20 May, 1592 - Harry of Cornwall

Here's what Lord Strange's Men performed at the Rose playhouse on this day, 424 years ago...

Henslowe writes: R at harey of cornwell the 18 of maye 1592 ... xxxj^s

In modern English: Received at Harry of Cornwall, 20^th May, 1592 ... 31 shillings

Gustav Doré's 1875 illustration
of the murder of Henry

Today, Lord Strange's Men returned to Harry of Cornwall, a play that they have been performing approximately once a month. This lost play was about the revenge of the De Montfort brothers upon the eponymous Henry; you can read more about it in the entry for 25th February.

Harry of Cornwall continues to prove itself a play of merely average popularity. I wonder what causes the company to perform this play once a month, while they perform other 'average' plays, like Muly Molocco, almost every week?

• Friday, 25th February - 33 shillings
• Thursday, 23rd March - 13 shillings and sixpence (Holy Week)
• Saturday, 29th April - 26 shillings
• Saturday, 20th May - 31 shillings

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow because 21 May was a Sunday in 1592. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on 22 May for a week that will include an enigmatic new play alongside the usual suspects...

Henslowe links

• Transcript of this page of the Diary (from W.W. Greg's 1904 edition)
• Facsimile of this page of the Diary (from the Henslowe-Alleyn Digitisation Project)

Comments?

Did I make a mistake? Do you have a question? Have you anything to add? Please post a comment below!