Black Dog of Newgate, Parts 1 and 2: Difference between revisions

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== Historical Records  ==
== Historical Records  ==


=== Henslowe's ''Diary'' ===
===Payments for Part 1 (''Henslowe's Diary'') ===
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:{| width="950" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"
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| <u>F. 118 (Greg I. 185)</u><br>pd at the a poyntment of John ducke the<br>24 of novmber 160[3]2 to m<sup>r </sup>hathwaye [blacke doge of]&nbsp;in earneste&nbsp;<br>of a playe called [John dayes [comodye]] the some of ... xxxx<sup>s</sup><br><sup>[newgate]</sup><br>
|'''F. 118 ([http://www.archive.org/stream/henslowesdiary00unkngoog#page/n244/mode/2up Greg I.185])'''<br>pd at the a poyntment of John ducke the<br>24 of novmbʒ 160[3]2 to m<sup>r </sup>hathwaye [blacke doge of]&nbsp;in earneste&nbsp;<br>of a playe called [John dayes [comodye]] the some of ... xxxx<sup>s</sup><br><sup>newgate</sup><br>
| rowspan="30" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | [[file:blackdoglondon.jpg|frame|right|“The Discovery of a London Monster, called The Blacke Dogg of New-gate …” ''EEBO'' (see [[#Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues|'''Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues''']] below)]]
| rowspan="30" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | [[file:blackdoglondon.jpg|frame|right|“The Discovery of a London Monster, called The Blacke Dogg of New-gate …” ''EEBO'' (see [[#Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues|'''Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues''']] below)]]
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| Lent vnto xpofer beston &amp; Robart palante the<br>26 novemb[er] 1602 to paye vnto John day m<sup></sup><sup>r </sup>smythe<br>m<sup>r</sup> hathway &amp; the other poete in p''ar''te of payment<br>of the playe called [John dayes comody’ the some of ... &nbsp;xxxx<sup>s</sup><br>the blacke dogge of newgate<br>
| Lent vnto xpofer beston &amp; Robart palante the<br>26 novembʒ 1602 to paye vnto John day m<sup></sup><sup>r </sup>smythe<br>m<sup>r</sup> hathway &amp; the other poete in p''ar''te of payment<br>of the playe called [John dayes comody] the some of ... &nbsp;xxxx<sup>s</sup><br><sup>the blacke dogge of newgate</sup><br>
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|<u>F. 118<sup>v</sup> (Greg I. 186)</u> <br>pd at the apoyntment of the company the 20 <br>of desember 1602 vnto m<sup>r</sup> hathewaye mr symthe &amp;&nbsp;<br>John daye &amp; the other poyet in fulle payment for <br>a playe called the blacke dogge of newgat some of &nbsp;... xxxx<sup>s</sup>  
|'''F. 118<sup>v</sup> ([http://www.archive.org/stream/henslowesdiary00unkngoog#page/n246/mode/2up Greg I. 186])'''<br>pd at the apoyntment of the company the 20 <br>of desembʒ 1602 vnto m<sup>r</sup> hathewaye mr symthe &amp;&nbsp;<br>John daye &amp; the other poyet in fulle payment for <br>a playe called the blacke dogge of newgat some of &nbsp;... xxxx<sup>s</sup>  
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|<u> F. 119 (Greg I. 187) </u><br>Lent vnto John dewcke the 10 Janewarye<br>1602 to by Lame skenes for the blacke<br>dogge of newgate the some of ... &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;x<sup>s</sup>
|'''F. 119 ([http://www.archive.org/stream/henslowesdiary00unkngoog#page/n246/mode/2up Greg I. 187])'''<br>Lent vnto John dewcke the 10 Janewarye<br>1602 to by Lame skenes for the blacke<br>dogge of newgate the some of ... &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;x<sup>s</sup>
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===Payments for Part 2 (''Henslowe's Diary'') ===
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:{| width="650" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"
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|<u> F. 119<sup>v </sup>(Greg I. 188)</u><br>Lent vnto John Lewen vpon John duckes noote<br>of his hande the 29 of Janewarye 1602 to geue in earneste<br>of the second p''ar''t of the boocke called the blacke dooge<br>of newgate vnto m<sup>r</sup> hathwaye &amp; John daye &amp; m<sup>r</sup> smythe<br>&amp; the other poete the some of &nbsp; ... &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;iii<sup>li</sup>
|'''F. 119<sup>v </sup>([http://www.archive.org/stream/henslowesdiary00unkngoog#page/n248/mode/2up Greg I. 188])'''<br>Lent vnto John Lewen vpon John duckes noote<br>of his hande the 29 of Janewarye 1602 to geue in earneste<br>of the second p''ar''t of the boocke called the blacke dooge<br>of newgate vnto m<sup>r</sup> hathwaye &amp; John daye &amp; m<sup>r</sup> smythe<br>&amp; the other poete the some of &nbsp; ... &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;iii<sup>li</sup>
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| <u>F. 120 (Greg I. 189)</u><br>Pd vnto the tyerman for the companye 1602<br>to bye viij yrdes &amp; a hallfe of blacke satten<br>at xij<sup>s</sup> a yrde to macke a sewt for the 2 p''ar''te <br>of the blacke dogge the some of <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; ... &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;v<sup>li</sup> ij<sup>s</sup>
|'''F. 120 ([http://www.archive.org/stream/henslowesdiary00unkngoog#page/n248/mode/2up Greg I. 189])'''<br>Pd vnto the tyerman for the companye 1602<br>to bye viij yrdes &amp; a hallfe of blacke satten<br>at xij<sup>s</sup> a yrde to macke a sewt for the 2 p''ar''te <br>of the blacke dogge the some of <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; ... &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;v<sup>li</sup> ij<sup>s</sup>
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| Lent vnto John dewcke the 26 of febreary 1602<br>to paye the poetes in fulle payment for ther<br>adycyones for the 2 p''ar''te of the blacke doge the some <br>of <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;... &nbsp; &nbsp;xxs
| Lent vnto John dewcke the 26 of febreary 1602<br>to paye the poetes in fulle payment for ther<br>adycyones for the 2 p''ar''te of the blacke doge the some <br>of <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;... &nbsp; &nbsp;xxs
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=== Stationers' Register  ===
=== Stationers' Register  ===
<br>


Arber III.6b/56  
'''S.R.1, 3.6b/56 ([http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_6177070_003/pages/ldpd_6177070_003_00000058.html?toggle=image&menu=maximize&top=&left= CLIO])'''
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22 December 1595  
22 December 1595  
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:Second ''the Divelles wake'' / and the Third Luke Huttons  
:Second ''the Divelles wake'' / and the Third Luke Huttons  
:''Lamentacon'' ... xviij<sup>d</sup>
:''Lamentacon'' ... xviij<sup>d</sup>
 
<br>
6 January 1595/6  
[[category:John Danter]]
8 January 1595/6:
Gabriell Sympson william white/  
Gabriell Sympson william white/  
:Entred for their copie vnder the hands of the wardens, a booke  
:Entred for their copie vnder the hands of the wardens, a booke  
:intituled, The black Dogge of Newgate bothe pythie and profitable for all Readers ... vj<sup>d</sup>
:intituled, ''The black Dogge of Newgate bothe pythie and profitable for all Readers'' ... vj<sup>d</sup>
[[category:Gabriel Simpson]][[category:William White]]
<br>


'''S.R.1, 3.7b/58 ([http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_6177070_003/pages/ldpd_6177070_003_00000060.html?toggle=image&menu=maximize&top=&left= CLIO])'''
<br>


Arber III. 7b/58
9 February 1595/6:
 
9 February 1595/6  
Symon Stafford and [Gabriel] Simpson
Symon Stafford and [Gabriel] Simpson
:Entred for his copie vnder the handes of the wardens. The black  
:Entred for his copie vnder the handes of the wardens. ''The black''
:Dog of newgates Lmentation for all his knauery. vilany bribery and  
:''Dog of newgates Lmentation for all his knauery. vilany bribery and''
:Conny catchinge to the Tune of 'Huttons Deldul' ... vj<sup>d</sup>
:''Conny catchinge to the Tune of 'Huttons Deldul''' ... vj<sup>d</sup>
 
[[category:Simon Stafford]]
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== Probable Genre(s)  ==
== Probable Genre(s)  ==


Comedy (Henslowe’s entries)
Comedy (Henslowe’s entries); “Topical Play” (Harbage)[[category:prison]]
“Topical Play” (Harbage)
   
   


<br>  
<br>


== Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues  ==
== Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues  ==


“The Discovery of a London Monster, called The Blacke Dogg of New-gate …” EEBO
“The Discovery of a London Monster, called The Blacke Dogg of New-gate …” ''EEBO''
:The first edition (Simpson and White) calls this work simply ''The Black Dog of Newgate''. Subsequent editions (1612, 1638) carry the vivid title-page illustration and the revised title, beginning with "The Discovery of a London Monster, called, ''The Blacke Dogg of New-gate''." The story concerns the apparition of a black dog, "gliding vp and down the streets a little before the time of Execution," and legends associated with that "walking spirit" (A<sup>4v</sup>).[[category:George Eld]][[category:R. Wilson (stat.)]]
<br>
 
“Luke Hutton’s Lamentation” ([http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/30769/image ''EBBA''])
<blockquote>The ballad opens with a conventional lament by Hutton of his imprisonment and impending execution (it includes a claim that his parents were well-born and he disobeyed them). Hutton, not yet 20 years old, describes his criminal behavior, mainly highway robbery (not murder) with 12 fellows he dubs his “apostles.” There is a hint of Robin-Hoodishness in his hitting rich men for their gold. In one stanza, Hutton says he was made a jailor (a common practice, rather like a fox guarding the henhouse) and he set the prisoners free. Claiming a three-year career, he recounts some details of his life: he was born on St. Luke’s Day, and to celebrate his birthday he had robbed 19 men. He was caught in London but taken to York to stand trial. Nine score and seventeen felony indictments were delivered against him (197). As the ballad concludes, he is waiting to ascend the gallows to be hanged. [http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/20765/transcription EBBA] [http://www.outlawsandhighwaymen.com/hutton.htm outlawsandhighwaymen.com]</blockquote>


== References to the Play  ==


“Luke Hutton’s Lamentation”
Probably, as in most mentions of the "Black Dog of Newgate," the reference is to the notorious criminal, not the play; nonetheless, the following passage from ''The Witch of Edmonton'' by Thomas Dekker, John Ford, and William Rowley shows that the subject remained current for many years. Here, Old Banks, a countryman, and his son (Cuddy) talk about dog Cuddy has seen:
The ballad opens with a conventional lament by Hutton of his imprisonment and impending execution (it includes a claim that his parents were well-born and he disobeyed them). Hutton, not yet 20 years old, describes his criminal behavior, mainly highway robbery (not murder) with 12 fellows he dubs his “apostles.” There is a hint of Robin-Hoodishness in his hitting rich men for their gold. In one stanza, Hutton says he was made a jailor (a common practice, rather like a fox guarding the henhouse) and he set the prisoners free. Claiming a three-year career, he recounts some details of his life: he was born on St. Luke’s Day, and to celebrate his birthday he had robbed 19 men. He was caught in London but taken to York to stand trial. Nine score and seventeen felony indictments were delivered against him (197). As the ballad concludes, he is waiting to ascend the gallows to be hanged. [http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/20765/transcription EBBA] [http://www.outlawsandhighwaymen.com/hutton.htm outlawsandhighwaymen.com]


<blockquote>
Old Banks: What manner of dog is it? didst ever see him?
<br>
<br>


== References to the Play  ==
Cuddy: See him? yes, and given him a bone to gnaw twenty times. The dog
 
is no court-foisting hound that fills his belly full by base wagging his tail;
 
neither is it a citizen's water-spaniel, enticing his master to go a-ducking
<br>  
twice or thrice a week, whilst his wife makes ducks and drakes at home: this is
no Paris-garden bandog neither, that keeps a bow-wow-wowing to have butchers
bring their curs thither; and when all comes to all, they run away like sheep:
neither is this the Black Dog of Newgate.    (act 4, scene 1)
</blockquote>
<br>


== Critical Commentary  ==
== Critical Commentary  ==


Greg repeats the suggestion by F. G. Fleay that the “other” poet was William Haughton, then disagrees because Haughton did not otherwise write for Worcester’s Men. He cites as source a chapbook “said to have been printed before 1600, and ascribed to Luke Hutton who was executed in 1598” (II. 233, Items 273 & 277). He gives the title and provenance of the ballad, “The Discovery of a London Monster, called, The Blacke Dogg of New-gate ...".
[[WorksCited|'''Fleay, ''BCED''''']] suggested that the unnamed "other poet" was William Haughton [[category:William Haughton]] but did not list the play among Haughton's credits ([http://www.archive.org/stream/abiographicalch01fleagoog#page/n120/mode/2up 1.108]; [http://www.archive.org/stream/abiographicalch01fleagoog#page/n286/mode/2up 1.272-4]).  
<br>


[[WorksCited|'''Greg II''']] repeated Fleay's suggestion but disagreed because Haughton did not otherwise write for Worcester’s Men. He cited as source a now-lost chapbook “said to have been printed before 1600, and ascribed to Luke Hutton who was executed in 1598” ([http://www.archive.org/stream/henslowesdiary02hensuoft#page/232/mode/2up #273 & #277, p. 233]), and he noted the title and provenance of the ballad, “The Discovery of a London Monster, called, The Blacke Dogg of New-gate ...".
<br>


The headnote to the ballad (Roxburge Collection) comments on the popularity of “Luke Hutton’s Lamentation,” quotes Collier’s comments in his ballad collection, and also quotes C. H. Cooper as believing that Luke Hutton was probably a younger son of Matthew Hutton, Archbishop of York in 1595. After matriculating at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1582, Hutton dropped out and turned to criminal activity including highway robbery. He wrote The Black Dog of Newgate from prison.
'''Roxburge Collection''': the headnote to “Luke Hutton’s Lamentation” comments on the popularity of the ballad, quoting Collier’s comments in his ballad collection. The headnote also quotes C. H. Cooper as believing that Luke Hutton was probably a younger son of Matthew Hutton, Archbishop of York in 1595. The headnote provides additional details of Luke's life: he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge (1582); dropped out and turned to criminal activity including highway robbery; and he wrote "The Black Dog of Newgate" from prison.
<br>


'''Spraggs''' adds the following details in a note on ''Luke Hutton's Lamentation'' ([http://www.outlawsandhighwaymen.com/hutton.htm "Outlaws and Highwaymen"]):
:(1) Hutton probably did not write the ballad; he was in jail when it was first registered at Stationers' Hall (22 Dec 1595) and "still alive ... on 16 February 1596" and in Newgate; he was subsequently sent to York and hanged. She points out the mismatch of information in the ballad, the earliest surviving copy of which is dated 1598, with the 1595 registration in that the surviving 1598 copy claims to have been written on the day before Luke's hanging in York, an event that hadn't happened when the ballad was first registered (1595). 
:(2) the "two undoubted works" by Hutton "are a lengthy verse repentance and a pamphlet on the abuses of Newcage officers called ''The Black Dog of Newgate''."


McMullen defines “black dog” as a canting term that refers to a warrant system by which a person (often himself a criminal) arrested others on mere suspicion of a crime and bullied them into providing information with threats of prison time for themselves. Such warrants were gotten from justices of the peace and the privy council (p. 149). According to McMullan, “[t]he main idea of the black dog system was to prolong the possibilities of intermediary payoffs from thieves and to amass intelligence” (p. 151).
[[WorksCited|'''Wiggins''']] posits initially that the theatrical narrative was "how Newgate prison came to be haunted by the ghost of a black dog (#1381). This is the story in "The Discovery of a London Monster, called The Blacke Dogg of New-gate"; details include famished prisoners who cannibalize a scholar "imprisoned … [for] witchcraft"; in the shape of a black dog, the scholar haunts them in prison and "takes his revenge" even after they escape [#1381). However, put off by the goriness of the narrative for a play called a comedy by Henslowe, Wiggins draws back from that proposal (at least for part 2) and offers instead "a comedy dealing —whether satirically farcically, or romantically—with events in and around the prison, perhaps exploiting an alternative reading of the title-phrase as a nickname for the jailer" (#1381). Wiggins does not mention the ballad of Luke Hutton, either in terms of part one of "Black Dog" (#1381) or part 2 (#1389).


 
<br>
<br>  


== For What It's Worth  ==
== For What It's Worth  ==


'''McMullen''' defines “black dog” as a canting term that refers to a warrant system by which a person (often himself a criminal) arrested others on mere suspicion of a crime and bullied them into providing information with threats of prison time for themselves. Such warrants were gotten from justices of the peace and the privy council (p. 149). According to McMullan, “[t]he main idea of the black dog system was to prolong the possibilities of intermediary payoffs from thieves and to amass intelligence” (p. 151).
<br><br>
St. Luke’s Day is 18 October.
St. Luke’s Day is 18 October.
<br><br>


<br>
[[category:canting terms]] [[category:Scaffold speeches]] [[category:Highwaymen]] [[category:Hanging]] [[category:monster]] [[category:ballads]] [[category:Execution]]  [[category:Henslowe's records]] [[category:Serial/Sequel plays]] [[category:Worcester's]] [[category:Rose]][[category:all]][[category:S.R.]][[category:Roslyn L. Knutson]][[category:London]][[category:London gates]]
 
[[category:canting terms]] [[category:Scaffold speeches]] [[category:Highwaymen]] [[category:Hanging]] [[category:monster]] [[category:ballads]] [[category:Execution]]  [[category:Henslowe's records]] [[category:Serial plays]] [[category:Worcester's]] [[category:Rose]][[category:all]][[category:S.R.]]


== Works Cited  ==
== Works Cited  ==


''English Broadside Ballad Archive'', University of California, Santa Barbara [http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ EBBA]
<div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em">''English Broadside Ballad Archive'', University of California, Santa Barbara [http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ EBBA]</div>
 
<div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em">McMullan, John L. ''The Canting Crew: London’s Criminal Underworld 1550-1700''. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1984.</div>
McMullan, John L. ''The Canting Crew: London’s Criminal Underworld 1550-1700''. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1984.
<div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em">Spraggs, Gillian. [http://www.outlawsandhighwaymen.com/hutton.htm "Outlaws and Highwaymen"]</div>
 
<br>
Spraggs, Gillian. [http://www.outlawsandhighwaymen.com/hutton.htm "Outlaws and Highwaymen"]
 
<br>  
<br>  


Site created and maintained by [[Roslyn L. Knutson]], Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; last updated, 4 November 2009.
Site created and maintained by [[Roslyn L. Knutson]], Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; last updated, 7 February 2012.

Revision as of 10:38, 21 May 2019

Black Dog of Newgate, Part I (1602)

John Day, Richard Hathaway, Wentworth Smith, and "the other poete"

Black Dog of Newgate, Part 2 (1603)

John Day, Richard Hathaway, Wentworth Smith, and "the other poete"


Historical Records

Payments for Part 1 (Henslowe's Diary)


F. 118 (Greg I.185)
pd at the a poyntment of John ducke the
24 of novmbʒ 160[3]2 to mr hathwaye [blacke doge of] in earneste 
of a playe called [John dayes [comodye]] the some of ... xxxxs
newgate
“The Discovery of a London Monster, called The Blacke Dogg of New-gate …” EEBO (see Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues below)


Lent vnto xpofer beston & Robart palante the
26 novembʒ 1602 to paye vnto John day mr smythe
mr hathway & the other poete in parte of payment
of the playe called [John dayes comody] the some of ...  xxxxs
the blacke dogge of newgate


F. 118v (Greg I. 186)
pd at the apoyntment of the company the 20
of desembʒ 1602 vnto mr hathewaye mr symthe & 
John daye & the other poyet in fulle payment for
a playe called the blacke dogge of newgat some of  ... xxxxs


F. 119 (Greg I. 187)
Lent vnto John dewcke the 10 Janewarye
1602 to by Lame skenes for the blacke
dogge of newgate the some of ...      xs

pd more for the company the 16 of Janewarye
1602 vnto Goodman freswatr for [c] a canves
sewt & skenes for the black doge of newgate xijs


Payments for Part 2 (Henslowe's Diary)


F. 119v (Greg I. 188)
Lent vnto John Lewen vpon John duckes noote
of his hande the 29 of Janewarye 1602 to geue in earneste
of the second part of the boocke called the blacke dooge
of newgate vnto mr hathwaye & John daye & mr smythe
& the other poete the some of   ...      iiili

pd at the apoyntment of John ducke the 3 of
febreary 1602 vnto mr hathwaye mr smythe John
daye & the other poet in fulle payment for the
boocke called the second parte of the blacke dooge
the some of    ...   iiijli


F. 120 (Greg I. 189)
Pd vnto the tyerman for the companye 1602
to bye viij yrdes & a hallfe of blacke satten
at xijs a yrde to macke a sewt for the 2 parte
of the blacke dogge the some of      ...         vli ijs

Lent vnto Thomas blacke wode the 21 of febreary
1602 to geue vnto the 4 poetes in earneste of ther
adicyones for the 2 parte of the blacke doge    ...    xs

Lent vnto Thomas black wode the 24 of febreary
1602 to geue vnto the 4 poetes in parte of paymente
for ther adycyons in the 2 parte of the blacke doge  ...  xs

Lent vnto John dewcke the 26 of febreary 1602
to paye the poetes in fulle payment for ther
adycyones for the 2 parte of the blacke doge the some
of           ...    xxs


Stationers' Register


S.R.1, 3.6b/56 (CLIO)

22 December 1595 John Danter.

Entred for his copies vnder th[e h]andes of bothe the wardens
iij ballades the firste the Deathe of Sir Roger Williams the
Second the Divelles wake / and the Third Luke Huttons
Lamentacon ... xviijd


8 January 1595/6: Gabriell Sympson william white/

Entred for their copie vnder the hands of the wardens, a booke
intituled, The black Dogge of Newgate bothe pythie and profitable for all Readers ... vjd


S.R.1, 3.7b/58 (CLIO)

9 February 1595/6: Symon Stafford and [Gabriel] Simpson

Entred for his copie vnder the handes of the wardens. The black
Dog of newgates Lmentation for all his knauery. vilany bribery and
Conny catchinge to the Tune of 'Huttons Deldul' ... vjd


Theatrical Provenance

The play belonged to Worcester’s Men, who leased the Rose playhouse in August 1602 where they played through May 1603.


Probable Genre(s)

Comedy (Henslowe’s entries); “Topical Play” (Harbage)



Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

“The Discovery of a London Monster, called The Blacke Dogg of New-gate …” EEBO

The first edition (Simpson and White) calls this work simply The Black Dog of Newgate. Subsequent editions (1612, 1638) carry the vivid title-page illustration and the revised title, beginning with "The Discovery of a London Monster, called, The Blacke Dogg of New-gate." The story concerns the apparition of a black dog, "gliding vp and down the streets a little before the time of Execution," and legends associated with that "walking spirit" (A4v).


“Luke Hutton’s Lamentation” (EBBA)

The ballad opens with a conventional lament by Hutton of his imprisonment and impending execution (it includes a claim that his parents were well-born and he disobeyed them). Hutton, not yet 20 years old, describes his criminal behavior, mainly highway robbery (not murder) with 12 fellows he dubs his “apostles.” There is a hint of Robin-Hoodishness in his hitting rich men for their gold. In one stanza, Hutton says he was made a jailor (a common practice, rather like a fox guarding the henhouse) and he set the prisoners free. Claiming a three-year career, he recounts some details of his life: he was born on St. Luke’s Day, and to celebrate his birthday he had robbed 19 men. He was caught in London but taken to York to stand trial. Nine score and seventeen felony indictments were delivered against him (197). As the ballad concludes, he is waiting to ascend the gallows to be hanged. EBBA outlawsandhighwaymen.com

References to the Play

Probably, as in most mentions of the "Black Dog of Newgate," the reference is to the notorious criminal, not the play; nonetheless, the following passage from The Witch of Edmonton by Thomas Dekker, John Ford, and William Rowley shows that the subject remained current for many years. Here, Old Banks, a countryman, and his son (Cuddy) talk about dog Cuddy has seen:

Old Banks: What manner of dog is it? didst ever see him?

Cuddy: See him? yes, and given him a bone to gnaw twenty times. The dog is no court-foisting hound that fills his belly full by base wagging his tail; neither is it a citizen's water-spaniel, enticing his master to go a-ducking twice or thrice a week, whilst his wife makes ducks and drakes at home: this is no Paris-garden bandog neither, that keeps a bow-wow-wowing to have butchers bring their curs thither; and when all comes to all, they run away like sheep: neither is this the Black Dog of Newgate. (act 4, scene 1)


Critical Commentary

Fleay, BCED suggested that the unnamed "other poet" was William Haughton but did not list the play among Haughton's credits (1.108; 1.272-4).

Greg II repeated Fleay's suggestion but disagreed because Haughton did not otherwise write for Worcester’s Men. He cited as source a now-lost chapbook “said to have been printed before 1600, and ascribed to Luke Hutton who was executed in 1598” (#273 & #277, p. 233), and he noted the title and provenance of the ballad, “The Discovery of a London Monster, called, The Blacke Dogg of New-gate ...".

Roxburge Collection: the headnote to “Luke Hutton’s Lamentation” comments on the popularity of the ballad, quoting Collier’s comments in his ballad collection. The headnote also quotes C. H. Cooper as believing that Luke Hutton was probably a younger son of Matthew Hutton, Archbishop of York in 1595. The headnote provides additional details of Luke's life: he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge (1582); dropped out and turned to criminal activity including highway robbery; and he wrote "The Black Dog of Newgate" from prison.

Spraggs adds the following details in a note on Luke Hutton's Lamentation ("Outlaws and Highwaymen"):

(1) Hutton probably did not write the ballad; he was in jail when it was first registered at Stationers' Hall (22 Dec 1595) and "still alive ... on 16 February 1596" and in Newgate; he was subsequently sent to York and hanged. She points out the mismatch of information in the ballad, the earliest surviving copy of which is dated 1598, with the 1595 registration in that the surviving 1598 copy claims to have been written on the day before Luke's hanging in York, an event that hadn't happened when the ballad was first registered (1595).
(2) the "two undoubted works" by Hutton "are a lengthy verse repentance and a pamphlet on the abuses of Newcage officers called The Black Dog of Newgate."

Wiggins posits initially that the theatrical narrative was "how Newgate prison came to be haunted by the ghost of a black dog (#1381). This is the story in "The Discovery of a London Monster, called The Blacke Dogg of New-gate"; details include famished prisoners who cannibalize a scholar "imprisoned … [for] witchcraft"; in the shape of a black dog, the scholar haunts them in prison and "takes his revenge" even after they escape [#1381). However, put off by the goriness of the narrative for a play called a comedy by Henslowe, Wiggins draws back from that proposal (at least for part 2) and offers instead "a comedy dealing —whether satirically farcically, or romantically—with events in and around the prison, perhaps exploiting an alternative reading of the title-phrase as a nickname for the jailer" (#1381). Wiggins does not mention the ballad of Luke Hutton, either in terms of part one of "Black Dog" (#1381) or part 2 (#1389).


For What It's Worth

McMullen defines “black dog” as a canting term that refers to a warrant system by which a person (often himself a criminal) arrested others on mere suspicion of a crime and bullied them into providing information with threats of prison time for themselves. Such warrants were gotten from justices of the peace and the privy council (p. 149). According to McMullan, “[t]he main idea of the black dog system was to prolong the possibilities of intermediary payoffs from thieves and to amass intelligence” (p. 151).

St. Luke’s Day is 18 October.

Works Cited

English Broadside Ballad Archive, University of California, Santa Barbara EBBA
McMullan, John L. The Canting Crew: London’s Criminal Underworld 1550-1700. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1984.
Spraggs, Gillian. "Outlaws and Highwaymen"



Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; last updated, 7 February 2012.