Vayvode

Henry Chettle (reviser?) (1598)

Historical Records

Henslowe's Diary

Fol. 49^v (Greg I.94)

Lent vnto Thomas dowton the 21 of aguste

1598 to by a sewte & a gowne for vayvode

the some of tene pownde J saye lent . . . . x^ll

wittnes mr willsone

Lent vnto Thomas dowton the 22 of aguste

1598 to by diuers thinges for vayvode

the some of . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxxvj^s

Lent vnto Thomas dowton the 24 of aguste

1598 to bye diuers thinges for vayvode

the some of . . . . . . . . . . . . xiiij^s

Lent vnto Robart shaw the 25 of aguste

1598 to paye the lace manes byll ij^ll xvj^s vj^d

& the tayllers bylle xxviij^s vj^d some is . . . . . iiij^ll v^s

for vayvode

Lent vnto hary cheattell the 29 of aguste

1598 at the apoyntment of thomas dowton

ffor his playe of vayvode the some of . . . . . xx^s

Fol. 53r (Greg I.101)

pd vnto my sonne Edward alleyn the 21 of

Janewary for the playe of vayvod for the company

the some of xxxx^s J saye pd . . . ¹⁵⁹⁸ . . . . .xxxx^s

Henslowe Papers

Greg, Papers (Appx. I, i, 121)

Heading: A Note of all suche bookes as belong to the Stocke, and such as I have bought since the 3d of March 1598

Vayvode

Theatrical Provenance

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Probable Genre(s)

Foreign History (?) (Harbage)

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

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References to the Play

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Critical Commentary

Greg: "This was evidently an old play belonging to Alleyn revised by Chettle on the occasion of its revival. 'The Vaivode,' says Hazlitt, 'was possibly founded on the current incidents in the war between Transylvania and Austria.' Vaivode, or Voivode, is a title equivalent to general or governor in certain Slavonic countries. Collier remarks: 'See Painter's "Palace of Pleasure," ii., p. 140, &c., respecting "Vayvode."' The reference is evidently to the edition of 1567, tome ii., novel 21, the story of Anne, Queen of Hungary. Since, however, the hero of this tale is one Philippo dei Nicuoli of Cremona, secretary to the Lord Andrea Borgo, and that no such person as a Vaivode is mentioned therein, this misleading suggestion may be at once dismissed. The piece appears in the play-list of the Admiral's inventories (Apx. I. i. l. 198b) apparently before its purchase from Alleyn. Fleay accuses Halliwell of taking his entry 'Vayoode, by Henry Chettle' from Collier's index, adding: 'He did not see that this was a preparation for an "interlineation" in the Diary.' The idea of Collier starting to make a forgery by inserting an entry in the index of his edition is sufficiently absurd, but Fleay has, moreover, overlooked the entry of 29 Aug. It may be doubted whether the invention of forgeries is any more desirable than their perpetration." (II.197)

Wann: "it is likely that Vayvode was a conqueror play or tragedy similar to Scanderbeg, treating of the long struggle between one of the Vayvodes of Wallachia and the Ottoman Turks." (428)

Chambers: "As to Vayvode, the entries are rather puzzling. In August Chettle received £1 'for his playe of Vayvode', and the purchase of properties show that the production took place. But in the following January there was a payment of £2 to Alleyn 'for the playe of Vayvod for the company'. Possibly Alleyn had some rights in the manuscript, which were at first overlooked." (II. 170)

Feuillerat: The modifications made on a play called Vayvode may be said to fall in the category of simple improvements. This play was one of those belonging to the actor Edward Alleyn […] Since Alleyn, as we have seen, had sold it, and since Chettle received only 5s. […] the supposition is that Chettle was not really the author but was merely responsible for a reworking. Nothing is known of this play with its mysterious title, and further conjecture would be futile." (9) "Hazlitt believed that the play was based on incidents in the war between Transylvania and Austria, since the word "vaivode" was a title used in the Balkans to denote the chiefs of the army or the state. This is indeed an ingenious proof of an equally ingenious hypothesis." (9n.)

For What It's Worth

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Works Cited

Feuillerat, Albert. The Composition of Shakespeare's Plays: Authorship, Chronology." New Haven: Yale UP, 1953.

Wann, Louis. "The Oriental in Elizabethan Drama." Modern Philology 12 (1915): 423-447

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