Play of Oswald (BL MS Egerton 2623)
Anon. (date unknown)
Historical Records
British Library MS Egerton 2623, ff.37-38
22. Fragment of a play, in which the characters are, Ethelbert, the Duchess (his wife), Oswald (their son, conveyed to Northumberland in his infancy to escape his uncle, and newly discovered), Orina, Count Coell, Sir Ingram, Mouse-trap, etc.: late XVIth cent. The fragment, which is in two different hands, ends "Nay my lord, Ile speak thus much in his praise to his face, tho hee bee as fell a mastiue as euer rann vpon a gentleman: yett the curre is of a good breede, and to one hee knowes will shake his tayl"; but the words in italics, which are intended to convey a covert allusion to Will. Shake-speare, are a modern fabrication. f. 37.
Transcription:
| F. 37v. | . now not at my returne what dore to knock at | |||
| (Greg 149) | . or where my parents dwell, nor whom to ask for | |||
| __________ | ||||
| . . . . . . | . ood hart | |||
| __________ | ||||
| . . . . . . | . ray tell ye duchesse this & that I p . . T out my last last | |||
| . arewell to her | 5 | |||
| __________ | ||||
| . . . . . . | . .is I shall doe & w . . . . . . . . k which Ile exercize | |||
| . ind out the misle . . . . . . . . her Change | ||||
| __________ | ||||
| . . . . . . | will you, y'are m . . . . . . . Angell & with all . . . Ause of | |||
| not bee [. . . . ] . . . . . . . . . . H the shadow of any thing | ||||
| that euer shee . . . . . . . . . . Pray lett her haue | 10 | |||
| this Cloke & . . . . . . . . . . t . . . . . . . . d plometts | ||||
| hanging at my . . . . . . . will as they are lett downe | ||||
| keepe a l . . D . . . . . . . To tell me how ye day goes, | ||||
| __________ | ||||
| . . . . . . : | giue mee. . . . . . . . . . . thou partst not hence yett wind | |||
| vp all thy . . . . . . . . . elles shall fill thine eares, | 15 | |||
| a chyme of . . . . . . . | Exeunt | |||
| __________ | ||||
| .oris | Enter . . . . . . . . . .thelbert . orina .Sibert Ardeia | |||
| Clerimond Adrian ..rtrand .bracy.Ranulph | ||||
| : le beau | ||||
| __________ | ||||
| .thel: | the sunn to heare this story has gon slowly as wondr . . . | 20 | ||
| & delighting in ye Change, of this yor oswalds fortune | ||||
| __________ | ||||
| . . . . . . : | all (I sweare by my best hopes) being true that I | |||
| related, | ||||
| __________ | ||||
| . . . er: | in her discoursing on your Cheeke I noted the | |||
| battaile of a palenes and a redd fighting together | 25 | |||
| often | ||||
| __________ | ||||
| .thel: | vmh . Vmh . ^twas nothing but a selfe-feeling, & Compassonate | |||
| sharing of oswalds Ioy or sorrowes | ||||
| __________ | ||||
| Enter ye duchesse & oswald hand in hand | ||||
| __________ | ||||
| Duch: | before my voice aduance it self to heigth | 30 | ||
| my lord, deere husband, husband | ||||
| __________ | ||||
| .thel: | whats the matter | |||
| __________ | ||||
| Duch: | looke on theis Iewells--looke vpon vm well | |||
| rownd turne vm rownd--duke gerard--noble | ||||
| madame, siberte princely sibert--girle,--vpon | 35 | |||
| my blessing shoote at his face fixd lookes--cast | ||||
| all your eyes on this young man & wonder--wond. . | ||||
| at him | ||||
| __________ | ||||
| oswa: | what owle am I now made | |||
| __________ | ||||
| Duch: | know you thes toyes | 40 | ||
| __________ | ||||
| .thel: | I doe--& if ye god of scilence please to lay his | |||
| finger on each lippe but myne. I with strange | ||||
| musick, will fill euery eare, whilst I am rapt | ||||
| to tell what you shall heare | ||||
| __________ | ||||
| .r | pray sr goe on and scilence | 45 |
Theatrical Provenance
Unknown; information welcome.
Probable Genre(s)
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Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues
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References to the Play
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Critical Commentary
Harbage listed the fragment under "Titleless Plays and Fragments" in Supplementary List I (p.203):
'Fragment of a play.' Chief characters are Ethel-[bert?], the Duch[ess] his wife, Os[wald] their son, Orina, Sir Ingram, Mousetrap, etc.; contains a Collier forgery. Brit. Mus. MS. Egerton 2623, ff. 37-38.
Bentley (5.1452) offers a slightly better account of the manuscript's condition:
The two pages in Egerton 2623 disfigured by damp may be part of the same play; though the ink differs, the hands are similar and may be identical. 'Duch[ess]', 'Ethel:', and 'Osw[ald]' are characters on fol. 37. Oswald sems to be the lost son of the Duchess, discovered by a crucifix and the print of a ripe mulberry on his neck. Oswald's real name appears to be Eldred. Characters on the second folio are Ingram, Toogood, Count Coell, Malfreda, and Mousetrap, among others.
For What It's Worth
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Works Cited
A COLLECTION of papers chiefly relating to the English drama, temp. Hen. VII.-1778; formed by John Payne Collier, who has inserted a brief description... [Contains forgeries]. 16th century AD-17th century AD. MS Egerton 2,623. British Library. British Literary Manuscripts Online. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. (subscription required)
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