Pope Joan

Anon. (1592)

Historical Records

Performance Records (Henslowe's Diary)

Theatrical Provenance

Henslowe's Diary reports that Lord Strange's Men performed this play at the Rose Theatre on March 1, 1591/92. Since Henslowe does not mark it as a new play, Pope Joan was evidently performed earlier, but no record of earlier performances has survived. Manley and Maclean speculate that, given the play's anti-Catholic subject matter, it might have belonged to the "more staunchly Protestant repertory of Leicester's Men," a company that shared several members (George Bryan, Will Kempe, and Thomas Pope) with Lord Strange's Men (31, 146).

Probable Genre(s)

foreign pseudo-history (Harbage); history (Wiggins)

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

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References to the Play

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Critical Commentary

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For What It's Worth

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Works Cited

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Site created and maintained by Craig M. Rustici, Hofstra University; updated 24 August 2016.