Fair Constance of Rome, Parts 1 and 2: Difference between revisions
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Site created and maintained by [[Roslyn L. Knutson]], Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; updated [[David McInnis]], 26 Feb 2015. | Site created and maintained by [[Roslyn L. Knutson]], Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; updated [[David McInnis]], 26 Feb 2015. | ||
[[category:David McInnis]][[category:Eastern]][[category:Christianity]] | [[category:David McInnis]][[category:Rose]][[category:Admiral's]][[category:Eastern]][[category:Christianity]][[category:Chaucer]] |
Revision as of 23:02, 2 March 2015
Fair Constance, Part I
Fair Constance, Part II
Historical Records
Payments to Playwrights (Henslowe's Diary)
F. 69v (Greg I.122)
Receaued of Mr Henshlowe thys 3th of June 1600 } in behalfe of the Company to An : Munday & } the rest in pte of payment for a booke Called } iijll vs the fayre Constance of Roome the some of }
lent to wm pd vnto drayton hathway Monday } hawton . . Ijs & deckers at the a poyntment of } lent mor ijs Robart shawe in full payment of a } xxxxiiijs Boocke called the fayre constance of } Rome the 14 of June 1600 some of }
l s d 12- 09- 00 Lent vnto Robart shawe the 20 of } June 1600 to lend them Hathway in } earneste of ther second pte of constance } xxs of Rome the some of . . . . . . . . . . }
Henslowe Papers
Greg, Papers (MS I. 31, Article 31, pp55-56)
Autograph note from Robert Shaa to Henslowe, undated (Greg uses the payments above to date the letter 14 June 1600):
J pray you mr Henshlowe deliuer vnto the bringer hereof the some of fyue & fifty shillinges to make the 3ll--fyue shillinges wch they receaued before, full six poundes in full payment of their booke Called the fayre Constance of Roome. whereof J pray you reserue for me mr willsons whole share wch is xjs. wch J to supply his neede deliuered him yesternight.
- yor lovinge ffreind Robt Shaa.
On the back is Wilson's name and a drawing of a dog:
File:HADP MS1 art31v.jpg
(Henslowe-Alleyn Digitisation Project, MSS 1, Article 31, 01v)
Theatrical Provenance
The Admiral's men acquired both parts of "Fair Constance of Rome" in the summer of 1600, the year the company moved from the Rose to the Fortune in autumn.
Probable Genre(s)
Classical History (?) (Harbage); Romance (Wiggins)
Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues
Greg (2.215) proposed Chaucer's Man of Law as the clear source for these plays. Wiggins agrees, suggesting that the first play dramatised the material up to and including Constance's marriage to King Alla (1254).
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales had been published numerous times; most recently by Speght in 1598:
The Fair Constance story had also appeared independently, much earlier in the 16th century:
The Man of Law's tale is a romance in which the Christian princess Constance has agreed to marry the Sultan of Syria on condition that he convert to Christianity.
References to the Play
None known; information welcome.
Critical Commentary
On the basis of Henslowe's payment for part 2 just six days after paying for part 1, Wiggins suggests that this project appears to have been conceived from the outset as a two-part play, rather than the success of part 1 generating demand for an unplanned part 2. His assumption is "that they broke at the middle peak of Constance's fortunes, so that her marriage to King Alla provides a temporary happy ending pending the full resolution in the second part" (1254).
For What It's Worth
<Enter any miscellaneous points that may be relevant, but don't fit into the above categories. This is the best place for highly conjectural thoughts.>
Works Cited
<List all texts cited throughout the entry, except those staple texts whose full bibliographical details have been provided in the masterlist of Works Cited found on the sidebar menu.>
Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; updated David McInnis, 26 Feb 2015.