William the Conqueror

Anon. (1594)


Historical Records

Performance Records (Henslowe's Diary)


F. 8v (Greg, I.16)

In a listing headed as follows:

"In the name of god Amen begninge the 27 of
desember 1593 the earle of susex his men


Res at william the conkerer the 4 of Jenewary 1593 [i.e. 1594]. . . ………. xxiis


Theatrical Provenance

Sussex's Men at the Rose Playhouse. The play is only known from this single performance. It is not marked "ne".

Probable Genre(s)

Romantic comedy? (Harbage)

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

See below


References to the Play

None known


Critical Commentary

Hazlitt notes of this play: "A play on this subject is also mentioned in Heywood's Apology for Actors, 1612" (253).

Fleay (BCED, 2.292, 299) makes a new suggestion: "Query Fair Em, retained from L.Strange's Men, like The Jew of Malta." That is to say, he 'lumps' it with the extant play Fair Em, or the Miller's Daughter of Manchester, with the Love of William the Conqueror.

Fleay's suggestion has met with fairly general acceptance: for instance, Greg, 2.158, and more recently Knutson.


This is sometimes listed as a lost play (e.g. Sibley, 176).



See also Wiggins serial number 903.


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

Hazlitt, W. Carew. A Manual for the Collector and Amateur of Old English Plays. London, 1892.
Knutson, Roslyn L. "What's So Special About 1594." Shakespeare Quarterly 61.4 (2010): 449-467.


Site created and maintained by Matthew Steggle, Sheffield Hallam University; updated 12/9/2016.