12 March, 1597 - Vortigern

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

Henslowe writes: 12 | tt at valteger ... | 00 | 18 

In modern English: 12 [March, 1597] ... Received at Vortigern ... 18 shillings

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

Today, the Admiral's Men chose 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. 

This is the first performance of Vortigern following the company's Lenten break; its box office represents a considerable slump after the last one.

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow because 13 March was a Sunday in 1597 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 14th for a week that will include a new play! 

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!