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XV.—The English Comedians in Germany Before the Thirty Years' War: The Financial Side

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

Extract

Perhaps no portion of the chapters of Moryson's Itinerary, published in 1903 under the somewhat unexpected title of “Shakespeare's Europe,” has aroused more interest than his brief passage about the so-called English comedians, whom he saw at the Frankfort fair in September, 1592. Of the few contemporary accounts known to us his is the only one from an English source and probably the only one written by a man whose previous acquaintance with the theater fitted him in any way to judge of the merits of such performances.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1907

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References

page 446 note 1 Germany hath some fewe wandring Comeydians, more deseruing pitty then prayse, for the serious parts are dully penned, and worse acted, and the mirth they make is ridiculous, and nothing lesse then witty (as I formerly haue shewed). So as I remember that when some of our cast dispised Stage players came out of England into Germany, and played at Franckford in the tyme of the Mart, hauing nether a Complete number of Actours, nor any good Appareil, nor any ornament of the Stage, yet the Germans, not vnderstanding a worde they sayde, both men and women, flocked wonderfully to see theire gesture and Action, rather then heare them, speaking English which they vnderstoode not, and pronowncing peeces and Patches of English playes, which my selfe and some English men there present could not heare without great wearysomenes. Yea myselfe Comming from Franckford in the Company of some cheefe marchants Dutch and Flemish, heard them often bragg of the good markett they had made, only Condoling that they had not the leasure to heare the English players. Shakespeare's Europe, p. 304.

page 447 note 1 An Itinerary Written By Fynes Moryson Gent., London, 1617.

page 448 note 1 Jahrbuch der deutschen Shakespeare-Gesellschaft, xxxviii, p. 203.

page 448 note 2 Mr Allen, I commend my love and humble duty to you, geving you thank es for yor great bounty bestoed upon me in my sicknes, when I was in great want: god blesse you for it. Sir, this it is, I am to go over beyond the seeas wt Mr Browne and the company, but not by his meanes, for he is put to half a shaer, and to stay hear, for they ar all against his going: now, good Sir, as you have ever byne my worthie frend, so helpe me nowe. I have a sute of clothes and a cloke at pane for three pound, and if it shall pleas you to lend me so much to release them, I shall be bound to pray for you so longe as I leve; for if I go over, and have no clothes, I shall not be esteemed of; and, by gods help, the first mony that I gett I will send it over unto you, for hear I get nothinge: some tymes I have a shillinge a day, and some tymes nothinge, so that I leve in great poverty hear, and so humbly take my leave, prainge to god, I and my wiffe, for yor health and mistiss Aliene's, which god continew.

Yor poor frend to command,

Richard Jones.

Collier's The Alleyn Papers (London, 1843), p. 19.

page 449 note 1 Itinerary, i, pp. 285 f.

page 451 note 1 Itinerary, ii, p. 13.

page 451 note 2 These prices are taken from the many mentioned here and there throughout the whole of Part i of the Itinerary.

page 453 note 1 The date is added here, as well as hereafter, to do away with the necessity of numerous notes. The reader is referred once for all to the convenient summary in chronological order given in Goedeke's Grundriss, ii, pp. 524 f. (Zweite Auflage, Dresden, 1886). Practically all the literature mentioned by him has been accessible to me. Much literature on the subject has, of course, appeared since the writing of Goedeke's volume. Not all of it treats of facts that could be used in the preparation of this paper, but the following should be noticed: Jahrbuch der deutschen Shakespeare-Gesellschaft, xxi, pp. 245–276, for Cologne; the same, xxxvi, pp. 273–276, for additional material about Münster and Ulm; Archiv für Litteraturgeschichte, xiv, pp. 113–136, for Nuremberg; the same, xv, pp. 113–125, for Strassburg, and pp. 211–217 for Stuttgart and Tübingen, and for additional material about Ulm; Zeitschrift für vergleichende Litteraturgeschichte, vii, pp. 60–67, for Rothenburg; Bolte, Das Danziger Theater im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert, Hamburg, 1895, for Danzig. To these may be added Creizenach's introductory essay in his edition of Die Schauspiele der englischen Komödianten (Kürschner, vol. 23) and Herz, Englische Schauspieler und englisches Schauspiel zur Zeit Shakespeares in Deutschland, Hamburg, 1903.

page 454 note 1 The reichsthaler of the time of Moryson's travels was equivalent to $1.11+ of our money. This result is reached by valuing the old thaler at M. 4.6771 and the dollar at M. 4.1979 (both mark and dollar of the present gold standard). Three kreuzers, counting 72 to the thaler, were therefore equivalent to 4.6+ cents. The question to be considered, expressed roughly in terms of the money of the United States, is whether these actors could earn annually towards $300 with an admission price of somewhat less than five cents. The far greater purchasing power of money in those days has been already shown by the prices paid by Moryson.

page 457 note 1 Herz, p. 48.

page 458 note 1 Jahresberichte für neuere deutsche Litteraturgeschichte, vol. 3, iii, 4, 24.

page 458 note 2 Shakespeare's Europe, p. 476.

Die Englische Comedianten

Haben mehr Leuht den Predicanten,

Da lieber 4 stund stehn hören zu,

Dan ein in die Kirch, da sie mit Ruhe

Flux einschlaffen auff ein hart banck,

Dieweil ein stund in felt zu lang.

Mentzel, p. 58.

page 459 note 2 Shakespeare's Europe, p. 476.

page 461 note 1 Archiv für Litteraturgeschichte, xiv, p. 127.