2 April, 1597 - Vortigern

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

Henslowe writes: 2 | tt at valteger ... | 00 | 04 

In modern English: 2 [April, 1597] ... Received at Vortigern ... 4 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. 

After yesterday's sparsely attended performance of The Blind Beggar, even fewer people have shown up to Vortigern. The Rose seems to be in a slump following the highs of Easter Week. 

It's possible that this is the last performance of Vortigern to be recorded in Henslowe's Diary, although it may reappear in the summer under a different title; watch this space...

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow because 3 April was a Sunday in 1597 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 4th 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!