Henslowe writes: Candlemaseday | 2 | tt at what wilbe shalbe ... | 01 | 18
In modern English: Candlemas Day ... 2nd [February, 1597] ... total at What Will Be Shall Be ... £1 and 18 shillings [i.e. 38 shillings]
Today was Candlemas, a feast day and a public holiday celebrating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. On this day, churches would be filled with candles. The Admiral's Men have revived That Will Be Shall Be, an enigmatic lost play about which you can read more in the entry for 30 December, 1596. For some reason, Henslowe will from now on call it What Will Be... instead of That Will Be.
This year's Candlemas is bit disappointing for the players. Last year, the holiday resulted in a very big crowd at the Rose to see The Jew of Malta. But today, although things are certainly better than the average day, the theatre is only just over half full. Could this be due to bad weather? Or are the company's new plays just not cutting it?
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| A female archer tries to take down a war elephant. The man on the right appears to share the sentiments of this play's title. From the Smithfield Decretals (c.1340) |
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)
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