1 January, 1597 - Vortigern

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 1 of Jenewary 1596 ... R at valteger ... xxxxv^s 

In modern English: 1^st January, [1597] ... Received at Vortigern ... 45 shillings

Vortigern in his burning
castle. From a 14th-century
manuscript of Peter of
Langtoft's Chronicle of
England.  

Happy New Year! On the first day of 1597, an important holiday in the Elizabethan calendar, the Admiral's Men have chosen to perform Vortigern, their play about the legendary British king whose actions brought about the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain. You can read more about this play in the entry for 4th December, 1596. 

The box office for Vortigern is greatly improved today, no doubt because many Londoners are in festive mood again. 

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow, as 2 January was a Sunday in 1597 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 3rd, for a week that will include the surprise return of an old favourite. 

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!