Burbon (i.e. Bourbon?)
(1597)
Historical Records
Performance Records (Henslowe's Diary)
novembʒ 1597 2 tt at burbon. . . . . . . . . . 00|16|30 — 24 — 00
Henslowe's Inventory of Playbooks
Greg, Papers (Appx. I, art. 1, p. 121. l. 193)
Under the heading “A Note of all suche bookes as belong to the Stocke, and such as I have bought since the 3d of Marche 1598
- Borbonne.
Theatrical Provenance
The fact that "Burbon" appeared in Henslowe's playlists for the Admiral's men in November 1597 (after the company added players from Pembroke's men), added to the fact that the play was not marked "ne" (as new), led Greg II to declare it an acquisition from Pembroke's men (#115, p. 187). Wiggins, Catalogue inclines also to the opinion that "Burbon" had previously been played by Pembroke's men, perhaps most recently at the Swan (#1076).
Probable Genre(s)
History
Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues
Greg II, beyond accepting a Duke of Bourbon as the character referred to in the title of the play, did not suggest a story line for the play; he rejected the lumping by F. G. Fleay, BCED of "Burbon" with a later play,The Trial of Chivalry, in which a Duke of Bourbon is a character.
Wiggins, Catalogue, also rejecting the linkage with The Trial of Chivalry, suggests that the title character of "Burbon" was Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, who betrayed his king (Francis I) and fought instead for the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, in whose service he died during the Sack of Rome in 1527.
References to the Play
Critical Commentary
For What It's Worth
Works Cited
Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; 7 October 2019.