Uther Pendragon

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Historical Records

Performance Records

Playlists in Philip Henslowe's diary


Fol. 26v  (Greg 1.52)
Aprell 1597
|2|9 ne.. tt at vterpendragon. . . . . . . . . 02|00|01 — 01 — 03
Maye 1597
|[''4'']3| tt at vterpendagon. . . . . . . . . . 01|05|00 — 01 — 00
7 tt at pendragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . 00|14|00 — 04 — 00
12 tt at pendragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . 0|[0]17|00 — 00 — 00
wittsone
mvnday
16 tt at pendragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . 02|19|00 — 14 — 00



F. 27 / Greg 1.53

June 15 97
2 tt at pendragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00|16|00 — 04 — 06
13 tt at pendragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01|00|00 — 10 — 00



Henslowe's Inventory of Properties and Apparel

Greg, Papers, Appx. I, art. 1, p. 115. l. 29

Under the heading “The Enventary of the Clownes Sewtes and Hermetes Swetes, with dievers other sewtes, as follweth, 1598, the 10 of March:
Item, ... merlen gowne and cape



Theatrical Provenance


The Admiral's men acquired "Uther Pendragon" after Easter Term had begun in 1597 and played it at the Rose frequently into the summer (and perhaps beyond).


Probable Genre(s)

Pseudo-History (Harbage), legendary history (Wiggins, Catalogue])




Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues


The story of Uther Pendragon was familiar in the 1590s by way of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae. Other standard sources of historical/mythical narratives were also ubiquitous, including Holinshed's Chronicles, Malory's Morte D'Arthur, and The Mirror for Magistrates. See Paul Whitfield White in Critical Commentary below for real-world instances of the impersonation of Uther Pendragon in royal circles at ceremonies such as the Accession Day Tilts.




References to the Play


None specifically referencing the Admiral's play have been identified.


Critical Commentary


Paul Whitfield White discusses a cluster of plays in the Admiral's repertory in the 1590s, connecting "Uther Pendragon" specifically as sequel to "Vortigern but also a member of the theatrical family that also included "Chinon of England." He suggests that, "in the xenophobic anti-Catholic fever of 1590s London," Uther Pendragon might have been seen as a "Protestant hero" in his defeat of the usurper, Vortigern (153). Describing an analogous depiction in Elizabeth's court, White cites the frequent impersonation of Uther Pendragon by George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, apparently beginning at the queen's Accession Day Tilts in 1590. Summarizing documents from the time, White describes Clifford/Uther Pendragon "riding into the tiltyard on a lavishly decorated pageant wagon, perhaps featuring the crest of the fiery red dragon which the Cliffords shared with Uther and Arthur. ... Clifford arranged for an actor dressed as Merlin to deliver a speech recalling the tale of the two tragons in Vortiger's castle" (154).


Misha Teramura puts "Uther Pendragon" in an even wider frame that included plays in the Admiral's repertory with Virgilian narratives ("Troy", "Dido", "Agamemnon") with pre-Arthurian narratives ("The Conquest of Brute", "Brute Greenshield", "Ferrex and Porrex"). He perceives the collective stories from Virgil and Geoffrey of Monmouth to share themes of conquest, revenge, and catastrophe.




For What It's Worth




Works Cited

Misha Teramura, "Brute Parts: From Troy to Britain at the Rose, 1595-1600," in David McInnis and Matthew Steggle, ed. Lost Plays in Shakespeare's England. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2014. 127-47
White, Paul Whitfield, "The Admiral's Lost Arthurian Plays," in David McInnis and Matthew Steggle, ed. Lost Plays in Shakespeare's England. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2014. 148-62





Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; updated 15 November 2019.