Blind Beggar of Bednal Green (Tom Strowd), Parts 2 and 3

William Haughton and John Day (1600, 1601)


Historical Records

Payments

"Blind Beggar of Bednal Green (Tom Strowd), Part 2"

To playwrights in Philip Henslowe's diary


Fol. 82 (Greg I.130)
Receiud of mr Henchlowe in ernest of the second
parte of the blind begger of Bednall Greene
the Sum of   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40s.
29 of January.      W. Haughton
      1600                  J Day


Fol. 85v (Greg I.134)
Lent vnto wm Harton and J daye at the }
apoyntment of Samwell Rowly the 29 }
of Janewary 1600 in earnest of a Boocke } xxxxs
called the second pte of the blinde beager }
of bednowle grene ^ wth thom[m]e strowde some of }


Lent vnto wm harton & John daye }
in earneste of a Boocke called the } xxxs
2 pt of tthome strowde the 10 daye }
of febreary 1600 some of . . . . . . . }


Fol. 86 (Greg I.135)
pd at the apoyntment of Samell Rowley vnto }
John daye & wm harton for a boocke called } xxxs
the second pte of thome strowd the 10 of mrch }
1600 the some of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . }


Fol. 86v (Greg I.136)
pd vnto John daye & wm hawghton }
in fulle payment of a playe called the } xs
2 pte of strowde the 5 of maye 1601 some }
at the apoyntment of Samwell Rowlye . . . }

For apparel in Philip Henslowe's diary

Fol. 86v (Greg I.136)


dd vnto the littell tayller the 27 of aprell }
1601 for the yousse of the companye to bye } xxxs
a sutte & lace for the 2 pte of strowde }
the some of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . }


Miscellaneous payments in Philip Henslowe's diary

Fol. 86v (Greg I.136)
pd vnto John daye at the apoyntment of }
the company 1601 after the playinge of the } xs
2 pte of strowde the some of . . . . . . . . . }


"3 Tom Strowd"


To playwrights in Philip Henslowe's diary


Fol. 87 (Greg I.137)
Lent vnto John daye at the apoyntment }
of Samwell Rowley the 21 of maye 1601 } xs
in earnest of a Bocke called the 3 pt }
of thome strowde the some of . . . . . . . . }


Fol. 91v (Greg I.144)
lent h
Chettle js
lent h Lent vnto wm hawghton the 18 of } xs
chettle July 1601 in pte of payment of }
the 3 pt of Thome strowde . . . . . . }


Lent mor the same time vnto John }
daye in earnest of a Boocke called the } vs
3 pt of Thome strowde some of . . . . . }


Fol. 92 (Greg I.145)
Lent vnto Samwell Rowley 1601 the 25 of July }
to lend vnto John daye & wm hawghton in } 40s
pt of payment of a Boocke called the thirde }
pt of Thome strowde the some of . . . . . . . }


Lent vnto Samwell Rowley the 30 of July 1601 }
to paye vnto John daye & wm hawghton in } iijlvs
fulle paymente of a Boocke called the third pt }
of thome strowde the some of . . . . . . . . . . . . }


For divers things in Philip Henslowe's diary


Fol. 93 (Greg I.147)
Lent at the a poyntment of the company }
the 27 of aguste 1601 vnto dover the tayller } xxxs
to bye dyvers thinges for the 3 pte of thome }
strowd the some of . . . . . . . . . . . . }


For apparel in Philip Henslowe's diary


Lent vnto the company the 1 of Septmbʒ }
1601 to bye blacke buckrome to macke } iijs vjd
a sewte for a fyer drack in the 3 pt of thome }
strowde the some of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . }


Fol. 93v (Greg I.148)
Lent vnto the company the 3 of septmbʒ }
1601 to paye the tayller dover for mackenge } 1s
of divers thinges for the third pte of }
tome stro[de]wde the some of . . . . . . . . . . }


Lent vnto the company the 10 of septmbʒ 1601 }
wch them sellfes mvst paye for to paye vnto } xiijs 4d
dover the tayller vpon his bill for the 3 }
pt of thome strowde the some of . . . . . . . . . . }


pd at the apoyntment of the companye 1601 }
the 23 of septmbʒ vnto mr bramfelld for v yrdes } xxxs
of Roset brode cloth the some of . . . . . . . . . . }
for the [&] 3 pt of thome strowe . . . . . . . . . . }


To the Master of the Revels for a license in Philip Henslowe's diary


Fol. 93v (Greg I.148)
Lent vnto the company the 3 of septmbʒ 1601 }
to paye vnto the msup>r of the Revelles for licensynge } xs
of [a]the [Bo] 3 pte of thome strowde & the Remaynder }
of carnowlle wollsey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . }




Payment for "3 Tom Strowd"

Philip Henslowe's papers in the Dulwich College Library

Folger MS X.d.261 is a manuscript excerpt from the Henslowe papers, being a letter from Rowley requesting payment for John Day for the third part of the 'Blind Beggar' / 'Tom Strowd' series of plays (Greg,Papers (APX. II., art. 5, p. 127); see also Foakes, p. 315).

It reads:

Mr hincheloe I praye ye delyver to John Daye thurtye
shyllyngs whych Is vpon the thurd patre of Tom Strowde
                        Samuell Rowlye


Folger Xd261 sml.jpg
Folger Shakespeare Library MS.X.d.261
(CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; click image to view in full)




Theatrical Provenance

The Admiral's Men would have performed both plays in the Fortune Theatre, although no performance dates are recorded.


Probable Genre(s)

Comedy.


Possble Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

Parts 2 and 3 presumably have their genesis in the story of the blind beggar of Bethnal Green, a thirteenth-century soldier named Henry de Montford who, wounded in the Battle of Evesham in 1265, was blinded and eventually beggared. He was found and nursed to health by a baroness, with whom he had a child, but their daughter, Bess, struggled to marry as a result of her father's background and beggar's clothes. Eventually she courted a knight, the only man prepared to lower himself to marry a beggar's daughter; for this, de Montford rewarded the knight with riches. The story was popular throughout the Tudor period, and was retold in numerous formats, including ballad form (which exists in various versions [EBBA (#33233)]) and a play, 1 The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, which was written by John Day and Henry Chettle in 1600.

In Day and Chettle's version is introduced the figure of Tom Strowd, a Norfolk Yeoman. The title of "2 Blind Beggar" as it is recorded in Henslowe's Diary (moving from "blind beggar", to "blind beggar and Tom Strowd", and then simply "Tom Strowd") could indicate either a casual omission of the full title on Henslowe's part or an increased focus on Strowd as the play was written and revised. Again, the record of the third part as "3 Tom Strowd" might suggest that the series had progressed from its origins in the blind beggar story and had centred instead on the entirely fictional character of Strowd.

References to the Play

Information welcome.


Critical Commentary

Knutson distinguishes these plays from other serial plays by referring to them as 'spin-offs' (p. 53): the extant Blind Beggar of Bednal Green has a relatively incidental character named Tom Strowd, but Henslowe's reference to the lost second part elevates Strowd's prominence ("The Second Part of the Blind Beggar of Bednal Green with Tom Strowd") and his title for the third part has mutated such that it implies that Strowd had become the primary focus: "The Third Part of Tom Strowd."

Gurr discusses these sequels in terms of their having been planned in conjunction with the first part (p. 185) and the likelihood of their having been scheduled sequentially in the repertory calendar (pp. 182-3).

Wiggins, Catalogue rejects the conjecture of an unidentified source that the 1659 printing of seminal play, The Blind Beggar of Bednal Green, "represents an adapted, condensed version of all three of the original plays" (#1250). Rather, he thinks that the popularity of the initial play "spawned two as hoc sequels" (#1290). Commenting on the first of those, Wiggins points out the fancy suit ordered for Tom, suggesting that the Norfolk yeoman was depicted comically as a dandy (#1277). On the second, Wiggins notes the black buckram suit for the "fyre drack" and considers whether Tom had a comic turn as dragon-fighter (#1299); on the dragon, Wiggins thinks it could have been either a character or a property (#1299).



For What It's Worth

In George a Greene (printed in 1599, but in Henslowe's diary in January 1594 with Sussex's Men [not marked "ne"]), George challenges one of three masquerading noblemen who are in disguise if he is "Henrie Momford Kendals Earl" (545; MSR, 1911).


Works Cited

Gurr, Andrew. ‘’Shakespeare's Opposites: The Admiral's Company 1594-1625.’’ Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Knutson, Roslyn Lander. The Repertory of Shakespeare’s Company, 1594-1613. Fayetteville, AR: The University of Arkansas Press, 1991.




Site created and maintained by N.C. Aldred, independent scholar; created 9 November 2012, updated by David McInnis 08 June 2017.