Pope Joan

Anon. (1592)


Historical Records

Performance Records (Henslowe's Diary)

Res at poope Jone the 1 of marche 1591 . . . . . . .xvs


No reference to the play appears in the Stationer's Register; evidently, then, it was not published.

Theatrical Provenance

Henslowe's Diary reports that Lord Strange's Men performed this play at the Rose Theatre on March 1, 1591/92. Since Henslowe does not mark it as a new play, Pope Joan was evidently performed earlier, but no record of earlier performances has survived. Manley and Maclean speculate that, given the play's anti-Catholic subject matter, it might have belonged to the "more staunchly Protestant repertory of Leicester's Men," a company that shared several members (George Bryan, Will Kempe, and Thomas Pope) with Lord Strange's Men (31, 146).

Probable Genre(s)

foreign pseudo-history (Harbage); history (Wiggins)

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

<Enter any information about possible or known sources. Summarise these sources where practical/possible, or provide an excerpt from another scholar's discussion of the subject if available.>


References to the Play

<List any known or conjectured references to the lost play here.>


Critical Commentary

<Summarise any critical commentary that may have been published by scholars. Please maintain an objective tone!>


For What It's Worth

<Enter any miscellaneous points that may be relevant, but don't fit into the above categories. This is the best place for highly conjectural thoughts.>


Works Cited

<List all texts cited throughout the entry, except those staple texts whose full bibliographical details have been provided in the masterlist of Works Cited found on the sidebar menu. Use the coding below to format the list>

citation goes here

<If you haven't done so already, also add here any key words that will help categorise this play. Use the following format, repeating as necessary:>


Site created and maintained by Craig M. Rustici, Hofstra University; updated 24 August 2016. [[category:Foxe]]