Play of Thieves and a Gullible Tapster

Anon. (c.1605?)
NB. "Play of Thieves and a Gullible Tapster" is a recent assignation (from Wiggins 1470) for this untitled play. The name is used here for convenience.

Historical Records

Schøyen MS 1627

A fragment preserved in the binding of a copy of the 1586 Geneva edition of Homer's Odyssey was found by Patrick King in 1988. It is now MS 1627 in the Schøyen Collection in Oslo:


Schøyen MS 1627, recto © The Schøyen Collection, Oslo and London	Schøyen MS 1627, verso © The Schøyen Collection, Oslo and London

Transcription

Theatrical Provenance

Unknown.

Probable Genre(s)

History? (see Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues below)

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

The 'Tapster fragment' imitates the tavern scenes from Shakespeare's 1 Henry IV: it features a tapster speaking to two thieves (one named George) about a man carrying 300 marks to the king's exchequer.

References to the Play

Information welcome.

Critical Commentary

Freeman

See also Wiggins 1470, who assigns a general date range of 1600-1620 and for Catalogue purposes places the play within c.1605.

For What It's Worth

Information welcome.

Works Cited

Freeman, Arthur. "The 'Tapster Manuscript': An Analogue of Shakespeare's Henry the Fourth Part One". English Manuscript Studies 1100-1700 6 (1997): 93-105.

Site created and maintained by David McInnis, University of Melbourne; updated 19 May 2016.