Jugurtha, King of Numidia

William Boyle (1600)

Historical Records

F. 67^v (Greg I.118)

lent vnto me W birde the 9 of febreary 1599 to paye

for a new booke to Will: Boyle. cald Jugurth xxx^s

w^c if yo^u dislike Ile repaye it back ... xxx^s

Theatrical Provenance

The Admiral's Men paid William Bird 30s. on 9 February 1600 for "a new booke: by William Boyle during that early spring season of heavy expenditure on plays, when their competitors were in full swing across Maid Lane at the Globe and their own plans for the building of the Fortune were underway.

Probable Genre(s)

Tragedy ? (Harbage), Classical Tragedy (Knutson)

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

The story of Jugurtha (c. 160-104 BCE) was widely known from various Roman historians. Jugurtha was the king of Numidia in North Africa; he was loosely allied with Rome until he decided to expand his kingdom. He incurred Rome's wrath by killing some Italian merchants in the course of battle with a neighboring warlord. Jugurtha was captured, brought to Rome, and executed in 104 BCE.

References to the Play

None known.

Critical Commentary

Carson theorizes that Boyle, who is not otherwise known as a dramatist, was paid so little for his play because he was a novice (60).

Knutson likewise suggests that the 30s. is payment in full, though the case is dubious (35n). She sees a plausible responsiveness to offerings in the repertory of the Chamberlain's Men such as Julius Caesar (on the basis of Roman history), Titus Andronicus (North African characters), and The Tartarian Cripple [Tartarian Cripple, The] ("motifs of conquest and exotic warlords") (25).

Keywords

William Boyle, Partial Payment, Autograph signature, Henslowe's records

Works Cited

Carson, Neil. A Companion to Henslowe's Diary. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1988.

Gurr, Andrew. Shakespeare’s Opposites: The Admiral’s Company 1594-1625. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Knutson, Roslyn L. “Toe to Toe Across Maid Lane: Repertorial Competition at the Rose and Globe, 1599-1600,” in June Schlueter and Paul Nelsen (eds) Acts of Criticism: Performance Matters in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries (Madison & Teaneck: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2005), 21-37.

Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; updated 30 October 2009.