6 August, 1594 - Godfrey of Bouillon

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 6 of aguste 1594 ... R at the seconde p of godfrey ... xxxvij^s

In modern English: 6^th August, 1594 ... Received at The Second Part of Godfrey ... 37 shillings

The death of Godfrey of Bouillon.
From a thirteenth century
manuscript of William of 
Tyre's Histoire d'Outremer

Today, the company revived The Second Part of Godfrey of Bouillon, a lost play that probably told of the aftermath of Godfrey's capture of Jerusalem from the Turks in the eleventh century.

The Admiral's Men premiered this play back on 19th July, and may have performed it again a week and a half ago (although it is possible that that performance was of the first part). Either way, today's show received healthy, if not much more than average, box office. It suggests a play following the normal process of a gradual decline in interest after its debut.

FURTHER READING

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?

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