; your friends commend them to you; Perseda has the chain, and is like to die for sorrow. 160 Erastus.  Ay, that’s the grief, that we are parted thus. Come, follow me and I will hear the rest, For now I must attend the Emperor. Exeunt.

[3.2] Enter p e rs e da, l u c i n a and bas i l is co. Perseda.  Accursèd chain! Unfortunate Perseda! Lucina.  Accursèd chain! Unfortunate Lucina! My friend is gone, and I am desolate! Perseda.  My friend is gone, and I am desolate! Return him back, fair stars, or let me die! Lucina.  Return him back, fair heavens, or let me die! For what was he, but comfort of my life? Perseda.  For what was he, but comfort of my life? But why was I so careful of the chain? Lucina.  But why was I so careless of the chain? Had I not lost it, my friend had not been slain!

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2. Unfortunate] Q2; unforrunate Q1.   151.  minions]  originally a sovereign’s male favourites or lovers (OED n 1.a.), but in later usage could also apply to his mistresses (OED n 1.b.). In this context, it is more likely a reference to the women in Soliman’s harem, where they are attended by eunuchs.   158.  and]  if (see Abbott 101).   160.  like to]  about to (OED a 9).  9.  careful of]  mindful of.

168

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[act 3

Perseda.  Had I not asked it, my friend had not departed! His parting is my death! Lucina.  His death’s my life’s departing! And here my tongue does stay with swollen heart’s grief! Perseda.  And here my swollen heart’s grief does stay my tongue! Basilisco.  For whom weep you? Lucina. Ah, for Fernando’s dying! Basilisco.  For whom mourn you? Perseda. Ah, for Erastus’ flying! Basilisco.  Why, lady, is not Basilisco here? Why, lady, does not Basilisco live? Am not I worth both these for whom you mourn? Then take one half of me and cease to weep, Or if you gladly would enjoy me both, I’ll serve the one by day, the other by night, And I will pay you both your sound delight. Lucina.  Ah, how unpleasant is mirth to melancholy. Perseda.  My heart is full, I cannot laugh at folly. Exeunt Ladies. Basilisco.  See, see, Lucina hates me like a toad, Because that when Erastus spoke my name, Her love Fernando dièd at the same: So dreadful is our name to cowardice! On th’other side, Perseda takes it unkindly That ere he went, I brought not bound unto her Erastus, that faint-hearted run-away. Alas, how could I? For his man no sooner Informed him that I sought him up and down, But he was gone in twinkling of an eye. But I will after my delicious love, For well I wot, though she dissemble thus, And cloak affection with her modesty, With love of me her thoughts are overgone, More than was Phyllis with her Demophon. Exit.

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  28.  hates me like a toad]  proverbial (Tilley, T361).   37.  in twinkling of an eye]  proverbial (Tilley, T635).   39.  I wot]  I know.   41.  overgone]  gone beyond bounds (OED a).   42.  Phyllis … Demophon]  ‘Demophon, the son of Theseus, was beloved by Phyllis, who, on being abandoned by him, committed suicide. The story is told by Ovid, Heroides, ii.1’ (Boas).

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169

[3.3] Enter p h i l i p p o, the p r i n c e o f cy p ru s, with other soldiers. Philippo.  Brave Prince of Cyprus and our son-in-law, Now there is little time to stand and talk: The Turks have passed our galleys and are landed. You with some men at arms shall take the Tower; I with the rest will down unto the strand. If we be beaten back, we’ll come to you, And here in spite of damnèd Turks we’ll gain A glorious death or famous victory! Cyprus.  About it, then!

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Exeunt.

[3.4] Enter b ru s o r and his soldiers. Brusor.  Drum, sound a parley to the citizens! The p r i n c e o f cy p ru s on the walls. Cyprus.  What parley craves the Turkish at our hands? Brusor.  We come with mighty Soliman’s command, Monarch and mighty emperor of the world, From East to West, from South to Septentrion. If you resist, expect what war affords: Mischief, murder, blood and extremity! What, wilt thou yield and try our clemency? Say ‘ay’ or ‘no’, for we are peremptory. Cyprus.  Your lord usurps in all that he possesses, And that great God which we do truly worship Shall strengthen us against your insolence. Brusor.  Now if thou plead for mercy, ’tis too late. Come, fellow soldiers, let us to the breach That’s made already on the other side! Exeunt to the battle.

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5. strand] Boas, Murray; strane Q1, Q2.  5.  strand]  coast, sea-shore. Q1’s ‘strane’, reproduced in Q2, may be due to the similarity between the final ‘d’ and ‘e’ in secretary hand. The OED gives ‘a stretch of country’ as a possible meaning for ‘strain’ (n2 5.d.), but ‘strand’ is more likely here if Philippo is about to fight the freshly landed Turkish troops.  5.  Septentrion]  North. ‘Septem triones’ refers to the seven stars in the constellation of the Great Bear.   7. extremity]  extreme severity or rigour (OED n 6).   9.  peremptory]  admitting no debate.

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[act 3

[3.5] p h i l i p p o and cy p ru s are both slain. Enter bru so r, with soldiers, having g u e l pio, Julio and bas i l i s c o, with p e rse da and l u c i n a, prisoners. Brusor.  Now Rhodes is yoked, and stoops to Soliman. There lies the Governor, and there his son. Now let their souls tell sorry tidings to their ancestors, What millions of men oppressed with ruin and scathe The Turkish armies did in Christendom! What say these prisoners? Will they turn Turk or no? Julio.  First Julio will die ten thousand deaths! Guelpio.  And Guelpio, rather than deny his Christ! Brusor.  Then stab the slaves, and send their souls to hell!

5

They stab j u l i o and g u e l p i o. Basilisco.  I turn, I turn! O save my life, I turn! Brusor.  Forbear to hurt him. When we land in Turkey, He shall be circumcised and have his rites. Basilisco.  Think you I turn Turk For fear of servile death? That’s but a sport! In faith, sir, no! ’Tis for Perseda, whom I love so well That I would follow her, though she went to hell! Brusor.  Now, for these ladies: their lives’ privilege Hangs on their beauty. They shall be preserved To be presented to great Soliman; The greatest honour Fortune could afford! Perseda.  The most dishonour that could e’er befall!

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20 Exeunt.

 4.  scathe]  hurt, damage.   6.  turn Turk]  convert to Islam.   11.  forbear to hurt]  refrain from hurting (OED v 7.a.).

ac t 4 [4.Prol.] Enter Chorus. Love.  Now, Fortune, what hast thou done in this latter passage? Fortune.  I placed Erastus in the favour Of Soliman, the Turkish emperor. Love.  Nay, that was Love, for I couched myself In poor Erastus’ eyes, and with a look O’erspread with tears bewitched Soliman. Beside I sat on valiant Brusor’s tongue, To guide the praises of the Rhodian knight. Then in the ladies’ passions I showed my power, And lastly Love made Basilisco’s tongue To countercheck his heart by turning Turk, And save his life, in spite of Death’s despite. Death.  How chance it then, that Love and Fortune’s power Could neither save Philippo nor his son, Nor Guelpio, nor Signor Julio, Nor rescue Rhodes from out the hands of Death? Fortune.  Why, Brusor’s victory was Fortune’s gift. Death.  But had I slept, his conquest had been small. Love.  Wherefore stay we? There’s more behind, which proves That though Love wink, Love’s not stark blind! Exeunt.

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Act 4]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  4. Prol.] This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  8.  Rhodian]  Boas, Murray; Herodian Q1, Q2.  10.  tongue]  Boas, Murray; tougue Q1, tongne Q2.  1.  this latter passage]  the previous act. A similar question is asked in 5.Prol.1.   8.  Rhodian knight] Q1 and Q2’s ‘Herodian’ could perhaps be understood as ‘blustering, grandiose, magniloquent; after the style attributed to Herod in the miracle-plays’ (OED a 2), but the first occurrence mentioned for that sense dates only to 1886. Boas’s emendation, followed by Murray, is more likely.   11.  countercheck]  arrest, oppose. Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 2.2.37: ‘Give me a kiss, I’ll countercheck thy kiss’.   18.  had I slept] Murray sees a parallel between Death’s sleep here and Revenge’s sleep in The Spanish Tragedy (3.15.1–17).   20.  Love’s … blind]  a reference to the proverbial ‘Love is blind’ (Tilley, L506).

172

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[act 4

[4.1] Enter e r ast u s and p i s to n. Piston.  Faith, master, methinks you are unwise That you wear not the sugar-loaf hat And the gilded gown the Emperor gave you. Erastus.  Peace, fool, a sable weed fits discontent. Away, be gone. Piston.  I’ll go provide your supper: A shoulder of mutton, and never a salad. Exit. Erastus.  I must confess that Soliman is kind Past all compare, and more than my desert. But what helps gay garments when the mind’s oppressed? What pleases the eye when the sense is altered? My heart is overwhelmed with thousand woes, And melancholy leads my soul in triumph. No marvel then if I have little mind Of rich embroidery or costly ornaments, Of honour’s titles, or of wealth or gain, Of music, viands or of dainty dames. No, no, my hope full long ago was lost, And Rhodes itself is lost, or else destroyed; If not destroyed, yet bound and captivate; If captivate, then forced from holy faith; If forced from faith, forever miserable. For what is misery but want of God? And God is lost if faith be overthrown.

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Enter s o l i ma n. Soliman.  Why, how now, Erastus, always in thy dumps? Still in black habit fitting funeral? Cannot my love persuade thee from this mood,

25

 2.  sugar-loaf hat]  OED defines this as ‘a conical hat, pointed, rounded or flat at the top, worn during the Tudor and Suart periods’ (n 2.a.), but the reference here is more likely to a Turkish conical hat or high turban, which may have been worn by the Turkish characters in the play.   4.  a sable weed]  a black garment, symbolically representing melancholy and worn by malcontent characters.   6.] ‘Since a salad was made with raw herbs and spices, the meal would be more suitable to a melancholiac with a soft and moist disposition’ (Murray). For a sum of early modern dietary advices to cure melancholy, see Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621), Part. 2, Sect. 2, Memb. 1, Subsec. 1.   19.  captivate] captured.   24.  dumps]  fits of melancholy or depression, low spirits (OED n1 2).

sc.1]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Nor all my fair entreats and blandishments? Wert thou my friend, thy mind would jump with mine, For what are friends but one mind in two bodies? Perhaps thou doubtst my friendship’s constancy? Then dost thou wrong the measure of my love, Which has no measure, and shall never end. Come, Erastus, sit thee down by me, And I’ll impart to thee our Brusor’s news. News to our honour, and to thy content: The Governor is slain that sought thy death. Erastus.  A worthy man, though not Erastus’ friend. Soliman.  The Prince of Cyprus too is likewise slain. Erastus.  Fair blossom, likely to have proved good fruit. Soliman.  Rhodes is taken, and all the men are slain, Except some few that turn to Mahomet. Erastus.  Ay, there it is! Now all my friends are slain, And fair Perseda murdered or deflowered! Ah, gracious Soliman, now show thy love In not denying thy poor suppliant. Suffer me not to stay here in thy presence, But by myself lament me once for all. Here if I stay, I must suppress my tears, And tears suppressed will but increase my sorrow. Soliman.  Go then, go spend thy mournings all at once, That in thy presence Soliman may joy, Exit eras tus. For hitherto have I reaped little pleasure. Well, well, Erastus, Rhodes may bless thy birth. For his sake only will I spare them more From spoil, pillage and oppression Than Alexander sparèd warlike Thebes For Pindarus, or than Augustus Spared rich Alexandria for Arius’ sake.

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35

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45

50

55

Enter b ru s o r, p e rs e da and l u c ina.

  27.  entreats] entreaties.   27.  blandishments]  gently flattering speeches.   29.]  Close to the proverbial ‘A friend is one’s second self’ (Tilley, F696).   56–8.] Boas quotes the following passage from Wotton’s Cupid’s Cautels, p. 55: ‘Euen as Alexander the greate pardoned Thebes for the loue of Pindarus, and Stagirius for the good will he bare to Aristotle: or as the fortunate Augustus entreated rebellious Alexandria at the requeste of Arrius’. On Alexander’s sparing the poet Pindarus’s house and family in Thebes, see Arrian’s Anabasis Alexandri (1.9.9–10). On Augustus’s sparing his Alexandrian preceptor Arius, see Dio Cassius, Roman History (51.16).

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Brusor.  My gracious lord, rejoice in happiness: All Rhodes is yoked, and stoops to Soliman! Soliman.  First thanks to Heaven, and next to Brusor’s valour, Which I’ll not guerdon with large promises, But straight reward thee with a bounteous largesse. But what two Christian virgins have we here? Brusor.  Part of the spoil of Rhodes, which were preserved To be presented to your mightiness. Soliman.  This present pleases more than all the rest. And were their garments turned from black to white, I should have deemed them Juno’s goodly swans, Or Venus’ milk-white doves, so mild they are, And so adorned with beauty’s miracle. Here, Brusor, this kind turtle shall be thine: Take her and use her at thy pleasure. But this kind turtle is for Soliman, That her captivity may turn to bliss. Fair looks resembling Phoebus’ radiant beams, Smooth forehead like the table of high Jove, Small penciled eyebrows like to glorious rainbows, Quick lamp-like eyes like heaven’s two brightest orbs, Lips of pure coral breathing ambrosy, Cheeks where the rose and lily are in combat, Neck whiter than the snowy Apennines, Breasts like two overflowing fountains, ’Twixt which a vale leads to the Elysian shades, Where under covert lies the fount of pleasure, Which thought may guess, but tongue must not profane. A sweeter creature nature never made;

[act 4 60

65

70

75

80

85

  62.  guerdon]  reward, recompense.   69.  Juno’s goodly swans]  Peyré notes that although swans are traditionally associated to Venus, they are also occasionally mentioned in connection with Juno, as in As You Like It, 1.3.74–5: ‘like Juno’s swans / Still we went coupled and inseparable’.   70.  Venus’ … doves] Compare Romeo and Juliet, 2.4.7: ‘Therefore do nimble-pinioned doves draw Love’.   72.  turtle]  turtle-dove, often representing affection, as in the allegorical poem The Phoenix and the Turtle attributed to Shakespeare.   72.  this kind turtle shall be thine]  Soliman gives Lucina away to Brusor.   76–86.]  Soliman’s Petrarchan blason (listing and metaphorising the beloved’s body parts) harks back to an established tradition in Western love poetry.   77.  table of high Jove]  Peyré translates this as Jove’s altar.   80.  ambrosy]  the fabled food, drink or unguent of gods (OED n 1, 2, 3).   82.  Apennines]  a mountain range expanding along the length of peninsular Italy.   84.  Elysian]  belonging to Elysium, the abode of the blessed after death according to Greek mythology.

sc.1]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Love never tainted Soliman till now. Now, fair virgin, let me hear thee speak. Perseda.  What can my tongue utter but grief and death? Soliman.  The sound is honey, but the sense is gall. Then, sweeting, bless me with a cheerful look. Perseda.  How can mine eyes dart forth a pleasant look, When they are stopped with floods of flowing tears? Soliman.  If tongue with grief and eyes with tears be filled, Say, virgin, how does thy heart admit The pure affection of great Soliman? Perseda.  My thoughts are like pillars of adamant, Too hard to take a new impression. Soliman.  Nay then, I see my stooping makes her proud; She is my vassal, and I will command. Coy virgin, knowst thou what offence it is To thwart the will and pleasure of a king? Why, thy life is done, if I but say the word! Perseda.  Why, that’s the period that my heart desires. Soliman.  And die thou shalt, unless thou change thy mind! Perseda.  Nay then, Perseda grows resolute. Soliman’s thoughts and mine resemble Lines parallel that never can be joined. Soliman.  Then kneel thou down, And at my hands receive the stroke of death, Doomed to thyself by thine own wilfulness! Perseda.  Strike, strike, thy words pierce deeper than thy blows! Soliman.  Brusor, hide her, for her looks withhold me.

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110

Then b ru so r hides her with a lawn. O Brusor, thou hast not hid her lips, For there sits Venus with Cupid on her knee,

115

99. a new] This ed.; an new Q1, Q2.  109.  Lines parallel] Boas, Murray; Liues paralise Q1, Q2.  111.  at]  Q2; ar Q1.   91.]  Compare Tilley, H556 (‘No honey without gall’) and H557 (‘Of honey and gall in love there is store’).   92.  sweeting] sweetheart.   98.  adamant] reputed to be the hardest metal (from the Greek word for ‘invincible’).   105. period]  conclusion (OED n 11.b.), or full stop at the end of a sentence (OED n 17.a.).   109.  Lines parallel]  Boas suggests a typesetting accident to justify his emendation. A turned letter can explain the change of ‘lines’ into ‘liues’, but Q1’s ‘paralise’ remains unexplained. I have retained Boas’s emendation for lack of a better option.   114.1.  lawn]  a kind of fine linen.

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And all the Graces smiling round about her, So craving pardon that I cannot strike. Brusor.  Her face is covered over quite, my lord. Soliman.  Why, so! O Brusor, seest thou not her milk-white neck, That alabaster tower? ’Twill break the edge of my keen scimitar, And pieces flying back will wound myself. Brusor.  Now she is all covered, my lord. Soliman.  Why now, at last she dies. Perseda.  O Christ, receive my soul! Soliman.  Hark, Brusor, she calls on Christ; I will not send her to him. Her words are music, The selfsame music that in ancient days Brought Alexander from war to banqueting, And made him fall from skirmishing to kissing. No, my dear, Love would not let me kill thee, Though majesty would turn desire to wrath. There lies my sword, humbled at thy feet, And I myself, that govern many kings, Entreat pardon for my rash misdeed. Perseda.  Now Soliman wrongs his imperial state. But if thou love me and have hope to win, Grant me one boon that I shall crave of thee. Soliman.  Whate’er it be, Perseda, I grant it thee. Perseda.  Then let me live a Christian virgin still, Unless my state shall alter by my will. Soliman.  My word is passed, and I recall my passions. What should he do with crown and empery, That cannot govern private fond affections? Yet give me leave in honest sort to court thee, To ease, though not to cure, my malady. Come, sit thee down upon my right hand here, This seat I keep void for another friend. Go, janissaries, call in your governor! So shall I joy between two captive friends,

[act 4

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125

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  117.  the Graces]  See note to 2.1.12.   122.  alabaster]  a stone famed for its whiteness and smoothness (OED a b). Compare Othello, 5.2.4–5: ‘that whiter skin of hers than snow, / And smooth as monumental alabaster’.   131–3.] The reference is possibly to Timotheus’s lyre at Alexander’s banquet. See Dio Chrysostom’s Discourse 1, 1–2.   141.  boon]  See note to 3.1.103.

sc.1]

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And yet myself be captive to them both, If friendship’s yoke were not at liberty. See where he comes, my other best beloved.

177 155

Enter e r as t u s. Perseda.  My sweet and best beloved! Erastus.  My sweet and best beloved! Perseda.  For thee, my dear Erastus, have I lived. Erastus.  And I for thee, or else I had not lived. Soliman.  What words in affections do I see? Erastus.  Ah, pardon me, great Soliman, for this is she For whom I mournèd more than for all Rhodes, And from whose absence I derived my sorrow. Perseda.  And pardon me, my lord, for this is he For whom I thwarted Soliman’s entreats, And for whose exile I lamented thus. Erastus.  Even from my childhood have I tendered thee, Witness the heavens of my unfeignèd love. Soliman.  By this one accident I well perceive That heavens and heavenly powers do manage love. I love them both, I know not which the better. They love each other best. What then should follow But that I conquer both by my deserts, And join their hands whose hearts are knit already? Erastus and Perseda, come you hither, And both give me your hands. Erastus, none but thou couldst win Perseda; Perseda, none but thou couldst win Erastus From great Soliman; so well I love you both. And now, to turn late promises to good effect, Be thou, Erastus, governor of Rhodes; By this thou shalt dismiss my garrison. Brusor.  Must he reap that for which I took the toil? Come, Envy, then, and sit in friendship’s seat! How can I love him that enjoys my right? Soliman.  Give me a crown, to crown the bride withal.

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Then he crowns p e rs e da. Perseda, for my sake wear this crown. Now is she fairer than she was before. This title so augments her beauty as the fire,

190

  166.  entreats]  See note to 4.1.27.   168.  tendered]  held tenderly, cherished (OED v2 3.d.).   190–2.]  proverbial (Tilley, F264: ‘Fire raked up in ashes keeps its heat a long time’).

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[act 4

That lay with honour’s hand raked up in ashes, Revives again to flames; the force is such! Remove the cause, and then the effect will die; They must depart, or I shall not be quiet. Erastus and Perseda, marvel not, That all in haste I wish you to depart. There is an urgent cause, but privy to myself. Command my shipping for to waft you o’er. Erastus.  My gracious lord, when Erastus does forget this favour, Then let him live abandoned and forlorn. Perseda.  Nor will Perseda slack even in her prayers, And still solicit God for Soliman, Whose mind has proved so good and gracious. Soliman.  Farewell, Erastus. Perseda, farewell too.  Exeunt e r ast us and pers eda. Methinks I should not part with two such friends: The one so renowned for arms and courtesy, The other so adorned with grace and modesty. Yet of the two Perseda moves me most, Ay, and so moves me, that I now repent That e’er I gave away my heart’s desire. What was it but abuse of Fortune’s gift? And therefore Fortune now will be revenged. What was it but abuse of Love’s command? And therefore mighty Love will be revenged. What was it but abuse of heavens that gave her me? And therefore angry heavens will be revenged. Heavens, Love and Fortune, all three have decreed That I shall love her still, and lack her still, Like ever-thirsting wretched Tantalus. Foolish Soliman! Why did I strive To do him kindness, and undo myself? Well-governed friends do first regard themselves. Brusor.  Ay, now occasion serves to stumble him That thrust his sickle in my harvest corn! Pleases your majesty to hear Brusor speak?

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192.  revives]  Boas, Murray; reuies Q1, Q2.   198.  waft] convey.   219.  Tantalus]  a great transgressor in Greek mythology, condemned to stand forever in a pool of water which receded every time he stooped to drink, while the trees drew back every time he reached out to pick their fruit. Tantalus’s punishment has become a byword for temptation without satisfaction.   222.]  a variation on the proverbial ‘Be a friend to thyself and others will be so too’ (Tilley, F684).

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179

Soliman.  To one past cure, good counsel comes too late. Yet say thy mind. Brusor.  With secret letters woo her, and with gifts. Soliman.  My lines and gifts will but return my shame. Lucina.  Hear me, my lord, let me go o’er to Rhodes, 230 That I may plead in your affection’s cause: One woman may do much to win another. Soliman.  Indeed, Lucina, were her husband from her, She haply might be won by thy persuades. But whilst he lives, there is no hope in her. 235 Brusor.  Why lives he then to grieve great Soliman? This only remains that you consider: In two extremes the least is to be chosen. If so your life depend upon her love, And that her love depends upon his life, 240 Is it not better that Erastus die Ten thousand deaths, than Soliman should perish? Soliman.  Ay, sayst thou so? Why then, it shall be so. But by what means shall poor Erastus die? Brusor.  This shall be the means: 245 I’ll fetch him back again, Under colour of great consequence. No sooner shall he land upon our shore, But witness shall be ready to accuse him Of treason done against your mightiness, 250 And then he shall be doomed by martial law. Soliman.  O fine device! Brusor, get thee gone. Come thou again, but let the lady stay To win Perseda to my will. Meanwhile Will I prepare the judge and witnesses; 255 And if this take effect, thou shalt be Viceroy, And fair Lucina Queen of Tripoli. Brusor, be gone, for till thou come I languish!  Exeunt b ru s o r and lucina. And now to ease my troubled thoughts at last, I will go sit among my learnèd eunuchs, 260 And hear them play and see my minions dance;

  234.  haply] perhaps.   234. persuades]  arguments intended to persuade.   238.  extremes]  hardships (OED n 4.b.).   247.  under … consequence]  ‘under pretence of matters of great moment’ (Boas).   249.  witness]  for the dropping of an expected plural form after a noun ending in ‘s’, see Abbott 471.

180

s oli m an an d pers eda For till that Brusor bring me my desire, I may assuage, but never quench love’s fire.

[act 4 Exit.

[4.2] Enter basi l i sc o. Basilisco.  Since th’expugnation of the Rhodian isle, Methinks a thousand years are overpassed, More for the lack of my Perseda’s presence Than for the loss of Rhodes, that paltry isle, Or for my friends that there were murderèd. My valour everywhere shall purchase friends, And where a man lives well, there is his country. Alas, the Christians are but very shallow In giving judgement of a man at arms, A man of my desert and excellence! The Turks, whom they account for barbarous, Having foreheard of Basilisco’s worth, A number underprop me with their shoulders, And in procession bear me to the church, As I had been a second Mahomet. I, fearing they would adore me for a god, Wisely informed them that I was but man, Although in time perhaps I might aspire To purchase godhead, as did Hercules; I mean by doing wonders in the world. Amidst their church they bound me to a pillar, And to make trial of my valiancy, They lopped a collop of my tenderest member.

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  263.1.]  An unidentified manuscript note in secretary hand in Q1’s margin reads: ‘The song to be sung before Basilisco enters’. This would suggest the possiblity of a sensational show of Soliman’s harem before the action resumes.  1.  expugnation] conquest.   4.  paltry] worthless.   7.] This line is quoted in Tilley to illustrate M468: ‘A man’s country is where he does well’.   13.  underprop]  support, sustain (OED v 2).   15.  as]  as if (Abbott 107).   19.]  the hero Hercules, a demigod, was turned after his death into a full god by his father Zeus.   22.  valiancy] valiantness.   23.  collop]  slice or piece of flesh (OED n1 3.a.). As announced by Brusor in 3.5.12, Basilisco is circumcised.

sc.2]

s oli m an an d pers eda

But think you Basilisco squitched for that? Even as a cow for tickling in the horn! That done, they set me on a milk-white ass, Compassing me with goodly ceremonies. That day, methought, I sat in Pompey’s chair, And viewed the Capitol, and was Rome’s greatest glory.

181 25

Enter p i s to n. Piston.  I would my master had left Some other to be his agent here. Faith, I am weary of this office already. What, Signor Tremomundo, That rode a pilgrimage to beg cake-bread! Basilisco.  Oh, take me not unprovided, let me fetch my weapons! Piston.  Why, I meant nothing but a Basolus Manus. Basilisco.  No, didst thou not mean to give me the privy stab? Piston.  No, by my troth, sir. Basilisco.  Nay, if thou hadst, I had not fearèd thee. I tell thee, my skin holds out pistol proof. Piston.  Pistol proof? I’ll try if it will hold out pin proof.

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Then he pricks him with a pin. Basilisco.  O, shoot no more, great god, I yield to thee! Piston.  I see his skin is but pistol proof from the girdle upward. What sudden agony was that? Basilisco.  Why, sawst thou not how Cupid, god of love, Not daring look me in the martial face, Came like a coward stealing after me, And with his pointed dart pricked my posteriors?

45

  24.  squitched]  flinched, winced.   28.  Pompey’s chair]  the Great Pompey’s seat as Roman consul.   29.  Capitol]  Jupiter’s temple on the Capitoline hill in Rome, where triumph ceremonies were held for military commanders after an exceptional success.   33. Signor Tremomundo] Boas reads this as a corruption of the Spanish ‘Tremebundo’, meaning frightening or dreadful. ‘Signor trema mondo’ also means ‘Mister shake the world’ in Italian.   34.  cake-bread]  little cake, more dainty than bread. A possible reference to Basilisco’s forsaking of Christian communion.   36.  Basolus Manus]  corruption of the Spanish salutation ‘beso las manos’ (‘[I]  kiss [your] hands’). Compare Munday, Fidele and Fortunio (c. 1584), 1.1.50: ‘Basilus Codpeece for an olde Manus’.   37.  privy stab]  ‘stab in the private parts’ (Murray). Piston has probably stooped low for his ‘Basolus Manus’.   48.  posteriors]  backside, buttocks (from Fr. ‘postérieur’).

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Piston.  Then hear my opinion concerning that point: The ladies of Rhodes, hearing that you have lost A capital part of your lady ware, Have made their petition to Cupid, To plague you above all other, As one prejudicial to their muliebrity. Now sir, Cupid, seeing you already hurt before, Thinks it a greater punishment to hurt you behind; Therefore I would wish you to have an eye to the back door. Basilisco.  Sooth, thou sayest, I must be fenced behind? I’ll hang my target there! Piston.  Indeed, that will serve to bear off some blows, When you run away in a fray. Basilisco.  Sirrah, sirrah, what art thou That thus encroachest upon my familiarity Without special admittance? Piston.  Why, do you not know me? I am Erastus’ man. Basilisco.  What, art thou that petty pygmy That challenged me at Rhodes, Whom I refused to combat for his minority? Where is Erastus? I owe him chastisement in Perseda’s quarrel. Piston.  Do not you know that they are all friends, And Erastus married to Perseda, And Erastus made governor of Rhodes, And I left here to be their agent? Basilisco.  O coelum, o terra, o maria Neptune! Did I turn Turk to follow her so far? Piston.  The more shame for you. Basilisco.  And is she linked in liking with my foe? Piston.  That’s because you were out of the way. Basilisco.  O wicked Turk, for to steal her hence! Piston.  O wicked turncoat that would have her stay. Basilisco.  The truth is I’ll be a Turk no more. Piston.  And I fear thou wilt never prove good Christian. Basilisco.  I will after, to take revenge.

[act 4 50

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  51.  lady ware]  privy parts, to be used with a female partner.   54. muliebrity] womanhood.   58.  Sooth]  For sooth, in truth.   59.  target]  See note to 3.1.108.   60.  bear off]  ward off (OED v1 34).   61.  fray] fight.   74.]  ‘O heaven, O earth, O Neptune’s seas!’ A quotation from Terence’s The Brothers (l. 790).   83.  I will after]  I will go after Erastus.

sc.2]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Piston.  And I’ll stay here about my master’s business. Basilisco.  Farewell Constantinople, I will to Rhodes. Piston.  Farewell, counterfeit fool! God send him good shipping. ’Tis noised about that Brusor is sent To fetch my master back again. I cannot be well till I hear the rest of the news, Therefore I’ll about it straight.

  88. noised] rumoured.

183 Exit.

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90 Exit.

ac t 5 [5.Prol.] Enter Chorus. Love.  Now, Fortune, what hast thou done in this latter act? Fortune.  I brought Perseda to the presence Of Soliman the Turkish emperor, And gave Lucina into Brusor’s hands. Love.  And first I stung them with consenting love, And made great Soliman, sweet beauty’s thrall, Humble himself at fair Perseda’s feet, And made him praise love and captives’ beauty. Again I made him to recall his passions, And give Perseda to Erastus’ hands, And after make repentance of the deed. Fortune.  Meantime I filled Erastus’ sails with wind, And brought him home unto his native land. Death.  And I suborned Brusor, with envious rage, To counsel Soliman to slay his friend. Brusor is sent to fetch him back again. Mark well what follows, for the history Proves me chief actor in this tragedy.

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Exeunt.

[5.1] Enter e r ast u s and p e rse da. Erastus.  Perseda, these days are our days of joy. What could I more desire than thee to wife, And that I have, or than to govern Rhodes, And that I do, thanks to great Soliman? Perseda.  And thanks to gracious heavens, that so Brought Soliman from worse to better; For though I never told it thee till now, His heart was purposed once to do thee wrong. Erastus.  Ay, that was before he knew thee to be mine.

Act 5]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  5. Prol.] This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  6.  thrall] captive.

5

sc.1]

s oli m an an d pers eda

But now, Perseda, let’s forget old griefs, And let our studies wholly be employed To work each other’s bliss and heart’s delight. Perseda.  Our present joys will be so much the greater Whenas we call to mind forepassèd griefs. So sings the mariner upon the shore, When he has passed the dangerous time of storms. But if my love will have old griefs forgot, They shall be buried in Perseda’s breast.

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15

Enter b ru s o r and l u c i n a. Erastus.  Welcome, lord Brusor. Perseda. And Lucina too. Brusor.  Thanks, lord Governor. Lucina. And thanks to you, Madam. Erastus.  What hasty news brings you so soon to Rhodes, Although to me you never come too soon? Brusor.  So it is, my lord, that upon great affairs, Importuning health and wealth of Soliman, His highness by me entreateth you, As ever you respect his future love, Or have regard unto his courtesy, To come yourself in person and visit him, Without enquiry what should be the cause. Erastus.  Were there no ships to cross the seas withal, My arms should frame mine oars to cross the seas; And should the seas turn tide to force me back, Desire should frame me wings to fly to him. I go; Perseda, thou must give me leave. Perseda.  Though loth, let Soliman’s command prevails. Lucina.  And sweet Perseda, I will stay with you, From Brusor my beloved, and I’ll want him Till he bring back Erastus unto you. Erastus.  Lord Brusor, come, ’tis time that we were gone. Brusor.  Perseda, farewell, be not angry For that I carry thy beloved from thee; We will return with all speed possible. And thou, Lucina, use Perseda so,

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 14.  whenas] when.   15–16.] Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 2.2.7–11: ‘My heart, sweet friend, is like a ship at sea: / She wisheth port, where riding all at ease, / She may repair what stormy times have worn, / And leaning on the shore, may sing with joy / That pleasure follows pain, and bliss annoy.’

186

s oli m an an d pers eda

[act 5

That for my carrying off Erastus hence, She curse me not, and so farewell to both. Perseda.  Come, Lucina, let’s in, my heart is full.

45 Exeunt.

[5.2] Enter s o l i ma n, l or d ma rsh a l, the two witnes s es and Janissaries. Soliman.  Lord Marshal, see you handle it cunningly, And when Erastus comes (our perjured friend), See he be condemned by martial law. Here will I stand to see and not be seen. Marshal.  Come, fellows, see when this matter comes in question, You stagger not; and janissaries, See that your strangling cords be ready. Soliman.  Ah, that Perseda were not half so fair, Or that Soliman were not so fond; Or that Perseda had some other love, Whose death might save my poor Erastus’ life!

5

10

Enter b ru s o r and e r as t u s. See where he comes, whom though I dearly love, Yet must his blood be spilled for my behoof: Such is the force of marrow-burning love! Marshal.  Erastus, Lord Governor of Rhodes, I arrest you in the King’s name. Erastus.  What thinks Lord Brusor of this strange arrest? Hast thou entrapped me to this treachery, Intended, well I wot, without the leave Or licence of my lord, great Soliman? Brusor.  Why then, appeal to him, where thou shalt know And be assured that I betray thee not. Soliman.  Yes, thou and I and all of us betray him! Marshal.  No, no, in this case no appeal shall serve. Erastus.  Why then, to thee, or unto any else, I here protest by heavens unto you all That never was there man more true or just, Or in his deeds more loyal and upright, Or more loving, or more innocent Than I have been to gracious Soliman, Since first I set my feet on Turkish land. 14. marrow-burning] Boas, Murray; morrow burning Q1, Q2.  13.  behoof] advantage.

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sc.2]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Soliman.  Myself would be his witness if I durst, But bright Perseda’s beauty stops my tongue! Marshal.  Why sirs, why face to face express you not The treasons you revealed to Soliman? 1 Witness.  That very day Erastus went from hence, He sent for me into his cabinet, And for that man that is of my profession. Erastus.  I never saw them, ay, until this day! 1 Witness.  His cabin door fast shut, he first began To question us of all sorts of fireworks; Wherein, when we had fully resolved him What might be done, he, spreading on the board A huge heap of our imperial coin: ‘All this is yours,’ quoth he, ‘if you consent To leave great Soliman and serve in Rhodes.’ Marshal.  Why, that was treason! But onwards with the rest.

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45

Enter p i s to n. Piston.  What have we here? My master before the Marshal? 1 Witness.  We said not, nor durst we say him nay, Because we were already in his galleys, But seemed content to fly with him to Rhodes. With that he pursed the gold and gave it us. The rest I dare not speak: it is so bad! Erastus.  Heavens, hear you this, and drops not vengeance on them? 2 Witness.  The rest, and worst, will I discourse in brief: ‘Will you consent,’ quoth he, ‘to fire the fleet That lies hard by us here in Bosphoron? For be it spoke in secret here,’ quoth he, ‘Rhodes must no longer bear the Turkish yoke.’ We said the task might easily be performed, But that we lacked such drugs to mix with powder,

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36.  SP. 1 Witness]  This ed.; Witnesses Q1, Q2.  40.  SP. 1 Witness]  This ed.; Witnesse Q1; Witnesses Q2.  49.  SP. 1 Witness]  This ed.; Witn. Q1; Wit. Q2.  55.  SP. 2 Witness]  This ed.; The other wit. Q1, Q2.   32.  durst] dared.   37.  cabinet]  small cabin, probably on the galley mentioned at 5.2.50.   41. fireworks] explosives.   42.  Wherein]  in the course of which (OED adv 2.b.).   42.  resolved him]  informed him (OED v 23.a.).   57.  Bosphoron]  Bosphorus or Bosporus strait, straddling the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul).   61. drugs]  chemical ingredients.   61.  powder] gunpowder.

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s oli m an an d pers eda

[act 5

As were not in his galleys to be got. At this he leapt for joy, swearing and promising That our reward should be redoubled. We came aland, not minding for to return, And as our duty and allegiance bound us, We made all known unto great Soliman. But ere we could summon him aland, His ships were past a kenning from the shore; Belike he thought we had bewrayed his treasons. Marshal.  That all is true that here you have declared, Both lay your hands upon the Alcoran. 1 Witness.  Foul death betide me if I swear not true! 2 Witness.  And mischief light on me if I swear false! Soliman.  Mischief and death shall light upon you both! Marshal.  Erastus, thou seest what witness has produced against thee. What answerst thou unto their accusations? Erastus.  That these are Sinons and myself poor Troy! Marshal.  Now it rests I appoint thy death, Wherein thou shalt confess I’ll favour thee: For that thou wert beloved of Soliman, Thou shalt forthwith be bound unto that post, And strangled as our Turkish order is. Piston.  Such favour send all Turks, I pray God! Erastus.  I see this train was plotted ere I came. What boots complaining where’s no remedy? Yet give me leave, before my life shall end, To moan Perseda, and accuse my friend. Soliman.  O unjust Soliman, o wicked time, Where filthy lust must murder honest love! Marshal.  Dispatch, for our time limited is past.

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68.  aland]  Boas, Murray; a land Q1, Q2.   65.  aland] ashore.   65.  for to]  to (Abbott 152).   69. kenning] the distance that bounds the range of ordinary vision at sea; hence about 20 or 21 miles (OED n2 4.a.).   70.  Belike] perhaps.   70. bewrayed] exposed.   78.  Sinons]  See note to 2.1.97.   79.  it rests]  what remains is.   85.  train] stratagem.   86.] Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 1.4.92: ‘What boots complaint, when there’s no remedy?’   91.  time limited]  appointed time.

sc.2]

s oli m an an d pers eda

Erastus.  Alas, how can he but be short, whose tongue Is fast tied with galling sorrow? Farewell, Perseda, no more but that for her; Inconstant Soliman, no more but that for him; Unfortunate Erastus, no more but that for me. Lo, this is all, and thus I leave to speak.

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95

Then they strangle him. Piston.  Marry, sir, this is a fair warning for me to get me gone! Exit. Soliman.  O save his life, if it be possible. I will not lose him for my kingdom’s worth. 100 Ah, poor Erastus, art thou dead already? What bold presumer durst be so resolved For to bereave Erastus’ life from him, Whose life to me was dearer than mine own? Was’t thou, and thou? Lord Marshal, bring them hither, 105 And at Erastus’ hand let them receive The stroke of death, whom they have spoiled of life. What, is thy hand too weak? Then mine shall help To send them down to everlasting night, To wait upon thee through eternal shade. 110 Thy soul shall not go mourning hence alone: Thus die, and thus, for thus you murdered him! Then he kills the two janissaries that killed eras tus. But soft, methinks he is not satisfied. The breath does murmur softly from his lips, And bids me kill those bloody witnesses, By whose treachery Erastus died. Lord Marshal, hail them to the tower’s top, And throw them headlong down into the valley. So let their treasons with their lives have end! 1 Witness.  Yourself procurèd us! 2 Witness. Is this our hire? Then the ma rsh a l bears them to the tower top. Soliman.  Speak not a word, lest in my wrathful fury I doom you to ten thousand direful torments! And Brusor, see Erastus be interred With honour, in a kingly sepulchre.

  97.  leave to speak]  leave off speaking.   109.  everlasting night]  See note to 1.Prol.26.   120.  procurèd] bribed.

115

120

190

s oli m an an d pers eda

[act 5

Why when, Lord Marshal? Great Hector’s son, Although his age did plead for innocence, Was sooner tumbled from the fatal tower Than are those perjured wicked witnesses!

125

Then they are both tumbled down. Why, now Erastus’ ghost is satisfied! Ay, but yet the wicked judge survives, By whom Erastus was condemned to die. Brusor, as thou lov’st me, stab in the Marshal, Lest he detect us unto the world, By making known our bloody practices! And then will thou and I hoist sail to Rhodes, Where thy Lucina and my Perseda lives. Brusor.  I will, my lord. Lord Marshal, it is his highness’ pleasure That you commend him to Erastus’ soul!

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135

Then he kills the ma rsh a l. Soliman.  Here ends my dear Erastus’ tragedy, And now begins my pleasant comedy. But if Perseda understand these news, Our scene will prove but tragicomical. Brusor.  Fear not, my lord, Lucina plays her part, And wooes apace in Soliman’s behalf! Soliman.  Then Brusor come, and with some few men Let’s sail to Rhodes with all convenient speed; For till I fold Perseda in mine arms, My troubled ears are deafed with love’s alarms!

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145

Exeunt.

148. deafed] This ed.; deft Q1, Q2.   125.  Why when]  See note to 1.1.1.   125.  Great Hector’s son]  For the murder of Astyanax, see Iliad, 24 and Metamorphoses, XIII.499.   133.  detect]  expose, accuse (OED v 2.a.).   136.  lives]  For the plural in ‘s’ with two singular nouns as subject, see Abbott 336.   144. apace]  with speed.   148.  deafed] deafened (OED v 2.a.). Q1 and Q2’s ‘deft’ is likely to have this meaning, rather than to the adjective ‘deft’ (gentle, meek), which would be at odds with ‘love’s alarms’.   148.  alarms]  calls to arms.

sc.3]

s oli m an an d pers eda

191

[5.3] Enter p e rs e da, l u c i n a and basi l is co. Perseda.  Now, Signor Basilisco, which like you, The Turkish or our nation, best? Basilisco.  That which your ladyship will have me like. Lucina.  I am deceived but you were circumcised! Basilisco.  Indeed, I was a little cut in the purpose. Perseda.  What means made you to steal back to Rhodes? Basilisco.  The mighty pinken-eyed, brand-bearing god, To whom I am so long true servitor, When he espied my weeping floods of tears For your depart, he bade me follow him. I followed him; he with his fire brand Parted the seas, and we came over dry-shod. Lucina.  A matter not unlikely! But how chance Your Turkish bonnet is not on your head? Basilisco.  Because I now am Christian again, And that by natural means, for as The old canon says very prettily: Nihil est tam naturali, quod eo modo colligatum est, And so forth. So I became a Turk to follow her; To follow her, am now returned a Christian.

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5. purpose] This ed.; porpuse Q1, Q2.  7.  pinken-eyed]  This ed.; pinckanied Q1; pinckanyed Q2.   0.1.]  The scene takes us back to Rhodes, with Piston returning from Constantinople l. 20.   4.  I am deceived but]  unless I am deceived. For ‘but’ used as a synonym for ‘except’, see Abbott 120.   5.  purpose] Q1 and Q2’s ‘porpuse’ allows for a pun on prepuce (foreskin) and purpose.   7.  pinken-eyed, brand-bearing]  with half-shut or blinking eyes (from early modern Dutch ‘pinken’, meaning ‘to blink’) and carrying a torch. See OED ‘pink’, v2 1.a. Basilisco’s reference is to Cupid, the blind god of love, sometimes shown with a wedding torch in his hand. Compare Shakespeare, Cymbeline, 2.4.89–91: ‘two winking Cupids / Of silver, each on one foot standing, nicely / Depending on their brands’.   10.  depart] departure.   12.  dry-shod]  without wetting our shoes.   17.  canon]  Canon Law, the norm of conduct prescribed by the Church.   18.]  ‘Nothing is so natural as that which is bound together in that manner’. Basilisco’s Latin quotation is a comic corruption of the legal formula used for a dissolution of contract: ‘Nihil tam naturale est, quam eo genere quidque dissolvere, quo colligatum est’ (‘Nothing is so natural as to dissolve a thing in the way in which it was made binding’).

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s oli m an an d pers eda

[act 5

Enter p i sto n. Piston.  O lady and mistress, weep and lament And wring your hands, for my master Is condemned and executed. Lucina.  Be patient, sweet Perseda, the fool but jests! Perseda.  Ah no, my nightly dreams foretold me this, Which, foolish woman, fondly I neglected! But say, what death died my poor Erastus? Piston.  Nay, God be praised, his death was reasonable: He was but strangled. Perseda.  ‘But strangled’? Ah, double death to me! But say, wherefore was he condemned to die? Piston.  For nothing but high treason. Perseda.  What treason, or by whom was he condemned? Piston. Faith, two great knights of the post swore upon the Alcoran that he would have fired the Turk’s fleet. Perseda.  Was Brusor by? Piston. Ay. Perseda.  And Soliman? Piston.  No, but I saw where he stood, To hear and see the matter well conveyed. Perseda.  Accursèd Soliman! Profane Alcoran! Lucina, came thy husband to this end: To lead a lamb unto the slaughterhouse? Hast thou for this, in Soliman’s behalf, With cunning words tempted my chastity? Thou shalt abye for both your treacheries, It must be so! Basilisco, dost thou love me? Speak. Basilisco.  Ay, more than I love either life or soul. What, shall I stab the Emperor for thy sake? Perseda.  No, but Lucina, if thou lov’st me, kill her!

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Then bas i l i s c o takes a dagger and feels upon the point of it. Basilisco.  The point will mar her skin. Perseda.  What, dar’st thou not? Give me the dagger then. There’s a reward for all thy treasons past!

49.  Emperor]  Q2; Emperout Q1.   25.] Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 1.3.76: ‘my nightly dreams have told me this’.   34.  knights of the post]  notorious perjurers, who live by giving false evidence (OED n). ‘So called from being always found waiting at the posts set up outside the sheriff’s doors’ (Boas).   40.  conveyed]  conducted, managed.   46.  abye]  pay the penalty.

sc.3]

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193

Then p e rse da kills l u c i n a. Basilisco.  Yet dare I bear her hence, to do thee good. Perseda.  No, let her lie, a prey to ravening birds. Nor shall her death alone suffice for his: Rhodes now shall be no longer Soliman’s. We’ll fortify our walls and keep the town, In spite of proud insulting Soliman. I know the lecher hopes to have my love; And first Perseda shall with this hand die, Then yield to him and live in infamy! 

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60 Exeunt.

bas i l i sc o remains. Basilisco.  I will ruminate: Death, which the poets Feign to be pale and meagre, Has deprived Erastus’ trunk from breathing vitality; A brave cavalier, but my approvèd foeman! Let me see: where is that Alcides, surnamed Hercules, The only clubman of his time? Dead. Where is the eldest son of Priam, That abraham-coloured Trojan? Dead. Where is the leader of the Myrmidons, That well-knit Achil? Dead. Where is that furious Ajax, the son of Telemon, Or that fraudful squire of Ithaca, yclept Ulysses? Dead. Where is tipsy Alexander, that great cup-conqueror, Or Pompey, that brave warrior? Dead. I am myself strong, but I confess Death to be stronger. I am valiant, but mortal.

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72.  Achil]  This ed.; Accill Q1, Q2.   64.  feign]  fashion, shape (OED v 1).   66.  foeman] enemy.   68.  clubman]  A gnarled club was Hercules’s favourite weapon.   70. abraham-coloured]  auburn-coloured. Paris/Alexandros’s hair is frequently mentioned in the Iliad, as in Hector’s rebuke of him (3.53–5).   72.  Achil]  Achilles, leader of the Myrmidons in the Trojan War.   73.  Ajax]  Another Greek hero in the Trojan War, disputing with Odysseus over the ownership of Achilles’s divine armour after the latter’s death.   74.  fraudful squire … Ulysses]  Cunning Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who among other achievements, talks his way into getting Achilles’s armour.   74.  yclept]  See note to 1.1.61.   75. tipsy Alexander] On Alexander’s ill-deserved reputation as a drinker, see Plutarch’s ‘Life of Alexander’ (II, p. 298).   76.  Pompey]  Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar’s greatest military and political rival.

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[act 5

I am adorned with Nature’s gifts, A giddy goddess that now gives and anon takes. I am wise, but quiddits will not answer Death. To conclude in a word: to be captious, virtuous, ingenious, Or to be nothing when it pleases Death to be envious! The great Turk, whose seat is Constantinople, Has beleaguered Rhodes, whose chieftain is a woman. I could take the rule upon me, But the shrub is safe when the cedar shakes. I love Perseda as one worthy, But I love Basilisco as one I hold more worthy: My father’s son, my mother’s solace, my proper self. Faith, he can do little that cannot speak, And he can do less that cannot run away. Then, sith man’s life is as a glass, and a fillip may crack it, Mine is no more and a bullet may pierce it; Therefore I will play least in sight. Exit.

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[5.4] Enter so l i ma n and b ru s o r, with janissaries. Soliman.  The gates are shut, which proves that Rhodes revolts, And Perseda is not Soliman’s. Ah, Brusor, see where thy Lucina lies, Butchered despitefully without the walls. Brusor.  Unkind Perseda, couldst thou use her so? And yet we used Perseda little better. Soliman.  Nay, gentle Brusor, stay thy tears a while, Lest with thy woes thou spoil my comedy, And all too soon be turned to tragedies.

5

79. gifts] Q2; gifs Q1.   80. giddy] foolish.   81.  quiddits]  niceties in argument.   82.  captious] crafty.   82–3.  to be … envious]  This passage can be paraphrased as: ‘It makes little difference whether you are crafty, virtuous and ingenious or have no qualities at all, since Death will be envious in all cases.’   85.  beleaguered] besieged.   87.]  proverbial (Tilley, C208: ‘High cedars fall (are shaken) when low shrubs remain (are scarcely moved)’).   93.  sith] since.   93.  a fillip]  a little tap.   4.  despitefully] either ‘contemptuously, shamefully’ (OED adv 1), or ‘maliciously, cruelly’ (OED adv 2).   4.  without] outside.

sc.4]

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195

Go, Brusor, bear her to thy private tent, Where we at leisure will lament her death, And with our tears bewail her obsequies; For yet Perseda lives for Soliman. Drum, sound a parley! Were it not for her, I would sack the town ere I would sound a parley!

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The Drum sounds a parley. p e rse da comes upon the walls in man’s apparel. bas i l i sc o and p i s to n upon the walls. Perseda.  At whose entreaty is this parley sounded? Soliman.  At our entreaty; therefore yield the town! Perseda.  Why, what art thou, that boldly bids us yield? Soliman.  Great Soliman, lord of all the world. Perseda.  Thou art not lord of all: Rhodes is not thine. Soliman.  It was, and shall be, maugre who says no. Perseda.  I that say no will never see it thine. Soliman.  Why, what art thou, that dares resist my force? Perseda.  A gentleman, and thy mortal enemy, And one that dares thee to the single combat. Soliman.  First tell me, does Perseda live or no? Perseda.  She lives to see the wrack of Soliman! Soliman.  Then I’ll combat thee, whate’er thou art. Perseda.  And in Erastus’ name I’ll combat thee, And here I promise thee, on my Christian faith, That if thy strength shall overmatch my right, Then will I yield Perseda to thy hands, To use, as to thy liking shall seem best. But ere I come to enter single fight, First let my tongue utter my heart’s despite, And thus my tale begins: thou wicked tyrant, Thou murderer, accursèd homicide, For whom hell gapes, and all the ugly fiends Do wait for to receive thee in their jaws. Ah, perjured and inhuman Soliman, How could thy heart harbour a wicked thought Against the spotless life of poor Erastus?

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31–2.]  This ed.; lines in reverse order in Q1, Q2.   10–11.] Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 1.4.35–6: ‘And welding him unto my private tent, / There laid him down and dew’d him with my tears’.   12.  obsequies]  See note to 3.1.2.   21.  maugre]  in spite of (Fr. ‘malgré’).   27.  wrack] ruin.   31.  overmatch] surpass.   39.  for to]  See note to 5.2.65.

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Was he not true? Would thou hadst been as just! Was he not valiant? Would thou hadst been as virtuous! Was he not loyal? Would thou hadst been as loving! Ah, wicked tyrant, in that one man’s death, Thou hast betrayed the flower of Christendom. Died he because his worth obscurèd thine? In slaughtering him, thy virtues are defamed. Didst thou misdo him in hope to win Perseda? Ah, foolish man, therein thou art deceived, For though she live, yet will she ne’er live thine; Which to approve, I’ll come to combat thee. Soliman.  Injurious, foul-mouthed knight, my wrathful arm Shall chastise and rebuke these injuries!

[act 5

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Then p e rs e da comes down to so l i ma n, and bas ilis co and p i s to n. Piston.  Ay, but hear you: are you so foolish to fight with him? Basilisco.  Ay, sirrah, why not, as long as I stand by? Soliman.  I’ll not defend Erastus’ innocence, But thee, maintaining of Perseda’s beauty! Then they fight. so l i ma n kills p e rs eda. Perseda.  Ay, now I lay Perseda at thy feet, But with thy hand first wounded to the death. Now shall the world report that Soliman Slew Erastus in hope to win Perseda, And murdered her for loving of her husband. Soliman.  What, my Perseda? Ah, what have I done? Yet kiss me, gentle love, before thou die! Perseda.  A kiss I grant thee, though I hate thee deadly. Soliman.  I loved thee dearly and accept thy kiss. Why didst thou love Erastus more than me, Or why didst not give Soliman a kiss Ere this unhappy time? Then hadst thou lived! Basilisco.  Ah, let me kiss thee too before I die! Then so l i ma n kills bas i l i sco. Soliman.  Nay, die thou shalt for thy presumption, For kissing whom I do hold so dear!

52.  ne’er] nere Q2; neare Q1.  59. maintaining] Q2; maintianing Q1.   49.  defamed] dishonoured.   53.  approve] prove.   59.  maintaining] defending.

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Piston.  I will not kiss her, sir, but give me leave To weep over her, for while she lived, She loved me dearly, and I loved her. Soliman.  If thou didst love her, villain, as thou saidst, Then wait on her thorough eternal night!

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Then so l i ma n kills p i sto n. Ah, Perseda, how shall I mourn for thee? Fair springing rose, ill-plucked before thy time. Ah, heavens that hitherto have smiled on me, Why do you unkindly lour on Soliman? The loss of half my realms, nay crown’s decay, Could not have pricked so near unto my heart, As does the loss of my Perseda’s life! And with her life, I likewise lose my love, And with her love, my heart’s felicity. Even for Erastus’ death, the heavens have plagued me. Ah no, the heavens did never more accurse me Than when they made me butcher of my love! Yet justly how can I condemn myself, When Brusor lives that was the cause of all? Come, Brusor, help to lift her body up. Is she not fair? Brusor.  Even in the hour of death. Soliman.  Was she not constant? Brusor.  As firm as are the poles whereon heaven lies. Soliman.  Was she not chaste? Brusor.  As is Pandora, or Diana’s thoughts! Soliman.  Then tell me: his treasons set aside, What was Erastus in thy opinion? Brusor.  Fair spoken, wise, courteous and liberal; Kind, even to his foes, gentle and affable; And all in all, his deeds heroical.

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91.  Than]  This ed.; Then Q1, Q2.   81.  springing] budding.   81.] Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 2.5.46: ‘Sweet lovely rose, ill-pluck’d before thy time’.   83.  lour] frown.   89.  Even]  in an equal degree (OED adv 3.b.).   98.  the poles … lies] Compare 2 Tamburlaine, 1.3.12: ‘When heaven shall cease to move on both the poles’.   100.  Pandora]  the first woman in Greek mythology (Hesiod, Theogony, 560–612).   100.  Diana]  the Roman goddess of chastity.

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[act 5

Soliman.  Ah, was he so? How durst thou then, ungracious counsellor, First cause me to murder such a worthy man, And after tempt so virtuous a woman? Be this therefore the last that e’er thou speak. Janissaries, take him straight unto the block: 110 Off with his head, and suffer him not to speak!  Exit brus o r. And now, Perseda, here I lay me down, And on thy beauty still contemplate, Until mine eyes shall surfeit my gazing. But stay, let me see: what paper is this? 115 Then he takes up a paper and reads in it as follows: ‘Tyrant, my lips were sauced with deadly poison, To plague thy heart that is so full of poison.’ What, am I poisoned? Then, janissaries, Let me see Rhodes recovered ere I die! Soldiers, assault the town on every side, Spoil all, kill all, let none escape your fury!

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Sound an alarum to the fight. Say, Captain, is Rhodes recovered again? Captain.  It is, my lord, and stoops to Soliman. Soliman.  Yet that allays the fury of my pain Before I die, for doubtless die I must! Ay, Fates, injurious Fates, have so decreed; For now I feel the poison ’gins to work, And I am weak even to the very death. Yet something more contentedly I die, For that my death was wrought by her device, Who living was my joy, whose death my woe. Ah, janissaries, now dies your emperor, Before his age has seen his mellowed years. And if you ever loved your emperor, Affright me not with sorrows and laments, And when my soul from body shall depart, Trouble me not, but let me pass in peace, 116. sauced] This ed.; sawst Q1, Q2.            

106.  ungracious] graceless. 121.  spoil] despoil. 121.1.  alarum]  a call to arms. 129.  something]  somewhat (Abbott 68). 130.  For that]  because (Abbott 287). 130. device]  planning, plotting (OED n 1.a.).

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And in your silence let your love be shown. My last request, for I command no more, Is that my body with Perseda’s be Interred, where my Erastus lies entombed, And let one epitaph contain us all. Ah, now I feel the paper told me true: The poison is dispersed through every vein, And boils like Etna in my frying guts! Forgive me, dear Erastus, my unkindness: I have revenged thy death with many deaths. And sweet Perseda, fly not Soliman, Whenas my gliding ghost shall follow thee, With eager mood, thorough eternal night. And now pale Death sits on my panting soul, And with revenging ire does tyrannise, And says for Soliman’s too much amiss, This day shall be the period of my bliss!

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Then s o l i m a n dies, and they carry him forth with silence. Exeunt.

[Epilogue] Enter Chorus. Fortune.  I gave Erastus woe and misery, Amidst his greatest joy and jollity. Love.  But I, that have power in earth and heaven above, Stung them both with never-failing love. Death.  But I bereft them both of love and life. Love.  Of life, but not of love, for even in death, Their souls are knit, though bodies be disjoined. Thou didst but wound their flesh, their minds are free; Their bodies buried, yet they honour me. Death.  Hence, foolish Fortune, and thou, wanton Love. Your deeds are trifles, mine of consequence.

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147. death] Boas, Murray; deaths Q1, Q2.  154.1–2.]  This ed.; Exeunt. Then Soliman dyes, and they carry him forth with silence. Q1, Q2. Epilogue]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.   145.  boils like Etna] Compare The Spanish Tragedy, 3.10.75: ‘burnt like Aetna for Andrea’s loss’.   149.  whenas]  See note to 5.1.14.   153.  too much amiss]  too many faults and misdeeds.

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[act 5

Fortune.  I give world’s happiness, and woe’s increase. Love.  By joining persons, I increase the world. Death.  By wast’ning all, I conquer all the world; And now to end our difference at last, In this last act note but the deeds of Death: Where is Erastus now, but in my triumph? Where are the murderers, but in my triumph? Where’s judge and witness, but in my triumph? Where’s false Lucina, but in my triumph? Where’s fair Perseda, but in my triumph? Where’s Basilisco, but in my triumph? Where’s faithful Piston, but in my triumph? Where’s valiant Brusor, but in my triumph? And where’s great Soliman, but in my triumph? Their loves and fortunes ended with their lives, And they must wait upon the car of Death. Pack, Love and Fortune, play in comedies, For powerful Death best fitteth tragedies! Love.  I go, yet Love shall never yield to Death! Exit love. Death.  But Fortune shall, for when I waste the world, Then times’ and kingdoms’ Fortunes shall decay. Fortune.  Meantime will Fortune govern as she may! Exit fo rtune. Death.  Ay, now will Death, in his most haughty pride, Fetch his imperial car from deepest hell, And ride in triumph through the wicked world, Sparing none but sacred Cynthia’s friend, Whom Death did fear before her life began; For holy Fates have graven it in their tables, That Death shall die if he attempt her end, Whose life is heavens’ delight and Cynthia’s friend!

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FINIS

  14.  wast’ning]  laying waste to.   27.  car] chariot.   37.  Cynthia]  Elizabeth I. In court entertainments, the Virgin Queen was frequently associated with Diana or Cynthia, the goddess of chastity, e.g. in Ben Jonson’s Cynthia’s Revels (1600).   39.  graven] engraved.

THE FOUR PRENTICES OF LONDON BY THOMAS HEYWOOD

to t h e h o n e s t a n d h i g h- spir ited p ren t i c e s , t h e r e a ders To you (as whom this play most especially concerns) I thought good to dedicate this labour, which though written many years since, in my infancy of judgement in this kind of poetry and my first practice, yet understanding (by what means I know not) it was in these more exquisite and refined times to come to the press, in such a forwardness ere it came to my knowledge that it was past prevention, and knowing withal that it comes short of that accurateness both in plot and style that these more censorious days with greater curiosity acquire, I must thus excuse that as plays were then some fifteen or sixteen years ago it was in the fashion. Nor could it have found a more seasonable and fit publication than at this time when, to the glory of our nation, the security of the kingdom and the honour of the City, they have begun again the commendable practice of long forgotten arms, the continuance of which I wish, the discipline approve and the encouragement thereof even with my soul applaud; in which great and hoped good they deserve not the least attribute of approbation. Who in the dull and sleepy time of peace first wakened the remembrance of these arms in the Artillery Garden, which began out of their voluntary affections, prosecuted by their private industries and continued at their own proper cost and charge, deserves in my opinion not only respect and regard, but recompense and reward. But to return again to you, my brave spirited prentices, upon whom I have freely bestowed these Four, I wish you all, that have their courages and forwardness, their noble fates and fortunes. Yours,  Thomas Heywood.

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  8.  curiosity] scrupulousness.   9–10.  fifteen … ago] This reference confirms 1599 as the date of staging for the play.   13–14.  they … arms]  a reference to the revival of the Artillery Garden practices (see also line 18).

l is t o f c h a r ac t e rs The o l d e a r l of Boulogne. His four sons: go d frey, g u y, charles, eu s tace. b e l l a f r a nc a, his daughter. An English c a p ta i n. rob e rt of Normandy. The f r e nc h [l a dy, the French King’s] daughter. tan c r e d, a prince of Italy. The s ulta n of Babylon. The s o p h y of Persia. t u rn us. m or at e s. A Chorus, or p r e s en ter. Mutes: The f r e nc h k i ng. The Boulonnais. Banditti.

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List of Characters] This ed.; Drammatis Personae Q1, Q2.  1. Boulogne] This ed.; Bulleine Q1; Bulloigne Q2.  15. Boulonnais] This ed.; Bullenois Q1, Q2.   List of Characters]  appearing in this form as ‘Drammatis Personae’ in Q1 and Q2. The original list does not include the three speakers in the Prologue, which may be a later addition.   1.  Boulogne]  diversely spelt Bulleine, Boloigne and Bullen in the play. Despite the later assmiliation of the Old Earl’s first son to the crusader hero Godfrey of Bouillon, his coastal city shown in the play as occupied by French and Spanish forces rather suggests Boulogne.   6.  The FRENCH LADY]  Referred to as ‘French lady’ or ‘Lady’ in the play’s SPs. I have normalised them as ‘French lady’ throughout.   11.  MORATES]  The form used here and in SDs throughout the play is ‘Moretes’, but ‘Morates’ predominates in the text itself. It is closer to the Turkish original ‘Murad’, rendered as Amurath or Amurack in most contemporary plays when referring to Ottoman sultans of that name, e.g. Alphonsus in this volume.   12.  PRESENTER] The original list of characters does not include the three Prologues, assimilated into this single character.   13.  Mutes]  Not all the characters listed beneath this heading are Mutes. One Irishman and some of the Banditti have speaking parts.

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Irishmen. Ambushes of pagans. The c l own. [p ro l o gue 1–3.]

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t h e p ro l o g u e Enter three in black cloaks, at three doors. Prol. 1.  What mean you, my masters, to appear thus before your times? Do you not know that I am the Prologue? Do you not see this long black velvet cloak upon my back? Have you not sounded thrice? Do I not look pale, as fearing to be out in my speech? Nay, have I not all the signs of a Prologue about me? Then to what end come you to interrupt me? Prol. 2.  I have a prologue to speak too. Prol. 3.  And I another. Prol. 1.  O superfluous and more than ever heard of! Three Prologues to one play? Prol. 2.  Have you not seen three ropes to toll one bell, three doors to one house, three ways to one town? Prol. 1.  I grant you. But I never heard of any that had three heads to one body but Cerberus. But what does your prologue mean? Prol. 2.  I come to excuse the name of the play. Prol. 3.  I the errors in the play. Prol. 1.  And I the author that made the play. Touching the name, why is it called ‘True and Strange’, or ‘The Four Prentices of London’? A gentleman that heard the subject discoursed said it was not possible to be true, and none here are bound to believe it. Prol. 2.  ’Tis true that Alexander at thirty years of age conquered the whole world, but strange he should do so. If we should not believe things recorded in former ages, we were not worthy that succeeding times should believe things done in these our ages.

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  The Prologue]  printed separately from the play text in both Q1 and Q2, suggesting a later addition, with the three Prologues not listed in the original list of characters.   0.1. black cloaks] ‘Cloaks are worn by actors presenting prologues/epilogues’ (Dessen and Thomson, A Dictionary of Stage Directions, p. 50).   14.  Cerberus] three-headed monster guarding the entrance to the underworld in Greek mythology.   18.  ‘True and Strange’]  This alternative title does not appear on the title-page of the play’s printed editions.   21–2.  Alexander … world]  At the age of thirty in 326 BC, Alexander the Great had already conquered Persia and India.

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Prol. 1.  But what authority have you for your history? I am one of those that will believe nothing that is not in the chronicle. Prol. 2.  Our authority is a manuscript, a book writ in parchment, which not being public nor general in the world we rather thought fit to exemplify to the public censure, things concealed and obscured, such as are not common with everyone than such historical tales as everyone can tell by the fire in winter. Had not ye rather, for novelty’s sake, see Jerusalem ye never saw, than London that ye see hourly? So much touching the name of our history. Prol. 1.  You have satisfied me and, I hope, all that hear it. Now what have you to speak concerning the errors in the play? Prol. 3.  We acknowledge none, for the errors we could find, we would willingly amend. But if these clear-sighted gentlemen, with the eyes of their judgements, looking exactly into us, find any imperfections which are hid from ourselves, our request is you would rather look over them than through them, not with a troubled eye that makes one object to seem two, but with a favourable eye, which has power in itself to make many to seem none at all. Prol. 1.  O now I understand you. Three Prologues to our play? Pardon me, we have need of three hundred, methinks, and all little enough! But to end our beginning in a word, thus much, by the patience of these gentlemen: Spectators, should you oppose your judgments against us where we are three (which some would think too many), were we three thousand, we think ourselves too few. Our author submits his labours to you, as the authors of all the content he has within this circumference. But for your sakes, this only we dare say: We promised you, and we’ll perform, a play. Exeunt.

[pro.

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37.  hear it]  Q2; heare me Q1.  48.  we have]  Q2; y’aue Q1.   29.  a manuscript]  As the play has multiple sources, this is probably a sensational invention.   33.  by the fire in winter]  ‘A winter’s tale’, as in the title of a play by Shakespeare, was a byword for an idle tale.

t h e f o u r p r e n t i c e s o f lon don Scen e 1 Enter the o l d e a r l of Boulogne and his daughter, b e l l a f r a n c a. Old Earl.  Daughter, thou seest how Fortune turns her wheel. We that but late were mounted up aloft, Lulled in the skirt of that inconstant dame, Are now thrown headlong by her ruthless hand, To kiss that earth whereon our feet should stand. What censuring eye that sees me thus deject Would take this shape to be that famous Duke Which has made Boulogne through the world renowned, And all our race with fame and honour crowned? Bella Franca.  But father, how can you endure a slave To triumph in your fortunes, and here stand In soul deject and banished from your land? Old Earl.  I’ll tell thee, girl. The French king and myself Upon some terms grew in a strange debate, And taking careful vantage of the time, Whilst I with all my powers, in aid of William, The Norman Duke, now English Conqueror, Was busily employed, he seized my right, Planting another and supplanting me. This is the ground of my extremity. Bella Franca.  If for King William’s sake, now Conqueror, You lost your birthright and inheritance, How comes it that he sees you in this state And lifts not up your fortunes ruinate? Old Earl.  A conquered kingdom is not easily kept.

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SCENE 1]  This ed.; Actus primus, Scoena prima Q1, Q2.   1.  Fortune]  Medieval imagery traditionally presented Fortune as a woman turning a wheel on which people rose and from which they fell.   6.  deject]  thrown down.   7.  Duke]  Throughout the play, the titles ‘Earl’ and ‘Duke’ are used interchangeably for this character.   14.  strange]  unfriendly (OED a 11).   16.  William]  William the Conqueror, first Norman King of England 1066–87.   24.  fortunes ruinate]  decayed fortunes.

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[sc.1

He has so much ado to guard his own That mine is buried in oblivion, And I am forced to lose the name of Earl, And live in London like a citizen. My four sons are bound prentice to four trades: Godfrey, my eldest boy, I have made a mercer; Guy, my next son, enrolled in goldsmith’s trade; My third son, Charles, bound to an haberdasher; Young Eustace is a grocer. All high born, Yet of the city trades they have no scorn. Thus bare necessity has made me seek Some refuge, to sustain our poverty, And having placed my sons in such a sort, The little wealth I have left, I leave to thee. Myself will travel to the Holy Land, And ere I lie within the earth’s vast womb, Pay my devout vows at my Saviour’s tomb. Bella Franca.  Was that the cause you sent for my four brothers? Old Earl.  Their wishèd sight will cheer my agèd heart, And I will bless them all before I part.

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Enter g o d f re y, g u y, c h a r l e s and e u stac e, like apprentices. Godfrey.  I wonder, brothers, why my father has sent for us thus early, that all business set apart, we must meet together this morning. Guy.  I know not the reason. I had much ado to get leave of my master to be spared from my attendance in the shop and serving of customers. Charles.  ’Faith, as soon as I heard but the messenger say my father must speak with me, I left my tankard to guard the conduit, and away came I. Eustace.  I beshrew him, I should have been at breakfast with two or three good boys this morning, but that match is disappointed by this meeting. Bella Franca.  See where my brothers are already come. Old Earl.  Godfrey, Guy, Charles, young Eustace, all at once Divide a father’s blessing in four parts, And share my prayers amongst you equally. First Godfrey, tell me how thou lik’st thy trade,

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52. tankard] Q2; Tanakrd Q1.   51.  ’Faith]  In faith, truly.   52.  left … conduit] ‘Stow’s Annals (1631) refers to the general custom of apprentices (mercers excepted) carrying the water tankard from the Thames and the common conduits to serve their masters’ (Gasior).   54.  beshrew] blame.

sc.1]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

And knowing in thy thoughts what thou hast been, How canst thou brook to be as thou art now? Godfrey.  Bound must obey. Since I have undertook To serve my master truly for seven years, My duty shall both answer that desire And my old master’s profit every way. I praise that city which made princes tradesmen, Where that man, noble or ignoble born, That would not practise some mechanic skill Which might support his state in penury, Should die the death, not suffered like a drone To suck the honey from the public hive. I hold it no disparage to my birth, Though I be born an earl, to have the skill And the full knowledge of the mercer’s trade; And were I now to be create anew, It should not grieve me to have spent my time The secrets of so rich a trade to know, By which advantage and much profits grow. Old Earl.  Well hast thou done to overcome thy fate, Making thy mind conformèd to thy state. How likes my Guy the goldsmith’s faculty? Guy.  As a good refuge in extremity. Say I be born a prince and be cast down, By some sinister chance or Fortune’s frown; Say I be banished; when I have a trade, And in myself the means to purchase wealth, Though my state waste and tow’ring honours fall, That still stays with me in th’ extremest of all. Old Earl.  What says my third son, Charles? Charles.  If I should say I would not brook those bonds Which God and Fate and you have tied me in, You would be preaching disobedience; Or should I say the city trades are base

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90. That] Q2; Thet Q1.   63.  brook]  put up with.   64.  Bound … obey]  Proverbial (see Tilley, B354: ‘They that are bound must obey’).   64.  undertook] undertaken. For the dropping of the ‘en’ inflection for the past participle, see Abbott 343.   70.  mechanic] manual.   72.  drone] the male of the honey-bee, a non-worker whose only function is to impregnate the queen-bee.   74.  disparage] dishonour.   83.  faculty]  art, profession (OED n 8).

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For such a great man’s sons to take on them, Your fatherly regard would straight advise me To chastise my rebellious thoughts, and say: ‘Son, you by this may live another day.’ Therefore as my two brothers I reply: You ask me if I like it; ‘Ay’, say I. Old Earl.  What says my youngest boy? Eustace.  Father, I say hawking is a pretty sport, And hunting is a princely exercise; To ride a horse, o ’tis admirable! Old Earl.  Eustace, I know it is, but to my question: How canst thou brook to be a prentice, boy? Eustace.  Methinks I could endure it for seven years, Did not my master keep me in too much. I cannot go to breakfast in a morning With my kind mates and fellow prentices, But he cries ‘Eustace! One bid Eustace come!’, And my name, Eustace, is in every room. If I might once a week but see a tilting, Six days I would fall unto my business close, And ere the week’s end win that idle day. He will not let me see a mustering, Nor in a May Day morning fetch in may. I am no sooner got into the fencing school, To play a venue with some friend I bring, But ‘Eustace! Eustace!’ all the street must ring. He will allow me not one hour for sport. I must not strike a football in the street But he will frown; not view the dancing school But he will miss me straight; not suffer me So much as take up cudgels in the street But he will chide. I must not go to buffets, No, though I be provoked. That’s the hell!

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  107.  brook] bear.   112.  One bid]  Let one call.   114.  a tilting]  a joust.   115.  close]  closely, completely.   117.  a mustering]  public parades and practices of arms, as organised by the Artillery Company mentioned in the play’s preface.   118.  fetch in may]  gather hawthorn blossoms as part of ritual celebrations for May Day.   120.  a venue]  a bout in fencing (OED n 3).   126.  take up cudgels]  start a riot or street fight with clubs, the traditional weapon of apprentices.   127.  go to buffets]  start a fight, exchange blows.

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Were’t not for this, I could endure it well. Old Earl.  Sons, ye must all forget your birth and honours, And look into the time’s necessity. I know ye are persuaded. Think not, sons, The names of prentice can disparage you; For howsoever of you esteemed they be, Even kings themselves have of these trades been free. I made a vow to see the Holy Land, And in the same my Saviour’s sepulchre. Having so well disposed you, I will now First bless you boys, and then prefer my vow. Godfrey.  With much ado do I contain my spirit Within these bands that have enclosed me round. Though now this case the noble son does shroud, Time shall behold that sun break through this cloud. Guy.  My Genius bids my soul have patience, And says I shall not be a prentice long. I scorn it not, but yet my spirits aim To have this hand catch at the crown of Fame. Charles.  A haberdasher is the trade I use, But the soft wool feels in my hand like steel; And I could wish each hat comes through my hand Were turned into a helmet, and each helmet Upon a soldier’s head, for me to lead. War is the walk which I desire to tread. Eustace.  I am a grocer, yet had rather see A fair gilt sword hung in a velvet sheath, Than the best Barbary sugar in the world, Were it a freight of price inestimable. I have a kind of prompting in my brain, That says though I be bound to a sweet trade, I must forgo it. I keep too much in.

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  135.  free]  eager, willing (OED adj 15.b.).   141.  bands]  bonds, obligations (OED n1 8).   142.  case]  outward appearance or outer garments (OED n2 3.b. and 4.b.).   144.  Genius]  attendant spirit.   147.  Fame] the winged personification of renown in classical mythology, often shown with a trumpet and a crown of laurel in hand.   150.  each hat comes] each hat that comes. For the omission of the relative, see Abbott 244.   153.  walk]  path (OED n1 10.a.).   155.  gilt] gilded.   156.  Barbary sugar]  Moroccan sugar was the main product imported into England by the Barbary Company, founded in 1585.   157.  freight] cargo.

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[sc.1

I would fast from meat and drink a summer’s day, To see the world clash, or view a desperate fray. Old Earl.  Bridle these humours, sons, expel them clean, And your high spirits within your breasts contain Whilst I my tedious pilgrimage prepare, 165 To spend my age in poverty and prayer. My firstborn, first farewell; my second, next; Charles, Eustace, daughter, here my blessings stay. Your wishes bear me on my sacred way. Exit. Godfrey.  Even to the place you travel, there to ascend 170 With those devout prayers you to heaven commend. Brothers, since we are now as strangers here, Yet by our father’s provident care so placed That we may live secure from penury, So let us please our masters by our care, 175 That we our ruined fortunes may repair. Guy.  Brother, if I knew where to go to war, I would not stay in London one hour longer. Charles.  An hour? By heaven, I would not stay a minute! Eustace.  A minute? Not a moment! Would you put a moment 180 Into a thousand parts, that thousandth part Would not I linger, might I go to war! Why, I would presently run from my master, Did I but hear where were a drum to follow. Bella Franca.  Would you so, brother? Eustace. I’ good faith, sweet sister. 185 I would show him as fine a pair of heels, As light and nimble, as any the neatest cork shoe In all the town turns up. I would, i’ faith. Bella Franca.  And leave me here alone? Guy. Alone? Why, sister, Can you be left alone ’mongst multitudes? 190 London is full of people everywhere. Godfrey.  Well, leave this jesting; we forget ourselves. Sister, we’ll have you to our father’s house, T’ enjoy the small possessions left you there. Return we to our masters and our charge, 195 Lest seeking this our loitering to excuse, With forged inventions we their ears abuse. 168. stay] Q2; say Q1.  185.  I’ good faith]  Gasior; I good faith Q1, Q2.  187–9.]  Gasior; prose Q1, Q2.   162.  fray] assault.   168.  stay] Q2’s emendation, retained by Gasior, balances the children’s wishes that accompany the father with his blessings that stay behind with them.

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213

Sound a drum within softly. I hear a drum. I have as much power to sit, Sort out my wares and scribble on a shop-board When I but hear the music of a drum, As to abstain from meat when I am hungry. I’ll know what news before I stir a foot. Charles.  By heaven, I am enamoured of this tune. ’Tis the best music in the world to me. Eustace.  My legs are marching straight when I but hear it: ‘Ran, tan, tan!’ Oh I could lead a drum With a good grace, if I but saw behind me A hundred soldiers follow in even ranks! Had I but here a band of men to lead, Methinks I could do wonders. Oh, ’tis brave To be a captain and command to have!

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Enter, after a Drum, a c a p ta i n with a proclamation. Captain.  All commanders, captains, lieutenants, gentlemen of companies, sergeants, corporals or common soldiers whatsoever, that will accompany to the holy wars at Jerusalem Robert, Duke of Normandy, the King’s son, they shall have pay and place, according to their deserts. And so God save King William, surnamed the Conqueror!  Exeunt Drum and captain. Eustace.  ‘Ran, tan, tan!’ Now, by Saint George, he tells gallant news. I’ll home no more, I’ll run away tonight! Guy.  If I cast bowl or spoon or salt again Before I have beheld Jerusalem, Let me turn pagan! Charles. Hats and caps, adieu, For I must leave you, if the drum say true! Godfrey.  Nay then, have with you, brothers, for my spirit With as much vigour has burst forth as thine, And can as hardly be restrained as yours. Give me your hands, I will consort you too. Let’s try what London prentices can do! Eustace.  For my trade’s sake, if good success I have, The Grocers’ arms shall in mine ensign wave.

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213. companies] Q2; Compaines Q1.   215.  Robert]  Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror and a participant in the First Crusade of 1095–99.   220.  cast bowl]  Gasior suggests a pun on the game of bowls and the eating vessel.   227.  consort] accompany.

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Guy.  And if my valour bring me to command, The Goldsmiths’ arms shall in my colours stand. Godfrey.  So of us all. Then let us in one ship Launch all together; and as we are brothers, So let us enter zealous amity, And still prevail by our united strength. I know our hearts are one. Sister, farewell. Trust me, in vain you should persuade us stay, For we are bent. Consort us with your prayers. All. Farewell! Bella Franca. Farewell! Godfrey. God! Guy. Heaven! Charles. Fate! Eustace. Fortune! Godfrey.  Make us happy men, To win! Guy. Wear! Charles. Vanquish! Eustace. Overcome! Bella Franca. Amen. Have you all left me ’midst a world of strangers, Here, only to myself, not to protect me Or to defend me from apparent wrong? Since it is so, I’ll follow after you. In some disguise I will pursue their steps, And unto God and Fortune yield myself. Toward sea they are gone, and unto sea must I, A virgin’s unexpected fate to try.

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Scen e 2 Enter marching rob e rt of Normandy, the c aptain, the four brothers, drum and soldiers. Enter the p r e se n t e r. Presenter.  Thus have you seen these brothers shipped to sea, Bound on their voyage to the Holy Land, All bent to try their fortunes in one bark. Now to avoid all dilatory news, SCENE 2]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  0.2. brothers] This ed.; brethren Q1, Q2.   239.  bent] determined.   4.  dilatory]  causing delay.

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Which might withhold you from the story’s pith And substance of the matter we intend, I must entreat your patience to forbear, Whilst we do feast your eye and starve your ear; For in dumb shows which, were they writ at large, Would ask a long and tedious circumstance, Their infant fortunes I will soon express, And from the truth in no one point digress. You have seen the father of these four fair sons Already gone his weary pilgrimage; Godfrey, Guy, Charles and Eustace pressed to sea, To follow Robert Duke of Normandy. Imagine now ye see the air made thick With stormy tempests that disturb the sea, And the four winds at war amongst themselves, And the weak barks wherein the brothers sail Split on strange rocks, and they enforced to swim To save their desperate lives; where what befell them, Dispersed to several corners of the world, We will make bold to explain it in dumb show, For from their fortunes all our scene must grow.

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Enter with a drum on one side certain Spaniards, on the other side certain citizens of Boulogne. The Spaniards insult upon them and make them do them homage. To the citizens enter go d frey, as newly landed and half naked, confers with the citizens, and by his instigation they set upon the Spaniards and beat them away. They come to honour him, and he discloses himself unto them; which done, they crown him and accept him for their prince, and so exeunt. Those citizens you see were Boulonnais, Kept under bondage of that tyrannous earl, To whom the French king gave that ancient seat Which to the wrongèd pilgrim did belong. But in the height of his ambition, Godfrey, by shipwreck thrown upon that coast, Stirs up th’oppressèd city to revolt; And by his valour was th’usurper slain. The city from base bondage freed again, 22. them] Q2; the˜ Q1.        

5.  pith]  essential part. 7.  forbear] endure. 15.  pressed]  enlisted in military service. 25.2.  insult upon]  assault (OED v 3).

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The men of Boulogne, wond’ring what strong hand Had been the means of their deliverance, Besought him to make known his birth and state; Which Godfrey did. The people, glad to see Their natural prince procure their liberty, Homage to him, create him Earl of Boulogne, And repossess him in his father’s seat; Where we will leave him having honour won, And now return unto the second son.

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Enter the f re n c h k i n g and his daughter the french lady, walking. To them g u y, all wet. The f r e n c h lady entreats her father for his entertainment, which is granted, and rich clothes are put about him, and so exeunt. As the French king did with his daughter walk By the seaside, from far they might espy One on a rafter float upon the waves; Who as he drew more near unto the shore, They might discern a man. Though basely clad, Yet sparks of honour kindled in his eyes. Him at first sight the beauteous lady loves, And prays her father to receive him home; To which the king accords, and in his court Makes him a great and special officer. There leave we Guy, a gallant courtier proved, And of the beauteous lady well beloved.

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Enter Banditti, with the e a r l prisoner. Exeunt some of them with him to prison. Enter c ha r l e s all wet with his sword, fights with the rest and kills their captain. They yield and offer to make him their captain; to which he agrees, and so exeunt all. Charles, the third son, is by the winds and waves Borne on a plank as far as Italy, And lands just at a lofty mountain’s foot, Upon whose top a many outlawed thieves (Banditti, bravoes, such as keep in caves) Made their abode. This crew assails young Charles, Who in the bickering strikes their captain dead.

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43.4. so] This ed.; sic Q1, Q2.  55.1. Banditti] This ed.; Bandetto’s Q1, Q2.  55.4. so exeunt all]  This ed.; sic exeunt omnes Q1, Q2.        

37.  Besought] beseeched. 43.3.  entertainment]  being received as a guest. 55.1. Banditti] outlaws (It.). 60.  bravoes]  daring villains, hired assassins (OED n1 1).

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217

They, wond’ring at his valour and being now Without a leader, humbly seek to him To be their chieftain and command their strength; Which at their earnest suit he undertakes. We leave him here, thinking his brothers drowned, Not knowing yet his father there lies bound.

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Enter a corpse, after it Irishmen mourning in a dead march. To them enters e u s tace, and talks with the chief mourner, who makes signs of consent after burial of the corpse, and so exeunt. Eustace, the youngest of the four, was cast Upon the coast of Ireland, and from thence He comes to travel to Jerusalem, Supposing his three brethren drowned by sea. Thus have you seen these four, that were but now All in one fleet, a many thousand leagues Severed from one another: Guy in France, Godfrey in Boulogne, Charles in Italy, Eustace in Ireland ’mongst the Irish kerns. Yet gentlemen, the selfsame wind and fortune That parted them, may bring them all together. Their sister follows them with zealous feet. Be patient, ye will wonder when they meet. Four London prentices will, ere they die, Advance their tow’ring fame above the sky, And win such glorious praise as never fades Unto themselves and honour of their trades. Grant them your wonted patience to proceed, And their keen swords shall make the pagans bleed.

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Scen e 3 Enter g u y and the f r e n c h l a dy. French Lady.  Fie, stranger, can a skin so white and soft Cover an heart obdurate, hard as flint? Since I first saw thee floating on the waves, The fire of love flew from your radiant eye, Which like a sunbeam pierced unto my heart.

68.1. after] Q2; aft∋r Q1. SCENE 3]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.   77.  kerns]  light-armed foot-soldiers.   86.  wonted] usual.

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Guy.  Sweet lady, all my powers I owe to you, For by your favour I ascend this height, Which seats me in the favour of a prince; (Private to himself) A prince that, did he know me, in the stead Of doing me honour would cut off my head. He did exile my father, cast me down, And, spurred with envious hate, distressed us all. Since Fortune then and the devouring seas Have robbed me of my brothers, and none left Of all my father’s sons alive but I, Take this advantage and be secret, Guy. Meet this occasion and conclude with Fate To raise again thy father’s ruined state. French Lady.  Fie, niggard, can you spend such precious breath, Speak to yourself so many words apart, And keep their sound from my attentive ear, Which save your words no music loves to hear? Guy.  What would you have me say? French Lady. Would I might teach thee! O that I had the guidance of thy tongue! (Private) But what would that avail thee, foolish girl? Small hope in those instructions I should find, To rule your tongue, if not to guide your mind. Guy.  My tongue, my thoughts, my heart, my hand, my sword, All are your servants. Who has done you wrong? French Lady.  I doubt not of your valour. But resolve me And tell me one thing truly I shall ask you. Guy.  Be’t not my birth, no question I’ll deny. Doubt not my truth, for honour scorns to lie. French Lady.  I do believe you. Fair knight, do you love? Guy.  To ride a horse as well as any man, To make him mount, curvet, to leap and spring, To chide the bit, to gallop, trot the ring. French Lady.  I did not ask you if you love to ride. Something I mean which, though my tongue deny, Look on me, you may read it in mine eye. But do you love?

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7. height] Q2; heigth Q1.   36.  curvet] leap in such a way that the horse’s fore-legs are raised together and equally advanced, and the hind-legs raised with a spring before the fore-legs reach the ground (OED n).   37.  chide the bit]  Compare Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.i.6: ‘His angry steede did chide his foming bitt’. The bit is the mouthpiece of a horse’s bridle.

sc.3]

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Guy.  To march, to plant a battle, lead a host, To be a soldier and to go to war, To talk of flanks, of wings, of sconces, holds, To see a sally, or to give a charge, To lead a vaward, rereward or main host, By heaven I love it as mine own dear life. French Lady.  I know all this, your words are but delays. Could you not love a lady that loves you? (Private) ’Tis hard when women are enforced to woo! Guy.  Where is my man, to bring me certain news The King’s commission sends me to the wars? The villain loiters in my business! French Lady.  All this is from the matter, gentle knight. The King’s commission may be signed at leisure. What say you to my question? Guy.  You would have me tell you true? French Lady.  Either speak true, or do not speak at all. Guy.  Then as I am true knight, I honour you, And to your service will espouse my sword. I wish you as I wish the glorious sun That it may ever shine; without whose lustre Perpetual darkness should o’ershade the earth. But tell me, lady, what you mean by love. French Lady.  To love a lady is, with heart entire, To make her mistress of his whole desire; To sigh for her, and for her love to weep, As his own heart her precious favours keep; Never be from her, in her bosom dwell, To make her presence heaven, her absence hell; Write sonnets in her praise, admire her beauty, Attend her, serve her, count his service duty; Make her the sole commandress of his powers, And in the search of love, lose all his hours. Guy.  ’Tis pretty for some fool that could endure it. How near am I unto this love, sweet lady? I love to mount a stead, whose heavy trot Cracks all my sinews, makes my armour crash. I love to march up to the neck in snow,

         

42.  plant a battle]  put in position for the attack (OED v 4.b.). 44.  sconces]  small forts or earthworks built to defend a ford or a pass. 45.  a sally]  a sudden rush out of a besieged place, a sortie. 46.  vaward] vanguard. 46.  rereward] rearguard.

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To make my pillow of a cake of ice; That in the morning, when I stretch my limbs, My hair hangs thick with dropping icicles, And my bright arms be frozen to the earth. I love to see my face besmeared in blood, To have a gaping wound upon my flesh, Whose very mouth would make a lady swoon. I love no chamber music, but a drum To give me hunt’s up. Could your grace endure To lie all night within a sheet of mail, By a drawn sword that parts not from my side, Embrace a body full of wounds and scars, And hear no language but of blood and wars? Such is my life, such may my honour prove: Make war a lady, I that lady love! French Lady.  Fie, fie, you run quite from the bias clean, To love that dearly which we hate so deadly. If love and I be one, you hate us both! Guy.  Then can I love no lady, by my troth. Madam, farewell, for under my command, The King your father sends ten thousand men, To win the holy town Jerusalem. Thither must I, esteeming your high honour Like a bright comet and unmatchèd star, But love no woman in the world, save war! French Lady.  Go, flint, strike fire upon your enemies’ steel, Whilst I descend one step from Fortune’s wheel. Thou go’st before, love bids me follow after; By thee the King, thy lord, must lose his daughter!

[sc.3 80

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Exit.

86. swoon] This ed.; sound Q1, Q2.   86.  swoon]  Unless Q1’s ‘sound’ is an alternative spelling for ‘swooned’, it does not make sense in this context. For the non-passive use of the participle, see Abbott 374.   88.  hunt’s up]  a reference to an old song played to awaken huntsment in the morning (OED n). Compare Romeo and Juliet (3.5.34): ‘Hunting thee hence with hunt’s-up to the day’.   89.  mail]  chain-mail armour.   94.]  ‘If you make war a lady, I am in love with that lady’.   95.  you run … clean]  a metaphor based on the game of bowls (OED n 2.a.), keeping the French lady’s references within the sphere of her courtly preoccupations.

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221

Scen e 4 Enter ch arl e s like an outlaw, with Banditti and Thieves, and with the c l own. Charles.  Thieves and good fellows, speak: what should I call you? There’s not a rogue among you that fears God, Nor one that has a touch of honesty. Robbers and knaves and rascals altogether, Sweet consort of wild villains, list to me! Am not I well preferred to become captain Unto a crew of pernicious slaves? I shall have such a coil to make you Christians And bring you to some shape of honesty, That ere I do it, I shall make your bodies Nothing but scarecrows to hang round these trees! Clown.  Brave captain courageous, whom death cannot daunt, we have been all gentlemen and householders. But I was banished for nothing but getting of bastards, but this fellow fled from Venice for killing a man cowardly on the Rialto, some for one villainy and some for another. Our captain, that you killed and now supply his place, poisoned a worthy merchant in the city with ratsbane and, flying hither, for his valour we made him our general. But now, brave Cavallero, to thee alone we sing Honononero! Charles.  Well, I must have you now turn honest thieves. He that commits a rape, shall sure be hanged; He that commits a murder, shall be murdered With the same weapon that did act the deed; He that robs pilgrims or poor travellers That for devotion’s sake do pass these mountains, He shall be naked tied to arms of trees, And in the day’s heat stung with wasps and bees. Ye slaves, I’ll teach you some civility! Clown.  Captain, what shall he be done withal that lies with a wench with her will, if he be hung that lies with one against her will?

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SCENE 4]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  0.1. Banditti] This ed.; Bandetto’s Q1; Bandettoes Q2.   5.  list] listen.   8.  coil]  ado, fuss (OED n2 3).   15.  Rialto]  the main marketplace in Venice.   19.  Cavallero]  Italian for ‘cavalier’ or ‘gentleman’.   20.  Hononorero]  rhyming with ‘Cavallero’ and recalling ‘onorero’ (Italian for ‘I will honour’). The nonsense phrase sounds like an acclamation.

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Charles.  I’ll have him whipped. Clown.  See, see, I think the captain has been a cook in his time: he can fit sweet meat with sour sauce. But what a fool is our captain to prescribe laws to outlaws? If we would have kept the laws before in the city, we needed not to have been driven now to lead our lives in the country. But captain, since you are our captain, we will resign unto you all our treasures and prisoners and our spoils. Take possession of them in God’s name, that came to us in the devil’s name! Charles.  Your prisoners, spoils and treasure all bring forth, That I may seize them as mine own by right, As heir to him whom I have slain in fight.

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Enter the Thieves, bringing in the ol d earl bound. Old Earl.  Villains, I know you drag me to my death, And ye shall do me an exceeding grace. Charles.  I am deceived but I have seen that face! Villain.  Come, come, you old greybeard, you must before our captain. If he say ‘Vive’, then live; if not, thou diest if thou wert his father. Charles.  Villain, thou liest if thou wert my brother. He shall not die. Upon your low knees fall And ask him pardon, or I’ll hang you all! Old Earl.  ’Tween joy and fear amazed in heart I stand. Does my son Charles lead this unruly band? Charles.  Your only son, and all the sons you have, And born his father’s desperate life to save! Old Earl.  How cam’st thou here? Why dost thou call thyself My only son, having three brothers more Which unto thy beauteous mother bore? Charles.  Once we were four and fellow prentices, And after fellow soldiers, pressed to serve The good Duke Robert in his holy wars. But in a storm our ships so bravely manned Were wrecked, and save myself none swam to land. They perished there. I by the waves and winds Was driven upon this coast of Italy, Where landing naked, save my trusty sword,

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  34–5.  he can … sauce]  Proverbial (see Tilley, M 839: ‘Sweet meat must have sour sauce’).   49.  ‘Vive’]  short for ‘Qu’il vive’ (‘Let him live’ in French).   57.  desperate]  given up as hopeless.   62.  pressed]  see note to 2.15.

sc.4]

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This crew of bold Banditti set upon me. But in the dangerous fight, by chance I slew The luckless captain of this damnèd crew, Who since have made me captain, here to stay Till Fortune grant me a more prosperous way. Old Earl.  Mine eyes have vowed to die the selfsame death My sons have done. Son, let me weep a while, To bring the like destruction to my eyne: These in salt tears, they in a sea of brine! Clown.  Is this our captain’s father? What villains were we to use him so roughly? Villain.  If the old fornicator had but told us so much, we should have had the grace either to set him free, or fortune to have used him more gently! Charles.  Since, father, we have met this happy day, Secure with me amongst these outlaws stay. Old Earl.  Not for the world. Since I have lost my sons, All outward joys are from my heart removed. Vain pleasures I abhor, all things defy That teach not to despair, or how to die. Yet ere I leave the world, I vow to see His holy blessèd tomb that died for me. Charles.  Then take along with you this bag of gold, To bear your charge in every inn you come. Deny it not, relief is comfortable. Old Earl.  Thanks, my dear son, expense it will defray, And serve to deal to poor men by the way. And now farewell, sweet Charles, thou all my sons, For now the last sand in my hourglass runs. Charles.  Ye two, conduct him safe beyond the mountains. Villain.  Shall I be one? Clown.  And I another? Charles.  Ye know the passages, be it your charge. Villain.  I am glad the silly man is weak and old; By heaven, my fingers tickle at his gold!

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69. Banditti] This ed.; Bandetto’s Q1, Q2.  81. free] Q2; see Q1.   74–5.  Mine eyes … done]  ‘My eyes have vowed to drown themselves in tears, to die the same death as my sons’.   76.  eyne]  archaic plural of ‘eye’, rhyming with ‘brine’ in the next line.   94.  defray]  pay out.

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[sc.5

Clown.  Old man, is your purse afloat? I have vowed to cut his throat, but to have it every groat! 105  Exeunt. Charles.  And now, return we to survey our cave, Peruse our treasure got by rape and spoil; Though won by others, yet possessed by us. Yet henceforth shall be used no violence. I’ll make these villains work in several trades, 110 And in these forests make a commonwealth. When them to civil nurture I can bring, They shall proclaim me of these mountains king! Exeunt.

Scen e 5 Enter e u stac e and his i r i sh m an. Eustace.  I think these upright craggy mountain tops Are, if the truth were known, highway to heaven; For it is straight and narrow, and some places Are for the steepness inaccessible. Fair fall a rafter and a gale of wind, Or I had gone to heaven away by water, Nearer than by this land! That way they found Who in the salt remorseless seas were drowned, My brothers, whom I dream on when I sleep, And my eyes waking at their fortunes weep. Forgetting them, the friendly Irish coast Gave me safe harbour. Thence I have travelled hither, Even to the lofty hills of Italy, After Prince Robert, Duke of Normandy. ’Tis safer sitting in my master’s shop, Crying ‘What lack you?’, than ’tis here to stay, To wolves and wild beasts to be made a prey. Irishman.  Master, so Christ save me, I shall wait on thee, wake for thee when thou sleepest, run for thee when thou biddest, and

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SCENE 5]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  4. steepness] Q2; steepiness Q1.   104.  afloat] overflowing.   105.  but to]  merely to.   105.  groat] an old coin worth fourpence, taken as the type of a very small sum (OED n 2.c.), as in the title of Greene’s Groats-Worth of Wit (1592).   2–3.] a reference to Matthew, 7.14: ‘Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life’.   5.  rafter] plank.

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fly at thy errands like an arrow from a bow, when thou wantest wine or meat, to drink or eat, or any other necessary provision. Now I have left my best friend in the grave, My friendship and my service you shall have. Eustace.  Well, Fortune has preserved me to some end. It is for something that I did not sink When the salt waves my mouth and ears did drink. I might have fed the haddocks, but some power Is my good master and preserves me still. Well, sword, in all my troubles stand me by; Thou art bound to win me somewhat ere I die!

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Enter the cl own and the v i l l a i n, dragging the o ld earl violently and rifling him. Clown.  Give us the gold my captain gave you, you old anatomy! Villain.  Greybeard, deliver, or you are but dead! Old Earl.  Take it, my friends, full little needs this strife. First take the gold, and after take my life! Clown.  Nay, you old Jack-a-Lent, six weeks and upwards! Though you be our captain’s father, you cannot stay there, and for surety you shall not go back and tell him what we have done to you, we’ll kill you, and fling you into some coal pit. Villain.  Content, and when we have done, we will return him word we have conducted thee past all danger of the mountains. And now, prepare thee for the fatal stroke! Old Earl.  Thou dost me a great kindness, let it come. God take my soul, now when thou wilt strike home. Eustace.  He strikes his own soul down to Erebus That lifts a sword that shall but touch his hair! Irishman.  And by Saint Patrick, I’ll make him garter his hose with his guts that strikes any stroke here!

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20.  at thy errands]  This ed.; a thy errands Q1, Q2.  20.  an arrow]  Gasior; a narrow Q1, Q2.  32.  my captain gave you]  Q2; my Captaine you Q1.   23.  grave]  possibly rhyming with ‘have’ in the next line.   29.  master]  Eustace carries on with his apprenticeship in a metaphoric form.   31.  somewhat]  something (OED n 2.c.).   31.2.  rifling]  searching and robbing (OED v1 2.a.).   36.  Jack-a-Lent]  stuffed puppet used as target at fairs during Lent. Compare Jonson, A Tale of a Tub, 4.2.49–50: ‘thou didst stand six weeks the Jack of Lent, / For boys to hurl, three throws a penny, at thee’.   45.  Erebus]  god of darkness and son of Chaos in Hesiod’s Theogony.   47.  Saint Patrick]  the patron saint of Ireland.

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Clown.  Whom have we here? A gentleman and his water-spaniel? Let’s rob them too, and after kill thee! Villain.  Content, content. Sirrah, stand! Eusatce.  Yes, I will stand, base wretch, when thou shalt fall, And strike thee dead, and trampling on thy bulk, By stamping with my foot crush out thy soul! Take that, you slave, for bidding Eustace stand!

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He beats them both away. Now, father, go in peace. Old Earl. Thanks, my fair son, By whose stout valour I have freedom won. I can bestow upon you naught but thanks, Unless you will divide this gold with me. Eustace.  No father, keep it. Thou art old and poor, But when I want, my sword shall purchase more. Old Earl.  (Apart to himself) By viewing him my former griefs abound. Even such a one was Eustace that was drowned; Which, had he lived, his stature, years and all Would have resembled his, so straight, so tall, So fair, so strong, of such a worthy spirit. But his blessed soul by this does heaven inherit. Grief for his death so near my heart does dwell, That for my life I cannot say farewell! Exit. Eustace.  The captain’s father, whom the slaves had killed Had not our coming intervented them, Resembles mine in gesture, face and look. But the old Earl, my father, is by this Within the walls of fair Jerusalem; Else had I surely took this agèd man T’have asked him blessing. But what next ensues? I find these mountains will be full of news.

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Enter c h a r l e s, c l own, v i l l a i n and the crew. Clown.  Captain, a prize! We two were assailed by two hundred, and of them two hundred we killed all but these two. These are the remainder of them that are left alive!

80

50. rob] Q2; robs Q1.  75.  Else had I]  Q2; Else had I had Q1.   49.  water-spaniel]  a variety of spaniel used for retrieving water-fowl. Eustace and his Irishman may bear the marks of yet another rough landing upon their arrival in Italy.   56.]  the first of many dramatically ironic uses of ‘father’ and ‘son’ in the play, as the main characters repeatedly fail to recognise one another.   67.  by this]  by now, by this time (OED prep 21.b.).

sc.5]

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Charles.  Go, two or three of you, and fetch them in. If they resist you, take their weapons from them. Clown.  I had rather somebody else should attempt them than I now. But since there is no other remedy, give me three or four of the stoutest of our crew, and then God and Saint Anthony! Eustace.  More thieves and villains have begirt us round. Now, Eustace, for the honour of thy name, Return them to their captain back with shame!

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He sets upon them all, and beats them. Charles.  Now, by mine honour, the best piece of flesh That ever in these woods held outlaw play! Even such a spirit had Eustace when he lived. We must not lose this gallant, if we can; We’ll strive to make him our companion. Eustace.  Ye slaves, I’ll beat you all into a mouse hole, And like a baited lion at a stake, Kill all the curs that come but near to bark! Ye gulls, have ye no better men amongst you? Defy your captain from me: here I stand, To dare him to a combat hand to hand! Charles.  I were a bastard, not my father’s son, Should I refuse it. Eustace.  By all the land I have left me in the world (That’s but my grave), captain, thou honourest me! Charles.  By all the wealth I brought into these woods (That’s but my sword), thou dost the like to me! Thou shalt have fair play, gallant, by mine honour. Eustace.  False was my mother to my father’s bed, If I should ask more odds of Hercules! Charles.  He dies upon my sword disturbs our fray, Or in the fight dares disadvantage thee! Eustace.  Were I the world-commanding Alexander, I would make thee my Hephaestion for that word. I love thee for thy valour, captain thief!

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84. there] Q2; their Q1.  102–3.]  Q2; prose Q1.   85.  Saint Anthony] the patron saint of Padua in Italy, especially invoked for lost things and lost people.   86.  begirt] surrounded.   95.  baited]  chased by dogs.   97.  gulls] fools.   108.  odds]  equalising advantage given to the weaker side (OED n 5.b.).   109.  fray]  See note to 1.162.   112.  Hephaestion]  Alexander the Great’s boyhood friend and second-in-command.

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Charles.  ’Tis that preserves thee from our violence. An honoured mind lies in this outlaw’s shape. So much I reckon of thy chivalry, That wert thou master of an Indian mine, Thou shouldst not be diminished one denier. Securely fight, thy purse is sanctuaried, And in this place shall beard the proudest thief! Eustace.  An honoured-minded villain, by my sword, A right good fellow, and an honest thief! If I should have thee prostrate at my mercy, I will not kill thee for thy liberal offer. Yet win it, lad, and take it without fail; I scorn to have my purse go under bail! Charles.  He goes beyond me in heroic thoughts. To thine I stake down this. [Throws down his purse.] Stand all apart. He that steps in, be subject to our curses, And now the better man take both the purses. Eustace.  It is a match, I’ll seize them to thy grief. Now, true man, try, if thou canst rob a thief!

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They fight. As they are fighting, enter b e l l a f r anca, pursued by an Outlaw. She runs betwixt them and parts them. Bella Franca.  If ye were born of women, aid a woman! Charles.  Why, what’s the matter? Bella Franca.  Oh, turn the edges of your swords ’gainst him, That in the forest would have ravished me! Charles.  Cease thy pursuit, and stranger, pause a while, To hear the tenor of this lady’s plaint. Eustace.  Why then, king’s truce. But let the purses lie; They’ll fall to my advantage by and by. Charles.  Now tell me, lady, what’s your suit to me? Bella Franca.  To save my life from foul inchastity;

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128.1.]  Gasior; not in Q1, Q2.   118.  denier]  a small copper coin.   119.  sanctuaried]  made a sanctuary, and therefore immune to looting.   120.  beard] defy.   121.  honoured-minded]  honourably minded.   124.  for]  in requital of.   138.  tenor]  the general sense.   139.  king’s truce]  a cry for the discontinuance of a game (OED n 2.b.). The statement is possibly made jokingly, since the outlaws are clearly not placed under a king’s authority.

sc.5]

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For passing by these countries on my way To pay my zealous vows in Golgotha, Attended only by a little page, This villain with a crew of ruffian thieves Seized what we had first, hauled my page from me, And after would have wrecked my chastity. But being swift of foot, fear lent me wings Hither (I hope in happy time) to fly, Either to save mine honour or to die! Charles.  Thy honour and thy life are both secured, And for a lady’s sake you much resemble, Command my sword, my subjects and my cave, Where succour, all offenceless, you shall have. Sirrah, go you and scour about the hill. Clown.  I go. Bella Franca.  How like he is to Charles by shipwreck dead! And he to Eustace perished in the waves! But they are both immortal saints in heaven. Yet I am glad because these shapes are theirs. My happy coming has ta’en up their strife, Preserving mine own honour and my life. Eustace.  So blushed my sister, and this outlaw thief Has a resemblance to my brother Charles. But she in London lives, a virgin pure; He’s in some huge whale’s belly, too too sure. Charles.  A pretty wench, i’faith, I’ll marry her, And make her queen of all this outlaw crew. Eustace.  I am half in love already, at first sight. How will this raging flame increase by night? Charles.  Fair beauteous maid, resign your love to me; Mistress of all these forests you shall be! Eustace.  Love me, I’ll kiss away these tears of grief; Sweet wench, embrace a true man, scorn a thief! Charles.  How now, Sir Sauce! You are as bold, methinks, As if you were a freeman of our trade. None but myself plead interest in this maid!

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167. He’s] Q2; He Q1.  168. i’faith] Gasior; ‘ifaith Q1; yfaith Q2.  171. night] Q2; might Q1.    147.  hauled]  pulled by force.   156.  scour] search.   176.  Sir Sauce] saucy, impudent fellow, sarcastically used as a personal name. Compare The Winter’s Tale (1.2.197): ‘Sir Smile’.   177.  a freeman … trade] Charles’s image assimilates the bandits to yet another professional guild or company.

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Eustace.  My interest is as much; in this ’tis greater, Because that of the two, I love her better. Charles.  Proud passenger, I’ll make thee eat that word! Eustace.  If I eat air, thou shalt digest my sword! Charles.  Revive this quarrel, let the former die; Fight we for her, and let the purses lie. Eustace.  Outlaw, I rather love to fight, than brawl; I’ll win from thee thy wench, thy purse and all! Bella Franca.  Stay, gentlemen!

[sc.5 180

185

She steps between them. Eustace. By heaven, I scorn to stay Till both the purses I have ta’en away. Charles.  My sword for me, my mistress and my gold; My resolution shall my claim uphold!

190

Enter the c l own running betwixt them. Clown.  What do you mean, gentlemen, to fight among yourselves that should be friends, and have more need to take one another’s part to fight against your enemies? We shall all be slain, killed, murdered, massacred! For my own part, if I had nine lives like a cat, they were all sure to die one dog’s death! Charles.  Why? What’s the matter, fellow? Clown.  O noble captain, we shall all be slain! Tancred, a prince of Italy, with an army has beset the foot of the mountains and has vowed to make venison of all us poor outlaws and kill us like deer. God be with you; I’ll go shift for one. Charles.  Dear we will be to him, before he do it, And dearly sell our desperate carcasses. Kind stranger, wilt thou take a truce with me? Thou shalt divide with me my dignity. We two will jointly o’er these mountains reign, And by our valours our estates maintain. Eustace.  Because I hear thy life’s in jeopardy, And thou hast dealt with me so honourably, Receive my hand; now I am wholly thine. And ye, mad rogues, I am half your captain now;

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185. SP. Eustace] Q2; not in Q1.  197. Tancred] This ed.; Tankard Q1, Q2.  201. Dear] This ed.; Deere Q1, Q2.  207.  thy life’s]  This ed.; thy life Q1, Q2.   181.  passenger]  traveller on foot.   198.  beset] surrounded.   200.  shift for one]  provide for my own safety (OED v 7.a.).   201.  Dear] Q1 and Q2’s spelling allows for a pun on ‘deer’ and ‘dear’ (won at great expense).

sc.5]

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Look when ye see me nod, ye crouch and kneel, Make legs and curtseys, and keep bare your crowns! Clown.  ’Tis hard to teach them manners that are clowns. But for my own part, here’s a leg, here’s a cap, here’s a knee. All these, sweet half-captain, I reserve for thee. Eustace.  Speak, do you all accept me? All. We do, we do. Eustace.  Then, brother thief, I am turned outlaw too. But to do no man wrong, I make that law Only to pass this tedious summer here, Till we our downcast fortunes may uprear. Charles.  You share with me in end, in mind, in all.

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Soft march. But hark, I hear our enemies’ drums do brawl. Eustace.  Their voice is welcome. (Apart) O that I had with me As many good lads, honest prentices, From Eastcheap, Canwick Street and London Stone, To end this battle as could wish themselves Under my conduct if they knew me here! – The doubtful day’s success we need not fear. Charles.  (Apart) O for some Cheapside boys for Charles to lead! They would stick to it, when these outlaws fail. Wishes are wind, let’s think ourselves well-manned. – We’ll sooner die, than fly; so make a stand!

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Enter ta n c r e d with drum and soldiers. Tancred.  Are these the outlaws that disturb our peace? Think they these mountain tops can shelter them From our revenge and just assembled arms? Charles.  Come, come, let us prepare to answer them. Tancred.  Which be the chief of these confounded troops?

235

  212.  crowns]  heads. The choice of this word may have been motivated by the nearhomonymy with ‘clown’ in the next line.   220.  uprear]  raise up.   225.  Eastcheap]  an old street in London and the site of the city’s main meat market in medieval and early modern times (from ‘cheap’ in the sense of ‘market’).   225.  Canwick Street]  also called Candlewick street (Cannon Street today), next to Eastcheap and formerly home to candle-makers and drapers.   225.  London Stone]  located on the south side of Canwick Street. This was the place where the rebel Jack Cade declared himself the lord of London in 1450 (see 2 Henry VI, 4.6).   229.  Cheapside]  also called West Cheap (as opposed to East Cheap). London’s main general market was located there.   237.  confounded]  discomfited, disordered (OED a 1).

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Charles.  Prince, I am one of them. Eustace. And I another. Charles.  I am his friend. Eustace. And I his outlaw brother. Tancred.  How dare you stand contemptuous ’gainst your liege? Captains, ye are our men. Charles. That we deny. I am a stranger, Tancred. Eustace. So am I. Tancred.  (Apart to his own people) Such valour is reported to appear In the brave deeds of these rude foresters, That we could rather wish they were our friends, To dwell in cities, than keep out in caves. Considering now what wars we have in hand, Their martial spirits might much advantage us, Would they but keep within some honoured bounds. We’ll work them if we can to our alliance, And rather motion love than proud defiance. Charles.  Why comes the County Palatine in arms, To fight against unarmèd foresters? If thou wilt win renown, bend thy brave forces ’Gainst pagans that besiege Jerusalem. Small fame and honour canst thou win thee here, Besides our cheap lives thou shalt purchase dear. Eustace.  We have reformed these villains since we came, And taught them manners and civility. All rape and murder we repay with death; Amongst us does not live a ravisher. Tancred.  I have heard no less, but that you weed out such As pass the bounds of Christian honesty; Which makes me rather offer peace than war. But what bright virgin stands so discontent? Charles.  My life. Eustace. My love. Tancred. The word had been well spent If I had said mine too; for I protest Of all this number I affect her best. Charles.  Believe me, fellow partner in my rule, You offer wrong to impart in this my love.

[sc.5

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  240.  liege]  lord, superior.   252.  County Palatine] an earl whose dominion is autonomous from the rest of a kingdom by special royal privilege, and who is given the right of exclusive civil and criminal jurisdiction.   270.  impart]  get a share, partake.

sc.5]

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Eustace.  Half of all’s mine, I claim it as my due; In which, bright virgin, I except not you. Tancred.  I do contain my love with much ado. For her, methinks, I could turn outlaw too! Eustace.  What, do you think to have a double share? Half of her’s mine, I will not bate a hair! Charles.  By thine own words, thou gav’st me half at least! Eustace.  But I’ll have all, my title is increased! Tancred.  Stay, captains, for our annual crown’s revenues, We would not lose the weakest of you both; So much we do affect your chivalries. Let me take up this mutual enmity: Your quarrel is for her, both would enjoy her. (To Charles) You claim her as your right. Charles. ’Tis true, I do. Tancred.  And captain, you say she belongs to you. Eustace.  True, valiant prince, my hopes shall his destroy. Thou art mine own, sweet wench, God give us joy. Tancred.  Then till this strict contention ended be, Deliver this bright virgin unto me. Here shall our former hate and discord cease; This lady shall be hostage of your peace. (To Charles) Unto thy charge we give ten thousand men. (To Eustace) As many soldiers we resign to thee. Make me her keeper till these wars be done. Ye have the price, I my content have won. Charles.  Honour has taught the Palatine to speak. Eustace.  Since what we both desire, one can but have, Take charge of her. Let me receive the charge Of a great army and commanding power. Before I marry, I must win my dower! Charles.  So say I too, and outlaw life, adieu! Tancred.  And welcome love, which I must keep for you. Their drums shall scold, mine shall have time to cease; And whilst they war, with her I’ll make my peace. Are you content, sweet lady? Bella Franca. I must do That which amongst you all best pleases you. I am a prisoner; prisoners must obey. 279. annual] This ed.; annall Q1, Q2.        

276.  bate]  omit, leave out of count (OED v2 7). 281.  affect]  like, love (OED v1 4.a.). 282.  take up]  apprehend, understand (OED v 7). 293.  resign]  hand over (OED v1 2.a.).

233

275

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305

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You say I shall, and I must not say ‘nay’. Charles.  Do so, sweet love. Eustace. Till these wars ended be, I prithee, sweet love, keep thy heart to me. Tancred.  Come, captain, we bequeath you to your charge, To march with speed towards the holy wars. This lady as our life we will esteem, And place her in the honour of a queen.

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Exeunt.

Scen e 6 Enter ro be rt of Normandy, g o df r e y of Boulogne and g u y of Lessingham, with drum and soldiers. Godfrey.  What art thou with thy brow confrontest me? Guy.  One that thinks scorn to give least place to thee. Godfrey.  Thou knowst me not, to set my name so light. Guy.  I reck thee not, my frown thou canst not fright. We are no babe, or if we were, yet know Thy proud face cannot like a bugbear show. Godfrey.  Thou hast struck fire upon a flinty spirit. Thinkst thou, because thou leadst the French King’s troops, And art commander of a few bold French, That we will yield the upper hand to thee? I let thee know thou hast dishonoured me. Guy.  I let thee know thou hast done as much by me. Thinkst thou, thou can outface me? Proud man, no. Know I esteem thee as too weak a foe. Godfrey.  Now by my knighthood, I’ll revenge this wrong, And for that word, thy heart shall curse thy tongue! Robert.  What mean these hasty princes thus to jar And bend their swords against their mutual breasts, Whose edge were sharpened for their enemies’ crests? Godfrey.  He shall not march before me! Guy. But I will!

5

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15

20

SCENE 6]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.   0.2.  GUY of Lessingham]  Guy will be formally given that title in 17.65 by Robert of Normandy. The change from ‘Guy de Lusignan’ (crusader King of Jerusalem 1186– 92) to ‘Guy of Lessingham’ (from a village in Norfolk) contributes to familiarising the character and his background, in the same way as the change from ‘Godfrey of Bouillon’ (one of the leaders of the First Crusade and the first to rule in Jerusalem) to ‘Godfrey of Boulogne’ brings the character of Guy’s brother closer to home for English audiences.   4.  reck] regard.

sc.6]

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Godfrey.  Zounds, but thou shalt not! By this blessèd day, I’ll pitch thee like a bar out of my way. Guy.  Thy arms want strength: thou canst not toss me so. Godfrey.  No, can they not? By heaven, I’ll try a throw! Robert.  Princes, I charge you, by the honoured zeal And love to him for whom ye come to fight, To cease this envy and abortive jar. The fields are broad enough for both to march, And neither have the vantage of the ground. Guy.  Robert, mine arm shall act a wondrous thing: I’ll hurl him like a stone out of a sling! Not have the way? I’ll fling thee on the earth, And then march over thee with all my troops! Godfrey.  Robert of Normandy, by all the honour Thou hop’st t’achieve thee in these holy wars, Stand from betwixt us. Let’s but try one fall; I’ll cast his cork-like trunk by wondrous skill, As Hercules threw Lichas from a hill! Robert.  For God’s sake and our Saviour’s, in whose book Ye now are entered as his soldiers pressed, In whose camp royal if you mutiny, Ye are found guilty by his martial law And worthy death, I charge you, princes both, T’abandon this injurious enmity. Stand you betwixt them, soldiers, lest this sting Of blind seditions reign in this our army, And feed upon our bodies like a plague. Princes, I charge you by your Saviour’s blood, Shed for your sins, ye shed none at this time. Godfrey.  Well, let him march before, I will resign. Robert prevails: Frenchman, the right is thine. Guy.  I will not march first, but in courtesy I will resign that honoured place to thee. But what a king should say I should not do, With violent rage that would I run into. Go on, by heaven you shall, I yield it you; By heaven you shall, the place I freely grant.

235

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45. them] Q2; the Q1.   38.  Lichas]  the servant who brought a poisoned shirt to Hercules. Before dying, the hero took revenge on Lichas by hurling him into the sea (Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book IX).   39–40.  in … entered]  recorded among the righteous in the Lord’s book of life, and to be saved by him (Revelation, 3.5 and 20.12–15).   40.  pressed]  See note to 2.15.

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Friendship can more with me than rude constraint. Godfrey.  Thy honoured love with honour I return; What thou wouldst give me, I resign thee back. This kind reply to me stands like a charm; Then royally let’s march on arm in arm. Robert.  Such just proportion princes still should keep. Brave lord of Boulogne, join your troops with ours, That are by birth approvèd Englishmen; And, lord of France, that under your conduct Have ready armed ten thousand fighting men, To fight with us for fair Jerusalem, Distressed by misbelieving infidels, Let us unite a friendly Christian league. We have entered, valiant lords, upon our way Even to the midst of fertile Lombardy, By writers termed the garden of the world. Half of our way we have overcome already. Then let us here encamp upon these downs; But stay, what threat’ning voice of warfare sounds?

[sc.6

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Enter, after a trumpet, e u s tac e. Godfrey.  Had not young Eustace in the seas been drowned, I should have said he treads upon this ground; And but none scaped the dangerous seas save I, This Frenchman I should think my brother Guy. Eustace.  Princes, my master County Palatine, Wond’ring what bold foot dares presume to tread Upon his confines without asking leave, Sends me to know the cause of your arrive, Or why the armed hooves of your fiery steeds Dare wound the forehead of his peaceful land. Godfrey.  ‘Dare’? Sends thy lord in that ambitious key? Guy.  Or has the pride of thy refinèd tongue Gilded thy message with these words of scorn? Robert.  Addst thou unto thy message, knight, or no? Eustace.  The naked tenor of my master’s mind Thus I enfold: rash saucy insolent, That by audacious boldness have not feared 87. SP.] Q2; DODF Q1.          

74.  overcome]  got through (OED v 3.c.). 75.  downs] hills. 84.  arrive] arrival. 92.  enfold] summarise. 92.  insolent]  used as a generic noun, hence the plural verb in the next line.

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To break into my sovereign’s royal pale, I charge you to return the way you came, And step by step tell every tedious stride That you have measured rashly in his land; Or by the honour of his name he swears To chase you from the margent of his coast, With an unnumbered army and huge host. Godfrey.  March back again? O scandal to our names! Have we deserved to be so censured on? Though not one man upon my part would stand, Alone I’ll pierce the bowels of his land! Guy.  Basely retire, and thirty thousand strong? Were the whole world’s power ambushed in our way, Yet would we on. Return dishonourably? Forward I’ll march, though every step I tread Plunge me in blood, thus high above my head! Robert.  Princes, have patience, let me answer him. Knight, I condemn not thee for speaking boldly The proud defiance that thy master sends. But mildly we return our pleasures thus: We do confess it was some oversight To march so far, without some notice given Unto the lord and prince that owes the land, And we could wish that we had craved his leave. But since ’tis thus, that we have marched thus far, And basely to retire is infamous, If not with leave, we forward mean to go, Despite of king or emp’ror shall say no. Eustace.  I will inform the prince my sovereign so. Guy.  That young knight’s face, methinks, I well should know. Godfrey.  I see the swords were sharped ’gainst infidels Must be employed to lavish Christian blood. Upon his soul lie all the heinous guilt Who, being a Christian prince, forbids and bars Our quiet passage to these pagan wars.

237 95

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105

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120 Exit. 125

  94.  pale]  territory, jurisdiction (OED n1 4.a.).   96.  tell]  count, number (OED v 20.a.).   99.  margent] edge.   116.  owes] owns.   121.]  ‘even if the king or the emperor say no’.   124.  the swords were sharped]  ‘the swords that were sharpened’. On the omission of the relative ‘that’, see Abbott 244.

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Guy.  This bickering will but keep our arms in ure, The holy battles better to endure. Robert.  Well, God for us, for our intent is good; Charged be their souls with all this Christian blood.

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Enter tan cre d, c ha r l e s, e u s tac e, drum, colours and soldiers, marching. Tancred.  What art thou brav’st the County Palatine? Robert.  My name is Robert, Duke of Normandy. Tancred.  Speak, will ye all retire the way ye came? Robert.  God keep Duke Robert from so foul a shame. Godfrey.  Basely retire, when we have marched thus far? First we’ll unpeople this thy land by war! Charles.  Then will we drive you back by our main force, And seize upon your troops of foot and horse. Guy.  So say you, but should you attempt to do’t, We straight should overthrow you horse and foot. Eustace.  So said, so done, brave lord, were gallant play. But you would at the first push shrink away. Robert.  No, proud Italians, all our spirits are fire, Which burns not downward, but is made t’aspire. Prince, we confess we did forget ourselves, Presuming on that ancient privilege That every Christian brother prince should claim One in the interest of another’s name; An error we confess, though not a fault. But basely with dishonour back to fly And to be held as cowards we deny. Tancred.  And nothing else can satisfy mine ire, But whence ye came, the same way to retire. Robert.  And that I’ll never do. Godfrey. Nor I. Guy. Nor I. Charles.  Then shall ye on these Lombard champaigns die. To arms, brave soldiers! Eustace. Strike up, warlike drum! Prepare you, Christians princes, now we come! Godfrey.  Stay, brave Prince Tancred; stay, great Norman Duke. Out of my zeal to God and Christendom, To staunch the blood which should be broached this day, Unto the grief of all that honour Christ,

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  129.  in ure]  in use, in practice.   133.  thou brav’st]  ‘thou that bravest’ (see Abbott 244 for the omission of ‘that’).   157.  champaigns] plains.

sc.6]

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And joy to such as love idolatry, I make this challenge general through the host Of him that interrupts us on our way. If any proud Italian dare take up The honoured gage which I have here thrown down, And fight a single combat for our passage, These shall be made our strict conditions: If him I conquer, all our host shall march Without all let and contradiction; If I be vanquished by thy champion’s hand, Our army shall march back out of thy land. Charles.  A princely motion to save Christian blood! Great Prince of Italy, upon my knee I humbly beg I may thy champion be. Tancred.  Thou hast thy suit. Thy valour has been tried; With a rough brow see thou confront his pride. Robert.  Then what ten thousand Christian lives should right, These two brave lords will end in single fight. Tancred.  It is agreed. Eustace. Stand to’t, brave outlaw brother. Would I were one of them. Guy. And I, the other. Charles.  What weapon wilt thou use? Godfrey. That which next comes. Give me this partisan; now strike up drums! Charles.  Give me this, soldiers; trumpet, sound a charge! I’ll stop the passage which he seeks t’enlarge. Godfrey.  Princes, stand off. My warlike arm this day For all your troops shall win a prosperous way. Charles.  Thou canst not enter though the way stood ope; My heart and this thy passage vows to stop. Godfrey.  Yet will I through. Charles. Thou shalt not, this says ‘nay’. Godfrey.  O but behold: I have this to hew my way.

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They fight, and are parted by ro b e rt and tancred. Tancred.  I would not lose my champion for the world. Robert.  Nor I this prince, for were these spirits spent,

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  168.  gage]  glove or other pledge used to challenge.   172.  let]  hindrance, obstruction.   185.  partisan]  a type of spear used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with a long, triangular, double-edged blade (OED n1 1.a.). Godfrey and Charles are armed with this weapon in the title-page engraving.   191.] For the old plural inflection in ‘s’ with two singular nouns as subject, see Abbott 336.

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All Christendom their fortunes might lament. Part them on equal odds and equal terms! Both alike valiant, both have honour won; More valorous live not underneath the sun. Tancred.  We will reserve their haughty chivalries To exercise against God’s enemies. Eustace.  They have won honour, I have idly stood. By my good stars, I’ll have a challenge too, If any in their camp dares answer me. Give me thy pike, a pike a prince may trail, And at thy weapon will I challenge all. Great Prince, these fiery princes, that came hither To brave our forces, had a champion To challenge us. Are we as valiant, And shall we fail to do the like to them? Give me but leave, my lord, to send one boast T’affright them, like a devil, through their host. Tancred.  It pleases us. Then when thou wilt, begin. Robert.  What champion shall we have to answer him? Guy.  I should esteem him my immortal foe, That should attempt to take away the honour Of such a strong encounter from my hand. Champion, appear betwixt our royal hosts! Let’s see thy strength make good thy haughty boasts! Eustace.  I am here. Stand thou forth on the adverse part. Survey me well: Brave Hector I resemble, Whose very brow did make the Greeks to tremble. Guy.  But I, Achilles, proud ambitious boy, Will drag thy corpse about the walls of Troy! Give me thy pike. I’ll toss it like a reed, And with this bulrush make mine enemy bleed! Rapier and pike, is that thy honoured play? Look down, ye gods, this combat to survey! Eustace.  Rapier and pike this combat shall decide. God, angels, men shall see me tame thy pride! Guy.  Thou dost thyself wrong to o’ercharge thine arm With such a weapon as thou canst not wield.

[sc.6

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198. alike] Gasior; a like Q1, Q2.   205.  pike]  Guy and Eustace carry pikes (pointed spears) in the title-page engraving.   221.  Hector]  Troy’s greatest champion against the Greeks in Homer’s Iliad.   223.  Achilles]  the Greek champion who killed Hector and dragged his body behind his chariot around besieged Troy before allowing the Trojans to bury him.

sc.6]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

I’ll teach thee; thou shalt like my zany be, And feign to do my cunning after me! Eustace.  Thou wouldst instruct thy master at this play! Thinkst thou this rye straw can o’errule my arm? Thus do I bear him when I use to march; Thus can I fling him up, and catch him thus; Then thus, to try the sinews of my arm!

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They toss their pikes. Guy.  But thou shouldst charge him thus, advance him thus; Thus shouldst thou take him, when thou seest from far The violent horses run to break our ranks! Eustace.  All that is nothing, I can toss him thus. Guy.  I, thus; ’tis easier sport than the balloon! Eustace.  We trifle time, this shall thy rage withstand. Guy.  With this, our host shall pierce thy sovereign’s land.

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They fight. ro bert and the pa l at i n e cast their warders between them, and part them. Robert.  That host should lose ten thousand pagans’ lives With the rich honour of their overthrow, That should but lose his champion in this combat. If both should perish, our brave Christian army Should be more weak by thousands than it was. Tancred.  Their matchless valour has prevailed with us. Freely enjoy the pleasures of our land. Our army here we do conjoin with yours, To lead them to the fair Jerusalem. Robert.  We pawn our faith to this perpetual league, And now we show ourselves that Christian host In which true peace should flourish and abound. Unto this peace let drums and trumpets sound!

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252. has] hath Q2; have Q1.   233.  zany]  a comic performer attending on a professional acrobat, who imitates his master’s acts in a ludicrously awkward way (OED n 1).   237.  him] The weapons are personified by metonymy in the two fighters’ verbal confrontation.   244.  balloon]  a game played with a large inflated ball, struck to and fro with the arm protected by a wooden bracer (OED n 1.a.).   246.1.  warders]  staffs or wands carried as a symbol of authority or office, especially used to give the signal for the commencement or the cessation of hostilities in a battle or tournament (OED n2). Compare Richard II, 1.3.118, where King Richard stops a trial by combat by throwing down his warder.

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[sc.6

Flourish. Champions, embrace, and all your stern debate 260 Pour in abundance on the pagans’ heads. Princes and lords, let our united bands Win back Judea from the pagans’ hands!  Exeunt all, marching. The f r e n c h l a dy remains. French Lady.  Thus have I masked my bashful modesty Under the habit of a trusty page, And now my servant’s servant am I made. Love, that transformed the gods to sundry shapes, Has wrought in me this metamorphosis. My love and lord, that honoured me a woman, Loves me a youth, employs me everywhere. I serve him, wait upon him, and he swears He favours both my truth and diligence. And now I have learnt to be a perfect page, He will have none to truss his points but me, At board to wait upon his cup but me, To bear his target in the field but me. Nay, many a thing, which makes me blush to speak! He will have none to lie with him but me. I dream and dream, and things come in my mind, Only I hide my eyes. But my poor heart Is barred and kept from love’s satiety. Like Tantalus, such is my poor repast: I see the apples that I cannot taste. I’ll stay my time, and hope yet, ere I die, My heart shall feast as richly as my eye.

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263.2.]  This ed.; Manet the French Lady Q1, Q2.   274.  truss his points]  tie the laces with which the hose are fastened to the doublet (OED v 5.b.).   276.  target]  a small targe or round shield.   282.  Tantalus]  a legendary king of Phrygia condemned to stand up to the chin in a pool of water in Hades under fruit-laden boughs, with water and fruit receding whenever he attempted to drink or eat.

sc.7]

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243

Scen e 7 Flourish. Enter the old su lta n, the young s o p h y, tables and forms, and m o r at e s, t u r n u s, with drum and soldiers. Sultan.  Counsel, brave lords. The Christian army marches Even to our gates with paces undisturbed. The hollow earth resounds with weight of arms, And shrinks to bear so huge a multitude. They make a valley as they march along, And raising hills encompass either side. Counsel, brave lords, these terrors to decide. Sophy.  Jove’s great vicegerent over all the world, Let us confront their pride, and with our powers Disperse the strength of their assembled troops. Sultan.  Sion is ours by conquest; all Judea Is the rich honour of our conquering swords. Shall we not guard it then, and make our breasts The walls that shall defend Jerusalem? Sophy.  They shall march over us that march this way! Before the Christians shall attain these walls, With dead men’s faces we will pave the earth! Sultan.  I cannot judge the Christians are so mad To come in way of battle, but of peace. Sophy.  They rather travel in devotion, To pay their vows at their Messiah’s tomb, And so, as pilgrims, not as soldiers come. Sultan.  Your own power blinds you and has screened your eyes. My hairs do wear experience livery, But yours the badge of youth and idleness. Their army stands upon a mountain top, Like a huge forest. Their tall pikes, like pines, In height do overpeer the lower trees. Their horsemen ride like Centaurs in the meads,

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SCENE 7]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  29. Centaurs] Q2; Centaur’s Q1.   0.1. forms] benches (OED n 17).   7.  decide] resolve.   8.  vicegerent]  applied to rulers and magistrates as representatives of the Deity (OED n 2.a.).   11.  Sion] Jerusalem.   24.  experience livery]  For the ellision of the possessive after a singular noun ending in ‘ce’, see Abbott 471.   28.  overpeer]  tower over.   29.  meads] meadows.

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And scout abroad for pillage and for prey. Courage is their good captain. Sophy. Courage? No, Pale fear and black destruction leads the foe! Sultan.  I say again, the Christian princes lead An army for their power invincible. Victorious hope sits hovering on their plumes. Their gilded armour shines against the sun, Dazzling our eyes from top of yonder hill, Like the bright streaks that flow from paradise. Sophy.  O conquest worthy the brave Persian swords! Let us descend from forth the town and meet them. Sultan. No. Sophy. Yes. Sultan.  Should Jove himself in thunder answer ‘Ay’ When we say ‘No’, we’d pull him from the sky! Sophy.  Should Sultan, Sophy, Priest or Presbyter, Or gods or devils or men gainsay our will, Him, them or thee would the brave Persian kill! Morates.  Quench your hot spleens with drops of sweet advice. Temper your rage with counsel, mighty kings! Sultan.  I say we will make peace with Christendom. Sophy.  I say the Persian scorns to be colleague Or to have part with them of Christendom. Sultan.  Yet hear my age! Sophy. Yet hearken to my youth! Morates.  My tongue give place unto the Sultan’s age. Turnus.  But I applaud the Persian’s youthful rage. Sultan.  Stay, lords, our grave experience does foresee The mischiefs that attend on this debate. We tread the path of our destruction. By our dissensions grow the Christians strong, Whom our united hearts may easily quell. Brave Persian Sophy, we commend your hate To them that have abhorred our pagan gods.

[sc.7 30

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  45.  Priest or Presbyter]  a reference to Prester John (‘Presbyter Johannes’ in Latin), a legendary Christian ruler of India to whom infinite riches and power were attributed, and with whom the Crusaders expected to join forces against the infidels, following a forged letter allegedly sent by him to the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus in 1165.   48.  spleens]  hot or proud tempers (OED n 5.a.). The metaphor refers to humoral medicine seeking to heal the body by correcting excess in any of the four humours, one of which was yellow bile emanating from the spleen and producing choler.   51.  colleague]  confederate, ally (OED n 2).   61–2.  we commend … them]  ‘we praise the hatred you feel towards them’.

sc.7]

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Yet temper it with wisdom, valiant prince. ’Tis our security I would increase, When with my words I mention gentle peace. Morates.  Experience does instruct the Sultan’s tongue. Hearken to him, he speaks judicially. Sophy.  My tongue a while gives licence to mine ear. The depth of your grave wisdom let us hear. Sultan.  Then thus: let’s send unto the Christians’ host To know what cause has brought them thus far armed. If peacably they come to visit here The ancient relics of their Saviour’s tomb, Peace shall conduct them in, and guard them out. But if they come to conquer Sion’s hill, And make irruption through our triple walls, Death and despair shall ambush in their way, And we will seize the ensigns they display. Sophy.  My youth yields willingly to your grave years; Let it be so. But whom shall we elect To be created lords ambassadors? Sultan.  Morates shall be one, for I am sure He will employ his tongue, peace to procure. Sophy.  Turnus another. He that all things dares, Will with defiance stir them up to war. Sultan.  Morates and brave Turnus, speed you straight Unto the Christian host. Say if they come Like pilgrims, to behold the Sepulchre, Our gates stand open to receive them in; And be you painful to persuade a peace. But if they stand upon their hostile ground, Say that our breasts are armed, our swords are keen; Bold are our hearts, and fiery is our spleen. And so be gone! Morates. Ay, to persuade a peace! Turnus.  I go, the furious rage of war t’increase! Sultan.  We will meantime conduct our royal host. One half is mine, the other you shall lead, To intercept them ere they win the sight

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Exit. Exit.

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  67.  judicially]  with sound judgement, judiciously.   75.  Sion’s hill]  Mount Zion, the biblical Temple Mount in Jerusalem.   76.  triple walls]  the walls attributed to David and Solomon (eleventhth century BC), added to by Agrippa (AD 41–4), rather than the contemporary walls built by Suleiman the Magnificent (1535–42).   90.  painful]  assiduous, diligent (OED a 4.b.).

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[sc.8

Of these invincible and high-built walls. Brave Persians, we will both in ambush lie; Sure now the Christians are all come to die!

100 Exeunt.

Scen e 8 Enter tan cre d with b e l l a f r a n c a, richly attired (she somewhat affecting him, though she makes no show of it), ro bert of Normandy, the four brothers and the f r e n c h lady like a page. Tancred.  Behold, brave Christian princes, all the glory That Tancred can inherit in this world. Eustace.  Part of it’s mine. Charles. And part belongs to me. Godfrey.  A heavenly mixture. Now, beshrew my heart, But Godfrey with the rest could cry half part. Guy.  I am all hers. Robert. That lady seems to me The fairest creature ever eye did see. Bella Franca.  (In private) Tancred, of all, thy face best pleases me. Tancred.  Fair lady! Eustace. Madam! Charles. Mistress! Godfrey. Beauteous love! Guy.  Bright goddess! Robert. Nymph! French Lady. Love whom ye will, say I, So ye affect not my belovèd Guy! Tancred.  Lords, she is mine! Eustace. When did my interest cease? Charles.  When I am here, you brother outlaw, peace! Godfrey.  Why should not I enjoy her? Robert. Why not I? Guy.  She can have none but me. Eustace and Charles. That we deny. Bella Franca.  Princes, what means this frenzy in your hearts? Or has some necromantic conjurer Raised by his art some fury in my shape, To work sedition in the Christian camp? You have confirmed by general parliament A statute that must stand inviolate: Namely, that mutiny in prince or peasant

SCENE 8]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  0.3. brothers] This ed.; brethren Q1, Q2.

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sc.8]

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Is death; a kingdom cannot save his life. Then whence proceed these strange contentions? Charles.  I seized her first. Eustace. I first her thoughts did prove. Tancred.  I plead the composition for my love. Robert.  If wealth will win the thoughts of that chaste lady, I’ll bid as fair as any for her love. Godfrey.  If valour may achieve her, I, ’mongst many, Will bid more warlike blows for her than any. Guy.  Nay, if you go to scrambling, this for me!

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Draws. French Lady.  Speed they that list, so you repulsèd be! Bella Franca.  Yet hear me, princes. Eustace. Hence with frivolous words! Godfrey.  Stand we to prate, when others draw their swords? Draws. Charles.  Speak thou my cause! Draws. Tancred.

This shall my pleader be!

35

Draws. Guy.  Thou art for us! Robert. And sword, speak thou for me! Bella Franca.  He that best loves me, pierce me with his sword, Lest I become your general overthrow! I do conjure you, by the love you bear me, Either to banish this hostility, Or all at once to act my tragedy! A blow is death proclaimed by parliament: Can ye make laws, and be the first that break them? Knew I that this my beauty bred this strife, With some black poison I would stain my cheeks, Till I looked fouler than an Ethiop. Still do ye brandish your contentious swords? This night shall end my beauty, and tomorrow Look to behold my crystal eyes scratched out, My visage martyred, and my hair torn off.

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31.1.]  Q2; Draw Q1.  34.1.]  This ed.; Draw Q1, Q2.  35.1.]  This ed.; Draw Q1, Q2.   31.  scrambling]  struggling with others for mastery.   34.  prate] chatter.

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He that best loves it, ransom it with peace; I will preserve it, if your fury cease. But if ye still persist, the heavens I call As my vow’s witness: I will hate ye all! Tancred.  To show my love, my sword shall keep in rest. Godfrey.  I’ll keep mine sharp for the brave Sultan’s crest. Guy.  Peace, sword. Robert. The Norman Robert keeps his keen T’abate the fury of the Sultan’s spleen. Charles.  My sword cries truce. Eustace. Blade, when thou next art seen, Thou mak’st thy lord a king, his love a queen. Bella Franca.  You have redeemed my beauty. Your last jar Had made perfection with my face at war! Eustace.  Lady, the virtuous motions of your heart Add to th’abundant graces of your fame. It was your beauty that did blind our souls, And in our close breasts placed oblivion. ’Tis true, we have ordained a strict decree, That whosoever in our Christian host Strikes with a sword in hostile enmity, Forfeits his life. Then break off this debate, And keep our own decrees inviolate.

[sc.8

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Enter, with a tucket before them, t u r n u s and mo rates. Morates.  Health to the Christians, from the mighty Sultan! Turnus.  Death and destruction, from the Persian Sophy! Robert.  That tongue brings peace; to thee will I attend. Godfrey.  That tongue brings war; thy motions we commend. Tancred.  Speak, Peace. Thy looks are smooth, we’ll list to thee. Charles.  Speak, War. Bring war, and we to war agree. Morates.  The Babylonian Sultan, mighty princes, Sends me to know the cause of this your march Into a land so far remote from ye. If ye intend to see your Prophet’s tomb, As holy pilgrims, peace shall guard your way. Eustace.  Peace we defy! Let’s hear what thou canst say.

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  61.  jar] discord.   71.1.  tucket]  trumpet announcing marching troops.   81.  your Prophet’s tomb]  the Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Christ, who is considered a prophet by Muslims.

sc.8]

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Robert.  Proceed, proceed. Guy. Do, and I’ll sound my drum, To drown his voice that does for parlance come! Eustace.  Why, I am born to nothing in this world But what my sword can conquer. Should we yield Our fortunes to base composition, I have no hopes mine honour to increase. Cursed be his base ear that attends to peace! Morates.  Let me conclude my message. Godfrey. Pagan, no. War’s friend, speak thou; I am to peace a foe. Turnus.  The Persian Sophy thus instructs my tongue: That prince amongst you whose heroic breast Dares show itself to his triumphant spear (Excepting but the name of Christian), Like to the Persian gods he honours him. But should he know a heart in these proud troops, And know that heart to be addict to peace, He’d hate him like a man that should blaspheme. In Sion towers hangs his victorious flag, Blowing defiance this way, and it shows Like a red meteor in the troubled air, Or like a blazing comet that foretells The fall of princes. Charles. Thine own prince’s fall! Turnus.  Then in one word: destruction to you all! Godfrey.  I had not thought such spirits had remained Within the warlike breasts of infidels. Eustace.  Dares the majestic spirit of thy king Answer a challenge? Dares he pawn his crown Against the hazard of ten thousand lives? Guy.  And who should fight against him? Eustace. I! Guy. Thou? Eustace. Aye, ’gainst him, and thee, and all the world That interdicts my honour! Guy. Me! Eustace. Thee? Guy.  Fire, rage and fury all my veins do swell. Be mute, my tongue; Bright sword my fury tell!

  85.  parlance]  parley (OED n 2).   101.  Sion]  see note to 7.11.

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[sc.8

Eustace.  Fire, mount ’gainst his mad fury, check his rage. Burn out then, flame; his blood thy heat shall ’suage! They fight, and are parted. Godfrey.  What have ye done? Injustice stains our crests, If for this act ye have not lost your lives! Robert.  I will not bear the badge of Christendom In such a Bedlam-mad society! Charles.  Cease to determine of their hare-brain rage, Till ye have sent the pagans from our tents. Tancred.  ’Tis well advised. Soldiers, take charge of them, Till we determine of our embassy. Morates.  I fear me, Turnus. Had you known before The spirits of these haughty Christians T’have been so full of envious chivalry, You would have tempered some part of your rage. You see they strive and fight amongt themselves, To practise hate against they meet with us. Turnus.  Morates, no. We scorn all abject fears, And they shall know our hearts as great as theirs. Godfrey.  It shall be so. Attend me, pagan lords: We come not with grey gowns and pilgrims’ staves, Beads at our sides and sandals on our feet, Fear in our hearts, entreaty in our tongues, To beg a passage to our Prophet’s grave. But our soft beaver fells we have turned to iron, Our gowns to armour, and our shells to plumes, Our walking staves we have changed to scimitars; And so with pilgrims’ hearts, not pilgrims’ habits, We come to hew way through your main armies, And offer at the Tomb our contrite hearts Made purple with as many pagans’ bloods As we have in our breasts religious thoughts.

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120. your] Q2; their Q1.  125. them] Q2; the Q1.   118.  ’suage]  assuage, calm.   122.  Bedlam]  the Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem near Bishopsgate in London, used as an asylum for the treatment of the mentally ill.   123.  determine of]  decide on.   132.  against they meet]  in anticipation of their meeting.   140.  fells] pelts.   141.  shells]  Pilgrims, especially but not only to St James of Compostella in Spain, commonly carried cockle-shells or wore them on their hats (OED n 1.a.). Compare Hamlet (4.5.25): ‘By his cockle hat and staff’.   144.  hew way]  open a way with cutting weapons.

sc.8]

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And so be gone, no words in trifling waste; Death follows after you with wings of haste! Turnus.  That prince speaks music, which does cheer my heart. Morates.  Princes adieu, with terror I depart.  Exeunt. Charles.  Now to these other captain-mutineers. What shall be done with them? Eustace. Even what you please. We have lived with pain, and we can die with ease. Guy.  What God has made, a God’s name do you mar? Death is the least I fear; now to the bar! Robert.  Lords, give me leave to temper our decree. The law is death, but such is our regard Of Christian blood, we moderate it thus: Because we know your worths, your lives are saved; Yet, that the world shall see we prize our laws And are not partial, should we sit on kings, We doom you everlasting banishment From out the Christian army. Eustace. Banishment? This was your doing. Well, I’ll be revenged. By all the hopes that I have lost, I will! Princes, your dooms are upright. I obey them, And voluntarily exile myself. Against my furious spirit I could weep, To leave this royal army and to lose The honour promised in the pagans’ deaths. Farewell to all, with tears of grief I go. Ye are all my friends, thou only art my foe! Guy.  Hold me so still. Where’er I next shall meet thee, This sword, like thunder, on thy crest shall greet thee. Banished the camp I go, but not so far But I will make one in this Christian war. Like an unknown knight I will bear a shield, In it engraven the trade I did profess, When once I was a goldsmith in Cheapside;

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  155.  a God’s name]  in God’s name (OED n 11).   156.  bar]  the iron bar used in breaking criminals on the wheel (OED n1 2.b.).   162.  sit on]  sit in judgement on.   167.  dooms] judgements.   167.  upright]  just, honourable (OED a 8.a.).   176.  Banished the camp]  banished from the camp. For the omission of the preposition, see Abbott 200.   180.  Cheapside]  See note to 5.229.

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And if I prosper, to these arms I’ll add Some honour; and the scutcheon I shall bear Shall to the pagans bring pale death and fear. Adieu, brave Christian lords, for I must stray; A banished man can never miss his way. Godfrey.  Why do you look so sad upon their griefs? Charles.  Ah, pardon me. My heart begot a thought At their departure, which had been of force T’have strained a tear or two from my moist eye. [Aside] How like he to Eustace! He to Guy! Godfrey.  A leaden weight of grief lies at my heart, And I could wish myself were banished too, To bear them in their sorrows company. Robert.  These, for example’s sake, must be removed, And though their absence will much weaken us, Yet we had rather put us in God’s guard, Lessening our own strength, than to bear with that Which might in time lead to our overthrow. March forward, lords; our love we will defer. Prince Tancred, till our wars’ chief heat be spent, Keep still this beauteous lady in your tent. 

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200 Exeunt.

Flourish. The two ladies [b e l l a f r a n ca and the f r e n c h l a dy] remain. French Lady.  My lord is banished. What shall poor I do? There is no way, but I must after too. Bet ere I go, some cunning I must use To make this lady my lord’s love refuse. Bella Franca.  Fair youth, why have you singled me alone? Is it to share joy, or partake my moan? French Lady.  Whether you please. (Apart) Invention, help me now To bring her out of love with my sweet lord; For should she love him, I were quite undone! Madam, in faith, how many suitors have you? Bella Franca.  More than I wish I had. First, the French general. French Lady.  O God, I fear! I think I am accursed: She loves him best, because she names him first! Bella Franca.  The English Robert, County Palatine, Two gentlemen that took me in the woods

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190.1.]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  201.2–3.  The two … remain]  This ed.; Manent two Ladies Q1, Q2.   182.  scutcheon]  shield marked with arms.   184.  stray]  walk aimlessly.

sc.8]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

(One is now banished, but the other still Stays in the army), then the Boulogne duke. French Lady.  And which of all these is the properest man? Bella Franca.  ’Faith, let me hear thy judgment. French Lady.  Prince Robert is a gallant gentleman, But the French lord uncomely and unshaped. Tancred’s a proper man, but the French lord, He has no making, no good shape at all. I could not love a man of his complexion. I would not have him if I were a lady, Had he more crowns than Caesar conquerèd. Bella Franca.  I see no such defects in that French lord. French Lady.  Ay, ay, ’tis so. Upon my life, she loves him! I must devise some plot, or they will use Some means to meet and marry out of hand! Lady, he was my master, but believe me, He is the most insatiate man for women That ever breathed. Nay, Madam, which is more, He loves variety, and delights in change; And I heard him say, should he be married, He’d make his wife a cock-queen! Bella Franca.  Why, though he do, ’tis virtue in a woman If she can bear his imperfections. French Lady.  Upon my life, they are made sure already; She’s pleased with any imperfections! What should I do? Bella Franca. Now, fair youth, list to me. I will acquaint thee with a secrecy: These lords so trouble me with their vain suits That I am tir’d and wearied, and resolve To steal away in secret from the camp. French Lady.  My Guy is gone, and she would follow him. I must prevent it, or else lose my love! Bella Franca.  Wilt thou consort me, bear me company, And share with me in joy and misery? French Lady.  Madam, I will. [Aside] She loves him, and no wonder. I’ll go, be’t but to keep them still asunder. Bella Franca.  Then from their tents this night we’ll steal away, And through the wide woods and the forests stray. Exeunt.

221. gentleman] Q2; gentlemen Q1.  251.1.]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.   237.  cock-queen]  the feminine form of ‘cuckold’.

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Scen e 9 Flourish. Enter s u lta n, so p h y, t u r n u s, mo rates, drums, ensigns and soldiers. Sultan.  Then your reports sound naught but death and war. Morates.  The Christians would not lend an ear to peace. Sophy.  Since they demean themselves so honourably, This earth shall give them honourable graves. Turnus.  By Pride herself are their proud ensigns borne. War in their tongues sits, in their faces scorn. Sultan.  Our resolutions shall control base fears. We are proud as they, our swords shall answer theirs. Sophy.  Didst thou deliver our strict embassy? Turnus.  I did, my lord. Sultan. Did they not quake to hear it? Turnus.  No more than rocks shake with a puff of breath. They come resolved, and not in fear of death. Sophy.  Looked not they pale? Turnus. With fury, not with fear. Th’were mad, because your forces were not there. Sultan.  Did you not dash their spirits? Fell not their eyes Down to the earth, when thou didst speak of us? Went not a fearful murmur through their host, When thou didst number our unnumbered power? Did not their faint swords tremble in their hands, At that name, ‘Sultan’? Sophy. Or when thou namedst me, My power, my strength, my matchless chivalry, Fell they not flat upon the earth with fear? Turnus.  No, but their proud hearts bounded in their breasts, Their plumes flew bravely on their golden crests, And they were ready to have fallen at jar, Which of them first should with the Persians war. Morates.  There was no tongue but breath’d defiance forth. I could not see a face but menaced death; No hand, but brandished a victorious sword.

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SCENE 9]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  14. Th’were] This ed.; The’were Q1, Q2.   3.  demean]  behave (OED v1 6.a.).   25.  jar]  See note to 8.61.   27.  but breath’d defiance] ‘that went without breathing defiance’. For the use of ‘but’ in the sense of ‘without’ and the ellision after it, see Abbott 118 and 123. The same construction with ‘but’ is used several times over the speaker’s next lines.

sc.9]

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255

They all cry ‘Battle! Battle!’, peace defy, And not a heart but promised victory. Sultan.  There’s not a heart shall ’scape our tyranny. Since they provoke our indignation, Like the vast ocean shall our courage rise, To drown their pride, and all their powers surprise! Sophy.  My scimitar is like the bolt of Jove, That never touches but it strikes with death. O how I long till we with spears in rests Strike out the lightning from their high-plumed crests! Sultan.  I would burn off this beard in such a flame As I could kindle with my puissant blows; Yet the least hair I value at more worth Than all the Christian empire. Sophy. Speak, brave Sultan: Shall our barbed horses climb yond mountain tops, And bid them battle where they pitch their tents? Sultan.  Courage cries ‘On’, but good advice says ‘Stay’. Experience bids us fight another way. Why should we tire our troops in search of them, That with audacious boldness seek out us? Let us stand to receive them when they come, And with a grove of pikes growing on this earth, Where now no tree appears, toss up their bodies, Whose corpses, by your strong arms kept aloof, May hang like bloody pendants on your staves! Sophy.  O sight best pleasing to the Persian gods! Turnus.  In the sky’s forehead shall the bright sun stand, Amazed to view that glorious spectacle, And with the pleasing sight forget his way, To grace our trophy with perpetual day. Morates.  But how shall we receive their armèd troops? What special order will your grace assign To them that shall command your companies? Sultan.  It shall be thus: this way the Christians march; The body of our host shall stay behind,

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43. SP.] Gasior; SOL. Q1, Q2.  44. barbed] This ed.; bar’d Q1, Q2.   38.  spears in rests] The rest was a projection attached to the side of a medieval cuirass against which a thick piece of leather nailed around the butt end of the lance was held during the charge, preventing the lance from being driven back upon impact (OED n2 2.a.).   41.  puissant] powerful.   44.  barbed horses]  horses caparisoned with a barb or bard, that is to say a protective covering of metal plates on their breasts and flanks (OED n2).

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To be a strength to fair Jerusalem. But we with certain soldiers secretly Will lie in ambush. The great Persian Sophy, With Turnus and a chief command of men, Shall guard that way. Myself and thou, Morates, Will keep this passage with a troop select, To seize on their forerunners, scouts and spies. Assist us, Fate! Ere long the world shall know Our glories by the Christians’ overthrow! This is my quarter, these my men shall be. Sophy.  Turnus, thou and these shall follow me.

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75 Exeunt.

S cen e 10 Enter rob e rt of Normandy. Robert.  O whither will blind love conduct my steps? Prince Tancred’s dear, and English Robert’s joy, Is fled in secret and has left our tents. Thus like an errant and adventurous knight, I have left the host to follow her fair search, And dare not trust the air with my intent. This way they say she went. The camp’s secure, This way unknown. In secret I pursue her.

5

Enter c h a r l e s. Charles.  This way my love went like a shooting star, Whose blaze-train does gild the firmament. Such glorious beauty adds she to the way, Making the dark night paths shine bright as day. Ye honoured arms, farewell, and camp, adieu, I do forsake myself, her to pursue. Robert.  Behold, a traveller! I will enquire If chance has cast his eye upon my love. Charles.  I was about to ask of yonder man, Whether her beauty had enriched his sight,

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75. Turnus] Gasior; Morates Q1, Q2. SCENE 10]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  1. whither] This ed.; whether Q1, Q2.  2. dear] This ed.; Deere Q1, Q2.   75.  Turnus] As Morates has just been given another commission by the Sultan, Gasior’s emendation is justified.   2.  dear]  See note to 5.201.   10.  blaze-train]  blazing trail.

sc.10]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

But ’tis my rival Robert. Charles, obsure thee, For should he see thee, he would quickly judge What adamant had drawn me to these woods. One case, I see, has made us errants both. To be found wand’ring thus I should be loath. Robert.  Love that drew me has drawn that knight along; Being but a child, a giant’s not so strong.

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Enter s u lta n, mor at e s and soldiers. Sultan.  Stand, Christians! By your crosses on your breasts, Ye’re marked for death and base destruction! Robert.  What are ye, that like cowards, with such odds Assault us thus unfurnished for the wars? Sultan.  I am the Sultan, these my men at arms, That lie to intercept you and prepare For your accursèd lives this fatal snare. Charles.  The Sultan, the great enemy to Christ, The devil’s lieutenant, viceroy under him! Brave English Robert, since our frowning stars Have brought us to this narrow exigent, And trained us hither with a chain of love To perish by the swords of infidels, Stand foot to foot! Robert.  Tush, I am pagan swords’ proof, and my stars Have marked me for a conqueror in these wars! Sultan.  Upon them, soldiers! Pity they despise. Scarce can the world afford a richer prize!

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Alarum. They fight, and are both taken. Charles.  Thou glorious eye of heaven, be ever blind. Mask thy bright face in clouds eternally. Dark vapours and thick mists thy front embrace, And never shine to look on my disgrace! Robert.  A prisoner, Robert? This my comfort be: He makes me bound that best can set me free! Sultan.  Take them to guard. This entrance to our wars Is full of spirit and begets much hope. We will not yet examine what ye are,

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34. lieutenant] Q2; Liuetenant Q1.   a      

25.]  ‘Despite Love’s traditional representation as the child Cupid, it is stronger than giant’. 36.  exigent] extremity. 37.  trained]  lured by using a drag or bait (OED v2 3). 49.  He] God.

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Till tortures wring it from your slavish tongues. That done, your bloods these champains shall imbrue; Meantime we’ll wait for more of your loose crew!

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Enter g u y with his shield, and a Page brings his sword and targe; in each of his hands a poleaxe. Guy.  I am turned wild man since I used these forests, And I have won more weapons in these woods, From outlaws whom my sword has vanquished, Than I can carry on my back with ease! I have swords, targets, pikes and partisans; Poleaxes, maces, clubs and horsemen’s staves; Darts, halberds, long swords, pistols, petronels; All which I have conquered. At this mountain ridge, Two villains with these weapons set upon me, But with my sword I made them turn their heels And leave these trophies which I thus support, And bear upon my shoulders, conqueror-like. What, do I see an ambush? By their arms, They should be pagans. Robert prisoner! With him a Christian leader! O my God, Thou hast either brought me to revive my name By rescuing these, or here to die with shame! Come life, come death! A banished man will try To live with honour, or with honour die. Robert, break from thy guard, make them dismayed! Receive these weapons, God has sent thee aid! Robert.  God, and Saint George! Charles. Now, by the Sultan’s crown, If I can wield this weapon, he shall down! Guy.  The Christians’ God for us! Sultan. What, are they free? Alarum, drums! The heathen powers for me!

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66. leave] Q2; leaves Q1.   54.  imbrue] stain.   55.2.  poleaxe]  a weapon for use in close combat, consisting of an axe blade balanced at the rear by a pointed fluke (OED n 1.a.).   56.  used]  used to visit.   60.  targets]  See note to 6.276.   62.  petronels]  large pistols or carabines used in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries (OED n 1).   75.  dismayed]  overwhelmed with fear, appalled (OED a).

sc.11]

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They fight. The pagans are beaten off. g u y departs suddenly. Robert.  Some angel in the habit of a knight Has rescued us. Such heavy, downright blows Could never come from any mortal arm; For every blow he reached was certain death. Charles.  What is that power (if heavenly power he be), That we may laud and praise his deity? Robert.  Departed on a sudden, ere we know To whom our freedoms and our lives we owe. Charles.  By that inscription graven on his shield, We may perhaps descry him in the camp. Cease admiration then; let these events Hasten our steps back to survey our tents.

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90 [Exeunt.]

S cen e 11 Enter severally g od f r e y and ta n c r ed. Tancred. Godfrey! Godfrey. Tancred! Tancred.  Well met, my lords, in these unpeopled paths. What, has your love made you to leave the field? Godfrey.  Godfrey ne’er dreamt to have met with Tancred here. The lady that has fled from our chaste love (Whom, Tancred, I do more affectionate Because she much resembles my fair sister), Has caused me so much to forget myself, And play the wanderer in these unknown woods.

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Soft march. But soft, what drum should speak the pagans’ tongue? I fear we are betrayed. Ay, ay, ’tis so! Tancred, we are round compassed by the foe!

92.1.]  Gasior; not in Q1, Q2. SCENE 11]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  5. here] Q2; her’ Q1.   89.  graven] engraved.   90.  descry] identify.   92.1.]  The scene needs to be cleared before a similar ambush and providential rescue can take place for the sake of symmetry between the different brothers’ achievements.

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s u ltan, s o p h y and soldiers encompass the Christian princes. Enter e u stac e, and set them free. Eustace.  Thank me for this; for, next th’almighty powers, I have been the means to save your desperate lives. Now, Christian princes, I am quit with you For all the grace you have done me in the camp, And now you owe me for my banishment; And though you have exiled me from your tents, You have not power to keep me from the wars. Upon this shield, I bear the Grocers’ arms, Unto which trade I was enrolled and bound; And like a strange knight I will aid the Christians. Thou, trade, which didst sustain my poverty, Didst, helpless, help me; though I left thee then, Yet that the world shall see I am not ingrate, Or scorning that which gave my fortunes breath, I will enlarge these arms, and make their name The original and life of all my fame. But I am tired with travel. Shield, lie there. O that I could but see that lusty spirit, My arch-foe, rival in my banishment, To be revenged and end my hostile hate! I’ll dream I fight with him, to ease my spleen, And in that thought I lay me on this green.

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Sleeps. Enter g u y with a paper and his shield. Guy.  Arms, ye are full of hope and sweet success. The famous art, whose honoured badge ye are, First when I lived ’mongst London prentices, Gave me an honest and a pleasant life; Now in these woods have won me fame and honour; And I have rescued princes with this shield, And princes are indebted to these arms. And if I live, in memory of this, Within their fair hall shall this scutcheon hang, Till some smooth pen historify my name. What object’s that? A knight! Asleep or dead? O ’tis the base and ground of all my hate!

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35.1. Sleeps] Gasior; Sleep Q1, Q2.  46. Asleep] Gasior; a sleepe Q1, Q2.     v  

26.  ingrate] ungrateful. 28.  enlarge]  in the sense either of setting free, as from an apprentice’s bond (OED 6), or of endowing with gifts (OED v 7). 45.  historify]  relate the history of, record or celebrate in history (OED v 1).

sc.11]

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I’ll kill the villain. O dishounoured thought! Art thou not son unto the Boulogne Duke, And canst thou hatch dishonour? Arch-foe, live. I scorn advantage, should I fight with Mars. He bears this shield; I will exchange with his, And leave a motto written in my own Shall make him quake to read. Be swift, my pen, T’affright his sense when he shall wake again! ’Tis done. Then go with me, and mine stay here, Which in despite of thee, base knight, I wear! Exit. Eustace. [Waking] The hours have overrun me with swift pace, And time has fastened to him swallow’s wings. Come, sword; come, shield. But soft, thou art a stranger, And, pardon me, good shield, I know thee not! What have we here? ‘Ask not who that shield does owe, For he is thy mortal foe; And where’er he sees that shield, City, borough, grove or field, He that bears it, bears his bane: By his hand he must be slain. Thine, in spite of thee, he’ll bear, If thou dar’st his scutcheon wear. He writ this, that thy shield will keep, And might have slain thee being asleep.’ ’Tis a fine fellow, by this light he is! An honest rogue, and has a good conceit! Wear it? I’ll wear it. If I do not? Well, He needed not to have put in the word ‘dare’, For I dare! ‘Dare’, ay? He shall see I dare. Belike he fears I dare not challenge mine! Were’t fastened to the arm of Beelzebub, I would fight with him with firebrands for my shield. But dares he wear mine? On my life, he dares. I love him like my brother for this act, And I will bear this shield with as much pride As sat I in a chariot by Jove’s side! Shine bright, my stars, to do me some fair grace. Bring us to meet in some auspicious place. 58.1.]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  65. where’er] This ed.; where ere Q1, Q2.        

63.  owe]  See note to 6.116. 78.  belike]  perhaps, likely. 79.  Beelzebub] Satan. 84.  As sat I]  ‘as if I sat’ (see Abbott 107).

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Enter the ladies [f r e n c h l a dy and b e l l a franca] flying, pursued by the c l own. Clown.  Nay, you cowardly lady, that run away from the camp and dare not stand to it, I am glad I have light on you. Choose your weapon, choose your weapon! I am a soldier and a martial man, and I will offer you the right of arms: if you vanquish me, I’ll be your captive; if you be cast down I’ll carry you back prisoner! French Lady.  I wear a weapon that I dare not draw. Fie on this womanish fear! What shall I do? Bella Franca.  Some of my father’s spirit revives in me. Give me thy weapon, boy, and thou shalt see. I for us both will win sweet liberty! Clown.  I was never so overreached, and but for shame and that I am a man at arms, I would run away and take me to my legs! Have at thee, sweet lady!

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As they fight, e u s tac e comes in. Eustace.  Base villain, dar’st thou offer violence Unto a lady? Stay! Maintain thy challenge! Clown.  You think you have a fool in hand. No, by my faith, not I! If you have any business to the camp, farewell, I am running thither as fast as I can! Eustace.  Mount up, my soul, unto the height of joy! Saving my foe, whose honoured shield I bear, None living did I more desire to meet. Bella Franca.  Saving those Christian lords that seek my love, None living did I more desire to shun. Eustace.  Well met, brave saint, in these unpeopled paths. Fear no rude force, for I am civil born, Descended from a princely parentage, And though an exile from the Christians’ camp, Yet in my heart I wear the cross of Christ, Even in as deep a crimson as the best. Love me, though I am landless and remote From the fair clime where first I breath’d this air. Yet know I bear a kingdom in this sword, And ere I die, look to behold this front

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89. weapon] Q2; weapen Q1.  106. height] This ed.; heighth Q1, Q2.  112. born]  This ed.; borne Q1, Q2.        

88.  light]  lighted, chanced upon you (OED v1 10.d.). 98.  overreached]  overpowered, overwhelmed (OED v 2.c.). 102.  Maintain]  stand by. 120.  front] shield.

sc.11]

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Impaled and circled with a royal crown! Bella Franca.  I never marked this gallant half so much: He has my brother’s eye, my father’s brow, And he is Eustace all from top to toe! Eustace.  I had a sister, lady, with that red That gives a crimson tincture to your cheek, With such a hand hid in a glove of snow, That spake all music like your heavenly tongue, And for her sake, fair saint, I honour you. Bella Franca.  I had a brother, had not the rude seas Deprived me of him, with that manly look, That grace, that courage I behold in you, A prince, whom had the rude seas never seen, Even such another had young Eustace been! Eustace.  Eustace? Even such an accent gave her tongue, So did my name sound in my sister’s mouth! O Bella Franca, wert thou not obscured Within a cloud and mask of poverty, Such fame ere this had thy rare virtues won, Thus had thy beauty checked th’all-seeing sun! Bella Franca.  It is my brother Eustace! Eustace. View her well, Imagine her but thus attired, and she Would Bella Franca and my sister be! Bella Franca.  But strip my brother from his prentice coat, His cap, his common soldier’s base disguise: Even such a gallant as this seems to me, Such would my brother, my sweet Eustace, be! Eustace. Sister! Bella Franca. Brother! Eustace.  Make me immortal then, by heaven I vow, I am richer than the Persian Sophy now! Bella Franca.  All Asia flows not with more plenteous treasure Than I, to embrace my brother, my heart’s pleasure! How did you scape the waves? Eustace. How have you passed The perilous land, and crossed the seas so vast? Bella Franca.  Where are my brothers, Eustace? Eustace. O those words Pierce to my heart like darts and pointed swords!

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  121.  impaled] with the addition of a pale, that is to say a vertical line down the middle of the shield.   126.  tincture] colour.

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Omit these passions, sister, they are dead. But to forget these griefs, what youth is this? French Lady.  Page to the prince of France. Eustace. ’Tis he I hate As chief occasion of my banishment. Bella Franca.  Yet, my sweet brother, do not blame the youth. Full well he has demeaned himself with me. He never since we entered in these woods Left me in my distress. When we alone Sit in these deserts, never by rude force Did do me the least shame or violence. French Lady.  A good cause why I lead so chaste a life. A jealous man may trust me with his wife! Eustace.  Well, sirrah, for your truth and honesty I pardon thee, though I detest thy lord. French Lady.  Then let me change my habit, gentle sir, Lest in this shape I chance to meet my master. Then, if you please, I’ll clothe me like a lady And wait upon your sister in your tent. Eustace.  Nay, if it please thee, I am well content. French Lady.  My plot is good. Well, howsoe’er it prove, ’Twill either end my life, or win my love! Eustace.  Come, best part of myself, we now will go To wail our fortunes and discourse our woe. I will disguised into the famous siege, And in these arms make known my valour’s proof. You shall in secret in my tent abide; I to achieve fame will my spirits employ. After this grief my heart divines much joy.

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185 Exeunt.

185.1.]  Gasior; Exit Q1; not in Q2.   163.  demeaned]  See note to 9.3.   166.  Sit] sat.   181.  will disguised into]  ‘will go disguised into’ (for ellipses on verbs of motion with ‘will’, see Abbott 405).   185.  divines] foresees.

sc.12]

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S cen e 12 Enter ro be rt and ta n c r e d, g od f r e y and c harles, with their shields and scutcheons, drum and soldiers; g o df r ey’s shield having a maidenhead with a crown in it, c h a r l e s his shield the Haberdashers’ arms. Robert.  Behold the high walls of Jerusalem, Which Titus and Vespasian once broke down. From off these turrets have the ancient Jews Seen worlds of people mustering on these plains. O princes, which of all your eyes are dry, To look upon this Temple now destroyed? Yonder did stand the great Jehovah’s house. In midst of all his people there he dwelt. Vessels of gold did serve his sacrifice, And with him for the poeple spoke the priests. There was the Ark, the Shewbread, Aaron’s rod, Sanctum sanctorum and the cherubim. Now in that holy place, where God himself Was personally present, pagans dwell. False gods are reared, each temple idols bears. O who can see this and abstain from tears? Godfrey.  This way, this sacred path our Saviour trod, When he came riding to Jerusalem, Whilst the religious people spread his way

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SCENE 12]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  12. cherubim] This ed.; Cherubines Q1, Q2.   2.  Titus and Vespasian]  Vespasian (AD 69–79) and his son Titus (79–81) were both military leaders before becoming Roman emperors. Vespasian crushed the Jewish rebellion in Judea in 66, and Titus besieged and took Jerusalem in 70, destroying the Temple.   4.  mustering]  See note to 1.117 above.   11.  Ark] the Ark of the Covenant, containing the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments.   11.  Shewbread]  the twelve loaves of bread offered to God on a dedicated table and replaced every week in order for the faithful to be constantly in the presence of God while in the Temple.   11.  Aaron’s rod]  the rod that Moses’s brother Aaron changed into a serpent in the presence of Pharaoh and his sorcerers, and which was later kept in the Ark of the Covenant.   12.  Sanctum sanctorum]  The ‘Holy of Holies’, holiest part of the Tabernacle in the Temple, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.   12.  cherubim] heavenly protectors akin to angels, represented as statues in the Tabernacle and also figured on the mercy seat, the gold lid placed over the Ark of the Covenant.

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With flowers and garments, and ‘Hosanna!’ cried. Yonder did stand the great church where he taught, Confuting all the scribes and pharisees. This place did witness all his miracles. Within did stand the judgement seat, Where Pontius Pilate with the elders sat, Where they condemned him to be whipped and crowned, To be derided, mocked and crucified, His hands bored through with nails, his side with spears. O who can see this place and keep his tears? Charles.  On yond side of the town he died for us, At whose departure all these walls did shake, And the destroyed Temple’s veil did rend. The graves are to be seen, from which ghosts rose. There stood the Cross, there stands the Sepulchre. The place still bears the name of ‘Dead men’s bones’, And still the Tomb our Saviour’s livery wears. What eye can see it, and not melt in tears? Tancred.  No soldier but shall look with reverence Upon these fair and glorious monuments. To swear, or speak profanely, shall be death. I cast my heart as low as to this earth, And wish that I could march upon my knees, In true submission and right holy zeal. O, since our wars are God’s, abandon fears, But in contrition weep repentant tears! Robert.  Sound a parley! I see your hearts are fired, Your souls with victory from heaven inspired!

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Sound a parley. Enter upon the walls s u lta n, s o ph y, turnus, mor at e s, soldiers. Flourish. Sultan.  Why swarm these Christians to our city walls? Look, foreigners, do not the lofty spires And these cloud-kissing turrets that you see Strike deadly terror in your wounded souls? Go, Persian, flourish thy vermilion flag! Advance my standard high, the sight whereof Will drive these stragglers in disordered ranks,

50

33. graves] Q2; groves Q1.  49.  do not]  Q2; do not not Q1.   28.  bored] pierced.   32.  destroyed … rend]  recorded in Matthew, 27.51.   35.  ‘Dead men’s bones’]  ‘Place of a skull’ is the translation given in the Gospels for the Hebrew name ‘Golgotha’, the hill outside Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified.

sc.12]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

And in a hurly-burly throng them hence! Sophy.  See how they quake, to view our martial looks, As when a sturdy Cyclops rears aloft A boisterous truncheon ’mongst a troop of dwarfs! Godfrey.  Sultan and Sophy, ye damn’d hell-hounds both, So quakes the eagle to behold a gnat, The lion to behold a marmoset! I’ll beard and brave you in your own belief, As when the heathen god, whom you call Jove, Warred with the giant, great Enceladus, And flung him from Olympus’ two-topped mount, The swains stood trembling to behold his fall, That with his weight did make the earth to groan! So, Sultan, look when I have scaled these walls, And won the place where now thou standst secure, To be hurled headlong from the proudest tower, In scorn of thee, thy false gods and their power! Charles.  We will assail you like rebounding rocks, Bandied against the battlements of heaven! We’ll turn thy city into desert plains, And thy proud spires that seems to kiss the clouds Shall with their gilt tops pave the miry streets, As all too base for us to march upon. See’st thou this shield? However this device Seems not to rank with emperors, Sultan, know This shield shall give thy fatal overthrow! Sultan.  Such peals of thunder did I never hear. I think that very words these walls shall tear! Godfrey.  This shield, you see, includes two mysteries: A virgin crowned (it is the Mercers’ arms), Withal the picture of my love that’s fled. Both these I’ll grace, and add to them thy head! Sophy.  Methinks I see pale death fly from their words. Their speech so strong, how powerful are their swords!

267 55

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56. SP.] Gasior; PER.SOP. Q1, Q2.   55.  in a hurly-burly]  confusedly, in a disorderly manner.   58.  a boisterous truncheon]  a wildly swinging club.   62.  beard and brave you]  defy you daringly (OED v 3).   64.  Enceladus] one of the Giants opposing the Olympian gods in the Battle of Giants. He was overcome and buried under Mount Etna in Sicily.   66.  swains]  attendants and followers.   75.  spires that seems]  For the third person plural in ‘s’ for verbs, see Abbott 333.   76.  miry]  covered with mud.   78.  However]  however much, although (OED adv 1.c.).

268

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[sc.12

Charles.  Since first I bore this shield I quartered it With this red lion, whom I singly once Slew in the forest. Thus much have I already Added unto the Haberdashers’ arms. But ere I leave these fair Judean bounds, Unto the lion I’ll add your crowns! Turnus.  Send for some prisoners! Martyr, torture them Even in the face of all the Christian host! Sultan.  It shall be so. Morates, bring them forth! Robert.  No drop of blood falls from a Christian heart, But thy heart’s blood shall ransom!

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Enter some bringing forth old Boulogne [ol d earl] and other prisoners bound. Sultan. Bring them forth! Devise new tortures! O for some rare artist, That could invent a death more terrible Than are the everlasting pangs of hell! Old Earl.  O brethren, let not me move you to ruth! Happy is he that suffers for the truth; The joys to come exceed the present grief. Secure yourselves, for Christ is my relief. Godfrey.  Why shrinks the warm blood from my troubled heart? Charles.  Why starts my hair up at this heavy sight? Godfrey.  Say, father, are not you the Boulogne earl? Old Earl.  Fair son, I was the happen Boulogne earl. But now, my son – Charles. Call no man ‘son’, but me! Father, my sword shall win you liberty! Godfrey.  Peace, forgèd bastard, whatsoe’er thou be! My reverend father, call none ‘son’, but me, For in this sword does rest thy liberty! Charles.  Such mercy as my sword affords to pagans, He finds that calls me ‘bastard’! I am Charles. Father, you know me since I rescued you; I am your only son, the rest are dead.

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  89.  quartered]  made separate, diagonally opposite quarters (OED v 3.a.). Refers to the practice of adapting coats of arms to record significant achievements. See the titlepage engraving of Charles’s shield.   103.  ruth] pity.   110.  happen]  fortunate, blessed.

sc.12]

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Old Earl.  I know thee, Charles. Godfrey. But father, I am Godfrey, That by my valour have regained your right, Have got your dukedom from th’insulting French, And am myself invested Boulogne’s Duke! Old Earl.  I know thee, Godfrey. Charles. Godfrey! Godfrey. Brother Charles! The confident assurance of thy death Made me to give the lie to my own thoughts. Charles.  The selfsame strong opinion blinded me, Else for my brother I had challenged thee. Brother, you might have known me by the arms Which I have borne in honour of my trade. Godfrey.  Ah, but the resolution of thy death Made me to lose such thought. Robert. Let us rejoice, And to your plausive fortunes give our voice. Godfrey.  Prince Robert, did the time afford us leave, We would discourse the sum of our escapes; But to our father’s rescue! Charles. Yield him, slaves! Sultan.  Tush, we will keep him spite of all your braves. Godfrey.  Be that our quarrel. Charles. With courage, courage strives: We fight for Christ, our father, and our lives! Sophy.  Here stands my ensign, and by it a crown.

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Sets up his standard and crown. That you shall know the Persian honourable, He that can fetch this ensign from the walls Which I myself will guard, and leave some token Behind him, that his sword has conquered it, He shall enjoy them both. Sultan. And here stands mine, The Babylonian emperor’s royal standard.

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  133.  plausive]  laudable, winning approval (OED a 2).   137.  braves]  boastful challenges.   138.  With … strives]  a variation on the proverbial ‘Great courage is in great dangers tried’ (Tilley, C715).

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Sets up his standard and crown. By it I plant the rich Cilician crown, Guarded by me and my all-conquering troops. He that but leaves a note he has been here And scapes unslain, although he win them not, That Christian will I honour. Robert. Drums, alarum! Sultan.  As loud and proud defiance our drum sounds! Godfrey.  For Christ, my father, conquest and two crowns!

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Exeunt.

S cen e 13 Alarum. The Christians are repulsed. Enter at two several doors guy and e u s tace, climb up the walls, beat the pagans, take away the crowns on their heads, and in the stead hang up the contrary shields, and bring away the ensigns, flourishing them several ways. Enter s u ltan, s o p h y, mo r at e s, t u r n u s, with soldiers. Sultan.  Now the first wall is won, the ensigns seized, The crowns surprised, the Christians have the day. What, shall we leave the town? All. Ay, leave the town! Sophy.  ’Tis best, ’tis best to take us to the field. Turnus.  I think ’tis best that we make good the breach, And have no thought of marching towards the field. We leave a place of much security. All.  Why then make good the breach! Sultan. It shall be so. Gather our forces to make good the breach! Sophy.  Tush, why should we pent up in a town? Let’s ope the gates and boldly issue out, Leaving some few pikes to make good the breach. What say you, lords? Lords. Then let us issue out. All.  Set ope the gates, and let us issue out!

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146.1.  Sets up]  Gasior; set up Q1, Q2.  147. Cilician] This ed.; Cicilian Q1, Q2. SCENE 13]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.   147.  Cilician crown]  Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, ruled by Armenian kings at the time of the First Crusade and offering support to the Christian armies. Q1 and Q2’s misspelling may have been motivated by the 12.64 reference to the giant Enceladus, buried in Sicily.   10.  pent up]  For the use of adjectives as verbs, see Abbott 290.

sc.13]

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271

Sultan.  And so expose us to the general spoil? Keep the gates shut, defend them manfully! These Christians fight like devils. Keep fast the gates, And once again let us make good the wall. All.  Make good the walls! Make good the walls!

15

Enter at one door ro b e rt and c h a r l e s. They meet eus tace with his trophy. Enter at another door g o df r e y [and] tancred. They meet g u y with his trophy. Robert.  Triumphant honour hovers o’er our arms! What gallant spirit bravely has borne hence The emperor’s standard, slaughtered his proud guard, And in the stead thereof hung up his shield? Eustace.  Witness this royal crown upon my head: I seized the ensign, I hung up that shield! Godfrey.  What puissant arm snatched hence the Sophy’s standard? Guy.  This crown upon my head says it was I! Charles.  Forgetful Charles! Brave Robert, see the knight Whose valour freed us from the Sultan’s hands! Robert.  Renownèd Christian, ever honoured be. It was thy sword procured us liberty. Eustace.  By heaven, not I. I never came in place, Where Robert or that gallant were distressed. But there are others, thankless, whom I freed, And now, too proud, forget that honoured deed! Godfrey.  ’Twas he released us! Honoured stranger, thanks, But they are idle off’rings from true hearts. Prince Tancred and myself owe thee our lives. Guy.  You mock me, princes. Never did my sword Drink drop of pagans’ blood to set you free, But Robert and that prince unthankful be! Charles.  Whose shield is that? Eustace. Mine. Charles. Then to you we owe Thanks for our lives, the pagans’ overthrow! Eustace.  The shield I challenge, but the act deny. I never gave you life or liberty. Godfrey.  Whose shield is that? Guy. Mine. Godfrey. Then by thee we live.

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19.2.  GODFREY [and] TANCRED]  This ed.; Godfrey Tancred Q1; Godfrey, Tancred Q2.   23.  in the stead thereof]  in their stead.   44.  challenge]  lay claim to (OED v 5).

272

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[sc.13

Thou didst our desp’rate lives and freedom give. Guy.  What mean you, princes, to deride a stranger? These eyes did never see you two in danger. Eustace.  Who owes that shield? Guy. I! And who owes that? Eustace. I! Guy.  Thou knowst me then. Eustace. Thanks Fortune, that I do! Guy.  Have at thee, slave! Eustace. Brave foe, have at thee too!

50

Fight, and are parted by the Princes [rob e rt and tancred]. Godfrey.  Whate’er your quarrel be, contend no more. He draws his sword against me that fights again, For I am foe to all dissension. Charles.  So are we all, then end these wars in words; The pagans have employment for your swords. Eustace.  For one blow more, take here my crown amongst you! Now that my spleen is up, it will not down; I’ll give you all I have for one bout more! Guy.  Lords, take mine too! By heaven, I’ll pawn my life Against the Sultan’s head to bring it you, So you will let us try this mastery! Robert.  Kingdoms nor crowns can hire it at our hands! It shall not be, we say it shall not be! What are you, lords? We charge you by His honour Whom in your outward habit you profess, To tell us both what and from whence ye are. Guy.  You charge us deeply. I, a banished man Whom you for mutiny expulsed the camp. Yet was I leader of ten thousand French, But thought by you unworthy of these wars. Since my exile (Prince Robert, view me well), I freed you two from base captivity. ’Twas I that brought you weapons in the woods, And then you termed me some celestial power. But being now in safety, you forget Your dangers past and cancel that great debt. Eustace.  Nay, I am sure you long to know me too. I am your outlaw brother, one of your leaders, Banished with him, that from the Persians’ rage Freed Tancred and that valiant man at arms,

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  64.  Kingdoms nor crowns]  for the ellipsis of ‘neither’ before ‘nor’, see Abbott 396.   66.  What are you]  Who are you? For ‘what’ used as ‘who’, see Abbott 254.

sc.13]

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However now they can forget my prowess. What need you more? I am he that won this crown, And from these high walls plucked that ensign down. Robert.  You have redeemed all your offences past, Deserving best in this society. [To Guy] But when you freed me, you did bear that shield. Guy.  I did, but since exchanged it with my foe. Godfrey. [To Eustace] And you did bear that shield. Eustace. True, I did so. Ah, had I been awake, thou knowst my mind, Thou hadst writ thy ruin in blood! Guy. Thy words are mine! Charles.  Leave, brother Godfrey and the Boulogne Duke. Eustace. How! Guy. What! Charles.  Do you not know these faces? Godfrey.  Brother Charles! Eustace. Brother! Guy. Charles! Godfrey.  I’ll question with them, for may it not be They might escape the seas as well as we? I had a brother, sir, resembled you. Eustace.  I had a brother too resembled you. Charles.  The Boulogne Duke, if ever you have heard Of such a man, had once a son like you. Guy.  Ay, and another son as much like you. Godfrey.  My brother’s name was Eustace. Eustace. Godfrey, mine. Guy.  That duke called his son Charles. Charles. Mine called his Guy. Godfrey.  My brother Eustace! Eustace. Godfrey! Charles. Guy! Guy. And Charles! All. Brothers! Robert.  This accident breeds wonders in my thoughts. Godfrey.  O let me curse that head that envied thee! Guy.  Nay, curse my heart that emulated thee! Eustace.  My brother outlaw, and my own true brother! Charles.  Forever thus let us embrace each other! Godfrey.  When I was cast upon the Boulogne strand, I thought none had escaped the seas but I.

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101. They] Gasior; The Q1, Q2.   84.  What need you]  Why need you. For ‘what’ used as ‘why’, see Abbott 253.

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Guy.  When I was thrown upon the French king’s coast, I thought none had escaped the seas but I. Charles.  I thought the seas had favoured none but me, When I attained the shores of Italy. Eustace.  Ireland took me, and there I first touched ground, Presuming that my brothers all were drowned. Robert.  Were ye the four young London prentices, That in the ships were wrecked on Goodwin Sands, Were said to have perished then of no repute? Now come the least of you to lead a host, And to be found the sons to a great duke! Godfrey.  Witness my shield the trade I have professed. Guy.  Witness my shield I am one amongst the rest. Charles.  Witness thou mine. Eustace. And witness thou for me. Robert.  We witness all your martial chivalry. Eustace.  And now, my foe turned brother, end our hate, And praise that power divine who guides our state! Guy.  Divide we hands and hearts. What hatred rests, Power out in thunder on the pagans’ crests! Eustace.  Our joys are not at full, they shall not yet Know where my sister and their love remains, Until these wars have end. O had our God Not laid our fortunes open, but a brother Been brought in triumph to a sister’s bed, Clouds of despair had masked our sun of joy! Yet will I keep her secret, and the rather, To crown our haps when we have freed our father!

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Enter t u r n u s. Turnus.  Christians, once more defiance in my tongue Sounds dismal terror in your fearful ears! The princes whom I serve grieve they have mured Such a huge army in a wall of stone, And they are thus resolved To leave all place of scorned advantages, And in a pitched field end this glorious war.

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  125.  Goodwin Sands]  a sand bank in the English Channel near the strait of Dover, the site of many shipwrecks in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Compare The Merchant of Venice, 3.1.3–4: ‘a ship of rich lading wrecked on the narrow seas – the Goodwins I think they call the place’.   126.  of no repute]  having gained no fame or honour.   143.  the rather]  all the more so (OED adv 4.a.).   144.  haps]  good fortunes, successes.   147.  mured]  immured, confined.

sc.14]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

275

Say, will ye meet them? Robert. Though he trust his strength, Yet will we meet his forces face to face, When the dry earth shall quaff our bloods apace! Guy.  And tell the Sultan from a Christian prince, That won from him these colours and this crown, In that pitched field my head this crown shall bear, And scarf-like these athwart my breast I’ll wear. Eustace.  This for the Persian’s sake I’ll wear in sight, And under his own ensign this day fight. Charles.  Go tell the Sultan that he wears my crown. Fortune has given it me, it is mine own. Godfrey.  If thou hast more to say concerning war, Omit thy braves and trifling circumstance. We’ll meet you sooner than you can desire. Be gone, be gone, our hearts are all on fire! Turnus.  Brave lords, our conquests will be honourable, Because we have to deal with honoured foes. Our pikes stand to receive you like a wood; We’ll flake our white steeds in your Christian blood! Tancred.  Prepare to meet them, and appoint our powers; This day the city and themselves are ours! Robert.  Thou under whom we fight, this day defend us, For unto Thy protection we commend us.

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Exeunt.

S cen e 14 Enter at one door, with drum and colours, s u ltan, s o ph y, m o r at e s, t u r n u s and soldiers. Sultan.  Great monarchs, kings and princes of the East, Ye come t’encounter with a valiant foe, Such as have swum huge rivers, climbed the Alps, That can endure sharp hunger, such as shrink not To have their bloods sod with the dog days’ heat, Nor to be curdled with cold Saturn’s rod.

5

SCENE 14]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  6. curdled] This ed.; crudled Q1, Q2.   154.  quaff]  drink deeply.   164.  braves]  See note to 12.137.   170.  flake] streak.   5.  sod]  boiled (OED a and n2 1.a.)   6.  curdled] congealed.   6.  Saturn’s rod] Saturn was the Roman god of agriculture and as such associated with the change of seasons, in particular the winter solstice.

276

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[sc.14

What honour were it for a host of Giants To combat with a Pygmy nation? No, lords, the foe we must encounter with Is full of spirit and majestic spleen, Strong, hardy, and their hearts invincible. Destroy these, and you win yourselves a name, And all the nations of the earth shall fear you. Sophy.  The more renowned the foe is, the more famous Shall be our conquest, the more great their fall. Come, lords, divide we our battalions! Sultan.  Be yours the vaward. Sophy. I will give the charge. Sultan.  Turnus, have you the rereward, I the battle. Morates, thou this day shall lead the horse; Take thou the cornet! Turnus, thou the archers; Be thine the guidon! I, the men at arms; Be mine this ensign! Sophy.  Then mount our cannons, let our flanking pieces Rail on the Christian army with wide mouths; For I this day will lead the forlorn hope. The camisado shall be given by me! Turnus.  Already they have placed their battery, Their ordinance stand fit to beat the flanks. Sultan.  My cannoneers need no instruction. Come, let us line our pikes and musketeers, And so attend the Christians’ fatal charge!

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Enter marching rob e rt, ta n c r e d, g od f r e y, guy, ch arles, e u stac e, drum and soldiers. Robert.  Princes, this day we are espoused to death. A better place to die in, than this vale   10.  spleen]  See note to 7.48.   17.  vaward]  See note to 3.46.   18.  rereward]  See note to 3.46.   18.  the battle]  the main body of the army (OED n 9).   19.  the horse]  the cavalry.   20.  cornet]  battle horn.   21.  guidon]  flag or standard.   24.  Rail]  pour (OED v3).   25.  forlorn hope]  a picked body of men detached to the front to begin the attack, skirmishers (OED n 1.a.).   26.  camisado]  a night attack, originally one in which the attacking party wore shirts (‘camisa’ in Spanish) over their armour as a means of mutual recognition (OED n 1.a.).   28.  ordinance] artillery.   30.  pikes and musketeers]  soldiers armed with pikes and muskets.   31.  attend]  look out for, wait for (Fr. ‘attendre’).

sc.14]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

In which our Saviour’s Sepulchre remains, What man in all our army could desire? Speak, how have you disposed our officers? Godfrey.  Your grace is captain general of the army. Guy.  And Godfrey, you, high marshal and master of the camp, And as assistants you have under you The sergeant major, quarter-master, provost, And captain of the spions. Godfrey.  My brother Guy, chief general of the horse. To serve him, his lieutenant colonel, Captains and scout masters. Eustace.  My brother Charles, general of the artillery. Under him, his lieutenant commissaries of munitions, Gentlemen of the artillery, colonel of pioneers, Trench masters and carriage masters. Charles.  My brother Eustace, treasurer of the camp, And under him, auditors, muster-masters and commissaries. Eustace.  Prince Tancred is our royal secretary, Without whom nothing is concluded on. Thus are the special offices disposed. Tancred.  Princes, what order take you for the assault? Robert.  One half maintain the battery, beat the walls, Whilst the other keeps them play in the open fields. Godfrey.  We shall not need to block the breach with forts, Victuals and forage are at pleasure ours. Stockadoes, palisadoes stop their waters, Bulwarks and curtains all are battered down, And we are safe entrenched by pioneers.

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  41.  spions]  spies or scouts (Fr. ‘espion’).   47.  pioneers]  infantry men going with or ahead of the army to dig trenches, repair roads and clear the way for the main body of troops (OED n 1.a.).   50.  auditors]  officials in charge of examining accounts (OED n 3).   50.  muster-masters]  officers in charge of the muster roll or list of soldiers (OED n 1.a.).   50.  commissaries]  officers in charge of the supply of food, stores, and transport for a body of soldiers (OED n1 5.a.).   56.  keeps them play]  keeps them occupied, to distract or delay them (OED n 3.b.).   58.  forage]  provender or food for the army horses.   59.  Stockadoes]  stockades. These were defensive barriers of stakes or pikes placed across a river (OED n 1).   59.  palisadoes] palisades. These were fences made of wooden pales or stakes, forming an enclosure or defence (OED n 1.a.).   60.  curtains]  walls between two towers or gates (OED n1 4.a.).   61.  pioneers]  See note to 14.47.

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Our casemates, cavaliers and counterscarps, Fortifications, ramparts, parapets, Are well surveyed by all our engineers; That we at pleasure may assault the way Which leads unto the gate Antiochia. Guy.  Whilst you intend the walls, shall my bard horse Give a brave onset, shivering all their pikes, Armed with their greaves and maces and broad swords, Proof cuirasses and open burgonets. Charles.  Yet let us look our battle be well-manned, With shot, bills, halberds and proof targeteers. Eustace.  No man but knows his charge. Brothers and friends, See where they stand for us. This night shall hide All their bright glory which now swells with pride! Sultan. Christians? Eustace. Pagans? Sultan.  Behold our camp! Robert. Sultan, survey ours too! Sultan.  From Ganges to the bay of Calicut, From Turkey and the threefold Araby,

[sc.14

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63–4.]  This ed.; lines printed in reverse order in Q1, Q2.   62.  casemates]  vaulted chambers built in the thickness of the ramparts, with openings from which to shoot at the enemy (OED n 1.a.).   62.  cavaliers]  fortification works raised ten or twelve feet higher than the rest, to command the adjacent works and the country around (OED n 4).   62.  counterscarps]  the outer walls or slopes of the ditch, supporting a covered way (OED n 1).   63–4.] Line 63 is a continuation of the list started on the previous line, hence my reversal of Q1 and Q2’s lineation.   66.  gate Antiochia] one of the four gates of Jerusalem at the time of the first Crusade.   67.  intend]  proceed on to (OED v 6.a.).   67.  bard horse]  See note to 9.44.   68.  onset]  first attack.   69.  greaves]  armour for the leg below the knee (OED n2 1).   70.  Proof] impenetrable.   70.  open burgonets]  helmets with open visors (OED n b).   71.  our battle]  See note to 14.18.   72.  bills]  broadswords (OED n1 1).   72.  targeteers]  a foot-soldier armed with a targe or small shield. See note to 6.276.   73.  No man … charge]  ‘There is no man that does not know his charge’. On this construction, see Abbott 123.   80.  threefold Araby]  the three regions of Araby according to ancient geographers: ‘Arabia Petraea’ (‘rocky Arabia’, roughly corresponding to modern-day Syria, Jordan and the Sinai), ‘Arabia Deserta’ (‘desert Arabia’, the interior of the Arabian peninsula) and ‘Arabia Felix’ (‘fortunate Arabia’, roughly corresponding to modern day Yemen, greener than the rest of the peninsula).

sc.14]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

From Euxin eastward unto Nubia’s bounds, From Libya and the land of Mauritans, And from the Red Sea to the wilderness, Have we unpeopled kingdoms for these wars, To be revenged on you, base Christians! Robert.  From England, the best brood of martial spirits, Whose walls the ocean washes white as snow, For which you strangers call it Albion, From France, a nation both renowned and feared, From Scotland, Wales, even to the Irish coast, Beyond the pillars great Alcides reared, At Gades in Spain unto the Pyrenee hills, Have we assembled men of dauntless spirits, To scourge you hence, ye damnèd infidels! Sophy.  Within our troops are sturdy bands of Moors, Of Babylonians, Persians, Bactrians, Of Grecians, Russians, of Tartarians, Turks, Even from the floods that grow from Paradise Unto this place where the brook Kidron runs. Guy.  Within our troops are English, French, Scotch, Dutch, Italians of Prince Tancred’s regiment, Even from the seas that wall in Albion, As far as any river or brook runs That Christians drink on, have we people here– Turnus.  To make our streets red with your Christian blood! Charles.  To drown you slaves in a vermilion flood! Morates.  To burn your bodies o’er your Prophet’s grave! Eustace.  To lead your Emperor captive like a slave!

279

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81. Euxin] This ed.; Sauxin Q1, Q2.  99. Kidron] This ed.; Kedron Q1, Q2.   81.  Euxin]  Black Sea. Q1 and Q2’s ‘Sauxin’ is probably a misprint, though Nubia is not located to its east.   81.  Nubia’s bounds]  Nubia was an ancient region along the river Nile and situated at the frontier between modern Egypt and Sudan.   91.  the pillars … reared]  The Pillars of Hercules (the rocks Gibraltar and Ceuta), on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar, were thought by the ancients to have been set up by Hercules (Alcides) as the western boundary of the world.   92.  Gades]  Arabic name of Cadiz, a port in Andalusia, which was under Moorish rule from 711 to 1262.   98.  the floods … Paradise]  the four rivers of Paradise (Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel or Tigris, and Euphrates) are listed in Genesis, 2.10–14.   99.  brook Kidron]  The Kidron valley is situated on the eastern side of the Old City of Jerusalem. The water of the Gihon Spring (a homonym of the second river of Paradise) used to flow through it, which may explain the reference to the rivers of Paradise in the previous line.

280

t h e fou r pren ti ces of london

[sc.14

Sultan.  To make your guide trot by my chariot wheel! Tancred.  To lash your armour with these rods of steel! Sophy.  Then to extirp you all! Ye Persian powers, Assist our courage, make the conquest ours. Robert.  God, match thy might with theirs, protect us too, To let this people know what thou canst do. Sultan.  A charge, a charge! Rail, drums, and cannons, roar! Christians at home, your friends abroad deplore! Godfrey.  Christians at home, abroad our conquests’ fame! Thou God of hosts, this day make known thy name!

110

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Alarum. Join battle. The Christians are beaten off. The s ultan victoriously leads off his soldiers marching. Enter ch arles and g o df r e y with pistols. Charles.  O God, that multitude should more than manhood, That we should thus be borne down with a press, Be thronged and shouldered from the place we keep! Godfrey.  For every man we lead, the foe has ten, Their weapons’ tops appear above their heads, In as thick number as the spikes of grain Upon a well-tilled land. They have more lives Than all our tired arms could send to death, If they should yield their bare breasts to our swords. Charles.  What should we do? We are encompassed round, Girded with thousand thousands in a ring, And like a man left on a dangerous rock, That waits the climbing tide rise to destroy him, What way so e’er he looks, sees naught but death, So we. The bloody tide grows up apace, Whose waves will swallow us and all our race. Where’s Guy and Eustace? Godfrey. Gone to scale a tower In which our father lies. O, I did see them Cut down a wood of men upon the sudden!

120

125

130

135

132.  so e’er]  This ed.; so er’e Q1; so ere Q2.   109.]  a possible echo of Tamburlaine’s forcing Bajazet’s tributary kings to draw his chariot in Marlowe’s 2 Tamburlaine.   117.  abroad] spread abroad (with the verb of motion understood, see OED adv 3.b.).   119.  should more]  should do more.   131.  waits]  waits for, awaits with apprehension (OED v1 5.a.).   135.  Where’s … Eustace]  for the plural in ‘s’ with two singular nouns, see Abbott 336.

sc.15]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

281

Their swords cut lances, as a scythe cuts grass, Their valour seems to me miraculous. Thou Saviour of the world, whose Cross we bear, Infuse our hearts with courage, theirs with fear!

140 Exeunt.

S cen e 15 Enter s u ltan, so p h y and soldiers. Alarum. Enter guy and e u s tac e with their father [ol d e a rl]. Eustace.  A Sion! A Sion! Guy.  A Jerusalem! Eustace.  A father, and in him a crown of joy! Guy.  A Sion! A Jerusalem! A father! Eustace.  Through their decurions, their centurions and legions, Captains of thousands, and ten thousand guards, We have ventured even upon the cannons’ mouth, And scaled the bulwarks where their ordinance played. The strength of armies triumphs in those arms. We have surprised the fortress and the hold. My shield I have had cut piecemeal from mine arm. But now you would have taken me for an archer, So many arrows were stuck here and here. The pagans thought to make a quiver of me!

5

10

Alarum. Enter pagans. See, brother, how the foe fresh forces gather. A Sion! A Jerusalem! A father!

15

Everyone by turn takes up their father and carries him. Enter the two [other] brothers [g o df r e y and c h a r l es]. They aid and second them, and with a shout carry him away.

SCENE 15]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.   1.  A Sion]  ‘To Sion’ (Fr. ‘À Sion’), the Crusaders’ rallying cry. The same construction is used again with ‘A Jerusalem’ and ‘A father’ later in this scene.   5.  decurions] erroneously used for ‘decuries’ or companies of ten in the Roman army, to which the pagans are assimilated here. A decurion was the officer at the head of a decury.   5.  centurions] erroneously used for ‘centuries’ or companies of a hundred men in the Roman army. A centurion was the officer at the head of a century.   8.  ordinance]  See note to 14.28.   10.  hold] stronghold.

282

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[sc.16

S cen e 16 Alarum. Enter su lta n, s o p h y. Sultan.  An engineer! Call forth an engineer! Sophy.  Why, what to do, my lord? Sultan.  I’ll make these turrets dance among the clouds, Before the Christians shall inhabit them! Sophy.  Yet there is hope of conquest. Fight, brave Sultan! Sultan.  These Christians rage like spirits conjured up. Their thund’ring ordinance spit huge clouds of fire. They run against the walls like iron rams, And bear them down afore them with their breasts! Sophy.  Fortune, thou art too envious of our glory. Behold the two greatest emperors of the earth, The Babylonian Sultan and great Sophy. Unveil thine eyes, and look upon our falls! Sultan.  Fortune and Fate, and Death, the devil and all Oppose themselves against us.

5

10

Enter mo r at e s and t u r n u s. Now, what news? Morates. Death. Sophy.  What news bringst thou? Turnus. Confusion. Sultan.  That Death was once my slave, but now my lord. Sophy.  Confusion was once page unto my sword. Is the day lost? Turnus. Lost. Sultan.  Must we needs despair? Morates. Despair. Sultan.  We will not. We will die resolvedly. The palace we will make a slaughterhouse, The streets a shambles, kennels shall run blood, Down from mount Sion, with such hideous noise As when great showers of water falls from hills.

15

20

25

SCENE 16]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.   1.  engineer]  artillery operator, gunner.   7.  ordinance]  See note to 14.28. For the plural ‘s’ dropped at the end of nouns in ‘ce’, see Abbott 471.   9.  bear them down]  push to the ground, overthrow (OED v1 27)   9.  afore them]  before them.   27.  shambles]  a place of slaughter (OED n1 5.a.).   29.  showers … falls]  For the third person plural in ‘s’, see Abbott 333.

sc.17]

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283

Sophy.  Through which way did they make irruption first? Turnus.  Through the gate called Antiochia. The selfsame breach that Roman Titus made, When he destroyed this city, they burst ope. Sultan.  There is some virtue in the cross they wear. It makes them strong as lions, swift as roes. Their resolutions make them conquerors. They have ta’en our royal standard from the walls, In place whereof they have advanced their cross. Sophy.  I will not aye survive so foul a shame. Once more unite our powers! I mean ourselves, For all powers else have failed us. Bravely fight, That our declining sun may make their night!

30

35

40

Enter the four brothers. Sultan.  Christians, base Christians, hear us when we call: Eternal darkness shall confound you all! Alarum. The four brothers each of them kill a pagan king, take off their crowns and exeunt, two one way and two another way. Retreat.

S cen e 17 Enter ro be rt, ta n c r e d, g od f r e y, g u y, c harles, eus tace, o l d e a r l, drum, colours and soldiers. Robert.  Now smooth again the wrinkles of your brows, And wash the blood from off your hands in milk. With penitential praise laud our God, Ascribe all glory to the heavenly powers, Since Sion and Jerusalem are ours.

5

42.1. brothers] This ed.; brethren Q1; brethen Q2.  44.1. brothers] This ed.; brethren Q1, Q2.  44.1.  take off]  Q2; take of Q1. SCENE 17]  This ed.; not in Q1, Q2.  0.2.  OLD EARL]  This ed.; Old Duke Q1, Q2.   31.  Antiochia]  See note to 14.66.   32.  Roman Titus]  See note to 12.2.   34.  virtue]  supernatural or divine power (OED n 1.a.).   35.]  proverbial comparisons: ‘As fierce (valiant) as a Lion’ (Tilley, L308); ‘As swift as a roe (deer)’ (Tilley, R158).   39.  not aye]  not forever (OED adv 3).   0.2.  OLD EARL]  He is called ‘Old Duke’ here and in Q1 and Q2’s SPs throughout this scene.

284

t h e fou r pren ti ces of london

Tancred.  We do abhor a heart puffed off with pride, That attributes these conquests to our strength. ’Twas God that strengthened us and weakened them, And gave us Sion and Jerusalem. Godfrey.  Thou that dost muster angels in the sky, That in Thyself hast power of victory, Make Thy name shine bright as noontide sun, Since Sion and Jerusalem are won. Old Earl.  My former want has now sufficient store, For having seen this, I desire no more. How fair and smooth my stream of pleasure runs, To look at once on Sion and my sons! Guy.  Showers of abundance rain into our lips, To make repentance grow within our hearts. What greater earthly bliss could heaven pour down, Than Sion, our dear father and this town? Charles.  Then to confirm these conquests God has given us, Sealed with the blood of kings and emperors, Let us elect a king that may maintain Our honours with the deaths of monarchs slain. Eustace.  Call forth the Patriarch of Jerusalem. His right hand must bequeath that dignity. Godfrey.  With tears I speak it: lagging in the train Of the distressèd Sultan, he was slain. Robert.  Praised be our God, we have revenged his death. Great potentates consort him to his grave. Charles.  What man, for gravity and sanctity, May we think worthy of this honoured place? Robert.  Whose years, devotion and most sacred life Better can fit that holy place than this, Whose worthy sons have brought to end these wars? Princes, join hands, invest him all at once!

[sc.17

10

15

20

25

30

35

Flourish. Old Earl.  My fervent zeal bids I should not deny; It brings my soul to heaven before I die. Eustace.  But princes, whom will ye elect the king, To guard this city from succeeding peril? Godfrey.  Robert of Normandy! Robert.  O choose Prince Tancred rather! Tancred.  Too weak is my desert, and I refuse it.

23. emperors] Emperours Q2; Emperous Q1.   27.  bequeath] bestow.

40

sc.17]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

Eustace.  Then put it to most voices. All.  Robert of Normandy! Robert.  Princes, we much commend you for your loves. But letters from England tell me William’s dead, And by succession left the crown to me. I say Prince Godfrey has deserved it best. Tancred.  So Tancred says! All. And so say all the rest! Godfrey.  Princes, ye press me down with too much honours, And load a soul that cannot bear them up. Dissuade me not, no counsel I will hear, Behold a crown which Godfrey means to wear!

285 45

50

55

[Shows] a crown of thorns. That made the blood run from our Saviour’s brow; No crown but this can Godfrey’s heart allow. Prayers are my pride, devotion draws my sword, No pomp but this can Boulogne’s soul afford. My vow’s irrevocable: state I refuse, No other crown but this will Godfrey choose! Tancred.  If he refuse the place, elect Prince Guy. Most voices: shall he have the sceptre? All. Ay! Robert.  Then crown him straight, and henceforth let his name Be through the world called Guy of Lessingham. All these desire it, I consent with them. Long live Prince Guy, king of Jerusalem!

60

65

Flourish. Guy.  The crown is burst and parted from my head! I fear the heavens are angry with your choice. Old Earl.  Son Guy, they are not. By divine instinct The heavens have lent me a prophetic spirit. This shows thy troublous reign; mutinies from far Shall fright thy towns and provinces with war! Guy.  If it be nothing else, crown me again. We have a heart our kingdom to maintain. What honours do my brothers’ heads await? Robert.  Prince Eustace, you shall wear this crown of state. Be king of Sicil and command that isle! 55.1.]  Gasior; A Crowne / of Thornes Q1; A crowne / of thornes Q2.   48.  William]  See note to 1.16.   60.  state]  majesty, dignity.   65.  Guy of Lessingham]  See note to 6.0.2.

70

75

286

t h e fou r pren ti ces of london Lord Charles, the crown of Cyprus ’longs to you, That in the fight the king of Cyprus slew. One general voice at once proclaim them kings!

[sc.17 80

Flourish. Charles.  In memory of this solemnity, Here will I leave this scutcheon borne by me; That in what coast soe’er my bones be laid, This shield may be an honour to my trade! Eustace.  Mine shall hang there, a trophy of my fame. My trade is famous by King Eustace name! Guy.  In memory a king has borne this shield, I add these chalices to this argent field. Godfrey.  In honour of my first profession, That shield in all these wars by Godfrey borne, I crown this maid’s head with a wreath of thorn. Old Earl.  O, were my daughter here this joy to see, How light her soul, how glad would my heart be! Tancred.  Would I had now my love! Guy. Or I that dame, That adds to beauty’s sun a brighter flame! Robert.  Were the fair virgin here, I would renown Her glorious beauty with the English crown! Eustace.  Princes, I’ll fit you all. Lady, come forth!

85

90

95

Enter b e l l a f r a n c a. Bella Franca.  The lovely princes! Tancred. Fair mistress! Charles. Lady! Godfrey. Madam! Guy.  Honoured saint! Bella Franca.  Nay, pardon me, love comes not by constraint. But princes, will you grant me patience? Before I part, I mean to please you all.

100

105

  87.  King Eustace name]  For the dropping of the possessive mark after a noun ending in ‘ce’, see Abbott 471.   88.  In memory … shield]  ‘In memory of the fact that a king has borne this shield’.   89.  chalices] cups in which the wine is administered in the celebration of the Eucharist.   89.  argent field]  silver background on a heraldic shield. See Guy’s shield in the titlepage engraving.   97.  renown] honour.   103.  love … constraint] a variation on the proverbial ‘Love cannot be compelled (forced)’ (Tilley, L499).

sc.17]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

First, holy Patriarch, tell me of all others Whom in the world you most desire to see. Old Earl.  My daughter. Bella Franca.  Prince Godfrey, Charles and Eustace, whom say you? All.  Next yourself, our sister. Bella Franca. And whom you? Tancred.  My love. Bella Franca. Who’s that? Tancred. Your honoured self, fair maid. Bella Franca.  Nay, I’ll make good the words that I have said. Father, I give a daughter to your hand. Brothers, behold: here does a sister stand. Tancred, behold the lady you once seized. Only I leave Prince Robert here displeased. Old Earl.  My daughter, Bella Franca! Brothers. Sister! Tancred. Love! Old Earl.  I am too happy, and too full of joy! Heaven pours on me more good than I can bear. I that before was starved, now surfeit here. Robert.  Princes and lady, nothing can displease Us, For We partake in all this glad content, And with applause rejoice this accident. Tancred, rejoice your love, and you, your friends; Where you begin with marriage, our love ends. Kings and kings’ peers, to heaven ascribe the glory, Whilst we to chronicles report this story. Guy.  Make love unto my sister? ’Tis most strange. Now Guy, I would thou hadst thy French love here! My heart should grant her what I then refused. Now having got this state of dignity, I grieve that I have so obdurate been, But for amends would make her Sion’s queen. Eustace.  And well remembered, brother. I must now Entreat you for a pretty boy, your page, That has on some occasion strayed from you. Guy.  O brother, where’s the villain? Eustace.  Pardon him, and I will tell you. Guy.  Great were th’offence I would not clear for you. Eustace.  The poor boy, brother, stays within my tent, But so disguised you cannot know him now, 115. seized] This ed.; ceas’d Q2.  129. thou] Q2; thy Q1.   110.  Next yourself]  after yourself.   123.  rejoice] celebrate.

287

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115

120

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135

140

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t h e fou r pren ti ces of london

For he’s turned wench; and but I know the wag To be a boy, to see him thus transformed, I should have sworn he had been a wench indeed! Guy.  Pray let me see him, brother, in that habit. I would not lose the villain for more gold Than Sion would be sold for! He will blush To be ta’en tardy in his maid’s attire! Eustace.  You have pardoned him? Guy. I have. Eustace. Then Jack, appear!

[sc.17

145

Enter the f r e n c h l a dy. Nay, blush not to be in your woman’s gear. Guy.  Leap heart! Dance spirit! Be merry, jocund soul! ’Tis she undoubtedly! French Lady.  You know me, then? Guy. I do. ’Twas that disguise That all this while has blinded my clear eyes. Eustace.  Fie, are you not ashamed to kiss a boy, And in your arms to grasp him with such joy? Guy.  She is no boy, you do mistake her quite. Eustace.  A boy, a page, a wagtail, by this light! What say you, sister? Bella Franca. Sure he told me so, For if he be a maid, I made him one! Eustace.  Do not mistake the sex, man, for he’s none! It is a rogue, a wag, his name is Jack, A notable dissembling lad, a crack! Guy.  Brother, ’tis you that are deceived in her. Beshrew her, she has been my bedfellow A year and more, yet I had not the grace! Brothers, receive a sister. Reverent father, Accept a daughter, whilst I take a wife, And of a great king’s daughter make a queen. This is the beauteous virgin, the French lady,

150

155

160

165

170

  142.  but I know]  except that I know.   142.  wag]  mischievous boy.   148.  ta’en tardy]  surprised, caught.   158.  wagtail]  a familiar or contemptuous epithet applied to a young man (OED n 3.a.), after the name of a small bird so called for the continual wagging motion of its tail (OED n 1.a.).   163.  a crack]  a liar.   165.  Beshrew her]  shame on her.   166.  grace]  wedding blessings.

sc.17]

t h e fou r pren ti ces of lon don

To whom my fortune still remains in debt. Eustace.  A lady! Then I cry you mercy, brother. A gallant bride! Would I had such another! French Lady.  A wondrous change! She that your page has been, Is now at length transformed to be your queen. Pardon me, Guy, your love drew me along, No shameless lust. Guy. Fair saint, I did you wrong. If Fortune had not been your friend in this, You had not lain thus long without a kiss! Father, embrace her; brothers, sister, all. Old Earl.  This fortune makes our joys mere comical. The fame of our success all Europe rings. The father, Patriarch, sees his sons all kings! Robert.  The heavens are full of bounty. Then, brave princes, First in the Temple hang these trophies up, As a remembrance of your fortunes past. You, good old father, wear your Patriarch’s robes. Prince Godfrey, walk you with your crown of thorns. Guy with his lady, Tancred with his wife, Charles with his crown of Cyprus, and young Eustace Crowned with the rich Sicilian diadem, I with the honour of the pagans’ deaths. So in procession walk we to Christ’s tomb, With humble hearts to pay our pilgrims’ vows. Repair we to our countries, that once done, For Sion and Jerusalem are won. Exeunt all. FINIS

  181.  comical]  like the conclusion of a comedy, happy.   195.  Repair] return.   195.  that once done]  once that is done.

289

175

180

185

190

195

index Note: The index lists selected topics and names from the introduction, with the addition of corresponding references in the commentary whenever applicable. Characters’ names are included only if they are discussed in the commentary and not just appearing as speech prefixes. References to play texts are preceded by abbreviated titles for the three plays. Alph = Alphonsus, King of Aragon; Sol = The tragedy of Soliman and Perseda; 4PL = The Four Prentices of London. allegorical characters Death 7, 24, 26, 27, 28, 32 Fortune 7, 12–13, 15, 24, 27, 32 Love 7, 16, 24, 27, 32 Prologues 7, 15, 36, 37 Revenge 24 Alleyn, Edward 10, 28 Amazon, Amazonian 5, 17, Alph 3.2.170 Ariosto, Ludovico Orlando Furioso 4 Armada 2, 4, 27–8 Artillery (Company, Garden) 39, 202 Beaumont, Francis The Knight of the Burning Pestle 35–6 chivalry, chivalrous 1, 2, 5, 6, 40 Clyomon and Clamydes 3, 16 Common Conditions 3 comedy 7, 15–16, 29, 30, 32 cross-dressing 6–7, 36 Crusades 2, 5, 19, 36, 37 Daborne, Robert A Christian Turned Turk 30 Day, John, William Rowley and George Wilkins The Travels of the Three English Brothers 36

Dekker, Thomas Satiromastix 28 Donne, John ‘The Bracelet’ 28 Elizabeth I 2, 8, 26, 38, Sol Epil.37 Empire, imperialism 1, 2, 5, 11, 12, 20 epic 1, 4, 18 feminine, femininity 6–7 Greene, Robert Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay 8, 10, 12, 15, 19, Alph 3.2.81.1, 4.1.0.1 Gwydonius 8 James IV 15 John of Bordeaux 12, 13, 19 Mamillia 8 Orlando Furioso 4 Pandosto 21 Perimedes 8, 13, 14 Tritameron 8 Selimus 11, 13, 27, 30 Guy of Warwick 4 Henslowe, Philip Diary 10, 26, 34, 35 Heywood, Thomas Apology for Actors 22 Oenone and Paris 35

292

i n dex

History (play) 3–4, 5, 7, 15, 21, 29 Homer Iliad 17–18, Alph 3.2.84, Sol 1.1.98, 4PL 6.221 Islam, Muslim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 17, 19, 20, 30, Sol 1.2.9, 3.5.6, 4PL 8.81 Johnson, Richard The Nine Worthies of London 37 The Seven Champions of Christendom 2, 38 Tom a Lincoln 4 Knolles, Richard The Generall Historie of the Turks 18 Kyd, Thomas Cornelia 24–5, Sol 1.1.28, 1.3.88 The Spanish Tragedy 19, 22, 24–6, Alph 1.1.31, 1.1.82, 2.1.164, 3.2.89, 4.3.29, Sol 1.Prol.17, 1.Prol.26, 1.Prol.28, 1.1.1, 1.1.35–6, 2.1.11, 2.1.16, 2.1.62, 2.1.92, 2.1.101, 4.Prol.11, 4.Prol.18, 5.1.15–16, 5.2.86, 5.3.25, 5.4.10–11, 5.4.81, 5.4.145 Locrine 31 Lodge, Thomas 4, 38 Mahomet 10, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, Alph 3.Prol.11, 3.2.38, 3.2.130, 4.1.0.1, 4.3.59, Sol 1.2.61 Marlowe, Christopher The Jew of Malta 27, 29 The Massacre at Paris 21 Tamburlaine 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 12–13, 14–15, 17, 21, 26–7, 29, Alph 1.Prol.31, 1.1.61, 2.1.153, 3.2.133, 3.2.322, 4.1.1, 4.2.7, 4.3.41, 4.3.92,

4.3.129–30, 5.2.26, Epil.19, Sol 1.Prol.28, 5.4.98, 4PL 14.109 Massinger, Philip The Renegado 30 Meres, Frances Palladis Tamia 35 Munday, Anthony Fidele and Fortunio 30, Sol 4.2.36 Murad III 3, 12, 27, 203 Niccols, Richard London’s Artillery 39 Ottoman, Ottomans 3, 4, 6, 11, 12, 19, 20, 30, Alph 4.3.0.2, Sol 1.2.61, 203 Peele, George The Battle of Alcazar 3, 10, 13, 21, 27, 29, Alph 1.1.31, 4.3.0.2, Sol 1.1.56 A Farewell 10 Mahomet and Hiren 10, 21 Merry Conceited Jests 25 Persia, Persians 14, 38, Alph 3.2.38, 4.3.20, Sol 1.2.51, 4PL Prol.21–2 Rare Triumphs of Love and Fortune, The 3, 27, 29, 30 renegades, renegadism 4–5 Rhodes Fall of 4, 6, 27 Knights of 4, 5, 25, 27, 28 romance Arthurian 2 Carolingian 2, 19 definition 1–2 dramatic 3–4 Saracen 2, 19, 20, 38 Said, Edward 3 Saracens 2, 4, 19, 20, 38 Shakespeare, William Hamlet 21, 4PL 8.141 2 Henry IV 21, Sol 1.2.197

i n dex King John 28, Sol 1.1.173–4 Love’s Labour’s Lost 31 Merchant of Venice 21, 22, 4PL 13.125 Merry Wives 18 Romeo and Juliet 34, Sol 2.1.168, 4.1.70, 4PL 3.88 Titus Andronicus 34 Winter’s Tale 21, 4PL Prol.33, 5.176 Sir Bevis of Hampton 2 Soliman the Magnificent 4, Sol 1.2.61 Spain, Spanish 1, 2, 4, 27, 28 Spenser, Edmund The Complaints 8, Alph 1.Prol.17 The Faerie Queene 2, 4PL 3.37 Sultan (Turkish) 3, 4, 11, 12, 19, 27, 30, Alph 4.3.0.2, Sol 1.2.61, 1.4.10 Sultan of Babylon, The 2, 19, 20, 38 Tasso, Torquato Gerusalemme Liberata 36–7

293

theatres Red Bull 35–6 Rose 26, 34, 35 Swan 28 theatrical companies Admiral’s Men 10, 28, 34, 35 Lord Strange’s Men 10, 26 Pembroke’s Men 26, 28 Queen’s Men 7–8, 10, 16 tragedy 5, 7, 29, 32 tragicomedy 1 Troy, Trojan war 5, 18, Alph 3.2.84, 5.2.329, Sol 1.2.98, 2.1.97, 5.3.72, 5.3.73, 5.3.74 Turk, the Great 5, 15, 17, 19 Turk plays 11, 13, 29, 30 Turk, Turkish see Ottoman University Wits 8, 17, 21 Wotton, Henry A Courtlie Controversie 2, 4, 26, 27, 29, 30, Sol 4.1.56–8