Warlamchester

Anon. (>1594)

Historical Records

Performance Records

Playlists in Philip Henslowe's diary

Fol. 10^v (Greg. I.20)

ye 28 of novmber 1594	……….	Res at warlamchester	……….	xxiijs
ye 30 of novmber 1594	……….	Res at warlamchester	……….	xxxviijs
ye 12 of desember 1594	……….	Res at warlamchester	……….	xvs

Fol. 11^v (Greg. I.22)

ye 29 of aprell 1595	……….	Res at warlamchester	……….	xxixs
ye 10 of maye 1595	……….	Res at warlam chester	……….	xxixs

Fol. 12^v (Greg. I.24)

ye 30 of maye 1595	……….	Res at warlamchester	……….	ixs
ye 16 of June 1595	……….	Res at warlamchester	……….	xxvs

Theatrical Provenance

Admiral's Men at the Rose. The play is not marked with Henslowe's enigmatic "ne," so it is possible that "Warlamchester" had been performed before its debut at the Rose.

Probable Genre(s)

Saint's life? Anglo-Roman history?

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

Walarmchester (one of numerous variant spellings) was the Saxon name of the settlement previously known by the Romans as Verulamium. It subsequently came to be called St Albans in memory of the martyr executed there in the third century.

The use of the Saxon name in the play's title suggests that its subject matter is derived from the period prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066. One obvious possibility is the martyrdom of St Alban, referred to in the first volume of Holinshed's Chronicles (1577), in the chapter entitled "Asclepiodotus duke of Cornewall" (Oxford Holinshed Project, p. 88)).

The other obvious possibility is the earlier destruction of Verulamium during the revolt of Boudicea, referred to in the first volume of Holinshed's Chronicles (1577), in the chapter entitled "Aruiragus" (Oxford Holinshed Project, p. 64).

References to the Play

Information welcome.

Critical Commentary

Wiggins, Catalogue #860 focuses on the location of St. Albans and leans toward "the town itself [as] the play's leading 'character' . He leans away from "either the Roman destruction of Verulamium ... or the martyrdom of St Alban [because] neither would explain the use of the anachronistic name" (3.46).

For What It's Worth

Information welcome.

Works Cited

Site created and maintained byTom Rutter, University of Sheffield Hallam; updated 22 April 2010.