16 September, 1595 - 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 16 of septmbȝ 1595 ... R at godfrey of bullen ... xx^s 

In modern English: 16^th September, 1595 ... Received at Godfrey of Bouillon ... 20 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 play that Henslowe calls Godfrey of Bouillon. This was probably The Second Part of Godfrey of Bouillon, a lost sequel that you can read more about it in the entry for 19th July. Alternatively, it might have been the equally lost original play, sometimes identified by scholars with the mysterious Jerusalem, which you can read about in the entry for 22 March, 1592. Either way, today's play would have dramatized some aspect of the eponymous medieval warrior's capture of the city of Jerusalem from the Turks.

This week is proving to be something of a trip down memory lane because, as with yesterday, the players are returning to a play they last performed in May. Also as with yesterday, Londoners do not seem to have been lamenting its absence, as only a smallish crowd has shown up for Godfrey of Bouillon.

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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