Masque of Amazons, A

Anon. (1579)

Historical Records

'A Maske of Amazons' is listed in the Revels accounts of 1578/9 as one of the masques performed 'before her maiestie the ffrench Imbassadour being presente the sonday night after Twelfdaie [11 January] whereof one was' (Feuillerat 286, 287).

Theatrical Provenance

English Court at Richmond.

Probable Genre(s)

Masque.

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

The interest in Amazons may point to the story of the Amazons in the Second Tome of William Painter's Palace of Pleasure (1567).

References to the Play

In a letter dated 15 January 1579 Bernadino de Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador in London, writes to Gabriel de Zayas about a series of state issues and international intrigues. Mendoza mentions in passing a recent grand ball at court during which there was 'an entertainment in imitation of a tournament, between six ladies and a like number of gentlemen, who surrendered to them' (see 'Simancas: January 1579', in Calendar of State Papers, Spain).

Critical Commentary

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For What It's Worth

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Works Cited

Feuillerat, Revels. Internet Archive.

Wiggins, Volume II.

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