Fair Constance of Rome, Parts 1 and 2

Fair Constance, Part I

Thomas Dekker, Michael Drayton, Richard Hathaway, Anthony Munday, and Robert Wilson (1600)

Fair Constance, Part II

Richard Hathaway (1600)


Historical Records

Payments to Playwrights (Henslowe's Diary)

F. 69v (Greg I.122)

Receaued of Mr Henshlowe thys 3th of June 1600 }
in behalfe of the Company to An : Munday & }
the rest in pte of payment for a booke Called } iijll vs
the fayre Constance of Roome the some of }



lent to wm pd vnto drayton hathway Monday }
hawton . . Ijs & deckers at the a poyntment of }
lent mor ijs Robart shawe in full payment of a } xxxxiiijs
Boocke called the fayre constance of }
Rome the 14 of June 1600 some of }



l s d
12- 09- 00 Lent vnto Robart shawe the 20 of }
June 1600 to lend them Hathway in }
earneste of ther second pte of constance } xxs
of Rome the some of . . . . . . . . . . }



Henslowe Papers

Greg, Papers (MS I. 31, Article 31, pp55-56)

Autograph note from Robert Shaa to Henslowe, undated (Greg uses the payments above to date the letter 14 June 1600):

J pray you mr Henshlowe deliuer vnto the bringer hereof the some of fyue & fifty shillinges to make the 3ll--fyue shillinges wch they receaued before, full six poundes in full payment of their booke Called the fayre Constance of Roome. whereof J pray you reserue for me mr willsons whole share wch is xjs. wch J to supply his neede deliuered him yesternight.

yor lovinge ffreind Robt Shaa.


On the back is Wilson's name and a drawing of a dog:
File:HADP MS1 art31v.jpg
(Henslowe-Alleyn Digitisation Project, MSS 1, Article 31, 01v)


Theatrical Provenance

The Admiral's men acquired both parts of "Fair Constance of Rome" in the summer of 1600, the year the company moved from the Rose to the Fortune in autumn.


Probable Genre(s)

Classical History (?) (Harbage); Romance (Wiggins)


Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

Greg (2.215) proposed Chaucer's Man of Law as the clear source for these plays.


References to the Play

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Critical Commentary

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For What It's Worth

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Works Cited

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Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; updated 30 October 2009.