Warlamchester
Historical Records
Henslowe’s Diary
28 of novmb[er] 1594 Rd at worlamchester xxiij s
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30 of novmb[er] 1594 Rd at warlamchester xxxviij s
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12 of desemb[er] 1594 Rd at warlamchester xv s
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29 of aprell 1595 ----Rd at warlamchester xxix s
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10 of maye 1595 Rd at warlam chester xxix s
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30 of maye 1595 Rd at warlamchester ix s
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16 of june 1595 ----Rd at warlamchester xxv s
Henslowe's Diary. Ed. R. A. Foakes. 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. pp 26, 28, 30.
Theatrical Provenance
Admiral's Men at the Rose.
Probable Genre(s)
Saint's life? Anglo-Roman history?
Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues
Walarmchester (one of numerous variant spellings) was the Saxon name of the settlement previously known by the Romans as Verulamium. It subsequently came to be called St Albans in memory of the martyr executed there in the third century.
The use of the Saxon name in the play's title suggests that its subject matter is derived from the period prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066. One obvious possibility is the martyrdom of St Alban, referred to in the first volume of Holinshed's Chronicles (1577), in the chapter entitled "Asclepiodotus duke of Cornewall" (Oxford Holinshed Project, p. 88)).
The other obvious possibility is the earlier destruction of Verulamium during the revolt of Boudicea, referred to in the first volume of Holinshed's Chronicles (1577), in the chapter entitled "Aruiragus" (Oxford Holinshed Project, p. 64).
References to the Play
Information welcome.
Critical Commentary
See Wiggins serial number 860.
For What It's Worth
Information welcome.
Works Cited
Site created and maintained by Tom Rutter, Sheffield Hallam University; updated 22 April 2010.