Henry the Una

Anon. (1619)

Historical Records

Cotton MS. Tiberius E. X.:

In 1925 Frank Marcham transcribed and published the contents of the then British Museum manuscript, Cotton MS. Tiberius E. X. It contains the History of Richard III by the Master of the Revels, Sir George Buck, written on what appears to be “Revels Office waste,” sometime after 1617 (Chambers, RES 479). Amongst the papers are “four lists of plays, bare lists without any indication of their objects,” which may or may not be all in Buck’s hand (Chambers, RES 479). Chambers believes it “most likely that the lists represent plays which the Revels Office had at some time or times under consideration for performance at court” (RES 484).

The list designated ‘D’ by Chambers (f.247) contains “Henrye the vna…”.

Theatrical Provenance

Unknown Co. at Ct. (Harbage)

Probable Genre(s)

History (?) (Harbage)

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

(Information needed)

References to the Play

(Information needed)

Critical Commentary

Referring to Marcham’s transcription of the Revels Office waste paper playlist (Cotton MS. Tiberius E. X.), Chambers (RES 482) admits “[i]f Mr. Marcham has read the manuscript rightly, I cannot identify the play.”

Bentley (V.1350) notes that “[t]his mutilated title—whatever it may have been in its perfect form, the last three letters are doubtful—is known only from the Revels list. The particular list in which it occurs seems to be in the hand of a copyist and book-keeper of the King’s company (see R. C. Bald, ed., Hengist, King of Kent; or The Mayor of Queenborough by Thomas Middleton [1938], p. xxi, n. I), and this fact might suggest that Henry the Una… was a King’s men’s play, but unfortunately other plays in the list in his hand, like All’s Lost by Lust and A Fair Quarrel, belonged to other companies.”

For What It's Worth

(Information needed)

Works Cited

Chambers, E. K. (review author), “The King’s Office of the Revels, 1610-1622. Fragments of Documents in the Department of Manuscripts, British Museum, transcribed by FRANK MARCHAM, with a Preface by J. P. GILSON. London: Frank Marcham, 53, Chalk Farm Road, N.W.1. Pp. 50, including 19 Collotype Plates. £2. 2s. 1925.” The Review of English Studies, 1.4 (1925): 479-84. Print.

Marcham, Frank. The King's Office of the Revels 1610-1622: Fragments of Documents in the Department of Manuscripts, British Museum. London: F. Marcham, 1925. Print.

Site created and maintained by David McInnis, University of Melbourne; updated, 26 October 2009.