Turkish Mahomet and Hiren the Fair Greek, The

Historical Records

In The Merrie Conceited Iests of George Peele Gentleman (1607), one jest is entitled, "How George Read a Play-book to a Gentleman." It recounts that the playwright entertained a dull-witted dandy at his lodgings of an evening with a reading of his latest play, which is named as The Turkish Mahamet and Hyrin the fair Greek. In the jest, Peele finishes the reading at a late hour. He therefore persuades the listener to bed down in his lodging. But when the man falls asleep, Peele dresses him in clothes of his own and slips away, leaving the hapless gentleman now mistaken for Peele to pay the four nobles owed on the rent of the room.

Theatrical Provenance

The date of the original run and the company owners are unknown. The link with Peele is the only clue about the debut of the play, and it is not much help. Peele's plays appear in the holdings of the Children of the Chapel (The Arraignment of Paris), the Queen's men (Old Wives Tale, Q1595) and Admiral's men (The Battle of Alcazar, Q1594; Plot, 1598-1601?). The debuts of these plays, too, are uncertain.

However, if The Turkish Mahomet and Hiren the Fair Greek is the Mahomet in Henslowe's Diary introduced without "ne" on 14 August 1594, running through 5 February 1595, it can be located in 1594 with the Admiral's men (see Critical Commentary, below). On 22 August 1601, the Admiral's men bought the text of Mahomet from Edward Alleyn for 40s. At that time, they evidently mounted a revival based on purchases of a crown, apparel, and various other things. There is a property in Henslowe's Diary for "owld Mahemetes head," which scholarly tradition associates with the play of Mahomet.

Probable Genre(s)

Romantic tragedy

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

In The Palace of Pleasure (1566), William Painter appropriates the story of "Hyrenee the faier Greke" from Matteo Bandello's Novelle, Book I, #10. Painter prefaces the narration with this blurb: "Mahomet one of the Turkishe Emperours executeth curssed crueltie vpon a Greke maiden whom he toke prisoner, at the winning of Constantinople." EEBO, Project Gutenberg

Richard Knolles published The Generall History of the Turkes in 1603, too late to be literally a source for Peele, but the story is obviously not new to Knolles, and some details of his telling might have been "in the air," so to speak, for Peele's use.

William Barksted's poem, "Hiren: or, the Fair Greek," 1611, is even later, but Barksted's history as a player locates him in the theatrical community and thereby lends his account special interest in regard to the lost play.

The basic narrative consists of the following episodes, summarized here from Painter, EEBO:

Mahomet acquires Hiren: During the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 in which Mahomet defeated Constantine, one of Mahomet's captains took prisoner a beautiful young Greek woman of sixteen or seventeen; the captain, "to gratifie his Lorde," presented this "Iewell" to Mahomet, who put her aside until the battle was concluded (107v). Then at leisure, Mahomet, who was "young and wanton beyonde measure," sent for her (f. 107v). He was soon so enamoured that he wanted only "to plaie and dallie with her, in suche sorte, that his spirities beyng in Loues full possession, Loue dealt with hym so cruellie, that he could take no rest daie nor night" (f. 108). This state of affairs continued for three years (f. 108).

Mustapha confronts Mahomet: After a time, the Janissaries, "a warlike people," complained among themselves about the neglect of the kingdom; they charged that Mahomet was behaving "like an effeminate persone" (f. 108). Yet they hesitated to confront him because they knew from his "nature terrible, cruell, and rigorous" that he would not hesitate to put to death whoever "went about to withdrawe him from his desire" (f. 108v). They knew Mahomet was "so dronke with the beautie of the Greeke" and "so bewitched" that their only remedy was to pledge allegiance to a more martial leader (f. 208v). Mustapha, who was brought up with Mahomet, and who was "a gentle personage franke of talke, and so nere to his maiestie, that he might goe into his chamber, although the Greke was present," assumed the task of addressing Mahomet (f. 208v). Mustapha, walking with Mahomet in his garden, laid out the argument that Mahomet should no longer "bee a spoile and praie to a simple woman" (f. 209). He spoke of the military unrest, and challenged Mahomet to honor the conquests of his predecessors by continuing as a warrior. He appealed to Mahomet's previously stated ambition "to make Italie tribatarie vnto [him], and to cause [him] selfe to be crouned at Rome, Emperour aswel of Thorient, as of the Occident" (f. 209v). Raising explicitly the issue of manhood, Mustapha challenged Mahomet to consider the result had any one of his predecessors been "idle in his pallaice, emonges the ladies" as Mahomet has been (f. 110). In his peroration, Mustapha summoned Mahomet to "gather [his] wits then together ..., call again Reason, ..., awake out of the deep slepe ... [and] follow the trade of [his] auncestors" who loved "one day of honour" over one hundred of "shame and reproch" (f. 110v). Mustapha offered one sop: if Mahomet could not "cutte of & remoue all that amourous heate" at once, he could moderate it "little by little," perhaps even taking Hiren on his military expeditions (f. 110v). He suggested that the pleasure would be all the greater to come to her from the heat of the battlefield.

Mahomet was moved by Mustapha's plea. Though the thought of leaving Hiren was "as though his harte had been torne out of his bellie" (f. 111v), he ordered Mustapha to assemble his officers and men of war in the great hall of his palace the next day. He then returned to Hiren, requesting that she dress herself after dinner in her finest clothes and "most precious Iewelles" (f. 111v). Painter adds: "the poore wench obeied, not knowyng that it was her funerall apparell" (f. 111v).

Mahomet resolves the conflict: On the next day, with "all the nobilitie … assembled in the hall" (f. 111v), Mahomet entered "leadying the Greke by the hande" (f. 111v). To the audience, she seemed more a "heauenlie Goddesse, then a humaine creature" (f. 112). Mahomet stood in the middle of the hall, still holding Hiren's hand, and invited the assembled crowd to speak their minds on whether they themselves might have acted as he did if they had had a reason such as Hiren. Entranced themselves with Hiren’s beauty, all agreed. Mahomet then said that, despite his obsession with Hiren, he will follow the martial path of his ancestors. "Those wordes finished, incontinently with one of his handes, he catched the Greke by the heare of the heade, and with his other hande, he drewe out his falchion from his side, and foldyng his handes aboute the golden lockes of her heare, at one blowe he strake of her hedde, to the great terrour of them all" (f. 112). He then declared, "Now ye knowe, whether your Emperor is able to represse, and bridle his affections, or not" f. 112-112v). Within a few days, his anger subsiding, he returned to the battlefield, laying siege to Belgrade, a fight that went poorly and he had to withdraw.

Richard Knolles, in The Generall Historie of the Turks (1603, tells essentially the same story as Painter, but with a few differences.

• Hiren is put in the care of Mahomet's eunuch. Chew points to a variant strain of the Hiren narrative that puts her in a seraglio, which is also the site of her murder (480)

• the motif of Love vs. War is embellished: "his [Mahomet's] fierce nature was now by her [Hiren] well tamed, and his wonted care of armes quiete neglected: Mars slept in Venus lap, and now the soldiors might go play" (350). Knolles adds, "reason ruleth not the reine" (350); he says this went on a couple of years

• Mustapha commends Bajazeth over Mahomet because the former lost his kingdom on the battlefield, not the bedroom (351; see For What It's Worth, below).

"Hiren: or, the Fair Greek (1611) by William Barksted is an epyllion of 114 stanzas rhyming ababacbc. Heavily dependent upon Petrarchism, the sentiments and metaphors in the poem are flamboyant and familiar. The changes to the narrative are consistent with the teasing sexuality of Barksted’s literary formulas. See For What It's Worth for descriptive details with theatrical potential.

Mahomet acquires Hiren: Mahomet himself discovers Hiren in the battle-ravaged city of Constantinople. She has taken refuge in an ancient chapel, along with others as yet unravished. She is kneeling by an altar, weeping, when he first sees her (st. 15). She resists capture, for herself and the other women, but Mahomet claims her, assuring her that she will have her “owne free choice” in submitting to him (st. 17). There ensues a lengthy debate over Christianity and Islam, which he suspends to pursue the battle (sts. 19-22). He hands her to Mustapha for safe keeping. Extending imagery from the fall of Troy, Hiren tears “her golden haire,” Cassandra-like, when the eunuchs take her off to Mahomet’s tent “Speechlesse, and spotlesse, vnpittied, not vnfaire” (st. 24).

The argument over Hiren’s maidenhead: Constantinople having been taken, Mahomet turns his thoughts to Hiren. He is unable to sleep and sends for her. A lengthy debate develops as he woos and she defends her virtue (sts. 33-78). She yields (st. 79), and Mahomet devotes himself entirely to her (sts. 80-7).

Mustapha confronts Mahomet: Mustapha tells Mahomet that the gods are angry with him (st. 92); he calls Mahomet “the shadow of an Emperour” but otherwise wastes little breath enumerating the feats of Mahomet’s predecessors (st.93). Nonetheless, Mahomet is moved; he instructs Mustapha to summon the nobles and warlords to “a royall dinner” (st. 98).

Mahomet resolves the conflict: Barksted changes the ending in several interesting ways. Having struck off Hiren’s head with his scimitar, Mahomet holds the head aloft. Blood pours out, tears fall across the face, and the head appears to reproach Mahomet in a four-line speech (st. 108). There are several echoes of Othello in the ending: Mahomet, accusing Mustapha of being a devil that has transformed his soul, stabs him (st. 109); he contrasts the fate of his soul and Hiren’s, then tries to kill himself (st. 110); his men stop him and deliver a bracing speech to reorient him toward war (sts. 111-12). There is a hint of Tamburlaine in Mahomet’s response, as he vows to take out his grief on “A thousand Citties” and keep her ashes “as a relicke to posterity” (st. 113).

References to the Play

Critical Commentary

Barksted would have no standing on the characterization of Hiren in Peele’s play but for his career as a player. Chew, who finds the style of Barksted’s poem so “unimaginative and pedestrian” that it is “unlikely that he invented anything himself”, is inclined to believe that Barksted copied Peele’s play in making Hiren virtuous (1937: 486)

For What It's Worth

Hiren's virtue One conflict between the sources before 1588 and those later is the virtue of Hiren. Painter (1566) and Knolles (1603) do not comment on Hiren's feelings in the affair with Mahomet. Barksted (1611), in contrast, has Hiren vigorously defend her virtue through lengthy epyllionic foreplay until she at last surrenders her maidenhead. Yet The Merrie Jests of George Peele (1607) tag the title of the play with a litany of slang terms for "Greek": “in Italian called a curtezan, in Spain, a margerite, in French, une curtain, in England, among the barbarous, a whore, but among the gentle, their usual associates, a punk … [and] croshabell” (1607: 394-5). In 1 Henry IV (1597) Shakespeare links Hiren and Doll, making Pistol and Doll into debased versions of Mahomet and Hiren, who are then aligned with other warriors and their female champions (Tamburlaine [and by implication, Zenocrate]; Muly Mahamet and Calipolis).

Mustapha's version of the outcome of Tamburlaine's confrontation with Bajazeth, Mahomet's predecessor As part of his motivational speech, Mustapha in Bandello's and Painter's versions says to Mahomet, "And Baiazet ... did not he cut of the head of the greate Tamburlain, which called himself the scourge of God...?" (Painter f.110).

Works Cited

Barksted, William. "Hiren, or The Fair Greek." 1611 Project Gutenberg Painter, William. The Palace of Pleasure. 1566. (vol. 1, #40, fols. 107v-112). EEBO

Site created and maintained by RLKnutson@ualr.edu, Professor Emerita, The University of Arkansas at Little Rock; 2 March 2011.