History of the Cynophals, The

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Historical Records

Government Documents

Accounts of the Office of the Revels

		The Paynters daughter showen at Hampton Court on St Stevens daie
		at night, enacted by th'erle of warwickes seruntes
		Toolie showen at Hampton Court on St Iohns daie at night enacted by the
Histories &          }		Lord Howardes seruauntes.
Invencions          }   vj		The historie of the Collyer showen at Hampton Court on the Sundaie
showen within  }		folowing enacted by th'erle of Leicesters men
the tyme               }   viz		The historie of Error showen at Hampton Court on Newyeres daie at
aforesaid               }		night, enacted by the Children of Powles.
		The historye of Mutius Sceuola showen at Hampton Court on Twelf
		daie at night, enacted by the Children of windsore and the Chappell
		The hystorye of the Cenofalles showen at Hampton Court on Candlemas
		day at night, enacted by the lord Chamberleyn his men.

Theatrical Provenance

Sussex's men (frequently designated as the Chamberlain's men in the years from 1572-83) toured the provinces throughout the 1570s; thus it is highly likely that their court repertory in these years also were taken on tour. Also, of course, these plays would have been given at the company's public venues in the London area.

Probable Genre(s)

Harbage tags this play as a pseudo-history; Wiggins, Catalogue #605) settles for the designation of "history."

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

None known. However, the Cynocephali were known to Marco Polo and Sir John Mandeville and thus may have been a familiar feature in travel literature generally.

References to the Play

None known.

Critical Commentary

Information welcome.

For What It's Worth

Knutson, considering which plays might have been brought into the repertory of the Queen's men in 1583 by way of migrating players, explores possible features of "The Cynocephali," which Sussex's men gave at court. She points out that the following:

"The Cynocephali were a race of dog-men. In the seventh century, Isidore of Seville identified them as creatures from India with the heads and barks of dogs. ... Marco Polo ... describes the Cynocephali with faces like big mastiffs, ... [adding] "that they are a very cruel race who live on an island and devour strangers who come ashore." She adds also "a costuming detail from Sir John Mandeville, who claims that the king of Cynocephali wore an enormous ruby around his neck" (pp. 100-1). Turning to two of Sussex's players who specialized in clown parts and who joined the Queen's men, she imagines that the roles possible in "The Cynocephali" for John Adams and Richard Tarleton would have been "more bizarre than those of disaffected commoner-soldiers:" such as were available in the Queen's play, Selimus (p. 101).

Works Cited

Site created and maintained by ; Last updated by Rlknutson on 27 March 2023 18:46:48

Knutson, Roslyn L. "The Start of Something Big." in Helen Ostovich, Holger Schott Syme, and Andrew Griffin, eds. Locating the Queen's Men, 1583-1603: Material Practices and Conditions of Playing. Farnham, Surrey, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009. 99-108.