Henslowe writes: ye 13 of novmbȝ 1596 ... R at tambercame ... xvijs
In modern English: 13th November, 1596 ... Received at Tamar Cam ... 17 shillings
Today, for the last time that we know of, the Admiral's Men revived Tamar Cam, a lost play that told of war and wizardry during the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
The two Tamar Cam plays have been around for a long time; we first encountered them four years ago in 1592, at the premiere of the sequel premiered, but the original already existed. We saw that they may have been created to replicate the popular Tamburlaine plays by Christopher Marlowe. At the end of 1594, the company seems to have acquired the right to revive Tamburlaine itself, and Tamar Cam was thus set aside. But the revival of Tamburlaine wasn't very successful either. Back in May of this year; the company returned to Tamar Cam again, but that revival too didn't do very well.
One cannot help but suspect that plays about Mongol conquerors are now considered old hat by the audience, and the company has thus decided to bid farewell to Tamar Cam. However, the plays have not gone for good; in 1602, it will be performed by another company at the Fortune playhouse in north London.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
What's next?
There will be no blog entry tomorrow because November 14 was Sunday in 1596 and the players did not petform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 15th for what will turn to be a mysteriously curtailed week. See you then!
Henslowe writes: ye 8 of July 1596 ... R at j pte of tambercame ... xiiijs
In modern English: [13th] July, 1596 ... Received at First Part of Tamar Cam ... 14 shillings
Today, the Admiral's Men revived Tamar Cam, a lost play that told of war and wizardry during the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
In keeping with the stand-alone performance of The Second Part a few days ago, this is a stand-alone performance of Part One. This experiment is not helping the box office at all, though; it's descending rapidly.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Henslowe writes: ye 8 of July 1596 ... R at 2 p of tambercame ... xxiijs
In modern English: 8th July, 1596 .... Received at Second Part of Tamar Cam .. 23 shillings
Today, the Admiral's Men performed The Second Part of Tamar Cam, a lost play that dramatized the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
Just over a week after the last performance of The Second Part of Tamar Cam, the company is now experimenting with the play on its own, instead of the day after the first part. This has had no significant effect on box office, however, which remains mediocre.
Henslowe writes: ye 27 of June 1596 ... R at 2 pte of tambercame ... xxs
In modern English: [30th] June, 1596 .... Received at Second Part of Tamar Cam .. 20 shillings
Today, the Admiral's Men performed The Second Part of Tamar Cam, a lost play that dramatized the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
This is a disappointing day for the company. While TheFirst Part of Tamar Cam is still receiving solid box office, the newly-introduced sequel is slumping. Londoners seem to be enjoying Tamar Cam's early adventures, but are less interested to know what happens next.
Henslowe writes: ye 26 of June 1596 ... R at 1 pte of tambercame ... xxxs
In modern English: [29th] June, 1596 ... Received at First Part of Tamar Cam ... 30 shillings
Today is St Peter's Day, a special day in the church calendar. The Admiral's Men have revived Tamar Cam, a lost play that told of war and wizardry during the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
The company has returned to Tamar Cam after a week and a half, and the box office continues to be solid, suggesting that the company's adding of the sequel to their repertory is maintaining interest in Part One.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Henslowe writes: ye 20 of June 1596 ... R at the 2 pte of tambercame ... xxxvs
In modern English: [22nd] June, 1596 ... Received at The Second Part of Tamar Cam .. 35 shillings
Today, the Admiral's Men performed The Second Part of Tamar Cam, a lost play that dramatized the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
This is the second performance of Tamar Cam 2 in its new life as a play for the Admiral's Men, and it has received a comfortably large audience, just over the average for the Rose, and very similar to that of The First Part yesterday. Londoners seem pleased to be able to see the pair on two consecutive days.
Henslowe writes: ye 19 of June 1596 ... mr pd ... R at 1 pte of tambercame ... xxxvjs
In modern English: [21st] June, 1596 ... Master paid ... Received at First Part of Tamar Cam ... 36 shillings
Today, the Admiral's Men revived Tamar Cam, a lost play that told of war and wizardry during the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
The company has returned to Tamar Cam after a week and a half, and the box office is considerably higher. This may well be because of the successful premiere of the sequel last week, which could have revived interest in Part One.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Today's entry also includes a note that Henslowe paid the license for the Rose to the Master of the Revels; you can read more about this in the entry for 8 November, 1595.
Henslowe writes: ye 11 of June 1596 ... ne ... R at the 2 pte of tambercame ... iijll
In modern English: 11th June, 1596 ... Received at The Second Part of Tamar Cam .. £3
Today, the Admiral's Men performed The Second Part of Tamar Cam, which has not been seen on the Rose Stage for many years! Like The First Part, which was revived on 7 May this year and has received several performances since, The Second Part hasn't been staged here since 1593. The play was a tale of war and wizardry that dramatized the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
As with The First Part, this play was previously the property of Lord Strange's Men but has now apparently come into the hands of the Admiral's. Also as with The First Part, Henslowe describes the play as "new" even though it is not; perhaps the old playtext has been heavily revised for this revival. Either way, it seems the company has been happy enough with the response to The First Part to experiment with staging the sequel.
The sequel's return to the Rose has been greeted by an almost full house, so the company must be very pleased with their decision.
Henslowe writes: ye 10 of June 1596 ... R at tambercame ... xxviijs
In modern English: 10th June, 1596 ... Received at Tamar Cam ... 28 shillings
Today, the Admiral's Men revived Tamar Cam, a lost play that told of war and wizardry during the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
The company seems to be on a roll of performing Tamar Cam once a week, and this week's box office is a bit higher than last time. And the players have a plan to boost it higher... tune in tomorrow to find out how!
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Henslowe writes: ye 5 of June 1596 ... R at tambercame ... xxviijs
In modern English: 5th June, 1596 ... Received at Tamar Cam ... 28 shillings
Today, the Admiral's Men revived Tamar Cam, a lost play that told of war and wizardry during the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
The company has waited just over a week to bring back Tamar Cam and the box office has risen a little.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
What's next?
There will be no blog entry tomorrow because 6th June was a Sunday in 1596 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 7th, for a week that will include a new(ish) play. See you then!
Henslowe writes: ye 25 of maye 1596 ... R at tambercame ... xxs
In modern English: [27th] May, 1596 ... Received at Tamar Cam ... 20 shillings
Today, the Admiral's Men revived Tamar Cam, a lost play that told of war and wizardry during the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
The company has waited only a week to bring back Tamar Cam but today's performance is a disappointment. Previously, the play had been receiving impressively large audiences, but now the box office has suddenly declined by more than half.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Henslowe writes: ye 17 of maye 1596 ... R at tambercame ... xxxxvjs
In modern English: [18th] May, 1596 ... Received at Tamar Cam ... 46 shillings
Today, the Admiral's Men revived Tamar Cam, a lost play that told of war and wizardry during the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
The company has waited only a few days to bring back Tamar Cam and it continues to achieve excellent audiences. The company must be very pleased with the decision to blow the dust off this old play.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Henslowe writes: ye 12 of maye 1596 ... R at tambercame ... xxxxvs
In modern English: 12th May, 1596 ... Received at Tamar Cam ... 45 shillings
Today, the Admiral's Men revived Tamar Cam, a lost play that told of war and wizardry during the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about it in the entry for 28th April 1592.
After a series of small audiences for other plays, the company must be relieved that a large crowd has shown up for this second performance of the newly revived Tamar Cam. Perhaps this experiment is paying off?
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Henslowe writes: ye 6 of maye 1596 ... ne ... R at tambercame ... xxxxvijs
In modern English: [7th] May, 1596 ... new ... Received at Tamar Cam ... 47 shillings
Here is a surprise! We last saw the two-part Tamar Cam over three years ago, back in January 1593 when it was being performed by Lord Strange's Men. Now, the Admiral's Men have somehow acquired it. Confusingly, Henslowe describes the play as "new" even though it is not; perhaps the old playtext has been heavily revised for this revival.
The Tamar Cam plays, now lost, were tales of war and wizardry that dramatized the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about Part One in the entry for 28th April 1592. They seem to have been designed to imitate Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine plays, which the Admiral's Men have been staging recently but abandonded back in November. Perhaps the company hopes that Tamar Cam will be a more popular replacement. Today's performance has drawn a large audience, but, ominously, it has not filled the theatre despite its lengthy absence from the stage.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Henslowe writes: R at tambercam the 19 of Jenewarye 1593 ... xxxvjs
In modern English: Received at Tamar Cam, 19th January, 1593 ... 36 shillings
Today, for the first time after their return to the Rose, Lord Strange's Men revived one of their Tamar Cam plays. These paired plays, now lost, dramatized the exploits of the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan and were full of war and wizardry; you can read more about them in the entry for 28th April 1592. We do not know whether this was a performance of the first or second part of Tamar Cam; you can read more about that puzzle in the entry for 30th May.
Tamar Cam seems to have been designed to imitate Christopher Marlowe's much-loved Tamburlaine but it never achieved the popularity of its predecessor. Today's performance underlines that fact; despite having been absent from the stage for many months, it drew only an average-sized audience.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Henslowe writes: R at the tambercame the 21 of June 1592 ... xxxijs
In modern English: Received at Tamar Cam, 21st June, 1592 ... 32 shillings
Today, Lord Strange's Men performed one of their plays about Tamar Cam, a lost pair of plays about the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about them in the entry for 28th April. As with the previous two performances, we do not know whether this was the first or second part of Tamar Cam; you can read more about this puzzle in the entry for 30th May.
The company had last performed a Tamar Cam play just under two weeks ago. Whichever of the two it was, the play did less well today than on its previous outing, achieving takings that are typical of the average Rose production and represent a half-full theatre.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Henslowe writes: R at the tambercame the 8 of June 1592 ... xxxxs
In modern English: Received at Tamar Cam, 8th June, 1592 ... 40 shillings
Today, Lord Strange's Men performed one of their plays about Tamar Cam, a lost pair of plays about the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan; you can read more about them in the entry for 28th April. As with the performance on 30th May, we do not know whether this was the first or second part of Tamar Cam.
Whichever of the two it was, the play did fairly well at the box office today, achieving takings that were slightly higher than the average Rose production.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Henslowe writes: R at tambercame the 18 26 of maye 1592 ... xxxvjs vjd
In modern English: Received at Tamar Cam, 30th May, 1592 ... 36 shillings and sixpence
Today's entry presents a puzzle. A month ago, Lord Strange's Men introduced a new play called The Second Part of Tamar Cam. This was one of two lost plays about the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan, and you can read about them in the entry for 28th April. The company revived The Second Parton 12th May. But today's entry refers only to Tamar Cam, without specifying that it was second part. And for the remainder of this season, Henslowe will continue to write the title only as Tamar Cam.
So, is this Part 1 or Part 2? Are the players continuing to perform The Second Part and Henslowe is simply abbreviating its title? Or have the players given up on The Second Part and are reviving the original Tamar Cam instead? We don't know.
But either way, we must suspect that The Second Part of Tamar Cam has been a big disappointment. Although, like all new plays at the Rose, its premiere was very popular, it was a long time before the company peformed it again, and, when they finally did, it received only average box office (unlike most new plays, which sank to that level only gradually). If today's performance was of The Second Part, it would show an even further decline in the box office. And if it was The First Part, it would mean that the company had already given up on the sequel, and had blown the dust off the original to see if that would do any better ... and it didn't.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
FURTHER READING
Tamar Cam information
Martin Wiggins, British Drama, 1533-1642: A Catalogue, vol. 3 (Oxford University Press, 2013), entries 906 and 925.
Sally-Beth MacLean and Lawrence Manley, Lord Strange's Men and their Plays (Yale University Press, 2014), 138-43.
Henslowe writes: R at the 2 pte of tambercam ye 10 of maye 1592 ... xxxvijs
In modern English: Received at The Second Part of Tamar Cam, 10th May, 1592 ... 37 shillings
Today, Lord Strange's Men returned to the new play that they had debuted just under two weeks ago, The Second Part of Tamar Cam. This lost play was most likely about the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan and his conquest of the Middle East. You can read more about it in the blog entry for 28th April.
It's surprising that the company waited so long before restaging their new play, and it's also surprising that it received such average box office on only its second performance. Was there something about this play that didn't work, for either the actors or the audience?
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Henslowe writes: ne ... R at the seconde pte of tamber came the 28 aprell ... 3ll iiijs
In modern English: New. Received at The Second Part of Tamar Cam, 28th April ... £3 and 4 shillings
Today, Lord Strange's Men unveiled a brand new play: The Second Part of Tamar Cam. Just like the previous two premieres - those of Harry VIand Titus and Vespasian - this one resulted in excellent box office: 64 shillings, indicating (perhaps) an almost full theatre.
The Second Part of Tamar Cam is yet another lost play that was never published. However, it is possible to reconstruct its likely subject matter. That's because The First Part ofTamar Cam partially survives in outline form, and indicates that the two plays were about the thirteenth century Mongol warlord Hulagu Khan and his conquest of the Middle East. Hulagu Khan may not be a familiar name today, but there were good reasons why a play about him could have enticed large numbers of Elizabethan Londoners to the theatre. Let's take a step-by-step look at the process of reconstructing this play...
1. The 'plot' of Tamar Cam 1
The Second Part of Tamar Cam is entirely lost, but its predecessor partially survives via a transcript of a rare surviving document from the Elizabethan theatre known as a 'plot'. 'Plots' were tables listing the entrances and exits for each scene of a play; these documents were apparently used backstage to assist in organising the productions. You can see a transcript of the 'plot' of The First Part of Tamar Cam here (thanks to the Lost Plays Database). The 'plot' does not tell us exactly what happened in The First Part, but it does tell us the names of its characters and shows us the various configurations in which they appeared during the play.
A glance at the 'plot' of The First Part reveals that it was a play about Mongol conquerors ('Cam' or 'Cham' is a common Elizabethan rendering of the title 'Khan'), and that it involved Persia, princesses, beheadings, and the summoning of magical spirits.
2. Channelling Tamburlaine
If you were an Elizabethan playgoer and you heard that the players at the Rose would be staging a play about a conquerer sweeping across Asia, you would immediately think of one thing: Tamburlaine! Christopher Marlowe's two-part Tamburlaine the Great had been one of the mega-hits of the late 1580s. Based on the life of the fourteenth century warlord Tamerlane, the plays tell the story of a humble shepherd who rises to become a terrifying, all-conquering scourge. Filled with grand speeches that evoke epic ambition, packed with exotic images of far-off lands and peoples, and featuring an amoral but awe-inspiring protagonist, the plays dazzled their original audiences and had become iconic by the 1590s. You can get some sense of what the Tamburlaine plays are like from this trailer for a recent production by Theatre for a New Audience:
Illustration of the historical Tamburlaine
from Richard Knolles' General History of the Turks (1603).
So, by staging a play about another Central Asian conqueror, Lord Strange's Men were almost by definition imitating Tamburlaine. And they may have had a very good reason to do so, for the role of Tamburlaine had in fact been created by their own star actor, Edward Alleyn, back when he was acting with a different company, the Admiral's Men. It seems that when Alleyn moved to Strange's Men, he lost the right to perform Marlowe's plays. A likely scenario, then, is that Tamar Cam was created deliberately to emulate Tamburlaine, so that Alleyn could continue barnstorming around Asia in a thinly-disguised variation on his famous role. Indeed, Henslowe's spelling of the new play, Tamber Came, shows that the two plays were barely distinguishable in his mind. And decades later, Ben Jonson would sneeringly recall "the Tamerlanes and Tamer-Chams of the late age, which had nothing in them but the scenical strutting and furious vociferation to warrant them to the ignorant gapers".
We can't know exactly how similar the plays were. The 'plot' of The First Part of Tamar Cam shows that it contained black magic and magical spirits, which are absent from Marlowe's play. But it certainly attempted to mimic the exoticism of Tamburlaine: it climaxed with a parade of foreign peoples, including Tartars, Amazons, "olive coloured Moors", cannibals, hermaphrodites, "the people of Bohare", pygmies, Crimeans, and Bactrians. This must have been an incredible spectacle and seems to be echoing the epic, global panorama that Tamburlaine conjured so memorably.
3. Identifying Tamar Cam
So, who was 'Tamar Cam'? W.W. Greg proposed that the name likely referred to Temuchin, better known as Genghis Khan, since he was by far the most famous of the Mongol conquerors. However, Sally-Beth MacLean and Lawence Manley's detailed study of the evidence demonstrates that the play was more likely about one of Genghis Khan's descendants.
The 'plot' of The First Part refers to one 'Mango Cam', who is presumably Möngke Khan, Genghis's grandson and fourth emperor of the Mongol Empire. If so, then the titular 'Tamar Cam' would be the approximately contemporary Temür Khan, who became the sixth emperor. However, Temür's career had nothing to do with Persia, which appears so prominently in the 'plot'. MacLean and Manley propose therefore that the playwright took Temür's name only, and in fact told the story of Möngke's brother, Hulagu Khan, who was sent west to conquer Persia. The reason they changed the names is, no doubt, simply because 'Tamar Cam' sounds similar to 'Tamburlaine'.
Persian illustration of Hulagu Khan (the likely inspiration for Tamar Cam) and his Christian wife
Hulagu Khan is not a well-known figure to western readers today, but there are very good reasons why his story could have been attractive to an Elizabethan audience. MacLean and Manley explain that although Englishmen of this time knew little about the realities of the far-off Mongols (whom they normally called 'Tartars'), they believed that Möngke Khan had been tolerant of other religions and open to Christianity; indeed Europeans perceived the Mongol Empire as a possible ally in their conflicts with Islamic nations. As for Hulagu Khan himself (often called 'Haalon' by the English), MacLean and Manley quote Richard Knolles' General History of the Turks (1603), which conveniently summarizes the Elizabethan understanding of his career:
Mango the great Khan of Tartary ... sent his brother Haalon with an exceeding great army against the Turks and Saracens in Syria and the land of Palestine. This Haalon, converted also unto the Christian faith by his wife, setting forward with a world of people following him, in the space of six months overran all Persia, with the countries adjoining.
So, the history of Hulagu/Haalon could be dramatized as a tale about a Christianized warrior defeating infidel enemies, a popular topic in the Elizabethan theatre, and indeed one that had been played out onstage only a few days ago when Lord Strange's Men performed Jerusalem. Perhaps it could be thought of as a tamer version of Tamburlaine:instead of glorifying Marlowe's atheistical, amoral protagonist, this play could enable Londoners to cheer on a Christian hero. (Yes, I know that cutting a bloody swathe across half of Asia by bringing death and destruction to all who defy you is slightly incongruous with the teachings of Christ, but such is the world.)
4. Triumph or tragedy?
So, how exactly did the dramatist tell the story of Hulagu Khan? As far as we can tell from the hard-to-decipher 'plot', The First Part appears to have mostly been about Tamar Cam choosing the Christian princess Palmida over a Persian princess; there were also battles, a conspiracy against Tamar, and helpful spirits on both sides of the conflict, as well as a clown. The story of The Second Part is less knowable, but after Persia, the historical Hulagu went on to conquer Baghdad and Aleppo, so perhaps the sequel concerned itself with that.
The Second Part could have ended on a note of Christian triumphalism, for, as Thomas Fuller later wrote in his History of of the Holy War (1639), during Haalon's (i.e. Hulagu's) conquest of Baghdad and Aleppo, "Everywhere mosques
went
down and churches
up", and Haalon did many "good offices" to "the Christians in Syria". So, Tamar Cam may well have been yet another opportunity for Londoners to side with a Christian hero against Islamic foes.
However, as we've seen in Muly Molocco and The Jew of Malta, the Middle Eastern plays of the Rose were not always straightforward 'us versus them' narratives, and Tamburlaine is a defiantly un-Christian play, in which the title character spurns all gods and ultimately dies after burning, not the Bible, but the Qu'ran. And Tamar Cam could have ended on a more challenging note too. MacLean and Manley note that the historical sources record a potential downbeat ending in which Tamar's achievements are undermined by Christian intolerance: as Knolles tells it, Hulagu's successor, angered by a quarrel with Dutch soldiers over captured booty, repudiated Christianity and "he and his Tartars became utter enemies unto the Christians, doing them all the harm they could devise", an outcome that Knolles blames on "the insolency of certain Christian soldiers". If The Second Part of Tamar Cam ended this way, it would have been somewhat more like Tamburlaine, which ends with the unravelling of the title character's empire.
Whatever the exact plot and tone of The Second Part of Tamar Cam, its debut performance was a great success, making just as much money as Titus and Vespasian's premiere, although still not achieving the heights of Harry VI's. Lord Strange's Men had another blockbuster on their hands, and once again they had done so by riffing on older plays.
Further reading
Tamar Cam information
Richard Knolles, The General History of the Turks (1603), 113-14.
Thomas Fuller, The History of the Holy War (1639), 208.
W.W. Greg, Dramatic Documents from the Elizabethan Playhouse (Clarendon Press, 1931)
Martin Wiggins, British Drama, 1533-1642: A Catalogue, vol. 3 (Oxford University Press, 2013), entries 906 and 925.
Sally-Beth MacLean and Lawrence Manley, Lord Strange's Men and their Plays (Yale University Press, 2014), 138-43.
