Turk's Too Good for Him, A
Historical Records
Cotton MS. Tiberius E. X.
In 1925 Frank Marcham transcribed and published the contents of the then British Museum manuscript, Cotton MS. Tiberius E. X. It contains the History of Richard III by the Master of the Revels, Sir George Buc, written on what appears to be “Revels Office waste,” sometime after 1617 (Chambers, RES 479). Amongst the papers are “four lists of plays, bare lists without any indication of their objects,” which may or may not be all in Buc’s hand (Chambers, RES 479). Chambers believes it “most likely that the lists represent plays which the Revels Office had at some time or times under consideration for performance at court” (RES 484).
The list designated ‘D’ by Chambers (f.247) contains "A Turkes too good for hi...".
Bentley (V.1426), transcribing the title as “...age---Turkes too good for [hi?]...”, observes that "[t]he 'age' before the title was 'Trage', for Tragedy, as a later entry shows. I am not at all sure that the last two letters of the title are 'hi', as Marcham read them."
Theatrical Provenance
Unknown company at court (Harbage).Chambers (RES 484) suggests that the plays in Buc’s list, written on Revels Office scrap paper, were under consideration for performance at court.
Probable Genre(s)
Unknown (Harbage).
Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues
(information needed)
References to the Play
None known.
Critical Commentary
Bentley (V.1426) notes that "[t]he part of the list in which A Turk's Too Good for [Him?] appears is in the hand of a copyist and book-keeper of the King's company. ... This fact seems to suggest that the play was the property of the King's company, but unfortunately at least two other titles in this hand, All's Lost by Lust and A Fair Quarrel, are known to have belonged to other companies."
Chambers (RES 483) notes, in relation to the Revels Office paper list, that this play is "[n]ot otherwise known".
For What It's Worth
(information needed)
Keywords
Cotton MS. Tiberius E. X., Turks?
Works Cited
Chambers, E. K. (review author). “The King’s Office of the Revels, 1610-1622. Fragments of Documents in the Department of Manuscripts, British Museum, transcribed by FRANK MARCHAM, with a Preface by J. P. GILSON. London: Frank Marcham, 53, Chalk Farm Road, N.W.1. Pp. 50, including 19 Collotype Plates. £2. 2s. 1925.” Review of English Studies, 1.4 (1925): 479-84. Print.
Site created and maintained by David McInnis, University of Melbourne; updated 04 December 2009.