Records of Early English Drama
Editorial Apparatus
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RECORDS OF EARLY ENGLISH DRAMA
Records of Early English Drama
OXFORD
EDITED BY JOHN R. ELLIOTT, JR, and ALAN H. NELSON (University)
ALEXANDRA F. JOHNSTON and DIANA WYATT (City)
2
Editorial Apparatus
THE BRITISH LIBRARY
and
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
University of Toronto Press Incorporated 2004
Toronto Buffalo
Printed in Canada
First published in North America in 2004 by University of Toronto Press Incorporated
ISBN 0-8020-3905-7
and in the European Union in 2004 by
The British Library
96 Euston Road
London NWl 2DB
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this title is available from The British Library
ISBN 0-7123-4856-5
Printed on acid-free paper
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Oxford / edited by John R. Elliott ... [et al.J.
(Records of early English drama)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents: 1. The records - 2. Editorial apparatus.
ISBN 0-8020-3905-7
1. Performing arts - England - Oxford - History - Sources.
2. Theater - England - Oxford - History - Sources. 3. Oxford
(England) - History - Sources. I. Elliott, John R. n. Series.
PN2596.O93O93 2004 790.2 09425 74 C2004-900153-1
The research and typesetting costs of
Records of Early English Drama
have been underwritten by the
National Endowment for the Humanities and the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Contents
VOLUME 2
INTRODUCTION
Historical Background 583
Drama, Music, and Ceremonial Customs
602
Institutions and Documents 626
Editorial Procedures 739
Notes 745
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 754
10 Town Plays by Non-Oxford Authors
856
1 1 The Anti-theatrical Controversy 860
12 Degree PJays 871
13 Anthony Wood on Oxford 873
14 Oxford Playwrights 896
15 Saints Days and Festivals 900
TRANSLATIONS 903
MAPS 760
ENDNOTES 1084
APPENDIXES
1 Architectural Drawing of Christ Church
Theatre (1605) 765
2 Technogamia, or The Marriages of the Arts
at Woodstock (1621) 772
3 The Royal Slave at Hampton Court
(1636/7) 790
4 New College Warden s Progress 795
5 College Lords and Merton s King of
Beans 797
6 Oxford Play Bibliography 800
7 Cast Lists 841
8 Chronological List of College
Performances 846
9 College Plays from Extra-Mural Sources
853
PATRONS AND TRAVELLING COMPANIES 1 145
GLOSSARIES
Introduction 1167
Latin Glossary 1172
English Glossary 1213
INDEXES
Index of Members of Oxford University
1221
Index 1245
Figure 1 Christ Church hall. Reproduced from Joseph Skelton, Oxonia antiqua restaurata,
vol 2 (Oxford, 1823), plate 107, by permission of the Library of the Pontifical Institute of
Mediaeval Studies, Toronto.
Historical Background
The City
Oxford was an important centre of trade and government long before the scholars arrived in
the late twelfth century (see below, p 597). It lies at the heart of southern England where the
Thames curves round to the east and is joined by the River Cherwell. In Anglo-Saxon times
the site of Oxford was the meeting point of three contending communities - the kingdom of
the West Saxons to the south, Mercia to the north of the Thames, and the Danelaw encroaching
from the east through Buckinghamshire. 1 Two ancient trackways, one coming down from
the west off the height of the Berkshire Downs and the other coming along the valley from
the south, crossed the river near the present site of the city. 2 One ford was at North Hinksey
but it is probably the other one at the confluence of the Thames and the Cherwell that gave
the settlement its name, since it was here that the original religious community dedicated to
St Frideswide was established. 3
John Blair in Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire suggests that the borough of Oxford was laid out at
the instructions of^thelflzd, Lady of Mercia, daughter of King Alfred. She ruled Mercia
in name from 911 at the death of her husband, ^Ethelred, and perhaps in reality for several
years earlier. 4 Blair argues that there is strong evidence to suggest that Oxford, like London,
was built by the Mercian rulers around the turn of the tenth century in the vain hope of
preserving an autonomous Mercia. 5 At about the time the town was laid out the configura
tion of the marshy flood plain to the south of the town was altered by gathering the waters
into a new cutting tight round the south wall, thus giving the new town water defences on
three sides. 6 The importance of the town can be seen from the statement in the Anglo-
Saxon Chronicle that Edward the Elder succeeded to London and Oxford and all that
belonged to them. 7
Once established, the town grew and flourished, becoming a rare medieval centre that had
no Roman predecessor. 8 There is archaeological evidence that the town was the site of a royal
mint. 9 The Thames, navigable at this time from Oxford to the sea, linked the town with
London and, almost as important, there were roads coming west from London and north from
Southampton. The road from Southampton intersected with the main road to the southwest
from London at Newbury and then continued north to Oxford. There it intersected both
with the river and the main London road to the Midlands, which followed the ancient route
584 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
from London northwest through Henley. These routes reflected the establishment of Oxford
as a strategic centre. Land and water transport systems were complementary. 1
Shortly after the town was established the region was once again devastated by Danish raids
from the east. In 1009 the army of King Swein of Denmark burned the town." It was rebuilt
on the grid established by /Ethelfbed with the High Street and Queen Street running east-west
and Cornmarket and St Aldate s running north-south - converging at Carfax. 12 At this major
crossroad St Martin s Church was built and became the centre of the life of the community
that continued to flourish. The building of the first bridge over the Cherwell at Pettypont
(about the site of Magdalen Bridge) greatly facilitated passage to and from London, and Oxford
became a place where national meetings were held. 13
After the Conquest Oxford maintained its strategic importance. The Norman governor,
Robert d Oilly, built the large motte-and-bailey castle in the west end of the town to increase
his control of the region. Also shortly after the Conquest a bridge was built over the Thames
at Grandpont (the site of Folly Bridge) facilitating travel to the south. During this period the
town began to grow outside its defences with the establishing of suburbs. As early as 1230 the
sheriff of Oxfordshire was using the castle as a county jail, making Oxford one of four leading
towns outside London that had a distinct character as seats of royal government in their shires,
as indicated by the presence of royal castles, county courts and gaols. 14
By 1086 the burgesses of Oxford held in common a large tract of land, Port Meadow, to
the northwest of the town. These men probably represented what was to become the Guild
Merchant, formed to safeguard the interests of the merchants and the emerging craft guilds,
particularly the two that formed the core of the town s prosperity, the clothmakers and the
leatherworkers. 1 - In 1147 the "citizens of Oxford of the commune of the city and of the guild
of merchants" could convey land belonging to the community and in 1 199 it was the Guild
Merchant that purchased the fee-farm of the borough. ""Trade both in the town and farther
afield flourished. Markets were held twice weekly on Wednesday and Saturday with an extra
market on Sunday in harvest time. 17 By the mid-twelfth century the market was centred on
Carfax with stalls spilling out into the adjacent streets, a custom dating from Anglo-Saxon
times. 18 In 1155 the king granted the Guild Merchant a charter that allowed its members
to trade free of all tolls in England and Normandy with the same privileges as the citizens of
London. 1 1 Oxford had become an important centre of trade and commerce but it slipped into
relative political obscurity under the Normans. There were no more parliaments and the
Norman barony centred on Oxford was a minor one. 20 The royal interest in Oxfordshire
shifted away from Oxford under Henry I to the hunting grounds at "Woodstock, where it
remained until the Civil War of the seventeenth century. However, if royal interest waned,
Oxford s central location and thriving commerce did make it an attractive venue for the
establishment of the institutions that would radically change the direction of the town s
development.
THE LATER MIDDLE AGES
This period saw three interdependent waves of immigration to Oxford with the establishment
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
of three different but related institutions - the monasteries, the University, and the friaries
(see below, pp 588, 591). The effect on the life of the town was mixed. The increase in popu
lation inevitably helped the economy of the town, which experienced a period of growth and
prosperity from the late twelfth century to the early fourteenth century, but the presence of the
scholars, in particular, created major problems. The residential colleges so familiar from the
early modern period did not yet exist; instead, scholars were lodged with the townsfolk. By
1192 the townsmen were complaining that it was hard to provide food for so many scholars.
Unscrupulous landlords charged exorbitant rents and scholars bitterly condemned the quality
of food for sale at very high prices. Rioting between the townsfolk and the scholars was a
common occurrence, growing in ferocity and organization. The first town record in these
volumes involves such an incident where a clerk (a scholar) was killed in a conflict with towns
folk on Midsummer Eve 1306 when the crowd was out celebrating the festival.
At the same time as the town was being transformed by the newcomers, its relationship with
the Crown was changing. With the purchase of the fee-farm in 1199 the Crown no longer held
the town directly but rented that right to the Guild Merchant as tenant-in-chief in return for
an annual fee-farm rent of 63 5d. 21 Two bailiffs were chosen to collect the rent and pay it
directly to the king. Before 1229, when a new guildhall was built on the site of the present
one near the corner of St Aldate s and the High Street, the Guild Merchant had met across
the street in a house adjacent to St Martin s. By 1172 the larger portmanmoot was meeting
in St Martin s churchyard. 22
The town declined during the later Middle Ages with a shift from manufacturing and
commerce to service trades dependent on the University ... well advanced by 1381. >23 The
Black Death contributed to this shift. Although both the University and town were hard hit,
properties left derelict by the death of citizens were acquired by academic foundations,
particularly to the east of St Mary the Virgin and south of the High Street, thus obliterating
some historic parishes and altering others (see below, p 593). Tensions between the towns
people and the scholars grew more strained and, although the old view that the coming of the
scholars reduced the citizens of Oxford to helots or subjects of a conquering people is some
what exaggerated, there is no doubt that the growing size and complexity of the University
created problems for the town and its people. 24 Three writs in particular issued by Henry in
exacerbated the relationship. In 1231 he fixed the rents on scholars dwellings in both Oxford
and Cambridge and as one scholar has put it in a time of rising prices, the pegging of rents
for the benefit of scholars was a source of ill-feeling between town and gown. In 1244 the
chancellors court was given jurisdiction over disputes concerning rents. In 1324 the chancellor
was given joint custody with the mayor and council over the assizes of bread, aJe, and wine. 2 -
The periodic town-gown riots that continued almost always led to an erosion of the rights
of the town. At the heart of the issue was the legal distinction between the scholars and the
townsfolk. The scholars were all in minor orders and so subject not to the civil courts but to
the ecclesiastical courts, in this case the chancellor s court. The culmination of the troubles was
the St Scholastica s Day riots, 10-13 February 1354/5, in which three scholars and several
townsfolk were killed with much destruction of property. The riots began in Swindlestock
Tavern standing in Carfax directly opposite St Martin s, when (according to the town s account)
586 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
two University men, beneficed clerics, threw wine in the face of the tavernkeeper. 26 There was
an inquiry that lasted a full year, during which the town was placed under interdict, closing
all the churches. The king (Edward in) took the University s part and the mayor and bailiffs
were deposed, all property was restored to the scholars, and the town was ordered to pay an
additional 250 in damages. 27 More lasting grievances were caused by giving the chancellor
sole custody of the assizes of bread, ale, and wine - in effect allowing the customers to set the
price of the basic commodities rather than the vendors. The University was also given control
over weights and measures, and the chancellor s court was given jurisdiction over any towns
folk involved in a fracas with members of the University. The incoming mayors were required
to take an oath to uphold the liberties and privileges of the University. Until 1825 the mayor
and council processed from the guildhall down the High Street to St Mary the Virgin on the
anniversary of the riots where they were required to offer a silver penny and, at least before the
Reformation, to pray for the souls of the victims.
THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Two population indicators 150 years apart help us understand the changing demographics of
the town. The poll tax return of 1377 listed 2,357 taxpayers in Oxford. By 1440 the citizens
complained to the Crown that they could no longer pay the fee-farm, claiming that only one-
third of the lay population had inhabited the town when the fee-farm was set while the rest of
the inhabitants, scholars and their servants, were exempt. 28 Almost eighty years later the second
population indicator, the lay subsidy for 1524, listed only between 431 and 442 taxpayers, the
majority in the distributive trades - that is, dealers in merchandise supplying the colleges and
their scholars with food, drink, candles, and clothing. 2 Throughout the sixteenth and early
seventeenth centuries the victualling trades held a position of prominence in both numbers and
representation as members of the city council. Unlike other provincial centres such as York,
Oxford had no wealthy primary producers or great merchants. The economy of the city was
based on the service trades and was thus dependent upon the University for its prosperity.
Although the university-based economy provided fairly secure employment at all levels and
the city escaped any prolonged recession between 1500 and the Civil War, the fact that the
colleges and the University were the major source of income for the townsfolk inevitably
affected the relationship between town and gown. 30
A further complexity was the presence of a large number of privileged persons who were
(normally) not freemen of the town nor scholars but employed one way or another by the
University and enjoyed its privileges. 31 These people are mentioned as early as 1290 and were
the subject of an agreement between the town and the University in 1459- 32 They were bedels,
manciples, cooks, barbers, the personal servants of the scholars, and sometimes members of
the building trades such as masons, carpenters, plumbers, and slaters, who were employed by
the colleges for the management and maintenance of their affairs and their properties. On the
whole, privileged persons were not freemen of the town and claimed the jurisdiction of the
chancellor s court rather than the municipal one.
Yet although it functioned much as an ecclesiastical court, by the sixteenth century the
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
587
chancellor s court was, like the municipal court, ultimately under royal jurisdiction: public
authority in Oxford, rather than being the monopoly of one body ... was divided between
two sets of royal officers, those of the borough and those of the university. " Royal officers,
particularly in troubled times, could use this double jurisdiction to their own advantage. In
the early sixteenth century the University feared its long-standing privileges would be eroded
by a reinvigorated town government. 34 The University authorities appealed in 1514 to their
diocesan, Thomas Wolsey, bishop of Lincoln, requesting a new royal charter. During the next
fourteen years while Wolsey was busy establishing his new Cardinal College in St Aldate s, work
on the new charter took its tortuous course. The provisions of what came to be known as
Wolsey s charter were finally made public on 14 July 1528.
The town attempted to appeal the charter to the first session of the Reformation parliament
in 1529 after Wolsey s fall. The highly public dispute between the University and the town
coincided with the national crisis generated by the king s desire for a divorce from Katherine
of Arragon. When asked about the validity of the king s marriage the University, led by the
aging chancellor William Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, pronounced the marriage valid.
Henry was furious and, as Thomas Cromwell grew in power, he openly took the side of the
town, threatening to revoke many of the University s privileges. In May 1534 when the king
again asked the advice of the University, this time about the powers of the bishop of Rome in
England, the University knew what answer it had to give - that no foreign bishop, including
the bishop of Rome, had any powers in England. 3<p
The ancient tensions between the University and the town had been used by Cromwell as a
means to advance royal policy. Even after Cromwell s fall the privy council emerged as a body
ready and able to deal with town-gown disputes on a regular basis. 36 In this context the royal
appointments of the chancellors of the University on die one hand and the high stewards of the
town on the other came to be of key importance. Cromwell was apparently himself involved
in creating the office of high steward as a position closely tied to the Crown. 37 The high stewards
in the early modern period who have been identified were Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk,
a close adviser of Henry vin by at least 1535; the Catholic John Williams, Lord Williams of
Thame during Mary s reign (1553-8); Francis Russell, earl of Bedford (1559-63); Sir Francis
Knollys (1563-92); Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon (1592-6); Robert Devereux, earl of Essex
(1596-1601); Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord Ellesmere (1601-10), who resigned when he became
chancellor of the University; William Knollys, Lord Knollys (1611-31); and Thomas Howard,
earl of Berkshire (1631-49). 38 Oxford used its costly high stewards as arbitrators in internal
disputes and relied heavily on their support in struggles against the university or the Crown. 39
The best example in these Records of the way the stewards mediated quarrels with the University
is the settlement of the potentially nasty riot of 1597-8 by the earl of Essex on behalf of
the city and Chancellor Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, on behalf of the University (see
p 246 and p 1 1 12, endnote to Hatfield House Library: Cecil Papers MS 62/16 single sheet).
However strained the relationship between town and gown was in the Middle Ages, Carl
Hammer has argued that by the sixteenth century a symbiotic relationship had evolved between
the burghal host and the academic guest. 40 Although the constitutional relationship was not
always harmonious, the University and the town came to be mutually dependent in practical
588 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
matters. The University provided essential services to the town through the administration of
local franchises such as the assize of bread and ale, the enforcement of sanitary provisions and
the night watch. 41 It also served as a major local employer and the customer of the many goods
and services provided by the citizenry. The presence of two competing jurisdictions within a
single community was bound to create tensions and frictions, particularly when a large number
of the inhabitants had the boisterous belligerence of youth and virility. Nevertheless, particu
larly after the legal skirmishing over Wolsey s charter, the major divisions between the University
and the town found a mode of redress that avoided costly arbitration.
By the sixteenth century Oxford had taken on much of the geographical form that its central
core has today. The Dissolution of the monasteries brought about the demolition of the great
monastic buildings in the suburbs, providing new sites for the increasing number of secular
colleges and building materials for others. 42 Of the four wards the westerly two were largely
(though not exclusively) occupied by townsfolk while the eastern section of the town (particu
larly from St Mary s onwards) ... formed a virtual pagus academicus. Although the number of
taxpayers may seem remarkably low in 1524, modern scholars estimate the actual non-privil
eged population in the mid-sixteenth century (1547) [to be] about 5, 500-6, 000. >43
The town gradually shook off the economic decline of the late medieval period. In a time
of profound social and religious change the old medieval community dominated by the friars
and the great local religious houses was swept away. It was replaced by a Vigorous, opportun
istic, and eventually better-educated urban community, which by the seventeeth century
found its social outlets at one extreme in the multitudinous alehouses and at the other in
the sombre, city-subsidized Puritan lectures. The solid citizen looked to the craft guild and
the city to provide a measure of his status and to indulge his liking for ceremonial. 14 In 1542
Oxford was created a city when Christ Church Cathedral became the see of the newly created
diocese of Oxford. Roads were improved, its charters were confirmed and clarified, and in
1605 the city received a royal charter. In the early seventeenth century the Thames that had
silted up since the Anglo-Saxon period was again made navigable all the way to Oxford. The
royal hunting lodge at Woodstock became a favourite resort, first of Elizabeth and then of
the early Stuarts. 45
The renewed prosperity of the city is reflected in the records cited in these volumes. The
relevant city records survive only from 1554 when the chamberlains accounts record the first
payment to the king s minstrel. Except for the controversy over Wolsey s charter, there is little to
indicate religious and political turmoil. The events that led to the foundation first of Cardinal
College and eventually of Christ Church on the same site are nowhere in the records, although
Wolsey s great scheme caused the disappearance of one parish church and the alteration of a
major street, St Aldate s. That Princess Elizabeth was held prisoner in nearby Woodstock during
her sister s reign is nowhere mentioned and the trial and execution of the Oxford Martyrs
appears most prominently through the complaints of the two bailiffs for that year, Anthony
Welles and Thomas Winkell, that they had not been paid for che expenses they incurred feeding
the prisoners. 46 Yet these events of national significance must have affected the city and its
inhabitants. The high steward, Lord Williams of Thame, was responsible for Elizabeth during
her stay in Woodstock and escorted her there from the Tower in 1554. 47 Archbishop Cranmer
589
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
and Bishops Larimer and Ridley were tried for heresy in the University church of St Mary the
Virgin. After the trials Lord Williams, as high steward, presided with the mayor, John Wayte,
over the burnings, first of Latimer and Ridley on 16 October 1555 and then of Cranmer on
20 March 1555/6 just outside the city walls. 48
The Records end in the year that Charles i returned to the city where he had been so lavishly
welcomed in 1636, this time to take up residence with his court. In the troubled years leading
up to the Civil War the court had been increasingly at Woodstock, and the city and parish
records frequently refer to the ringing of bells as the king passed through the city on his jour
ney from London. The years of the Civil War were extraordinary ones in the life of the city.
From the king s arrival in 1642 until its surrender in 1646 Oxford was the royalist capital
of England housing not only the king and his court, but also the central law courts, the ex
chequer, parliament and a mint. 49 For the first time since before the Conquest, Oxford held
centre stage in the life of the nation, and the townsmen and scholars joined forces in a grim
effort to survive the deprivations of the war.
CIVIC GOVERNMENT
The civic government that evolved during the sixteenth century grew naturally from the struc
ture of the medieval Guild Merchant. The system was based on councils drawn from the ranks
of the freemen and a hierarchy of officers elected by the councils. Only freemen were allowed
to trade or pursue a craft within the liberties of the city and to take part in the series of councils
that constituted Oxford s civic government.
In theory, after 1554, the civic government of Oxford was based on a hierarchy through
which ... men progressed with the accumulation of experience or of years, the common
council being recruited from freemen who had served as constables, the chamberlains from
among the common councillors, the bailiffs from the chamberlains, the assistants from the
bailiffs, and the mayor and aldermen from the assistants. 50 Although the theory did not always
hold, largely because of the provision for compounding or buying a higher rank, a sense of
the functioning of each level of the hierarchy helps one understand the complex workings of
Oxford s civic government. The officers of the lowest rank were the four constables responsible
for working with the bailiffs to exercise police functions ... in each of the borough s four
wards. 51 Their work was inevitably shared with the University bedels. The members of the
council of Twenty-four were normally chosen from among former constables.
The next level of service was the oversight of the finances of the town. The chamberlains
served for one year only and that office was the first important step up the ladder of civic office.
Although former chamberlains continued as members of the common council, most moved
on to become bailiffs. Although the two bailiffs were ranked lower than the mayor, they had
clearly defined and independent powers. In origin they had been royal officials appointed to
collect the fee-farm. This continued to be one of their responsibilities and as long as the farm
was paid they were not responsible to the town for the funds they collected. Among their other
duties were keeping the peace and maintaining the town prison in the Bocardo at the North
Gate. After their term in office the former bailiffs remained members of the common council
590 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
and by the seventeenth century they were listed at the beginning of each year s minutes in order
of seniority after the bailiffs serving that year. The next step up for a freeman after serving as
bailiff was to become a member of the council of Thirteen, usually as one of the assistants.
In the council of Thirteen, the assistants worked with the more senior aldermen. Unlike many
other towns Oxford had only four aldermen, one for each ward. For a time in the sixteenth
century the mayor was chosen only from among the aldermen but later, after the pool of
candidates was widened to include the assistants, former mayors often became aldermen.
The chief officer of the town was the mayor who was elected annually by the council from
a restricted pool of candidates. In the sixteenth century men often served more than once. For
example, Ralph Flexney served four times and Richard Atkinson five times. In the seventeenth
century, as the religious troubles increased, several men including John Wilmot (1625, 1630),
Oliver Smith (1630), William Boswell (1630, 1633), and William Blake (1633) refused to
serve when elected and paid their fines." They did not, however, lose their place among the
Thirteen by their refusal.
Carl Hammer in his Anatomy of an Oligarchy: The Oxford Town Council in the Fifteenth
and Sixteenth Centuries has argued that the Oxford town government functioned as a porous
oligarchy, maintaining a solid core of experienced governors while at the same time providing
for the renewal of the system through the provision of compounding. " There were instances
of men coming from other towns such as William Matthew, the former mayor of Abingdon,
who compounded for a bailiff s place upon his arrival in Oxford in 1558 and was mayor by
1564. Such circumstances were unusual, however, and once a freeman entered the system by
election or payment he remained part of the governing elite. The major criterion for member
ship in the governing elite was wealth. This is clear from the lay subsidy of 1524 where virtually
all the council for that year appear on the lists. The aldermen (including the sitting mayor)
have an average assessment of well over 60 and the bailiffs about half that, slightly over 30.
The chamberlains, in turn, were assessed at about half the bailiffs level or slightly more than
15 whilst the average for the Common Council is about two-thirds of that for the chamber
lains or somewhat over 10."*" Occupation was also an important criterion for membership
on the council and most of the councillors were members of one or another of the powerful
craft guilds. Finally, Oxford s system of government where one office followed from another
ensured an experienced body of men as governors but it also ensured an elderly body of men
as governors. In 1584-5 the average age of the mayors councillors was 59, of bailiffs 52, and
of common councillors 49; the youngest mayor s councillor was 44 years old. 5
Religious History
Oxfordshire formed an important part of the episcopal see founded, with St Birinus as the
first bishop, at Dorchester-on-Thames in the seventh century. The Norman Conquest brought
no immediate change but later in the eleventh century the bishop s seat was transferred to
Lincoln. (The connection of Lincoln with Oxford is reflected in the fifteenth-century founda
tion of Lincoln College.) Not until the sixteenth century did Oxford itself become the centre
of a diocese, with the foundation of Christ Church both as a college of the University and as
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
591
a cathedral. However, from the Saxon period Oxford had grown both as a religious centre and
as an urban and commercial settlement. It has been noted that the Saxon minsters, like St
Frideswide s Minster, were generally extensive and complex establishments, centred on a
church and religious community but interacting economically with the surrounding district.
They also undertook pastoral care in that district, the parochia - a system of pastoral care that
preceded the later medieval organization of urban parishes. " St Frideswide s Minster probably
encouraged the settlement that was later formalized with its characteristic grid plan and forti
fied by the Saxons. Thereafter the town s commercial and strategic importance grew alongside
its importance as a religious settlement.
In the immediate post-Conquest period Oxford attracted an impressive number of religious
and scholarly foundations, which came in three identifiable waves - monastic, scholarly, and
mendicant. 57 The Augustinian priory of St Frideswide, the successor to the Anglo-Saxon
minster, was founded early in the twelfth century. Its church had probably been rebuilt by
1180 when the relics of St Frideswide were translated, but ten years later the priory buildings
were burnt. The church (which in the sixteenth century became, and still remains, the cathedral
of the diocese of Oxford) was the first building to be restored in the early thirteenth century.
A second Augustinian priory was founded by Robert d Oilly in 1129 on his manor of Osney
southwest of the town; it was elevated ro an abbey around 1 154. A later addition was Rewley
Abbey, established in 1280 on the west bank of the river northwest of the town as a house of
study for Cistercian monks. The need for such a house was the result of the second major wave
of immigrants to the town - scholars who had begun to gather in Oxford in the late twelfth
century, attracted by the increasing reputation of Oxford schools for advanced learning in
theology and law. 58 The third group of newcomers, the friars, began to arrive after 1221, attract
ed by the growing academic community. All four major mendicant orders had houses in the
suburbs of Oxford - the Dominicans to the south, the Franciscans just south of the castle, the
Carmelites in the northwest, and the Austin friars in the north. Two minor orders of friars -
the friars of the Sack or Penance and the Trinitarian friars - arrived in the thirteenth century
while the Crutched friars arrived in 1342. There were also two hospitals established in the
twelfth century, St John the Baptist and St Bartholomew s leper hospital, both outside the
East Gate.
In the two hundred years between the mid-twelfth century and the mid-fourteenth century
Oxford had been transformed from a trading and administrative centre favoured by the royal
house to a major religious and educational centre. H.E. Salter has cautioned, The religious
houses of Oxfordshire were not remarkable for wealth, antiquity or learning. 59 But wills,
including those of Oxford residents, reflect the importance of the religious houses to lay
people, and lay piety is equally reflected in the number of chantries established by Oxford
people in the parish churches of the town. 60 The eight religious foundations, according to
Barrie Dobson, constituted an agglomeration of varied monastic and mendicant settlement
unsurpassed elsewhere in England. Only St Frideswide and the later Benedictine community
of Canterbury College were actually within the walls of the town. All but one, a small house
of Trinitarian friars outside the East Gate, were ranged in a great arc around the western and
northern perimeters. " 1 Little trace beyond Christ Church Cathedral remains of these large
592 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
establishments but their presence during the period until Dissolution was a major factor in
the life and economy of the town.
The site of Christ Church is rich in historical layers, dating from the Anglo-Saxon founda
tion that was succeeded by St Frideswide s Priory. In 1524 the priory was suppressed (and,
incidentally, the nearby parish church of St Michael at the South Gate also demolished) to
accommodate Thomas Wolsey s grandiose design for Cardinal College. However, his fall in
1529 left the buildings incomplete and the great plan for a college that would form the heart
of the University s organization was left in abeyance. In 1532 Cardinal College was refounded
as King Henry viii College. During the next decade plans were formed to create a new bishop
ric of Oxford although the cathedral was established initially in 1542 at Osney, where the
abbey had been dissolved in 1539. The last abbot of Osney, Robert King, was appointed the
first bishop of Oxford. Within a very few years these two separate foundations - the college
on the site of St Frideswide s and the new cathedral at Osney - were merged. On the same day
in 1545 both the cathedral and King Henry vin College were surrendered to the Crown, and
in November 1546 the college and cathedral, now united, were founded again, when a charter
of foundation was granted to the cathedral church of Christ in Oxford - the beginning of
Christ Church on its present site. 62 Although, as James McConica notes, the charter did not
lay down the foundation of the academic college as such, it did effectively mark the estab
lishment of the unique double identity of Christ Church as both university college and city
cathedral. 63 The former priory church of St Frideswide, still remaining within the new build
ings, became both the college chapel and the cathedral church.
The relationship between the two identities of Christ Church could be delicate although
from the start the dual identity seems to have been recognized. By 1847 the cathedral was
criticised for being primarily a college chapel from whose worship the laity was excluded. 64
The extremely delicate balance of the civic and University functions, although found only
at Christ Church, is perhaps dimly reflected in the relationship between the colleges and the
Oxford parishes in the medieval and early modern period, when colleges owned the livings of
so many parishes. (In 1326, for example, the bishop of Lincoln acquired the advowsons of All
Saints, St Michael at the North Gate, and St Mildred - the last was suppressed to make way
for Lincoln College in 1427.)
The increased prosperity in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries mentioned above (p 591)
was reflected in renewed building not only of colleges, monastic foundations, and dwelling
houses but also of churches. Altogether nineteen medieval Oxford parishes are recorded
although not all were within the town liberties: St Giles and St Mary Magdalen, both to the
north of the city, were in Northgate hundred and so strictly not in Oxford. H.E Salter notes,
however, that from 1349 onward wills dealing with property in those two parishes were proved
not in the hundred court but in the mayoral court. (The city eventually purchased Northgate
hundred in 1592.)"
Five parish churches are recorded in the eleventh century: St Ebbe, St Martin, St Mary the
Virgin, St Michael at the North Gate, and St Peter in the East. 66 St Frideswide s Minster was
also in existence at that period (the earliest certain record is of 1004). 67 St Frideswide s Church
evidently retained a parochial function until the late thirteenth century, when its parochial
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
593
functions and the associated revenues were transferred to St Edwards, the contiguous parish to
the north, on the south side of the High Street. 68 St Michael at the North Gate and St Peter in
die East, which functioned as parish churches by 1086, may originally also have been minsters.
Both were wealthier than other parish churches in Oxford at the time; St Peter s also seems to
have been designed as a potential centre for pilgrimage: architectural evidence reveaJs that the
crypt was built to accommodate the display of an important relic. 69 John Blair, noting this
evidence, also draws an analogy with other late-Saxon foundations, noting that the existence
of two or more minsters seems a characteristic feature of the late Anglo-Saxon Mercian towns. 70
Although the available evidence is very inconclusive it does indicate the established importance
of Oxford and its religious life by the immediate post-Conquest period.
Four more eleventh-century foundations are recorded: St Edward the Martyr, St George in
the Castle, St Mary Magdalen, and St Mildred. By 1200 there were nine more: All Saints, St
Aldate, St Budoc (refounded after the destruction of the original church during the building
of the castle barbican), St Cross Holywell, St Giles, St John the Baptist, St Michael at the South
Gate, St Peter le Bailey, and St Thomas, built by Osney Abbey in the western suburbs. 71
Surveys and tax assessments from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries show fluctuations
in the relative wealth of the parishes, which in turn reveal aspects of the varying prosperity of
the town and the University. All Saints and St Martin - both located in the town centre, and
St Martin in addition being the church used by the town corporation - were consistently the
wealthiest, although St Martin s relative prosperity declined slightly in the sixteenth century.
St Peter le Bailey, almost as rich as All Saints in the fourteenth century, had suffered a dramatic
decline by the sixteenth, attributed to movement of wealthier residents out of the parish.
Conversely, the suburban parishes of St Thomas, to the west of Oxford, and St Mary Magdalen,
to the north, showed a decided rise in prosperity by the mid-sixteenth century, as wealthier
townspeople increasingly settled there. Local economic change may be reflected here: the
victualling trades, especially brewing, had grown increasingly important. 72
Both the churches of St Martin and St Mary the Virgin held places of peculiar importance
in local life - the former as the church adopted by the town government for ceremonial use
and the latter as the University church, where congregations and degree ceremonies were
regularly held from the thirteenth century onward. The town corporation shared responsibil
ity with the parish for the upkeep of St Martin s Church, as the University helped to sup
port St Mary s, although town-gown friction seems to have existed, unsurprisingly, in both
parishes. 73 But townspeople no doubt had mixed views, at best, of the fact that several churches
were demolished and parishes reformed by landowning founders of colleges. The building of
Merton College resulted in the takeover of the parish church of St John the Baptist in 1292 as
the college chapel. 74 The bishop of Lincoln, when Oxford was still within the Lincoln diocese,
acquired the advowsons of three town churches -All Saints, St Michael at the North Gate, and
St Mildred - in 1326; in 1427, when Lincoln College was built, the three were combined into
a collegiate church and St Mildred s was suppressed. 75 Wolsey s grandiose plans for his proposed
Cardinal College involved the demolition, in 1525, of the church of St Michael at the South
Gate and the merging of its parish with the contiguous St Aldate s. 76 Barrie Dobson has suggested
that the town (like contemporary Cambridge) might have taken a less than positive view of
594
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
this evidence of the University s health: The multiplication of academic colleges ... is so far fror
-t.ng a thesis of urban prosperity that it could be seen by the burgesses as an objection-
able symptom of their own decay. 77
The histories of both the churches of St Martin and St Mary the Virgin reflect the difficult
itionship between the town and the University. St Martin s, often surnamed Carfax after
itral location, was one of the wealthiest and most prominent Oxford churches and
certainty among the early foundations. Wood claims that it is of a most ancient erection and
>eyond all record ; certainly the exact date of its foundation is not known, but King Cnut
granted ,t to Abingdon Abbey in 1032." Its location and early establishment may have contrib-
c Martins becoming, by the late twelfth century if not earlier, the official town church
appropriated by the town corporation for its regular worship and ceremonial use, with seats
emg reserved for the mayor and councillors. In recognition of this status the corporation
assisted the parish in maintaining it. The parish historian Carteret Fletcher suggests that the
church s identification with the town as a corporate body made it a focus for town-gown
dissension: The church was used by the citizens as a fortress.... In 1321 complaint was made
to the king that the citizens had raised the walls of the aisles and crenellated them. 79 It may not
be a coincidence that the crucial riots of St Scholastica s Day 1354/5 began at the Swindlestock
Tavern, which stood at Carfax directly opposite the church. At any rate the church maintained
its official position, as a 1579 decree of the city council reflects: all freemen of the city, with
their families, were to come to the sermon at Carfoxe every Sunday and holiday on pain of
a fine of 12d. 80 The city lectureship was also established at St Martin s in 1586.
St Mary the Virgin, located on the High Street to the east of the town centre, occupied an
equally and perhaps (in town and parish terms) more equivocally special position: recorded
first in the Domesday Book, it seems to have been appropriated as the official University
church from the mid-thirteenth century or earlier. 81 The University congregation met there
for four hundred years until the new convocation house was built in 1637. (When the original
was converted into a cafe in the late twentieth century, mindful of history, it retained the
name The Old Convocation House. ) The chancellor s court, Acts, and degree ceremonies
were held in the church until the mid-seventeenth century; University sermons have been given
there weekly since the fifteenth century. The parish did benefit from the special position of
St Mary s in that the University and also Oriel College, which held the advowson from 1326,
assisted considerably in the maintenance and repair of the church. 82 Nonetheless, there was
evidently friction too, as the parish historian E.S. Ffoulkes has pointed out: Parishioners had
no right of entry to the Congregation House; nor to any part of the church in which University
services and sermons, or Oriel services and sermons, were then going on. (Parishioners did
however have an equal right with Oriel and any other college within the parish boundary to
burial within the precincts; other members of the University had to ask the permission of the
parish. Ffoulkes remarks drily that in the circumstances the parish might seem to have had
small power of refusing; and now and then its consent was secured by a bequest. ) 83 On the
other hand, the parish was home to the confraternity of St Thomas the Martyr, which acted
as a focus for both town and gown parishioners and is discussed in more detail below.
In general the parish records reflect a range of responsibilities undertaken by the parishes
SQS
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
as part of the administration of the life of the town: churchwardens accounts record regular
expenses on the purchase and repair of church goods, the maintenance of the building and the
ground surrounding it, charitable support of the poor and sick, and the raising of arms and,
on occasion, soldiers. All the parish churches benefited from parishioners wills, and numerous
chantries, chapels, masses, and lights were maintained by private bequests as well as by parish
fraternities and craft guilds.
Among the parishes whose records have been extracted for these volumes, most had guilds
and fraternities that variously maintained chantries and lights and provided for needy members:
the religious guilds were dedicated variously to God, the Holy Trinity, and a range of saints
including the Blessed Virgin, St Andrew, St Clement, St George, St Michael, and St Thomas.
Records of the guilds date generally from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries although at
least one guild at St Peter le Bailey is recorded in 1270." The religious guilds and the various
craft guilds also recorded as maintaining lights and regular masses at a number of Oxford
churches were not open to all: the poorest were inevitably excluded because membership
demanded the payment of dues. Despite this, Eamon Duffy has argued that such guilds
functioned very much as part of parish life. 85 The overall prosperity of the parish of St Michael
at the North Gate presumably benefited from the chantries of St Clement and St George,
which are interesting as having individual proctors, hosting their own annual ales and keeping
their own accounts.
In the parish of St Mary the Virgin, the confraternity of St Thomas the Martyr from its
foundation in response to the Black Death in 1350 was one of the few places in Oxford where
the three distinct classes - members of the University, privileged persons, and townsfolk -
came together in acts of communal piety. For two hundred years this confraternity served as
a neutral meeting ground for all inhabitants of the town. Carl Hammer, in his analysis of the
surviving evidence of the guild, has concluded that there was no institution in Oxford which
in its origins, aims, ongoing connections and composition so clearly reflected the interlocking
of "Town" and "Gown" as did the guild (and the chantry) of St Thomas the Martyr. 86 Another
aspect of the life of the parish that reflected civic rather than University life appears in the
records of the light maintained in the church by the fifteenth century Cooks guild. 87
In addition most of the churches owned property that brought in at least a little rent. But the
regular recording by the churchwardens of income from ales and hockings shows how, in many
if not all parishes, the interests of traditional festivity and of fundraising went hand in hand.
The maintenance of festive as well as strictly religious traditions was of course severely
challenged by the Reformation. Eamon Duffy s comprehensive study has shown very strikingly
how profound and pervasive was the impact of religious change, enforced by government, on
the lives of ordinary people and on the communal life of parishes throughout the country.
On the purely financial level the strain of replacing many items of church furnishings and
vestments - not once but several times under different regimes - was considerable. But Duffy
also argues that the cumulative changes enforced on traditions of worship - the dropping of
popular saints days and holidays from the calendar, the banning of lights before saints images,
the dissolution of chantries, and the suppression of religious guilds - must inevitably have
caused profound disturbance to communities. 88 Parish records - both churchwardens accounts
596 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
and inventories - suggest the drawn-out struggle to steer a safe course through the religious
and political storms of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. On the whole, churches in
Oxford inclined to conformity with the established religion, despite inevitable confusion and
dispute as the country lurched from Henry vin to Edward vi to Mary to Elizabeth in one
century, and through civil war in the next. It is hard to be certain from surviving parish records
exactly what the attitudes of parishioners were and how far the acceptance of change in any
one parish reflects genuine conviction among individuals (incumbents or parishioners) rather
than political caution. Extant inventories of St Martins, for instance, show a parish making
sedulous efforts to keep up with the alarming changes and reverses of official religious opinion
from the mid-sixteenth century - although these inventories do not necessarily show that
St Martin s was more eager to conform than other city parishes. 89 The inventory of 1547 includes
mass books, altar cloths, and a mention of Our Lady s shrine; in 1552 these are replaced by
communion tables, communion books, and no mention of the Virgin; shortly after Queen
Mary s accession (20 November 1553) a longer inventory lists goods and ornaments gevyn
to the churche ageyn by Mr Alderman Tryssher hys wyffe as well as other goods brought in
(presumably from safe keeping in private houses) by parishioners, including altar cloths, altar
stones, mass books, and a sakryng bell from Richard Whittington, who, incidentally, became
mayor from 1558 to 1566. 90
The incumbents of St Mary Magdalen seem also to have inclined to conformity with the
religious establishment: under John Baker, vicar in the early Elizabethan period, altars were
removed, wall paintings whitewashed, and tables of the commandments bought. The sale of an
olde saye coot of grene wyche was made for wettsontyd - identified by the VCH as presumably
a vestment - may in fact indicate another aspect of parish life: since the record also states that
the coat was made for the lord, it may refer to the lord in a summer game (see p 108). 11 In
this particular parish it is also just possible that it was made for the lord of the hundred, who
donated it back to the parish for fundraising purposes - which would remove its possible
religious significance.
St Mary the Virgin showed the characteristic local efforts at conformity, whether because of
the church s official University status or not is not certain: the churchwardens sold plate and
vestments under Edward vi, restored altars and repaired a defaced statue under Mary, and under
the vicar William Powell conformed to the Elizabethan settlement in 1558. The last vicar before
the Civil War, Dr Morgan Owen, being chaplain to Archbishop Laud, demonstrated Laudian
tendencies in restoring the south porch, with a statue of the Virgin and Child above it; the
statue was mutilated in 1642. 92
St Michael at the North Gate also seems from its records to have attempted religious conform
ity, although the changes as elsewhere were gradual and so perhaps reluctant. Laudian and
Puritan influences seem to have alternated in the seventeenth century: the chancel was re
arranged and new altar rails installed in 1634-5 but these changes were reversed in 1641.
It has been suggested that Puritanism was a feature in the parish of St Peter le Bailey more, and
earlier, than in other Oxford parishes: an instance of possible puritan vandalism is recorded
in 1584 and by 1593 the parishioners had adopted the puritan practice of sitting for com
munion. Parish opinion was evidently not by any means uniform, however, and old practices
597
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
continued - although not without objections. In 1634, for instance, two parishioners were
proceeded against for causing a disturbance when the May Day garland was brought into
church, and for trying to stop the Whitsun festivities, as well as for refusing to bow at the
name of Jesus. 3
By contrast the records of St Peter in the East, although they suggest the usual Oxford
attempts to conform with the religious establishment of the time, also indicate unreformed
and traditionalist feeling in that parish at least. 94
The University
ORIGINS
It is not possible to affix a firm date to the moment at which the group of individual teaching
masters who had assembled in the late twelfth century at a provincial town on the upper reaches
of the River Thames became incorporated as a university, after the model of Paris and Bologna,
from which most of them came. 95 In die Middle Ages Oxford was pan of the diocese of Lincoln
and it was the bishops of Lincoln who were empowered by the pope to appoint Oxford s
chancellors. 96 While Robert Grosseteste has traditionally been regarded as the first occupant of
this office c 1225, an earlier document from c 1214 accords this honour to Geoffrey de Lucy. 97
Royal confirmation of Oxford s corporate status, extending the chancellor s jurisdiction to
many aspects of life in the town as well, followed in a series of charters issued by Henry in as
noted above (p 585)."
Why the town was chosen as the site of such an institution can only be a matter of con
jecture. Richard Southern points to Oxford s importance in the twelfth century as a centre for
the trying of ecclesiastical court cases, thus affording masters and students the opportunity
of studying both the theory and practice of canon and Roman law. 99 This circumstance may
explain why Oxford, and shortly thereafter its eastern offspring Cambridge, developed along
essentially secular lines, despite both universities dependence in their early centuries on the
patronage of the church. They existed not as seminaries but as centres of what we today would
call higher learning. While most Oxford students were expected to take holy orders eventually,
their stay at the University, especially if limited to an undergraduate course of study, was
intended to give them a general education in the liberal arts that led, as often as not, to a civil
rather than to an ecclesiastical career.
The early chancellors of the University were picked from among the resident masters and
exercised their duties in person. In time, however, it became the custom to delegate the chancel
lor s powers to one or more deputies ( commissarii ), the chief of whom was the vice-chancellor,
who was elected by congregation, an assembly of regent masters (that is, resident teachers
holding the MA). IO After the Reformation the chancellor was appointed by the king, who
usually chose him from among his privy councillors. By this time the position had come to be
regarded as largely ceremonial, with the actual job of running the University being performed
by the vice-chancellor. Congregation also appointed other officers such as the two proctors,
elected annually, whose duties were manifold but can best be described as disciplinary; and
598 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
the six bedels, divided into three esquire bedels and three yeoman bedels, who were servants
of the proctors and whose duties lay generally in assisting them in enforcing the statutes,
customs, and privileges of the University. Yet another deliberative body called convocation,
consisting of both regent and non-regent masters, exercised the final authority of framing
statutes and of settling matters unresolved by congregation. 101 Although this assembly rarely met
more than once or twice a year, it functioned, in theory at least, as the supreme governing body
of the University. (Today it meets solely for the purpose of electing the Professor of Poetry.)
CURRICULUM
Throughout the period covered by these volumes, academic instruction in Oxford was in the
hands of the four faculties, those of arts, theology, law, and medicine. The vast majority of
Oxford students were associated with the arts faculty since the last three subjects could be read
only after the student had received his MA. Upon admission a student s name was recorded in
a ledger-book, often called a buttery-book, of the college or hall in which he resided so that
a daily record might be kept of his consumption of food and drink. (Such of these books as
have survived are often our only way of knowing the names of the men who lived in a college
or hall at any given time.) The student then enrolled under a specific master, from one of the
faculties, who became his tutor and who theoretically taught him all of the subjects in the
curriculum until he received his degree. In the sixteenth century the introduction of specialized
lecturers and Regius Professors added a new dimension to an Oxford education, but the old
idea of a single continuous relationship between master and pupil survives to this day in the
institution of the moral tutor. m After the choice of tutor had been made the student was
required by the statutes to appear before the vice-chancellor and sign his name in the University
matriculation book. As a fee was required for this, however, students frequently put off formal
matriculation until shortly before they were ready to supplicate for their BA degree. Matric
ulation books, therefore, rarely tell us when a student actually entered Oxford. Indeed, if a
student failed to take a degree, his name may not appear in any official University document.
The curriculum studied by the undergraduate at Oxford was much the same throughout the
period covered by these volumes. The medieval trivium - grammar, rhetoric, and logic -
formed its core and was studied over a mandatory period of residence of four years. Bachelors
were expected to stay another three years until they became masters and for this they studied
the quadrivium - arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. All seven subjects were taught
both theoretically through lectures and practically through exercises called disputations, in
which the student would practise orally what he had learned, either as an opponent (who
proposed the subject of debate) or as a respondent (who answered it). The question put to
one of the candidates for a doctorate in Civil Law in 1593, for example, was Whether actors
be disreputable ( An histriones sint infames? ), to which the respondent answered in the
affirmative ( Sum ). 103
By the late sixteenth century statutory requirements concerning such matters as residence,
attendance at lectures, and participation in exercises had become so numerous and complicated
that virtually no student could truthfully claim to have fulfilled all of them. Consequently
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
almost every degree required a grace or dispensation from congregation or convocation, so
that supplication for grace to proceed to a degree became itself a statutory requirement.
Degrees were conferred at a July commencement ceremony called the Act. This, however, was
not the end of the matter since the BA degree did not become official until the candidate
determined on Egg Saturday (the Saturday before Ash Wednesday) of the following year,
while the MA degree was not official until the candidate incepted at the following Act. 104 Both
determination and inception consisted of further disputations, requiring further fees, although
both the exercises and the fees might occasionally be waived by the obtaining of further graces.
Candidates for doctorates in law, medicine, and theology faced similar procedures.
Once the new MA had completed his inception he was admitted to membership in con
gregation and entered a period of either one or two years of necessary regency, during which
he was obliged to give lectures, preside over disputations, and perform other duties prescribed
by congregation. His necessary regency completed, the regent master was then expected, usually
as a condition of his college fellowship, to join one of the faculties of law, medicine, or theo
logy in order to obtain either a second baccalaureate or a doctorate. At this point he became
a non-regent master, losing his seat in congregation but gaining one in convocation. Some
five to seven years might be spent in obtaining these further degrees, for a total of fourteen
to sixteen years residence in Oxford. In the sixteenth century only about three per cent of MAS
went on to study law since those seriously intent on becoming lawyers preferred to move on to
the Inns of Court in London. The faculty of medicine had even less business, conferring on
average fewer than two degrees per year over the whole century. Only theology, which attracted
some ten per cent of Oxford students to take higher degrees, can be said to have flourished. 105
These figures are hardly surprising given the fact that during most of this century only a
quarter of the entering students made it as far as the BA. Of some two thousand total members
of the University in 1600, the overwhelming majority were undergraduates who stayed in
Oxford for less than four years.
HALLS AND COLLEGES
Until 1488 the University itself possessed only one building, or rather one part of one building.
Congregation House consisted of a single large room on a lower level of the church of St Mary
the Virgin, on the High Street, with another room above it used as a library. 106 The church
itself, although known as the university church, was actually the property of Oriel College.
In 1488 construction was completed on the University s second building, the Divinity School
on the ground floor and Duke Humfrey s library above. The latter, and subsequently the
Bodleian, were called the public library because both were open to all members of the Univer
sity as well as to qualified visitors. The addition of the Bodleian quadrangle constructed between
1613 and 1621, greatly expanding the library space while providing new schools for the
faculties, completed the building works undertaken by the University during the period
covered by the present volumes.
From this it will be seen that the University made no provision of any sort for the housing
of its members. In the early years of Oxford s existence students lived either in private halls,
600 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
of which there were more than a hundred in the fourteenth century, or in lodgings with towns
people, like Chaucer s Nicholas in The Miller s Tale. Students in Nicholas situation, con
temptuously referred to in an early University statute as chamberdeacons, were encouraged
to take up residence in an official hall or college. 107 Endowed colleges were first founded in the
mid-thirteenth century (University, Balliol, Merton), although it was not until the sixteenth
century that they came to dominate the University s academic life and to house most of
its students. By 1505 the number of Oxford halls had fallen to fifty-two, by 1537 to eight,
accommodating only about 260 students. 108 By 1642 the number of Oxford colleges had
risen to eighteen, variously founded by members of the royal family, charitable prelates, and
pious merchants. (Three other colleges, all associated with the religious orders - Canterbury,
Durham, and Gloucester Colleges - failed to survive the Reformation.) 09
Each college was headed by a master who might bear the title of president, provost, warden,
principal, dean, or rector, depending on the whim of the founder. Collectively the masters were
known as the heads of houses and from the mid-sixteenth century on the vice-chancellor
was always chosen from their number. Each college provided a number of fellowships for the
cleverer students and stipends (called exhibitions ) for poor scholars. Fellows and exhibitioners
were thus said to be on the foundation. Most colleges also made room for paying customers
or commoners, who matriculated in increasing numbers toward the end of the sixteenth
century and included many offspring of the nobility. 110 Indeed, the influx of commoners
succeeded in doubling the size of some colleges, such as Queen s, in only a few years time.
The wealthier colleges also provided for boy choristers to sing in their chapels and in three
instances (Christ Church, Magdalen, and New College) set up separate grammar schools for
their instruction. (The word chorister in Oxford parlance referred exclusively to boys; adult
members of a choir were called singing-men. ) Meals were taken in the hall, with the master
and senior fellows (sometimes accompanied by noble commoners ) typically seated at a high
table on a raised platform while the junior members sat at lower tables." 1 Masters were required
to reside in their colleges (in the medieval colleges their quarters were always located directly
above the main gate), and their lodgings were often spacious enough to include a second,
private hall. It is probably these private halls that are referred to in documents recording plays
in the presidents lodgings. Such smaller, originally private halls survive at Magdalen, Merton,
and St John s, although the warden s hall in Merton has been converted into a middle
commonroom (that is, a graduate student lounge).
By far the wealthiest college was Christ Church, the only royal foundation in Oxford.
(Queen s College, named after Queen Philippa, was not founded by her; Balliol was named
after a king of Scotland but founded by his widow.) Begun by Cardinal Wolsey in 1525
Christ Church was refounded in 1546 by Henry vin, who merged it with the chapter of
the cathedral church in nearby Osney, where the diocese of Oxford had first been created in
1542. It is for this reason that the word college is never used as part of Christ Church s name.
Next in wealth of endowment, although barely half as rich as Christ Church, came Magdalen
and New College. Then, with another drop of fifty per cent, came All Souls, Corpus Christi,
Merton, Queen s, and St John s, followed far behind by Balliol, Brasenose, Exeter, Lincoln,
Oriel, Trinity, and University. (Three colleges are omitted from consideration here -Jesus,
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 601
Pembroke, and Wadham - because they were all founded shortly before 1642: of these, only
Jesus appears in the Records, beginning in 1622.) Christ Church was also by far the largest of
the colleges, with over one hundred men on the foundation and by 1605 a total membership
of over three hundred. (At Christ Church fellows were called Students, always with a capital
S. ) In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the main period represented by the
records in this collection, the other colleges with the largest number of members were Brasenose,
Exeter, Magdalen, New College, Queen s, and St John s." 2 Some colleges drew their members
primarily from geographical areas designated by their founders - Exeter from the west country,
Jesus from Wales, Lincoln from its county namesake, and Queen s from Cumberland and
Westmorland. Others gave preference to particular grammar schools - Christ Church to
Westminster, New College to Winchester, and St John s to Merchant Taylor s." 3 The frequent
references in the diary of Thomas Crosfield, fellow of Queen s, to sending letters or loaning
costumes to the North constitute an example of the use to which such knowledge can be put
in understanding the records in the present collection.
Further historical notes on individual colleges may be found in the Document Descrip
tions below.
Drama, Music, and
Ceremonial Customs
Drama in the Colleges and University
In addition to the analytical account given here, readers are referred to Professor Elliott s essay
Drama in The History of the University of Oxford. 1 Elliott observes (p 642) that complaints by
such opponents of theatre as Stephen Gosson and John Rainolds had no practical effect on
the performance of academic plays in Oxford. Anti-theatrical discourse as it bears on Oxford
is considered in Appendix 11.
COLLEGE PLAYS, 1485 TO 1565
The sole Oxford college known to have engaged in plays before the reign of Henry vni is
Magdalen, where records of performances survive in relative abundance from 1485-6, following
a less certain entry for 1483-4. An entry in 1486-7 for le capp mayntenaunce may suggest
a court satire but we are on more solid ground with King Solomon - evidently written by
Thomas More and performed c 1495 - and with St Mary Magdalene (patron saint of the
college) - written by John Burgess, performed in 1506-7, and perhaps revived in 1517-18. 2
(Edward Watson composed a play to earn an academic degree in 1511-12.) Magdalen mounted
interludes occasionally from 1502-3 ( interlude may or may not have been another word for
play ). Its dramatic performances in the early years are most often associated with Christmas
when datable within the year, less often with Easter (1495-6, 1509-10, 1519-20) - a logical
occasion for a play of St Mary Magdalene. Plays were performed in the college s hall from
1531-2 (and doubtless earlier), and certain ones are designated as comedies from 1534-5
and as tragedies from 1539-40. Through the reign of Henry Vlll internal evidence for plays
outside of Magdalen occurs only for Lincoln and Merton Colleges in 1512-13, New College
in 1524-5, and Cardinal College (a comedy) in 1529-30.
In a notebook entry for 1541-2 Alexander Nowell of Brasenose College refers, somewhat
enigmatically, to my play in Englishe. Far more substantial, measuring by the survival of texts
and allusions, are plays from the pen of Nicholas Grimald, associated with Balliol and Merton,
speculatively dated to the 1540s (see Appendix 6:1-2). Of his eight known titles - Archipropheta,
Christus Redivivus, Athanasius sive Infamia, Christus Nascens, Fama, Protomartyr, Troilus, and De
Puerorum in Musicis Institution^ - texts of only the first two survive, in continental imprints.
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS 603
After Henry vin s reign, Exeter College produced comedies in 1547-8 and 1550-1; New
College produced plays in 1552-3. Trinity College seems to have borrowed costumes for a
play in 1556-7, before producing Terence s comedy Andria c 1559 and a spectacle in 1564-5
(on Trinity Sunday, its feast day). In 1554-5 the dean and chapter of Christ Church decreed
that henceforth comedies would be supported to the extent of two per annum at 1 each,
while tragedies would be supported to the extent of two at 2 each, for a maximum of four
plays per academic year, with equal emphasis on Latin and Greek; if fewer than four, then in
similar proportions. (No record survives of any Oxford play written or performed in Greek.)
The decree constitutes evidence of a flourishing dramatic tradition not recorded in financial
records.
Magdalen College performed comedies and tragedies with some regularity to 1561-2.
In 1550-1 and 1551-2 the college paid for the construction of a theatre, probably a set of
demountable scaffolds erected in its hall exactly in the manner of contemporary Cambridge
colleges (see below, p 608). In 1559-60 a new term, spectaculorw, enters the Oxford
college records: the spectacle at Magdalen for 1560-1 may have been John Bales Three Laws.
COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PLAYS, 1566 TO 1591
Queen Elizabeth s royal visit to Oxford in August 1566 set its academic plays on a new course,
following a pattern established by a royal visit to Cambridge in 1564. 3 Even more than
Cambridge, however, Oxford University as a corporate body became the producer of plays
for royal visits, in the sense that the vice-chancellor and his deputies selected the plays and
oversaw their financing, furnishing, and mode of production. The arrangements made for 1566
were followed - with variations - for royal visits in 1592, 1605, and 1636. Preparations usually
began with an official letter from the chancellor to the vice-chancellor requesting the provision
of suitable entertainments. The letter stressed that each college and hall, as well as each student
(with the exception of poor scholars), was to bear an appropriate share of the financial burden.
The chief beneficiary of this stipulation was Christ Church, exempted in 1635-6 from making
even a proportional contribution in exchange for the use of its facilities. Christ Church
apparently won its privilege because as a royal foundation it traditionally acted as host to the
sovereign, and because its hall was exceptionally capacious. Accordingly, although actors were
drawn from various colleges, Christ Church men tended to predominate.
John Bereblock, writing in Latin, gives short plot synopses of the three plays presented during
Queen Elizabeth s 1566 visit but fails to name their titles or authors. Miles Windsor s account,
in English, lists the three plays as Marcus Geminus, a Roman history play in Latin by Tobie
Matthew of Christ Church; Palamon and Arcite, a dramatization of Chaucer s Knight s Tale
by Richard Edwards, master of the children of the Chapel and a former Oxford student;
and Progne, a Latin tragedy by James Calfhill, a doctor of Christ Church. Windsor, who
performed in Edwards play, appears not to have attended the other two productions but
provides a list of the actors who appeared in all three plays. This list includes the name of Tobie
Matthew, who may be presumed to have acted in his own play, a practice not uncommon
among academic playwrights. Windsor also provides a wealth of amusing detail about the
604 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
queen s reaction to Palamon andArrite, principally in the draft version of his work, which only
came to light in the preparation of the present collection. 4
The years immediately following the 1 566 royal visit witnessed a noticeable increase in play
activity among Oxford colleges. Merton performed plays in 1566-7 (Wylie Beguylie and
Terence, Eunuc/ms) and 1567-8 (Plautus, Menaechmi, and Edwards, Damon and Pithias). Corpus
mounted its single recorded play in 1572-3 (apparently for Lord Strange), as did Exeter in
1585-6. Queen s put on two plays (a tragicomedy at Christmas 1572-3 and Wotton s Tancredo
in 1585-6), as apparently did All Souls (1574-5, 1579-80?). More important, St John s
now joined Christ Church and Magdalen as a principal producer of plays, and financed the
construction of a hall-theatre in 1568-9. After 1585-6 no Oxford college other than Christ
Church, Magdalen, and St John s is known from financial records to have mounted plays,
although all continued to give support, financial or otherwise, for royal visits.
Colleges also cooperated with the University to offer plays for visits by noblemen, especially
for visits by Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, who served as chancellor from 1564 to his death
in 1588. On 5 May 1569 Thomas Cooper, dean of Christ Church, wrote to thank Leicester
for his determination to see your Vniuersitie, as I am informed, the fiftenth of this present
moneth : We haue also in readinesse a playe or shew of the destruction of Thebes, and the
contention betwene Eteocles and Polynices for the gouernement therof. but herein I thinke we
shall be forced to desyre your Honours fauorable healpe for prouision for somme apparaile
and other thinges needefull. A visit by Leicester in 1582, with his nephew Sir Philip Sidney
in tow, gave rise to a huge - and well-documented - burst of dramatic activity, recalled in a
sermon by Laurence Humphrey. A year later, on 10-13 June 1583, Oxford received a visit
from Albert Laski, palatine of Siradia, duke of Poland. New construction was undertaken on
the Christ Church stage, while the professional poet and dramatist George Peele was paid for
his services on 26 May. A lengthy description of the event was published by Holinshed in the
second edition of his Chronicles (1587). In January 1584/5 Leicester made a final appearance,
generating elaborate expense lists in the Christ Church accounts for both a tragedy and a
comedy. Christ Church also paid for the carriage of stuffe from ye reuills and backe agayne.
While agreeing in 1583-4 to restrict professional playing at Oxford, Leicester, apparently
on his own initiative, intervened to protect and even encourage college plays (see p 195):
As I like and alowe all thease statute and article aboue writtew and namelye in the
fiuth article do thinke the prahibicio of common stage players very requisite so wolde
I /not 1 haue it meant theare bye theat the tragedies cowmodies & other shewes of
exercises of learninge in that kinde vsed to be sett foarth by vniumitye mew should
be forbedde but acceptinge them as commendable and greate furderances of learninge
do wish them in anye wise to be cowtinuid at set times and incresed ... and the youth
of the vniudTsitye by good meanes to be incurragid to the decent and frequent settinge
fourth of them.
Accordingly, students of certain colleges continued to perform tragedies commodies & other
shewes of exercises of learninge in that kinde until the eve of the Civil War.
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS 605
COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PLAYS, 1592 TO 1604
The Records are relatively silent about the plays performed for the royal visit of Elizabeth
in September 1592. The only surviving eyewitness account is that of a Cambridge spy,
Philip Stringer, who did not write up his notes until eleven years later. By then he seems
to have forgotten everything except the names of the two plays and his impression that they
were but meanly performed (see p 223). Other evidence (see pp 222-4) tells us, however,
that one of the plays was Leonard Hutten s Latin comedy Bellum Grammaticale, not printed
until 1635 but originally performed in Christ Church as early as 1581 (the 1592 version
was fitted out with two new prologues and an epilogue by William Gager); the other play
was Gager s own Rivalss, a Latin comedy (now lost) that was first performed in 1583 for
the state visit of the Polish prince palatine, and, like Bellum Grammaticale, revived as a
Shrovetide entertainment in Christ Church a few months before the queen s visit. The fact
that Christ Church recorded expenses of only 31 2s 2d for the stage & towards plaies
suggests that they were indeed more meanly set forth than in 1566, while resort to two
plays already in the year s repertory may indicate that inadequate warning of the queen s
visit was given to the University.
The royal visit of 1592 seems to have exhausted the colleges. Not until 1596-7 did St John s
resume its dramatic activities, beginning with a comedy, but as if to make up for lost time, it
scarcely missed another year between then and 1640. Christ Church resumed activities for a
single year, 1598-9. (Christ Church had produced its first of many nil entries for comedies
and tragedies in 1583-4; with a few exceptions these must be read as evidence of non-
performance.)
COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PLAYS, 1605 TO 1635
King James, Queen Anne, and the young prince Henry all participated in a royal visit to Oxford
in August 1605. The Records show that four plays were presented in Christ Church, three in
Latin for the king, all written or adapted by Oxford men, and one in English especially written
for the queen and prince by the queen s favourite court poet, Samuel Daniel. Costumes were
imported from the master of the revels in London. The Latin plays seem to have been chosen
to demonstrate the three kinds of classical drama as labelled by Vitruvius. 6 Alba, co-authored
by Robert Burton of Christ Church, was a satyr play featuring shepherdesses, hermits, various
gods and goddesses, and a magician. A cast of students exclusively from Magdalen College
presented Ajax Flagellifer, a Latin play based upon Sophocles tragedy. Finally Matthew Gwinne of
St John s provided an allegorical comedy, acted by the students of that college, called Vertumnus
siveAnnus Recurrent, known in English as The Year About. At Vertumnus the king was soe
overwearied ... that after a while he distasted it, and fell a sleepe, when he awaked, he would
have bene gone, sayinge I marvell what they thinke mee to be, w/th such other like speeches
shewinge his dislike thereof, yet he did tarrye till they had ended yt, which was after one of
the clock. The queene was not there that night (see p 299).
A quasi-royal visit occurred in 1612-13, when Count Palatine Frederick v, who had married
606 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
into the royal family, attended a comedy at Magdalen College supervised by Thomas Gates.
For this event we have, unfortunately, no more than the bare record.
Meanwhile St John s College maintained its playing tradition in full force. Christ Church
resumed its dramatic activities irregularly from 1605-6 to 1618-19. From 1616-17 comes a
rich list of expenses for the theatre in the hall, including stage and scaffold-, for a quire of paper
to write out the play (a tragedy) twice; and finally, 18s paid for vizards lost and broken, and
for the loan of other(s). Magdalen College mounted spectacles in 1606-7 and plays irregularly
from 1612-13 to 1619-20, with one final play in 1634-5- Documentary evidence for college
performances in the Records, limited after 1620 almost exclusively to St John s, is supplemented
by bibliographical information concerning surviving or lost play texts from various colleges
as noted in Appendix 6:1-3.
Of all plays performed by students of Oxford through 1642, the most notorious by a wide
margin was Barren Holyday s Technogamia, which earned its dubious fame not for its original
performance at Christ Church on 13 February 1617/18 but for a repeat performance before
James I and his court at Woodstock on 26 August 1621, a Sunday. In the wake of the perform
ance, sarcastic comments and satirical verses circulated in such abundance that they are segreg
ated here in Appendix 2.
THE ROYAL VISIT OF 1636
The opulence of the 1605 plays at Christ Church was perhaps more than matched by the
entertainment of Charles I at the same hall in 1636, the last occasion on which plays were
presented to a monarch in Oxford. The plays were William Strode s The Floating Island and
William Cartwright s The Royal Slave. Between performances the king and queen were treated
to George Wild s Love} Hospital, performed in St John s hall. This was the only time that a
royal party ventured out of Christ Church to see a play. Archbishop Laud, a former president
of the college, financed the play from his own funds to celebrate the college s new quadrangle.
(A fourth play, Jasper Mayne s The City Match, was written for the occasion but not performed.)
The two Christ Church plays inspired perhaps the most vivid eyewitness appreciation to be
found in this collection, that of Brian Twyne (pp 543-5). It is important to note, however, that
the 1636 royal plays, although written and acted by Oxford men, were in all other respects the
product not of Oxford but of the king s purveyors of court entertainment. The scenery and
costumes were provided by the office of the works and the office of the revels; the music was
written by William and Henry Lawes and performed by the king s musick and other professional
musicians; student actors were specially coached by Joseph Taylor, leader of the king s men at
the Globe; candelabra were brought from Whitehall Palace and reassembled in Oxford to provide
lighting. In contrast to the choice of learned, academic plays for King James, all of the 1636
plays were comedies, and all, by royal command, were written in English, thus confirming
William Cartwright s remark in the epilogue to The Royal Slave:
There s difference twixt a Colledge and a Court;
The one expecteth Science, the other sport.
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
Perhaps because of this, The Floating Island, a political allegory extolling monarchy, was
generally dismissed as incomprehensible by the courtiers, despite its scenic wonders. The
Royal Slave, however, an exotic romance about a Persian prisoner miraculously rescued from
a pagan sacrificial altar, got a warm reception from the entire court, especially the queen, who
asked to see it again performed at Hampton Court. What she saw both there and in Oxford,
however, was not representative of Oxford culture but an imitation of the usual type of Stuart
court entertainment.
THE FINAL YEARS
In a 1636 letter to the University (see p 539) Archbishop (and Chancellor) Laud advised that
the scenery and costumes left over from the royal performances be laid up in some place fit,
so that if any are willing to set forth, need the use of any, or all of these things, it shall be ..
lawful, and free for them to have and to use them. Laud proposed that one copy of an inventory
be kept at Christ Church, another elsewhere for safe keeping (he suggested the University
Registry). He thought that members of a later student generation might wish to revive the
performance tradition and would need an inventory to recreate the theatre from the parts that
now went into storage. (A similar inventory, dated 1640, has survived at Cambridge.) 7 But
when Charles i took up residence in Christ Church in 1642, there is no evidence that he ever
requested further dramatic entertainment.
AFTERMATH
At the Restoration of Charles n a revival of the custom of royal dramatic entertainments was
contemplated in Oxford but soon abandoned. Timothy Halton, a fellow of Queen s, tells us
that in July 1661 a committee was formed to plan the reception of the new king in Oxford
and that the play is made by Dr. Llewellyn. He fears, however, that the plan cannot be carried
out because they are so in want of actors and may have to make use of the professional players
from the Red Bull theatre, then in Oxford. 8 Halton undoubtedly was referring to the lack of
experienced student actors engendered by the eighteen-year hiatus in dramatic activities, rather
than any shortage of willing volunteers. While the professional companies in London - including
the one at the Red Bull - quickly reorganized at the Restoration, Oxford s academic drama
never recovered from this break in its traditions. Charles n returned to Oxford in September
1663 and James n in September 1687, but neither University nor Christ Church accounts list
any payments for drama. In 1664 Christ Church attempted to revive the custom of Christmas
revels by staging a comedy called The Tricks composed by a student named Richard Rhodes.
This, however, according to Anthony Wood, led only to extensive damage to the hall and
general drunkenness and wantonness. Wood adds that Jasper Mayne, the unperformed play
wright of 1636, tried to encourage the cast by saying he liked well an acting student, but the
college accounts reveal that this was the last such play to be performed in Christ Church hall. 9
It was, indeed, virtually the last student play to be performed in Oxford until the founding of
the Oxford University Drama Society more than two centuries later.
608 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
Academic Play Venues
Oxford college comedies, tragedies, and interludes were almost all performed either privately
in the masters lodging, or publicly in the college hall. While little is known about private
performances, public performances can be reconstructed in some detail.
Most Oxford halls known to have been used for the public performance of plays survive
more or less intact. These include the medieval halls of Magdalen (72 6" x 29 3"), Merton
(78 x 27 ), New College (79 x 32 8"), and Trinity (59 6" x 30 6"). The hall of St John s
was built c 1500 but increased by the length of one bay in 1616 (its final dimensions were
82 6" x 26 6")." The available floor space of all these halls was reduced by the depth of their
entrance screens. Christ Church hall (114 6" x 39 9"), completed in 1529, has no internal
entrance screen, so its entire length was available to the theatrical designer. 12 The surviving
hall of Exeter (75 6" x 27 6") was built in 1618, long after its known play performances
(1547-8, 1550-1). l3 The surviving hall of Queen s, which produced a tragicomedy in 1572-3,
was built as late as 1714. "*
Only the halls of Christ Church (Figures 1 and 4), Magdalen (Figure 2), Merton, and
St John s (Figure 3) served as academic drama venues of any significant duration. Of the three
smaller venues, most - but not much - is known about how Magdalen s hall was transformed
into a theatre for a few days each year. Account entries employ suggestive nomenclature,
including proscenium in 1538-9 and 1551-2, scenam in 1552-3, and theatrum from
1553-4 onward. Carpenters spent from three to eleven days removing (and subsequently
replacing) dining tables and installing (and subsequently removing) theatrical scaffolding. Rope
and candles or lamps were purchased, doubtless for performances at night. The expenditures
on wood and on sawyers, which continue from year to year, suggest a work in progress.
For want of sufficiently detailed evidence, perhaps the only way to reconstruct a typical
Oxford college theatre is to assume a substantial similarity to the typical academic theatre at
Cambridge, characterized by a stage platform across the width of the hall near the high-table
end; a pair of stage houses facing one another across the length of the stage platform; raised
scaffolding for the seating of distinguished guests behind the stage; raised scaffolding for
lesser spectators along the lower end and side walls; and standing room or sitting room along
the floor. 15
Back in Oxford, Magdalen College paid painters to write names for the performance in
1560-1 and purchased hair for women or a wig in 1561-2. In 1556-7 some college, probably
Trinity, borrowed costumes from the master of the revels in London, providing for three kings,
two dukes, six counsellors, one queen, three gentlewomen, one young prince, six maskers, and
four torch-bearers.
More abundant information survives from the royal visit of Queen Elizabeth in August 1566,
when a theatre was specially constructed in Christ Church hall. Workmen included the very
carpenters who had perfected their art in the construction of the Magdalen College theatre
since 1551-2. Although college accounts do not clearly distinguish work on the theatre from
other college works (see pp 1 13-23), they do reveal that carpenters helped to take downe the
stage &C scaffolde (see p 119) and that Goodwife Davis supplied board and studs about the
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
609
SCALE OF FEET
2C .10 40 50 00 70 SO
Figure 2 Ground plan of Magdalen College. Adapted from Historical Monuments in the City
of Oxford, opposite p 72.
n
:7"^s^SP
^ ,; T> v W ^ ; y^y/a;
SCALJ1
V ^ of 7 n .f -r
Figure 3 Ground plan of St John s College. Adapted from Historical Monuments in the City
of Oxford, opposite p 104.
SfAlCt
tO JO 4C
Of FEET t3 /<5r// CFNTURY C 1 MODfRN
Figure 4 Ground plan of Christ Church hall. Adapted from Historical Monuments in the City
of Oxford, p 34.
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
houses of ye stage (see p 120). John Bereblock (see pp 136-41), who observed the end result,
describes the walls and the ceiling of the hall as lined with gold panelling to create the effect
of an ancient Roman palace (Veteris Romani Palatij ). While scaffolds for the audience were
placed at one end of the hall and along the side walls, boxes for the more important spectators
were built at the top of the scaffolds, and ordinary spectators ( populus ) stood around the stage.
The stage platform may have been placed at the west end of the hall, opposite the screen,
with a throne for Elizabeth, who sat facing the audience." Scenery for the plays consisted of
classical stage houses, resembling magnificent palaces ( magnifica palatia), which also served
as the actors dressing rooms. This may have been a typical academic theatre, elaborated
with a throne for the queen behind the stage; nevertheless, information to support a full
reconstruction is wanting.
Observers of the 1566 Christ Church plays commented on two further matters. First, a
doorway was pierced at the level of the first storey through the end wall of the east range of
the main quadrangle; then a gallery was hung within the stairwell leading to the antechamber
of the hall. This tremendous engineering feat was undertaken merely so the queen could walk
from her lodgings to the hall without descending to ground level. 17 (Though the doorway
was closed up again, its outline can still be traced in the north wall of the corner stairwell.)
Second, the crowd pressed so unrelentingly on a stairway near the hall - perhaps in the same
stairwell - that three people were killed by falling masonry and others injured. (The queen
sent her surgeon, but the play went on.)
Very little information survives concerning the plays performed for the royal visit of 1592
apart from the fact that the venue was Christ Church hall. In all probability the stage was taken
out of storage at the last minute and set up as in 1566.
A great deal of information, by contrast, survives about the theatre erected for the royal visit
of James i and his family in August 1605. This time an entirely new theatre, with a fresh and
contemporary design by Inigo Jones, was constructed in Christ Church hall under the direction
of Simon Basil, the kings comptroller (subsequently surveyor of the works), and by consultation
with Sir Thomas Chaloner. While the Records (see pp 277-321) testify to much activity and
expense (including a cost of 177 for the Kings cowminge ) as well as to the participation of
Jones, who is reported to have been paid 50 for his efforts (see p 301), the crucial document
for understanding the new theatre is an architectural drawing in the British Library, identified
and analysed at length by John Orrell (see Appendix 1). Jones created a perspectival theatre -
the first known in England - enhanced by the use of periaktoi. Spectators expressed amazement
that the stage picture could change not only for the change for each show each day but also
for the change of scene in one and the same play (see p 306, as translated).
Unusually for a college theatre, the stage platform (at the upper end of the hall) was raked.
Moreover, three sides of the stage were closed off by the periaktoi, which by coordinated
rotation produced three different scenic backdrops. The main seating scaffolds at the lower
end of the hall were also raked, with benches curving round in roughly concentric arcs. At
the centre-point of those arcs stood a platform for the king s throne. For this particular king,
however, the innovation was not a success. Perspective theory locates the privileged viewing
point at the point of sight, along the principal axis and somewhere in the middle of the
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS 61 1
audience. But James had never been planted in the middle of any audience and refused to
sit where he ought. At his own insistence his seat was moved farther from the stage - but
too far back for easy hearing. Thus he neither saw nor heard as Jones intended. Some of
the 1605 plays were nevertheless a hit, helped no doubt by costumes secured from London
(see pp 288 -93).
Inigo Jones served once more as principal designer for the royal visit of Charles i and his
consort in August 1636. "The scaffolding of 1605 may well have been recycled, but Jones
replaced the antique periaktoi with modern stage shutters thrust out in successive pairs from
stage left and stage right to create even more astonishing scenic transformations, which were even
more dependent on perspective theory. We have noted above (see pp 6067) the contribution
made by court professionals, Brian Twyne s rapturous description of the end result, and the
queen s desire to revive Carrwright s The Royal Slave at Hampton Court. William Laud s
reminiscence captures nicely the degree to which drama had become visual effect: I caused
the University to send both the Clothes, and the Perspectives of the Stage (see p 541).
Meanwhile, an occasional glimpse may be gained of dramatic activity in St John s College
hall, as for example during the performance of The Christmas Prince over the winter of 1607-8.
Events were first organized around a fire blazing there as well as in the college parlour over
several successive nights in late October and early November. Thomas Tucker, elected Christmas
prince, was carried in triumph about the hall and thence to his chamber (see p 342). A
prefatory show called Am Fortunae was not thought worthye of a stage or scaffoldes, and
therfore after supper ye tables were onlye sett together, which was not done w/thout great toyle
& difficullty by reason of ye great multitude of people (which by ye default of ye Dore-keepers,
and diuers others, euery manw bringinge in his freindw) had fild ye Hall before wee thought
of it (see p 347).
Subsequent projects were deemed worthy of a complete theatre, although a performance
that should have gone forward on Holy Innocents Day (28 December) had to be deferred a day,
the Carpenters beeing no-way ready w;th the stage or scaffold s (see p 355). A subsequent
Bill of expences - a rich source of theatrical information - includes an expenditure of 5
to the Carpenters for setting up the stage scaffolds twise and lending boardes etczttra and
1 for nayles (see pp 359-60). Other plays were performed privately in the lodging (see
pp 361-2.) The academic term was to have begun on Monday, 1 1 January, but because of
frost, as also by reason the hall was still pestered with the stage and scaffolds which were
suffered to stand still in expectation of the Comedy, the president simply postponed the
beginning of term for one week (see p 362).
In 1636 Henry Burton published the story of a carpenter who, undertaking to mend a Stage
in S. lohns Colleidge on the Satturday night, worked into Sunday morning that the Stage
might be ready against the Munday following. Suffering divine punishment he fell backward
from the Stage, being not farre from the ground, and brake his neck, and so ended his life in a
fearfull Tragedy (see p 558). Nevertheless, Archbishop Laud selected the hall for the perform
ance of a supplementary play for the royal visit of August 1636, at a cost to himself for the
stage & Comedy of 394 13s (see p 531).
All in all, the plays presented in St John s College hall on its stage and scaffolds were more
612 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
representative of academic drama at Oxford than the extravaganzas presented for royal con
sumption at Christ Church.
Entertainment in the Colleges and University
For almost the whole of the period covered by the Records, academic prohibitions alternated
with college or University sponsorship of public or private entertainment. The earliest known
prohibition by the University is dated c 1300. University College enacted prohibitions by
statute in 1292, Queen s in 1340, New College c 1398, All Souls in 1443, Magdalen in 1483,
Merton in 1484-5, Balliol in 1507, Corpus in 1516-17, Brasenose in 1521, and Christ Church
c 1546 and c 1550. Merton College enforced its prohibitions by order in 1499-1500, the
University in 1500-1. A comprehensive restriction against performances by professional acting
companies, promulgated by the University in 1584, is discussed elsewhere (see below, p 614).
Academic sponsorship of entertainment is exemplified for the early years by Exeter s support
of a play in 1360-1 and Mertons payment for a Ynayyng^ in 1386-7. The play in this instance
was probably extramural, while the mayyng/ was probably a festive repast provided by the
college on or about the first of May. The two events may be taken as representing two hypo-
thetically distinguishable kinds of activity - on the one hand academic support for extramural
performers, whether the performance occurred outside or within the college, and on the other
hand support for activities in which members of the college were the performers.
Extramural entertainers hired by the colleges or University for intramural performances are
discussed below under Travelling Entertainers and Music and Dance: Town and Gown. Here
it may simply be noted that external musicians were listed in academic accounts with much
scribal ingenuity, not only as the familiar buccinatores, histriones, musici, tibicines, and
tubicines, but also as fidicines, fistulans, spondiales, and symphonisti. Such performers
are recorded at Merton from 1431-2, New College from 1460-1, All Souls from 1467-8,
and Queen s from 1541-2, The University as distinct from its colleges paid performers from
as early as 1471-2 (the king s trumpeters). Players or musicians were recorded at All Souls
from 1467-8, at Magdalen from 1485-6, and at Queens from 1541-2. In addition satrape
from the town provided vocal music to Merton College from at least 1505-6 and possibly to
Magdalen College as early as 1485-6.
BOY BISHOPS AND COLLEGE LORDS
On 5 December (St Nicholas Eve) or less commonly on 28 December (feast of the Holy
Innocents) at least four colleges sponsored ceremonies of the boy bishop: Durham College
from 1399-1400, All Souls from c 1440, Lincoln from 1456-7, and Magdalen from 1482-3-
Magdalen maintained the tradition until at least 1529-30, Lincoln until at least 1539-40."
Many Oxford colleges appointed a lord, often for the Christmas season, following the
ancient and popular tradition of the lord of misrule. 20 A king of beans ( Rex fabarum ),
apparently celebrated on the vigil of the feast of St Edmund (19 November), is recorded at
Merton College from 1485-6 to 1539-40. Entries in the same accounts record an annual
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS 613
Tire, evidently a festive gathering at which members of the college enjoyed the wintertime
comforts of a good fire and refreshments. (Judging from variations in the names of the principals
over successive years, the fire was distinct from the king of beans.) Further evidence concerning
Merton s king of beans is gathered in Appendix 5.
A useful description of a college lord occurs in a Magdalen school exercise book (c 1512-27):
this boye playd the lord yester day a mong his cowpanyounce a poyntyng eufry man his
office, oon he mayd his carver an other his butlere: an other his porter, an other bi cause ... he
wold not do as he cowmandyd hym he toke and ... to bete hyme ..." (the phrase to bete hyme
means beat him thoroughly ). Magdalen account books contain an enigmatic reference to a
lord in 1559-60. John Ponet s Apologie (1554-5) alludes to a (possibly fictional) New College
lord and minion from an earlier decade. An antiquarian note here dated c 1559 refers to a
Princeps Natalicius or Christmas Prince at Trinity College, while a letter of 3 April 1599
reveals that Christ Church usually chose an emperor but that year chose a boy of evidently
feminine aspect as empress. Richard Carnsews diary (1574-5) alludes to the appointment of a
lord at Broadgates Hall (later Pembroke College), while Richard Madox s diary notes under
January 1581/2 Richard Latewar s oration in ye name of kyng aulrede and a savage who ...
yelded his hollyn club. Peter Heylyn reports (1617-18): November 20 Mr Holt chosen Lord
(Chrwtmas Lord of Magdalen college) & solemnly inaugurated on ye 2d of lanwtfry following:
In w/;/ch I represented the Embassador of the Universitie of Vienna. No doubt this was a
jocular rather than a formal representation of the University of Vienna.
Events at St John s College over the 1607/8 festival season (30 October to 13 February) are
recorded in extraordinary detail in a manuscript text dubbed by modern editors, appropriately
enough, The Christmas Prince. Enterprising students resurrected a ceremony that had lain
dormant for thirty years (since 1577-8), when John Case was lord. Thomas Tucker was elected
prince by ballot on 30 October 1607 after John Towse refused the office. The full season
comprised eight plays or playlets, followed by a ninth (Periander) that was probably an independ
ent event. Meanwhile Christ Church responded with a satirical play called Yuletide. The full text
of The Christmas Prince provides an unrivalled view of the festive life of an early seventeenth-
century Oxford college. 21
OTHER ENTERTAINMENT
Oxford colleges indulged in further varieties of entertainment, some familiar from more secular
venues, some defying exact definition. Canterbury College funded degree feasts beginning in
1395. All Souls paid for a hobby horse in 1467-8. Spectacles are recorded at Magdalen from
1559-60 to 1606-; . Trinity College paid for a spectacle in 1564-5. Christ Church provided
masques (or maskes ) and mummings in 1598-9, while the records of St John s, from 1586-7
onward, are replete with shows, sports, interludes, merriments, masques, and a mock-show,
while a founders show is recorded with some frequency from 1621-2 onward. Another event,
called an exercise, appears in the accounts from 1598-9 to 1601-2, described in 1600-1 as
An exercyse of the Students in Latin Verse acted in Master prident Lodging. From 1593-4
comes a single reference to a salting : judging from more elaborate records surviving at
614 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
Cambridge, this was a mock-academic ceremony characterized by general irreverence and
sophomoric humour." Finally, probate records, beginning as early as 1427-8, occasionally
record the private ownership of musical instruments by individual members of various colleges.
Travelling Entertainers
The first travelling entertainers known to have been paid by the colleges were anonymous
histr/onibw/ paid by Canterbury College in 1410-11. The first entertainer or entertainers
whose patron is named visited Merton in 1431-2 under the patronage of Humphrey, duke of
Gloucester. In the over one hundred years between these visits and 1541 we have evidence
of fourteen more patronized troupes, four sets of entertainers, and a number of anonymous
troupes identified in the University records by their place of origin. No other entry for playing
companies (as opposed to trumpeters and pipers) appears in the University records until
1575-6 when the players of the chancellor of the University, the earl of Leicester, were paid 20s
by Magdalen College. Three years later in 1578-9 the players of Leicester s second wife, Lettice
Knollys, countess of Essex, were paid 10s for paines taken in the qwire the last holie daies.
In 1584, in a move similar to one taken in Cambridge in 1575, Convocation decreed:
that no common stage players be permitted to vse or do anye such thinge wnh in the
precincte of the vniumitye And if it happew by extraordinarye meanes yat stage players
shall gett or obtane leaue by the maior or other wayse yet it shall not be lawfull for anye
master bachiler or scholler aboue the age of eighteene to repaire or go to see anye such
thinge vnder paine of imprisowment And if any vnder the age of eighteene shall presume
to do anye thinge cotrarye to this statute the parrye so offendinge shall suffer opew
punishment in St Maries Church accordinge to the discrecion of the vichauncellor or
Proctors (see p 195). "
From this time on players were regularly paid by the University not to play. Only three records
may indicate that travelling companies were paid to play thereafter by University officials.
The first is a payment to the lord admiral s men in 1587-8, which follows immediately after
an entry in which Leicester s men were paid the same amount (20s) vt cum suis ludis sine
maiore Academic molestia discedant ( so that they would depart with their plays (or pastimes)
without greater trouble to the University ). The second is a payment to Queen Anne s men in
1613-14 and the third is to the king s men in 1615-16, where, among a total of five payments
by the vice-chancellor to performers related to the royal family, there appears a payment of 40s
to the players. Neither of these last entries is followed by a qualifying proviso.
Despite the 1584 statute, it is clear that common stage players still found ready clients in
the city itself. The University could not enforce a prohibition against players in the city and
the decree made it clear that it was the individual members of the University who were to be
punished if they attended plays sponsored by the mayor and council, not the city officials. The
presence of players in the city and the apparent laxness of the University in enforcing its own
decree have allowed the survival of such eyewitness accounts as Henry Jackson s touching and
immense!
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
11Illllt ,,,ely informative description of a contemporary performance of Shakespeare s Othello in
1609-10 by the kings men (see Appendix 10), as well as the extraordinary information
Thomas Crosfield that in 1633-4 players lodging in the King s Arms had brought fourteen
plays with them (see p 514).
Although Crosfield s diary records many kinds of entertainers that were on the road during
the 1620s and 1630s, there is no record of payment in the city accounts after 1617. Two circum
stances may explain the disappearance of the evidence. One is the increasing tendency to give
the mayor what amounts to a petty cash allowance. This is revealed by studying the accounting
patterns in the audited corporation accounts. By 1640 the allowance had become an advance
of 5 to the incoming mayor and a repayment to the outgoing mayor of 35. : " The players
may have been paid from this purse, after which the payment was noted in accounts that do
not survive. Another place where such payments and other payments to entertainers may be
hidden is in items for the recorder and other civic officials of repayment for entertainment
at the assizes. "
The city and the University shared the same geographical space and just as citizens and
tourists today attend concerts in the Sheldonian Theatre and plays in the colleges while members
of the University support local cultural activities, so in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
members of the University went to plays in the city while citizens were invited to shows in the
colleges (see p 371). The colleges also hired local musicians for their special events and sometimes
for their college plays. The performances of Othello and The Alchemist by the king s men
described by Henry Jackson in 1610 were sponsored by the city who paid 20s for the perform
ance on 5 August. Crosfield s diary tells us that there was much to be seen for money in ye
City in 1630-1, beginning with plays and going on to animal acts - a list of entertainment
possibilities familiar from the Coventry records in the same period. 20 Crosfield also records two
performances each of two well-known puppet plays - William Sands The Chaos of the World
and William Gosling s Destruction of Jerusalem between 1628 and 1635-
The city fathers of Oxford were consumers rather than producers of culture. Unlike their
counterparts in many other important provincial cities, they seem not to have ventured into
sponsoring pageantry or drama. They were, however, generous patrons of itinerant entertainers.
In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they were particularly generous to those
attached to the royal house who were frequently in the city because of the royal residence in
nearby Woodstock. Of the over eighty payments to travelling entertainers from 1554 to 1617,
over sixty per cent were to performers associated with the reigning monarch. Queen Mary s
players performed in the guildhall in 1556-7. Queen Elizabeth s jester entertained the mayor
and council three times between 1560 and 1567. r Her bearwards - first Richard Dorrington
and then Ralph Bowes - were paid fourteen times between 1560 and 1581 and again in
1597." The first baiting was part of the entertainment for the earl of Bedford, then the high
steward of the city. Entertainers travelling under Elizabeth s patronage visited four times between
1565 and 1572, and the newly formed queen s men played in the city nine times between
1585 and 1599, and on three occasions (in 1589-90, 1594-5, and 1598-9) they were paid
by the University not to play. There were thirteen visits of three Jacobean royal troupes.
The king s men were in Oxford eight times from 1603 to 1622. Anne of Denmark s troupe
616 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
visited four times and Prince Charles once. The king MynstrelW were paid in 1554-5
even though Mary had been on the throne since 19 July 1553, and her minstrels were paid as
the quenes Mynstrells in 1556-7.
The last category of royal servants paid by both the council and the colleges consisted of men
who were as much civil servants as they were entertainers. These were the trumpeters who first
appear at the end of Elizabeths reign and with increasing frequency during the Stuart period.
It was the practice of the trumpeters to demand fees from the city and the colleges when the
monarch simply passed through the city on the way to Woodstock. Thomas Crosfield notes
that the city fathers refused to pay the trumpeters in 1630-1 when they demanded some fee
from ye towne as due as they had ye time also of their being there before to the displeasure
of the lord chamberlain. Some years later the city formalized its refusal to pay such fees by an
order taken on 3 September 1638:
Item whereas somwe of the kjnges servants in respect the kinge by accident rode through
this Cittie in his progresse doe demaund frees of Master MaiowrThe opinion of this house
is That the kinge not Comwinge in State noe frees are due vnto them It is therefore agreed
that if master Maioz^r be questioned concerninge the same that hee shalbee defended at
the Cittie chardge. 2 1
The colleges, however, continued regular payments to the Stuart trumpeters leading to the
impression that the travellers were exploiting the desire of the University to curry royal favour
to their own advantage.
Leicester s men were the most frequent non-royal players paid by the city. They were paid
by the city five times, twice while his players were still styled Lord Robert Dudley s players
before he became chancellor of the University in 1564, and an additional two times by the
University. In only one year, the year of his death in 1588, was the company paid by both the
city and the University. In 1585-6 the city paid his musicians rather than his players. This
was in the period immediately after the establishment of the queen s men when Leicester s
acting company, deprived of some of its star actors, seems to have been somewhat in eclipse. 30
The admiral s men made five visits between 1586 and 1596, including the one to the University
in 1587-8.
The players of Leicester s second wife, Lettice Knollys, visited three times between 1576
and 1580. On one occasion (1576-7) the city not only paid the company but also spent
what appears to be 6s on a banquet. During the Christmas season in 1578-9, as we have
seen, the company helped out the choir at Christ Church. The same company under the
patronage of the new earl of Essex, Robert Devereux, may have come in 1585-6 but were
definitely in Oxford in 1589-90 and again in 1596-7, the year he became high steward.
The players of the earl of Sussex came twice, 1572-3 and 1575-6, and were paid in March
1573 under the name of the lord chamberlain s players after he was made lord chamberlain.
Single visits were also made by the players of the earls of Oxford (1556-7), Warwick (1561-2),
Pembroke (1595-6), Derby (1595-6), and Hertford (1605-6), and Lords Strange (1592-3)
and Morley (paid to play by the city but to go away by the University in 1594-5).
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
CIVIC PLAY VENUES
Little is known about the conditions under which visiting entertainers performed in Oxford.
There are three specific references to playing in the guildhall. The first two are for Queen
Mary s players in 1556-7 and Warwick s men in 1561-2. On 17 February 1579/80 the
council passed an order that no Mayor of this Cytie or his deputie frome henceforth/ shall
geve leave to any players/ to playe wz thin the Guilde hall or the Lower hall/ or in the Guilde
hall courte w/thowt consent of the Counsell. This argues that all three areas of the guildhall
may have been used by players. Possibly as a result of this order, no acting companies were
paid by the council until 1585-6 when the ban was lifted for a possible performance by
the earl of Essex s players. No playing place is mentioned in subsequent entries although the
guildhall remained the logical place for the performances for the city and it has been suggested
that Henry Jackson s description of Othello and The Alchemist in 1610 argues for an indoor
theatre such as the guildhall. 31 Two inns are also associated with plays. In 1559-60 Dudley s
players performed at mr Cogans. H.E. Salter has identified Coggan s establishment as the
King s Head, an inn run by the Coggan family from 1556. SaJter describes it as a second class
inn with an approach from Cornmarket and another from Sewy s Lane, and it had a large yard
where the plays could be given (Figure 5, p 618). 32 From the evidence of Crosfield s diary, a
second inn, the King s Arms that still stands at the corner of Holywell and Parks Road, became
popular as a playing place in the seventeenth century. 33
Music and Dance: Town and Gown
The complex interrelationship between the musicians who performed for both the University
and the city is perhaps best understood from the vantage point of 1631-2. By that year the
demand for secular music in Oxford was great enough that a second troupe of waits was set
up solely for the benefit of the University. This troupe was led by John Gerrard, a former
city wait, who secured permission from the vice-chancellor to recruit six others to form the
university music. In return they promised to perform both loude musicke in ye Wynter
morninges to wake up the students in all the colleges and halls and Very commendable lowe
musicke whenever it should be wanted. In addition they were allowed to perform one benefit
concert each year in each of the colleges and halls. Besides Gerrard, the University musicians
at this time were John Pollie, Thomas Hallwood, John Stacy, Thomas Jones, and their boys
Francis Taylor, Thomas Curtise, William Rogers, and John Moore, making a total of nine,
although in his original agreement with the vice-chancellor Gerrard had specified seven as
the befittinge number for a right broken consort (see p 502).
The establishment of the second official troupe of musicians was a major innovation and
one that was not welcomed by the city musicians. Until 1632 musicians from the city had
provided music for the colleges. The records of five colleges show regular annual payments to
musicians while six others show occasional payments. Magdalen paid regularly for music at the
bursar s feast, settling to an annual 5s by 1593-4. In 1603-4 New College began a regular
payment of 6s 8d to musicis oppidanis. Merton provided a similar sum from 1590-1, and
618
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
Figure 5 The King s Head Inn (1863), by permission of the Bodleian Library.
Figure 6 17th-c. woodcut of Penniless Bench, reproduced from the VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 333,
by permission of the General Editor.
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
from 1592-3 Queens normally spent at least 10s a year on wind players. St John s, however,
was the greatest patron of music, spending sometimes over 7 in a year on music that was often
associated with their plays. This rich source of patronage may have been one of the reasons
William Gibbons (father of the composer Orlando) for the decade of the 1580s returned to
his native city of Oxford from Cambridge, where he had been head wait of both the town and
the University.
Brian Twyne s Notes on the History of the University Music, compiled in 1632, gave three
arguments for the establishment of University musicians. The first was an appeal to historic
precedent. Citing a court case heard before the chancellor s court in 1501 involving a musician
(a stranger ) and two sets of Oxford musicians, Twyne concluded (with no evidence beyond
the fact that the case was tried in the chancellor s court) that there were .2. companies of
Musitians in Oxford; ye one for ye Vniutrsities vse, ye other for yeTownes vse (see p 499).
His second argument was that music was one of the liberal sciences; men of the city had no
right to practise it since ye profession of ye liberall sciences belongeth wholly to ye vniu^rsitie
(see p 503). His third argument again cited historic precedent. City musicians had been paid
by the members of the University on a regular basis and were therefore to be considered
priuiledged persons. However spurious the arguments, the University musicians were established
and St John s seems to have taken on the responsibility of providing their livery. The Jesus
College accounts, which begin in 1631 2, include regular payments of 10s to the University
music. Both New College and Queen s continued to pay the city musicians until 1635 6
after which they switched their payments to musicis academicis.
In addition to their prescribed duties, the University musicians agreed to make themselves
available for all occasions of ye vniu^rsitie (see p 502). One such occasion seems to have been
the royal visit of 1636. Although the music for the plays themselves was composed by the
court musicians Henry and William Lawes, 2 for Vniu^rsity Musicke appears at the end
of the extensive Christ Church expense account for the event and Archbishop Laud paid 1
to both the Vniu^rsity Waytw and the Towne Wayrrf for their performances at St John s.
Perhaps the local musicians provided incidental music for the plays. On earlier occasions the
Records show numerous payments to local musicians in connection with college plays.
The opportunity to earn significant money from sources other than the city explains the
unusual arrangements between the city musicians and the city. In some towns, such as York,
Exeter, or Norwich, the waits were recognizable town servants with regular payments for their
wages and their liveries." This was not the case with the Oxford waits. Indeed it was not until
1632-3, the year after the establishment of the University musicians, that the issue of payment
to the city musicians was systematically addressed and provision made for their Cloakes. At
that time the city council minutes stated that the waits were to be paid for playing to this
Citty on the King Hollidayes and when the Mayor cometh from London and other publicke
meetings.
This decree formalized the long-standing custom of civic-sponsored music on the occasion
of civic ceremonies. Music was frequently part of the entertainment at the election of the new
mayor and bailiffs that took place on the Monday before St Matthew s Day (21 September).
The Serjeant at mace rang the great bell of St Martin s Church summoning the burgesses to
620 DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
a service of morning prayer. The election was then held and if funds were available, there
followed an election dinner for all the freemen - sometimes as many as six hundred in the
seventeenth century." A few days after the election the mayor then went to London where he
took his oath before the barons of the exchequer. On his return to Oxford he was sometimes
(as in 1561) greeted by a trumpeter.
Music was regularly part of the riding the franchises that took place, weather permitting, in
August or September. Rather than riding or walking the franchises, the mayor and his party
circumnavigated the city largely by boat. The trip began on the Cherwell at Magdalen Bridge
and travelled first south, then west across Christ Church Meadow to the Isis, and then
north to Godstow. There refreshments were traditionally served and music was often played.
The mayor and party then left the boats and walked across Port Meadow and beyond to
the Cherwell where they once again took to the river, finally arriving back where they had
begun at Magdalen Bridge.
Music was also part of the 17 November Accession Day celebrations held for Elizabeth in
1573-4, 1574-5, and 1576-7. In 1575-6 the same payment was specified as for her
Coronation daye. An unusual entry for 1585-6 speaks of musicians for the daye ofTryvmphe.
The official musicians played at the proclamation of King James in 1603. An ordinance of
16323 makes clear the nature of the music at civic occasions: Musitions to haue such allowance
for playinge on the kinges hollidaies & other tymes to the Citty as the mayor & thirteene shall
thinck fitt. The musicians traditionally played at Penniless Bench at St Martin s, Carfax
(Figure 6, p 618; see p 11 10, endnote to OCA: C/FC/1/Al/OOl ff 337v, 338). They also
frequently played at guild dinners.
The terminology relating to musicians in Oxford is, as so often elsewhere, slippery. From
time to time the term wait does appear in these payments but the payment was equally or
more likely (especially in guild accounts) to musicians or for musicke. In 1602-3 an order
was given that no musicians but waits were to play w/ thin this Cytie & suburbes. Any other
musician was to be imprisoned. Yet from that year until 1628-9, when a new group of musi
cians was admitted freemen and named waits, the term was used only once in 1606-7. During
the same period, there were two payments for musicians at the Tailors election dinners
(1610-11 and 1619-20). The chamberlains also recorded payments for Musitions at the
Accession Day ceremonies in 1605-6 and when the mayor rode the ffranchises that same year.
Music was again paid for at the franchise ceremonies in 1613-14 and 1614-15 ( trumpeters )
and in 1618-19 ( Musicke ), and most significantly the Towne Musick was ordered to be
present at Penniless Bench during the civic celebration marking the happie &c safe Retorne
of the Prince in 1623-4. Clearly some, if not all, of these references (if the order of 1602-3
was still in effect) were to the waits. The last record of an election of a wait, that of William
Stronge in 1639-40, refers to the event as an election of one of the Musitions of this Cittie.
We can be sure that a record involved waits if the term was used but the fact that the term was
not used does not mean that payment was not to a wait.
The first musicians to be named as town waits were George Ewen and George Buckner in
I577_g, when they had apparently been relieved of their positions and asked to hand in their
scutchins or silver medallions of office Will suche tyme as farther order shoulde be taken. *
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS 621
The keykeepers duly recorded the receipt of the scutcheons in their accounts. In lieu of a
regular retainer or livery the scutcheons were the only official indication of which musicians
were, indeed, the city musicians. Ewen had been named in the records four times: in 1573-4
for playing at Accession Day, in 1574-5 for playing at the election dinner, in 1575-6 for both
the election dinner and coronation festivities, and once in 1576-7 for the Accession Day
events. Nothing more was recorded but the difficulties seem to have been resolved since the
waytw played at the election dinner in 1579-80.
In 1582-3, when William Gibbons arrived from Cambridge, he was made a freeman of the
city, paying the officer s fee of 4s 6d, and given the Scuttchins of oure Waym. Apparently
he had been made chief wait and had charge of all the scutcheons, a fact duly noted by the
keykeepers in the next year. Gibbons rented a tenement in St Martin s parish from William
Frere, a wealthy member of the town council. 37 Young Orlando, who would gain national fame
as a musician himself, was baptized at St Martin s in December 1583. 18
In 1587-8 George Buckner became head wait and the three scutcheons were to be delivered
to him. In particular, Ynr Gybbons is to make one more to be likewise Delivered to the said
George. Nothing more is heard of Gibbons as a wait or musician in Oxford. He returned to
Cambridge in 1589 and by 1591 was apparently once again University wait and head town
wait. Despite the order that Buckner was to receive the scutcheons from Gibbons in 1587-8,
the keykeepers continued to record that they were in Gibbons possession. Indeed, the notation
continued until 1615-16, twenty years after Gibbons death in Cambridge in 1595. Subsequent
appointments of Oxford waits made a great point of requiring that the new waits supply their
own scutcheons, which they were to leave to the city when they left office. Evidently Gibbons
never gave the scutcheons to Buckner but sold them or took them with him to Cambridge.
George Buckner was made free in 1596-7, along with another musician, Leonard Major,
but Buckner was dead by his own hand by August 1599. He had been living in a property
in the parish of St Mary Magdalen owned by the University; as a suicide his entire estate of
18 19s lOd was forfeit to the University (see p 258).
The next wait to be admitted was John Baldwin the elder, made free on the payment of the
officer s fee and 2s 6d for a leather buckett in 1602-3. That year the waits played for the
proclamation of James i. There follows a long silence in the records but in 1628 Baldwin was
once again named as wait with his son John Baldwin the younger. 3 The other waits named
were Sampson Stronge, who had been an apprentice, and three others who paid the officer s
fee and the price of the leather bucket. These were John Gerrard (who later founded the
University music), Philip Golledge, and Richard Burren. Details surrounding these appoint
ments included the requirement that each wait produce a scutcheon before he receive his first
payment at Christmas and that all waits hand in their scutcheons once a year as was the custom
with the Serjeants at mace and their maces. The council specified that they had the right to
name replacements. Possibly in the long period where no new waits were named, the waits
themselves had been naming replacements. During this period a man named George Payne
seems to have been named a wait. In 1637-8 William Stronge (referred to only as Sampsons
sonne ) and William Hilliard and his eldest son were also named as waits. Stronge s official
appointment appeared in the 1639-40 minutes where he was to replace Payne. In 1638 it
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
was decided to limit admission to the waits to those who had first served an apprenticeship,
perhaps a roundabout way of ensuring that the job could pass freely from father to son.
The names of two other city musicians who do not appear in the Records - William Higgins
(1608) and Thomas Bennett (1636) - can be recovered from the records of the chancellor s
court for this period/"
Although REED volumes cover only secular music, it should be kept in mind that all of the
musicians named here had other sources of income, some of which would have involved them
in liturgical music. In addition, among the University waits, John Gerrard was a licensed
alehousekeeper and also ran a musical instrument and book shop. The inventory of his shop
compiled at his death in 1635 gives a good idea of the variety of instruments available in
Oxford (see p 530). Francis Jones became an assistant to the first Heather Professor of Music,
Richard Nicholson, and Thomas Curtise was an organist at Magdalen College. Many of the
city waits also ran taverns. All of these musicians gave private lessons to students wishing to
learn the gentlemanly arts of playing the lute or the viol/
One of the other gentlemanly arts in the early seventeenth century, especially if a student
had pretentions to become a courtier, was dancing. The need for a dancing master is listed
in a seventeenth-century Christ Church document along with the necessity of engaging a
riding master, fencing master, and master of instrumental and vocal music. 42 The dancing
schools of Oxford were so renowned in this period as to influence a father in the choice of a
university. 4 The most prominent school (and the one that appears in these records) was in
the Bocardo, the building near the North Gate that belonged to the city and served as a jail.
The school was begun before 1606 by John Bosseley, a musician of the city. His son, also
John, was still teaching dance there in 1661. Among the courtiers trained at the school were
Lord Percy of Alnwick, John Evelyn, and Prince Charles (after the battle of Edge Hill). 44 The
school is first mentioned in a council minute for 18 September 1606, when John Harington
was seeking to sublet part of the property from Bosseley. The latter was given a new lease in
May 1610 for thirty-one years at the annual rent of 26s 8d. An indenture drawn up at the
same time details the property. One restriction put on its use was that no one was to dance
in and vppon the said Demysed Roome Sollere or Chamber . . . betweene the Howres of twoe
of the clocke in the afternoon and ffive of the Cloke in the fforenoone. In the next year
Bosseley was granted a licence to transfer his lease to Thomas Charles, musician. Bosseley
senior seems to have died between this date and 1626-7 when Charles was instructed not to
let the school to a Mr Sett. In 1635-6 Bosseley s son John and William Stokes, who is said
to have bredd vpp the said lohn Bossely thexecutor and other the Children of the said lohn
Bossely Deceased, sought a new lease. The property was viewed in order to adjust the rent.
The indenture that accompanies the new lease allowed the school to hold classes all day, with
hours of silence from 10 PM to 5 AM.
Local Entertainment
From the convent of Benedictine nuns at Godstow we have rare and early evidence of an abbess
of misrule tradition on the feast of the Holy Innocents contained in a letter written to the
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
abbess by Archbishop Pecham in 1284. The other religious houses that were so much a part
of the life of Oxford in the later Middle Ages have left us little evidence of entertainment
activity. None of the three men s houses that could be considered within the geographic scope
of this collection - the Cistercian abbey of Rewley or the two houses of Augustinian canons,
Osney and St Frideswide - has left any trace of their day to day activities in household
accounts that survive.
By contrast the abundance of evidence from Oxford parishes dating back to 1423 is remark
able. It is as if the scholars who served the parishes understood the value of the written records
and encouraged their churchwardens to preserve them on parchment rolls, not in the paper
books favoured by the wardens in the country parishes. Similarly, generations of scholarly
parishioners preserved the accounts, in some cases lovingly pasting them into large guard
books." It is to the scholarly instincts of generations of Oxford churchmen that we owe such
a wealth of detail.
The Records tell us little of the kind of parish drama that was a feature of the country parishes
in the surrounding areas. 4 " Despite the popular picture from Chaucer s Miller s Tale of thriving
parish drama in Oxford, little evidence of such activity survives. Only St Peter in the East has
any hint of true drama. Merton College paid players from the parish for a performance in
Holywell in 1469. There is also evidence from the St Peter s churchwardens accounts that they
rented out their costumes in 1488-9 and 1495-6. But if they did not pursue the performance
of plays, Oxford parishes were seemingly unusual in the enthusiasm with which they pursued
the custom of gathering money at Hocktide - the second Monday and Tuesday after Easter.
The custom was that groups of young men or women of the parish would go into the streets,
capture members of the opposite sex, and hold them to mock ransom until they had given
them money. The young people would then move on to their next victim. Although there is
some evidence of men engaged in hocking in Oxford, the overwhelming number of entries is
for young women undertaking the gathering. The reason for this is not far to seek. The number
of well-to-do young men attending the University clearly made the game worthwhile. An
eyewitness account of an early sixteenth-century Oxford hocking survives in a Magdalen school
exercise book, c 1512-27, where the writer complains that wether I wold or no I was fayne
to giue them suwwhat.
The survival of hocking customs of the parishes into the seventeenth century reflects the
unique situation of Oxford as a University town. 47 Clearly the presence of the students meant
that the parishes were unwilling to give up such an easy source of income. St Michael at the
North Gate was still sending its women into the streets on Hock Monday and holding a
Whitsun ale in 1642. The parishioners of St Martin, St Mary Magdalen, and St Peter in the
East were hocking until 1640. There is even a rare entry in the late Jesus College records of
2s 6d being given To the hocking women in 1635-6.
All the parishes with surviving evidence held ales at Whitsun and only the evidence of St Mary
the Virgin lacks indication that the event included some form of music or customary activity.
The only years when no ales were recorded in these records were the years of Edward vi s reign
and 1626 when an order was issued 20 April prohibiting them by reason of the tyme of
infection and danger. Some parishes occasionally leased a house in which to hold their ales.
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS
For example in 1517-18 St Peter in the East paid George Coke 3s 8d Tor hys hows at wytsontyd
and in 1576- St Mary Magdalen paid one of their own tenants, Dr John Case, 4s for the
use of his howsse at Whytsontyde. In 1610-11 Thomas Burnham asked the parish for 10s
for the use of his house for the Church ale. St Mary Magdalen specified the use of their
church house for the ale in 1614-15. The lease of the church house of St Aldate drawn up on
30 January 1569/70 specifies that the tenant, Richard Williams, must vacate the premises for
the space of fifteine dayes yearely at or aboute the feaste of Penthecost yf church ale or whiteson
ale for the whole parish of saynte Tolles aforesayde shalbe at the sayde feaste Penthecost there
be kept in the same house. 48
All five parishes with extended runs of records - St Martin, St Mary Magdalen, St Michael
at the North Gate, St Peter in the East, and St Peter le Bailey - noted payments to minstrels
for their ale and the only roll from St Michael at the South Gate also recorded payment of 2s
to a minstrel in 1501-2. Only St Michael at the North Gate does not specifically name a May
or summer pole.
An antiquarian record gives All Saints a kinge game in 1482-3. St Peter le Bailey twice
recorded expenses for mending the gowne and kyrtell (1537-8, and 1540-1) of the
queen - presumably the May queen. In 1561-2 St Mary Magdalen sold for a shilling an
olde saye coot of grene wyche was made for the lord for wettsonryd. Finally, the early records
of St Peter le Bailey speak of a pageant lion and dragon (1468-9). Although scattered among
many entries that simply record the profits from the Whitsun ales, this evidence argues
that the parishes of Oxford had annual festivities with many of the features of the country
parishes elsewhere in the Thames Valley. 49 The only activity missing from these records is
the custom of Robin Hood gatherings, although they were part of the Whitsun events in
nearby Woodstock. 50 Most of the parishes were still holding occasional ales in the 1630s. This
is considerably later than in most other parts of the country, although the pattern for ales
is similar in much of the equally conservative surrounding countryside in north Berkshire
and Oxfordshire.
Blood sports, although they appear infrequently in the Records, seem to have been a
constant part of the life of the town. Bearbaiting, particularly when the queen s bearward
was in town, was a popular entertainment. There is no mention of a bear pit but a reference
from the Magdalen school copy book (c 1495) places the baiting inside the precincts of
the castle. There was a bullring at an unspecified location as early as 1414, one in Carfax
until 1616, and another outside the North Gate, which was inside the parish bounds of
St Mary Magdalen. 51 Thomas Crosfield provides a graphic description of a bullbaiting in
St Clement s parish in 1635-6.
Aside from the apparent popularity of blood sports, the picture one gains from the entertain
ment records of Oxford is one of great decorum. 52 Yet underlying this decorum the constant
town-gown tension occasionally found expression during traditional celebrations. Three
instances of rowdy confrontation between scholars and townsfolk during festive activities occur
in these records. The earliest, for 1306, took place on Midsummer Eve when a clerk, Gilbert
Foxlee, was killed. The second was the 1598 May game confrontation between some youth
of the town, including the mayor s son, William Furness, and the authorities of the University.
DRAMA, MUSIC, AND CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS 625
The description includes cross-dressing, a woman decked out as a May queen, and morris
dancing. The third instance took place in 1617 when Actors in the Rydeing Company disguised
vpon May day" were held to be in contempt, not of the University but of the mayor and
council. These last two references may speak to a traditional May game riding that was not
part of the licensed celebrations of the city or the parishes but rather a more subversive
activity. The Holywell prosecution involving a maypole incident in 1641 also attests to an
undercurrent of rowdiness and dispute more familiar in records from the countryside and
other parts of England. 53
Institutions and Documents
Most of the documents that provide evidence for dramatic and secular musical performance
in Oxford may be assigned to particular institutions, organized here under Colleges, The
University, and civic, guild, ecclesiastical, and legal headings. Institutional documents are
listed under the institutions to which they logically belong, rather than under the libraries
where they are currently housed.
Documents that cannot be linked to a particular institution are described under supplement
ary headings: these include court or diplomatic documents, private correspondence, personal
records, histories and reminiscences, play texts, and poems and songs. To enable the reader
to locate document descriptions where the category is not obvious, marginal codes have been
supplied as a finding aid: see Symbols (p 2) for explanations.
While most documents are described in considerable detail, an exception may be made for
any item currently housed in the Bodleian Library, most of whose manuscripts are already
described in print. Thus Ashmole and Rawlinson MSS are described in nineteenth-century
Quarto catalogues, while others, including those from the important Anthony Wood col
lections, are described in the Summary Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library,
Falconer Madan (ed), 7 vols (Oxford, 1895-1953). The number assigned to each manuscript
by the Summary Catalogue is here given after its shelf-mark, preceded by the symbol sc. 2
No attempt is made to tabulate the complete contents of poetic or antiquarian miscellanies.
Relationships between REED entries that occur in more than one manuscript or later printed
texts are generally analysed in full.
Duke Humfrey s Library, which has retained a separate identity within the Bodleian Library,
is shortened in academic parlance to Duke Humfrey : in Duke Humfrey thus means on the
reference shelves of Duke Humfrey s Library within the Bodleian Library.
The histories and archives of many Oxford institutions, academic as well as civic, are available
in an ongoing series of volumes published by the Oxford Historical Society.
The Colleges
All Oxford colleges founded before 1642 retain physical custody of their archives with the single
exception of All Souls, whose archives are housed in the Bodleian Library. College archives are
generally housed in a muniment room that is physically and administratively separate from
f *J *7
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
the library. Cataloguing ranges from the meticulous (New College, St John s) to the minimal
(Lincoln, Oriel, Trinity). College libraries are the likely repository of materials of a literary
character, such as letters and diaries.
Most Oxford colleges had at least two bursars, sometimes more, who had separate areas
of responsibility but who also checked each other s work. It is not unusual, therefore, to find
multiple hands in a given document and multiple entries for the same expense. Some accounts
are annual, others semi-annual, quarterly, or weekly. The accounting year usually began at
Michaelmas (29 September) but there are important exceptions to this rule, such as The Queen s
College, whose accounting year began in July. Where quarters were indicated they almost
always began on Michaelmas (29 September), Christmas (25 December), Lady Day (25 March),
and the nativity of St John the Baptist (24 June). Sometimes the terms are named (Terminus
Natalitii ), more often they are numbered (Terminus 2 US ). Unless the actual calendar date is
given, an expense may be datable only within the accounting period. An audit of each term s
accounts was held in the first week of the following term, culminating in a formal dinner often
accompanied by musical entertainment.
Bursars accounts were kept in stages, from rough notes to engrossed accounts prepared for
an audit, which usually occurred in November: the amount of detail available for extraction
is generally in inverse proportion to the degree of refinement. The weekly accounts preserved
at St John s, for example, or the quarterly disbursement books at Christ Church, are a good
deal more chatty than the final accounts, which tend to lump individual payments into such
categories as Other expenses ( Varia Expensae ), which are of little or no value to a REED
editor. The paucity of information about dramatic activities at such colleges as Brasenose and
University is largely due to the fact that only the final accounts have survived. Any general
izations about the amount of dramatic activity in a particular college must take such facts
into consideration.
Readers requiring a more detailed understanding of college accounting practices are referred
to Sir William Blackstone s Dissertation on the Accounts of All Souls College Oxford (London,
1898), composed in 1753 for the benefit of the future bursars of All Souls (Blackstone had
been bursar in 1747 and 1751). Blackstone aptly concludes that the accounts are, as Alexander
Pope said of man s world in the first epistle of his Essay on Man (1.6), a mighty maze, but not
without a plan.
Unless noted otherwise, the descriptions that follow are based on Oxford, in Encyclopaedia
Britannica, llth ed; and VCH: Oxford, vol 3. For ease of reference colleges are listed here in
alphabetical order rather than by date of foundation.
ALL SOULS COLLEGE
All Souls College was founded in 1438 by Henry Chichele, archbishop of Canterbury. (The
name is now commonly spelled without the apostrophe.) Its head is a warden. It is the only
Oxford college with no undergraduates (except four Bible clerks).
Most of the archives were deposited in the Bodleian Library in 1966 (ownership and control
of access remain with the college). New shelf-marks conform to the new storage arrangements:
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
see E.F. Jacob, All Souls College Archives, Ovmiensia 33 (1969), 89-91. The general Bodleian
f-mark for the material is MS. D.D. All Souls ; c. stands for carton. Access is via Charles
I nee Martin, Catalogue of the Archives in the Muniment Rooms of All Souls College (London,
h a copy, annotated with the new shelf-marks, is kept in Duke Humfrey.
All Souls College Inventory
The inventory is of goods given to the college by its founder, Henry Chichele, archbishop of
Canterbury.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.268, no 210; c 1440; Latin; parchment; 2 mbs sewn
together in roll form; mb 1: 600mm x 277mm, mb 2: 580mm x 288mm; writing on both sides in 2
and 3 cols.
All Souls College Foundation Statutes
Oxford, All Souls College Archives; 1443; Latin; 42 4 iii (following flyleaves are uncut: the number
represents 3 double leaves), ff 1-40 have needle marks on the outer edges, suggesting that they were
previously sewn in a different format (upside down?), then unstitched and resewn; 308mm x 219mm
(204mm x 122mm); unnumbered; excellent condition; decorated initial capitals, the opening initial
is absent, suggesting original plans for an illumination, headers are enlarged and written in red ink;
contemporary leather binding, 45mm x 42mm seal pendant.
All Souls College Bursars Accounts
These are on parchment, and constitute the final annual accounts. There are also some paper
rolls, comprising draft accounts. Those examined proved identical with the final accounts. For
some years only the draft rolls survive. Accounts of one or the other type survive for all years
since 1446, except the following: 1461-2, 1463-4, 1466-7, 1468-9, 1471-3, 1475-9,
1482-3, 1485-9, 1490-1, 1492-4, 1496-8, 1503-4, 1512-13, 1548-9, 1566-7, 1569-70,
and 1581-2.
The accounting year began on 2 November (All Souls Day). There is no division into
quarters or terms. For a detailed analysis of how the accounts were compiled, see the treatise
of Blackstone, cited on p 627.
Excerpts have been taken from the following rolls within the boxes listed.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.278; 12 rolls in box including accounts for:
1467_8; Latin; parchment; 8 mbs attached serially; 390-707mm x 268-306mm (324-662mm x
210-75mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse
of first and last mbs; first mb badly frayed. The draft account for this year also survives as a paper roll
and is included in this box.
679
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
1479-80; Latin; paper; 15 sheets attached serially; 215-400mm x 294-310mm (176-350mm x
170-294mm); modern pencil numbering; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-
end date on dorse of last sheet; sheet 1 in poor condition; wrapped with modern paper label and tied
with ribbon.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.283; 14 rolls in box including account for:
1567-8; English and Latin; parchment; 8 mbs attached serially; 388-660mm x 242-50mm (378-
660mm x 2 17- 50mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date
on dorse of first and last mbs; tied with white ribbon.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.284; 15 rolls in box including accounts for:
1572-3; Latin; parchment; 6 mbs attached serially; 250-742mm x 161-200mm (164-738mm x
155-200mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on
dorse of first and last mbs; tied with string.
1574_5; Latin and English; parchment; 7 mbs attached serially; 331-536mm x 198-207mm (125-
525mm x 171-207mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end
date on dorse of first and last mbs; tied with white ribbon.
1576-7; English and Latin; parchment; 6 mbs attached serially; 457-528mm x 204-19mm (415-
520mm x 187-219mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end
date on dorse of first and last mbs; tied with pink ribbon.
1578-9; Latin and English; parchment; 5 mbs attached serially; 255-644mm x 230-9mm (207-
635mm x 201-27mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end
date on dorse of first and last mbs; tied with white ribbon.
1579-80; English; parchment; 5 mbs attached serially; 533-743mm x 242-51mm (481-724mm x
182-248mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse
of first mb; tied with pink ribbon.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.286; 8 rolls in box including accounts for:
1591-2; English and Latin; parchment; 15 mbs attached serially; 528-789mm x 246-55mm (410-
789mm x 217-55mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date
on dorse of last mb; tied with contemporary parchment tab and tie attached to final mb.
1592-3; English and Latin; parchment; 18 mbs attached serially; 478-720mm x 242-58mm (396-
720mm x 212-58mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date
on dorse of last mb; tied with contemporary parchment tab and tie attached to final mb. The draft
account for this year also survives as a paper roll and is included in this box.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.287; 9 rolls in box including accounts for:
630 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
1597-8; English and Latin; parchment; 1 1 mbs attached serially; 545-652mm x 255-64mm (505-
648mm x 225-64mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end
date on dorse of first and last mbs; tied with pink ribbon.
1599-1600; Latin and English; parchment; 12 mbs attached serially; 540-652mm x 225-40mm
(160-640mm x 195-240mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-
end date on dorse of first and last mbs; tied with white ribbon.
1600-1; English and Latin; parchment; 11 mbs attached serially; 303-770mm x 315-25mm (303-
760mm x 243-310mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end
date on dorse of first and last mbs; tied with white ribbon.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.288; 9 rolls in box including accounts for:
1602-3; English; parchment; 8 mbs attached serially; 550-800mm x 290-300mm (180-800mm x
240 95mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse
of first and last mbs; tied with white ribbon.
1604-5; English; parchment; 9 mbs attached serially; 540-785mm x 295-310mm (540-785mm x
240-310mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse
of first and last mbs; tied with white ribbon.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.289; 8 rolls in box including accounts for:
1607-8; English; parchment; 15 mbs attached serially; 250-640mm x 290-8mm (250-640mm x
233 -98mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse
of first and last mbs; tied with pink ribbon.
1609-10; English and Latin; parchment; 14 mbs attached serially; 240-758mm x 305-21mm (196-
758mm x 275-315mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end
date on dorse of first and last mbs; tied with pink ribbon.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.290; 8 rolls in box including account for:
1613-14; English and Latin; parchment; 13 mbs attached serially; 4l8-800mm x 290-300mm (298-
800mm x 246-300mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end
date on dorse of first and last mbs; tied with twine.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.291; 7 rolls in box including accounts for:
1615-16; English and Latin; parchment; 14 mbs attached serially; 459-640mm x 290-310mm (360-
640mm x 236- 300mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end
date on dorse of first and last mbs; tied with string.
1616-17; English; parchment; 12 mbs attached serially; 400-722mm x 295-300mm (220-722mm x
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
248-300mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse
of first and last mbs; tied with string.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.292; 9 rolls in box including accounts for:
1618-19; English; parchment; 13 mbs attached serially; 198-804mm x 288-98mm (198-804mm x
243-98mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only; tied with string.
1620-1; English; parchment; 11 mbs attached serially; 250-708mm x 293-303mm (250-708mm x
243 -99mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only; tied with string.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.293; 10 rolls in box including accounts for:
1623-4; English; paper; 17 sheets attached serially; 370-406mm x 302-lOmm (80-406mm x 168-
310mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse of
first and last sheets; tied with white ribbon.
1626-7; English; parchment; 11 mbs attached serially; 242-688mm x 298-310mm (242-678mm
x 278-310mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on
dorse of first mb.
1627-8; English; parchment; 12 mbs attached serially; 85-748mm x 300-5mm (85-748mm x 190-
302mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse of
first and last mbs; tied with white ribbon. The draft account for this year is a paper roll stored in the
box catalogued as MS. D.D. AJ1 Souls c.294.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.294; 10 rolls in box including accounts for:
1628-9; English; parchment; 13 mbs attached serially; 133-674mm x 298-305mm (93-674mm x
246- 305mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse
of first and last mbs; tied with string.
1629-30; English; parchment; 1 1 mbs attached serially; 274-765mm x 298-301 mm (text area varies,
maximum 765mm x 190mm, mb 1 1 is blank); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars
names and year-end date on dorse of first and last mbs; mbs 8 and 9 decayed; tied with string.
1630-1; English; parchment; 11 mbs attached serially; 330-820mm x 305-12mm (330-820mm x
290-312mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse
of first and last mbs; tied with string.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. D.D. All Souls c.295; 10 rolls in box including accounts for:
1632-3; English; parchment; 13 mbs attached serially; 424-598mm x 309-15mm (332-598mm x
232-312mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse
632 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
of last mb; tied with pink ribbon. The draft account for this year also survives as a paper roll and is
included in this box.
1633-4; English; parchment; 16 mbs attached serially; 298-738mm x 298-305mm (298-738mm
x 225-305mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on
dorse of last mb; tied with white ribbon.
1635-6; English; parchment; 11 mbs attached serially; 4l3-740mm x 303-7mm (334-728mm x
212-305mm, mb 11 blank); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-
end date on dorse of last mb; tied with string. The draft account for this year also survives as a paper
roll and is included in this box.
1636-7; English; parchment; 12 mbs attached serially; 359-672mm x 305mm (264-672mm x 202-
305mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse
of first mb; tied with pink ribbon. The draft account for this year also survives as a paper roll and is
included in this box.
1637-8; English; parchment; 1 1 mbs attached serially; 356-712mm x 310mm (356-712mm x 268-
310mm); unnumbered; accounts written on recto only, bursars names and year-end date on dorse of
last mb; tied with pink ribbon.
BALLIOL COLLEGE
Balliol College was founded c 1263 by John de Baliol. Its head is a master.
Access to the archives is via John Jones, The Records of Balliol College Oxford: A List
of Records in the Custody of the Archivists (1981 typescript). The earliest known bursars
accounts, 1544-68, were loaned to the Rev. Andrew Clark in 1909 and never returned. Clark s
translation of excerpts, now Bodl.: MS. Top.Oxon e.124/9-10 (sc 35441), contains nothing
of REED interest. Extant accounts were rebound in 1920.
Battells books 1576-1642, in fair condition, were consulted but yielded no REED items.
Buttery books 1598-1642 (1600-1, 1603-6, 1608-10 missing) were too fragile to be
consulted.
Balliol College Statutes
Oxford, Balliol College Archives, Statutes 1; c 1507 (near contemporary copy of 1507 college statutes);
Latin; vellum; i + 47; 292mm x 197mm (232mm x 154mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated
opening capitals plus closing design; good condition; leather bound on wood studded with detailed
tooled design, loop on bottom of spine for chain, 2 clasps, both of which are broken.
Balliol College Register
The register contains various notes regarding college business and meetings, correspondence,
and notes on miscellaneous matters relating to the college.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Balliol College Archives, First Latin Register; 1514-1682; Latin and English; paper; iv + 188;
348mm x 228mm (338mm x 192mm); partial contemporary ink pagination; late 17th-c. leather binding,
original binding of late 14th c.-early 15th c. made from illuminated parchment psalter pages preserved
within the later binding front and back.
Balliol College Bursars Accounts
In all three of these volumes, the accounts were kept semi-annually, the first half-year com
prising 18 October to 7 July, the second half-year comprising 7 July to 18 October.
Oxford, Balliol College Archives, Computi 1568-1592; 1568-92; Latin; paper; iii + 117 + iii; 210mm x
580mm; modern pencil foliation; bound in parchment, modern ink title written on front cover: N 22
Bursar s Accounts. (1559-) 1568 to 1592.
Oxford, Balliol College Archives, Computi 1592-1614; 1592-1614; Latin; paper; 118 leaves; 210mm x
580mm; modern pencil foliation; bound in parchment, 17th-c. ink title written on front cover: N 23
Liber Bursar: Ab Ann: Dom: 1592. Ad 1614.
Oxford, Balliol College Archives, Computi 1615-1662; 1615-62; Latin and English; paper; 229 leaves;
210mm x 580mm; partial modern pencil foliation (1-157); bound in parchment, 17th-c. ink title
written on front cover: N 24 Liber Bursar: Ab Ann: Dom: 1615 Ad 1662.
Persons, Briefe Apologie
The passage excerpted in this volume is Persons own translation into English of a Latin original,
now lost, in an autobiography he started writing in 1598. A mid-seventeenth-century transcript
by Fr. Christopher Grene survives in the library of Stonyhurst College, Lane (Collectanea P,
vol 1, ff 222-33). It has been published in J.H. Pollen, sj (ed), The Memoirs of Father
Robert Persons, Miscellanea, n, Catholic Record Society (London, 1906), 12-36 (with an
English translation).
[Robert Persons.] A BRIEFE I APOLOGIE, I OR DEFENCE OF THE CA- I tholike Ecclesiastical
Hierarchic, & subordi- I nation in England, erected these later yeares by our holy Father Pope Clement
the eyght; and im- I pugned by certayne libels printed & publi- I shed of late both in Latyn & English;
by some vnquiet persons vnder the I name of Priests of the I Seminaries. I Written and set forth for the
true information and I stay of all good Catholikes, by Priests vnited in due subordination to the Right Reuerend
Arch- \ priest, and other their Superiors. I Hebr. 13. vers. 17 I Obedite pmepositis vestris, dr subiacete eis, &c. \
Obey your Superiors, and submit your selues vnto I them. I 1. Thess. 5- I Rogamus vos fratres, corripite
inquietos. I We beseech yow brethren represse those that are vn- I quiet amongst yow. I [device] I Permissu
Superiorum. I [Antwerp, 1601). STC: 19392.
Ely, Certaine Briefe Notes
[Humphrey Ely.] CERTAINE I BRIEFE I NOTES VPON A I BRIEFE APOLOGIE SET I out vnder
634 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
the name of the Prie- I stes vnited to the Archpriest. I Dravvne by an vnpassionate secular Prieste \friend
to bothe partyes, but more \frend to the truth. \ Wherunto is added a seuerall answeare I vnto the
particularites obiected I against certaine Persons. I FORTE EST VIRUM, FORTIOR EST I REX,
SED SVPER OMN1A VIM- I CIT VERJTAS ET MANET IN I ETERNUM. 3. Esd. 3. I [device] I
Imprinted at Paris, by PETER I SEVESTRE. I [rule] I With Priuiledge. [1602]. src: 7628.
The excerpt comes from a separately paginated section following the half title on p 313: [device] I AN
ANSWEAR OF I M. DOCTOR BAGSHAW I to certayne poyntes of a li- I bell called. I An Apologie
of the subordination I in England.
BRASENOSE COLLEGE
Brasenose College was founded c 1509 by William Smith, bishop of Lincoln, and Sir Rjchard
Sutton of Prestbury, Cheshire. Its head is a principal. No archives survive from its predecessor,
Brasenose Hall.
Access to the archives is via a catalogue prepared by the National Register of Archives (1966
typescript), of which an annotated copy is available in the library. Further documents are
described by Jeffery, The Bursars Account Books, pp 19-30. The accounting year began
and ended on 21 December (St Thomas Day).
A complete set of final bursars accounts survives for 1516-1662 on parchment rolls now
bound flat. Limited to general categories of expense, these have yielded no REED entries.
Alexander Nowell s Notebook
This manuscript was bought by Brasenose College in 1859 from the Dawson Turner sale (no.
353), and deposited in the Bodleian in 1891. A table of contents made shortly thereafter is
keyed to the old ink foliation and a note on the flyleaf points out correctly that some of the
leaves seem to have been inserted at wrong places. The manuscript was subsequently repaired
and refoliated, though not reorganized or rebound.
The current folio 45 was once a loose sheet and has no connection with the remainder of
the contents, which constitute a scrapbook of miscellaneous papers in Nowell s hand, including
three undated prose prologues to Westminster School plays by Terence and Seneca. The leaf
is primarily devoted to a list of books with prices. It can be dated by its numerous references
to printed books and to Oxford contemporaries of Nowell, who was a student and fellow of
Brasenose College (1520-43) and became headmaster of Westminster School in 1543.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Brasenose College MS. 31; c 1535-61; Latin and English; paper; xiv + 35 + iv;
150mm x 210mm; modern pencil foliation superseding 2 earlier foliations, one in pencil, the other
in ink; some leaves have 2 or 3 cols; 19th-c. leather and board binding, title stamped on spine: Noelli
Litere &c.
Brasenose College Bursars Roll of Account
Due to its poor condition BNC Arch: U.B.21 is no longer produced for examination.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Brasenose College Archives, U.B.21; 1582, 1634-8; English; paper; 96 leaves; 190mm x
310mm; modern pencil foliation; 17th-c. stamped calf and board binding, badly worn. The accounts
are bound in random order.
Brasenose College Senior Bursars Accounts
Oxford, Brasenose College Archives, A.2.41; 1631-2; English; paper; 41 leaves; 190mm x 305mm;
partial modern pencil foliation (1-20, last approximately 20 leaves blank, with a few notes of expenses
for 1638); bound in original vellum, title in ink on front cover faded and largely illegible.
Brasenose College Junior Bursars Accounts
The accounts survive in an eleven volume series (A.8.1-11) covering the period 161 1-12 and
1627-41, with some gaps.
Oxford, Brasenose College Archives, A.8.5; 1631-2; English and Latin; paper; i + 96 + i; 600mm x
222mm (566mm x 212mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card
binding.
Oxford, Brasenose College Archives, A.8.7; 1634-5; English and Latin; paper; 69 leaves; 591mm x
222mm (570mm x 200mm); partial modern pencil foliation; generally good condition with some wear
to outer leaves; 3 separate smaller vols sewn together, each retaining its contemporary leather binding
with ink title.
Oxford, Brasenose College Archives, A.8.10; 1639-40; English and Latin; paper; 72 leaves; 590mm x
225mm (566mm x 218mm); partial modern pencil foliation; generally good condition with some wear
to outer leaves; 3 separate smaller vols sewn together, each retaining its contemporary leather binding
with ink title.
Oxford, Brasenose College Archives, A.8.11; 1640-1; English and Latin; paper; 85 leaves; 596mm x
223mm (576mm x 213mm); partial modern pencil foliation; generally good condition with some wear
to outer leaves; 4 separate smaller volumes sewn together, each retaining its contemporary leather
binding with ink title.
Brasenose College Statutes (A)
This manuscript is a copy of the 1521 statutes for Brasenose College amended by Sir
Richard Sutton.
Oxford, Brasenose College Archives, A.2.3; 1681; Latin; parchment; ii + 27 + iii; 235mm x 164mm
(187mm x 93mm); contemporary ink pagination; margins marked in red, some title capitals; good
condition; contemporary leather binding with blind tooled decoration.
636 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
CANTERBURY COLLEGE
Canterbury College was founded in 1363 by Simon Islip, archbishop of Canterbury, with the
concurrence of the Cathedral Priory of Christ Church, Canterbury. It stood on the site of
what is now Canterbury Quadrangle in Christ Church. Its head was a warden. Shortly after
its dissolution in 1540 it was incorporated into Christ Church (see p 637).
Expenses for Inception at Canterbury College
These expenses are excerpted from the register of William Molash, prior of Christ Church,
Canterbury. A number of entries in the register appear to have been copied from earlier
registers or other documents, including the one transcribed here, with their dates left approxim
ate or incomplete.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Tanner 165; 1427-57; Latin; parchment; ii + 177 + i; 220mm x 300mm;
modern pencil foliation replacing contemporary foliation; 17th-c. leather and board binding, badly
worn at corners.
Expenses for a Degree Feast at Canterbury College (AC)
A history of the college, with transcriptions of documents, is Pantin s Canterbury College.
Professor Elliott failed to trace Cant Cathedral Archives: Cart. Ant. O.151.3.b and indeed
some ten per cent of the materials transcribed by Pantin were marked not found in the
course of a 1974 search of Canterbury Cathedral archives.
W.A. Pantin (ed), Canterbury College, Oxford, vol 3, Oxford Historical Society, ns, 8 (Oxford, 1950
for 1943-4).
CARDINAL COLLEGE
Cardinal College was founded by Cardinal Wolsey in 1525 on the site of what is now
Christ Church. Dissolved in 1530 after Wolsey s fall from power, it was refounded in
1532 as King Henry vm College and subsequently incorporated into Christ Church (see
p 637).
The only surviving account book, now in the PRO, covers the last full year of the college s
existence under its original name.
Cardinal College Expense Book
The accounting year ran from 1 November to 1 November; the accounts are complete for all
four terms.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
London, Public Record Office, E/36/104; 1529-30; Latin; parchment; vi + 28 + vi; 390mm x 300mm;
19th-c. stamped ink foliation (1-24, omitting a fragmentary leaf and the cover leaf at beginning), also
18th- and 19th-c. ink pagination (1-54, omitting first fragmentary leaf): original cover leaf (pp 1
now bound backwards; 19th-c. leather and board binding, stamped on spine: Expences C
College Oxon, on p 1 in contemporary ornamental hand: Expend Collegij Cardinalis Oxon. Folio 3
of the document gives the date: Primus Terminus Quinti Anni, ie, 1529, the fifth year after foundation
of the college in 1525-
CHRIST CHURCH
Christ Church was founded in 1546 by Henry vin, consolidating Canterbury and Cardinal
Colleges (see p 636 and also p 592). Thoroughly idiosyncratic, Christ Church is both a cathedral
and an academic foundation: it is never called a College ; its members are called Students
(always with a capital S ); its head is a dean; it has always admitted substantially more scholars
than any other Oxford college; and it is considered Oxfords only royal foundation.
Archives are housed in a muniment room in Blue Boar Quadrangle. Financial and adminis
trative records are accessed via E.G.W. Bill, Catalogue of Treasury Books (1955 typescript).
A supplement, begun by Mrs. J. Wells, awaits completion.
Treasurers (or treasury) accounts run from Michaelmas to Michaelmas, divided into four
thirteen-week terms (numbered). Some accounts removed by Anthony Wood in the 1660s
survive in the Bodleian Library.
Statutes
Christ Church Cathedral and College Foundation Statutes
Statutes survive in a single MS comprising Henry vin foundation statutes, three versions of
Edward vi statutes (ff 47-60v, 65-114, 115-56v), and notes and drafts pertaining to each.
The first of the Edward vi statutes bears internal marks of collation - here ignored - against
the statutes of Corpus Christi College.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, D.P.vi.b.l; c 17th c.; Latin and English; paper; v + 209 + ii; 309mm x
209mm (264mm x 206mm); modern pencil foliation for whole collection, some items within the
collection bear contemporary ink foliation; good condition; antiquarian(?) calf binding.
Financial Documents
Christ Church Treasurers Accounts
Rolls were prepared each December for the audit, totalling all receipts and expenses for the
year. They contain draft accounts later copied into the engrossed computi and are excerpted
here only when the computi are not extant. Substantive differences are noted in the endnote to
638 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
each record. ChCh Arch: iii.c.l contains the accounts for 1528-9, 1545-8, 1597-8, 1602-6,
1609-15, 1617-20, 1622-3, and 1629-30.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.l; 1527-1630; Latin; paper; 286 leaves; 390mm x 470mm;
modern pencil foliation; originally rolls, now bound in vellum and board.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Top.Oxon c.23 (sc 30777); 1581-2; Latin; paper; 6 leaves; 340mm x
210mm; foliated 43-8 in ink; originally rolls, now bound with miscellaneous Christ Church papers.
Christ Church Disbursements
Individual volumes survive for 1548-9, 1577-87, 1589-1631, and 1641-4 (another series takes
over after this date). They list both internal and external expenses and were kept quarterly, with
specific dates usually assigned to each expense.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.21; 1578-9; English and Latin; paper; ii + 87 + ii; 297mm x
191mm (245mm x 190mm); modern pencil foliation; generally good condition; contemporary leather
rebound onto modern board, title on spine: DISBURSEMENTS 1578-1579.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.24; 1581-2; English and Latin; paper; ii + 86 + i; 290mm x
196mm (286mm x 181mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition, some cutting apparently
to remove entries; some enlarged title capitals; contemporary leather rebound onto modern board,
contemporary ink title on front cover, antiquarian ink title on spine, modern embossed title on spine:
DISBURSEMENTS 1581-1582.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.25; 1582-3; English and Latin; paper; ii + 91 + i; 294mm x
199mm (210mm x 183mm); modern pencil foliation (2 folio 65s, labelled V and b ); good con
dition, some cutting of leaves to remove entries; some decorated capitals; contemporary leather
rebound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, modern embossed title on spine:
DISBURSEMENTS 1582-1583.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.27; 1584-5; English and Latin; paper; ii + 80 + ii; 294mm x
196mm (290mm x 185mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather rebound
onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, antiquarian ink title on spine, modern
embossed title on spine: DISBURSEMENTS 1584-1585.
Oxford Christ Church Archives, xii.b.28; 1585-6 plus cancelled fragments from 1586-7; English
and Latin; paper; i + 87 + i; 295mm x 201mm (292mm x 163mm); partial modern pencil fol.ation;
good condition; contemporary leather rebound onto modern board, contemporary ink t.tle on front
cover, modern embossed title on spine: DISBURSEMENTS 1586.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.29; 1586-7; English and Latin; paper; ii + 1 14 + ii; 291mm x
198mm (273mm x 153mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather n
bound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, modern embossed title on spine:
DISBURSEMENTS 1 [6] 586-1 [6] 587.
639
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.31; 1588-9; English and Latin; paper; ii + 135 + ii; 303mm x
195mm (246mm x 155mm); partial modern pencil foliation; fair condition, some pages cut to rer
entries, and some pages torn, water damage to final leaves, no substantial loss of mformanon; contempo
ary leather rebound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, modern embossed
on spine: DISBURSEMENTS 1588-1589.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.32; 1589-90; English and Latin; paper; ii + 77 + i; 297mm x
200mm (251mm x 159mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather
rebound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, modern embossed title on spine:
DISBURSEMENTS 1589-1590.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.33; 1590-1; English and Latin; paper; ii + 90 + i; 288mm x
193mm (264mm x 179mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather re
bound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, modern embossed title on spine:
DISBURSEMENTS 1591.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.34; 1591-2; English and Latin; paper; ii + 89 + i; 294mm x
194mm (277mm x 172mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather rebound
onto modern board, modern embossed title on spine: DISBURSEMENTS 1592.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.35; 1592-3; English and Latin; paper; ii + 1 15 + i; 291mm x
195mm (265mm x 149mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather re
bound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, modern embossed title on spine:
DISBURSEMENTS 1592-1593.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.43; 1598-9; English and Latin; paper; i + 82 + i; 298mm x
192mm (292mm x 179mm); modern pencil foliation; fair condition, some cutting of leaves to remove
entries, water damage to initial and final leaves destroying up to /3 of damaged folio, paper conservation;
contemporary leather rebound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, modern
embossed title on spine: DISBURSEMENTS 1598-1599.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.44; 1599-1600; English and Latin; paper; i + 70 + i; 304mm x
198mm (279mm x 168mm); modern pencil foliation; fair to poor condition, water damage causing
destruction of initial and final leaves, all leaves have washed/running ink, paper conservation; modern
leather rebound onto board, modern pencil title on front cover, modern embossed title on spine:
DISBURSEMENTS 1599-1600.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.45; 1600-1; English and Latin; paper; ii + 82 + i; 323mm x
210mm (306mm x 173mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather
rebound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, antiquarian ink title on spine,
modern embossed title on spine: DISBURSEMENTS 1600-1601.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.49; 1604-5; English and Latin; paper; i + 84 + i; 330mm x
203mm (293mm x 187mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather
640 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
"*
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.50; 1605-6; English and Latin; paper; ii + 74 + i; 349mm x
220mm (34lmm x 178mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather
rebound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, antiquarian ink title on spine,
modern embossed title on spine: DISBURSEMENTS 1606.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.52; 1607-8; English and Latin; paper; ii + 74 + i; 294mm \
198mm (291mm x 179mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather
rebound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, antiquarian ink title on spine,
modern embossed title on spine: DISBURSEMENTS 1607-1608.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.53; 1608-9; English and Latin; paper; ii + 74 + i; 315mm x
198mm (298mm x 158mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather
rebound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, antiquarian ink title on spine,
modern embossed tide on spine: DISBURSEMENTS 1608-9.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.57; 1612-13; English and Latin; paper; ii + 80; 3l6mm x
197mm (306mm x 175mm); partial modern pencil foliation; generally good condition, second flyleaf
loose, some minor insect damage; contemporary leather, leather ties partially preserved, contemporary
ink title on front cover, antiquarian ink title on spine, modern ink title on spine: DISBURSEMENTS
1612-13.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xii.b.60; 1615-16; English and Latin; paper; iv + 91 + i; 310mm x
194mm (272mm x 168mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather re
bound onto modern board, contemporary ink title on front cover, modern title printed on spine:
DISBURSEMENTS 1615-16.
Christ Church Computi
These rolls, now deteriorated, contain the final accounts, copied from the Christ Church
treasurers accounts, after they had been approved at the audit. Rolls survive for 1549-51,
1560-3, 1569-72, 1575-85, 1587-8, 1590-2, 1596-1608, 1611-13, 1615-16, and
1619-24.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.6(b.); 1581-2; Latin; parchment; 3 mbs sewn at top; 655mm x
345mm (648mm x 330mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.6(c.); 1583-5; Latin; parchment; 3 mbs sewn at top; 701mm x
262mm (658mm x 258mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.6(f); 1591-2; Latin; parchment; 3 mbs sewn at top; 790mm x
342mm (740mm x 243mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; good condition, tear
to bottom of mb 1.
(.A]
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.7(a.); 1597-8; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs sewn at top; 785mm x
363mm (732mm x 243mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.7(b.); 1598-9; Latin; parchment; 4 mbs sewn at top; 824mm x
381mm (754mm x 322mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; written front to back,
text on dorse written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading of entire col without
turning roll; good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.7(c.); 1600-1; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs (4 large mbs sewn at
top plus a smaller mb with a contemporary tie sewn to foot of mb 4, lesser mb blank save for regnal
date, seems to have served as a wrapper); 780mm x 335mm (694mm x 329mm); unnumbered; enlarged
and decorated title capitals; written front to back, text on dorse written upside down with respect to
text on front to enable reading of entire col without turning roll; good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.7(d.); 1601-2; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs (4 large mbs sewn at
top plus a smaller mb with a contemporary tie sewn to foot of mb 4 and serving as a wrapper); 702mm x
321mm (625mm x 310mm); unnumbered; enlarged title capitals; written front to back, text on dorse
written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading of entire col without turning roll;
good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.7(e.); 1603-4; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs (4 large mbs sewn at top
plus a smaller mb with a contemporary tie sewn to foot of mb 4 and serving as a wrapper); 750mm x
357mm (723mm x 339mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; written front to back,
text on dorse written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading of entire col without
turning roll; good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.7(g.); 1605-6; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs (4 large mbs sewn at top
plus a smaller mb sewn to foot of mb 4 and serving as a wrapper); 695mm x 286mm (656mm x 275mm);
unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; written front to back, text on dorse written upside
down with respect to text on front to enable reading of entire col without turning roll; good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.8(a.); 1606-7; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs (4 large mbs sewn at top
plus a smaller mb with a contemporary tie sewn to foot of mb 4 and serving as a wrapper); 744mm x
342mm (735mm x 336mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; written front to back,
text on dorse written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading of entire col without
turning roll; good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.8(b.); 1607-8; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs (4 large mbs sewn at top
plus a smaller mb with a contemporary tie sewn to foot of mb 4 and serving as a wrapper); 720mm x
357mm (669mm x 338mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; written front to back,
text on dorse written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading of entire col without
turning roll; good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.8(d.); 161 1-12; Latin; parchment; 4 mbs (3 large mbs sewn at
top plus a smaller mb originally sewn to foot of mb 3, but now detached, and serving as a wrapper);
642 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
716mm x 31 1 mm (715mm x 301mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; written
front to back, text on dorse written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading of
entire col without turning roll; fair condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.8(e.); 1612-13; Latin; parchment; 4 mbs (3 large mbs sewn at top
plus a smaller mb with a contemporary tie sewn to foot of mb 3 and serving as a wrapper); 820mm x
315mm (818mm x 315mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; written front to back,
text on dorse written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading of entire col without
turning roll; generally good condition, some minor insect damage.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.8(f.); 1615-16; Latin; parchment; 3 mbs sewn at top; 755mm x
365mm (729mm x 354mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; written front to back,
text on dorse written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading of entire col without
turning roll; good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.9(a.); 1619-20; Latin, English, and French; parchment; 5 mbs
sewn at top; 690mm x 330mm (644mm x 329mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals;
written front to back, text on dorse written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading
of entire col without turning roll; fair condition, rodent damage to mb 4 causing some loss of informa
tion, some minor insect damage.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.9(b.); 1620-1; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs sewn together at top;
615mm x 340mm (570mm x 328mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; written front
to back, text on dorse written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading of entire col
without turning roll; good condition.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.9(c.); 1621-2; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs sewn together at top;
785mm x 370mm (755mm x 360mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; written front
to back, text on dorse written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading of entire col
without turning roll; fair condition, rodent and insect damage to mb 5, some material wear (ink lost).
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, iii.c.9(d.); 1622-3; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs sewn together at top;
670mm x 400mm (6lOmm x 383mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title capitals; written front
to back, text on dorse written upside down with respect to text on front to enable reading of entire col
without turning roll; generally good condition, some material wear leading to loss of ink.
Christ Church Battells Books
These are weekly records of commons, kept from early September, usually from the second
Friday of the month, the week being divided from Friday through Thursday. The accounts for
each week are followed by a category of Extra Expenses.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, x(i).c.43; 1606-7; English and Latin; paper; iii + 55 + i; 578mm x
214mm (565mm x 202mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather
rebound onto modern board, contemporary ink title and modern pencil year date on front cover, some
643
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
contemporary ink calculations on front cover, modern embossed title on spine: MICH. 1606 to
M1DS. 1607.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, x(i).c.44; 1607-8; English and Latin; paper; ii + 55 + i; 600mm x
222mm (577mm x 220mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary leather
rebound onto modern board, modern pencil year date on front cover, modern embossed title on spine:
MICH. 1607 to MIDS. 1608.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, x(i).c.48; 1611-12; English and Latin; paper; ii + 56 + i; 565mm
x 202mm (542mm x 195mm); modern pencil foliation; fair condition, minor insect damage plus
water damage causing loss of information; modern board, embossed title on spine: SEPT. 161 1-
SEPT. 1612.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, x(i).c.50; 1613-14; English and Latin; paper; ii + 58 + i; 568mm x
210mm (543mm x 205mm); modern pencil foliation; fair condition, water, insect, and mould damage,
some loss of information; contemporary leather rebound over modern board, contemporary ink title
on front cover, modern embossed year date on spine.
Christ Church Receipts
Individual volumes survive for 1593-4, 1596-1617, 1620-1, 1623-7, 1629-31, and 1641-2.
These were kept quarterly, with specific dates usually assigned to each receipt.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, xi.b.16; 1613-14; English; paper; ii + 59 + i; 340mm x 218mm
(318mm x 213mm); modern pencil foliation; generally good condition, water damage has led to warping
of binding, no loss of information apparent; contemporary leather rebound over modern board, con
temporary ink title and antiquarian pencil year date on front cover, modern embossed title on spine:
RECEIPTS 1613.
Royal Visit Expenses
Christ Church Expenses for the Royal Visit
The sheets of Bodl.: MS. Rawlinson C.878, originally loose, appear to be rough accounts, with
many deletions and obliterations, and to have been transcribed in edited form onto the sheets
now contained in Bodl.: MS. Top.Oxon e.9. The latter comprises loose sheets that were given
to Anthony Wood by the treasurer of Christ Church in 1667, along with other Christ Church
documents. They appear to be a fairer copy of the rough accounts contained in Bodl.: MS.
Rawlinson C.878, ff 1-9 (see p 1098, endnote to Bodl.: MS. Rawlinson C.878 ff 1-9, for
discussion of substantive variants).
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Rawlinson C.878 (sc 12712), 1566; English; paper; 9 leaves; 210mm x
150mm. Bound into an 18th-c. volume of English Historical Miscellanies and foliated 1-9.
644 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Christ Church Expense Sheet
This sheet is composed in the first person and the figures match the expenses reimbursed to
Robert Mooneson in Bodl, MS. Rawlinson C.878. The document is perhaps Mooneson s
personal expense account.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Top.Oxon c.22 (sc 30776); 1566; English; paper; single sheet; 340mm x
Omm; writing on one side only. Bound with a collection of papers borrowed from Christ Church by
Anthony Wood in 1667 and foliated 55 in ink.
Christ Church Expense Account for Plays
This document was prepared by a scribe for Dr Samuel Fell, treasurer of Christ Church, to be
submitted to the University for reimbursement of Christ Church s expenses on the plays for
the royal visit of 1636. The sheet was discovered among the deanery papers when the archives
were moved to their present location in 1969. For a fuller description and analysis of this
document, see John R. Elliott and John Buttrey, Royal Plays at Christ Church, pp 93-109.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, D.P.iii.c.l, item 27; 1636; English; bifolium; 290mm x 380mm;
unnumbered; accounting entries written across the full width of the 2 inner pages; stored in a box of loose
sheets. On the back of the sheet, in addition to the signatures of the 3 delegates, are 4 endorsements.
One reads: The Account for the Vniumity. Wherby there is due to Dr. ffell 243 li. 15 s. 6 d. Another,
initialled by Fell, reads: Christschurch found only the carpenters worke for the stage & scaffoldes.
The other two appear to have been added later, at different times. One reads: Charge of Entertaining
the King by the University. 1636. The other, probably the last to be written, gets the year wrong: The
chardge of the vniuersitye plays exhibited to his maiesty a.nno 1638.
Dean and Chapter Documents
Christ Church Chapter Book
This volume was called The Black Book by Dean Liddell, who made extracts from it in the
nineteenth century (ChCh Arch: D&C.i.b. 1). The first eighty-six pages are blank. On page 87
occurs the following title in a sixteenth-century hand: Registrum eoruw quae acta sunt in
Domo nostta. Capitulari per Decanum vel Subdeacanum et Canonicos omnes aut eoruw
maiorew partew in Ecclwia Christi Oxoniae ... Anno domini 1549 octavo die Marcij./
The remainder of the volume contains decrees and official correspondence of the dean and
chapter of Christ Church to 1646.
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, D&C.i.b.2; 1549-1646; Latin; paper; 449 leaves; 210mm x 310mm;
modern pagination; bound in 17th-c. leather, written inside front cover in an 18th-c. hand: The
Subdean s Book.
645
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Letter of the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church to the Chancellor
Cambridge, Magdalene College, Pepys Library, MS 2502/15; 10 December 1566; English; paper; bifolium;
312mm x 225mm (265mm x 160mm); addressed to the earl of Leicester, chancellor of the University.
Bound in a guardbook and paginated 651-4 in modern pencil.
Letter of Thomas Cooper, Dean of Christ Church, to the Chancellor
Cambridge, Magdalene College, Pepys Library, MS 2503/273; 5 May 1569; English; paper; bifolium;
310mm x 220mm (235mm x 180mm); addressed to the earl of Leicester, chancellor of the University.
Bound in a guardbook and paginated 273-6 in modern pencil.
Memorandum of the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church
Oxford, Christ Church Archives, D.Pii.c.l, item 6; 4 January 1605/6; English and Latin; paper; bifolium;
310mm x 200mm (173mm x 152mm); modern pencil numbering; good condition; stored in a box
of loose sheets.
Miscellaneous Documents
William Withie s Notebook
Withie, who was a fellow of Christ Church, kept this notebook from 1578 to 1581.
London, British Library, MS Sloane 300; 1578-81; Latin and English; paper; iv + 60 + iv; 295mm x
195mm; 19th-c. ink foliation; 19th-c. leather and board binding (before f 1 is an unfoliated fragment
of the original vellum cover).
William Gager s Commonplace Book
This manuscript contains miscellaneous literary works by Gager, including fragments of scenes
from Oedipus and Dido. The earliest datable piece is from 1578, the latest from Decem
ber 1590. 3
London, British Library, MS Additional 22583; 1578-90; Latin and English; paper; ii + 102 + i;
210mm x 175mm; contemporary ink foliation; 19th-c. stamped leather and board binding, stamped
on spine: Poems of William Gager.
Letter of Bishop of Llandaff to Sir Thomas Lake
The bishop of Llandaff from 1601 to 1617 was Francis Godwin. The letter concerns his son
Thomas Godwin, who had matriculated at Christ Church in 1604.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
London Public Record Office, SP/15/37; 3 November 1605; English; paper; bifolium; 200 mm x 305mm;
Idressed ,n scnbal hand: To the Right Wo%Ml our very loving fTreind Sir Thorns Lake Knight;
T ^ d ; fterem / hand P robab y ^ T ho^ Godwyn for a Schollers place in Chwies Church
November 1605. Bound in a guardbook and foliated 128-9.
Letter of King James to Christ Church
The letter is a copy of the original in the hand of Sir Thomas Lake. Folios 134-5 of this volume
contain a letter of thanks from the bishop of Llandaff to Lake, dated 20 November 1605, for
procuring the royal letter. Thomas Godwin proceeded BA from Christ Church in 1608.
London, Public Record Office, SP/15/37; 14 November 1605; English; single sheet; paper; 190mm x
280mm; endorsed: xiiijo November 1605. Thomas Godwin for a Schollers place in Chwres Church
Oxon. Bound in a guardbook and foliated 130.
CORPUS CHR1STI COLLEGE
Corpus Christi College was founded in 1517 by Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester. Its head
is a president. Archives are housed in an underground vault beneath the Fellows Building, near
the library.
No single catalogue of the contents of the archives, perhaps the largest in Oxford, was avail
able at the time of inspection. One is currently in progress, to be published in microform.
The college manuscript collection, arguably the richest in Oxford and housed in the Bodleian
Library until 1985, was transferred to the archive vault pending repairs to the Bodleian stacks.
The archives and the manuscripts remain distinct collections. For library documents cited in
this volume, see under Miles Windsor s Narrative (p 696) for ccc: MS 257; Letter of Henry
Jackson to D.G.P. (p 648) for ccc: MS 304; and Appendix 1 1 for ccc: MS 352.
Corpus Christi College Statutes
Oxford, Corpus Christi College Archives, A/4/1/1; 13 February 1527/8; Latin; parchment; iii + 94;
344mm x 232mm (271mm x 175mm); contemporary ink foliation; some enlarged title capitals; good
condition; contemporary calf binding with blind tooling, founder s seal on oval pendant (90mm x
60mm).
Corpus Christi College Bursars Accounts
The bursars accounts at Corpus are contained in the so-called Libri Magni. Most of these
were originally parchment booklets but were bound in leather by the Bodleian in 1931, each
volume containing ten to twelve years of accounts and foliated at that time. The accounting
year, divided into four numbered terms, ran from Michaelmas to Michaelmas.
An analysis of selected accounts may be found in G.D. Duncan, An Introduction to the
Accounts of Corpus Christi College, Appendix 2, History of the University, vol 3, pp 574-96.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
647
Oxford, Corpus Christ! College Archives, C/l/1/4; modern leather binding, tooled with clasps, embossed
title on spine: C.C.C. LIBRI MAGN1 IV 1558-1564 1566-1570.
Extracts from:
f [9]: 1565-6; English and Latin; parchment; 15 leaves; 338mm x 206mm (305mm x 160mm); un
numbered apart from continuous modern pencil foliation of volume; excellent condition.
f [7]: 1568-9; English and Latin; parchment; 9 leaves; 275mm x 277mm (247mm x 187mm); un
numbered apart from continuous modern pencil foliation of volume; good condition.
Oxford, Corpus Christi College Archives, C/l/1/5; modern leather binding, tooled, embossed title on
spine: C.C.C. LIBRI MAGNI V 1571-1580.
Extract from:
f [8v]: 1572-3; English and Latin; parchment; 12 + i; 338mm x 276mm (312mm x 246mm); un
numbered apart from continuous modern pencil foliation of volume; good condition.
Oxford, Corpus Christi College Archives, C/l/1/6; 1581-99; modern leather binding, tooled, embossed
title on spine: C.C.C. LIBRI MAGNI VI 1581-1599.
Extract from:
f [10]: 1582-3; English and Latin; parchment; i + 9 + ii; 336mm x 225mm (307mm x 215mm); un
numbered apart from continuous modern pencil foliation of volume; good condition.
Oxford, Corpus Christi College Archives, C/l/1/8; modern leather binding, tooled, embossed title on
spine: C.C.C. LIBRI MAGNI VIII 1611-13 1615-24.
Extracts from:
f [9]: 1611-12; English and Latin; parchment; 1 1 + i; 383mm x 316mm (322mm x 270mm); un
numbered apart from continuous modern pencil foliation of volume; good condition.
f [10]: 1615-16; English and Latin; parchment; 14 + i; 389mm x 310mm (350mm x 260mm); un
numbered apart from continuous modern pencil foliation of volume; good condition.
f [14]: 1617-18; English and Latin; parchment; 15 + i; 362mm x 291mm (258mm x 207mm); un
numbered apart from continuous modern pencil foliation of volume; good condition.
f [11]: 1618-19; English and Latin; parchment; 12 + ii; 34lmm x 34lmm (301mm x 326mm), 2 cols;
unnumbered apart from continuous modern pencil foliation of volume; good condition.
648 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
f [1 11: 1619-20; English and Latin; parchment; 12 leaves; 351mm x 295mm (332mm x 288mm),
2 cols; unnumbered apart from continuous modern pencil foliation of volume; good condition.
-3; English and Latin; parchment; 12 + ii; 345mm x 243mm (317mm x 203mm), 2 cols;
unnumbered apart from continuous modern pencil foliation of volume; good condition.
Oxford, Corpus Christi College Archives, C/l/1/9; modern leather binding, tooled, embossed tide on
spine: C.C.C. L1BRI MAGNI IX 1625-1628 1630-1641.
Hxcract from:
mb [9]: 1635-6; English and Latin; parchment; 10 mbs; 420mm x 360mm (4l3mm x 359mm), 2 cols;
unnumbered apart from continuous modern pencil foliation of volume; good condition.
Episcopal Visitation to Corpus Christi College
21M65/A1/26 is the register of Robert Home, bishop of Winchester, from which the charges
and replies of the episcopal visitation to Corpus are excerpted. This manuscript also yields
records pertaining to visitations to New College (see p 146).
Winchester, Hampshire Record Office, 21M65/A1/26; 1560-79; Latin and English; parchment; ii +
119 + i; 405mm x 302mm (text area varies); contemporary ink foliation; good condition; bound in
brown calf over boards with an 18th-c.(?) red calf spine, title on board cover and on second flyleaf:
"Home 1560 to 1579.
Letter of Henry Jackson to D.G.P.
Jackson s letter is in a volume compiled by William Fulman (1632-88) sometime after 1662,
as materials toward a history of the college. This forms the current volume 10 of Fulman s
collection of papers. Folios 79-207 are devoted to copies of the works of Henry Jackson
(1586-1662), folio 79 bearing the heading Liber Henrici Jacksoni, Oxon. Coll. Corp. Chr.
Alumni, 1600. Extracts from sixty-nine letters written by Jackson are given, together with
miscellaneous information about his life, the first half of which was spent as a student and
fellow of Corpus. The originals of these letters, including the one describing performances of
Othello and The Alchemist at Oxford in 1610, have not survived.
Oxford, Corpus Christi College, MS 304; c 1662; English; paper; 207 leaves; 215mm x 160mm; modern
foliation; original board binding, endorsed in William Fulman s hand on f 1: Historiae Collegii Corpons
Christi Lib. III. De Viris Illustribus, et Scriptoribus.
DURHAM COLLEGE
Durham Priory first sent monks to study at Oxford in the late thirteenth century. About 1380
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Prior Robert Walworth and Bishop Thomas Hatfield oversaw the founding of Durham College,
later refounded as Trinity College (see p 677). While Dobson s estimate that over a period of
150 years nearly half of all Durham monks studied here may be overblown, its educational
importance to the Priory was clearly very great. Landless and deriving its entire income from
appropriated churches, the college was nevertheless expected to provide shelter, sustenance, and
books for eight monks and eight secular scholars. Its support of boy bishops occurred during
a brief period in which it was in financial difficulty. 4
Accounts survive among the muniments of Durham Cathedral.
Durham College Accounts
Account rolls are extant for 1389-1537, yielding relevant material only for 1399-1402. The
accounting year in this period normally began and ended on the day after the Ascension.
Durham, Durham University Library, Durham Cathedral Muniments Oxford Ac.1399-1400; 1399-
1400; Latin; parchment; single mb; 600mm x 280mm (text area varies); unnumbered.
Durham, Durham University Library, Durham Cathedral Muniments Oxford Ac. 1401-2; 1401-2;
Latin; parchment; single mb; 835mm x 270mm (text area varies); unnumbered.
EXETER COLLEGE
Exeter College was founded in 1314 by Walter de Stapledon, bishop of Exeter. First known as
Stapledon Hall, it became known subsequently as Exeter Hall and finally as Exeter College.
(A secondary foundation occurred in 1566 under Sir William Petre.) Its head is a rector.
Its account books, among the earliest in Oxford, provide the basis for the history of the col
lege contained in Boase, Registrum Collegii Exoniensis, pp i-clxxxiii.
Archives, housed in a former kitchen beneath the rector s lodgings, are consulted in the
library. A.V. Bradley and J.M. Cockayne, Archives of Exeter College, Oxford, 2 vols (1977),
is available in Duke Humfrey as Bodl.: MS. R.Top 671.
Battells books 1600-35 (EC Arch: A. iv. 15-21) and a weekly expense book for 1596-8
(within EC Arch; B.i.16) yielded no REED entries.
Exeter College Rectors Accounts
Oxford, Exeter College Archives, A. 1 ; 10 July-17 October 1361; Latin; parchment; single mb; 280mm x
694mm; written on 1 side only; endorsed at top: Compotus Robmi de Clyste Rectoris domz/.r de
stapildonhall Oxonia super receptw suis & experuis /i officio Rectorie 1 , a die sabbati proxima post
festum translacionis Sana\ Thome martiris anno domim millwmo CCCmo. seximo. pr/ mo vsqf ad
proximam diem saba/v post festum sancti dionisij proximam post sequentfw anno supradicto. This
document was misdated 1360 by H.T. Riley, Exeter College, Oxford, Historical Manuscripts Commis
sion, 2nd Report, Appendix (London, 1871), 128-9.
650 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Exeter College Archives, B.i.16:
1547-8; Latin; parchment; single mb; 540mm x 840mm; unnumbered; written on both sides, entries
are in linear blocks with no headings or marginal rubrics. Contains the accounts for the whole year,
with two quarters on each side. Exact dates are given for each of the four quarters, which begin at
Michaelmas.
1550-1; Latin; parchment; single mb; originally measuring approximately 540mm x 840mm, but half
is now torn away; unnumbered; written on both sides, 2 quarters on each side. Entries referring to
expenses for comedies belong to a term of which the heading is partially torn but which appears to have
run from approximately Christmas to Easter.
Oxford, Exeter College Archives, A.n.9; 1566-1639; Latin; paper; 367 leaves; 200mm x 300mm; modern
pencil foliation; bound in vellum and board, on spine in I7th-c. hand: Rector s Accounts 1566 1639,
front cover inscribed H. The accounting year ran from All Saints Day to All Saints Day and was
audited on 2 November.
GLOUCESTER COLLEGE
Gloucester College was founded in 1298 to educate the Benedictine monks of Malmesbury
Abbey on the site of a former establishment belonging to Gloucester Abbey. It was dissolved
in 1541, purchased by St John s College in 1560, renamed Gloucester Hall, and leased out as
a student residence. During Elizabeth s reign it continued to be noted for Catholic sympathies.
In 1714 it was refounded as Worcester College. Very little remains of its records.
Letter of Richard Croke to Thomas Cromwell
Richard Croke had been Greek tutor to Henry vin in 1517 and was later appointed as special
envoy to Italy from 1529 to 1531 to gather opinions of canon lawyers on the validity of the
king s marriage. From 1532 to 1545 he was canon and subdean of King Henry vin College
in Oxford.
No year is given but it may be deduced from internal references to current events.
London, Public Record Office, SP/1/82; 26 January 1533/4; English; paper; bifolium; 285mm x 175mm;
later red cloth binding on boards gilded at corners and spine, remains of red wax seal on f 122. F [1]
has 2 signatures by Richard Croke and is endorsed in the same hand as the text: rede thys laste To the
right honorable and my synguler good Maister Maister Crowwel, f [Iv] is dated thys night the xxvj
of January at Oxforde. Now bound in a volume of letters to Cromwell with Croke s notes, memoranda,
and drafts; foliated 122-3v in modern pencil and stamped 106-7.
JESUS COLLEGE
Jesus College was founded in 1571 by Queen Elizabeth, acting under the persuasion of Hugh
Price. Its head is a principal.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Archives are kept in a muniment room above the library. The college possesses no financial
or administrative records before 1631 . A handlist by D.L. Evans and J.N.L. Baker is availabl
from the archivist.
Jesus College Statutes (A)
This manuscript is an antiquarian copy of the 1622 statutes.
Oxford, Jesus College Archives, ST4; 18th c; Latin; parchment; ii + 68 + iii; 296mm x 200mm (225mm x
129mm); contemporary ink pagination; excellent condition; contemporary calf binding, now rather
worn, with some decoration, embossed title on front cover: STATUTA COLL: IESU OXON.
Jesus College Bursar s Book
The accounting year runs from 30 November to 30 November. There is no division into terms.
Oxford, Jesus College Archives, BU:AC:GEN:1; 1631-50; English; paper; vi + 205 (final 105 leaves
blank); 200mm x 300mm; modern pagination; bound in stamped calf, text on spine faded and illegible.
LINCOLN COLLEGE
Lincoln College was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, bishop of Lincoln. Its head is
a rector.
Archives, formerly kept in the Gate Tower, are now in the Senior Library (in the de
commissioned All Saints Church).
The earliest surviving accounts date from 1455. Pre-1600 accounts are called Computi ;
post-1600 accounts, Calculi.
Lincoln College Computi
The accounting year runs from 21 December to 21 December and is divided into quarters.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives, Computus 1; 1456-1513; Latin and English; paper; iii + 182 + iii;
299mm x 103mm (260mm x 87mm); intermittent contemporary ink foliation (some folios have no
visible numbers but are included in this sequence) which is followed here, occasional antiquarian ink
foliation for some years; generally good condition; modern board binding with leather spine, ink title
on spine.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives, Computus 2; 1486-1510; Latin and English; paper; ii + 282 (origin
ally 7 separate booklets of 27, 43, 49, 33, 39, 43, and 48 leaves) + ii; 390-420mm x 120-30mm (350mm
x 110mm); contemporary ink pagination of each booklet separately, with modern pencil letters a and
B F to distinguish number sequences; much wear and damage along inner edges but little text lost,
generally legible except for fading in F; modern cloth-covered board binding with leather spine and ties.
(lS - INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives, Computus 3; 1511-25; Latin and English; paper; iv + 145 + iv;
443mm x 1 59mm (408mm x 135mm); modern pencil foliation (occasional contemporary ink foliation
for some years); modern board and leather binding. Contains the accounts for 1511-13 1514-17
1519-21, and 1523-5.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives, Computus 4; 1525-38; Latin and English; paper; i + 161; 430mm x
157mm (388mm x 1 19mm); modern pencil pagination (occasional contemporary ink foliation for some
\x-.irs); Lur condition, water damage has resulted in substantial loss of information for many folios; modern
board covers with modern leather spine, ink title on spine.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives, Computus 5; 1538-60; Latin and English; paper; iv + 172; 429mm x
149mm (424mm x 128mm); modern pencil foliation (occasional contemporary ink foliation for some
years); occasional decorated initial capitals; generally good condition, previous water damage, now
restored; modern board binding with leather spine, ink title on spine.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives, Computus 6; 1560-80; Latin and English; paper; iv + 149 + iv;
418mm x 151mm (400mm x 124mm); modern pencil foliation (occasional contemporary ink foliation
for some years); occasional decorated title capitals; generally good condition, previous water damage,
now restored; modern board binding with leather spine, ink title on spine.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives, Computus 7; 1580-90; Latin and English; paper; v + 158 + iii;
425mm x 152mm (401mm x lllmm); modern pencil foliation (occasional contemporary ink foliation
for some years); modern board and leather binding.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives, Computus 8; 1590-1600; Latin and English; paper; ii + 172 + ii;
412mm x 137mm (394mm x 121mm); modern pencil foliation (occasional contemporary ink foliation
for some years); modern board and leather binding.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives, Computus 10; 1576-7; English; paper; 11 + v; 300mm x 100mm
(289mm x 98mm); unnumbered; fair condition, previous severe water damage, leading to substantial
loss of information, repaired; modern leather binding over contemporary leather binding with notes
of various expenses on its front cover, ink title on front cover of modern binding.
Lincoln College Calculi
Sheets formerly were bound but now exist in loose gatherings for each year. Some are badly
deteriorated and do not yet possess genuine shelf or class numbers. The calculus for 1610-11,
now missing, was seen by Andrew Clark, Notes from Lincoln College Accounts, 8 vols (Bodl.:
MS. Top.Oxon e. 109-16), a partial translation and summary of the college financial records.
The caJculus for 1617-18, containing, according to Clark, a reference to William Davenant and
other references to musicians, is now too fragile to touch. Other missing calculi are 1600-1,
1601-2, 1611-12, 1617-20, 1622-3, and 1628-40.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives; 1604-5; English and Latin; paper; 14 leaves; 407mm x 152mm
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
653
(395mm x 147mm); modern pencil foliation; generally good condition, previous water damage, now
restored.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives; 1607-8; Latin and English; paper; 16 leaves; 457mm x 178mm
(448mm x 157mm); modern pencil foliation; generally good condition, previous water damage, now
restored.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives; 1612-13; Latin and English; paper; 19 + i; 423mm x 166mm
(407mm x 149mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives; 1613-14; Latin and English; paper; i + 21 + ii; 404mm x 153mm
(385mm x 129mm); modern pencil foliation; generally good condition, previous water damage, now
restored.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives; 1614-15; Latin and English; paper; 16 leaves; 413mm x 162mm
(375mm x 148mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives; 1616-17; Latin and English; paper; 16 leaves; 391mm x 154mm
(366mm x 146mm); modern pencil foliation; fair condition, considerable physical damage to ff 13-16,
leading to loss of information, rest of MS water damaged and fragile.
Oxford, Lincoln College Archives; 1641-2. No longer available for examination.
MAGDALEN COLLEGE
Magdalen College was founded by William of Waynflete, bishop of Winchester, with a charter
in 1448, expansions from 1458, and statutes in 1480. (Note distinction in spelling between
Magdalen College, Oxford, and Magdalene College, Cambridge.) Its head is a president.
Archives are divided between the Muniment Tower and the Founder s Tower (readers are
accommodated in the latter). The earliest surviving bursar s roll (discovered in 1980) dates
from 1478-9, while regular accounts date from 1481 (with some gaps). Draft accounts were
kept on paper rolls, formal computi on parchment rolls: both, bound flat in the nineteenth
century, lack shelf-marks. The accounting year ran from Michaelmas to Michaelmas, only
rarely divided into terms.
Not systematically catalogued, internal financial and administrative records are briefly
described in C.M. Woolgar, A Catalogue of the Estate Archives of St. Mary Magdalen College,
vol 1 (1983 typescript), 60-2 (part of a 7-volume set), available as Bodl.: MS. R. Top. 680a.
Magdalen College Statutes
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, MS 277; 15th c.; Latin; parchment; vii + 53 + ii; 291mm x 226mm
(224mm x 167mm); contemporary ink foliation; decorated initial capitals; good condition; modern
leather binding over board, original cover preserved, 2 modern clasps top and bottom.
654 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
The version of the statutes found in MC Arch: MS 277 has been collated with:
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, MS 276; 15th c.; Latin; parchment; i + 52 + ii (modern paper fly
leaves); 306mm x 223mm (235mm x 135mm); unnumbered; enlarged title script, decorated initial
Capitals; good condition; modern parchment binding, ink title on front cover, embossed title on spine.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, MS 278; 15th c.; Latin; parchment; i + 61; 301mm x 239mm
(208mm x 135mm); contemporary ink foliation; illuminated initial capital, initials of capitula are
decorated; good condition; contemporary wood binding bound over with embossed leather, 2 clasps,
both broken.
Magdalen College Battells Books
There survive three volumes of weekly lists of those dining in hall, including guests. They were
originally loose bifolia and were bound together, with other fragmentary accounts, in the
nineteenth century. The year is seldom given and must be deduced from internal evidence.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, CP 8/49; 1477-86; Latin and English; paper; i + 111 + ii; 300mm x
105mm; 19th-c. pencil foliation (several blank leaves); many leaves bound out of order; 19th-c. leather
and board binding, stamped in gold on red on spine: Bursary Book Magd. Coll. Oxon. 1477-86.
Contains summaries of the bursars annual accounts for 1476-7 and 1483-4, and the battells accounts
for 1485-6 and 1486-7 (complete).
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, CP 8/50; 1490-7; Latin; parchment and paper; i + 137 + i; leaves
of varying sizes, averaging 310mm x 1 10mm; 19th-c. pencil foliation; 19th-c. leather and board bind
ing, stamp on spine Bursary Book Magd. Coll. Oxon. 1490-99. Contains the battells accounts for
1490-1 (complete), 1493-4 (lacking Term 2), 1494-5 (Term 4 only), and 1496-7? (Term 4 only).
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, CP 8/51; 1501-8; Latin and English; paper; ii + 123 + ii; leaves
of varying dimensions, typically 350mm x 130mm; 20th-c. pencil foliation (some leaves blank, some
leaves bear notes on dating, in ink, in the hands of antiquarians Anthony Wood, John Rouse Bloxam,
and William Macray); 19th-c. binding, stamped Bursary Book Magd. Coll. Oxon. 1501- . Contains
the battells accounts for 1501-2? (Terms 1 and 4 only), 1502-3? (Terms 1 and 4 only), 1506-7, and
1507-8 (both complete). In both of the latter years the start of the academic year was delayed because
of plague: the first term began on 8 November.
Magdalen College Libri Computi
Libri computi 1482-1620, formerly bound into large guardbooks, have been (or are being)
reconstituted as individual parchment booklets, identifiable by date.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1482-3; Latin; parchment; 18 leaves; 308mm x
216mm (240mm x 169mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1483-4; Latin; parchment; 20 leaves; 303mm x
255mm (218mm x 138mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1485-6; Latin; parchment; i + 17; 284mm x
183mm (194mm x 164mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary parchment bind
ing, resewn but with original cover, contemporary and antiquarian ink year dates on front cover (plus
some contemporary rough account notes).
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1486-7; Latin; paper; 10 leaves; 295mm x 218mm
(225mm x 187mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1487-8; Latin; parchment; 14 + i; 286mm x
203mm (207mm x 177mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary parchment cover
bound within modern card cover, contemporary ink title on cover plus some rough workings.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1488-9; Latin; parchment; 13 + i; 287mm x
207mm (208mm x 137mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1490-1; Latin; parchment; 14 leaves; 315mm x
227mm (255mm x 188mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1495-6; Latin; parchment; 13 + iii; 279mm x
197mm (233mm x 152mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1496-7; Latin; parchment; 12 leaves; 298mm x
225mm (230mm x 155mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1502-3; Latin; parchment; 13 + i; 310mm x
216mm (233mm x 166mm); modern pencil foliation; decorated initial capital on f 1; good condition;
modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 11 November 1506-11 November 1507; Latin;
parchment; 15 + i; 304mm x 246mm (249mm x 214mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition;
modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1507-8; Latin; parchment; 16 leaves; 300mm x
220mm (252mm x 187mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1508-9; Latin; parchment; 15 leaves (final leaf
is uncut at top, so ff 15 and 16 are joined); 319mm x 226mm (257mm x 195mm); modern pencil
foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 11 November 1509-11 November 1510; Latin;
parchment; 16 leaves; 342mm x 240mm (293mm x 209mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition;
modern card binding.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1510-11; Latin; parchment; 11 + i; 336mm x
.5mm x 218mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1511-12; Latin; parchment; 12 + ii; 335mm x
24mm (279mm x 207mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1512-13; Latin and English; parchment; 1 1 + i;
333mm x 228mm (254mm x 163mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1517-18; Latin; parchment; 15 + i; 332mm x
218mm (291mm x 170mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1519-20; Latin; parchment; 19 + v; 324mm x
267mm (267mm x 213mm); modern pencil foliation, partial contemporary ink foliation; good condition;
modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1520-1; Latin; parchment; iii + 18; 358mm x
277mm (335mm x 250mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1529-30; Latin; parchment; 23 + i; 330mm x
285mm (288mm x 273mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1530-1; Latin; parchment; ii + 13; 418mm x
284mm (412mm x 255mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1531-2; Latin; parchment; 18 + ii; 397mm x
259mm (327mm x 231mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1533-4; Latin; parchment; i + 26; 330mm x
248mm (248mm x 236mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1534-5; Latin; parchment; 12 + ii; 356mm x
254mm (315mm x 235mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1535-6; Latin; parchment; 11 leaves; 350mm x
265mm (304mm x 222mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1537-8; Latin; parchment; i + 14 + ii; 380mm x
288mm (295mm x 216mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1538-9; Latin; parchment; 12 + v; 393mm x
287mm (252mm x 222mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1539-40; Latin; parchment; 10 + i; 418mm x
302mm (388mm x 255mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
657
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1540-1; Latin; parchment; 11 leaves; 412mm x
300mm (293mm x 224mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern card binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, Liber Computi; 1541-2; Latin; parchment; i + 13; 404mm x
295mm (301mm x 211mm); modern pencil foliation; excellent condition; modern binding.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/5; 1543-59; Latin; parchment; i + 244 + i; 336-518mm x
239_346mm (292-495mm x 150-279mm); modern pencil foliation; good condition; guardbook
with parchment binding of original accounts, embossed title on spine: LIBRI COMPUTI S. M.
MAGD. COLL. 1543-1559.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/6; 1559-80; Latin; parchment; i + 258 + i; 535mm x 350mm
(467mm x 317mm); partial modern pencil foliation; reasonable condition, substantial water damage
leading to loss of information; modern white parchment binding, title embossed on spine: LIBRI
COMPUTI S. M. MAGD. COLL. 1559-1580.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/7; 1586-1605; Latin; parchment; i + 173 + i; 598mm x
365mm (428mm x 269mm); partial modern pencil foliation; decorated initial capitals; good condition;
modern white parchment binding, title embossed on spine: LIBRI COMPUTI S. M. MAGD. COLL.
1586-1605.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/8; 1605/6-19/20; Latin; parchment; i + 125 + i; 396-
570mm x 305-60mm (36l-536mm x 230-307mm); partial modern pencil foliation; some accounts
in 2 cols; generally good condition, damage to some final leaves resulting in loss of information; modern
white parchment binding, title embossed on spine: LIBER COMPUTI S. M. MAGD. COLL.
1606-1620.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/9; 1621-2; Latin; parchment; 8 leaves; 547mm x 345mm
(511mm x 290mm); unnumbered; good condition; contemporary parchment binding, original leather
ties, contemporary ink date on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/10; 1622-3; Latin; parchment; 8 leaves; 572mm x 362mm
(499mm x 304mm); unnumbered; good condition; contemporary parchment binding, original leather
ties, contemporary ink date on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/11; 1623-4; Latin; parchment; 8 leaves; 530mm x 343mm
(502mm x 317mm); unnumbered; good condition; contemporary parchment binding, contemporary
ink date on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/12; 1624-5; Latin; parchment; i + 8 + i (paper flyleaves);
535mm x 340mm (513mm x 300mm); unnumbered; good condition; contemporary parchment bind
ing, original leather ties, contemporary ink title on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/13; 1625-6; Latin; parchment; 8 leaves; 528mm x 335mm
658 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
(510mm x 310mm); unnumbered; good condition, minor insect damage; contemporary parchment
binding, original leather ties, contemporary ink title on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/14; 1626-7; Latin; parchment; i + 8 + i (paper flyleaves);
508mm x 336mm (482mm x 300mm); unnumbered; good condition; contemporary parchment
binding, leather ties partially extant, contemporary ink title on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/15; 1627-8; Latin; parchment; i + 6 + i (paper flyleaves);
492mm x 360mm (480mm x 287mm); unnumbered; good condition, some insect damage; con
temporary parchment binding, leather ties partially extant, contemporary ink title on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/16; 1629-30; Latin; parchment; i + 7 + i (paper flyleaves);
507mm x 360mm (484mm x 308mm); unnumbered; good condition; contemporary parchment bind
ing, original leather ties, contemporary ink title on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/16a; 1630-1; Latin; parchment; 6 leaves; 513mm x 356mm
(476mm x 262mm); unnumbered; poor condition, considerable water and insect damage, leading to
loss of information. Bound with LCE/16.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/17; 1631-2; Latin; parchment; i + 6 + i (paper flyleaves);
523mm x 347mm (488mm x 323mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; contempor
ary parchment binding, leather ties partially extant, contemporary ink title on front cover, antiquarian
ink year dates on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/18; 1632-3; Latin; parchment; i + 6 + i (paper flyleaves);
495mm x 350mm (450mm x 310mm); unnumbered; good condition, minor insect damage; contempor
ary parchment binding, leather ties partially extant, contemporary ink title on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/19; 1633-4; Latin; parchment; i + 6 + i (paper flyleaves);
490mm x 360mm (449mm x 320mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; contempor
ary parchment binding, leather ties partially extant, contemporary ink title on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/20; 1634-5; Latin; parchment; i + 5 + i (paper flyleaves);
489mm x 351mm (446mm x 308mm); unnumbered; good condition; contemporary parchment bind
ing, leather ties extant, contemporary ink title on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/21; 1635-6; Latin; parchment; i + 6 + i (paper flyleaves);
502mm x 366mm (443mm x 323mm); unnumbered; good condition; contemporary parchment
binding, leather ties partially extant, contemporary red ink title on front cover (plus contemporary
ink note, written upside down on front cover, but unrelated to title).
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/23; 1637-8; Latin; parchment; i + 6 + i (paper flyleaves);
516mm x 366mm (494mm x 334mm); unnumbered; good condition; contemporary parchment bind
ing, leather ties partially extant, contemporary ink title on front cover.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/24; 1638-9; Latin; parchment; i + 5 + i (paper flyleaves);
510mm x 362mm (480mm x 287mm); unnumbered; good condition, minor insect damage; contempor
ary parchment binding, leather ties partially extant, contemporary ink titles on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/25; 1639-40; Latin; parchment; i + 5 + i (paper flyleaves);
516mm x 390mm (488mm x 332mm); unnumbered; good condition, minor insect damage; contempor
ary parchment binding, leather ties partially extant, contemporary ink title on front cover.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCE/27; 1641-2; Latin; parchment; i + 6 (paper flyleaf); 507mm x
366mm (464mm x 307mm); unnumbered; good condition, minor insect damage; contemporary parch
ment binding, leather ties extant, contemporary ink title on front cover.
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi
The draft computi are cited in the present volume only if they differ significantly from the
computi or supply missing years.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCD/1; 1552-79; Latin; paper; i + 502 + i; 405mm x 275mm
(343mm x 231mm); partial modern pencil foliation; generally good condition, minor insect damage
and wear to some papers, certain leaves wholly or partially cut out; contemporary(?) leather binding
with blind tooling, later embossed title on spine: LIBER COMPUTI S. M. MAGD. COLL.
1552-1578.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCD/2; 1582-1614; Latin; paper; i + 186 + i; 421mm x
278mm (410mm x 240mm); partial modern pencil foliation; some accounts in 2 cols; good con
dition; antiquarian tooled leather binding, embossed title on spine: LIBER COMPUTI S. M.
MAGD. COLL. 1582-1614.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, LCD/3; 1621-42; Latin; paper; i + 328 + i (many of final
167 folios blank); 428mm x 281mm (410mm x 195mm); partial modern pencil foliation; some
accounts in 2 or 3 cols; good condition; antiquarian cloth on board, embossed title on spine: LIB
COMP 1617-1643.
Magdalen School Copy Book
This volume was apparently compiled by a Magdalen School grammarian. It consists chiefly of
personal letters and school exercises, the latter comprising short English passages to be translated
into Latin and probably composed c 1495-9. See Nelson (ed), A Fifteenth Century School Book.
The letter of Thomas More on folio 85v has been edited by E.F. Rogers, The Correspondence of
Sir Thomas More (Princeton, 1947), 3-4.
London, British Library, MS Arundel 249; c 1495-9; Latin and English; parchment and paper; ii + 120
+ iii; 170mm x 220mm; modern pencil foliation; bound in stamped leather and board in 1967.
660 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Episcopal Visitation of Magdalen College
Folios 44-74 of this volume contain the report of an examination of the fellows of Magdalen
by a commissary of Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester, on 20-7 January 1506/7.
A transcript of this report made in 1900 constitutes MS 787 in the Magdalen College Archives
and claims to contain a collation with a second copy of the Register found at Farnham Castle
in 1899, whose present location is unknown. 5
Winchester, Hampshire Record Office, 21M65/A1/18; 21 September 1506-June 1510; Latin; parch
ment; ii + 150 + iv; 280mm x 380mm; modern foliation; leather-cased parchment cover.
Magdalen School Exercise Book
Folios 35-49 of this volume comprise a fragmentary set of Latin/English exercises, probably
composed by a Magdalen school master. 6
London, British Library, MS Royal 12.B.XX; c 1512-27; Latin and English; paper; ii + 49 + ii; 145mm x
215mm; modern pencil foliation; bound in stamped leather and board in 1930.
Magdalen College Vice-Presidents Register
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, VPl/Al/1; 1547-1839; Latin and English; paper; i + 520 + i;
305mm x 200mm; partial modern foliation; bound in leather and board, in ink on flyleaf: Incipit
hoc Registrum ann. 1547. sc. l mo Edw. 6". Contains miscellaneous records of college adminis
tration.
Letters of Complaint Regarding Abuses at Magdalen College
These letters are included in a collection of sixteenth to nineteenth century manuscripts
pertaining to Magdalen College presidents compiled in the nineteenth century by Dr John
Rouse Bloxam.
Oxford, Magdalen College Archives, MS 655a; 19th c.; paper; English and Latin; 348mm x 212mm (text
area varies); contemporary ink and pencil pagination, some parts of which may indicate the sequence
of a previous compilation; 19th-c. paper over board, embossed title on spine: The Presidents of S. M.
Magdalen College Vol. 1.
Excerpts from:
Complaint of Edward Gellibrand: c 1584; English and Latin; paper; bifolium; 296mm x 204mm
(288mm x 193mm); originally unnumbered; good condition. Now bound within guardbook and
paginated 321-4 in modern pencil.
Complaint of William Cooke: c 1584; English; paper; bifolium; 266mm x 177mm (212mm x 160mm);
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
originally unnumbered; good condition. Now bound within guardbook and paginated 329-32 in
modern pencil.
Complaint of Simeon Pett: c 1584; English; paper; bifolium; 295mm x 200mm (275mm x 190mm);
originally unnumbered; good condition. Now bound within guardbook and paginated 337-40 in
modern pencil.
Letter of Nicholas Bond to Lord Treasurer Dorset
Bond was president of Magdalen College; the earl of Dorset was Thomas Sackville, lord treas
urer of England and chancellor of the University.
Maidstone, Centre for Kentish Studies, U269 Cl; 11 September 1592; English; paper; bifolium;
300mm x 195mm; unnumbered; writing on 2 inner pages only; endorsed in later hands.
MERTON COLLEGE
Merton College was founded in 1264 (at the latest) by Walter de Merton, then translated to
Oxford in 1274. Its head is a warden. It is unique among Oxford colleges in having maintained
for nearly three hundred years a daily chronicle known as the college register.
Archives are preserved in a designated space but produced for readers in die library. Accounts
have been preserved from 1276. Access is via W.H. Stevenson, Merton College Calendar of
Records, 2 vols (1891 typescript), available as Bodl.: MS. Top.Oxon d.46l/l and 461/2. This
has been supplemented by a handwritten list, in three volumes, photocopied by the National
Register of Archives in 1961.
The following yielded no REED entries:
I/ 4278. Paper roll, in Latin, listing rewards over two years to various persons. Dated c 1525
by Stevenson but more likely 1487-8. Contains some Cambridge references.
21 4305d. A bundle of miscellaneous letters, inventories, and fragments in Latin. Includes a
room inventory by Edmund Bunny.
3/ 4600-25. Annual computi of John Wylyot s foundation for poor scholars, or Portionists,
to 1550, in Latin.
4/ 3964-4048. Subwarden s accounts, 1276-1642, in Latin.
5/ 4283. Receipts for payments by the college, 1608-39, in Latin.
6/ Miscellaneous proctors , chaplains , and supervisors accounts, in Latin.
Merton College Supervisors of Founders Kin Accounts
Oxford, Merton College Records, 4109; 1386-7; Latin; parchment; single mb; 578mm x 213mm
(552mm x 208mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, Merton College Records, 4114; 1400-1; Latin; parchment; single mb; 733mm x 272mm
662 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
(676mm x 263mm); unnumbered; generally good condition, some physical damage leading to minor
loss of information.
Oxford, Merton College Records, 4115; 1410-11; Latin; parchment; single mb; 380mm x 203mm
(329mm x 197mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Merton College Bursars Accounts
Merton s accounting system is unique among Oxford colleges. Instead of the usual four terms,
Merton divided its accounting year into three four-month periods. Moreover, a different bursar
was responsible for each period, yielding the following system (with each period beginning
and ending on the Friday before the dates listed with the exception of the 1489-90 account
in which the periods begin and end on the Friday after):
1st bursar: 1 August -25 November
2nd bursar: 25 November-25 March
3rd bursar: 25 March- 1 August
Each of three bursars kept his accounts on a separate roll, the third - the senior bursar -
compiling a Computus Generalis, in which he audited the work of his juniors and added
their totals to his. Thus some 1,098 rolls would have been produced from 1276 to 1642. Up
to 1360, however, rolls survive only in fragments; from 1360 to 1400 at least one roll survives
for about half the years; from 1400 to 1479 some years are represented by all three rolls; early
Tudor rolls survive in irregular numbers; from 1537 to 1585 almost every year is represented
by at least one roll; and from 1585 to 1642 all rolls survive complete. Pre-1585 rolls (MCR:
3612-3965), mostly parchment but some on paper, survive in various degrees of preservation;
post- 1585 rolls, all parchment, have been bound flat into two volumes.
Oxford, Merton College Records, 3754; 1431-2; Latin; parchment; 2 mbs; 602mm x 302mm (527mm
x 285mm); unnumbered; written on front only, contents of roll noted on dorse; reasonable condition
with some rodent damage.
Oxford, Merton College Records, 3785; 1469-70; Latin; parchment; single mb; 631mm x 310mm
(51 1mm x 295mm); unnumbered; written on front only; good condition with some insect damage.
Oxford, Merton College Records, 3808; 1489-90; Latin; parchment; 2 mbs; 615mm x 287mm
(570mm x 284mm); unnumbered; written on front only; antiquarian notes on dorse; fair condition
with significant loss of text due to rodent damage.
Oxford, Merton College Records, 3932d; 1566-7; Latin; parchment; single mb; 580mm x 387mm
(481mm x 384mm); unnumbered; written on front only, reasonable condition with some damage.
Oxford, Merton College Records, 3932e; 1567-8; Latin; parchment; single mb; 583mm x 476mm
(536mm x 465mm); unnumbered; written on front only; reasonable condition with some damage.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Merton College Records, 3944c; 1572-3; Latin; parchment; single mb; 683mm x 505mm
(530mm x 485mm); unnumbered; written on front only; good condition, minor insect damage.
Oxford, Merton College Records, 3.1; 1585-1633; Latin; parchment; i + 262 + ii; 410mm x 300mm;
modern pencil foliation; late-17th-c. tooled leather binding, repaired in 19th c., on spine in gold leaf
on red background: Liber Rationarius Coll: Mert: I. 1585-1633.
Oxford, Merton College Records, 3.2; 1633-52; Latin; parchment; ii + 126 + ii; 380mm x 230mm;
modern pencil foliation; rebound in 1975, preserving the gold leaf text on red background on spine
of original binding: Liber Rationarius Coll: Mert: II 1633-1652.
Merton College Registers
Register 1.2 has been published in two volumes by the Oxford Historical Society: Salter (ed),
Registrum Annalium Collegii Mertonensis 14831521; and Fletcher (ed), Registrum Annalium
Collegii Mertonensis 152167. The first 202 pages of Register 1.3, containing the annals to 1603,
have been published by the Oxford Historical Society: Fletcher (ed), Registrum Annalium
Collegii Mertonensis 1567-1603. The archives contain a handwritten Subject Index to the
Merton College Register Vol. II A.D. 1567 to 1730 (MCR: 1.5.S), compiled anonymously
about 1890.
Oxford, Merton College Records, 1.2; 1483-1567; Latin; paper; 357 leaves; 270mm x 380mm (text
area varies); modern foliation; originally written on loose sheets, now bound in I6th-c. oak boards, on
spine: Coll: Merton Registrum Vetus. 1482-1567.
Oxford, Merton College Records, 1.3; 1568-1731; Latin; paper; iv + 400 + xxv; 260mm x 390mm
(text area varies); modern pencil pagination; inside margins heavily cropped in 19th c. rebinding, note
at the top of f [i] reads: Registrum cowmune Domus sive collegij scholarium de Merton in Oxon 1567.
precium xiij s. iiij d.
NEW COLLEGE
New College was founded by William of Wykeham in 1379. Its head is a warden. Its bursars
accounts are more or less continuous from 1381-2.
Archives, housed in the Muniment Tower built at the time of foundation for that purpose,
are accessed via Francis W. Steer (ed), The Archives of New College, Oxford (London, 1974).
New College Statutes
Oxford, New College Archives, 9429; 14th c.; Latin; parchment; iii + 44 + iii; 41 1mm x 294mm
(318mm x 209mm); contemporary ink foliation; illuminated initial capital, decorated tide capitals for
each section, title script for each section highlighted in red; excellent condition; contemporary parch
ment binding with 3 plaited cord ties partially extant, founder s seal pendant (lllmm x 63mm).
664 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
The version of the statures found in NC Arch: 9429 has been collated with:
Oxford, New College Archives, 9431; 14th c.; Latin; parchment; i + 43; 408mm x 293mm (311mm x
224mm); contemporary ink foliation; illuminated initial capital, decorated initial capitals for each
chapter, title script, foliation, and chapter number given in red ink; generally good condition, some
minor water damage to initial leaves; modern brown leather binding.
New College Hall Books
Hall books are notebooks of weekly accounts of commons, with the names of all visitors at
meals. They were kept by the seneschal or steward. Several notebooks are bound into each
modern volume. Weekly accounts run Saturday to Friday - but there are many gaps, both
of weeks and entire years, and actual years are often conjectural (inserted slips mark the
probable break between years).
Oxford, New College Archives, 5527; 1396-1418; Latin; paper; ii + 145 + iii; 301mm x 109mm
(271mm x 90mm); contemporary pagination of some individual years; 2 cols; good condition; 17th-c.
leather binding over board with modern replacement ties, antiquarian ink title on spine.
Oxford, New College Archives, 5529; l478?-99; Latin; paper; 278 + i (paper inserts indicating change
of year not included in count); 310mm x 106mm (298mm x 104mm); unnumbered; 2 cols; generally
good condition, some paper torn, minor insect damage; 17th-c. leather on board with modern ties,
antiquarian ink title on spine.
Oxford, New College Archives, 5530; undated (antiquarian dating: 1501P-44); Latin; paper; iii + 289
+ i (paper inserts indicating change of year not included in count); 31 1mm x 100mm (302mm x
80mm); unnumbered; 2 cols; generally good condition; 17th-c. leather on board with modern ties,
fragments of original parchment MS binding preserved, antiquarian ink title on spine.
New College Bursars Accounts
The accounts were kept from Michaelmas to Michaelmas. Headings such as Internal and
External Expenses are subdivided into the usual four terms.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7713; 1460-1; Latin; parchment; 6 mbs sewn to form continuous roll;
3,299mm x 295mm (3,l62mm x 274mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7720; 1469-70; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs sewn to form continuous roll;
3,509mm x 281mm (3,447mm x 277mm); unnumbered; condition generally good, some rodent
damage leading to loss of information.
Oxford New College Archives, 7722; 1479-80; Latin; parchment; 8 mbs sewn to form continuous
roll; 4,157mm x 238mm (3,992mm x 193mm); unnumbered; condition generally good although
initial mb(s) now lost, minor damage leading to loss of information.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
665
Oxford, New College Archives, 7477; 1524-5; Latin; parchment; 9 mbs sewn to form continuous roll;
5,441mm x 238mm (5,279mm x 193mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7488; 1533-4; Latin; parchment; 1 1 mbs sewn to form continuous roll;
5,383mm x 370mm (5,306mm x 365mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7489; 1534-5; Latin; parchment; 10 mbs now unstitched and glued to
form continuous roll; 4,366mm x 340mm (4,295mm x 302mm); unnumbered; good condition, original
initial mb now absent.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7493; 1536-7; Latin; parchment; 8 mbs sewn to form continuous roll;
3,770mm x 349mm (3,564mm x 345mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7495; 1537-8; Latin; parchment; 6 mbs sewn to form continuous roll;
4,636mm x 316mm (4,593mm x 312mm); unnumbered; good condition, rodent damage leading to
minor loss of information.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7522; 1552-3; Latin and English; parchment; 10 mbs unstitched and
glued to form continuous roll; 4,430mm x 288mm (4,393mm x 282mm); unnumbered; condition
generally good, insect damage leading to minor loss of information.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7553; 1575-6; Latin; parchment; 11 mbs (the llth of which is blank)
stitched to form continuous roll; 5,744mm x 317mm (5,126mm x 307mm); unnumbered; good con
dition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7556; 1578-9; Latin; parchment; 8 mbs unstitched and glued to form
continuous roll; 4,352mm x 287mm (4,124mm x 229mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7563; 1582-3; Latin; parchment; 9 mbs sewn to form continuous roll;
4,762mm x 291mm (4,743mm x 24lmm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7564; 1583-4; Latin; parchment; 12 mbs sewn to form continuous
roll; 7,339mm x 291mm (7,195mm x 222mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7576; 1590-1; Latin; parchment; 11 mbs sewn to form continuous
roll; 7,340mmm x 277mm (7,318mm x 221mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7586; 1597-8; English and Latin; parchment; 8 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 5,102mm x 280mm (4,792mm x 213mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7588; 1599-1600; Latin; parchment; 10 mbs sewn to form continuous
roll; 5,542mm x 258mm (5,274mm x 230mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7590; 1600-1; Latin; parchment; 7 mbs sewn to form continuous roll;
666 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
4,460mm x 252mm (4,179mm x 222mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capital in MS header; good
condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7593; 1602-3; English and Latin; parchment; 5 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 3,759mm x 297mm (3,651mm x 268mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capital and
enlarged title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7595; 1603-4; Latin; parchment; 6 mbs sewn to form continuous roll;
4,314mm x 280mm (4,126mm x 277mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capital and enlarged title
script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7596; 1604-5; Latin; parchment; 5 mbs sewn to form continuous roll;
3,969mm x 221mm (3,721mm x 219mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capitals and enlarged title
script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7599; 1605-6; Latin; parchment; 8 mbs sewn to form continuous roll;
5,126mm x 296mm (5,012mm x 289mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capitals and enlarged title
script in MS header; certain notes made in a second hand throughout; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7600; 1606-7; Latin; parchment; 11 mbs sewn to form continuous
roll; 4,882mm x 287mm (4,768mm x 282mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capitals and enlarged
title script in MS header; generally good condition, minor insect damage leading to negligible loss of
information.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7603; 1607-8; Latin; parchment; 9 mbs sewn to form continuous
roll; 4,806mm x 299mm (4,732mm x 296mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capitals and enlarged
title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7604; 1608-9; Latin; parchment; 11 mbs sewn to form continuous
roll; 5,411mm x 268mm (5,375mm x 265mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capitals and enlarged
title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7606; 1609-10; Latin; parchment; 13 mbs sewn to form continuous
roll; 6,764mm x 333mm (6,683mm x 330mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capitals and enlarged
title script in MS header; generally good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7611; 1612-13; English and Latin; parchment; 11 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 6,536mm x 294mm (6,507mm x 289mm); unnumbered; enlarged title script in MS
header; good condition.
Oxford New College Archives, 7614; 1613-14; English and Latin; parchment; 13 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 6,218mm x 311 mm (5,991mm x 309mm); unnumbered; enlarged title script in MS
header; generally good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7615; 1614-15; English and Latin; parchment; 14 mbs sewn to form
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
continuous roll; 6,759mm x 309mm (6,749mm x 307mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capitals and
enlarged title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7617; 1615-16; English and Latin; parchment; 10 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 4,919mm x 307mm (4,819mm x 304mm); unnumbered; enlarged title script in MS
header; generally good condition, some physical damage.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7619; 1616-17; Latin and English; parchment; 8 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 3,907mm x 292mm (3,846mm x 262mm); unnumbered; good condition; modern
cataloguing mark on label tied to roll.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7621; 1617-18; Latin and English; parchment; 12 mbs sewn to form
continuous roil; 5,583mm x 306mm (5,517mm x 305mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capitals and
enlarged title script in MS header; good condition; modern cataloguing mark on label tied to roll.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7623; 1618-19; Latin and English; parchment; 8 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 4,684mm x 305mm (4,566mm x 285mm); unnumbered; enlarged title script; good
condition; modern cataloguing mark on label tied to roll.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7624; 1619-20; Latin and English; parchment; 8 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 4,720mm x 305mm (4,704mm x 297mm); unnumbered; enlarged title script in MS
header; good condition; modern cataloguing mark on label tied to roll.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7626; 1620-1; Latin and English; parchment; 1 1 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 4,737mm x 303mm (4,579mm x 297mm); unnumbered; good condition; modern
cataloguing mark on label tied to roll.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7629; 1621-2; English and Latin; parchment; 9 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 4,285mm x 308mm (4,1 10mm x 306mm); unnumbered; enlarged title script in MS
header; good condition; modern cataloguing mark on label tied to roll.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7631; 1622-3; Latin and English; parchment; 10 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 5,202mm x 304mm (4, 641 mm x 302mm); unnumbered; decorated initial title cap
ital and enlarged title script in MS header; good condition, minor insect damage to mb 1; modern
cataloguing mark on label tied to roll.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7633; 1623-4; English and Latin; parchment; 10 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 4,771mm x 304mm (4,751mm x 298mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7635; 1624-5; English and Latin; parchment; 13 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 5,528mm x 255mm (5,496mm x 253mm); unnumbered; enlarged and decorated title
script in MS header, some decorated initial capitals in main body of text; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7637; 1625-6; English and Latin; parchment; 14 mbs sewn to form
668 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
continuous roll; 5,599mm x 280mm (5,444mm x 276mm); unnumbered; enlarged title script in MS
header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7638; 1626-7; English and Latin; parchment;13 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 6,574mm x 299mm (6,439mm x 277mm); unnumbered; enlarged title script and
decorated capitals in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7640; 1627-8; English and Latin; parchment; 13 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 7,130mm x 304mm (6,995mm x 249mm); unnumbered; illuminated initial capitals
and enlarged title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7642; 1628-9; English and Latin; parchment; 10 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 5,294mm x 305mm (5,109mm x 279mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7645; 1630-1; Latin and English; parchment; 14 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 6,516mm x 301mm (6,386mm x 296mm); unnumbered; illuminated initial capitals
and enlarged title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7647; 1631-2; English and Latin; parchment; 13 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 7,193mm x 298mm (6,833mm x 295mm); unnumbered; illuminated initial capital,
decorated title capitals, and enlarged title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7650; 1632-3; English and Latin; parchment; 15 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 8,093mm x 297mm (7,666mm x 266mm); unnumbered; illuminated and decorated
initial capitals and enlarged title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7651; 1633-4; Latin and English; parchment; 13 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 7,046mm x 296mm (6,721mm x 274mm); unnumbered; illuminated initial capitals,
other decorated capitals, and enlarged title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7653; 1634-5; English and Latin; parchment; 1 1 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 6,315mm x 288mm (6,202mm x 271mm); unnumbered; illuminated and decorated
initial capitals and enlarged title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7655; 1635-6; English and Latin; parchment; 12 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 6,295mm x 300mm (6,237mm x 281mm); unnumbered; illuminated initial capital,
decorated title capitals, and enlarged title script in MS header; generally good condition, rodent damage
leading to negligible loss of information.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7656; 1636-7; English and Latin; parchment; 14 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 6,880mm x 298mm (6,848mm x 280mm); unnumbered; illuminated initial capital,
decorated initial capitals, and enlarged title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7657; 1637-8; English and Latin; parchment; 13 mbs sewn to form
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
669
continuous roll; 7,386mm x 287mm (7,013mm x 276mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capitals and
enlarged title script in MS header; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7660; 1638-9; English and Latin; parchment; 14 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 7,159mm x 293mm (6,639mm x 277mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capitals and
enlarged script in MS header; excellent condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7661; 1639-40; English and Latin; parchment; 14 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 7,376mm x 291mm (7, 164mm x 271mm); unnumbered; decorated initial capitals and
enlarged script in MS header; generally good condition, minor rodent damage.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7663; 1640-1; English and Latin; parchment; 15 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 8,333mm x 289mm (8,1 67mm x 266mm); unnumbered; illuminated initial capital
in header, enlarged title script in header and other parts of MS; good condition.
Oxford, New College Archives, 7665; 1641 2; English and Latin; parchment; 16 mbs sewn to form
continuous roll; 8,055mm x 295mm (7,361 mm x 277mm); unnumbered; enlarged title script in MS
header; good condition.
New College Bursars Long Book
These are draft accounts kept by the bursar and supply one entry for the year 1629-30, for
which the annual account is missing. A similar volume containing drafts for some of the years
between 1621 and 1634 (Steer 1126) yielded no REED entries.
Oxford, New College Archives, 4200; 1626-31; Latin; paper; i + 256; 160mm x 460mm; unnumbered;
bound in original vellum.
Episcopal Visitation to New College
See under Episcopal Visitation to Corpus Christ! College (p 648) for Hampshire Record Office-
21M65/A1/26.
Robert Townshend s Expenses
These accounts were kept for Robert Townshend, who matriculated at New College in 1 593
at the age of twelve as a private pupil of the warden, Arthur Lake, whose hand appears on
some pages.
Oxford, New College Archives, PA/L2; 1592-5; English; paper; 21 loose sheets; 210mm x 150mm
average (text area varies); unnumbered; some sheets worn and defective.
670 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Letter of Arthur Lake to Lady Townshend
Oxford, New College Archives, PA/L2; 3 April 1594; English; paper; single sheet; 229mm x 209mm
(152mm x 180mm); unnumbered; fair condition.
ORIEL COLLEGE
Oriel College was founded by Edward n in 1326. Its head is a provost.
Archives, housed in a muniment room underneath the treasury, are produced for readers
in the ibrary. The internal financial records remain under the administrative authority of the
treasurer.
Annual treasurers accounts, called The Style, survive from 1409 but are missing from 1416
to 1449 and 1527 to 1582. Access is via C.L. Shadwell, Treasurers Accounts from 1409 to
1526, 10 vols (1878-99 handwritten transcript), available in the library, and a card index.
Accounts were kept from Michaelmas to Michaelmas.
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts
This volume appears to have been kept in book form from the beginning rather than as rolls
or loose sheets, as a note on folio 9 refers to it as hoc novo libro chartaseo.
Oxford, Oriel College Archives, S.i.C.l; 1583-1649; English; paper; 391 leaves; 235mm x 350mm;
modern foliation; bound in vellum, written on cover, in modern hand: Oriel College [Rental] Accounts
from 1583 to 1649"; stamped on spine: Oriel College Oxford Style 1583 to 1649.
THE QUEEN S COLLEGE
The Queen s College was founded in 1341 by Robert Eglesfield, chaplain of Philippa, queen
consort of Edward in (the article, insisted on by purists, is sometimes omitted in this collection;
also compare The Queen s College, Oxford, and Queens College, Cambridge). Its head is a
provost.
Archives, housed in a muniment room near the bursary, are produced for readers in the
library. Access is via N. Denholm-Young, Calendar of the Archives of the Queen s College/
4 vols (1931 typescript), available as Bodl.: MS. R. Top. 694. A transcript of the computus
rolls (or Long Rolls ) 1340-1470, by C.L Stainer and J.R. McGrath, 10 vols, is library MS
453 (vols 9-10 are indexes to vols 1-8).
The Queens College Long Rolls, 1340-1592
The surviving accounts begin in 1340 and continue throughout our period with some gaps.
A few of the rolls are in deteriorated condition and could not be examined. Until 1592 the
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
accounts survive as individual rolls; after that, in three bound volumes. They are divided into
subject headings but not into terms. The accounting year is 7 July to 7 July.
Oxford, The Queen s College Archives, 2P131; 1541-2; Latin; parchment; single mb; 888mm x 575mm
(708mm x 561mm); unnumbered; sections of 4 cols, otherwise 1 col, dorse is in 2 cols; fair condition,
some physical damage leading to actual loss of information.
Oxford, The Queens College Archives, 2P146; 1558-9; Latin; parchment; single mb; 950mm x 672mm
(781mm x 655mm); unnumbered; 1 section of 4 cols, the rest 1 col only; reasonable condition, some
wear to central portion of mb.
Oxford, The Queen s College Archives, 2P150; 1563-4; Latin and English; parchment; single mb;
930mm x 610mm (858mm x 604mm); unnumbered; 1 section of 4 cols, the rest 1 col; good condition.
Oxford, The Queen s College Archives, 2P156; 1572-3; Latin; parchment; single mb; 836mm x 603mm
(762mm x 567mm); unnumbered; 1 section of 4 cols, the rest 1 col; fair condition, some damage to
left side of mb leading to minor loss of information, minor insect damage.
Oxford, The Queen s College Archives, 2P161; 1583-4; Latin; parchment; single mb; 797mm x 663mm
(667mm x 598mm); unnumbered; 1 section of 4 cols, the rest 1 col; good condition.
Oxford, The Queen s College Archives, 2P162; 1584-5; Latin; parchment; single mb; 770mm x 626mm
(562mm x 591mm); unnumbered; good condition, some wear to central section of mb.
Oxford, The Queen s College Archives, 2P163; 1585-6; Latin; parchment; single mb; 803mm x 570mm
(661 mm x 545mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, The Queen s College Archives, 2P164; 1586-7; Latin; parchment; single mb; 900mm x 668mm
(779mm x 610mm); unnumbered; generally good condition, some physical damage.
Oxford, The Queens College Archives, 2P165; 1589-90; Latin; parchment; single mb; 845mm x 662mm
(795mm x 636mm); unnumbered; good condition.
Oxford, The Queen s College Archives, 2P167; 1591-2; Latin; parchment; single mb; 810mm x 668mm
(745mm x 624mm); unnumbered; fair condition, water damage causing some loss of information to
top right of roll.
The Queen s College Long Rolls, 1592-1657
The accounts are divided into subject headings but not into terms. Some entries continue past
the 7 July close of the accounting year; see, for example, p 408 under 1614-15.
Oxford, The Queen s College Archives, LRA; 1592-1610; Latin and English; parchment; i + 38 + i;
396mm x 268mm (375mm x 222mm); modern pencil foliation; 1 and 2 cols; good condition; con
temporary binding, embossed leather binding (very worn) with restored spine.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, The Queens College Archives, LRB; 1610-28; Latin; parchment; ii + 45 + i; 393mm x 270mm
>lmm); modern penal foliation; 2 cols; good condition; contemporary embossed leather
>mdmg (very worn) with replacement spine, modern rebinding.
Oxford, The Queen s College Archives, LRC; 1628-57; Latin; parchment; i + 58; 392mm x 298mm
30mm x 285mm); partial modern pencil foliation; 2 cols; good condition; contemporary embossed
leather binding with modern (replacement) cloth ties, replaced spine.
The Queen s College Statutes (A)
This is an antiquarian copy of the 1340 statutes for The Queens College.
Oxford, The Queen s College Archives; 1583; Latin; parchment; i + 48 + i; 335mm x 242mm (243mm x
16lmm); contemporary ink pagination; good condition; contemporary leather binding with elaborate
blind tooling to front and back covers.
ST JOHN S COLLEGE
St John s College was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White. Its head is a president.
Archives, housed and consulted extramurally, preserve virtually complete accounts from
1568-9 forward. Access is via a card index. A guide to the index, by H.M. Colvin and M.G.A.
Vale (1983 typescript), is available in Duke Humfrey as Bodl.: MS. R. Top.700.
Archival items found to be without REED interest include chest books, buttery books,
miscellaneous early correspondence, other college registers, visitation documents, inventories,
building accounts, and antiquarian scrapbooks.
St John s College Register
This volume contains records of benefactions, elections to fellowships, and decrees of the
governing body.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Admin. i.A.l; 1557-91; English and Latin; paper; iii + 310 + vii;
371mm x 273mm; contemporary ink foliation; some enlarged and illuminated capitals; written front
to back; good condition; modern calf binding with some embossing on front and back covers, title on
spine: I Register 1557-1591.
St John s College Computus Annuus
The accounting year was from Michaelmas to Michaelmas, divided into the usual four terms.
The annual audit was held on 20 November and expenses between 29 September and the audit
are sometimes included in the account for the previous accounting year. The volumes in this
series are uniformly labeled Computus Annuus. Twenty-four volumes survive for the period
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
1568-1642. Some contain a single years accounts, some more than one. Missing are 157^
1588-98, and 1604-16.
Oxford, St Johns College Archives, Acc.i.A.l; 1569-72; English and Latin; paper; xvi + 14 + xx; 340mm x
152mm (323mm x 135mm); contemporary ink pagination; written front to back; good condition,
lower part of each page missing, possibly rodent damage; modern board binding with brown cloth cover,
title on spine: COMPUTUS ANNUUS 1568-72.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.2; 1578-81; English and Latin; paper; i + 41; 405mm x
148mm (400mm x 142mm); modern pencil pagination; written front to back; good condition; con
temporary leather binding with cloth ties, rebound within modern board binding, title on spine:
COMPUTUS ANNUUS 1579-80.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.3; 1581-2; English and Latin; paper; ii + 32 + i; 4 18mm x
140mm (384mm x 95mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back, verso of folios often blank;
good condition; contemporary leather binding, rebound within modern board binding, title on spine:
COMPUTUS ANNUUS 1581-82.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.4; 1582-3; English and Latin; paper; i + 27; 4l9mm x
149mm (387mm x 133mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; good condition; con
temporary leather binding with leather ties, rebound within modern board binding, title on spine:
COMPUTUS ANNUUS 1582-83.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.5; 1583-4; English and Latin; paper; iv + 45 + ii (first 2
opening flyleaves are modern, others contemporary inserted pages, end flyleaves are modern); 443mm x
168mm (412mm x 121mm); partial modern pencil foliation; good condition; modern board with
leather spine (possibly remnants of contemporary binding?).
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.6; 1584-5; English and Latin; paper; ii + 26 + xx; 488mm x
171mm (481mm x 107mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; good condition, some
water damage; contemporary leather binding, leather ties lost, rebound within modern board binding,
title on spine: COMPUTUS ANNUUS 1584-5.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.8; 1586-7; English and Latin; paper; 22 leaves; 496mm x
169mm (468mm x 100mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; good condition, some
insect damage; contemporary leather binding, leather ties lost, rebound within modern board binding,
title on spine: COMPUTUS ANNUUS 1586-7.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Ace. I. A. 10; 1598-1604; English and Latin; paper; 174 leaves;
445mm x 172mm (409mm x 130mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; fair condition,
some insect and water damage; contemporary leather binding, leather ties lost, rebound within modern
board binding, title on spine: COMPUTUS ANNUUS 1598-1604.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.ll; 1616-17; English and Latin; paper; ii + 30 + ix; 566mm x
215mm (562mm x 182mm); contemporary ink pagination and modern pencil foliation; written front
674 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
to back; fair condition, somewhat fragile, cover worn; contemporary leather binding, wording on
cover largely worn.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.l.A.12; 1617-28; English and Latin; paper; i + 274 + v;
59mm x 150mm (367mm x 127mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; decorated
capitals on cover; good condition; contemporary leather binding with ties, contemporary ink title on
cover worn.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.15; 1628-34; English and Latin; paper; iii + 174 + i;
383mm x 140mm (357mm x 141mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; very poor
condition, severe water damage, rebound with conservation but most leaves are at best only partially
extant or legible; modern board binding, title on spine: COMPUTUS ANNUUS 1629-34.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.16; 1631-2; English and Latin; paper; 31 + xiv; 545mm
x 204mm (524mm x 179mm); contemporary ink foliation; written front to back; enlarged capitals in
headings on f 1; fair condition, some water damage; contemporary leather binding with dates (largely
illegible) on cover, rebound within modern board binding, title on spine: COMPUTUS ANNUUS
1631-32.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.17; 1633; English and Latin; paper; 31 leaves; 568mm x
210mm (520mm x 137mm); contemporary ink foliation; written front to back; enlarged capitals in
headings on f 1; good condition; contemporary leather binding with 1633 on cover in contemporary
ink, ties lost, rebound within modern board binding, title on spine: COMPUTUS ANNUUS 1633.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A. 18; 1633-4; English and Latin; paper; ii + 32 + x; 577mm x
21 Omm (478mm x 134mm); partial contemporary ink foliation covering used leaves only, written front
to back; enlarged capitals in headings on f 1; good condition; contemporary leather binding with leather
ties, contemporary ink title on cover: 39 Computus Annuus 1633 4.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A. 19; 1634-5; English and Latin; paper; iii + 32 + xiv; 560mm x
215mm (516mm x 189mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; enlarged capitals in
headings on f 1; good condition; contemporary leather binding with leather ties partially preserved,
contemporary ink title on cover: 40 Computus Annuus 1634 5.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.20; 1635-6; English and Latin; paper; ii + 34 + iii; 564mm x
207mm (476mm x 184mm); contemporary ink foliation to f 29, then modern pencil foliation to end;
written front to back; enlarged capitals in headings on f 1; good condition; contemporary leather
binding with leather ties partially preserved, contemporary ink title on cover: 41 Computus Annuus
1635 6 1635 1636.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.21; 1636-7; English and Latin; paper; ii + 40 + ii; 580mm x
214mm (540mm x 205mm); incomplete contemporary ink foliation; written front to back; enlarged
capitals in headings on f 1; good condition; modern board cover.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.22; 1637-8; English and Latin; paper; iii + 41 + iv; 574mm x
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
675
215mm (514mm x 165mm); incomplete contemporary ink foliation; written front to back; enlarged
capitals in headings on f 1; good condition; contemporary leather binding with leather ties, contemporary
ink title on cover: 43 Computus Annuus For ye yearw 1637 8, later ink title on spine: 1637-8.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.23; 1638-58; English and Latin; paper; i + 138 + xiv;
407mm x 155mm (356mm x 1 13mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; fair condition,
early pages badly water damaged and illegible, later pages in good condition, paper conservation has taken
place; modern board cover, title on spine: COMPUTUS ANNUUS 1638-58.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.24; 1639-40; English and Latin; paper; i + 38; 577mm x
211mm (505mm x 147mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; enlarged capitals in headings
on f 1; fair condition, some water damage but little text lost; contemporary leather binding with con
temporary ink title on cover: (.)6 Computus Annuus ad 1639 40.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.25; 1640-1; English and Latin; paper; i + 42 + xi; 564mm x
206mm (513mm x 122mm); incomplete modern pencil foliation; written front to back; enlarged capitals
in headings on f 1; good condition; contemporary leather binding with ties, contemporary ink title on
cover: 44 Computus Annuus 1640 !.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.i.A.26; 1641-2; English and Latin; paper; ii + 42 + vi; 576mm x
214mm (501mm x 164mm); incomplete modern pencil foliation; written front to back; enlarged capitals
in headings on f 1; good condition; contemporary leather binding with ties partially preserved, con
temporary ink title on cover: 45 Computus Annuus ad Festww Michae/is 1641 2, later ink title on
spine: 1641.
St John s College Computus Hebdomalis
Accounts are divided into four numbered terms per year, each term of thirteen (or so) numbered
weeks. There is no division into subject headings. All weeks run Monday to Sunday. The first
week of the first term was identified as the one that included Michaelmas but the weeks that
included the three subsequent term-days (Christmas, Lady Day, St John s Day) were holidays.
As a consequence the first weeks of Terms 2-4 were identified as the ones that followed their
term-days. What otherwise would have been the first weeks of Terms 2-4 were counted instead
as the last weeks of Terms 1-3. Thirteen volumes cover the period from 1593 to 1642. Missing
are 1623-5, 1626-7, 1628-30, 1633-7, and 1639-42.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.v.E.l; 1593-8; Latin and English; paper; i + 67; 440mm x
174mm (391mm x 155mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; good condition; con
temporary leather binding with leather ties partially preserved, contemporary ink title on cover: 20
Computus hebdomadalis Liber computus hebdomadalis 1593 Liber Hebdomadalis Incip/f 1593
Michaelmas Explicit 1598 Michaelmas.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.v.E.2; 1598-1604; Latin and English; paper; i + 82 + ix;
452mm x 163mm (417mm x 157mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; fair condition,
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
some insect damage; contemporary leather binding with contemporary ink title on cover: 21 Compute
>madalis Liber Hebdomadalis anno domino 1603 1598 1599 1600 1601 1602 1603 1604.
Oxford, Sc John s College Archives, Acc.v.E.3; 1600-1; Latin and English; paper; iii + 53; 439mm
166mm (424mm x 132mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; good condition;
contemporary leather binding with contemporary ink title on cover: Computus Hebdomaaalis
Michaelmas (...) 160O, bound within modern board binding with title on spine: Computus
Hebdomadalis Michaelmas 1600-1601.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.v.E.4; 1604-14; Latin and English; paper; i + 132 + i; 406mm x
Ib2mm (385mm x 148mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; fair condition, some
significant wear; contemporary leather binding with leather ties partially preserved, contemporary ink
title on cover: 22 Computus Hebdomadalis Liber Hebdomadalis Incip/r 1604 Michaelmas 1604 ad
Explicit 1613 Annuncuzr/0 1614.
Oxford, St Johns College Archives, Acc.v.E.6; 1614-23; Latin and English; paper; i + 133 + i; 410mm x
156mm (386mm x 151mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; fair condition, some
insect damage; contemporary leather binding with contemporary ink title on cover: 23 Computus
Hebdomadalis Liber Hebdomadalis Incip/r 1614 Annuncidft o Beatae Explic/ / 1623 Michaelmas.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.v.E.8; 1627-8; English and Latin; paper; ii + 52; 446mm x
176mm (435mm x 162mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; fair condition; contempor
ary leather binding with leather ties, contemporary ink title on cover: 4 Computus Hebdomadalis
Michaelmas 1627 ad Michaelmas 1628.
St John s College Christmas Prince
See Appendix 6:1 for modern editions.
Oxford, St John s College Library, MS 52; 1607-8; English and Latin; paper; ii + 265; 304mm x 190mm
(284mm x 173mm); contemporary ink pagination (in 2 sequences); coloured illuminations and ink
drawings; excellent condition; contemporary leather binding, embossed and set with gold leaf. Though
the entire MS is conventionally called The Christmas Prince, the first part, with its own pagination
sequence, consists of a verse history of the college. By the same token The Christmas Prince is some
times identified as MS 52, Part 2.
St John s College Short Books
These are drafts of the final accounts but often more detailed. They are labelled on the spine
Bursar s Private Accounts in a modern hand and are also referred to as Short Boob. Three
volumes cover the period 1616-42. Missing are 1623-5, 1626-9, 1631-3, 1634-5, 1636-8,
and 1639-40.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.m.D.l; 1616-22; English and Latin; paper; i + 96; 400mm x
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
677
144mm (346mm x 137mm); modern pencil foliation; written front to back; good condition; modern
board binding, title on spine: BURSAR S PRIVATE ACCOUNTS 1616-22.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.m.D.2; 1625-31; English and Latin; paper; i + 123 + i;
402mm x 157mm (393mm x 152mm); partial contemporary ink pagination, then modern pencil
continuation; written front to back; excellent condition; contemporary leather and board binding with
leather ties, antiquarian title on cover: 2 Bursar s Private Accompt 1625 6 1629-3[0]1.
Oxford, St John s College Archives, Acc.ni.D.4; 1633-46; English and Latin; paper; ii + 207; 390mm x
146mm (363mm x 126mm); incomplete modern pencil foliation; written front to back; good condition;
contemporary leather and board binding with contemporary ink title on cover: 1633 to 1645 1633 4
1636 1639 1644 1645 1646 "from 1633 4 ... 1646, antiquarian ink title also on cover: 3 Bursar s
Private Accompt.
Letter from the Vice-Chancellor to the Chancellor
The vice-chancellor at this time was Richard Baylie, president of St John s, and the chancellor
was Archbishop Laud.
London, Public Record Office, SP/16/344; 16 January 1636/7; English; paper; 2 leaves, originally bifolium;
175mm x 295mm; unnumbered; writing on first 3 pages; endorsed on f [2v]: The History of Turners -
Printing. &tc. 16. lanz^ry .1636. Baylie has dated the letter lanuary 16 .1636. Now bound in a
guardbook and numbered 20.
TRINITY COLLEGE
Trinity College was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas Pope, incorporating grounds and buildings
of Durham College (see p 649). Its head is a president.
Most archives are kept in a muniment tower but financial records are housed in the bursars
office under his jurisdiction. Access is via manuscript handlists, including one compiled by the
National Register of Archives and another by the History of the University project.
Trinity College Bursars Books
These books contain annual accounts kept from Michaelmas to Michaelmas, divided into the
usual four terms.
Oxford, Trinity College Archive, I/A/1; 1556-1600; Latin; parchment and paper; 436 leaves; 260mm x
380mm; modern pencil foliation; bound in leather in 1799, embossed antiquarian title on spine:
Computi Bursariorum Ab Anno Fundationis Ad Ann. Dom. MDC. The volume is complete except
for the absence of the accounts for 1557-8, 1558-9, and 1559-60 (see p 678).
Oxford, Trinity College Archive, I/A/2; 1600-31; Latin; paper; iii + 345 + iii; 300-45mm x 192-
231mm (264 -304mm x 149 -222mm); continuous modern pencil foliation (individual accounts have
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
contemporary ink foliation in some cases); generally good condition; antiquarian leather binding,
some tooling on front and back covers, embossed antiquarian title on spine: Computi Bursariorum
Ab Anno MDC. Ad Annum MDCXXXJ.
Oxford, Trinity College Archive, I/A/3; 1631-95; Latin; paper; iii + 384 + ii (f 384 is partial and blank);
291 -387mm x 183-246mm (274-380mm x 136-206mm); modern pencil foliation; generally good
condition; antiquarian leather binding, some tooling front and back, embossed antiquarian title on
spine: Compvti Bvrsariorvm Ab. Anno MDCXXXI Ad. Annw MDCXCV. From our period of
interest, the years 1639-42 are missing.
Notes on a Trinity College Bursars Book (AC)
Missing bursar s accounts (1557-8, 1558-9, 1559-60) may have been borrowed by Thomas
Warton (the accounts were unbound before 1799), now the sole authority for a performance
of Terence in 1559 (see p 101). A fellow of Trinity until his death in 1790, Warton has gained
a reputation for forgery. 7
Thomas Warton, The History of English Poetry From The Close of the Eleventh To The Commencement of
the Eighteenth Century. To Which Are Prefixed Two Dissertations, i. On The Origin of Romantic Fiction In
Europe, n. On the Introduction Of Learning Into England. Vol. 2 (London, 1778).
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
University College, believed to be the oldest college in Oxford, was founded c 1249. Its head
is a master.
Archives are maintained in a specially designated site. While no finding aids have been
published, a catalogue is currently in progress. As each segment is completed, a copy is deposited
with the National Register of Archives. Bursars accounts, transcribed and edited by A.D.M.
Cox and R.H. Darwall-Smith, have recently been published by the Oxford Historical Society,
ns, 39 (1999): 1381/2-1470/1, and 40 (2001): 1471/2-1596/7.
University College Statutes
The statutes exist in three copies, each contained in the chancellors registers. The transcription
in this collection is taken from QUA: NEP/Supra/A, which is described below (see under
University Registers, p 680). It represents the earliest, if not a contemporary, version of the
statutes.
The version of the statutes found in OUA: NEP/Supra/A has been collated with the versions
registered in the following:
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, NEP/Supra/C; 14th c.; Latin; parchment; ii + 159 + ii; 334mm x
218mm (240mm x 166mm); contemporary ink foliation; decorated capitals and markers throughout,
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
illuminated capitals; good condition; antiquarian calf binding with blind tooling, antiquarian ink and
modern embossed titles on spine.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, NEP/Supra/B; 15th c.; Latin; parchment; ii + 141 + ii; 335mm x
225mm (225mm x 179mm); contemporary ink foliation; decorated capitals and coloured markers
throughout, illuminations; generally good condition; antiquarian calf binding with blind tooling,
antiquarian ink and embossed title on spine.
University College Bursars Accounts
The college retains nearly two hundred bursars rolls dating from 1381 to 1616. These were all
examined and yielded only one entry of interest (1578-9), due to the fact that the expenses
were not itemized beyond very general categories.
Oxford, University College Archives, BU1/F/171; 1578-9; Latin; parchment; single mb; 794mm x
620mm (766mm x 540mm); unnumbered (modern pencil catalogue reference on dorse); 3 cols; written
on recto only; good condition; contemporary ink note on dorse: Rich/W Jennins Anno 1578.
University College Bursar s Journal
Oxford, University College Archives, BU3/F1/2; 1623-38; English and Latin; paper; 96 leaves; 378mm x
146mm (375mm x 129mm); unnumbered; generally good condition; contemporary leather binding,
ties extant, rough accounts worked on front and back covers, contemporary ink and modern pencil
titles on front cover.
University College General Accounts
Oxford, University College Archives, BU2/F1/1; 1632-67; English and Latin; paper; i + 223 + i;
422mm x 174mm (404mm x 145mm); contemporary ink pagination (first page of MS labelled p 9);
good condition; antiquarian calf binding, title embossed on spine.
Oxford University
The history of Oxford University is summarized above (pp 597-601). The Oxford University
Archives (OUA) are housed in the main tower of the Bodleian Schools Quadrangle. Individual
documents are produced for readers in Duke Humfrey. In lieu of a catalogue access is via a
shelf-list compiled by Strickland Gibson (1929-45 typescript) available in Duke Humfrey as
Bodl.: MS. R.Top. 628M/1-3. For a general description of documents by type, seeT.H. Aston
and D.G. Vaisey, University Archives, in Paul Morgan (comp), Oxford Libraries Outside the
Bodleian, 2nd ed (Oxford, 1980), 200-5; see also Reginald Lane Poole, A Lecture on the History
of The University Archives (Oxford, 1912).
Generally speaking, only the more formal administrative and financial documents remain in
QUA. Many items that might be expected to be housed there, or that were in fact once housed
680 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
there, are now in the Bodleian Library. Examples are the antiquarian collections of the first
two keepers of the archives, Brian Twyne (1633-43) and Gerard Langbaine (1644-58), and
the numerous manuscripts left behind by the University s first historian, Anthony Wood
(1631-95). Some documents, notably the early registers of matriculation and degrees, of
the chancellor s court, and of congregation and convocation, have been published by the
Oxford Historical Society.
UNIVERSITY REGISTERS
Chancellors Registers
The volume OUA: NEP/Supra/A is the oldest extant University register. It was copied beginning
c 1350 as an official record of statutes and privileges, from documents dating from the thir
teenth and early fourteenth centuries. It continued in use for some 250 years, being several
times rearranged and rebound.
The manuscript has been edited in part by Anstey, Munimenta Academica, and by Gibson,
Statvta Antiqva Univenitatis Oxoniensis.
This register also contains the University College statutes transcribed in this collection (see
p 4) and collated with the versions registered in OUA: NEP/Supra/B and OUA: NEP/Supra/C
(see pp 678-9).
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, NEP/Supra/A; c 1350-1600; Latin; parchment; i + 125 + i;
315mm x 206mm (224mm x 197mm); contemporary ink foliation superseding a partial system in
contemporary ink and some modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary brown calf
binding (repaired in 1886 and resewn in 1941) tooled with the royal arms on front and back covers,
antiquarian embossed title on spine.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Hyp/A/1, Register Aaa; 1434-69; Latin and English; paper; v +
273 * vi- 307mm x 215mm (274mm x 155mm); contemporary ink foliation, plus partial modern
pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary caJf covers, antiquarian replacement spine, holes tor
clasps at top and bottom of covers, simple decoration at the edges, embossed t.tle on spine.
Oxford Oxford University Arches, Hyp/A/2, Register D (or D reversed); 1498-1506; Latin; paper;
> 238 + iii 303mm x 201mm (250mm x 181mm); contemporary and antiquanan ink foliation; got
condition; contemporary leather binding with punched scrolling design on front and back covers, spir
repaired, modern ink title on spine.
Chancellor s Court Register
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Hyp/A/4, Register EEE (or B reversed); 1527-43; Latin paper;
i+405 + i; 230mm x 370mm (227mm x 312mm); 17th* ink foliation; original leather and boarc
binding, repaired in 1971.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS 681
Registers of Congregation and Convocation
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, NEP/Supra/G; June 1505-27 November 1517; Latin; paper; iii +
321 + iv, 210mm x 300mm (170mm x 230mm); 17th-c. ink foliation; bound in 17th-c. leather, on
spine: Vniv: Oxon: Arch: G 6 1505. 1516., title on f 1 in Brian Twyne s hand: Reg/ rfrum .G. Ab Anno.
Regis Henrici Septimi [vij .] xxj. ad annum Reg/i Henrici Octaui .8 um . viz. ab Awo Domini 1505-
ad annum Domini 1516. Acts of Congregation for ye most pan, w;th a fewe Acts of Conuocation here
& there intermixed./
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, NEP/Supra/L; 1582-94; Latin and English; paper; iii + 298 + iii;
230mm x 335mm (text area varies); 17th-c. ink foliation, with a second f 1 added by Brian Twyne; many
leaves repaired in 19th c.; original leather and board covers, modern stamped leather spine, original
spine pasted onto inner front cover, stamped on current spine: Vniv. Oxon. Arch. L 10 1582 1594.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, NEP/Supra/N; 1615-28; Latin and English; paper; vi + 270 + iii
+ 1 loose unnumbered sheet; 184mm x 296mm (text area vanes); 17th-c. ink foliation; original leather
and board covers, modern stamped leather spine: Acta Convocat/oww \Jn\\ersitatis Oxon: Arch: N 23
1615 1628.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, NEP/Supra/R; 1628-40; Latin and English; paper; ii + 282 + v;
205mm x 355mm (text area varies); 17th-c. ink foliation; original leather and board covers, modern
leather spine, title stamped on spine: Acta Convocat: Univ: Oxon: ARCH: R24 1628-1640.
Shortly after QUA: NEP/Supra/R was bound this volume came into the hands of the Puritan William
Prynne, who mutilated parts of it. A note in Langbaine s hand on f 1 says: Note yat w^fre ye see any
Letters of Chano7/or Laud scored with a pen underneath, or marked in ye Margin thus X. ye must
take notice rwas maliciously done by William Prinne-. These marks are ignored in the transcriptions
in the present volume.
Another copy of ff 132-2v, the Orders for the Royal Entertainment of 1636, without significant
variants, survives in ccc: MS 301, f 127. Other relevant texts include a version of the order of the commit
tee that met in the Tower of the Schooles (ff 133v-4v of QUA: NEP/Supra/R) and of the Advertisements
(ff 134v-5) in Bodl.: MS. Twyne 17, pp 187-90 (see under Entertainment of King Charles i, p 703).
Substantive differences in the latter manuscript have been collated.
UNIVERSITY FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS
Proctors Accounts
This is an audited annual account, unlike the more informative proctors draft books that
survive at Cambridge. The fifteen rolls that survive between 1464-5 and 1496-7 at Ox
ford have been edited by Salter, Mediaeval Archives of the University of Oxford, vol 2, pp 272-
358. These record receipts for degrees, rents, fines for breaches of the peace, and expenses
for entertainments, recreations, salaries, and rents. Miscellaneous annual accounts from
1561-2 to 1743-4 survive (some in later copies only) in QUA: NW/6/1-5 but yield no
REED entries.
682 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, NW/5/3; 1471-2; Latin; parchment; single mb; 460mm x
700mm (350mm x 682mm); unnumbered; writing on both sides.
Vice-Chancellors Accounts
This volume contains annual, or sometimes biannual, statements of receipts and payments,
prepared by the vice-chancellor for a delegacy of convocation, who scrutinized and allowed
or disallowed them. Each account was written in three copies, one kept by the vice-chancellor,
one placed in the archives as a parchment roll, and one entered into a large folio paper book,
which, with the single exception listed below, is the only surviving copy.
The dates of the accounting year (or half-year) vary and are given here in the subheading
for each entry.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, WP/(3/21(4); 1547-1666; Latin and English; paper; 189 leaves;
22^mm x 330mm; modern pencil foliation 1-7, contemporary ink pagination 1-358 beginning on
f 8; bound in 17th-c. leather, written on f 1: Liber Computi Viceczncellarii Oxon.
Vice-Chancellors Draft Accounts
The expenses recorded on these sheets were copied into the vice-chancellors annual accounts
(QUA: WP/P/21(4), ff 99-102), see above, with which they are collated here.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, WP/fVS/1; 1583; English; paper; 2 bifolia within an otherwise
blank parchment mb headed Computi Vlcecuncellarti 1583 ; unnumbered; writing on the first 3 pages
of each sheet, with endorsements on the fourth page.
sheet 1: 287mm x 190mm (255mm x 177mm); written in black ink; endorsed Expensae - Recepti
PaJatini Siradiensis.
sheet 2: 336mm x 230mm (289mm x 219mm); written in brown ink with ornamental lettering; endorsed
Expensae ab Academia Oxoniensi factae in Susceptione AJberti Lacei Comitis PaJatini Siradiensis poloni.
1583 ; at the bottom of f [2v] is written Examinas et allocat 19. Decembw.
STATUTES, ORDERS, AND PROCLAMATIONS
Vice-Chancellor s Proclamation
This document is one of a miscellaneous collection of vice-chancellors proclamations from
1556 to 1630, having to do with University-city relations. Some are drafts and some fair copies.
All bear notes in the hand of Brian Twyne and were evidently collected by him.
Oxford Oxford University Archives, SEP/T/7/g; 1593; English; paper; bifolium; 300mm x 400mm
(296mm x 199mm); writing begins on f [2], continues onto f [1 v], and then f [1]; f [2v] blank except
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
for endorsement in the hand of Brian Twyne: August: 1593. 35 to Eliz: A proclamation by Dr Lilly
ViceChancellor & Henry Dodwell Mayor, of several! Orders for the Government of the University &C
towne, espea ally in relac/on to the Sicknesse.
Cardinal Pole s Statutes
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Top.Oxon b.5; early 17th c.; Latin; paper; iv + 153; 415mm x 283mm
(347mm x 187mm); contemporary ink foliation; good condition; contemporary leather binding, tooled,
with some gilding front and back, 2 clasps (now broken).
Orders of the Delegates of Convocation for the Royal Plays
This document appears to be a draft of the minutes of several meetings of congregation held
during June and July 1605 to prepare for the king s visit in August. A partial copy of this
document, or of a common source, appears in Bodl.: MS. Twyne 17, pp 181-3. Of this copy
Twyne says: All this yrft followeth [is taken] touchinge ye entertainement was taken out of a
loose note which/ Merricke had, then Registrary of ye Vniuifrsitie. & I had this of Mr Estcott
Warden of Wadham Co\\ege. Although the copy made by Twyne omits some passages, the
loose note that came into his possession may have been the present document, which would
explain its presence in the archives. A collation of BodJ.: MS. Twyne 17 (see under Entertainment
of King Charles i, p 703) is given here.
A copy of the section contained on f 3v, entitled, Advertisements for the heads of houses,
survives in ccc: MS 301, f 93v, but has not been collated here. A version of the Advertisements
also appears in Cambridge University Library: MS Additional 34 (see under Narratives by
Cambridge Men, p 699) which has been collated here.
MS 301 was compiled by William Fulman (see under Letter of Henry Jackson to D.G.P.,
p 648). As now catalogued it forms volume 7 of his collected papers. Most of the documents
are copies in Fulman s hand but some are of earlier date. The copy of the Advertisements for
Heads of Houses for the royal entertainment of 1605, on f 93v, is in Fulman s hand. The copy
of the Orders for the royal entertainment of 1636, on f 127, is in a contemporary hand and is
signed by Ric: Baylie Vicecan: Oxon and witnessed by John Frenche, registrar of the University.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, WP/y/19/1; 1605; English; paper; 3 bifolia; 300mm x 200mm;
unnumbered; writing in ink on both sides of each of the first 4 leaves, ending on f [5]; endorsed
on f [6v], in a different hand from that of the main scribe: Anno Domini 1605. Orders about ye
enterteynmfwt of King James in Oxford. The first page is dated Sexto die lunij 1603 and gives a list
of 45 delegates to oversee the king s visit.
Chancellor Laud, Corpus Statutorum
This is an annotated copy kept in the Bodleian Library (Bodl.: N 1.12 Jur.Seld.).
CORPVS I STATUTORUM I VNIVERSITATIS I OXON. I SIVE I PANDECTES
684 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
CONSTITVTIONVM I ACADEMICARVM, E LIBRIS PVBLICIS I ET REGESTIS
VNIVERSITATIS I CONSARCINATVS. I [device] I OXONLE I Excudebant JOHANNES LICHFIELD
& GUILIELMUS I TURNER, Academic celeberrimx Typographi. I M.DC.XXXIV. STC: 19005.
The Great Charter
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Long Box xix; 1636; Latin; parchment; 14 mbs sewn at top;
approximately 670mm x 855mm; contemporary ink foliation; first mb richly illuminated, decorated
title capitals used throughout; excellent condition; permanently stored flat in a case.
INVENTORIES
Chancellors Court Inventories
Excerpts have been printed from inventories on the following folios within the boxes listed
below. For ease of reference the main foliation (ie, the sequential modern pencil foliation of
each item within the Hyp/B series) is offered here along with the name of the individual whose
inventory is excerpted.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Hyp/B/ 10:
ff21-2v (Ralph Allen ( Mr Alyne ) of Balliol College): 17 October 1561; English; paper; bifolium;
312mm x 205mm (282mm x 172mm); good condition.
ff 111-llv (William Battbrantes of Christ Church): 23 March 1571/2; English; paper; single sheet
(originally long bifolium); 307mm x 210mm (304mm x 101mm); good condition.
ff 164-5v (Nicholas Bond of Magdalen College): 21 February 1607/8; English and Latin; parchment;
2 mbs originally sewn at top, now separated; mb 1: 585mm x 123mm (554mm x 117mm), mb 2:
267mm x 122mm (248mm x 120mm); enlarged title script; good condition.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Hyp/B/11:
ff 1 19-25v (Nicholas Clifton): 19 January 1578/9; English; paper; 7 mbs originally sewn to form
continuous strip, now separated; mbs 1-6: 348mm x 133mm (339mm x 130mm), mb 7: 171mm x
133mm (83mm x 127mm); modern pencil numbering of inventory itself alongside main foliation;
enlarged script for headers; good condition.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Hyp/B/12:
ff 44_5v (Giles Dewhurst): 15 October 1577; English; paper; long bifolium; 415mm x 154mm
(395mm x 140mm); good condition.
ff 62-7v (Robert Dowe): 1 May 1588; English and Latin; paper; 6 mbs (no evidence of attachment);
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS 685
381mm x 143mm (362mm x 133mm); contemporary ink and modern pencil foliation of inventory
itself alongside main foliation; enlarged title script for headers; good condition, minor physical damage,
but no loss of information.
ff 78-9v (John Dunnet): 18 April 1570; English; paper; long bifolium; 410mm x 150mm (384mm x
146mm); good condition.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Hyp/B/13:
f 5 (John Gerrard, University musician): 12 October 1635; English; paper; single sheet; 400mm x
154mm (376mm x 146mm); good condition.
ff 112-1 5v (Robert Harte): 18 March 1570/1; English; paper; 2 long bifolia; 414mm x 159mm (388mm
x 147mm); modern pencil foliation of inventory itself alongside main foliation; good condition.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Hyp/B/14:
ff 66- 8v (Henry Hutchinson): 2 August 1573; English; paper; single sheet (f 66) and 1 bifolium (ff 67-
8v); f 66: 413mm x 155mm (384mm x 133mm), ff 67, 68: 314mm x 210mm (302mm x 149mm);
modern pencil foliation of inventory itself alongside main foliation; good condition, some minor
insect damage.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Hyp/B/15:
ff 134-4v (Richard Ludbye): 6 February 1566/7; English; paper; single sheet; 420mm x 157mm
(388mm x 138mm); good condition.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Hyp/B/17:
ff 67-8 (Thomas Pope): 5 April 1578; English; paper; 2 single mbs originally sewn to form continuous
strip, now separated; 325mm x 157mm (304mm x 123mm); modern pencil foliation of inventory
itself alongside main foliation; good condition.
ff 78-9v (Ambrose Powell): 25 January 1624/5; English and Latin; paper; bifolium; 291mm x 194mm
(273mm x 187mm); good condition.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Hyp/B/18:
ff 12-15v Qames Reynolds): 21 October 1577; English; paper; 2 bifolia (no evidence of attachment);
379mm x 130mm (348mm x 122mm); modern pencil foliation of inventory itself alongside main
foliation; good condition.
f 140 (William Smalwood): 10 June 1572; English; paper; single sheet; 415mm x 155mm (388mm x
148mm); good condition.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
ft 215-16v (John Simpson): 31 August 1577; English; paper; long bifolium; 415mm x 156mm (384mm
x 143mm); good condition.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, Hyp/B/19:
-9v (ChristoperTillyard): 31 July 1598; English and Latin; paper; long bifolium; 390mm x 151mm
(363mm x 149mm); fair condition, some physical damage and loss of information.
MISCELLANEOUS
University Response to Town Complaints of a Riot
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, SEP/Y/12a; 24 February 1297/8; English and French; parchment;
7 mbs sewn at top (original order of mbs unknown, mbs now arranged to form an apparently chrono
logical sequence of complaints and replies); 218mm x 187mm (150mm x 177mm); modern pencil
numbering; generally good condition, some wear.
Laurence Humphrey s Ash Wednesday Sermon
IESVITISMI I PARS PRIMA: I SIVE I DE PRAXI ROMANS CVRLt I contra Resp, & Principes:
Et De noua le- I gatione lesuitaruw in Angliam, JTQoOEgCUlEia I & przmunitio ad ANGLOS. I GUI
ADIUNCTA EST CONCIO I eiusdem Argument!, Laurcf/0 Humfredo I Sacrae Theologia: in Academia
Oxoni- I ensi professore Regio; Autore. I Rogo vos, Fracres, vt speculemini eos, qui sediciones & offen- I
siones przter doctrinaw, quam vos didicistis, excitant. &Cc. Ro. 16. I Tertullianus in Apologetici capitulo
13. Circuit cauponas Religio mendicans. I Athanasius contra Arrianw Oratione 1. Syncera & simplicia
Apostolicorum I virorum ingenia sunt. I [device] I LONDINI, I Excudebat Henricus Middletonus I
impensis G. B. I 1582. STC: 13961.
The secondary title-page on p 161 reads: PHARISAISMVS I VETUS ET MOWS: SIVE DE I
FERMENTO PHARJS/EORVM I ET IESVITARVM, I LAVRENTII HVMFREDI I CONCIO IN FESTO CINE- I
RVM ANNO DOM/M 1582. I Februarij vltimo Apud Acade- 1 micos Oxonienses: I Eidem nobilissimo
Comiti, I Leicestrensi, Academia: summo Can- I cellario dedicata. I Matth. 16. I Videte & cauete a
Fermento Phariszorum &C I Sadduceorum. I LONDINI, I Excudebat H. Middletonus, I impensis G. B. I
ANNO DOM/M 1582.
Letter of the Mayor and Aldermen of Oxford to the High Steward of Oxford
Hatfield, Hatfield House Library, Cecil Papers MS 62/14; 3 June 1598; English; paper; bifolium;
300mm x 200mm (272mm x 195mm); good condition except for portion of document torn away
when the seal was removed affecting 6 lines of text; addressed: To the Right honourable our verie good
Lord the Erie of Essex Earle Marshall of England ; endorsed: The Maior & Aldermen of Oxford 3
lune 98 Complayning of an outrage offerd vnto some of ye Town by cmen schollers./. Foliated 14
in red ink and bound into guardbook c 1830; volume repaired and rebound in half goatslun in 1994
with title on spine: CECIL PAPERS VOL 62.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS 687
Report of the University to the High Steward of Oxford
Hatfield, Hatfield House Library, Cecil Papers MS 62/16; 9 June 1598; English; paper; single sheet;
324mm x 205mm (312mm x 175mm); good condition. Numbered 16 in red ink and bound into
guardbook c 1830; volume repaired and rebound in half goatskJn in 1994 with title on spine: CECIL
PAPERS VOL. 62.
Costumes and Props for the Plays for King James
This document has been published by F.S. Boas and W.W. Greg (eds), James I at Oxford in
1605. Property lists from the University Archives, Collections [1], Part 3, Malone Society
(Oxford, 1909; rpt 1965), 247-59, who have identified the persons named. The present
edition adopts a different ordering of the loose sheets from that given by Boas and Greg in
an attempt to make their possible relationship clearer.
The intended order, if any, of these five loose sheets is unclear. All five are in the hand of
Bernard Banger, chief esquire bedel of the University in 1605, but the entries were made at
different times, using a variety of pens and hands ranging from cursive secretary to set italic.
The following leaves are blank except for endorsements in another hand: sheet [1], f [lv];
sheet [2], ff [2, 2v]; sheet [3], ffflv, 2v]; sheet [4], ff [2, 2v]; sheet [5], f [lv]. Sheet [1] appears
to be a list of requirements for the plays and at the end contains receipts for payments to
Matthew Foxe and Thomas Kendall. Sheet [2] is a partial inventory of goods provided, copied
from sheet [1]. It is written in brown ink, with accounting symbols and marginalia added in
a darker ink. The endorsement on f [2v] reads ffor the Playes att the King co/wminge. 1605.
Sheet [3] is a list of requirements sent to Edward Kirkham, with further requirements from
Kendall. Sheet [4] is an inventory of goods received from Kendall, partially copied from
sheet [3] and partially from lettres of mr Daniels. Sheet [5] continues the inventory without
specifying the source. The endorsement on f [2v] reads: A note of players apparell. at King
James be; g here.
Oxford, Oxford University Archives, WP/fVP/5/3; 1605; English; paper; 5 bifolia; 200mm x 300mm
(200mm x 296mm); unnumbered.
Archbishop Laud s Expenses for the Royal Visit
This expense account was prepared for Laud by one of his servants, Adam Torless, who has
signed his initials at the end. Torless was awarded an honorary MA at a special convocation
held at Oxford on 31 August 1636 after the king had left.
London, Public Record Office, SP/16/348; February 1636/7?; English; paper; 4 sheets, originally bifolia(?);
300mm x 200mm; unnumbered; writing on both sides, except for f [lv], which is blank; endorsed on f [4v]:
The whole Chardge of the King & Queens Entertaynment at Oxford. In August 29. 1636. All payed (on
the same page, in a 19th-c. hand: Feb. 1636/7 ). Now bound in a guardbook and numbered 85.
688 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
COURT AND DIPLOMATIC DOCUMENTS
Financial Accounts
Wardrobe of the Robes Day Book
This manuscript is now part of the PRO collection called Duchess of Norfolk Deeds.
It has been published by Janet Arnold, Lost from Her Majesties Back : Items of Clothing
and Jewels Lost or Given Away By Queen Elizabeth i Between 1561 and 1585, Entered in
One of the Day Books Kept for the Records of the Wardrobe of Robes, The Costume Society
(np, 1980).
London, Public Record Office, C/1 15/L2/6697; 1561-85; English; paper; 390 leaves (296 blank);
298mm x 209mm; partial modern pencil pagination 1-86; original vellum binding, badly damaged,
tide in ink on cover faded and illegible.
Treasurer of the Chamber s Account
London, Public Record Office, E/351/542; 29 September 1579-3 July 1597; English and Latin;
parchment; 222 mbs, attached at head probably with original (vellum?) lace; 620-820mm x 470mm
(580-780mm x 390-460mm); modern pencil numeration at foot of each mb; written front to back;
monotone ink capital embellishment at beginning of main heading; moderately serious loss at lower
right corners, some damage at edges and feet, a little rubbing on mb 1, tears on mb 222.
Master of the Revels Annual Engrossed Account
London, Public Record Office, AO/1/2046/H; 1604-5; English and Latin; paper and parchment;
roll of 5 sheets + 2 mbs; 250mm x 340mm; unnumbered; writing on 1 side only.
Diplomatic Letters
Letter of Guzman de Silva to the King of Spain
An English translation of the entire letter may be found in A.S. Hume (ed), Calendar of
Letters and State Papers Relating to English Affairs, Preserved Principally in the Archives of
Simancas (1558-1567) (London, 1892), 577-8.
Simancas, Archivo General de Simancas, Estado, legajo 819; 6 September 1566; Spanish; paper; 2
bifolia- 170mm x 270mm (text area varies); written in a scribal hand on both sides of f [1] and the top
quarter of f [2], with Guzman s signature at the bottom; endorsed on f [2v]: A su Majestad, D.cgo
Guzman de Silva vj. de Septiembre 1566 Sacada en relacion Recebida a xxiiij. del m.smo RespW/da
a iij de octubrc.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Letter of the Venetian Ambassador Nicol6 Molen to the Doge
English translations of the letters may be found in Horatio F. Brown (ed), Calendar of State
Papers and Manuscripts Relating to English Affairs, Existing in the Archives and Collections of
Venice, and in other Libraries of Northern Italy (1603-1607) (London, 1900), 265, 270.
Venice, Archivio di Stato, Senate, dispacci ambasciatori, Inghilterra, filza rv; 10 August and 14 September
1605; Italian; paper; 2 bifolia; 235mm x 340mm; writing in a scribal hand on first 3 pages of each sheet,
with Molen s signature at the bottom and endorsements of receipt by the Venetian chancellery on
the back. Part of letter 27 is written in cipher. Now bound in a guardbook stamped and numbered 23
(10 August) and 27 (14 September).
Jurisdictional Documents
Privy Councillors Letter to the Master of the Revels
This letter, from Robert Rochester, Francis Englefield, and John Bourne, privy councillors, to
Sir Thomas Cawarden, master of the revels, was originally part of the Loseley manuscripts. It
is one of fourteen miscellaneous papers of various dates sewn together for no apparent reason,
some belonging to the office of the revels and some to the office of the tents. For discussion of
its date and other problems of interpretation, see Feuillerat, Performance of a Tragedy, pp 967;
and Elliott, A "Learned Tragedy" at Trinity? pp 247-50.
This document was published by FeuilJerat, Documents Relating to the Revels, p 250. See p 1096,
endnote to Surrey History Centre: LM/41/8 f [1], for a summary of the dating of this record.
Woking, Surrey History Centre, LM/41/8; 19 December 1556; English; paper; bifolium; 280mm x
185mm; unnumbered; writing on inner 2 pages only; endorsed: Revylls from Master ComrowW and
Mr Engllfeld and addressed: To Mr Cawerden knyght/ Master of the Revell & to eanye of the offycers
thereof & to eu^rye of them at the blake rTryers.
Robert Gill s Petition
London, Public Record Office, SP/16/304; 18 December 1635; English; paper; single sheet; 290mm x
180mm (195mm x 155mm); some loss of text on lower edge, some paper repairs to verso; 2 later pencil
endorsements reading 1635 December 18. Now bound in a guardbook and stamped 115.
PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE
Letter Recommending a Father Remove His Son from Oxford
MS Royal 17-B.xlvii is a miscellany of documents including sample letters for use in London,
poems on health, regulations governing apprenticeship, purgation, the computation of scutage,
and land purchase, and ownership notes and deeds.
690 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
London, British Library, MS Royal 17.B.xlvii; 14th c.; Latin; paper; iv * 173 + iii; 210mm x 140mm
5mm); modern pencil fol.ation, some contemporary ink foliation; good condition; modern
cloth binding, leather corners and spine, with gilt coat of arms on front cover; raised bands and gilding
on spine, with title: Collections on Dictamen with legal and Other Commonplaces.
Letter of John Foxe to Laurence Humphrey
The text of the letter to Humphrey occupies ff [1-lv]. The text of f [1] was apparently cancelled
due to the arrival of a letter from Humphrey (now lost), to which f [Iv] was drafted, and
presumably sent, as a response. The cancelled text has been translated by J.F. Mozley, /<?/?
Foxe and His Book (London, 1940), 66.
John Foxe (1516-87) was a famous martyrologist: for his Christus Triumphant see Ap
pendix 9. Laurence Humphrey (1$27?-90), an exile with Foxe in Switzerland during the
reign of Queen Mary, was president of Magdalen College from 1561 to 1590.
London, British Library, MS Harleian 416; January(?) 1561/2; Latin; paper; bifolium; 310mm x 205mm;
modern pencil foliation. Bound in a guardbook labelled Tapers of John Fox and foliated 140-40v.
Letter of Dudley Carleton to John Chamberlain
London, Public Record Office, SP/12/270; 3 April 1599; English; paper; bifolium; 200mm x 300mm;
modern foliation; writing on inner 2 pages only; addressed: To my very assured frend Mr. lohn
Chamberlain at Docwr Gilberts house on St Peters hill neer Paules London ; before Carleton s signature
on f [3] is the valediction from RJcott .April! 3^. 99. Now bound in a guardbook and numbered 71.
Letter of Robert Burton to his brother, William Burton
The original letter was cut in half by William Burton to be used as note paper, only the lower
half of the sheet surviving. The fragment was subsequently joined to the bottom edge of a
fragment of another letter, not by Burton, to make up a single foolscap sheet. For further
discussion of this document, see Nichols, Progresses of King James, vol 4, p 1067; and
Nochimson, Robert Burton s Authorship of Alba, pp 325-31. The text is published here
by permission of the current owner, the earl of Shrewsbury.
Stafford, Staffordshire Record Office, D649/1/1; 1 1 August 1605; English; paper; single sheet; 202mm x
150mm (168mm x 133mm); unnumbered; writing in Robert Burton s hand on 1 side of the sheet,
writing in William Burton s hand on the other; fragmentary. Now bound in a volume with approxim
ately 200 other sheets containing antiquarian notes by William Burton.
Letter of Sir Thomas Bodley to Sir John Scudamore
This autograph letter, along with four others to Scudamore now preserved in the same PRO
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
bundle, has been published by Trevor-Roper, Five Letters of Sir Thomas Bodley, pp 134-
Scudamore (1566-1616) was gentleman usher to Queen Elizabeth, a member of the council
for the marches of Wales, and a member of five parliaments for the county of Hereford. He
was a close friend of Bodley and a contributor to his library. On the interest of the Scudamore
family in plays, see J.P. Feil, Dramatic References from the Scudamore Papers, Shakespeare
Survey 11 (1958), 107-15.
London, Public Record Office, C/115/M20, no 7594; 20 September 1605; English; paper; bifolium;
195mm x 300mm; unnumbered.
Letter of John Chamberlain to Ralph Winwood
Examined in photocopy only, supplied by the Northamptonshire Record Office, the letter is
in the fourth (vol 37) of eleven volumes now constituting volumes 34-44 of the Montagu
(Boughton) Miscellaneous MSS. The letter is a holograph, signed by Chamberlain.
Kettering, Northamptonshire, Boughton House, Winwood Papers, vol 4; 12 October 1605; English;
paper; bifolium; 305mm x 408mm; unnumbered. Now bound in an 18th-c. volume of leather-covered
boards with gold tooling and lettering, on spine: Winwood s Orig State Papers Volume 4 1605 1606.
Letter of George Garrard to Viscount Conway
London, Public Record Office, SP/16/331; 4 September 1636; English; paper; 2 bifolia; 185mm x
300mm; writing on ff[l-3v] of the second. Now bound in a guardbook and numbered 14.
Letter of Thomas Read to Sir Francis Windebank
London, Public Record Office, SP/16/331; 8 September 1636; English; paper; bifolium; 195mm x
285mm; writing on f [1] only; addressed on f [2v]: To the right honorable my very worthy good Vncle
Sir ffrancis Windebank knight principal! Secretary of State and one of his Ma/ mies most honorable priuy
Counsel!, at bottom left of f [Iv], in Windebanks hand: 8: September I636/ My Nephew: Thomas
Reade. Now bound in a guardbook and numbered 24.
Letter of Edward Rossingham to Sir Thomas Puckering
This letter is bound into one of eighteen volumes of letters (MSS Harleian 6989-7006) collected
by Thomas Baker in the early eighteenth century. Several surrounding letters in the same
hand are signed E.R. The identification of the author and recipient given in the transcript
of this letter made by Thomas Birch (BL: MS Additional 4178, ff 402-5) and published in
The Court and Times of Charles The First, R.F. Williams (ed), vol 2 (London, 1848), 263-6,
has been accepted here.
London, British Library, MS Harleian 7000; 1 1 January 1636/7; English; paper; bifolium; 210mm x
692 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
315mm; modern pencil foliation; writing on both sides of each leaf, both horizontal and vertical.
Now bound in a guardbook and numbered 198.
PERSONAL RECORDS
Richard Carnsew s Diary
Richard Carnsew was a student at Broadgates Hall, now part of Pembroke College. His diary
also lists some expenses for his brother Matthew, who entred into commons at Christchurche
on 6 August 1574 (f 2l6v). The brothers were from Cornwall.
Each page of the diary is divided into several vertical columns: the leftmost gives the day of
the month, the next the number of pages read in various books, the next the titles of other
books, the central and widest column the principal events of the day, and the right column
expenses incurred. The leaves are bound into the present PRO volume in what appears to be
random order. The exact dates of some of the entries can therefore not be determined with
certainty. Each page is headed with the name of a month, the year sometimes being added by
a different but contemporary hand; some pages are signed by a George Grenville. Datable
references are few.
London, Public Record Office, SP/46/15; c April 1572-f December 1575; Latin and English; paper;
8 leaves; 145mm x 195mm; modern pencil foliation. Now bound in a guardbook and foliated 212-19
(fT213v,2l4v,218v blank).
Richard Madox s Diary
The majority of this work is devoted to describing Madox s travels in Africa and South
America in 1582. The entries for January and February record his life in Oxford, where he
was a fellow of All Souls. The work has been edited by E.S. Donno, An Elizabethan in 1582.
The Diary of Richard Madox, Fellow of All Souls, Hakluyt Society, 2nd series, vol 147
(London, 1976).
London, British Library, MS Cotton Appendix 47; 1582; English; parchment; iv + 50 + v; 190mm x
275mm; modern pencil foliation superseding contemporary ink foliation; most leaves repaired, 2 extra
leaves added, margin of f 3 badly worn, with holes and tears near the edge, obliterating portions of
words at the ends of lines; bound in stamped leather and board in 1884.
Baron Waldstein s Diary
Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. lat. 666; 1597-1603; i + 369 + i; 154mm x 90mm
(120mm x 70m); 18th-c. ink foliation; good condition; bound in white parchment, gold stamped
title on front cover.
693
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Dr Howson s Interrogation
This document is a scribal copy, unsigned, of a report written by John Howson, canon of
Christ Church, of his interrogation before King James by Archbishop George Abbot in 1615
on charges of papist leanings. The interrogation reached back to Howson s behaviour during
the royal visit of 1605, at which time Abbot was vice-chancellor.
London, Public Record Office, SP/14/80; 1615; English; paper; 5 leaves; 190mm x 285mm; writing on
both sides; modern numbering; endorsed on f [5v]: 1615 Dr Howson answars to the Lord ArchBw%>
of Canterbury Abbott his accusations before King lames . Now bound in a guardbook, foliated 65 in
modern pencil, and stamped 175-9 in ink.
William Ayshcombe s Memoirs
No author s name appears in the manuscript. The work was erroneously attributed to John
Pym by the Historical Manuscripts Commission, 10th Report, Appendix 6 (1887), 82-3,
but was correctly assigned to William Ayshcombe by the DNB in its article on John Pym
(1584-1643). The author refers to my uncle William Ayshcombe and to my uncle Oliver
Ayshcombe. Though called a diary by both the Historical Manuscripts Commission and
the DNB, the work is actually a memoir cast into the form of a diary probably copied or
condensed from an original diary, and covering the years 1591-1620.
Ayshcombe matriculated at St John s in 1601 but did not take a degree.
San Marino, Huntington Library, MS HM 30665; c 1620; English; paper; 20 + ii; 155mm x 105mm;
modern pencil foliation; unbound with modern stitching, title on f 1: Memorable Accidententw.
Hentzner s Travels in England
Pauli Hentzneri, JC. I ITINERARIUM I Germanise, Gallise, I Angliz, Italiz: I Cum indice Locorum,
Rerum, atq Verborum I commemorabilum. I Huic libra accessere novd. hac editione I /. I Monita
Peregrinatoria I duorum doctissimorum I Virorunv. I Icemq , I //. I Incerti Auctoris Epitome Prttcognito- I
rum Historicorum, antehac non edita. I [device] I NORIBERGz I Typis ABRAHAMI Wagenmanni, I
sumptibus sui ipsius & Johan. Giintzelii. I [rule] I ANNO M. DC. XXIX.
Robert Ashley s Autobiography
Robert Ashley (1565-1641) arrived in Oxford in 1580 and attended successively Hart Hall,
Alban Hall, and Magdalen College, of which he became a fellow in 1584. In addition to his
dramatic activities there, he tells of having acted in ludi literati at Corfe Castle (f I6v) and in a
Comedie at Christmas, perhaps in the same place (f 17). For commentary on this work, see
Wood, Athenae, vol 3, cols 19-20; Macray, Register, vol 3, pp 92-7; and Boas, University
Drama, p 196.
694 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
London, British Library, MS Sloane 2131; c 1622; Latin and French; paper; 5 leaves; 220mm x 310mm;
modern pencil foliation. Bound in a guardbook and foliated 16-20; title on f 16: Vita RA ab ipso
conscripta.
Thomas Crosfield s Diary
This invaluable manuscript is a codicologist s nightmare. The work as currently bound appears
to be an amalgamation of at least two separate notebooks of Crosfield s, made up with no
particular care. The second, more complete foliation may be in the hand of Matthew
Hutchinson who has written in the same colour ink his name and the date 24 Dec. 1674 on
what is now the first leaf. Hutchinson may also have been responsible for the binding, but if so
it was only after he had lost and jumbled many of the leaves he had foliated. It is not known
how Hutchinson acquired the manuscript or how and when it found its way back to The
Queen s College. The transcripts follow the second foliation sequence, despite its inaccuracy.
The diary entries occupy ff 16-81 v, 84v, 87-92v, and 173v-7. The remaining leaves contain
various notes on books read, almanacs, transcripts of sermons, etc. The diary entries are for the
following dates: 6 January 1625/6-9 November 1638; 15 November 1638-25 December
1638; the month of January 1639/40; 2 February 1652/3-1 February 1653/4; 1 November
1632-10 September 1638 (ie, a second set of entries for those years). Most of the diary was
written while Crosfield (1602-63) was a student and fellow of Queen s, from 1618 to c 1640.
Excerpts from this work have been edited by F.S. Boas, The Diary of Thomas Crosfield, M.A.,
B.D., Fellow of Queen s College, Oxford (London, 1935). This is a simplified and partially modern
ized edition of about three-fourths of the Diary proper, with useful explanatory notes. The manu
script is currendy kept in a box along with the transcript by J.R. Magrath, used for Boas edition.
Oxford, The Queen s College Library, MS 390; 1626-54; English, French, Latin, and Greek; paper;
192 leaves (at least 5 missing from front, at least 9 from end); 130mm x 182mm; 2 sets of ink foliation,
the first, on some leaves only, in Crosfield s hand, the other, in a slightly later hand, on most leaves,
beginning 5 and ending 228, but with many leaves missing and out of order; pages often laid out in 2
or 3 cols; original leather and board binding, badly damaged. The author s name nowhere appears in
the volume, only the initials T.C.
Robert Woodforde s Diary
Robert Woodforde (1606-54), steward of Northampton, had no connection with Oxford
other than through his visit there on business during the Act of 1639.
Oxford, New College Archives, 9502; 1637-41; English; paper; ii + 291 + i; 140mm x 90mm (text
area varies); unnumbered; entries separated by horizontal rules; original vellum binding.
Peter Heylyns Memoirs
The manuscript mentioned by Wood (see p 886) has not survived. Wood s transcript occupies
695
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
folios 20-8 in Part in of the current volume, bearing the original number 98. The volume is
composed of what were originally four different manuscripts, mostly in Wood s hand, contain
ing copies of documents relating to the history of the University. The transcript has been
published by John R. Bloxam (ed), Memorial of Bishop Waynflete Founder of St Mary Magdalen
College, Oxford, Caxton Society 14 (1851), x-xxiv.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Wood E.4; 1673; English; paper; i + 421; 185mm x 250mm; 17th-c. ink
foliation; on f 20 in Anthony Wood s hand: Out of an account of Dr Heylyns Life, written by him
self to Apr. 8. 1645 ; note in right margin of same page, in Wood s hand: Mr Henry Heylyn of Minster
Lovell his son, lent me ye ms. 8. July. 1673.
Laud, Diary of His Own Life
THE I HISTORY I OF THE I TROUBLES I AND I TRYAL I OF I The Most Reverend Father in God, I
and Blessed Martyr, I WILLIAM LAUD, I Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury. \ [rule] I Wrote by HIMSELF,
dunnghis I Imprisonment in f/* Tower. I [rule] I To which is prefixed I THE DIARY OF HIS OWN LIFE I
Faithfully and entirely Published from the Original Copy: I And subjoined I A SUPPLEMENT to the Preceding
HISTORY: I The Arch-Bishop s Last Will: His Large Answer to the Lord SAYs I Speech concerning Liturgies;
His Annual Accounts of his Province deli- I vered to the King; And some other Things relating to the
History. I [rule] I IMPRIMATUR, I Martij: 7: l69 3 /4. JO: CANT. I [rule] I LONDON: I Printed for Ri.
Chiswell, at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul s I Church-Yard, MDCXCV. Wing: L586.
Laud, Historical Account
AN I Historical Account I OF ALL I Material Transactions I Relating to the I UNIVERSITY I OF I
OXFORD, I FROM I ARCH-BISHOP LAUD S I Being ELECTED I CHANCELLOR I To his
RESIGNATION of that I OFFICE. I [rule] I Written by Himself, [rule].
Printed with separate title-page and separate pagination in: The Second Volume I OF THE I REMAINS I
OF THE I Most Reverend Father in God, I And Blessed MARTYR, I WILLIAM LAUD, I Lord Arch-
Bishop I OF I CANTERBURY. I [rule] I Written by HIMSELF. I [rule] I Collected by the late Learned
Mr. Henry Wharton, I And Published according to his Request by the Re- I verend Mr. Edmund Wharton,
his Father. I [rule] I LONDON, I Printed for Sam. Keble at the Turks-Head in Fleet-street, Dan. I Brown
without Temple Bar, Will. Hensman in Westminster-Hall, \ Matt. Wotton near the Inner-Temple Gate, and
R. Knaplock at I the Angel m St. Paul s Church-yard. 1700. Wing: L596.
HISTORIES AND REMINISCENCES
Continuatio Eulogii
London, British Library, Cotton MS Galba E.vii; c 15th c; Latin; parchment; v + 104 + iv; 360mm x
250mm (text area varies); modern (19th-c.?) pencil foliation, earlier cancelled ink foliation, 1 folio less
(ie, 193 in ink for 194 in pencil); 2 cols; blue and red capitals and paragraph divisions; some damage
and loss (not to text) at edge of ff throughout, considerable peripheral damage to early ff including
some loss of text; modern calf binding, gilded and stamped, gilt coat of arms on front cover, raised
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
bands containing green leather with gilt lettering on spine: Cronica Breuis A Christi Nat. Ad. Ann.
Eulogmm. Histona Universitatis A Mundi Creatione Add. Ann. 1413.
Ponet, Apologie
AN APOLO I GIE FVLLY AVNSWERINGE BY SCRI- 1 ptures andaunceant Doctor,/ a bLvphemose book
gatherid by I D. Steph. Gardinerl nou Lord chauncelar and D. Smyth of Ox I ford/ and other Papists/ as
by ther books appearfl and of late I set furth vnder the name of Thomas Martin Doctor of the Ci- I uile
Liwes as of himself hf saiethl against the godly mariadge I of priests, wherin dyuers other matters whiche
the Papists I defend be so confutidl that in Martyns ouerthrow I they may see there own impudency I and
confusion. I [device] I By IOHN PONET Doctor ofdiuinitie and I busshop of Winchester. I The author desireth
that the reader will content him- I self with this first book vntill he may haue leasure to I set furth the next/
whiche shalbe by I Gods grace shortly. I It is a hard thing for the to spurn aga- I inst the prick. Act. 9.
[Strasburg, 1555]. .or: 20175.
Miles Windsors Narrative
This manuscript is part of Brian Twyne s collection of documents on the history of Oxford
University, formed while he was a fellow of Corpus Christi College and keeper of the archives
in 1634. It contains both original documents, antiquarian copies in other hands, and copies
in Twyne s hand. The volume contains two versions of Miles Windsor s The Receiving of
the Queen s Majesty into Oxford in 1566 : one is a fair copy in Windsor s own hand and
initialled by him, occupying folios 104-14; the other is a draft, also in Windsor s hand, with
corrections and additions by him made in a darker ink, occupying folios 1 15-23. A nine
teenth-century hand has added occasional marginal transcriptions of headings and proper
names, ignored in the present text.
The draft copy has been selected as the authoritative text here, with collations of Windsor s
fair version. Twyne s later copy of the fair text (Bodl.: MS. Twyne 17) is not collated, nor are
two contemporary abridgements of Windsor s work contained in Bodl.: MS. Twyne 21 and
Folger Shakespeare Library: MS V.a.176, ff 167-74 (see p 1099, endnote to ccc: MS 257). These
abridgements are the source of the published versions of the work in Nichols Progresses of
Queen Elizabeth, vol 1, pp 206-17, Wood s History and Antiquities, vol 2, pp 154-63, and
Plummer s Elizabethan Oxford, pp 195-205.
Windsor, who names himself as one of the actors in the royal plays of 1566, was an under
graduate at Corpus at the time of the queen s visit. The omission of some material in the
draft version from the fair copy would appear to be his deliberate attempt to show the acting
in a better light.
Windsor s narrative has sometimes been misattributed by modern scholars to Thomas Neal
(eg, Boas, University Drama, p 98) (see p 697, under Nicholas Robinson s Of the Actes Done
at Oxford ).
Oxford, Corpus Christi College, MS 257; c 1566; English and Latin; paper; U 178 + v; 150mm x
M7
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
210mm; 19th-c. pencil foliation, some leaves have 17th-c. ink pagination (incomplete); bound in
original vellum.
Nicholas Robinsons Of the Actes Done at Oxford
This manuscript was compiled by Nicholas Robinson, bishop of Bangor, originally to com
memorate the royal visit to Cambridge in 1564, at which he was present. The Cambridge
material occupies the first 154 leaves, written in several hands, all in Latin.
Washington, DC, Folger Shakespeare Library, MS V.a.176; c 1566; Latin and English; i + 174; 215mm x
150mm; modern pencil foliation; bound in stamped leather and board in 1827. Originally Phillips
MS 4827. Robinson added in 1566 the following accounts of the royal visit to Oxford:
I/ ff 154-66v: Of the Actes Done at Oxford, in Latin, written by Robinson. This was later copied
into BL: MS Harleian 7033, ff 142-9, by Thomas Baker, which served as the text for the published
versions of Nichols Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol 1, pp 229-47 and Plummer s Elizabethan
Oxford, pp 171-91. None of these later versions has any independent authority and they are not
collated here.
21 ff 167-74: title on f 167: A.D. 1566./ A brief rehearsal! of all suche thinges as were/ doone in
th vnivmitie of Oxford, during the Queenes/ Maiesties abode there. Marginal note on same page:
This exhibited by Richard Stephens as an extract drawen oute/ of a longer treatise made by Mr Neale
reader of Hebrew at Oxford. It is likely that the mistaken attribution of the longer work to Thomas
Neal arose from the fact that another work of Neal s, the Dialogus in aduentum Reginae, was copied
by the same scribe immediately before the anonymous abridged account of the royal visit in Bodl.:
MS. Twyne 21, ff 792-800, which is Robinson s source. In fact the author of the original was Miles
Windsor (see p 696). Richard Stephens was a contemporary of Miles Windsor at Corpus Christi
College. This is the only reference to his authorship of the Brief Rehearsal. While mainly an abridged
copy of Windsor s account, the Brief Rehearsal occasionally furnishes details not in the original
and omits others.
Bereblock} Commentary
The front flyleaf of this MS has the signature of Thomas Hearne, with the date 29 August 1727
and a statement that the manuscript was a gift from Thomas Ward of Warwick, knight. On
the same flyleaf a later note in Hearne s hand reads: I have printed this MS at the End of
Vita Ricardi II. The note refers to Hearne s edition of the Historia Vitae et Regni Ricardi n
(Oxford, 1729), 253-96. Hearne s edition was reprinted by Plummer, Elizabethan Oxford,
pp 111-50, who added a collation with Bodl.: MS. Additional A.63-
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Rawlinson D.1071; c 1566-71; Latin; paper, vellum flyleaves; v + 25
+ iii; 140mm x 200mm; modern pencil pagination; grey paper-covered board binding.
The transcription from MS. Rawlinson D.1071 has been collated with the following manuscripts,
which appear to have been copied separately (ie, none is the copy of the other), although
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
the Folger Shakespeare Library manuscript may have a more common ancestry with the
son manuscript. Bodl, MS. Additional A.63 appears to have more errors and omissions,
it and the Folger Shakespeare Library manuscript have emendations by correctors
or uncertain identity.
Washington, DC, Folger Shakespeare Library, MS V.a.109; c 1566-71; Latin; paper; ix + 24 + iv; 144mm x
4mm; modern pencil foliation 1-24; modern (1959) tan cloth binding, previously in an 18th-c.
binding, bound in with several other MSS and printed works. The manuscript must have been copied
between 1566, the year of the events it describes, and 1571, the year of the death of one of its two
dedicatees, William Petre.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Additional A.63 (sc 28864); c 1566; Latin; paper; ii + 22; 170mm x
125mm; modern pencil foliation; modern red leather binding. There is no title-page and no indication
of an author or title. The only heading is the date 1565 written at the top of f 1, a mistake for 1566.
This manuscript was described by Thomas Tanner in the 18th c. as belonging to Thomas Rivers fellow
of All Souls. 8
Stow, Chronicles
A Sum- I marye of the Chroni- I cles of Englande, from the I first comminge of Brute into I this
Lande, Vnto this pre I sent yeare of Christ. I 1570. I Diligentlye collected, I and nowe newly
corrected I and enlarged, by lohn Stowe, I Citizen of London. I C Scene and allowed accordinge
to the Queenes Maiestyes I Injunctions. I Imprinted at London I in Fleetestreate by Tho- \ mas Marshe.
STC: 23322.
Visit of the Prince ofSiradia
Washington, DC, Folger Shakespeare Library, MS L.b.606; c 1583; English; paper; single sheet; 210mm x
305mm, written on both sides; written in late I6th-c. secretary hand; kept in a folder marked Loseley
Manuscripts. This sheet is a rough draft with many corrections. A 19th-c. hand has numbered the
two sides of the leaf 72 and 72v.
Holinshed, Third Volume of Chronicles
THE I Third volume of Chronicles, be- I ginning at duke William the Norman I commonlie called the
Conqueror; and I descending by degrees ofyeeres to all the I kings and queenes of England in thier I
orderlie successions: I First compiled by Raphael! Holinshed, I and by him extended to the I yeare 1577. \
Now newlie recognised, augmented, and \ continued (with occurrences and \ accidents of fresh memorie) I
to the yeare 1586. I Wherein also are conteined manie matters I of singular discourse and rare obser- I
uation, fruitful/ to such as be I studious in antiquities, or I take pleasure in the I grounds ofanci-ient histories. I
With a third table (peculiarlie seruing I this third volume) both of I names and matters I memorable. I
Historiae placeant nostrates ac peregrinae. [London, 1587]. STC: 13569.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS 699
Bunny, A Briefe Answer
A I Briefe Answer, vnto those I idle and friuolous quarrels of I R.P. against the late edition of I the
RESOLVTION: I By I Edmund Bunny. I Wherunto are prefixed the booke I of Resolution, and the treatise of I
Pacification, perused and noted in I the margent, on all such places as I are misliked of R.P. shewing in I
what Section of this Answer fol- I lowing, those places are I handled. I PSALM. 120.7. I I labour for
peace: but when to I that ende 1 speake vnto them, I they prepare themselues I vnto warre. I AT LONDON. I
Printed by lohn Charle- I wood, Anno. Dom. I 1589. STC: 4088.
Harvey, Four Letters
[Harvey, Gabriel.] FOVRE LETTERS, I and certaine Sonnets: I Especially touching Robert Greene,
and other parties, I by him abused: I But incidentally of diuers excellent persons, I and some matters of
note. I To all courteous mindes, that will voutchsafe the reading. \ [device] I LONDON I Imprinted by
lohn Wolfe, I 1592. STC: 12900.
Harington, Metamorphosis of Ajax
[Sir John Harington.] A NEW DIS- I COVRSE OF A STALE I SVBIECT, CALLED THE I
Metamorphosis of AIAX: I Written by MISACMOS, to his friend I and cosin PHILOSTILPNOS. I [device] I
AT LONDON, I Printed by Richard Field, dwelling I in the Black friers, I 1596. STC: 12779.
Narratives by Cambridge Men
Folios 3-9 of the following MS are in the hand of Philip Stringer, fellow of St John s College,
Cambridge, who along with Henry Mowtlowe, fellow of King s College, was sent by his
university to observe the royal entertainment at Oxford in 1592. Stringer wrote out the
1592 narrative for Mowtlowe on 3 May 1603 in Cambridge, based on notes he had
made at the time, asking him to alter them as he saw fit for the vse of the vniu^rsity here.
No corrections or additions appear in the manuscript, however. The date of composi
tion of the description of King James visit to Oxford in 1605 (ff 28-45v) is not given.
The description is in a different hand, possibly Mowtlowe s, as the author was clearly a
King s College man.
This manuscript was copied by Thomas Baker in the eighteenth century into BL: MS Harleian
7044, ff 97-107. Baker s transcript was published by Nichols in Progresses of Queen Elizabeth,
vol 3, pp 149-60, and Progresses of King James, vol 1, pp 530-59. As these versions have no
independent authority, they are not collated here.
Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Additional 34; English; 1603-f 1605; paper; 145mm
x 185mm; modern foliation; bound in original leather, badly damaged. A note in a different hand
on f 87v reads: This Manuscript found in Mr Bucks Study 1722. John Buck, a University bedell
died in 1680.
700 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Nixon, Oxfords Triumph
(Anthony Nixon] OXFORDS I Triumph: I In the Royall Enter- I tainement of his moste Excellent I
Maiestie, the Queene, and I the Prince: the 27. of August \ last, 1605. I With I The Kinges Oration
deliuered to the \ Vniuersitie, and the incorpo- I rating of diuers Noble-men, I Maisters of Aite. I
[device] I LONDON I Printed by Ed. Allde, and are to bee solde in 1 Paules Church-yard by lohn I
Hodgets. 1605. STC: 18589.
Wake, Rex Platonicus
This editon of Rex Platonicus has been collated with the subsequent editions STC: 24939.5;
STC: 24940; STC: 24941; STC: 24942; and STC: 24942.5.
REX PLATONICVS-. I SIVE, I DE POTEN- I TISSIMI PRINCIPIS I IACOBI BRITANNIARVM I
Regis, ad illustrissimam Academism I Oxomensem. adventu, Aug. 27. I Anno. 1605. I NARRATIO I
AB ISAACO WAKE, PVBLICOA- I cademi* ejusdem Oratore, turn temporis I conscripta, nunc verb in
lucem I edita, non sine authoritate I Supenorum. I [device] I OXONLE, Excudebat losephus Barnesius, I
Anno Dom. 1607. STC: 24939.
Armin, A Nest of Ninnies
A 1 Nest of Ninnies. I Simply of themselues without I Compound. I Stultorum plena sunt omma. I By
Robert Armin I [device] I LONDON: I Printed by T.E. for lohn Deane. 1608. I src.
A Letter to Mr T.H. from Sir Edward Hoby
A I LETTER I TO M T. H. I LATE MINISTER: I Now Fugitiue: I FROM SIR EDWARD I HOBY
KWht I IN ANSWERE OF HIS \fintMotiut. \ [rule] I HEBR..3.12. I Take heed, Brethren lest at
anyttme there be in any I of you an eudl heart, and vnfaithfull, to depart \ away from the Kuing God.\
[rule] I [ornament] I AT LONDON, I Imprinted by F.K. for Ed. Blount and W. Barret, I and are to be
sold at the signe of the blacke I Beare in Pauls Church-yard. I 1609. STC: 13541.
Theophilus Higgons Answer to Sir Edward Hoby
I APOLOGY I OF I THEOPHILVS HIGGONS I LATELY MINISTER, I NOW
CATHOLIQVE. I Wherein I THE LETTER I OF 1 SIR EDW. HOBY KNIGHT I directed vnto
savd TH in answere of his I FIRST MOTIVE, is modestly 1 examined, and clearely refuted. 1
- Pr, sed non confundo, , 2. T.moch. L 12. I [ornament] , ROAR , BY JOHN
MACHVEL, dwelling in the streete I of the Prison, ouer the Crowne of Orleans. I
Camden, Annales
ANNALES I RERVM ANGLICARVM, I ET HIBERNICARVM, 1 REGNANTE I ELIZABETHA, I
SALVTIS I M. D. LXXXIX I GV.UELMO CAMDENO I AVTHORE. I LOND.N,, I Typ.s
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Guilielmi Stansbij, Impensis Simonis Watersoni, \ ad insigne CORONA in Coemeterio I PAVLINO. I [rule] I
M. DC. XV. 5/c: 4496.
Wallington, God s Judgement on Sabbath Breakers
London, British Library, Sloane MS 1457; 1618-58; English; paper; ii + 107 + ii; 195mm x 150mm
(190mm x 140mm); modern pencil foliation, contemporary ink pagination; good condition; modern
cloth-covered cardboard binding, leather corners and spine.
Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy
This volume contains transcription from the second edition of Anatomy of Melancholy collated
with the 1621 first edition (STC: 4159).
[Robert Burton] THE I ANATOMY OF I MELANCHOLY: I WHAT IT IS. I WITH ALL THE
KINDES, CAV- I SES, SYMPTOMES, PROGNOSTICKS, I AND SEVERALL CVRES OF IT. I
IN THREE MAINE PARTITIONS, I with their seuerall SECTIONS, MEM- I BERS, and SVBSECTIONS. I
PHILOSOPHICALLY, MEDICI- I NALLY, HISTORICALLY I opened and cut vp, I BY I DEMOCRITVS
Junior. I With a Satyricall PREFACE, conducing to I the following Discourse. I The second Edition,
corrected and aug- I me n ted by the Author. I MACROB. I Omne meum, Nihil meum. I [device] I AT
OXFORD, I Printed by IOHN LICHFIELD and IAMES SHORT, I for HENRY CRIPPS, A Dom. 1624.
STC: 4160.
Camden, Tomus Alter Annalium
TOMVS ALTER I ANNALIVM I RERVM I ANGLICARVM, I 7"! HIBERNICARVM, I
REGNANTE I ELIZABETHA, I Qui nunc demum prodit: I SIVE I PARS QVARTA. I AVTURE I
GVIL. CAMDENO I [rule] I LONDINI, I Excudebat Guil. Stansby, Impensis Simonis I Waterson. 1627.
STC: 4496.5.
Brian Twyne s Notes on the History of the University Music
This volume contains a collection of transcripts of documents on the history of the University,
most of them in the hand of Brian Twyne, with some annotations by Gerard Langbaine. The
contents are miscellaneous and bound in no particular order. There is no calendar or index.
A brief description of the contents may be found in Clark, The Life and Times of Anthony
Wood,vo\4, pp 217-18.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Twyne-Langbaine 4; c 1630-44; Latin and English; paper; ii + 318 + iv;
leaves of various sizes, averaging 190mm x 305mm; modern pencil foliation 1-318, some leaves have
marginal rules, some blank; 18th-c. leather and board binding, title stamped on spine: Collectanea B.
Twyne Langbaine &c.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Burton, For God and the King
FOR I GOD, and the KING. I THE \ SVMME OF TWO SERMONS I Preached on the fifth of
Jber last ,n St. MATTHEWES FR.DAY- 1 STREETE. 1636. I [rule] I By HENRV BVRTON, Minister
Gods Word I there and then. I [rule] I 1. PET. 2.17. I Feare GOD. Honour the KING. I 2. TIM
I / charge thee before God, and the Lord lesus Christ, who shall I judge the qut cke and the dead
at his appearing, and hn I K,n g dome: Preach the Word, be instant, in season, out of\ season, reproove
rebuke exhort with all long suffering and I doctrine. For the time will come, when they will not endure I
sound doctrine. &c. I Bernard, in Dedic. Eccl*. Ser. }.\Non miremini. fratres, si dunus loqui videar I
Qttta ventas neminem palpat. I [rule] I Printed, Anno Dom. 1636. src: 4141.
Burton, A Divine Tragedie
[Henry Burton] A DIVINE TRAGEDIE I LATELY ACTED, I Or I A Collection of sundry memorable
exam- I pies of Gods judgements upon Sabbath-breakers, and other I like Libertines, in their unlawful!
Sports, happening within I the Realme of England, in the compass only of two yeares I last past, since
the Booke was published, worthy to be I knowne and considered of all men, especially such, who are I
guilty of the sinne or Arch-patrons I thereof. I Psal. 50. vers. 22. I Now consider this, ye that forget
God, least he teare you in peeces, I and there be none to deliuer you. I Gregorius M. Moraliu. lib.
36. c. 18. I Deus, etsi quaedam longanimiter tolerat, quaedam tamen in hac vita I flagellat, & hie
nonnunquam ferire inchoatur quos aeterna I damnatione consumat. I Tibullus Elegiarum. lib. 3. Eleg.
7 - I -Foelix quicunque dolore I Alterius disces posse carere tuo. I Condi Paris. 2. lib.3.c.5. I Salubriter
admonemus cunctos fideles, ut diei Dominico debitum hono- I rum & reverentiam exhibeam.
Quoniam hujus dehonoratio, & I a Religione Christiana valde abhorret, & suis violatoribus anima- I
rum perniciem proculdubio general. I Alex. Alensis ex Hieron.P3.Q 32. M.4. Art. I. Resol. I Quis
dubitat Sceleratius esse commissum, quod gravius est punitum? ut I Num. 15. 35. ibid. I [device] I
Anno M.DC.XXXVI. src: 4140.7.
Heylyn, A Briefe and Moderate Answer
A BRIEFE and I Moderate I ANSWER, I TO I The seditious and scandalous Chal- I lenges of Henry
Burton, late of I Friday-Streete, \ In the two Sermons, by him preached on the I Fifth of November. 1636.
And in the I Apalogie prefixt before them. I BY I PETER HEYLYN. I 1. Pet. 2. 13, 14. I Submit your
selves to every ordinance of man for the I Lords sake, whether it be to the King as supreame: or unto
Go- I vernors, as unto them which are sent by him, for the punish- I ment of evill doers, and for the
praise of them that doe well. I [rule] I LONDON: I Printed by Ric. Hodgkinsonnc, and are to be sold by
Daniel I Frere, dwelling in little-Brittan, at the signe of the I red-Bull. Anno Domini 1637. src: 13269.
The imprimatur by the archbishop of Canterbury, on p (ii), is dated 23 June 1637.
H.L., Jesrs from the Universirie
Until 1967 only two copies (BL and Rosenbach) of this book were known, both incorrectly
dated 1628 with the correct date of 1638 written in ink. The Bodleian copy, purchased in
1967 from Christie s, bears the correct printed date.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Grati* Ludentes. I IESTS, I FROM THE I VNIVERSITIE. I [rule] I By H.L. Oxen. I [rule] I Mart. Die
mihi quid melius de sidiosus Agas. \ [device] I Printed at London by Tho. Cotes, for I Humphrey Moiley.
1638. STC: 15105.
Entertainment of King Charles i
The whole of this manuscript is in the hand of Brian Twyne, first keeper of the University
archives (1634-44). The section relevant here is that called Entertainmentes, occupying
pages 147-203. The pages now numbered 147-90 also bear an earlier ink foliation (1-42).
This manuscript is the source of the collation of the excerpts from QUA: NEP/Supra/R (see
under Registers of Congregation and Convocation, p 681) and OUA: WP/Y/19/1 (see under
Orders of the Delegates of Convocation for the Royal Plays, p 683).
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Twyne 17; c 1640; Latin and English; paper; 243 leaves; 304mm x 205mm;
modern pagination; 17th-c. leather and board binding; ink title on spine in Gerard Langbaine s hand:
De Statutis Uniwrritatis Orders occasionall. Enterteynmwts. lurisdictio spirituals. Circa incontinentes.
&. Testamentorum probar/o/ &c.
Walton, Life of Henry Wottori in Reliquiae Wottonianae
Izaak Walton s Life of Henry Wotton, in: Reliquiae Wottomanx. I [rule] I OR, I A COLLECTION I
Of LIVES, LETTERS, POEMS; I With I CHARACTERS I OF I Sundry PERSONAGES: \Andother I
Incomparable PIECES I of Language and Art. I [rule] I By The curious PENSIL of I the Ever Memorable I
S r Henry Wotton K c , I Late, I Provost of Eton Colledg. I [rule] I LONDON, I Printed by Thomas Maxey,
for R. Marriot, I G. Bedel, and T. Ganhwait. 1651. Wing: W3648.
Wilson, History of Great Britain
This copy of Arthur Wilson s book, now TC Library: N.7.5, was owned by Edward Bathurst
and bequeathed to Trinity College on his death in 1668. Bathurst was a student at Trinity
from 1629 to 1634. Wilson s own autobiography survives in Cambridge University Library;
MS Additional 33 and indicates that his plays were all written before he entered Oxford in
1630, at the age of 32. Both documents were published by Philip Bliss in The Inconstant
Lady, A Play (Oxford, 1814), Appendices 3 and 4. They disagree on the date that Wilson
entered Oxford and the length of his stay there. See also Wood, Athenae, vol 3, cols 318-23,
and Bentley, The Jacobean and Caroline Stage, vol 5, pp 1267-8.
A manuscript note by Edward Bathurst on the flyleaf of the Trinity College copy describes
performances by the king s men of Wilson s plays in Oxford while Wilson was a student
at Trinity.
THE I HISTORY I OF I Great Britain, I BEING I THE LIFE AND REIGN I OF I King JAMES I
THE FIRST, I RELATING I To what passed from his first Access to I the Crown, till his Death. I [rule] I
By ARTHUR WILSON, Esq. I [rule] I [device] I [rule] I LONDON, I Printed for Richard Lownds,
704 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
and are to be I sold at the Sign of the White Lion near Saint Paul s \ little North-door. 1653.
Wing: W2888.
Heylyn, Cyprianus Anglicus
CWRIANUS ANGLICUS: I OR, THE I HISTORY I OF THE I Life and Death, I OF I The most
Reverend and Renowned PRELATE I WILLIAM I By Divine Providence, I Lord Archbishop of Canterbury,
Primate of all t ENGLAND, and Metropolitan, Chancellor of the I Universities of Oxon. and Dublin, and
one of the I Lords of the Privy Council to His late most I SACRED MAJESTY I King CHARLES the
First, I Second MONARCH of Great Britain. CONTAINING ALSO I The Ecclesiastical History of the Three
Kingdoms I of ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, and IRELAND I from His first rising till His Death. I [rule] I
By P Heylyn D.D. and Chaplain to Charles die I first and Charles the second, Monarch of Great Britain. I
[rule] I ECCLUS. 44 VERS. 1,3.1 1 . Let us now praise Famous Men ami our Fathers that begat Vs. I 3. Such
as did bear Rule in their Kingdoms, Men Renowned for their Power, I giving Counsel by their Vndtrstanding,
and Declaring Prophesies. I [rule] LONDON: I Printed for A. Stile, MDCLXVIII. Wing: HI 699.
Burnet, Life of Sir Matthew Hale
THE I Life and Death I OF I Sir MATTHEW HALE, K . I SOMETIME I LORD CHIEF JUSTICE I OF I
His Majesties Court I OF I KINGS BENCH. I [rule] I Written by I GILBERT BURNETT, D.D. I [rule] I
LONDON, I Printed for William Shrowsbery, at the I Bible in Duke-Lane, 1682. Wing: B5828.
Langbaine, English Dramatick Poets
AN I ACCOUNT I OF THE I English Dramatick I POETS. I OR, I Some OBSERVATIONS I And I
REMARKS I On the Lives and Writings, of all those that I have Publish d either Comedies, Trage I dies,
Tragi-Comedies, Pastorals, Masques, I Interludes, Farces, or Operas in the I ENGLISH TONGUE. I [rule] I
By GERARD LANGBAINE. I [rule] I OXFORD, I Printed by L.L for GEORGE WEST, I and HENRY
CLEMENTS. 1 [rule] I An. Dom. 1691. Wing: L373.
PLAY TEXTS, SYNOPSES, AND PART BOOKS
A Twelfth Night Play at St John s
See Appendix 6: 1 under Narcissus.
Vertumnus Plot Synopsis
See Appendix 6: 1 under Vertumnus.
Robert Burton s Philosophaster
The transcription from Harvard Theatre Collection: MS Thr. 10 has been collated with Folger Shakespeare
Library, MS V.a.315- For both manuscripts see Appendix 6:1 under Philosophaster.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
An Actor s Part Book
See Appendix 6:1 under The Part of Poore.
Poem by Thomas Goffe
See Appendix 6: 1 under The Courageous Turk.
Emily s Lament from Palamon and Arcite
See Appendix 6:2 under Palamon and Arcite.
PROLOGUES, PREFACES, DEDICATIONS, AND EPILOGUES
Dedicatory Epistle to Gilbert Smith, Archdeacon of Peterborough
See Appendix 6: 1 under Christus Redivivus.
Epilogue to Caesar Interfectus
See Appendix 6:2 under Caesar Interfectus.
Gager, Meleager
See Appendix 6: 1 under Meleager.
Gwinne, Vertumnus
See Appendix 6: 1 under Vertumnus.
Holyday, Technogamia
See Appendix 6: 1 under Technogamia.
Daniel, Whole Workes
THE I WHOLE I WORKES OF I SAMVEL DANIEL Esquire I in Poetne. I [rule] I [device] I [rule] I
LONDON, I Printed by NICHOLAS OKES, for I SIMON WATERSON, and are to be I sold at his shoppe
in Paules Church- I yard, at the Signe of the Crowne. 1623. STC: 6238.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
POEMS AND SONGS
Poem on Mercurius Rusticans
See Appendix 6: 1 under Mercurius Rusticans.
Poem on the Royal Visit
The anonymous poem on the royal visit of 1605 was numbered 272 among the items in the
volume by W.H. Black, who catalogued the Ashmole collection in 1845. The volume is a
poetic miscellany of about 330 poems, songs, and verses, partly in the handwriting of Elias
Ashmole.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Ashmole 3637 (sc 6917); c 1640; paper; English; vi + 327 + vi; modern
pencil foliation; 17th-c. leather and board binding.
Verses Spoken in St John s Library
These verses are included in a poetic miscellany signed by Edmund Malone on folio 1, who
has also written on the spine: Manuscript Poems 1644.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Malone 21 (sc 20569); c 1640-50; English; paper; i + 121 + i; 175mm x
1 10mm; contemporary ink foliation; original vellum binding.
Mr Moore s Revels
See Appendix 6:1 under Mr Moore s Revels.
Verses on the Comedians of Oxford and Cambridge
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Malone 19; early 17th c.; English and Latin; paper; ii + 163 + ii; 181mm x
138mm (162mm x 1 19mm); modern pencil foliation, partial contemporary ink foliation; good condition;
modern board binding with leather spine, embossed title on spine.
Civic Records
The records of the city of Oxford, with one exception, remain in the possession of the city
and are housed in the city hall. 9 They are brought on the request of the county archivist to
the Oxfordshire Record Office for consultation. They consist of the legislative and financial
records of the city. The earliest documents (from 1275) are found pasted in the city memor
andum book. However, the vast majority of the records survive only from the sixteenth
century - the hannisters registers from 1514, the council minutes from 1528, and the finan
cial records from 1553-
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
CITY MEMORANDUM BOOK
The city memorandum book consists of three volumes containing property leases, bonds,
indentures, lists of civic officials, etc, for the period of 1275-1649.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, D.5.2; 1583-4; English and Latin; parchment (now mounted on a
paper stub); single sheet; 121mm x 223mm (105mm x 200mm). Bound in a guardbook, numbered
181, and foliated 190-90v; in a brown cloth binding with leather corners and spine, stamped title
on spine: OXFORD CITY RECORDS vol II 1505-1584.
HANNISTERS REGISTERS
The term hannister is unique to Oxford. According to W.H. Turner it was derived from the
Latin hanisterius, which he says, seems to be the Latinized form of the old German and
Latin Hansa, societas mercatorum "a corporation of merchants" I0 The registers are what, in
other jurisdictions, would be called freemen s registers, recording the entry of men into the
freedom of the city. Admission to the freedom was open to freemen s sons, to those who had
been apprenticed to freemen, or to those who paid a fee for the privilege. The number of
freemen in the sixteenth century must have totalled several hundreds, perhaps a third or
even a half of the adult male population. " Among other things, freemen were required to
obey the city s officers, to keep its liberties, to share in its taxation and other burdens, to join
no guild without the council s consent, to report to city officers any foreign merchant "that
useth any craft buying or selling." 12 The further obligation of a freeman was to serve in office.
Some freemen, especially as the political climate grew difficult in the seventeenth century,
refused to serve and were fined accordingly. On the other side, the privileges of a freeman were
the ancient right to trade outside the city, to elect the city s chief officers from constable to
mayor, to take part in the festive and ceremonial occasions, to share the valuable pasture of
Port Meadow, and to use the city s municipal charities including the freemen s school. 13
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, A.5.3; 1514-1608; English and Latin; paper; v + 419 + iii; 394mm x
276mm (text area varies); contemporary ink foliation (bound so folios run 1-23, 401-9, 24-394,
413-19, 395-400, 411-12, 423); brown suede binding, 4 red leather patches on spine tooled with
gold and lettered: (1) ENROLMENT OF APPRENTICES. 1514-1591. LISTS OF COUNCIL
1520-1528, (2) SECTATORES 1520-1591 HANNISTERS 1520-91, (3) MAYORS COURT.
(PROCEEDINGS) 1528-1535 HUSTINGS COURT PROCEEDINGS HEN. VIII TO ELIZ TH
(4) PURCHASE OF CATTLE (INROLLED) 1569-1608.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, L.5.1; 1590-1614; Latin; paper; iv + 302 + v; 383mm x 255mm (text
area varies); 19th-c. ink foliation; some ff damaged and repaired; brown suede binding, red leather patch
on spine tooled in gold: HANNISTERS 1590-1614.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, L.5.2; 1613-40; Latin; paper; ii + 421 + iii; 434mm x 285mm (377mm x
261mm); modern ink foliation (ff 335-8 numbered but blank, ff 339-421 written from the end
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
of the book forward and inverted); some damage and repair; 19th-c. brown suede binding upsid.
down and backward, both boards detached from spine, red leather patch on spine tooled in gold:
HANNISTERS. 1613.-1640.
le
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
The city council minutes survive in two overlapping series: C/FC/1/A1 and C/FC/1/A2.
The relationship between the two series is difficult to determine precisely. C/FC/1/Al is not
merely a duplicate fair copy of C/FC/1/A2 although the C/FC/1/A1 books do seem to be
fair copies of important material contained in the C/FC/1/A2 series. In general they are of
a better quality, more neatly, formally, and often more ornamentally written and in better
condition. Where they do duplicate the C/FC/1/A2 series, the entries are often corrected
versions. For example a clause crossed out in C/FC/1/A2/1, f 5, has simply been omitted in
C/FC/l/Al/001, f 37. The C/FC/1/A2 versions are clearly the first ones, possibly written
during the meetings themselves. Many C/FC/1/A2 items do not appear at all in C/FC/1/A1,
indicating that the more careful series was meant to be a digest of only those items that the
council wanted to keep for future reference or permanent record. One feature of the C/FC/1/A1
series that is missing from the C/FC/1/A2 series is the annual lists of the newly elected council
officers. Indeed for a few years around 1560 C/FC/l/Al/001 contains little other than these lists.
C/FC/1/A1/002 bears a similar relationship to the C/FC/1/A2 series as C/FC/l/Al/001,
with formal lists of elected officers and, on the whole, fewer running minutes of council
business. However, in one instance, C/FC/1/A1/002 usefully fills the gap in C/FC/1/A2/1
where the latter covers the business between 1583 and 1586 in a few scrappy dog-eared notes
(ff 165-6), not in chronological order, and then jumps to 1600. C/FC/1/A1/002 covers the
missing years. By 1600, on the other hand, C/FC/1/A1/002 seems to have become a fair copy
of C/FC/1/A2/1, recording the same material with the emendations incorporated. Some
material is reorganized and the lists of councillors names are featured with display letters
(eg, ff 58v-9). It is possible that the C/FC/1/A2 series began as single sheets used to take
notes at the meetings, which were later copied as the C/FC/1/A1 series, and that some of the
gaps in the C/FC/1/A2 series can be explained by the possibility that the sheets were bound
later after some of them had been lost.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, C/FC/l/Al/001; 1528-92; English; paper; ii + 371 + i; 289mm x
410mm (245mm x 350mm); 19th-c. ink foliation; brown leather blind-stamped binding.
Oxford, Oxford Cicy Archives, C/FC/l/Al/002; 1591-1628; English; paper; ii + 322 + i; 265mm x
398mm (215mm x 370mm); contemporary ink foliation; brown reversed calf binding.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, C/FC/1/A2/2; 1615-34; Latin and English; paper; ii + 310 + ii; 210mm x
320mm (190mm x 300mm); contemporary and later ink foliation; original brown calf binding
with decorative stamp. This volume is double foliated throughout by contemporary hands. Careful
examination revealed that the first system of foliation is the more accurate and it has been followed
in these extracts.
709
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, C/FC/1/A1/003; 1628-63; English with some headings in Latin; paper;
iv + 345 + xix (+ 7 reversed, containing other material); 300mm x 430mm (270mm x 380mm); con
temporary foliation; blind-tooled reversed calf binding with contemporary label.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, C/FC/1/A2/3; 1635-67; English; paper; ii + 329 + v; 225mm x 310mm
(135mm x 275mm); 19th-c. ink foliation; brown suede binding decorated with blind stamp.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, .4.5; 1635-1715; English with some Latin headings; paper; v + 336
+ ii; 90mm x 80mm, (text area varies); 19th-c. ink foliation; order of writing generally chronological
with occasional exceptions when later material is inserted in blank spaces; some damage and crumbling
on edges, some folios near the end have been bound in upside down; apparently later brown suede binding
with decorative leaves stamped on front cover corners, red leather label with gold tooling: 1635-1715.
CIVIL WAR. CHARITIES. GENERAL MINUTES. Contains a table of contents by George P. Hester
dated 1841.
AUDITED CORPORATION ACCOUNTS
The finances of the city were the responsibility of two separate sets of officials - the chamber
lains and the keykeepers. The chamberlains served for only one year and were in charge of the
city s current account - that is, the normal receipts and expenditures for their year in office.
Payments for entertainment and later for public sermons came from the chamberlains accounts.
The chamberlains were also responsible, among other duties, for repairs to public buildings, the
gallows, and the fire-fighting equipment. The five keykeepers or keepers of the chest with five
keys were the city s more permanent financial officers during the sixteenth century, consisting
of the mayor pro tern and senior councillors. "They were in charge of the overall finances of
the city, including monitoring outstanding debts and arrearages both in cash and plate (such
as William Gibbons obligation for his wait s scutcheon (p 621)). The keykeepers were also
ultimately responsible for the accounts of Castle Mill (accounted for twice a year), the accounts
of the Frideswide and Austen fairs until 1571, and charitable bequests.
The accounts were audited annually although the audit was often not done at the end of
the accounting year but sometime later. Sometimes the lateness of the audit date is quite
conspicuous, eg, the 1554-5 account was not audited until 16 December 1556, the 1556-7
account was audited 12 January 1558/9, and the 1559-60 account was audited 29 January
1560/1. Thereafter the annual accounts were routinely audited in November or December of
the same year in which they ended.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, P.5.1; 1553-91; English; paper; i + 274 + i; 400mm x 270mm; modern
ink foliation; modern brown suede binding, red leather patch on spine with AUDIT ACCOUNTS
1553-1591 stamped in gold. The accounts end on f 240. The rest of the volume was begun as a
record of indentures and other legal notes followed by a record of payments for the lottery of 1568.
The numbering of this part of the volume was begun as if this was the beginning of the book. The 34
folios are written upside down - that is, the book was reversed when the audit accounts were begun.
The pages at this end are tabbed (ie, cut away in order) as if for easy reference.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, P 5 .2; 1592-1682; English; paper; i * 406; 385mm x 200mm; modern
.liation; some d.splay headings; some intrusive show through after f 55; modem brown suede
ither patch on spine stamped in gold: AUDIT ACCOUNTS 1592-1682,
KEYKEEPERS ACCOUNTS
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, P.4.1; 1555-1664; English and Latin; paper; ii + 263 * i; 350mm x
)mm; modern ink foliation; some display headings; some show through; modern dark brown
leather binding stamped and tooled, red leather patch on upper spine stamped in eold- KEYKEEPERS
ACCOUNTS 1555-1664.
INDENTURES AND LEASES BOOKS
These two books contain the seventeenth-century leases for the famous dancing school in the
Bocardo. Both were placed in evidence in a case in Chancery in November 1873 involving a
dispute between the city and a man named Muir. Notes to this effect are pasted on the covers.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, D.5-5; 1578-1636; English; paper; i + 508 + v; 420mm x 255mm
(text area varies); contemporary ink foliation; some display capitals; 19th-c. brown kid binding, red
leather patch on spine tooled in gold: LEDGER 1578-1636.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, D.5.6; 1636-75; English; parchment; 436mm x 264mm (400mm x
202mm); iii -f 563 + vi; original ink foliation; good condition; 19th-c. brown suede binding with a
red leather patch on the spine tooled in gold: LEDGER. 1636.-1675.
CITY WAITS OBLIGATIONS
These obligations are among miscellaneous documents mounted on stubs in a guardbook.
It begins with documents from the sixteenth century but items are not in date order. A note
signed GH or George Hester inside the front cover indicates that the documents were
collected over the period 1839-53 and bound by order of the council at the time.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, F.5.2, 16th c.-19th c.; English and Latin; paper; vii + 283 (including
20 leaves of 19th-c. index) + i; 205mm x 310mm; trace of the seal remains on f 51; 19th-c. brown
binding with calf corners and spine, title stamped in gold on front cover: CITY OF OXFORD, title
stamped in gold on the spine: SUNDRY DOCUMENTS AUTOGRAPHS, etc I.
CHAMBERLAINS ACCOUNTS (AC)
Brian Twyne was a seventeenth-century antiquarian and the first keeper of the archives in
the Bodleian Library. Just as he extracted material from the University and college archives,
so he made notes from the city records that, in some cases, are no longer extant. Twyne s
transcriptions are now the only evidence that has survived of particular events. Two extracts
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS 71 1
are included here. One from 1414 gives us early information about a civic bullring. The
second from 1490-1 gives us the traditional order of the civic procession at the time of the
newly sworn mayor s return from London.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Twyne 23; c 18 May 1657; Latin and English; paper; ii + 334 + i;
202mm x 154mm (194mm x 120mm); contemporary ink pagination (some confusion in pagination);
uniform margin ruled top to bottom; fair condition, some pages brittle or worn; contemporary green
leather and board binding, now detached from spine, contemporary and antiquarian numbers in ink
on spine.
Guild Records
The financial records of only two guilds, the Cordwainers or Shoemakers and the Tailors,
survive from the period. They are deposited in the Bodleian.
The Cordwainers accounts were rendered in mid-November, suggesting that the accounting
year was based on the company election date, the Monday next after the feast of St Luke the
Evangelist (18 October).
The dating of the Tailors accounts is less straightforward. When expressed, the accounting
year in MS. Morrell 9 runs from the Monday after the feast of St John the Baptist to the same in
the next year. The MS. Rolls Oxon 66 follows a Michaelmas to Michaelmas accounting year.
CORDWAINERS MINUTES
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Morrell 20; 1534-1645; English; paper; i + 109; 200mm x 290mm
(text area varies); 19th-c. pagination; contemporary brown leather binding with decorative stamping,
title on spine: THE CORDWAYNOR OF OXFORD ANNUAL MEETINGS ACCOMPTS ETC
1534-1645.
TAILORS WARDENS ACCOUNTS
The accounts of the Tailors Company are preserved in what appears to be two radically dif
ferent formats. Some accounts in the sequence are now pasted into a nineteenth-century
guardbook (Bodl.: MS. Morrell 9). Others are bundled together and stitched at the top
(Bodl.: MS. Rolls Oxon 66). There are no duplicate accounts and one set does not appear
to be a rough draft of the other. There are needle marks in the membranes of MS. Morrell 9
similar to the marks that would appear in the membranes of MS. Rolls Oxon 66 if the
bundle was disassembled. It appears likely that the membranes represent what once was a
single series bundled together but that in the nineteenth century the bundle came apart
with some of the loose membranes pasted into a guardbook and others simply sewed back
together again.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Morrell 9; 1511-1620; English and Latin; parchment and paper- i + 34
i; 285mm x 420mm; modern pencil foliation with some folios missing and some sequences paginated
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
|H ^ gUardb k b Und in ^< ^ ^ both covers
gold stamp on sp.ne: TAYLORS COMPANY OXFORD ACCOMPTS.
Extracts from:
f 8, piece 4: 1512-13; single mb; 418mm x 278mm (315mm x 260mm).
f 9, piece 5: 1513-14; single mb; 385mm x 250mm (355mm x 247mm).
f 33, piece 19: 1567-8; 2 mbs; 720mm x 180mm (592mm x 150mm).
I 37, piece 22: 1573-4; detached third mb of roll for 1573-4 pasted on ff35-7; 235mm x 260mm
(96mm x 230mm).
f 46, piece 30: 1619-20; detached last 2 mbs of roll pasted on ff 42-6; 756mm x 235mm (735mm
x 228mm).
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Rolls Oxon 66; 1575-1712; English; parchment; 12 rolls stitched
together at top and rolled as 1, fastened with modern pink string.
Extracts from:
roll 2: 1578-9; 2 mbs; 1,143mm x 270mm.
roll 3: 1591-2; 2 mbs; 1,000mm x 223mm.
roll 4: 1595-6; 2 mbs; 955mm x 222mm.
roll 5: 1597-8; 2 mbs; 945mm x 220mm.
roll 6: 1598-9; 2 mbs; 1,057mm x 205mm.
roll 8: 1610-11; 3 mbs; 1,428mm x 255mm.
Monastic Documents
ARCHBISHOP PECHAM S REGISTER
London, Lambeth Palace Library, MS Archbishop Pecham s Register; 1279-92; Latin; parchment;
i + 249 (with some irregularities including inserted sheets); irregular size leaves, the maximum being
340mm x 215mm (maximum 250mm x 155mm); foliated; many individual leaves cockled; bound in
dark brown decorated leather over boards, prominent wormholes, much repaired, written on spine:
PECKHAM 1279.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Parish Records
ALL SAINTS CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS
All Saints was one of the original medieval parishes, the church standing on the corner of the
High Street and Turl Street. On the foundation of Lincoln College in 1427, the parish was
amalgamated with those of St Michael at the North Gate and St Mildred; the church became
the collegiate church. It was made redundant in 1971 and is now the college library.
Manuscripts survive from the 1230s. The records were deposited with the Bodleian Library
from 1967 and subsequently with the ORO. The collection was recatalogued in 1996.
The accounting year for the one account excerpted here ran from the Wednesday after Easter
to the same in the next year.
Cowley, Oxfordshire Record Office, PAR 189/4/F1/1, item 1; 23 April 1606-8 April 1607; English;
parchment; single mb; 642mm x 265mm (600mm x 248mm). Roll now numbered T in pencil and
mounted with other individual rolls in paper guardbook, covered in brown leather, brown calf spine,
stamped on spine: CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS I FROM 1605 I to 1716.
ALL SAINTS CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS (AC)
This is an antiquarian collection of notes and transcriptions from various church accounts
(All Saints, St Aldate, St Martin, St Mary Magdalen, St Michael, and St Peter in the East)
and miscellaneous college material (registers, statutes, muniments, etc).
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Wood D.2; c 1665; English and Latin; paper; viii + 318; 202mm x 16lmm
(text area varies); mixed ink and pencil pagination (pages numbered 1-666 but some numbers used 2 or
3 times, pencil numbering adjusted to bridge gaps in ink numbering); some page edges damaged; parch
ment over cardboard binding with holes in front and back covers equidistant from edges suggesting
there once was a clasp, spine covering cracked and faded, labelled in ink: V D.2 53 8513, burgundy
patch with gold lettering: WOOD 2 D.
ST ALDATE CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS
Records survive from 1394. The collection includes churchwardens accounts of 1501-2 from
St Michael at the South Gate, one of the parishes amalgamated with St Aldate in 1524 when
St Michael s Church was demolished for the building of Cardinal College (see p 592).
From 1536-7 forward the accounting year began on St Aldate s Day (4 February) with the
exception of 1587-8 (which began 2 February). From 1604-5 the accounting year began and
ended within the week of Easter from one year to the next.
The rolls in each series have been dated and shelf-marked by Bodleian librarians and packed
in flat boxes.
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, DD Par. Oxford St Aldate c.15; 1410-1590; English; parchment.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Extracts from:
c.l 5/2; 1S35/6-6/7; 3 mbs; 1,650mm x 200mm (1,600mm x 170mm), written on dorse; slight tearing
at left margin.
c.15/11; 1581/2-2/3; 2 mbs; 1,050mm x 175mm (900mm x 150mm).
c.lS/15; 1586/7-7/8; single mb; 570mm x 420mm (350mm x 330mm); 2 cols; some decoration; 2 small
paper notes pinned to corner.
. . 1 V17; 1588/9-89/90; 2 mbs; 750mm x 200mm (650mm x 160mm); 3 small paper notes pinned
to bottom.
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, DD Par. Oxford St Aldate c.16; 1592-1609; English.
Extracts from:
c.16/1; 1591/2-2/3; parchment; 2 mbs; 1,090mm x 200mm (940mm x 170mm).
c. 16/4; 1594/5-5/6; parchment; 2 mbs; 700mm x 145mm (670mm x 120mm); some writing on dorse.
c. 16/5; 1595/6-6/7; 4 fragments (2 were once a roll of 2 mbs, 2 paper accounts); fragment containing
the record: 280mm x 174mm (260mm x 150mm); tear immediately below relevant entries.
c. 16/10; 1602/3-3/4; parchment; 2 mbs; 510mm x 125mm (500mm x 125mm); some writing on dorse.
c. 16/11; 1604-5; parchment; single mb; 600mm x 150mm (580mm x 130mm).
c. 16/12; 1605-6; parchment; single mb; 700mm x 140mm (670mm x 125mm).
c.16/13; 1606-7; parchment; 2 mbs; 1,520mm x 310mm (1,320mm x 250mm).
c. 16/14; 1607-8; parchment; single mb; 400mm x 120mm (380mm x 105mm).
c.16/1 5; 1609-10; parchment; single mb; 790mm x 320mm (640mm x 280mm).
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, DD Par. Oxford St Aldate b.17; 1610-42; English; parchment.
Extracts from:
b.17/1; 1610-11; 2 mbs; 1,050mm x 315mm (1,000mm x 280mm).
b.17/3; 1612-13; 2 mbs; 1,040mm x 310mm (1,015mm x 270mm).
b.17/4; 1616-17; single mb; 1,380mm x 275mm (1,290mm x 260mm).
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
b.17/5; 1618-19; 2 mbs; 820mm x 290mm (700mm x 250mm; dorse 450mm x 200mm); written on
both sides.
b.17/6; 1619-20; 2 mbs; 1,058mm x 442mm (1,025mm x 399mm).
b.17/7; 1620-1; 2 mbs; 935mm x 498mm (850mm x 443mm).
b.17/8; 1621-2; 2 mbs; 1, 218mm x 531mm (1,139mm x 454mm).
b.17/9; 1622-3; 2 mbs; 970mm x 200mm (940mm x 165mm).
b.17/10; 1623-4; 2 mbs; 1,300mm x 468mm (1,274mm x 424mm).
b. 17/11; 1625-6; single mb; 620mm x 430mm (575mm x 402mm); 2 cols.
LEASE OF ST ALDATE S PARISH HOUSE
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, MS. DD. Par. Oxford St Aldate c.24/1; 30 January 1569/70;
English; parchment; single indented mb; 77- 90mm x 478mm; some display capitals, lower 28mm of
mb turned up to allow for red wax seal (arms not decipherable) 18mm in diameter; tab parchment
strip 15mm wide, endorsed: Sealed and (...) in the presence of lohn Burkesdall William Furnes and
Phillip cooles the wryter/.
ST MARTIN CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS
The records of St Martin s, Carfax, were handed over to All Saints when St Martin s Church
was demolished in 1896; in 1967 they were transferred to the Bodleian Library and sub
sequently to the ORO. A long series of churchwardens accounts survives (from 1540) as well
as a large collection of churchwardens bills and receipts from the sixteenth century to the
nineteenth.
PAR 207/4/Fl/l comprises account rolls and some inventories. The accounting years were
organized as follows: from 1543-4 onward they began and ended on St Catherine s Day
(25 November); from 1574-5 onward they began and ended on the Sunday after the feast
of St Catherine; from 1603-4 onward it was Eastertide to Eastertide. St Martin accounts
for 1623-4, 1624-5, and 1631-2 through to 1635-6 explicitly state the fiscal year was
Easter week to Easter week. For the rest only the days and months on which the accounts
were made (ie, ended or rendered) are known, but these dates do suggest an Easter to Easter
framework. Up to 1625 the rendering dates were as early as the day after Easter and as late
as Trinity Sunday.
The accounts were mounted in a guardbook in 1860. The item here refers to the guard-
book number as well as the number on the original artifact, as they match (ie, the modern
piece numbers are the same as the folio/stub numbers and empty stubs are also given folio
numbers).
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, PAR 207/4/Fl/l; 1540-1680: English; parchment, some paper;
238 leaves; 540mm x 360mm; generally good condition; bound in brown cloth with leather spine and
corners (front cover now loose), spine tooled, title on spine: ST MARTINS CHURCHWARDENS
ACCOUNTS. 1540-1680.
1 \iracts from:
item tn !S-t3-4; single mb; 670mm x 362mm (630mm x 347mm)-, 2 cols.
item 8; 1544-5; single mb; 530mm x 248mm (recto: 522mm x 235mm, dorse: 420mm x 182mm).
item 9; 1546-7; 2 mbs; 1,162mm x 270mm (recto: 1,010mm x 255mm, dorse: 590mm x 203mm).
item 22; 1553-4; single mb; 668mm x 238mm (recto: 638mm x 237mm, dorse: 525mm x 235mm).
item 25; 1554-5; single mb; 764mm x 208mm (recto: 734mm x 202mm, dorse: 278mm x 183mm).
item 28; 1557-8; single mb; 761mm x 235mm (recto: 745mm x 233mm, dorse: 55mm x 185mm).
item 30; 1558-9; single mb; 775mm x 255mm (735mm x 253mm).
item 37; 1564-5; 3 mbs; 800mm x 130mm (760mm x 128mm).
item 39; 1565-6; 2 mbs; 972mm x 167mm (710mm x 147mm).
item 41; 1566-7; single mb; 529mm x 78mm (recto: 525mm x 65mm, dorse: 65mm x 43mm).
item 17; 1568-9; 2 mbs; 677mm x 185mm (650mm x 152mm).
item 48; 1574-5; 2 mbs; 686mm x 240mm (627mm x 205mm).
item 55; 1578-9; 2 mbs; 1,052mm x 190mm (recto: 1,042mm x 170mm, dorse: 25mm x 160mm).
Dorse not part of an account, indicating reused parchment.
items 56-9; 1579-80; 2 mbs of single roll now detached and bound separately: item 56 (mb 1):
404mm x 170mm (392mm x 138mm), item 59 (mb 2): 392mm x 172mm (324mm x 160mm).
The relevant entries are on item 56.
item 63; 1581-2; 2 mbs; 852mm x 190mm (820mm x 180mm).
item 65; 1582-3; single mb; 508mm x 192mm (505mm x 170mm).
items
., 67-9; 1583-4; 2 mbs of single roll now detached and bound separately: item 67 (mb 1):
470mm x 192mm (375mm x 179mm), item 69 (mb 2): 490mm x 190mm (315mm x 179mm).
The relevant entry is on item 67.
717
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
item 73; 1584-5; single mb; 750mm x 228mm (630mm x 212mm).
item 74; 1585-6; 2 mbs; 834mm x 195mm (725mm x 177mm).
item 77; 1588-9; single mb; 512mm x 193mm (505mm x 152mm).
item 81; 1589-90; 2 mbs; 752mm x 168mm (707mm x 150mm).
item 82; 1590-1; 2 mbs; 802mm x 218mm (790mm x 195mm).
item 85; 1592-3; single mb; 532mm x 184mm (528mm x 165mm).
item 89; 1594-5; 2 mbs; 1,252mm x 185mm (1,235mm x 178mm).
item 94; 1597-8; 2 mbs; 880mm x 195mm (recto: 700mm x 178mm, dorse: 280mm x 180mm).
item 96; 1598-9; single mb; 620mm x 250mm (570mm x 225mm).
item 98; 1600-1; single mb; 525mm x 260mm (450mm x 240mm).
item 99; 1601-2; single mb; 528mm x 259mm (525mm x 228mm).
item 100; 1602-3; single mb; 564mm x 248mm (555mm x 214mm).
item 102; 27 November 1603-1 April 1605; single mb; 685mm x 345mm (648mm x 328mm).
item 103; 1605-6; single mb; 525mm x 195mm (522mm x 170mm).
item 105; 1606-7; single mb; 530mm x 195mm (525mm x 168mm).
item 107; 1608-9; single mb; 772mm x 194mm (705mm x 185mm).
item 110; 1609-10; single mb; 542mm x 198mm (490mm x 192mm).
item 112; 1610-11; single mb; 696mm x 252mm (625mm x 248mm).
items 113-15; 1611-12; 2 mbs of single roll now detached and bound separately: item 113 (mb 1):
408mm x 175mm (recto: 402mm x 173mm, dorse: 224mm x 152mm), item 1 15 (mb 2): 327mm x
200mm (296mm x 170mm). The relevant entry is on item 113.
item 116; 1612-13:3 mbs; 1,1 15mm x 220mm (1,065mm x 200mm).
item 118; 1613-14; 2 mbs; 1,110mm x 195mm (1,065mm x 170mm).
item 119; 1614-15; 3 mbs; 1,630mm x 225mm (1,542mm x 205mm).
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
item 121; 1615-1 6; 2 mbs; 1,180mm x 222mm (995mm x 200mm).
item 123; 1616-17; 2 mbs; 1,140mm x 183mm (1,1 15mm x 170mm).
item 124; 1617-18; 2 mbs; 945mm x 125mm (935mm x 123mm).
item 12S; 1618-19; 2 mbs; 865mm x 163mm (850mm x 146mm).
item 127; 1619-20; single mb; 800mm x 160mm (787mm x 14lmm).
items 134-6; 1620-1; 3 mbs of single roll, 2 now detached from the third and bound separately,
item 134 (mbs 1 and 2): 518mm x 175mm (508mm x 155mm), item 136 (mb 3): 292mm x 170mm
(198mm x 165mm). The relevant entry is on item 134.
items 138-40; 1621-2; 3 mbs of single roll, 2 now detached from the third and bound separately;
item 138 (mb 1): 648mm x 158mm (630mm x 144mm), item 140 (mbs 2 and 3): 445mm x 170mm
(428mm x 153mm). The relevant entry is on item 138.
items 141-7; 1622-3; 5 mbs of single roll, now in 4 pieces and bound separately, item 141 (mbs 1 and
2): 665mm x 198mm (632mm x 174mm), item 142 (mb 3): 683mm x 200mm (660mm x 180mm),
item 145 (mb 4): 796mm x 200mm (700mm x 168mm), item 147 (mb 5): 340mm x 200mm
(272mm x 195mm). The relevant entry is on item 141.
item 148; 1623-4; single mb; 532mm x 470mm (530mm x 455mm); 2 cols,
item 151; 1624-5; single mb; 498mm x 420mm (480mm x 400mm); 2 cols.
item 153; 1625-6; single mb; 743mm x 362mm (722mm x 342mm); 2 cols,
item 155; 1626-7; single mb; 705mm x 360mm (638mm x 332mm); 2 cols,
item 157; 1627-8; single mb; 662mm x 436mm (632mm x 405mm); 2 cols,
icem 159; 1628-9; single mb; 525mm x 495mm (520mm x 465mm); 2 cols,
item 161; 1629-30; single mb; 528mm x 415mm (520mm x 406mm); 2 cols,
item 163; 1630-1; single mb; 524mm x 415mm (520mm x 406mm); 2 cols,
item 165; 1631-2; single mb; 740mm x 527mm (735mm x 500mm); 2 cols,
item 167; 1632-3; single mb; 485mm x 432mm (438mm x 425mm); 2 cols,
item 169; 1633-4; single mb; 635mm x 340mm (625mm x 320mm); 2 cols.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
item 171; 1634-5; single mb; 530mm x 440mm (520mm x 425mm); 2 cols,
item 173; 1635-6; single mb; 707mm x 470mm (672mm x 440mm); 2 cols,
item 175; 1636-7; single mb; 672mm x 498mm (648mm x 480mm); 2 cols.
item 179; 1638-9; single mb; 660mm x 475mm (655mm x 465mm); 2 cols; substantial tear upper
right segment.
item 181; 1640-1; single mb; 448mm x 415mm (445mm x 413mm); 2 cols.
ST MARY MAGDALEN CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS
The medieval parish of St Mary Magdalen lay outside the medieval walls of Oxford, to the
north, but was generally treated as part of Oxford (see p 592). Records survive from 1430;
most were deposited in the Bodleian Library in 1954 before being transferred to the ORO.
The accounting year for 1560-1 onward is not specified but the accounts were usually
rendered on Rogation Sunday. As of 1605-6 the accounts were rendered on the Tuesday
after Easter.
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, PAR 208/4/Fl; 1560-1650; English; parchment; generally good
condition (some have areas of damaged parchment or faded ink).
Extracts from:
PAR 208/4/F1/2; 1560-1; single mb; 750mm x 425mm (675mm x 385mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/3; 1561-2; 2 mbs; 730mm x 270mm (700mm x 225mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/6; 1564-5; single mb; 580mm x 315mm (485mm x 305mm); chewed at edges by
a rodent.
PAR 208/4/F1/7; 1565-6; single mb; 690mm x 310mm (590mm x 290mm); considerable repair on
left side.
PAR 208/4/F1/8; 1567-8; single mb; 560mm x 323mm (500mm x 275mm); special account to
buy new bell and repair old one rolled in with larger account.
PAR 208/4/F1/9; 1568-9; single mb; 630mm x 345mm (540mm x 343mm); written right to the
left edge.
PAR 208/4/F1/10; 1569-70; single mb; 715mm x 350mm (680mm x 343).
PAR 208/4/F1/1 1; 1570-1; single mb; 640mm x 368mm (570mm x 360mm).
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
PAR 208/4/F1/15; 1575-6; single mb; 690mm x 460mm (682mm x 447mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/16; 1576-7; single mb; 640mm x 485mm (543mm x 462mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/17; 1577-8; single mb; 640mm x 500mm (555mm x 475mm); rent roll pinned to
the bottom.
PAR 208/4/F1/18; 1578-9; single mb; 618mm x 485mm (595mm x 480mm); rent roll rolled inside.
PAR 208/4/F1/19; 1579-80; single mb; 610mm x 490mm (520mm x 450mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/20; 1580-1; single mb; 695mm x 490mm (620mm x 460mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/21; 1581-2; single mb; 645mm x 520mm (510mm x 490mm); rent roll pinned to
the bottom.
PAR 208/4/F1/22; 1583-4; single mb; 580mm x 403mm (490mm x 387mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/23; 1584-5; single mb; 690mm x 430mm (665mm x 390mm); 2 rent rolls pinned
to the bottom and notices of debts recorded on the dorse.
PAR 208/4/F1/24; 1585-6; single mb; 880mm x 435mm (720mm x 410mm); rent roll and account
pinned to the bottom.
PAR 208/4/F1/25; 1587-8; single mb; 775mm x 433mm (665mm x 420mm); loose rent roll
rolled inside and another sewn to the side at the bottom.
PAR 208/4/F1/26; 1588-9; single mb; 920mm x 435mm (740mm x 370mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/27; 1590-1; single mb; 790mm x 525mm (720mm x 490mm); rodent holes.
PAR 208/4/F1/28; 1591-2; single mb; 700mm x 580mm (622mm x 570mm); rent roll rolled inside.
PAR 208/4/F1/29; 1593-4; single mb; 805mm x 605mm (720mm x 565mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/30; 1594-5; single mb; 780mm x 455mm (700mm x 310mm); rent roll pinned to
larger account.
PAR 208/4/F1/31; 1595-6; single mb; 605mm x 435mm (565mm x 355mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/32; 1596-7; single mb; 745mm x 490mm (705mm x 375mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/33; 1597-8; single mb; 670mm x 390mm (658mm x 322mm); heading torn; inventory
on dorse.
721
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
PAR 208/4/F1/34; 1598-9; single mb; 594mm x 377mm (460mm x 320mm); rent roll pinned to
the bottom; a receipt for 1599 and an inventory on the dorse.
PAR 208/4/F1/35; 1599-1600; single mb; 730mm x 480mm (530mm x 395mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/36; 1602-3; single mb; 710mm x 555mm (695mm x 530mm); tear in the heading.
PAR 208/4/F1/37; 1604-5; single mb; 650mm x 530mm (520mm x 460mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/38; 1605-6; single mb; 590mm x 450mm (535mm x 440mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/39; 1606-7; single mb; 730mm x 615mm (675mm x 515mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/40; 1608-9; single mb; 620mm x 445mm (560mm x 430mm); rent roll pinned to
the bottom.
PAR 208/4/F1/41; 1609-10; single mb; 580mm x 450mm (520mm x 410mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/42; 1610-1 1; single mb; 650mm x 485mm (570mm x 370mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/43; 1612-13; single mb; 720mm x 480mm (640mm x 390mm); inventory on dorse.
PAR 208/4/F 1/44; 1613-14; single mb; 630mm x 532mm (590mm x 515mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/45; 1615-16; single mb; 615mm x 415mm (570mm x 405mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/46; 1616-17; single mb; 640mm x 470mm (550mm x 390mm); rent roll attached.
PAR 208/4/F1/47; 1617-18; single mb; 700mm x 410mm (610mm x 390mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/48; 1619-20; single mb; 540mm x 380mm (515mm x 335mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/49; 1620-1; single mb; 790mm x 410mm (610mm x 385mm); half of bottom
200mm are cut away from the right side; inventory on dorse.
PAR 208/4/F1/50; 1621-2; single mb; 750mm x 400mm (710mm x 400mm).
PAR 208/4/F 1/51; 1622-3; single mb; 680mm x 430mm (640mm x 420mm); rent roll sewn to
bottom right edge, roll shaved after writing.
PAR 208/4/F1/52; 1623-4; single mb; 740mm x 423mm (545mm x 410mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/53; 1624-5; single mb; 650mm x 515mm (590mm x 435mm); rent roll pinned to
larger account.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
PAR 208/4/F1/54; 1625-6; single m b; 670 mm x 490 mm (660 mm x 425mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/55; 1626-7; single mb; 670 mm x 533 mm (635mm x 410mm); small parchment roll
stitched to the bottom.
PAR 208/4/F 1/56; 1627-8; single mb; 645mm x 525mm (535mm x 490mm); small parchment roll
stitched to the bottom.
PAR 208/4/F1/57; 1628-9; single mb; 710mm x 563mm (645mm x 525mm); small parchment roll
stitched to the bottom.
PAR 208/4/F1/58; 1629-30; single mb; 630mm x 440mm (610mm x 375mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/59; 1630-1; single mb; 780mm x 540mm (695mm x 510mm); damaged and
repaired.
PAR 208/4/F1/60; 1631-2; single mb; 520mm x 500mm (495mm x 470mm); 2 cols.
PAR 208/4/F1/62; 1635-6; 2 mbs; 990mm x 300mm (930mm x 295mm).
PAR 208/4/F1/64; 1639-40; single mb; 705mm x 430mm (695mm x 405mm); left edge shaved off
after writing, increasing slightly from top to bottom.
PAR 208/4/F1/65; 1640-1; 2 mbs; 875mm x 450mm (850mm x 420mm).
ST MARY MAGDALEN CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS (AC)
See under All Saints Churchwardens Accounts (p 713) for Bodl.: MS. Wood D.2.
ST MARY THE VIRGIN CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS
Records survive from 1530. Some were deposited at the ORO directly from the parish in 1935;
others went to the Bodleian Library or Hertford College and most were transferred from there
to the ORO in the 1980s. The collection was recatalogued by the ORO in November 1998.
The fiscal year began on Michaelmas in 1538-9 and 1559-60 onward, St Andrew s Day
(30 November) as of 1584-5, and Easter as of 1605-6.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Rolls Oxon Box 1, #15; 1538-9; English; paper; 3 sheets pasted to
gether serially; 976mm x 213mm (972mm x 178mm average); written only on recto; stitched at the
top to a 19th-c. paper wrapper labelled: Oxfordshire. Oxford - St Mary the Virgin churchwardens
accounts 30-31 Hen. VIII, tied with cloth ribbon and tagged: B.13 Oxfordshire Oxford. St Mary s
Par. No. 15.
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, PAR 209/4/F1; English; parchment.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Extracts from:
PAR 209/4/F1/1; 1553-4; 2 mbs attached serially; 1,065mm (+ 299mm modern extension at foot) x
320mm (1,000mm x 250mm); good condition; later list (17th c.?) of other accounts now lost in this
series on dorse (for 1509, 1522, 1528, 1531, 1534, 1537, and 1554).
PAR 209/4/F1/2; 1559-60; single mb; 695mm x 215mm (555mm x 175mm); written 1 side only;
2 small holes in parchment (not affecting relevant material), otherwise good condition.
PAR 209/4/F1/12; 1584-5; single mb; 680mm x 275mm (630mm x 220mm); written 1 side only;
ink faded throughout, worst at top.
PAR 209/4/F1/18; 1601-2; single mb; 640mm x 310mm (515mm x 275mm); written 1 side only;
some marginal tearing down left side.
PAR 209/4/F1/19; 1602-3; single mb; 610mm x 310mm (515mm x 275mm); written 1 side only;
1 small hole but generally good condition.
PAR 209/4/F1/21; 30 November 1604-20 April 1606; single mb; 720mm x 305mm (630mm x
260mm); written 1 side only; hole at the bottom right, otherwise good condition.
PAR 209/4/F1/24; 1609-10; single mb; 750mm x 350mm (575mm x 275mm); written 1 side only;
a little marginal tearing.
PAR 209/4/F1/25; 161 1-12; single mb; 730mm x 340mm (600mm x 260mm); written 1 side only;
good condition.
PAR 209/4/F1/27; 1623-4?; single mb; 770mm x 350mm (750mm x 300mm); list of other accounts on
dorse, some now lost, once held with this series (for 1602-8, 1610, 1612, 1617, 1623, 1624, 1626-8);
good condition.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Ch. Oxon. a. 11, item 192; 1612-13; English; paper; single sheet;
413mm x 292mm (390mm x 273mm); unnumbered; considerably stained and scored, some loss of
text at left and bottom from cropping; now mounted in a large guardbook with a blue cover, leather
corners, and spine, gold tooling and decoration on spine: MS Charters Oxon. a. 11., title on cover:
OXFORDSHIRE (Charters) MISCELLANEOUS 139-204.
ST MARY THE VIRGIN CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS (AC)
MS. Wood D.3 is a miscellany of antiquarian transcriptions from registers of congregation and
convocation, vice-chancellors registers, Act books and visitation articles, and miscellaneous
parish accounts from as early as 1461 to as late as 1629.
The relevant transcriptions begin on page 250 with the heading, Out of diuers accompts
or rentalls belonging to ye church of s maries in oxon, in ye Custody of ye churchwardens of
ye same parish. That these are copies from now lost rolls of the parish of St Mary the Virgin
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
can be surmised from a payment on page 274: It,m to Georg hall for pauing in a Lane in
th side of ye church going to Catstreete 16 s. 1 d. ob. Catte Street runs north from
High Street to Broad Street between St Mary the Virgin and All Souls College. The
present day Radcliffe Camera is immediately north of the church with the Bodleian Library
the next complex of buildings north of the Camera on the west side of Catte Street.
The entries in the manuscript are out of chronological order.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Wood D.3; 17th c.; English and Latin; paper; i + 143 + iii; 198mm x
< i2mm; contemporary ink pagination; top 44mm of spine covering torn away revealing booklet
gatherings, second tear at bottom of spine; bound in white parchment, stamped in gold on red leather
patch: WOOD 3 D.
ST MICHAEL AT THE NORTH GATE CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS
The collection of churchwardens papers from St Michael at the North Gate includes a series
of accounts beginning in 1403 - the earliest in the county. The collection was recatalogued in
May 1998.
Until 1468-9 accounts run from Epiphany to Epiphany (6 January); from 1468-9 to
1471-2 they run from March to March (undefined start and end dates). They run in two
streams as of 1471-2: Christmas to Christmas and Purification to Purification (2 February).
As of 1490-1 they again follow a March to March year (accounts beginning and ending
sometimes on the Thursday before the feast of St Gregory and sometimes on the Thursday
after). As of 1529-30 they begin and end exactly on the feast of St Gregory (12 March)
and beginning in 1604-5, they follow an Easter to Easter year.
Each separate roll has a piece or item number and is pasted into a large guardbook on the
right page only. The corresponding pages from the printed edition (Salter (ed), Churchwardens
Accounts) are pasted on the left page up to the year 1562.
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, PAR 211/4/Fl/l; 1404-99; Latin and English; parchment;
ii + 39 + ii; 765mm x 680mm; modern pencil foliation (guardbook paper pages); generally good
condition; title stamped on spine in gold: ST. MICHAEL AT THE NORTH GATE, OXFORD
CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS 1403-1499. The accounts are in chronological sequence,
with chantry chapel accounts and churchwardens accounts interspersed.
Extracts from:
item 5; 1422/3-3/4; single mb; 410mm x 335mm (336mm x 303mm).
item 25; 1456/7-7/8; single mb; 418mm x 222mm (385mm x 130mm); continued on dorse from
bottom to top; very faded.
item 33; 1463/4-4/5; single mb; 708mm x 222mm (660mm x 178mm); continued on dorse from
top to bottom.
79S
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
item 38; 1467/8-8/9; single mb; 490mm x 222mm (380mm x 185mm).
item 39; 1468/9-70; single mb; 515mm x 183mm (450mm x 145mm).
item 42; 1469/70-70/1; single mb; 395mm x 210mm (345mm x 178mm); tear from bottom right
corner (100mm x 200mm at largest).
item 43; 1471-2; single mb; 440mm x 255mm (385mm x 215mm); continued on dorse from bottom
to top; slightly faded.
item 46; 1472/3-3/4; single mb; 497mm x 280mm (463mm x 242mm); continued on dorse from
top to bottom.
item 49; 1474/5-5/6; single mb; 395mm x 210mm (370mm x 190mm); tear in bottom left corner
(100mm x 50mm).
item 50; 1475-6; single mb; 352mm x 242mm (297mm x 230mm).
item 53; 1477/8-8/9; single mb; 508mm x 247mm (438mm x 210mm).
item 54; 1478-9; single mb; 420mm x 282mm (388mm x 242mm).
item 55; 1479-80; single mb; 590mm x 242mm (533mm x 203mm).
item 59; 1481-2; single mb; 367mm x 235mm (292mm x 203mm); tear in bottom left corner.
item 62; 1483/4-4/5; single mb; 387mm x 262mm (362mm x 242mm).
item 67; 1489/90-90/1; single mb; 482mm x 238mm (457mm x 215mm).
item 69; 1491-2; single mb; 312mm x 242mm (260mm x 215mm); continued on dorse from bottom
to top.
item 70; 1492-3; single mb; 342mm x 228mm (285mm x 197mm); small irregular tear on right margin.
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, PAR 211/4/F1/2; 1500-1601; ii + 49 + i; English, with a little
Latin; 750mm x 700mm; modern pencil foliation (guardbook pages); generally good condition;
title stamped on spine in gold: ST. MICHAEL AT THE NORTH GATE, OXFORD CHURCH
WARDENS ACCOUNTS 1500-1600. The accounts are in chronological sequence, the numbering
continuous with PAR 21 1/4/Fl/l, with chantry chapel accounts and churchwardens accounts inter
spersed until the chantry chapel accounts end in 1534.
Extracts from:
item 77; 1499/1500-1500/1; parchment; single mb; 400mm x 226mm (360mm x 190mm).
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
cem 90; 151 1/12-12/13; parchment; single mb; 585mm x 290mm (565mm x 255mm).
item 94; 1514/15-15/16; parchment; single mb; 510mm x 275mm (445mm x 220mm).
item 96; 1515/16-16/17; paper; 4 sheets labelled 96-1, 96-2, 96-3, and 96-4; 310mm x 210mm
^ x 185mm).
item 97; 1517-18; paper; 9 sheets in 3 booklets labelled 97-1 (6 sheets), 97-2 (1 sheet), and 97-3
(2 sheets); part 1, f [4]: 550mm x 225mm (275mm x 202mm); part 3, f [1]: 310mm x 215mm
(280mm x 85mm).
item 100; 1518/19-19/20; parchment; single mb; 620mm x 255mm (500mm x 190mm).
item 101; 1522/3-3/4; parchment; single mb; 600mm x 370mm (500mm x 300mm).
item 104; 1524/5-5/6; parchment; single mb; 625mm x 415mm (490mm x 360mm); memos on dorse.
item 105; 1525/6-6/7; parchment; single mb; 620mm x 440mm (receipts: 580mm x 375mm, expenses:
580mm x 220mm); memos on dorse.
item 106; 1526/7-7/8; parchment; single mb; 770mm x 445mm (680mm x 380mm); memos on dorse.
item 108; 1528/9-9/30; parchment; single mb; 700mm x 250mm (660mm x 210mm); memos on dorse.
item 1 10; 1529/30-30/1; parchment; single mb; 685mm x 260mm (600mm x 210mm).
item 111; 1530/1-1/2; parchment; single mb; 685mm x 240mm (600mm x 210mm); memos on dorse.
item 113; 1531/2-2/3; parchment; single mb; 745mm x 240mm (730mm x 195mm); repair
accounts and memos written on dorse bottom to top.
item 114; 1532/3-3/4; parchment; single mb; 560mm x 245mm (515mm x 205mm); end of
accounts and memos written on dorse bottom to top.
item 116; 1534/5-5/6; parchment; single mb; 685mm x 365mm (645mm x 280mm); memos on dorse.
item 1 17; 1535/6-6/7; parchment; single mb; 650mm x 240mm (630mm x 200mm); end of accounts
and memos written on dorse bottom to top.
item 119; 1543/4-4/5; parchment; single mb; 730mm x 260mm (690mm x 220mm); end of accounts
and memos written on dorse bottom to top.
item 120; 1544/5-5/6; parchment; single mb; 670mm x 245mm (630mm x 210mm); end of accounts
and memos written on dorse bottom to top; repaired heavily in upper left margin.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
item 121; 1546/7-7/8; parchment; single mb; 490mm x 290mm (420mm x 230mm); memos on dorse,
item 126; 1555/6-6/7; parchment; single mb; 465mm x 380mm (405mm x 340mm); memos on dorse,
item 127; 1556/7-7/8; parchment; 2 mbs; 1,040mm x 270mm (980mm x 235mm).
item 129; 1557/8-8/9; parchment; single mb; 565mm x 280mm (540mm x 240mm).
item 130; 1560/1-1/2; parchment; single mb; 530mm x 260mm (510mm x 230mm).
item 135; 1566/7-7/8; parchment; single mb; 705mm x 240mm (660mm x 225mm).
item 136; 1568/9-9/70; parchment; single mb; 510mm x 245mm (495mm x 225mm).
item 137; 1569/70-70/1; parchment; single mb; 495mm x 270mm (465mm x 250mm).
item 138; 1570/1-1/2; parchment; single mb; 520mm x 220mm (510mm x 200mm).
item 141; 1574/5-5/6; parchment; single mb; 715mm x 225mm (700mm x 200mm).
item 146; 1579/80-80/1; parchment; single mb; 620mm x 220mm (600mm x 205mm).
item 147; 1580/1-1/2; parchment; single mb; 400mm x 215mm (375mm x 195mm).
item 148; 1582/3-3/4; parchment; single mb; 770mm x 230mm (765mm x 210mm).
item 149; 1585/6-6/7; parchment; single mb; 500mm x 190mm (490mm x 175mm).
item 150; 1586/7-7/8; parchment; single mb; 670mm x 270mm (600mm x 230mm).
item 151; 1587/8-8/9; parchment; 2 mbs; 890mm x 265mm (880mm x 225mm).
item 152; 1588/9-9/90; parchment; single mb; 720mm x 205mm (700mm x 180mm).
item 153; 1589/90-90/1; parchment; 2 mbs; 880mm x 220mm (825mm x 210mm).
item 154; 1592/3-3/4; parchment; single mb; 525mm x 200mm (485mm x 165mm); written on dorse
top to bottom.
item 155; 1593/4-4/5; parchment; 2 mbs; 900mm x 205mm (800mm x 185mm).
item 158; 1595/6-6/7; parchment; 3 mbs; 1,230mm x 160mm (1,205mm x 145mm).
item 159; 1596/7-7/8; parchment; single mb; 680mm x 275mm (640mm x 245mm).
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
item 162; 1598/9-9/1600; parchment; single mb; 690mm x 425mm (680mm x 380mm).
item 163; 1599/1600-1600/1; parchment; single mb; 650mm x 415mm (580mm x 360mm).
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, PAR 211/4/F1/3; 1601-59; English, with a little Latin; parch
ment; ii + 62 + ii; 745mm x 715mm; modern pencil foliation (guardbook pages); generally good
condition; title stamped on spine in gold: ST. MICHAEL AT THE NORTH GATE, OXFORD
CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS 1600-1659. The accounts are in chronological sequence, the
numbering continuous with PAR 211/4/Fl/l and 211/4/F1/2.
Extracts from:
item 165; 1601/2-2/3; single mb; 610mm x 260mm (600mm x 190mm); memos on dorse.
item 166; 1602/3-3/4; single mb; 625mm x 245mm (615mm x 210mm); memos on dorse.
item 167; 1604-5; single mb; 750mm x 300mm (740mm x 250mm); memos on dorse.
item 168; 1605-6; 2 mbs; 970mm x 265mm (960mm x 220mm).
item 169; 1606-7; 2 mbs; 1,210mm x 210mm (1,190mm x 185mm).
item 170; 1607-8; 2 mbs; 995mm x 195mm (950mm x 165mm); written on dorse.
item 171; 1608-9; single mb; 600mm x 275mm (575mm x 210mm); written on dorse.
item 172; 1609-10; single mb; 540mm x 340mm (530mm x 290mm).
item 174; 1611-12; single mb; 700mm x 280mm (660mm x 215mm); written on dorse.
item 175; 1612-13; single mb; 805mm x 295mm (550mm x 225mm); written on dorse.
item 179, 1615-16; single mb; 580mm x 530mm (550mm x 510mm).
item 180; 1616-17; single mb; 660mm x 320mm (520mm x 200mm).
item 181; 1617-18; 2 mbs; 1,100mm x 235mm (880mm x 200mm).
182; 1618-19; single mb; 730mm x 250mm (700mm x 215mm).
184; 1619-20; 2 mbs; 900mm x 205mm (880mm x 175mm).
185; 1620-1; 2 mbs; 1,040mm x 260mm (1,000mm x 240mm).
186; 1621-2; single mb; 730mm x 265mm (710mm x 235mm).
item
item
item
item
729
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
item 187; 1622-3; single mb; 700mm x 315mm (675mm x 275mm).
item 188; 1623-4; single mb; 660mm x 385mm (600mm x 335mm).
item 189; 1624-5; single mb; 630mm x 385mm (555mm x 345mm).
item 190; 1626-7; single mb; 565mm x 465mm (525mm x 390mm).
item 191; 1627-8; single mb; 560mm x 390mm (500mm x 300mm); 2 cols,
item 192; 1629-30; single mb; 540mm x 455mm (480mm x 420mm); 2 cols,
item 193; 1630-1; single mb; 650mm x 445mm (540mm x 320mm); 2 cols,
item 195; 1634-5; single mb; 520mm x 445mm (450mm x 370mm); 2 cols,
item 197; 1635-6; single mb; 580mm x 440mm (470mm x 360mm); 2 cols,
item 199; 1636-7; single mb; 545mm x 425mm (480mm x 390mm); 2 cols,
item 204; 1642-3; single mb; 580mm x 335mm (560mm x 290mm); 2 cols.
ST MICHAEL AT THE SOUTH GATE CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS
When the church of St Michael at the South Gate was demolished to make way for Cardinal
College, its parish was merged with St Aldates. This parish account is among St Aldate papers
catalogued as Miscellaneous and stray papers 1394-1963.
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, DD Par. Oxford St Aldate, c.33, item 1; 8 December 1501-8
December 1502; English; parchment; 2 mbs; 790mm x 215mm (770mm x 190mm); mb 2 text in 2
cols; dog-eared down left side but no loss of text, parchment discoloured.
ST PETER IN THE EAST CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS
This was one of the oldest of the medieval parishes. The church is now the library of St Edmund
Hall. The parish records were transferred to the Bodleian Library in batches from the 1930s
to the 1960s, and subsequently to the ORO.
The fiscal year was Michaelmas to Michaelmas from 1443-4 onward, based on the feast
of the Conception (8 December) as of 1474-5, and Easter to Easter as of 1605-6.
There is a single manuscript mounted on every other sheet. Sheet numbers are in reference
to the guardbook numbering and are retained here as a finding aid. The transcriptions in the
Records show the membrane numbering of the original document.
There are no extant accounts for the period from 1444 to 1461.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, PAR 213/4/Fl/l; 1443-1600 (with major gaps); Latin and English
); parchment; 11 + 101 (individual single mb rolls mounted on separate paper leaves); 572mm
x 458mm; modern pencil foliation; bound in boards covered in brown cloth, kid corners, spine tooled,
title stripped away; stamped on front in black leather patch with tooling: ST PETERS IN THE EAST
CHURCH WARDENS ACCOUNTS. 1444-1599.
Extracts from:
sheet 1: 1443-4; 490mm x 285mm (475mm x 225mm); 180mm x 25mm lost at bottom left corner.
sheet 3: 1461-2; 560mm x 360mm (510mm x 280mm); several holes in parchment, top right and
bottom left corners gone.
sheet 7: 1474-5; 490mm x 218mm (380mm x 185mm); several holes in parchment.
sheet 9: 1480-1; 670mm x 255mm (635mm x 170mm); top right and 340mm x 120mm of bottom
right lost.
sheet 11: 1481-2; 600mm x 185mm (570mm x 150mm); some holes especially at lower right side.
sheet 13: 1482-3; 600mm x 225mm (520mm x 180mm); good condition except for a few tears at
the top.
sheet 15: 1488-9; 620mm x 230mm (560mm x 195mm); some holes but little text lost.
sheet 17: 1495-6; 600mm x 285mm (520mm x 205mm); edges chewed by rodents.
sheet 21: c 1496-1502; 440mm x 370mm (360mm x 265mm); parchment torn at top and left side.
sheet 25: 1503-4; 450mm x 310mm (410mm x 260mm); somewhat dog-eared but otherwise good
condition.
sheet 27: 1504-5; 460mm x 300mm (400mm x 240mm); fair condition.
sheet 29: 1505-6; 740mm x 340mm (recto: 610mm x 265mm, dorse: 150mm x 265mm); fair
condition.
sheet 31: 1507-8; 535mm x 290mm (420mm x 240mm); blotched and faded,
sheet 33: 1508-9; 540mm x 295mm (480mm x 240mm); blotched and faded.
sheet 35: 1509-10; 430mm x 340mm (360mm x 270mm); discoloured and faded, nibbled by rodents
on right side.
sheet 39: 1510-1 1 ; 460mm x 275mm (400mm x 240mm); blotched, ink faded toward the bottom.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
sheet 37: 1511-12; 430mm x 225mm at widest (400mm x 185mm); fragmentary, several holes, tapers
toward bottom.
sheet 41: 1512-13; 520mm x 260mm (460mm x 200mm); both margins missing from the bottom.
sheet 43: 1517-18; 720mm x 245mm (660mm x 195mm); blotched but generally legible.
sheet 45: 1519-20; 670mm x 305mm (560mm x 240mm); extensive staining.
sheet 47: 1520-1; 530mm x 250mm (420mm x 210mm); some holes, parchment very dark but legible.
sheet 49: 1522-3; 560mm x 305mm (515mm x 215mm); blotched but generally legible.
sheet 51: 1523-4; 555mm x 310mm (530mm x 235mm); blotched and dark, very little text lost but
hard to read.
sheet 53: 1526-7; 290mm x 335mm (270mm x 280mm); fragment (top half only; bottom half bound
into book on guardbook sheet 23), dirty but legible.
sheet 55: 1530-1; 555mm x 240mm (520mm x 200mm); dark but legible, holes at edges.
sheet 57: 1540-1; 640mm x 225mm (605mm x 200mm); some discolouration but in generally fair
condition.
sheet 59: 1544-5; 555mm x 245mm (520mm x 200mm); holes at edges, dark.
sheet 61: 1545-6; 590mm x 320mm (550mm x 235mm); generally good condition.
sheet 69: 1581-2; 400mm x 525mm (340mm x 500mm); 2 cols; generally good condition.
sheet 71: 1582-3; 4lOmm x 510mm (390mm x 480mm); 2 cols; generally good condition.
sheet 79: 1587-8; 450mm x 460mm (435mm x 420mm); 2 cols; good condition.
sheet 81: 1588-9; 490mm x 465mm (430mm x 400mm); 2 cols; good condition.
sheet 83: 1589-90; 515mm x 525mm (400mm x 445mm); 2 cols; good condition.
sheet 87: 1591-2; 610mm x 270mm (540mm x 220mm); good condition.
sheet 89: 1594-5; 510mm x 400mm (350mm x 340mm); 2 cols; good condition.
sheet 91: 1595-6; 490mm x 380mm (350mm x 330mm); 2 cols; good condition.
sheet 93: 1596-7; 490mm x 380mm (380mm x 340mm); 2 cols; ink faded, fair condition.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
shee, 95: 1597-8; 520 mm x 465mm (460 mm x 3 90 mm ); 2 cols; left edge much torn and repaired,
sheet 97: 1598-9; 470mm x 420mm (350mm x 360mm); 2 cols; fair condition,
sheet 101: 1599-1600; 480mm x 420mm (350mm x 360mm); 2 cols; good condition.
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, PAR 213/4/F1/2; 1600-40; parchment (occasional paper)- single
nbs or sheets; , * 27; 510mm x 377mm; written mostly in 2 cols; modern pencil foliation; mounted
n paper and bound ,n a single volume in boards covered in black leather, purple spine, guard and
(back now broken and front cover detached), preserved between separate archival boards title
on front cover stamped in gold: ST. PETER S IN THE EAST CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS
1600-1640 CHURCHWARDENS 1868 J. JENKINS & F.W. ANSELL
Extracts from:
f 1: 1600-1; highly irregular shape averaging 387-690mm x 225-490mm (text area varies).
f 2: 1602-3; 585mm x 425mm (505mm x 380mm); damaged at edges.
f 4: 1605-6; irregular shape, 448-500mm x 375mm (approximately 480mm x 315mm); damaged at
right edge.
f 5: 1606-7; 480mm x 435mm (444mm x 390mm); damaged at edges.
f 6: 1607-8; 485mm x 392mm (430mm x 385mm).
f 7: 1608-9; paper; 450mm x 280mm (338mm x 250mm).
f 8: 1609-10; 315mm x 335mm (235mm x 320mm).
f 9: 1612-13; 500mm x 345mm (395mm x 310mm).
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, PAR 213/4/F1/3; 1614-85; English; paper; 158 leaves; 296mm x
210mm (275mm x 145mm); modern pencil foliation; contemporary parchment binding, title in
contemporary script on front cover: The Booke of accomtes for the churchwardens of Saint Peter in
the Easte Anno domi/ 1613. This is a paper copy of ORO: PAR 213/4/F1/2.
ST PETER IN THE EAST CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS (AC)
This is a collection, compiled by H.E. Salter, of St Peter in the East churchwardens accounts,
with an expository essay. The booklet is written in brown ink and made up of miscellaneous
sheets of recycled, lined paper (similar to school scribblers) with unrelated material on reverse.
Some sheets are inverted.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Top.Oxon c.403; 1948?; Latin; paper; i + 103 + i; ff 1-36: 254mm x
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
203mm, ff 37-103: 325mm x 203mm (text area varies); pencil foliation 1-102 (10 repeated), circled
pencil foliation 1-50 for ff 38-89 (29 repeated); good condition; bound in modern blue cover with
small pasted tab in lower left corner showing shelf-mark; title on spine: H.E.SALTER - ST. PETER
IN THE EAST.
ST PETER LE BAILEY CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS
The churchwardens accounts date from 1453. At a date probably in the nineteenth century
the accounts from 1453 to 1702 were mounted in five guardbooks but removed, recatalogued,
and stored separately in September 1998.
The accounting year was Michaelmas to Michaelmas from 1465-6 forward; St Catherine s
Day to St Catherines Day (25 November) as of 1499-1500; the Sunday after the Conception
of the Virgin in December as of 1545-6; and Easter to Easter as of 1603-5.
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, PAR 214/4/Fl; 1453-1642. Formerly mounted within a guard-
book the Latin and English accounts have been reconstituted and recatalogued as individual artifacts.
Extracts from:
PAR 214/4/F1/3; 1464-5; parchment; 630mm x 160mm (610mm x 135mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/4; 1465-6; parchment; 560mm x 180mm (480mm x 175mm); some writing on dorse.
PAR 214/4/F1/5; 1466-7; parchment; 820mm x 160mm (535mm x 130mm); some writing on dorse.
PAR 214/4/F1/6; 1467-8; parchment; 680mm x 160mm (630mm x 130mm); some writing on dorse.
PAR214/4/F1/7; 1468-9; parchment; 795mm x 155mm (750mm x 150mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/8; 1471-2; parchment; 710mm x 150mm (580mm x 130mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/9; 1473-4; parchment; 650mm x 140mm (610mm x 130mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/10; 1475-6; parchment; 750mm x 160mm (630mm x 135mm).
PAR214/4/F1/11; 1476-7; parchment; 850mm x 145mm (400mm x 125mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/12; 1477-8; parchment; 520mm x 180mm (500mm x 155mm); some writing on dorse.
PAR 214/4/F1/13; 1479-80; parchment; 700mm x 160mm (658mm x 135mm); some writing on dorse.
PAR 214/4/F1/14; 1499-1500; parchment; 670mm x 160mm (recto: 625mm x 150mm, dorse: 330mm
x 115mm).
734 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
PAR 214/4/F1/15; 1506-7; paper; 430mm x 300mm (405mm x 265mm); damaged and repaired top
left corner.
PAR 214/4/F1/16; 1529-30; paper; 518mm x 340mm (495mm x 275mm); repaired.
PAR 214/4/F1/17; 1530-1; paper; 2 sheets; 690mm x 314mm (645mm x 270mm); receipt sheet torn
bottom right corner and repaired.
PAR 214/4/F1/18; 1531-2; parchment; 835mm x 265mm (700mm x 223mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/19; 1534-5; parchment; 765mm x 235mm (640mm x 195mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/20; 1535-6; parchment; 600mm x 240mm (560mm x 180mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/21; 1537-8; parchment; 650mm x 250mm (640mm x 200mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/22; 1538-9; parchment; 740mm x 235mm (690mm x 215mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/23; 1539-40; parchment; 1,065mm x 190mm (975mm x 170mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/24; 1540-1; parchment; 900mm x 278mm (845mm x 230mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/26; 1542-3; parchment; 2 mbs; 760mm x 220mm (745mm x 175mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/27; 1545-6; parchment; 3 mbs; 993mm x 165mm (983mm x 140mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/29; 1556-7; paper; 3 sheets; 873mm x 213mm (758mm x 180mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/31; 1560-1; paper; 410mm x 300mm (350mm x 245mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/32; 1563-4; paper; 422mm x 312mm (385mm x 255mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/34; 1572-3; paper; 415mm x 310mm (385mm x 263mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/35; 1576-7; paper; 413mm x 310mm (327mm x 265mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/37; 1586-7; paper; 558mm x 440mm (438mm x 330mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/38; 1587-8; paper; 325mm x 443mm (318mm x 440mm); 2 cols.
PAR 214/4/F1/39; 1588-9; paper; 458mm x 360mm (428mm x 320mm); 2 cols.
PAR 214/4/F1/40; 1589-90; paper; 420mm x 310mm (375mm x 270mm); 2 cols.
PAR 214/4/F1/41; 1590-1; paper; 585mm x 430mm (505mm x 300mm).
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
PAR 214/4/F1/42; 1592-3; parchment; 510mm x 386mm (430mm x 343mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/43; 1593-4; parchment; 415mm x 283mm (338mm x 250mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/44; 1594-5; parchment; 375mm x 235mm (360mm x 225mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/45; 1597-8; parchment; 495mm x 243mm (480mm x 210mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/46; 1598-9; parchment; 590mm x 365mm (570mm x 320mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/47; 1599-1600; parchment; 530mm x 215mm (420mm x 185mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/48; 1600-1; parchment; 660mm x 452mm (630mm x 330mm).
PAR214/4/F1/49; 1601-2; parchment; 730mm x 207mm (497mm x 190mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/50; 1602-3; paper; 400mm x 332mm (380mm x 270mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/51; 1603-5; paper; 412mm x 308mm (380mm x 295mm); damaged and repaired.
PAR 214/4/F1/52; 1605-6; parchment; 561mm x 285mm (516mm x 280mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/53; 1606-7; parchment; 540mm x 416mm (515mm x 400mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/54; 1607-8; parchment; 3 mbs; 2,030mm x 315mm (1,810mm x 305mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/55; 1608-9; parchment; 2 mbs; 1,015mm x 232mm (1,000mm x 227mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/56; 1609-10; parchment; 600mm x 230mm (378mm x 220mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/57; 1610-11; parchment; 495mm x 235mm (430mm x 230mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/58; 1611-12; parchment; 445mm x 245mm (375mm x 245mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/59; 1612-13; parchment; 650mm x 225mm (615mm x 225mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/60; 1613-14: parchment; 375mm x 150mm (360mm x 150mm); 1614-15: parchment;
380mm x 150mm (365mm x 145mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/61; 1615-16; paper; bifolium; 313mm x 210mm (295mm x 175mm); written on both
sides of f 1 .
PAR 214/4/F1/62; 1617-18; paper; bifolium; 305mm x 200mm (285mm x 175mm); written on both
sides of f 1.
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
PAR 214/4/F1/63; 1618-19; paper; bifolium; 310mm x 195mm (290mm x 175mm); written on both
sides or t 1 .
PAR 214/4/F1/64; 1619-20; paper; bifolium; 300mm x 190mm (285mm x 180mm); written on both
sides or t 1.
PAR 214/4/F1/65; 1620-1; paper; bifolium; 284mm x 181mm (270mm x 174mm); modern pencil
foliation.
PAR 214/4/F1/66; 1621-2; paper; bifolium; 295mm x 195mm (285mm x 175mm); written on both
sides of both folios.
PAR 214/4/F1/67; 1624-5; parchment; 972mm x 202mm (892mm x 180mm).
PAR 214/4/F1/68; 1625-6; parchment; 670mm x 290mm (630mm x 253mm).
PAR 2 14/4/F 1/76-7; 1633-4?; parchment; 2 mbs, now detached; 1,265mm x 170mm (1,263mm x
142mm); expenses only.
PAR 214/4/F1/78; 1634-5; parchment; 370mm x 180mm (365mm x 167mm); written on both sides.
ST PETER LE BAILEY CHURCHWARDENS ACCOUNTS (AC)
This antiquarian collection contains excerpts from Oriel College statutes and parish material
from All Saints, St Mary, and St Peter le Bailey. The parish accounts range from 1338 to 1539
in date.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Wood C.I; 17th c.; paper; English and Latin; iii + 46; ink pagination;
some leaves torn at the end; bound in heavy white parchment with small red leather patch on spine
stamped in gold: WOOD. C. 1.
Ecclesiastical Court Documents
ECCLESIASTICAL COURT PROCEEDINGS
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, MS.Oxf. Dioc. papers Oxon.c.2; 24 April 1630-28 November
1631; English and Latin; paper; i + 375 + i; 315mm x 190mm (text area varies); contemporary ink
and modern pencil foliation (modern system followed); pages badly scuffed at edges; bound in white
vellum over boards (now virtually separated from book except for a few threads), written on front
cover: W.H. 1630-31. Contemporary table of contents up to f 145, index attempted ff 361 -74v.
ARCHDEACON S COURT BOOK
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, MS.Oxf.Arch. papers Oxon.c.13; 13 May 1637-23 February 1637/8;
INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Latin and English; paper; 396 leaves; 312mm x 210mm; modern foliation; contemporary leather and
board binding.
Legal Records
GAOL DELIVERY ROLL
London, Public Record Office, JUST 3/180; 1389-95; Latin; parchment; 61 mbs; 690-860mm x
240-60mm (590-790mm x 210-30mm); modern pencil numbering; attached at top with leather
thong; some damage at right edge resulting in loss of text, lower right of mb 21 torn away.
CITY QUARTER SESSIONS
Like the legislative and financial records of the city, these legal records are kept in the city hall
and were consulted in the ORO where they were brought on request.
Oxford, Oxford City Archives, QSC/A2/001; 1614-38; English; paper; iv + 283 + x; 230mm x 360mm;
contemporary ink pagination; some engrossing; modern brown suede binding, some tooling, red leather
patch on spine stamped: SESSION ROLL 1614 1631.
INVENTORY OF THE GOODS OF JOHN STACY
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, I 60/1/28; 10 August 1627; English, with some Latin; parchment;
single mb; 408mm x 171mm (350mm x 168mm); unnumbered; good condition.
INVENTORY OF THE GOODS OF GEORGE PAYNE
Oxford, Oxfordshire Record Office, I 144/3/13; 28 January 1635/6; English, with some Latin; parch
ment; single mb; 382mm x 149mm (375mm x 135mm); unnumbered; good condition.
A REPORT ON THE INQUEST INTO THE DEATH OF GILBERT FOXLEE (AC)
MS. Twyne 4, like many of the antiquarian collections of Brian Tvvyne and his contemporary
Anthony Wood, is drawn from both college and city accounts.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Twyne 4; 17th c.; Latin and English; paper; vii + 355 + ii; generally
275-31 5mm x 180-95mm (text area varies); 2 systems of later ink pagination (pp 665-709 blank);
some damage and repair; irregular booklets now bound together in heavy white parchment over boards,
title on cover, small yellow patch at the base of the spine bearing the shelf-mark.
PROCEEDINGS REGARDING GEORGE BUCKNER (A)
MS. Twyne-Langbaine 3 comprises some transcriptions as well as some original documents
738 INSTITUTIONS AND DOCUMENTS
parted in on stubs. Gerard Langbaine succeeded Brian Twyne as the keeper of the archives
in the Bodleian, serving in that capacity from 1644 to 1658. Both keepers worked on this
collection.
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Twyne-Langbaine 3; 17th c.; English and Latin; paper; ii + 127; 309mm
\ 207mm (ruled side margins 35mm, text area 308mm x 190mm); pencil foliation; pages brittle and
frayed, evidence of damage by worms or rodents; light brown calf binding tooled front, back, and spine,
small paper sticker with shelf-mark at base of spine, title on spine: COLLECTANE B.TWYNNE
LANGBAINE &C.
Miscellaneous Records
ORDER FOR RECEIVING THE MAYOR
See under Chamberlains Accounts (pp 710-11) for Bodl.: MS. Twyne 23.
ANTIQUITIES OF OXFORD
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Wood F.29(a); 1661-6; English and Latin; paper; iii + 505; 108-312mm x
l-^-91rnm (97- 296mm x 138-89mm); partial contemporary ink foliation, partial modern pencil
foliation; good condition; modern leather binding on board, tooling to covers and spine, embossed
tide on spine.
Editorial Procedures
Principles of Selection
This collection embraces the whole of Oxford, including colleges, halls, University, town
government, parish churches, guilds, and civil and ecclesiastical courts. The late medieval and
early modern royal borough of Oxford covered an area of some ninety acres and in 1336 a
royal charter extended the boundary beyond the city walls to all the extramural suburbs by
about a mile in each direction, specifically to Cowley and Shotover on the east, to Botley on
the west, to Bagley Wood in Kennington (Berks) on the south, across the River Thames, and
to Godstow Bridge in Wolvercote on the north. It is for this reason that contemporary de
scriptions of royal entries as excerpted in these volumes always begin with the sovereign s arrival
in Wolvercote (when the sovereign, as usually happened, came from Woodstock Palace five
miles north of Oxford) and end with his or her departure from Shotover. The priory of Godstow
lay across the river at the extreme northwest boundary. Because the city fathers regularly had
refreshments and listened to music at Godstow when they perambulated the franchise, we have
deemed Godstow to be within the boundaries and so include the very early reference to an
abbess of misrule in the priory. Visitation records warn the nuns against too much contact with
the Oxford students, again supporting the idea that the priory was considered part of Oxford.
On the other hand, although a part of the parish of Marston was inside the boundaries on the
northeast edge of the jurisdiction, most of that parish lay outside and we do not include those
parish records here. The only extramural parish within the franchise - whose records survive -
is St Mary Magdalen.
All the dramatic, musical, and ceremonial activities recorded in the present collection fall
within the geographical boundaries described above, with the exception of two student plays
that originated in Oxford but were later taken to the royal palaces at Woodstock or Hampton
Court by royal request. Other evidence of entertainment in these two venues will be dealt with
in appropriate REED county volumes. Oxford-educated professional playwrights such as John
Lyly, whose name does not occur in the Records, and George Peele, whose name does, are
briefly listed in Appendix 14.
Consistent with REED principles of selection, our intention has been to include only musical
activity for secular occasions in this collection. The only references to musicians that do not
directly relate to performance occur in records of apprenticeship. Documents concerning the
740 EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
teaching of music within the Faculty of Arts, and private instrumental lessons to students
On the other hand evidence concerning the popular seventeenth-century
100! run by professional musicians is included. Ownership of instruments by
duals other than professionals has been recorded only when the relevant documents
s and inventories) were made known to us through printed sources. Otherwise such
personal papers have not been systematically searched.
Boy bishops are found in the records of All Souls, Magdalen, and Lincoln Colleges. We have
noted above the abbess of misrule at Godstow priory. College plays during the Christmas
season were sometimes given under the auspices of a lord of misrule, whose title varied from
college to college but who is known genetically as a Christmas lord or Christmas prince,
although the election of such a lord did not guarantee that plays would be involved, as the
lord s more general duties were to oversee the costs and conduct of feasts throughout the
Christmas vacation.
The Christmas festivities in colleges were paralleled by spring and summer festivals in the
parishes. References to parish ales have been included if there is evidence that they customarily,
or at one time, featured plays or such activities as the election of summer lords and ladies,
music, morris dancing, or the erection of summer poles. All references in the parish records
to hocking have been included.
Oxford hosted four official royal visits in 1566, 1592, 1605, and 1636. All preparations
for such visits including the orders and acts for the reception of the monarch, the con
struction of stages and making or borrowing of costumes for plays, and the repairs, alterations,
and new construction of roads and buildings in both the colleges and the city (which were
in themselves the sets for much of the ceremonial business) are included. The ceremonial
welcomings by both city and University officials have also been included, along with both
prose and verse descriptions of the entertainments. Omitted are details pertaining to con
vocations, debates and disputations, services and sermons, feasts and banquets where no
musical or mimetic activity took place, and details of the accommodation of the court.
Members of the royal family passed through Oxford frequently at various other times,
as Oxford lay on the direct route from London to Woodstock, a favourite royal retreat
during the month of August. Transcriptions from the vice-chancellors accounts (QUA:
WP/|}/21(4)) where the presence of performers ( buccinatoribus primarily) in Oxford
likely relates to the monarch s passage to Woodstock have been included with additional
context to make clear the reason for their presence. The bells of parishes and certain
colleges, such as Merton, were frequently rung to mark the royal passage through the
city and on occasion gifts were given by either the University or the city. These records
have not been transcribed. Also omitted are references to jousts and tournaments in
the fourteenth century because there is no evidence that these ceremonies involved mi
metic display. 2
Interest in classical plays is often witnessed by college and University library lists or by
individual purchase or ownership of texts. Such records, although of great potential interest,
are excluded here on the grounds that the mere existence or ownership of a text constitutes
no evidence of performance. 3 Original Oxford play texts, listed in Appendix 6, are not cited
741
EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
in the Records except on the rare occasion that they shed light on performance venues. Latin
plays deriving from Oxford have been reproduced in facsimile in Renaissance Latin Drama in
England, Martin Spevack, J.W. Binns, and Hans-Jiirgen Weckermann (eds), 1st series, nos 1-13
(Hildesheim and New York, 1981-6), with introductions and plot summaries.
Some but not all Oxford plays in English have been published, whether individually or
in a series. Title-page information, which often bears on the date or location of performances,
is presented in full in Appendix 6. One complete text, the previously unknown masque
Mr Moore s Revels, discovered in the preparation of this work, appears in the Records
(see pp 560-4). The Anti-theatrical Controversy that erupted in Oxford in the 1590s
spawned numerous documents, some of which were eventually published in John Rainolds
Th Overthrow of Stage-Playes (1599). These have been deemed too lengthy and tenden
tious to be included here, though they contain many incidental references to Oxford plays,
performances, and performers. A guide to the extant documents, with excerpts, is given
in Appendix 1 1.
With the exception of the years of the royal visits, University and college ceremonies, includ
ing disputations and commencement exercises, though often quasi-theatrical, have been omitted.
College and University statutes often prohibited unseemly games ( ludos inhonestos ). The
authorities normally had in mind not dramatic plays but card games, gambling, and physical
activities such as ball playing, which might result in damage to buildings. Restrictive statutes and
disciplinary cases mentioning game playing are therefore included only when the language
specifically refers to plays or shows. Entertainment involving the baiting or display of animals
has been included but references to fencing schools, along with mentions of sports such as
tennis and football, have been omitted.
Chronology
The collection has been organized on an overall Michaelmas to Michaelmas chronology (29
September to 29 September) based on the predominant administrative year used by the colleges
and city. Nine of the sixteen colleges from which records are drawn follow this year as do the
Oxford civic accounts. Exceptions include individual city parishes, whose fiscal years also
changed over time (see Institutions and Documents for summaries of individual parish account
ing practices). Usually, however, the excerpted parish entries have a specific internal event date,
such as Hocktide or Pentecost, which makes it possible to assign the record to the appropriate
Michaelmas to Michaelmas year.
A general description of the college and University fiscal year may be found in Institutions
and Documents (see p 627). A more detailed account of each college s practices is supplied
as appropriate in the headnote for that college. Of the seven colleges that employed fiscal years
other than Michaelmas to Michaelmas, those that began their college year on a date after 29
September are placed under the Michaelmas to Michaelmas year already in progress. Thus, for
example, an account for 1 November 1498-1 November 1499 will appear under 1498-9.
In this way the larger portion of the college s year falls within the appropriate year. If, however,
an excerpted passage is specifically dated for an event occurring in the final months of the
742 EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
college s fiscal year (ie, in the above example, between 29 September and 1 November 1499)
it will be positioned according to the event date.
Similarly, colleges that began their fiscal year on a date before 29 September are placed under
the year heading of the Michaelmas to Michaelmas period that is about to commence, with
the like exception in those instances when a record is specifically dated for an event occurring
in the opening months of the college s fiscal year.
For the parishes and the colleges without term divisions the accounting year (when other
than Michaelmas to Michaelmas) is supplied in the editorial subheading and reiterated in the
document descriptions. For any college with stable term or week divisions the precise week or
month date range is supplied in the record subheading.
Reminiscences or allusions to events in years gone by are normally assigned to the year of
the event. When possible, documents of uncertain date have been assigned to a likely year or
to the year of publication, and the problems are discussed in endnotes.
Even though 1 January was celebrated as New Year s Day the change in the calendar year
was usually recorded from 25 March. Thus a document dated 18 February 1639 refers, by
modern reckoning, to 18 February 1640. Such dates are rendered as, for example, 18 February
1639/40. Where documents are dated by regnal year C.R. Cheney s Handbook of Dates for
Students of British History has been used as a guide.
Many events are dated in the source documents by feast day rather than by day and month.
Many of the feast days remain familiar (eg, Christmas) or are easily established. Others de
pended on local custom and may be beyond recovery. Appendix 15 gives the dates of most
feasts named in the documents or, for movable feasts, directions for discovering the dates in a
given year. Dates that cannot be discovered by reference to Appendix 15 are given in headings,
footnotes, or endnotes as occasion dictates.
Many dramatic and musical events at Oxford are referred to as having taken place at the Act,
that is, at the commencement ceremonies held in July. Technically the Act (Latin Comma )
took place each year on the first Monday after 7 July but the phrase might also refer to the
ceremonies and celebrations beginning on the preceding Saturday, sometimes more specifically
referred to as Act Saturday. 4 Where no actual date is given, the inferred date of the Act that
year is supplied in a footnote. References to Act Week or Act Time refer to the period from
the Saturday before the Act to the following Friday.
Layout
Each entry in the Records is preceded by a name or descriptive title, along with a brief
identification of its source. On a separate line the folio, page, or membrane number is
given along with the precise date of the entry (where known) and an abbrev.ated Engl.s
version of the manuscript account heading (where available). Within each year documents
are arranged with the college and University records first, followed by the city records.
Documents from academic institutions precede those from civic institutions. Academu
documents are arranged in the order of college (in alphabetical order), University, and
miscellaneous. Civic documents are arranged in the order of civic government, guild, parish,
EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
743
legal, and miscellaneous. For all categories, annual accounts precede administrative docu
ments. For categories that are not immediately obvious, codes in the left margins of the
Records serve as aids to locating the documents in Institutions and Documents (see
Symbols, p 2). Miscellaneous documents follow the order of Institutions and Documents,
when they are few, or chronological order, when they are numerous and form a narrat
ive sequence.
Within practical limits the general layout of the originals has been preserved. Headings,
marginalia, and account totals are printed in the approximate position they occupy in the
source. Right-hand marginalia have had to be set in the left margin of the printed text, a
transposition indicated by the symbol . The lineation of the original has not been observed
in passages of continuous prose. Where the layout of the original is idiosyncratic (eg, a diagonal
left margin) no attempt has been made to reproduce that format. Marginalia too long or too
cumbersome to set in the margin have been set within the body of the text and marked with
a dagger symbol.
Dittography and obvious scribal errors are noted in the footnotes. Administrative cancella
tions (such as those for loans of money repaid or costumes returned) as distinguished from
cancellations used by scribes to correct errors in writing are noted in endnotes. Decay, damage,
and other problems that adversely affect the clarity of the original are briefly noted in footnotes
or discussed in endnotes. Problems of dating and provenance are discussed in endnotes. An
asterisk in the subheading line will alert the user to the existence of an endnote.
Text with Multiple Copies
Where records exist in multiple copies we have attempted to select the most authentic copy
as the base text. Two cases deserve special attention. First, where a letter was transmitted
from one party to another and copies were made by sender, recipient, or both, preference
is given to the letter that was actually sent (often distinguished by fold marks, seals, etc).
If the transmitted document does not survive, a registered copy is used as base text. Second,
where accounts exist both in rough (or draft) form and in neat (or finished) form, preference
is given to the neat version, which may be considered more official, unless the rough text
preserves details lost in the neat text. When two or more copies of the same document survive
we have recorded the location of the copies and noted any substantive variants in the endnotes.
Multiple copies which appear to have independent authority are collated and substantive
variants are listed in the collation notes. The collated MSS are described in Institutions and
Documents. Differences in spellings, capitalization, forms of abbreviation, word division, or
punctuation are not noted in collations.
Other Editorial Conventions
Manuscript punctuation has been retained, except that excessive scribal pointing is usually
ignored. Virgules are indicated as / and //. Most manuscript braces and all line fillers have
been overlooked. Capitulum marks and other marginal marks in financial accounts and
744 EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
inventories have for the most part not been transcribed. The spelling of the original has been
preserved, along with the capitalization. The letters fF have been retained for T ; the standard
and elongated forms of T are uniformly transcribed as T except where clearly distinguished
as a _) in later and printed documents. Ornamental capitals and display letters have been
transcribed as ordinary letters but are noted. Arabic V has been substituted for 7 in numbers
other than sums.
Abbreviated words have been expanded with italics to indicate letters supplied by the editor.
Where manuscripts yield insufficient evidence to judge individual scribal habits, abbreviations
are expanded to classical forms in Latin and modern British forms in English. First names
have been expanded wherever possible. Where a single P with a mark of abbreviation is used
as an abbreviation for patet per, the second p has been italicized, yielding patet per. Italics
and other special typefaces in printed sources are not observed; they are silently printed as
roman in transcriptions within the Records. Abbreviations that are easily understood today
( li., s., d., ob. (for half-pence), qwa. (for farthing), Viz., and etc or &c ), and abbreviations
cumbersome to expand, including those typical for weights and measures ( lb. for pound and
di. for half ) are retained. Mr and Dr are expanded only when used as nouns or when
occurring before another title (eg, Master Mayor); they are left unexpanded when introducing
a proper name. Xp- and xp- are expanded as Christ- and chiist-. The sign T has been
expanded es, ys, or according to scribal practice, except when it follows an e : in this case
it is expanded as V. Where single minims are too many or too few by obvious scribal error, an
editorially corrected version is supplied in the text and the textual oddity is footnoted. Otiose
flourishes such as the barred ell are ignored. Superlineated letters are lowered to the line
except when used with numerals.
Where an unfoliated manuscript has a small number of leaves or membranes, these have
been counted by hand and conjectural folio numbers placed in square brackets.
Notes
Historical Background
1 John Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire (Oxford, 1994), 102.
2 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, pp 3-4.
3 Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, pp 87-92.
4 Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, p 101.
5 Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, p 101.
6 Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, p 104.
7 Quoted in Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, p 101.
8 Derek Keene, The South-East of England, The Cambridge Urban History of Britain,
vol 1: 600-1540, D.M. Palliser (ed) (Cambridge, 2000), 551. Although Oxfordshire is
more commonly thought of as a Midland county, Keene includes it in his discussion of
the South-East. His comparison counties are Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire,
Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, and Sussex.
9 Grenville Astill, General survey 600-1300, The Cambridge Urban History of Britain,
vol 1, Palliser (ed), p 36.
10 Keene, The South-East, p 550.
11 Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, p 168.
12 Following Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, p 147, the modern names of the streets are
used to locate the site of the crossroads. Only the High Street retains its medieval name.
During the period covered by the Records, Cornmarket was known as Northgate or
North Street; Queen Street was called Great Bailey because it led to the castle; and St
Aldate s was first called Fish Street and then South Street.
13 James Campbell, Power and authority 600-1300, The Cambridge Urban History of
Britain, vol 1, Palliser (ed), p 66.
14 Ralph B. Pugh, Imprisonment in Medieval England (Cambridge, 1968), 60. The quotation
is from Keene, The South-East, p 568. The other towns were Bedford, Canterbury, and
Winchester.
15 Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, pp 153-4.
16 Richard Holt, Society and population 600-1300, The Cambridge Urban History of
Britain, vol 1, Palliser (ed), p 88; and Carl I. Hammer, Jr, Anatomy of an Oligarchy:
746 NOTES
The Oxford Town Council in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, The Journal of
British Studies 18 (1978), 2.
17 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 305.
18 Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, p 150.
19 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 50.
20 Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, p 172.
21 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 52.
21 D.M. Palliser, T.R. Slater, and E. Patricia Dennison, The topography of towns 600-
1300, The Cambridge Urban History of Britain, vol 1, Palliser (ed), p 176.
23 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 45.
24 Hastings Rashdall, The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, vol 3, P.M. Powicke
and A.B. Emden (eds), 2nd ed (Oxford, 1936), 106.
25 C.H. Lawrence, The University in State and Church, The History of the University of
Oxford, vol 1, pp 134-7.
26 For a succinctly informative account of the St Scholastica s Day riots and their aftermath,
see Hibbert, Encyclopaedia of Oxford, p 424. See also Pantin, Oxford Life in Oxford Archives,
pp 99-102. Pantin comments that the February 1354/5 riots were not the first, but
the extent and violence of that episode may have shocked men into common sense :
bad feeling remained for centuries but never again exploded into violence.
27 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 56.
28 Carl I. Hammer, Jr, Oxford Town and Oxford University, The History of the University
of Oxford, vol 3, pp70-l.
29 Carl I. Hammer, Jr, Some Social and Institutional Aspects of Town-Gown Relations in
Late Medieval and Tudor Oxford, PhD thesis (University of Toronto, 1973), 98. The
complex relationship between two lists of taxpayers made at approximately the same time
is discussed in great detail on pp 93-1 15-
30 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 110.
31 For a full and detailed discussion of the privileged persons and their relationship with
the city, see Hammer, Oxford Town and Oxford University/ pp 74-86.
32 Hammer, Oxford Town and Oxford University, p 74.
33 Hammer, Oxford Town and Oxford University, p 87.
34 The details that follow are taken from Hammer, Oxford Town and Oxford University,
pp 88-94.
35 Hammer, Oxford Town and Oxford University, p 92.
36 Hammer, Oxford Town and Oxford University, p 94.
37 Hammer, Some Social and Institutional Aspects of Town-Gown Relations, pp 81-4.
38 Hammer, Some Social and Institutional Aspects of Town-Gown Relations, pp 83-5;
VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 148; Salter (ed), Oxford Council Acts 1583-1626, pp 205-8; and
Hobson and Salter (eds), Oxford Council Acts 1626-1665, p xvii.
39 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 148.
40 Hammer, Oxford Town and Oxford University, p 69.
41 Hammer, Oxford Town and Oxford University, p 115.
NOTES
42 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, pp 364-8.
43 Hammer, Oxford Town and Oxford University, pp 70- 1 .
44 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 74.
45 Hammer, Oxford Town and Oxford University, p 69. Frequent visits to Woodstock by
Elizabeth I and James I are reflected in records contained in this collection.
46 Turner (ed), Selections from the Records of the City of Oxford, pp 228-40, 317.
47 ST. Bindoff (ed), The House of Commons 1509-1558, vol 3, The History of Parliament
(London, 1982), 623.
48 Bindoff (ed), The House of Commons 1509-1558, vol 3, pp 561 , 623.
49 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 80.
50 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 136.
51 Hammer, Anatomy of an Oligarchy, p 4.
52 For Wilmot, see Salter (ed), Oxford Council Acts 1583-1626, p 333; and Hobson and
Salter (eds), Oxford Council Acts 1626-1665, p 27. See the latter for Smith (p 27),
Boswell (pp 27, 47) and Blake (p 47).
53 Hammer, Anatomy of an Oligarchy, p 11.
54 Hammer, Anatomy of an Oligarchy, p 12.
55 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 138.
56 See Gervase Rosser, The cure of souls in English towns before 1000, Pastoral Care Before
the Parish, John Blair and Richard Sharpe (eds) (Leicester, 1992), 267-84. In particular
he notes of St Frideswide s (p 272) that the location of the shrine and a parochial altar,
in the north transept of the twelfth century church, may indicate both the site of the
Anglo-Saxon minster church and its pastoral function.
57 The details of the following paragraph come from VCH: Oxford, vol 4, pp 364-8.
58 R.W. Southern, From Schools to University/ The History of the University of Oxford,
vol 1, pp 1-36.
59 VCH: Oxford, vol 2, p 64.
60 Numerous bequests to the Dominicans in Oxford, to take one example, are listed in VCH:
Oxford, vol 2, pp 119-20; benefactors include not only locally connected nobility,
gentry, clerics, and academics but townspeople (the odd merchant, brewer, or widow,
and others given no occupation or other title).
61 R.B. Dobson, The Religious Orders 1370-1540, The History of the University of Oxford,
vol 2, p 541.
62 VCH: Oxford, vol 2, p 32; pp 31-2 give a detailed account of the complicated process by
which Christ Church came into being.
63 Valuable accounts of the foundation of Christ Church and its historical context are given
in VCH: Oxford, vol 4, pp 369-70; and James McConica, The Rise of the Undergraduate
College, The History of the University of Oxford, vol 3, pp 1-68. See especially McConica,
The Rise of the Undergraduate College, p 33.
64 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 369.
65 Salter, Medieval Oxford, p 71 .
66 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 23.
748 NOTES
67 Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, p 6\. Blair cites a grant in 1004 to "a certain minster
situated in the town called Oxford where the most blessed Frideswide rests. "
68 John Blair, St. Frideswide s Monastery: Problems and Possibilities, Oxoniensia 53 (1988),
255-6.
69 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 400.
70 Blair, Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, p 113.
r l The earliest record of St Frideswide s parish, as distinct from the priory church, is
of the 1 170s (VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 381). By 1500 several church closures left a total
of fourteen parish churches and three non-parochial chapels (VCH: Oxford, vol 4,
p70).
^1 On fluctuations in the relative prosperity of Oxford parishes in the later medieval period,
see Salter, Medieval Oxford, pp 88-9; and VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 31.
73 For a generally positive interpretation of relations between the parishes and the
University, however, see Hammer, Oxford Town and Oxford University, especially
pp 105-8.
74 VCH: Oxford, vol 3, p 95 and vol 4, p 384.
75 VCH: Oxford, vol 3, p 163 and vol 4, p 394.
76 VCH: Oxford, vol 3, p 229 and vol 4, pp 373, 397.
77 R.B. Dobson, Urban decline in late medieval England, The Medieval Town: A Reader in
English Urban History 1200-1540, Richard Holt and Gervase Rosser (eds) (London,
1990), 273.
78 Anthony Wood, Survey of the Antiquities of the City of Oxford, vol 2, Oxford Histor
ical Society 17, Andrew Clark (ed) (Oxford, 1890), 80; and VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 384.
79 Fletcher, History of St Martin, p 10.
80 Fletcher, History of St Martin, pp 22-3.
81 The Domesday reference is to two dwellings formerly held by Earl Aubrey (later the
king s), which lie (with the lands of) St Mary s church and pay 28d. See Morris (ed),
Domesday Book, vol 14, p 154a.
82 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 391.
83 Ffoulkes, History ofS. Mary the Virgin, pp 82-3.
84 For guilds associated with specific Oxford churches, see VCH: Oxford, vol 4, pp 370-406.
85 Eamon Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, c. 1400-
c. 1580 (New Haven and London, 1992), 145.
86 Carl I. Hammer, The Town-Gown Confraternity of St. Thomas the Martyr in Oxford,
Mediaeval Studies 39 (1977), 475-6.
87 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, pp 391-2.
88 Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars, pp 377-564. Duffy (pp 524-64) underlines the inevit
ably disorientating effects on local communities, not only of radical changes to patterns of
worship and outward manifestations of belief but of the confusing about-turn of Mary s
reign, 1553-8. He also cites examples (none, however, from Oxford) of evident resistance
to change in parishes, reflected not only in their frequent slowness in complying with new
regulations but in the tendency to adapt as far as possible without jettisoning tradition
NOTES
749
altogether. For example, statues of newly banned saints were on occasion transposed into
still-permitted ones: in Ashford, Kent, St Thomas Becket was iconographically transformed
into St Blaise by taking his archiepiscopal cross from his hand and putting in its place a
wool-comb (p 419).
89 Fletcher, History of St Martin, Appendix 3. Inventories of 1547, 1552, 1553, and 1560
are fully transcribed.
90 Richard Whittington was also a churchwarden: his name appears on the account for
1552-3 (ORO: PAR207/4/F1/1, item 19).
91 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 388.
92 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, pp 392-3.
93 Information in this paragraph comes from VCH: Oxford, vol 4, pp 395, 402.
94 The churchwardens accounts express considerable determination to renew lapsed customs
in the non-liturgical sphere of parish life: after a gap of over twenty years, receipts from
hocking reappear in the accounts for 1663-4 and the following year hocking, the Whitsun
ale, and the maypole are all recorded.
95 Information in this section is drawn chiefly from The History of the University of Oxford,
vols 1, 2, 3.
96 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 1, pp 34-6.
97 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 1, pp 32, 47.
98 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 1, pp 134-40.
99 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 1, pp 12-13.
100 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 2, pp 730-1 , and vol 3, pp 401-2.
101 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 3, pp 117-18.
102 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 3, pp 49-50.
103 Clark (ed), Register, vol 2, pt 1, Introductions (Oxford, 1887), p 183.
104 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 3, pp 182-3, 197.
105 These figures are averaged from figures given in The History of the University of Oxford,
vol 3, pp 155-6.
106 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 3, p 599.
107 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 2, p 624.
108 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 3, p 52.
109 VCH: Oxford, vol 3, pp 235, 239, 253.
1 10 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 3, pp 668-72, 722-6.
1 1 1 The History of the University of Oxford, vol 3, pp 623-7.
112 For numbers, see The History of the University of Oxford, vol 3, pp 58-64.
113 See the entries for these colleges in VCH: Oxford, vol 3.
Drama, Music, and Ceremonial Customs
1 John R. Elliott, Jr, Drama, The History of the University of Oxford, vol 4, pp 641-58.
(Portions of Elliott s essay have been incorporated here with the free permission of
Oxford University Press).
750 NOTES
2 OED, maintenance, sb. 6.
Nelson (ed), Cambridge, vol 1, pp 223-44.
4 Elliott, Queen Elizabeth at Oxford: New Light on the Royal Plays of 1566, pp 218-29
I he Historical Register of the University of Oxford (Oxford, 1888), p 19: for the last three
years of his life, 1585-8, the office was given to a deputy.
6 See Orrell, The Theatres of Inigo Jones and John Webb, p 30.
Nelson (ed), Cambridge, vol 1, pp 688-93; and Alan H. Nelson, Early Cambridge Theatres-
University, College, and Town Stages, 1464- 1720 (Cambridge, 1994), 16-37.
Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, Charles n, vol 2 (1661-2), 32, July 4. The play
in question may have been the same one Martin Lluelyn presented for his degree to
Dean Fell of Christ Church back in 1640.
For Jasper Mayne s comment, see The Life and Times of Anthony Wood, vol 2, p 2.
1 An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of Oxford, Royal Commission on
Historical Monuments, England (London, 1939), 73-4 (Magdalen), 77 (Merton), 86-7
(New College), 1 13-14 (Trinity); plans opposite p 72 (Magdalen), opposite p 80 (Merton),
opposite p 88 (New College), p 109 (Trinity); plates 133 (Magdalen), 153 (New College -
2 views). The dimensions given for New College hall (p 86) are by error those for Christ
Church hall; corrected information in the Introduction has been supplied by the New
College archivist.
1 1 Historical Monuments in the City of Oxford, pp 105-6, plan opposite p 104.
12 Historical Monuments in the City of Oxford, pp 33-4; plans opposite p 32 and on p 34.
1 3 Historical Monuments in the City of Oxford, pp 56-7; plan p 55; photo plate 111.
14 Historical Monuments in the City of Oxford, p 99.
15 Nelson, Early Cambridge Theatres, pp 16-76, 102-17.
16 Alan H. Nelson, Early Drama in the English Universities, Contexts for Early English
Drama, Marianne Briscoe and John Coldewey (eds) (Indiana, 1989), 143; and Elliott,
Drama, The History of the University of Oxford, vol 4, pp 644-5- Wickham, Early
English Stages, vol 1, p 359 (with a diagram), situates the stage platform at the lower
end of the hall, near the main door.
17 Reconstructed (with a diagram) by Wickham, Early English Stages, vol 1, p 357.
18 Elliott and Buttrey, The Royal Plays at Christ Church in 1636.
19 The statutes of New College c 1398 (see p 12, 11.6-11) make provision for the involve
ment of boys in the divine services on Holy Innocents Day.
20 Chambers, The Mediaeval Stage, vol 1, 403-19; on Oxford, see pp 407-12. See also
Sandra Billington, Mock Kings in Medieval Society and Renaissance Drama (Oxford, 1991).
The image in Billington s Fig. 4, from the beginning of the Statutes of St John s College
(1562), is not a drawing of a king and queen pageant (p 60) but the Holy Trinity.
21 See entry in Appendix 6: 1 .
22 Nelson (ed), Cambridge, vol 2, Appendix 12, pp 996-1001.
23 Nelson (ed), Cambridge, vol 1, pp 276-7.
24 OCA: P.5.2, f252.
25 OCA: P.5-2, f 252v.
NOTES
751
26 R.W. Ingram (ed), Coventry, REED (Toronto, 1981), 431-48.
27 In Nichols, Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol 1, p 270, Nichols records a payment to
Robert Grene, the Quene s Fool in an account of the Queen s Purse from 1559 to 1569.
Grene may have been the jester as early as 1 560 although John Southworth dates Grene s
tenure from 1565 in Fools and Jesters at the English Court (Stroud, Gloucestershire, 1998),
108. Southworth gives him the first name of Jack. On pages 108 and 1 14, Southworth
also suggests that Richard Tarlton, who was certainly the queen s fool by the 1580s, may
have been introduced to the court by Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, as early as 1565.
28 David Cook (ed), Collections 6, Malone Society (London, 1962 for 1961), xii.
29 OCA: C/FC/1/A1/003, f85.
30 Scott McMillin and Sally-Beth MacLean, The Queen s Men and their Plays (Cambridge,
1998), 18-36.
31 Geoffrey Tillotson, Othello and The Alchemist at Oxford in 1610, p 494.
32 Salter (ed), Oxford Council Acts 1583-1626, p xxiv. The site is now the Clarendon Centre
and its third exit is on to Shoe Lane, which is indeed the former Sewy s Lane. See VCH:
Oxford, vol 4, p 438: An inn immediately to the north [sc of the Crown Inn close to the
Carfax end of Cornmarket Street, on the west side], Pyry Hall in 1498, ... became the
King s Head in the early 16th century, when it incorporated Sewys Lane; plays were
performed in its galleried stable-yard in the 17th and 18th centuries.
33 See also Sailer (ed), Oxford City Properties, p 339.
34 See Alexandra F. Johnston and Margaret Rogerson (eds), York, 2 vols, REED (Toronto,
1979); John Wasson (ed), Devon, REED (Toronto, 1986); and David Galloway (ed),
Norwich, 1540-1642, REED (Toronto, 1984), passim.
35 Salter (ed), Oxford Council Acts 1583-1626, pp xxxii-xxxiv.
36 Buckner is variously referred to as Bucknall, Bucknold, and Buckner. He was called
Bucknell when he was finally admitted to his freedom in 1596-7, but he is most
commonly called Buckner in the Records. From the various descriptions of the Oxford
scutcheons in the Records they seem to have been very like the ones preserved from the
sixteenth century in the Exeter guildhall. The Exeter ones are substantial silvered embossed
medallions with heavy and intricate silver chains.
37 City Memorandum Book, OCA: D.5.2, f 190, records the agreement between Frere and
Gibbons.
38 Salter (ed), Oxford City Properties, p 360.
39 A John Baldwin, musician, was fined for a misdemeanor the year before along with another
musician, Thomas Charles (city quarter sessions, OCA: QSC/A2/001, pp 241, 243). It
was probably John the younger. Charles was never named as a wait but was probably the
yonge Charles paid by St Peter le Bailey in 1604-5. He was subsequently associated
with John Bosseley in the dancing school.
40 The names here are taken from a card index to the chancellors court act registers from
1594-1664, excluding 1634-8, compiled by Walter Mitchell, and a similar index for
the years 1634-8 compiled by Malcolm Underwood, kept in the Oxford University
Archives. The entries themselves are not included in the Records since they consist simply
752 NOTES
of the witness name, followed by the word musician, and have otherwise nothing to
do with music.
4 1 On these and other aspects of music in Oxford, see John Caldwell, Music in the Faculty of
Arts, The History of the University of Oxford, vol 3, pp 201-2; and Penelope Gouk, Music
in Seventeenth-Century Oxford, The History of the University of Oxford, vol 4, pp 621-40
42 ChCh Arch: D.P.ii.c.l, item 25.
43 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 427.
44 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 427.
These guardbooks have proved very difficult to store in modern archival conditions and
the archivists in the Oxfordshire Record Office began to remove the rolls from the books
in 2000 when the office moved to new quarters in Cowley.
46 See Alexandra F. Johnston, Summer Festivals in the Thames Valley Counties, Custom,
Culture and Community: A Symposium, Thomas Pettitt and Leif S0ndergaard (eds)
(Odense, 1994), 37-56; and Johnston and MacLean, Reformation and Resistance in
Thames/Severn Parishes, pp 178-200.
47 The contrast with the customs in the three parishes of the other substantial Thames Valley
town, Reading, is striking. St Laurence Reading stopped its hocking practice in 1558-9,
St Giles in 1561-2, and St Mary s in 1566-7. For St Laurence see Berkshire Record
Office: D/P 97 5/2, p 295; for St Giles see BRO: D/P 96 5/1, p 1 16; for St Mary s see
BRO: D/P/98 5/1, p67.
48 This is very similar to a 1571 lease of the church-house of the tiny neighbouring parish of
Appleton just over the border in Berkshire where a period of ten days is specified. The
Appleton leases are still held by the parish and have no shelf-marks.
49 Johnston, Summer Festivals in the Thames Valley Counties ; and Johnston and MacLean,
Reformation and Resistance in Thames/Severn Parishes.
50 ORO: MS DD Par Woodstock c.12.
51 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 426.
52 The one indecorous custom associated with the civic authorities was the lord of misrule or
mock mayor called the king or judge of Slovens Hall. The first witness to this was the
antiquarian Twyne who stated that the custom was discontinued in 1651 but reinstated
after the Restoration (Bodl.: MS. Twyne 9, p 154). No evidence survives for the custom
before 1642.
53 See pp 578-9 and p 895 for evidence that the figure in the tub was a picture rather than
a real person contrary to the implication of the account in the city council minutes
(see p 579). This event is mentioned in The Life and Times of Anthony Wood, vol 1, p 49,
which cites John Vicars A looking-glasse for malignants: or, God s hand against God-haters
(London, 1643), 13. Wing: V317.
Institutions and Documents
1 Catalog! Codicum Manuscriptorum Bibliothecae Bodleianae, 14 vols (Oxford, 1845-89).
The Rawlinson Collection is catalogued in vol 5, the Ashmole Collection in vol 10.
NOTES 753
2 An important exception to these rules is the collection of manuscripts compiled by
Brian Twyne. These are not described in the Bodleian catalogues, as they were in the
possession of the University archives when the catalogues were compiled. They are, how
ever, fully described in The Life and Times of Anthony Wood, vol 4, pp 202-26.
3 For the date of the earlier fragment see the facsimile edition prepared and introduced
by J.W. Binns, Renaissance Latin Drama in England, 1st ser, no 1 (Hildesheim and
New York, 1981), 7-8.
4 VCH: Oxford, vol 3, p 238, citing, as the fullest account of the college, H.E.D. Blakiston
(ed), Some Durham College Rolls, vol 3, Collectanea, Oxford Historical Society (Oxford,
1896). See also R.B. Dobson, Durham Priory, 1400-1450, Cambridge Studies in Medieval
Life and Thought, 3rd ser, 6 (Cambridge, 1973), 348-9.
5 See Macray, Register, vol 1, p 35.
6 See Orme, An Early-Tudor Oxford Schoolbook, pp 1 1-39.
7 See VCH: Oxford, vol 3, p 248.
8 Thomas Tanner, Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica (London, 1748), 82.
9 The exception is the set of bannisters registers for 1590-1889 (OCA: L.5.1-L.5.6), which
are so frequently requested that they are stored on a permanent basis at the ORO.
10 Turner (ed), Records of the City of Oxford, p 23.
1 1 Hammer, Anatomy of an Oligarchy, p 2.
12 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 126.
13 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 126.
14 VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 140.
Editorial Procedures
1 On these other aspects of music in Oxford, see John Caldwell, Music in the Faculty
of Arts, The History of the University of Oxford, vol 3, pp 201-12; and Penelope Gouk,
Music in Seventeenth-Century Oxford, The History of the University of Oxford, vol 4,
pp621-40.
2 See H.C. Maxwell Lyte, History of the University of Oxford from the Earliest Times to the
Year 1530 (London, 1886), 133; and VCH: Oxford, vol 4, p 425. Shakespeare makes
reference to jousts and tournaments at Oxford (Richard u, v.ii.52).
3 On book ownership, see Ian Lancashire, Dramatic Texts and Records of Britain (Toronto,
1984), 241-7; and N.R. Ker, The Provision of Books, The History of the University of
Oxford, vol 3, pp 441 -5 19.
4 See Clark (ed), Register, vol 2, Part 1, p 82.
Select Bibliography
This bibliography includes books and articles with first-hand transcriptions of primary docu
ments relevant to this collection, together with a few essential reference works. No attempt has
been made to list all works cited in the Introduction and Endnotes.
Alton, R.E. (ed). The Academic Drama in Oxford: Extracts from the Records of Four Colleges,
Collections 5. Malone Society (Oxford, I960 for 1959), 29-95.
Anstey, Henry (ed). Munimenta Academics., or Documents Illustrative of Academical Life and
Studies at Oxford. Part 1 , Libri Cancellarii et Pro curator um. Part 2, Libri Cancellarii et
Procuratorum, Accedunt Acta Curiae Cancellarii et Memoranda ex Registris Nonnulla. 2 vols.
Rolls Series 50, 51 (London, 1868). [Facs Kraus rpt 1966.]
Bentley, Gerald Eades. The Jacobean and Caroline Stage. 7 vols (Oxford, 1941-68).
Bereblock, John. Commenta.ru sivi Ephemerae Actiones Rerum Illustrium Oxonii Gestarum
in Adventu Serenissimae Principis Elizabethac [1566], in Historia Vitae et Regni Ricardi n.
Thomas Hearne (ed) (Oxford, 1729), 253-96.
Birch, Thomas (compiler). The Court and Times of Charles the First; Containing a Series of
Historical and Confidential Letters. Vol 2 (London, 1849).
Boas, F.S. The Early Oxford Academic Stage, The Oxford Magazine 30 (1912), 240-1,
259-60.
- Hamlet and Volpone at Oxford, The Fortnightly Review, ns, 107 (os, 113) (1920), 709-16.
- Hamlet at Oxford: New Facts and Suggestions, The Fortnightly Review, ns, 94 (os, 100)
(1913), 245-53.
- Shakespeare and the Universities, and Other Studies in Elizabethan Drama (Oxford, 1923).
[Facs Benjamin Blom (New York, 1971).]
- Theatrical Companies at Oxford in the Seventeenth Century, The Fortnightly Review,
ns, 104 (os, 110) (1918), 256-62.
- University Drama in the Tudor Age (Oxford, 1914).
- (ed). The Christmas Prince: An Account of St. John s College Revels Held in Oxford in 1607-8.
Malone Society Reprints (Oxford, 1922).
- and W.W. Greg (eds). James I at Oxford in 1605: Property Lists from the University
Archives, Collections 1.3. Malone Society (Oxford, 1909), 247-59.
Boase, Charles W. Oxford. 3rd ed (London and New York, 1890).
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
- (ed). Register of the University of Oxford, vol 1, 1449-63; 1505-71. Oxford Historical
Society 1 (Oxford, 1885).
- (ed). Registrum Collegii Exoniensis. Register of the Rectors, Fellows, and Other Members of the
Foundation of Exeter College, Oxford. Oxford Historical Society 27 (Oxford, 1894).
Carnegie, David. Actors Parts and the "Play of Poore," Harvard Library Bulletin 30 (1982),
5-24.
- The Identification of the Hand of Thomas Goffe, Academic Dramatist and Actor, The
Library, 5th ser, 26 (1971), 161-5-
Chamberlain, John. The Letters of John Chamberlain. Norman Egbert McClure (ed). 2 vols.
Memoirs 12, 2 pts. The American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia, 1939).
Chambers, E.K. The Elizabethan Stage. 4 vols (Oxford, 1923; rpt 1974).
- The Mediaeval Stage. 2 vols (Oxford, 1903).
Clark, Andrew (ed). The Colleges of Oxford: Their History and Traditions, xxi Chapters Contributed
by Members of the Colleges (London, 1891).
- (ed). Register of the University of Oxford, vol 2, 1571-1622. 4 parts. Oxford Historical
Society 10, 11, 12, 14 (Oxford, 1887-9).
Costin, W.C. The History of St. John s College Oxford 1598-1860. Oxford Historical Society,
ns, 12 (Oxford, 1958 for 1951-2).
Cox, A.D.M., and R.H. Darwall-Smith (eds). Account Rolls of University College, Oxford, vol 2,
1471/2-1596/7. Oxford Historical Society, ns, 40 (Oxford, 2001).
Crosfield, Thomas. The Diary of Thomas Crosfield, M.A., B.D., Fellow of Queen s College, Oxford.
Fredericks. Boas (ed) (London, 1935).
The Drama at Oxford in 1636, The Bodleian Quarterly Recordl (1917-19), 151-2.
Driscoll, John P. A Miracle Play at Oxford, Notes and Queries, continuous series, 205
(I960), 6.
Elliott, John R., Jr. Degree Plays, Oxoniensia 53 (1988), 341-2.
Drama, History of the University of Oxford, vol 4, pp 641-58.
Drama at the Oxford Colleges and the Inns of Court, 1520-1534, Research Opportunities
in Renaissance Drama 31 (1992), 64-6.
Early Staging in Oxford, A New History of Early English Drama. John D. Cox and David
Scott Kastan (eds) (New York, 1997), 68-76.
Entertainments in Tudor and Stuart Corpus, The Pelican (1982-3), 45-50.
- A "Learned Tragedy" at Trinity? Oxoniensia 50 (1985), 247-50.
Mr. Moore s Revels: A "Lost" Oxford Masque, Renaissance Quarterly 37 (1984), 411-20.
Plays, Players, and Playwrights in Renaissance Oxford, From Page to Performance: Essays in
Early English Drama. John A. Alford (ed) (East Lansing, MI, 1995), 179-94.
Queen Elizabeth at Oxford: New Light on the Royal Plays of 1566, English Literary
Renaissance 18 (1988), 218-29.
- and John Buttrey. The Royal Plays at Christ Church in 1636: A New Document, Theatre
Research International 10 (1985), 93-109.
Ellis, William Patterson, and H.E. Salter (eds). Liber Albus Civitatis Oxoniensis: Abstract of the
Wills, Deeds, and Enrollments Contained in the White Book of the City of Oxford (Oxford, 1909).
756
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
- (ed). A Biographical Renter of the University of Oxford, A.D. 1501 to 1540 (Oxford, 1974)
Evelyn, John The Dtary of John Evelyn. E.S. de Beer (ed). 6 vols (Oxford, 1955).
Feuillerat, Albert. Documents Relating to the Revels at Court in the Time of King Edward v,
Queen Mary (The Loseley Manuscripts). Materialien zur Kunde des alteren Englischen
mas 44 (Leuven, Leipzig, and London, 1914; rpt Kraus, 1968).
Performance of aTragedy at New College, Oxford, in the Time of Queen Mary, The Modem
Language Review 9 (1914), 96-7.
Ffoulkes, Edmund S. A History of the Church of S. Mary the Vtrgin, Oxford, the University Church
(London, 1892).
Finnis, John, and Patrick H. Martin. An Oxford Play Festival in February 1582, Notes and
Queries, continuous series, 240 (2003), 391-4.
Firth, Charles. Annals of the Oxford Stage, The Oxford Magazine 4 (1886), 66.
Fletcher, C.J.H. A History of the Church and Parish of St Martin (Carfax) Oxford (Oxford and
London, 1896).
Fletcher, C.R.L. (ed). Collectanea. First Series. Oxford Historical Society 5 (Oxford, 1885).
Fletcher, John M. (ed). Registrum Annalium Collegii Mertonensis 1521-1567. Oxford Historical
Society, ns, 23 (Oxford, 1974 for 1971-2).
- Registrum Annalium Collegii Mertonensis 1567-1603. Oxford Historical Society, ns, 24
(Oxford, 1976 for 1973-4).
Foster, Joseph (ed). Alumni Oxonienses: The Members of the University of Oxford, 1500-1714.
4 vols (Oxford and London, 1891-2).
Fowler, Thomas. The History of Corpus Christi College with a List of its Members. Oxford
Historical Society 25 (Oxford, 1893).
Gibson, Strickland (ed). Statuta Antiqua Universitatis Oxoniensis (Oxford, 1931).
Green, Vivian. The Commonwealth of Lincoln College 1427-1977 (Oxford, 1979).
Harbage, Alfred. Annals of English Drama 975-1700. 3rd ed. Sylvia Stolen Wagonheim (rev)
(London and New York, 1989).
Heylyn, Peter. Memorial of Bishop Waynflete, Founder of St Mary Magdalen College, Oxford.
John Rouse Bloxam (ed). Caxton Society Publications 14 (1851; rpt New York, 1967).
Hibbert, Christopher, and Edward Hibbert (eds). Encyclopaedia of Oxford (London, 1988).
The History of the University of Oxford. Aston, T.H. (ed). Vol 1, The Early Oxford Schools.
J.I. Catto (ed) (Oxford, 1984). Vol 2, Late Medieval Oxford. J.I. Catto and Ralph Evans (eds)
(Oxford, 1992; rpt with corrections 1995). Vol 3, The Collegiate University. James McConica
(ed) (Oxford, 1986). Vol 4, Seventeenth-Century Oxford. Nicholas Tyacke (ed) (Oxford, 1997).
The Historical Manuscripts Commission. J.A. Bennett. The Diary of Robert Woodford,
Steward of Northampton, Lib in, The 9th Report of the Manuscripts Commission, Appendix,
pt 2 (London, 1884), 493-9.
- Horwood, Alfred J. The Manuscripts of the Right Honourable The Earl de la Warr (Baron
Buckhurst) at Knole Park, Co. Kent, The 4th Report of the Manuscripts Commission, Appendix,
pt 1 (London, 1874), 276-317.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
757
- Maxwell Lyte, H.C. Report on the Manuscripts of Philip Pleydell Bouverie, Esq., The 10th
Report of the Manuscripts Commission, Appendix, pt 6 (London, 1887), 82-98.
- PurnelJ, E.K. Report on the Pepys Manuscripts, at Magdalene College, Cambridge (London, 1911).
- Riley, Henry Thomas. Exeter College, Oxford, The 2nd Report of the Manuscripts Commission
(London, 1871), 128-9-
- [Riley, Henry Thomas.] "Wadham College, The 5th Report of the Manuscripts Commission
(London, 1876), 479-81.
Hobson, M.G., and H.E. Salter (eds). Oxford Council Acts 1626-1665. Oxford Historical
Society 95 (Oxford, 1933).
Jeffery, R.W. The Bursars Account Books, The Brazen Nose 4 (1924-9), 19-30.
Johnston, Alexandra E, and Sally-Beth MacLean. Reformation and Resistance in Thames/
Severn Parishes: The Dramatic Witness, The Parish in English Life. Katherine L. French,
Gary G. Gibbs, and B.A. Kiirnen (eds) (Manchester, 1997), 178-200.
Jones, John. Balliol College: A History, 1263-1939 (Oxford and New York, 1988).
Kimball, Elisabeth G. (ed). Oxfordshire Sessions of the Peace in the Reign of Richard li. Oxfordshire
Record Society 53 (Banbury, Oxfordshire, 1983).
Lawrence, W.J. Hamlet at the Universities: A Belated Reply, The Fortnightly Review, ns, 106
(os, 112) (1919), 219-27.
Lee, Margaret L. (ed). Narcissus: A Twelfe Night Merriment Played by Youths of the Parish at the
College of S.John the Baptist in Oxford, A.D. 1602. The Tudor Library 4 (London, 1893),
1-27.
Macray, William Dunn. A Register of the Members of St. Mary Magdalen College, Oxford, from
the Foundation of the College. 8 vols (London, 1894-1915).
Madox, Richard. An Elizabethan in 1582: The Diary of Richard Madox, Fellow of All Souls.
Elizabeth Story Donno (ed). The Hakluyt Society, 2nd ser, no 147 (London, 1976).
Manning, Percy. Sport and Pastime in Stuart Oxford, Surveys and Tokens. H.E. Salter (ed).
Oxford Historical Society 75 (Oxford, 1923), 87-135.
Mitchell, W.T. (ed). Regtstrum Cancellarii 1498-1506. Oxford Historical Society, ns, 27
(Oxford, 1980 for 1979-80).
Morris, John (ed). Domesday Book, vol 14: Oxfordshire (Chichester, 1978).
Nelson, Alan H. (ed). Cambridge. 2 vols. REED (Toronto, 1989).
Nelson, William (ed). A Fifteenth-Century School Book from a Manuscript in the British Museum
(MS. Arundfl249) (Oxford, 1956).
Nichols, John. The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth. 3 vols (London, 1823).
[Facs Burt Franklin: Research and Source Works Series, no 1 17 (New York, nd).]
The Progresses, Processions, and Magnificent Festivities of King James the First. 4 vols (London,
1828). [Facs Burt Franklin: Research and Source Works Series, no 1 18 (New York, nd).]
Nochimson, Richard L. Robert Burton s Authorship of Alba: A Lost Letter Recovered, Review
of English Studies, ns, 21 (1970), 325-31.
Orme, Nicholas. An Early Tudor Oxford Schoolbook, Renaissance Quarterly 34 (1981), 11-39
Orrell, John. The Theatre at Christ Church, Oxford, in 1605, Shakespeare Survey 35 (1982)
129-40.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Theatres of Inigo Jones and John Webb (Cambridge, 1985).
Pantin, W.A. Oxford Life in Oxford Archives (Oxford, 1972).
- (ed). Canterbury College, Oxford. 4 vols. Oxford Historical Society, ns, 6, 7, 8, 30 (Oxford
1947-85).
Plummer, Charles (ed). Elizabethan Oxford: Reprints of Rare Tracts. Oxford Historical Society 8
(Oxford, 1887).
Poole, A.L. A University Entertainment in 1583, The Oxford Magazine 29 (1911), 85-6.
Rogers, J.E. Thorold (ed). Oxford City Documents, Financial and Judicial, 1268-1665. Oxford
Historical Society 18 (Oxford, 1891).
Salgado, Gamini. Eyewitnesses of Shakespeare: First Hand Accounts of Performances 1590-1890
(London, 1975).
Salter, H.E. Medieval Oxford. Oxford Historical Society 100 (Oxford, 1936).
Survey of Oxford. Vol 1. W.A. Pantin (ed). Oxford Historical Society, ns, 14 (Oxford, I960
for 1955-6). Vol 2. W.A. Pantin and W.T. Mitchell (eds). Oxford Historical Society, ns, 20
(Oxford, 1969 for 1965-6).
- (ed). The Churchwardens Accounts of St Michael in the North Gate. Transactions of the Oxford
Archaeological Society 78 (Oxford, 1933).
- (ed). Mediaeval Archives of the University of Oxford. 2 vols. Oxford Historical Society 70, 73
(Oxford, 1920-1).
- (ed). Oxford City Properties. Oxford Historical Society 83 (Oxford, 1926).
- (ed). Oxford Council Acts 1583-1626. Oxford Historical Society 87 (Oxford, 1928).
- (ed). Registrum Annalium Collegii Mertonensis 1483-1521. Oxford Historical Society 76
(Oxford, 1923).
- W.A. Pantin and H.G. Richardson (eds). Formularies which Bear on the History of Oxford
c. 1204-1420. Vol 2. Oxford Historical Society, ns, 5 (Oxford, 1942).
Statutes of the Colleges of Oxford. 3 vols (Oxford, 1853).
Stevenson, W.H. and H.E. Salter. The Early History of St. John s College Oxford. Oxford Historical
Society, ns, 1 (Oxford, 1939).
Stratman, Carl Joseph. Dramatic Performances at Oxford and Cambridge, 1603-1642.
PhD thesis (University of Illinois, Urbana, 1947).
Taylor, A.J. The Royal Visit to Oxford in 1636: A Contemporary Narrative, Oxoniensia 1
(1936), 151-8.
Tillotson, Geoffrey. Othello and The Alchemist at Oxford in 1610, Times Literary Supplement,
20 July 1933.
Trevor-Roper, H.R. Five Letters of Sir Thomas Bodley, Bodleian Library Record2 (1941-9),
134-9.
Turner, William H. (ed). Selections from the Records of the City of Oxford (Oxford and London,
1880).
The Victoria History of the Counties of England. A History of the County of Oxford. Vol 2.
William Page (ed) (London, 1907). The University of Oxford. Vol 3. H.E. Salter and M.D.
Lobel (eds) (London, 1954). The City of Oxford. Vol 4. Alan Crossley (ed) (Oxford, 19;
Wickham, Glynne. Early English Stages 1300-1660. 2 vols (London, 1959-73; 2nd ed, 1980).
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 759
Wood, Anthony. Athenae Oxonienses. An Exact History of all the Writers and Bishops Who Have
had Their Education in the University of Oxford. To Which Are Added The Fasti, or Annals of
the Said University. Philip Bliss (ed). 3rd ed. 4 vols (London, 1813-20).
The History and Antiquities of the University of Oxford, in Two Books: By Anthony a Wood,
M.A. ofMerton College. Now First Published in English, From the Original MS in the Bodleian
Library. John Gutch (ed). 2 vols (Oxford, 1792-6).
- The Life and Times of Anthony Wood, Antiquary, of Oxford, 1632-1695- Andrew Clark
(compiler and ed). 5 vols. Oxford Historical Society 19, 21, 26, 30, 40 (Oxford, 1891-1900).
760
MAPS
ST MICHAEL
North AT T HE NORTH GATE
Gate
Map 1 Oxford, c 1578. See p 762 for Key to Map 1.
MAPS
761
East Magdalen
Gate Hair
762 MAPS
Key to Map 1
INNS AND TAVERNS
1 Blue Boar
2 Crown
3 Dolphin
4 Fleur de Luce
5 King s Arms
6 King s Head
7 Red Lion
8 Star
9 Bear
OTHER BUILDINGS
10 Bocardo
1 1 Carfax
12 Castle
13 Congregation House
14 Divinity School
15 Guildhall
MAPS
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Banbury
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Woodstock
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03
c
O
: *
z
O
I
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Map 2 Oxford and environs, with principal Renaissance routes.
764
MAPS
\ M
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Map 3 Ralph Agas Map of Oxford, 1578. Reproduced from Gough Maps Oxon 1 (Agas Map
of Colleges and Halls), by permission of the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.
APPENDIX 1
Architectural Drawing of
Christ Church Theatre (1605)
The architectural drawing now classed as BL: MS Additional 15505, f 21, was identified by John
Orrell in 1982 as the representation of a theatre installed in Christ Church hall at the royal
visit of James i in August 1605 (see Records, 1604-5)- Orrell has discussed the document at
least four times: The Theatre at Christ Church, pp 129-40; The Quest for Shakespeare s Globe
(Cambridge, 1983), 129-38, 168-70; The Theatre at Christ Church Oxford, The Theatres
of Inigo Jones and John Webb, pp 24-38; and The Christ Church Theatre, The Human
Stage: English Theatre Design, 1567-1640 (Cambridge, 1988), 119-29. See also R.A. Foakes,
Illustrations of the English Stage, 1580-1642 (London, 1985), 56-61; and John H. Astington,
English Court Theatre, 1558-1642 (Cambridge, 1999), 33-4, 84-7.
The document is a sheet of paper (381mm x 298mm) made up of two smaller sheets, slighdy
overlapped. The first sheet contains a plan, showing the theatre as from above; the second, a
section, showing the theatre as from die side. The direction Verte folium at the bottom right of
the first sheet suggests that the document began life as a bifolium. Not visible in die photographs
are dry-point drawing-compass arcs, swung from a clearly visible point near K on the plan,
which assisted the draughtsman in laying out the rows of seats.
A note on the section exactly matches the (unique) dimensions of Christ Church hall:
The hall is a 115 foote longe & 40 broade. Three arguments support Orrell s claim that the
occasion was August 1605. First, Isaac Wake describes, in a publication of 1607 concerning
the royal visit two years earlier, a stage platform that sloped toward the front and in planitiem
desinebat ( came to an end in a level surface ) (see p 306). The section shows precisely such a
stage. Second, when James objected that his throne was placed too close to the stage, it was
moved back some 14 (see p 770). Both plan and section reflect an (original) intent to situate
the throne close to the stage. Third, the stage designed for the royal visit of Charles i in 1636
filled the upper end of the hall to the hearth (see p 545 and Figure 4, p 609) while the stage
implied by the drawings is relatively shallow.
Both drawings focus on what may be called the auditorium. The length of die plan is exactly
twice its width: judging from the declared scale (!/io" = 1 ) the plan thus represents an area of
40 x 80 . While nicely fitting the width of the hall the plan comes 35 short of its length.
Annotations reveal that the auditorium up to the front of the stage is 82 deep, the backstage
and stage platform 33 , for a total of 1 15 .
The section, read from left to right, shows an auditorium that rakes from a gap between it
766 APPENDIX 1
and the stage upward toward the back of the hall. The auditorium consists of a rail (C), seven
rows of seats (D), a walkway (F), thirteen rows of seats (G), another rail (H), and finally a
sloped platform (I, L) bisected by a rail (K). Near H is drawn a stylized eye from which proceeds
a broken line showing an unobstructed line of sight to the front edge of the stage platform
(raised 4 above the hall floor).
The plan (rotated 180) likewise shows the gap to the left, and the auditorium to the right
with the seating now clearly disposed in roughly concentric arcs. Embraced by the seven forward
rows of seats stands the central Isl or platform for the king (K), raised three steps and flanked
by seats for lords against the side walls (L, LL). Behind the seven rows (meant for ladies and
the king s servants) are a walkway (G) and thirteen more rows of seats, the latter disposed in
relatively flat arcs. At ground level a passageway runs beneath the upper rows through a gallery
or Vault and continues uncovered between the forward rows. Beyond the upper seats at the
upper level is a slope scaffold for standees, with rails to keep them from ouerpressing one
another. Beneath the slope scaffold are false walls to prevent access to the space beneath the
seats, and a pair of square stair houses (B) against the side walls for access to the standing
room above. Note that C on the plan refers to the entrys on eyther side the skreene, for Christ
Church hall had two doorways into the lower end of the hall (each marked A in the plan) rather
than one as in modern times. (It is unclear whether the skreene was a feature of the hall or of
the temporary structure.) Just within the doorways stood a kind of portico with lights inset to
illuminate the foyer. A note on the section reveals that the auditorium was designed for 200
in the seven forward rows, 350 in the thirteen back rows, 130 standees in front of K, and as
many again behind, for a total of 810 without pressing.
Further details are available in external documents (see pp 278, 295-6, 299, 301, 303-7,
314, and 329). From these we discover the project was supervised by the clerk of the works,
identifiable as Simon Basil, with advice from Mr (Inigo) Jones (recently back from Italy).
External documents also reveal a change of plan. Although, as an observer noted, the de
signers wished the king to sit at the uniquely advantageous viewing point demanded by art
perspective (see p 295), the king and his advisors cared only that he be seen to best advantage.
The same observer noted that the isle was pushed back a full 28 from the stage: thus the
seven forward rows, so carefully designed to conform to principles outlined by the Italian theatre
architect Sebastian Serlio, must have been entirely rebuilt. (Orrell, Quest, p 133, speculates in
an architectural drawing of his own on the appearance of the theatre after the changes had
been carried out.) One result was that the king could neither see well nor hear well. Thus the
earliest perspective theatre known in England, designed in part by Inigo Jones, was changed
almost beyond recognition to accommodate the deeply rooted prejudices of the audience,
particularly the king.
APPENDIX 1
767
;* ;>- ..
UffHvJ b*i
:^f r - 5 r -r,,i . ; -
r lJ HN . -
->; : 7 l> i
t
}
?
<(%,.- > J ^ I I
Kf . :
5 . ;>> - ". -"- V ..^
Figure 7 Architectural drawing of Christ Church theatre, showing plan (above) and section
(below), with annotations.
768
APPENDIX 1
Figure 8 Plan of Christ Church auditorium (entrances at bottom and stage platform at top).
769
APPENDIX 1
Transcription of the notes to the diagrams (the exact arrangement of the text in respect to
the sketches has not been reproduced, but the relative positioning of the blocks of text has
been indicated):
f[l] (Notes accompanying the plan)
The scale is an ynch deuided into 10 parts.
A. the entry into the Hall.
B. easy stayrs to mounte by, in midl wherof which is voyde a lanterne may
bee hanged, which will light al the stayrcase.
C. the entrys on eyther side the skreene.
D. a kinde of lanterne or light house, in the hollow places wherof lamps may
bee placed to light the vaute E.F. 10
a. the sides closed that peopl runn not vnder the scaffolde. needles to bee
made in the vpper scaffold.
E. is the entry into the passage on the grounde noted with pricks from E to
F. through the seats. It must be vaulted in prospectiue, at the entry E
13 foote high at E 7. 5
F. the ende [wher] of the vault, ouer which the seconde ranke of seats are
heer drawne.
G. a gallery two foote &: a !/2 broade to pass betweene the seats, which must
be raysed ouer the passage a, 8 y. to pass rounde about, leauing 7 foote
at least-vnder. 20
H. from F. to H. you pass in an vncouered gallery because if the seats came
ouer it would bee to lowe.
I. the piazza from the scene, to K. the center, 12 foote. or rather 14
or 15.
K. the Isl for the kinge, a foote eleuated aboue the grounde, mounted vnto 25
by 3 degrees 1.2.3[.] 4 ynches high a peece. it is vnaequaly deuided to
aunswer the angls of the seats.
L. places for the Lords of the Counseyle wherof L.L. is somewhat higher
then the other L.
M. the first stepp two foote & a Vi high, or rather 3 f: 30
N. stepps whereby to mounte into the seats, which are signified by the
bached lines.
f [2] (Notes above the section)
The length of the whole Theater.
Verte folium
35
770 APPENDIX 1
1. The hall is a 115 foote longe & 40 broade. which I distribut into the
parts following.
the piazza is 12 foote from the scene to the Center K. it wer better to bee
14 foote, A or 15 that the kinge may sit so much further from the scene,
cutting of so much from the ende of the hall. 5
3. the Isl is 8 foote r in semi diameter.
4 the passage about it conteineth four f.:
5 the seuen first seats being two foote [broade] distant from the insid to the
outside, make 14 foote.
6. the passage F. is 2 f. & a /2. 10
the 13 seconde rank of seats, distant only 18 ynches from inside of [the]
A one seat to the ou A t side of the next conteyne 19 f. !/2.
8. from thoose seats the slope to the skreene is 10 f.
9 behinde the skreene 12 foote.
So the summe of al the length is 82 f. & ther remaineth for the 15
scene 33 f.
From C. to H. is 62 foote /2. uidelicet. the Isl [8 /z f] [f] A r 8 f. the
passage 4 f. die /7 1 seats 14 f. the gallery 2 /2. the second seats 19 !/2.
wherto joyne the piazza 12 f., & it amounts to 74 f. >/2.
20
The heigth of the Theater
1 . [The Kings Isl a foote high]
2 the first [st(.>] seat behind [it] /the Isle 1 2 f. Vr. or rather 3 f. high, to
looke ouer the Isle.
3 the [first seuen] seats euery one exceeding ech other 8 ynches in heigth. so 25
that the first 7 seats rayse 6 foot & a ] /2 in heigth. videlicet the first seat
2 f. & /2. the other six. 4 f.:
4. the second rank of seats being 13 in number, after the same rate of 8 yn.,
rise 8 f. 8 y. so that the heigth from the grounde to [H.] the seat vnder
H is 15 f. [10] 2 ynches. or if half a foote bee added to the first seate, 30
then thyare 1 5 f. 8 y. high.
(Notes below the section)
A the heigth of next part of the scene; which for the prospectiue of the 35
spectators cannot bee less then 4 foote high, as appears by the prickt
lineN.
B the piazza 12 foote broade. rather 14. or 15. 15 as I thinke.
[C] the passage about the Isle and the Isl it self are heer omitted.
C a rayle to keep peopl from the seats:
3-5/i wer. ..the hall, aAM later in same hanJ 23-47 or rather ... the Isle.: Lkd la*r in
23/ scat behind: lightly cancelled (?) hand
APPENDIX I 71
D the seats for Ladys & the Kings servants; the seats D are 8 ynches broade.
they are two foote distante ech from other, so that 8 ynches therof serue
for the seate, & the other 16 ynches for the legs & knes.
E are the footesteps 2 foote vnder the seats D. or G. four ynches broade.
F. is a gallery to walk betweene the seats, with rayles on eyther side. 5
G. 13 other seats 18 ynches a sunder, wherof the seat conteyns 6. ynches.
H a rayle at the back of the seats.
I a slope scaffold for peopl to stande on. which should haue barrs to keepe
them from ouerpressing one another.
K. a rayle ouer the skreene. 10
L. the roome behinde the skreene wher scaffolds may bee made to see
conveniently.
M. the wall at the end of the Hall behind the skreene
N. the visual line passing from A. to H. shewing that all may see at ease.
15
(Notes above and to the right of the section)
The first seuen seats will conteyne 200 persons to sitt at ease.
The seconde 13 seats, will conteyne 350.
In al 550. to sitt on seats 20
The place behinde them. [130] will hold 130.
The place behinde the skreene as many.
The summe of al 810. without pressing.
In anny case remember that a slight Portico bee made eyther at H. or
K. of hoopes & firrpooles. wherupon many lights or lamps of seueral
coulers may bee placed.
This portico giues a great grace to all the Theater, & without it, the
Architectur is false.
If scaffolds bee built upon L. then it must stande on K. if ther bee none,
then it must bee reysed on H.
25
30
8/ slope: c corrected over p
DIM. ... skreene: part of key to section, but written adjacent to M where it appears on diagra
APPENDIX 2
Technogamia, or The Marriages
of the Arts at Woodstock (1621)
Poems
Barren Holyday s play Technogamia, or The Marriages of the Arts, first performed at Christ Church
on 13 September 1618, was performed again before James I at Woodstock on 26 August 1621,
a Sunday. Although the performance occurred outside the limits of Oxford, documents are includ
ed here by reason of its direct connection to Christ Church. This second performance ignited a
furore in verse, in which contending wits capitalized on the fact that Sunday was a sacred holiday.
Fourteen poems have been selected for presentation here in full, in an order determined by
seven (A, C, D, E, G, I, J) that appear consecutively in BL: MS Sloane 542, ff 38-40.
With a single exception (Poem D), only one MS source has been selected for each poem (the
sources are fully identified). Each poem transcribed here is followed by notes, by references,
and by a list of libraries in which MS copies are known to survive. Since Cavanaugh (see below)
provides highly detailed annotations often of the fourteen poems, only light annotation is
attempted here. Notes on still other poems are presented in textual notes or in editorial notes
following the transcriptions.
REFERENCE WORKS CITED:
Sister M. Jean Carmel Cavanaugh (ed), Technogamia by Barten Holyday. A Critical Edition
(Washington, DC, 1942).
Margaret Crum (ed), First-Line Index of English Poetry, 1500-1800, in Manuscripts of the
Bodleian Library, Oxford, 2 vols (Oxford, 1969).
Nichols, Progresses of King James, vol 4, pp 1 109-12.
Copies in the Bodleian Library may be traced via Crum, others via internal first-line indexes:
British Library, London (BL); Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC (Folger); Harvard
University, Houghton Rare Books Library (Harvard); National Library of Wales, Aberysrwyth
(NLW); and Yale University, Beinecke Rare Books Library (Yale).
A) A Satyr made against Mr Holydayes Technogamia or rather
Technobigamia, presented before ye kings ma/mie at Woodstock 30
29/ Technogamia: Cavanaugh, f xxxi, transcribes incorrectly as Technogana
APPENDIX 2
on Friday 26 of August 1621 by the students of Christchurch.
Quid dignum tanto ferat hie promissor hiatu?
Whoop holiday, why then twil nere be better
why al ye guard, that never saw a letter
Save those vppon their coates, whose wit consists
In Archyes, bobs, & Garrets, saucy iests,
Deride our Christ Church play and swear that they
Nere kept ye doore to such a midnighte play 10
why Cambridg Dulman pitcht beyond it far
They fell two barrs short of Albumasar
Besides they feasted with a hen that nighte
wherein ye Lord vicechancelour vsd their mighte
Now both their guts are empty and their eare 15
Could neither cause nor noise of Laughter heare I
Our hobby horse came short of theirs, but yet
wee did excel them in ye flash of wit
we had an Ape forsooth, bare three yeares old
Should doe more tricks then Colli westons could 20
An excellent ape god is my rightful iudge
A most fine Ape, could skip, & leape and trudge
Ly stil or caper most prodigious bouts
An active Ape and yet compos d of clouts.
Why how now saucy groome, go medle with 25
Your bil and holbeard, scour your rusty teeth
With the remainder of ye last kild steere
And scowre your nasty throates with bloxford beere
Do you deride his worth? who dare vphold you
No more, be husht, and say a freind hath told you 30
Els heele in fury come you naked strip
And scourge you with a Sixteen knotted whip.
Doe you not know, that al this was begot
(I speake my conscience) when it was his lot
3/ Quid ... hiatu?: "What shall this promissor produce worthy of such a big mouth? ; cp Horace, Ars Poetica J38
10/ ye doore: at Woodstock the kings guards rather than students served as doorkeepers
1 1/ Dulman: a character in George Ruggle s Ignoramus, performed for the king at Cambridge on 8 March and
13 May 1615; see Nelson (ed). Cambridge, vol 2. pp 865-78, 902-3
\2I Albumasar: a character in Thomas Tomku Albumazar of 9 March 1614/15, see above
17 18/ Our hobby horse ... wit: Cambridge s Ignoramus was famous for the appearance of a hobby horse: see
Poem M
20/ Colli westons: Cavanaugh was unable to identify: possibly an ape-ward. Colly Weston is the name of a town
in Northamptonshire
7 74 APPENDIX 2
To be at truce with study, that this mirth
At first edition was but fiue weekes birth.
Yet no abortiue. Set a higher price
Vppon his work at least let not your eyes
make an accute bad comment that w/jich yee 5
Obiect was grosse was his best poetry
A Poet is a maker and tis more
To make an ape, then teach one [be] made [fo] before.
This answer d, think you hard your captaine say
Silence or els you shall not eate to day. ]0
So, now they are gonne but see more anger yet
Theres one hath begd monopolyes of wit
fastidious brisk ye Courtier, see it grinneth
A made a ballad and it did begin with
It is not full as yet a fortnight since 15
Christ Church at Woodstock entertained ye Prince
And vented have a studyed toy (pray mark this)
Long as ye seige of Troy to please ye marquess
Good Sir a word for all your silk and sattin
Yet I may safely sweare you know no latin 20
And wil you talk sir None must iudge his parts.
But such as are wel skild in all the Arts
Nor is it fit you iest on him Sir, since
He late hath conquer d a faire latin prince,
He hath a zelous sword if you he heares 25
Be sure heele cut of your rebellious eares,
fly to ye Globe or Curtaine with your trul,
Or gather musty phrases from ye Bui,
This was not for your dyet he doth bring
what he prepare! for our Platonique King. I 30
Goe court your mistres sir hees likewise gon
And I am left halfe angry hear alone
Glad that I have ye Poet so commended
Mad that such dull inventions were comwended
To such a sacred audience, was his muse
Tongue ty de, or witt bound? that she did refuse
To lend new matter, or els did her deeme
Crambe bis cocta was of such esteeme?
1 8/ Long ... marquess: reference is to a poem written on Cambridge flays of 1615: see Nelson (to 1 ). Cambridge,
vol 2. pp 866-7. 11.7-8
211 Globe, Curtaine-. London theatres
28/ yc Bui: the Red Bull, a London theatre
APPENDIX 2
what though Ben Johnson made some alteration
Yet stil he built vppon ye old foundation
Nay more tis feared ye second repetition
wil plague ye print, or els with a new edition
The title this, A pleasant Comedy
Lately presented to his maiesty.
The prince ye marques, & ye Courtiers prudent
At Woodstock manner by ye Christ Church student.
would once twere come to that, for then mighte wee
Be cleared from a general obloquy 10
for most beleiue, nor wil they change theire minde
That al ye vniversity combin d
In ye performance, and with out al doubt
To countenance toy, twas so given out
Nor at ye court alone, more was ye pitty 15
Tis so beleiu d in villadge towne and citty
Nay I haue hard ye Rascal black gard say,
Schollers run home, study and mend your play
Horrible Truth shall pnuate weaknes bee
A slander to ye vniversity. 20
Giue Cambridge such occasion us to mock
And make poor Oxford a pure laughing stock
fate of life, and can I hould my peace
Vrg d thus, & from reueng so iust surcease
Twere but the wit of iustice now to raile 25
Vppon ye Poet, but twil not availe
And therefore out of mercy He be free
To pitty and giue counsel with out fee.
The better to digest his new disgrace
1 would not haue him run to such a place 30
where it may bee preferment to endure
To teach some schools or els to starue some cure.
A milder course is better let him get
Commendatory letters and intrete
His worthy freind iudicious Mr Ley 35
To write a Persian censure on his play.
Source of this transcription: Folger: MS V.a.345, pp 140-2
1-21 what though ... foundation: the clear implication that Benjonson altered (improved ) the play has not
been verified
36/ a Persian censure: ;>, ofPersius
7 76 APPENDIX 2
References: Crum W2255; Nichols, pp 1109-10 (first six lines only); Cavanaugh, pp xxxi-
xxxvu
Note: Attributed to Peter Heylyn (see p 427). Followed in BL: MS Sloane 542, ff 38-9, by
The Epigram (Poem C)
Other copies: Bodl., BL, Folger, Harvard (followed by The King and the Court - see
p 789), Vale
An Answere to ye Satyr.
Thou that as yet hast no name of thine owne 10
But hopest by traducing his to be knowne
Enioy thy dear purchase, yet not without laughter.
Be thy name halfe Holyday euer after
for in learning and wit I would haue thee belieue
Where Holyday comes thou art but his Eue. 15
Source of this transcription: Folger: MS V.a.345, p 142
References: Nichols, p 1112; Cavanaugh, p xxxvii
Note: Apparently unique. Attributed to Peter Heylyn (see Appendix 13, p 886)
C) Mr Merideth on Christ Church Play
Att Christ Church marriage act before the King
That thos ma/mes should not want an offering
The King himselfe did offer; what 1 pray?
Hee offred twice or thrice to goe away.
Source of this transcription: Folger: MS Va.97, p 44
References: Crum C229, T392; Cavanaugh, pp xxix-xxxi
Note: Followed by Poem D. More copies survive of this poem than of any other that survives
from the controversy. Crum A 1341 identifies And you have offered too methinks,
your pleasure as an answer. See also Appendix 13, p 886.
Other copies: Bodl., BL, Folger, Harvard, NLW, Yale
D) ( 1 ) Holyday of Christ Church his answere to it
More trouble yet, twas but an organist
And fooles & fidlers may do what they list,
But could ye Chanter suffer him to play
Such foolish verses on a holy day.
2 1/ Mr Merideth: William Meredith, organist of New College, subject also of Crum H886
37/ an organist: William Meredith
APPENDIX 2
777
Source of this transcription: Folger: MS V.a.345, p 13
References: Crum M462
Note: Attributed in Poem D(2) to Holyday. Nichols, p 1 109, cites as Our Arts...
(2) The Reply
What more anger yet? twas but an Organist
ffidlers and fooles may say what they list
But would the Chanter giue him leaue to play
Such idle ligges vpon an Holliday. 10
Source of this transcription: Folger: MS Va.97, p 44
References: Crum W615-16
Other copies: Bodl., BL, Folger, Yale
E) Vpon Christ church play acted before King lames at Woodstock
Brag on old Christ Church neuer frett nor greeue,
But in thy practise let proud Wolsey Hue
Who neuer thought he well ptrformd that thing 20
Was not about or els aboue ye King.
His fault was ego first & then rex meus
Thine greater when as rex is ioynd w/th deus,
God nor ye Kinge seem d to approuue that play
That made his saboth lesse then holy day 25
ye play was made by Holyday of Christ Church
Source of this transcription: Folger: MS V.a.345, p 12
References: Crum B520; Nichols, p 1111; Cavanaugh, p xxxix
Note: Answered by Poem F
Other copies: Bodl., BL, Folger, Yale
F) If I can iudge a sick man by his fitt
The Poet hath more heresie then witt
for if the last verse of the 8 tri say true, 35
What ever his country be he is a lew.
Source of this transcription: Bodl.: MS. Rawlinson D.1048, f 61 v
References: Crum 1812; Nichols, p 1111; Cavanaugh, p xxxix (note)
5/ The Reply: it, to Mr Merideth on Christ Church Play (Poem C)
36/ a lew: ie. Jewish because he considers the sabbath Saturday rather than Sunday
778
APPENDIX 2
10
Note: Answers Poem E
Other copies: Bodl., BL
I could forgiue thy macharoing rimes
Did they condemne mee r onely and thes times.
But how comes Wolsay in, why dost thou lay
My faults on him? hee founded not my play.
Nor doe wee in our Oxford Wolsey say
When wee intend to rayle, but wee pray.
And what hath Sunday done? Why dost thou spite
God, for my sake? and rob him of his right?
The Saboth in thy throat, better bee dumbe,
Then by thy phrase deny yat Christ is come.
Source of this transcription: BL: MS Sloane 1792, f 64
References: Nichols, p 1111; Cavanaugh, p xxxix
Note: Attributed to Barten Holyday
Other copies: BL, Yale
Cambridge men on Hollyday and his play before ye King/ terme newes 20
from Cambridge
Blame me not (muses) cause I often play
for it is lawful! vppon a Hollyday
shold I play more, I doe but w/wt is fitt 25
Play is a good subject, for an idle witt
Sith yat such playinge, I doe not affect
But can, & will my idlensse correct
\\hic\\ to prove true, my more y^n three-bare verse
Strange newes from out of Cambrige shall A reherse 1 30
Cambridge schollers laugh, & laughinge say
Christ Church men in Oxford made a play
A brave play, a play fitt for the kinge
Nay such a play ye like was never scene
It /cost 1 them silver it cost A them gold 35
It made yem give great Tom a lesser mold
It y^m all soe poore, y^t it is sed I
yat they for thirst wold nothing eat but bred
12- 13/ The Saboth ... is come: ie. his critic fails to acknowledge that the Christian sabbath is Sunday
281 idlensse: for idlenesse
37/ It: for It left or It made (?)
779
APPENDIX 2
for all their charges, & for all theire cost
wh f e ] n all came to all, twas but labor lost
ye King, ye prince, ye Marquesse all his traine
were come, whome Christ Church men wold entertain
who with a play yet of ye last edition
scorning ye helpe of foole or of Physition
ye Marquest sent his Coach (as men say)
To fetch ye players royally away
Being come to Court, & by ye guard embraced
Vpp in ye highest cockloft they were placed
They had noe sooner brought ye prologue out
But streyght ye King begann to turne about
And asked ye Marquesse if they had not done
who stright replyed they had but new begun
w/th yat ye King slept 2 howers &: more 15
ye nobles they runne tumblinge out of doore
they went (say Christ Church men to laugh willing
because they durst laugh before ye king
ye King begining now his 3 howers sleepe
Their mery bells such ginling nos d did keepe 20
yat he awakid, & shaking of his head
wish d them all hang d for keping him from bed
he cold not laugh to see such foolish toyes
but cals his foole to mocke those Christ Church boyes
It did soe well content him that he swore 25
this is soe good, yat He see it noe more I
ye play being donne, he sent his noble men,
to know who "t was that worthy play did pen
they cold not ask d for Hollyday did cry
Looke you for him yat made this play, t was I 30
These be some blankes & here is pen & Inke
you [doe] come to give me a liuing as 1 thinge
Noe sayd ye nobles, which did his courage coole
ye king wol d have you, shake bands bands w/th his foole
yee scholers, fy I meane you Christ Church men 35
As you like this, soe make a play agen
ye king to grace you more, gave you a marke
&C bid you seeke your bedes in wod stocke parke
17/ (say ... men: closing parenthesis omitted
32/ a liuing: earlier acton and playwrights had been granted a lii ing by the monarch: see pp 130. 133: and
Nelson (ed). Cambridge, vol 1. p 243 (Edward Halliwtll)
32/ thinge: for thinke
780 APPENDIX 2
There was a grace, to heer ye king thus say
I loved you well before you made this play
Nay ye blacke guard which knew noe letter
Cold say ye play was good, where there noe better
for shame leave of, if youle gett some prayes 5
study a while & read Ben lohnsons playes.
Source of this transcription: BL: MS Egerton 923, ff 63v-4v
References: Crum B384
Note: Followed by Poem I
Other copies: Bodl., BL
Barten Holiday to the Puritan on his Technogamia.
Tis not my person, nor my play, 15
But my sirname, Holiday,
That does offend thee, thy complaints
Are not against me, but the Saints;
So ill dost thou endure my name,
Because the Church doth like the same, 20
A name more awfull to the puritane
Than Talbot unto france, or Drake to Spaine.
Source of this transcription: Wits Recreations (London, 1640; STC: 25870, No 485)
References: Nichols, p 1111; Cavanaugh, pp xxxix-xl
Note: Presumably by Barten Holyday
Other copies: BL, Yale
J) An aunswere to A skandall layd
on Mr Merideth. p:35: 30
Nor Organist, nor ffidler, nor yet ffbole,
Three termes equivalent in youre learned schoole,
Compos d those lines, it was A Sparke yat had
A strayne y^t made your noble ffestus mad.
It was noe antheame singer, though yat day
did crave an antheame rather then A play.
Twas one y^t wonders how A Poet can
Make his free Muse to turne A journey man.
Six Miles his Muse did travell, this I thinke 40
The cause yat made his verses feete to stinke.
41 where: for were 307 p:35: Yak. Osborn Shthts. B200, p 35
78 1
APPENDIX 2
His play at first had not soe sweete A strayne,
But yat ye 2 nd action was as vayne.
Seconds are Musicks discords, & their tone
Yeeldes at ye best, but harsh division.
Whiffling Tobacko, & Corinna s kisse
Being now growne stale were well-com d w/th A Hisse.
Mongst his additions, tis not yet decided
Why his Ape Carrier had noe Wife provided.
Now, by my ffayth, & Troth, it is not well,
d ee thinke he s willing to leade Apes to Hell? 10
Why was his Ape not married, since tis cleare
Artes are but Natures Apes, yet married are?
His Antequaries part I must vpholde
As well befitting any play yats olde.
But I must pitty Greenes, &C Euphues wrong 15
Brought in by Head, & Shoulders in A throng.
Whence had your Poet those distracted fits?
I thinke he ne re consulted w/th ye witts. I
I marvile how it came into his minde
To take ye Artes, & leave ye Witts behinde! 20
Some thinke yat his pure Genius did repine,
Because he once put Sugar in his Wine.
Thus ye grapes mixture w/7/ch ye wits defy
Had made his braynes produce this Rapsody.
Now if heareafter he dare vndertake 25
To deale w/th Hymens torches, let him make
A constant vow allwayes to keepe them in,
And let them n ere goe out, O tis A sinne;
Next time such Torches vnto Woodstock fly,
They le scarce be knowne from Ignes fatui. 30
Those other notes, wA/ch he was branded with
Were never chaunted by Will Meredith.
Source of this transcription: Yale, Osborn Shelves, B200, pp 36-7
References: Crum N237b
Note: Answers Poem D. Bodl.: MS. Malone 21, f 73, lacks closing couplet. The couplet on
p 780, 11.40-1, is cited separately in H.L. s Gratiae Ludentes. Jests from the Universitie
(London, 1638; STC: 15105) (see pp 788-9)
Other copies: Bodl., Yale
15/ Greenes: Robert Greene, writer
15/ Euphues: protagonist of two popular proft works by John Lyly
782 APPENDIX 2
On the play acted by the Oxford studms at Woodstock before ye King: 1621
Rome for a new songe
WA/ ch shall bee as longe
Almost as a Technogamia 5
If you thought it not pretty
Were the tune like the ditty
I durst pockett vpp the ly=a I
Helpe yee bonny sweet faces
Of the gracefull graces 10
And goldy locks Apollo,
Thou harmonius glee
Of the Muses thrice three
Come hearken to my hallow.
On Woodstock high way 15
In garments most gay
Goes Oxford amplest foundacion
With their horse & coach
Though without a caroach
In Pontificiall fashion. 20
ffirst leavinge high street
As it was most meete
They hurry through Bocardo:
Had they there still stayd
How had Oxford beene made
Though now shee is not mard=o
Next know good people
That Maudlins steeple
Brought Maudlin Coll^f in mind
Their sczne should not downe
They le serue for the towne
But these leaue them 2 leagues behind.
O but, had you scene
That angry spleene
And sheepes eyes they cast at St lohns.
When they passed by
Soe disdainfully
T would haue grieud you twice & once. I
St lohns they sed
And shake their head
3/ Rome for a new songe: it. make room or make way for a ntu> song
APPENDIX 2
Yowr actions quite forgott
Wee are those they
Goe to act a play
ffoure miles beyond Woluercott.
Thus they passe to St Giles=es
Which not many miles is
Soe farre they are on ye way.
To relate each toy
Hap t in their convoy
Were as tedious as their play.
Now thinke they carowse
In his Maiesty s house
Nere the bower of Rosamunda
And their play there they acted
ffbr soe twas compacted \">
On noe worse day then Sunday
What will it pra vayle
Though the Puritanes rayle
Hee knowes not what they did intend
They nere then had ventred 20
On the stage to haue entred
Had not Sunday beene Holydayes friend.
To keepe the doore stifflier
They gott a Diuine whifflier
Whose swearinge the company heard. 25
Who bore greater stroke
In his veluet cloake
Then the best of his Ma/wtys guard.
On Sunday night
When ye tapers were light 30
The Kinge was come into the hall. I
fforth a black gowne breaks
And tragically speakes
A prologue Comicall.
Great Kinge quoth hee 35
Most humble wee
Present vnto yor gracious view
A most quaint straine
Past vulgar braine
A refin d play both old & new. 40
13/ Rosamunda: character in Don Quixote, ste aLo p 784, 11.23- 4
784 APPENDIX 2
Now fye, rye, for shame
Giue a second name
Hereticqzic Holyday:
Tis worth the listninge
That his second chrystninge 5
Made an Anababtisticall play.
This or some other thinge
Did not please the kinge
Who was as still as a Mouse is
Till the glasse made him cry 10
I feare I shall Dye
In one of the best of my houses.
And now good Holyday
Alacke & welladay
A ffauorable censure god send you 15
Else for all thy blancks
Thou wilt gett thee small thanks
But goe home as thou cam st & mend yee.
Yet this aboue all
Poeta his braule 20
With grammar may not bee forgott:
Which disnobleth quite
The notorious fight
Betwixt the Briscan & Don Quixott.
Nor may wee escape
The deuice of the Ape
The Hobby=horse or Morrice
Which would make your diaphange
Your dialaughter 0)oe to twange
Had you beene as dull as a doore is.
And Astronomies health
Though it came in by stealth
Was soe longe that ye kinge cryed out
By my soule I feare
Theyle drinke all my beare
Before this health goe about.
The kniues inuention
Was a braue intention
To their iuglinge tricks that next were
23-41 The nocorio U s ... Quixott: this reference ,o ,he banU between Don Q-OW, and the B.tcayan extends
the Qmxote allusion in the reference to Rotunda (p 783, / 13)
24/ Becwix, ... Quixo,., for lack of space vr.nen to the right of (rather than kM the pwou, l.ne
785
APPENDIX 2
To fitt it right
An Epithite
Cannott bee found in Textor.
The length of the play
Had brought night to day
And the King the leaues to number
Who when hee scene
Their lacke seauenteene
In despayre hee fell in a slumber.
Oh! my dull brayne 10
That could not contayne
One halfe of the thinges worth notinge
If in after tyme
Any iudge by my rime
They may thinke the play worth nothinge. 5
Yett they were not well vsd
But I feare mee abusd
Best thinges oft times Displease: I
Most that went in coach=boote
Returnd home on foote 20
And I thinke twas not for their ease.
Lett that Ignoramus
The pure witt of Chamus
His former prayers stint
Lett him yeeld the day 25
To his sport & play
ffor this was a play in print.
And now to conclude
Though some thought it rude
As who can stopp mens detraction? 30
Each one doth it singe
The court, guard, & Kinge
Lord how famous is Christchurch action!
Yett before I doe goe
I will freely bestow 35
This Epitaph on this dead play:
What a Sunday displayd
And a Holyday made
Was scarce thought fitt for a workinge day.
71 scene: for had scene
22/ Ignoramus: the eponymous title of a 1615 Cambridge play
786 APPENDIX 2
Source of this transcription: Folger: MS Va.162, ff 71v 74-6
Note: Apparently unique. Previously printed in Benti^ Jacobean and Carole Stage, vol 4,
L) ON CHRIST-CHURCH PLAY AT WOODSTOCK.
If wee, at Woodstock, haue not pleased those,
Whose clamorous Judgments lye in urging no es,
And, for the want of whifflers, have destroy d
Th Applause, which wee with vizards hadd enjoy d. 10
Wee are not sorry; for such witts as these
Libell our Windowes oftner, then our Playes;
Or, if Their patience be moov d, whose Lipps
Deserve the knowledge of the Proctorships,
Or iudge by houses, as their howses goe, , 5
Not caring if their cause be good or noe;
Nor by desert, or fortune can be drawne
To credit us, for feare they loose their pawne;
Wee are not greatly sorry: but if any, I
Free from the Yoake of the ingaged many, 20
That dare speak truth even when their Head stands, by
Or when the Seniors spoone is in the pye;
Nor to commend the worthy will forbearer
Though he of Cambridge or of Christchurch were,
And not of his owne colledge; and will shame 25
To wrong the Person, for his Howse, or Name;
If any such be greiv d, then downe proud spirit;
If not, know, Number never conquerd Merit.
Source of this transcription: Richard Corbet, Poetica Stromata ([Holland], 1648; Wing:
C6273), 83-4
References: Nichols, p 1110; Cavanaugh, p xxxviii
Note: Printed in The Poems of Richard Corbett, J.A.W. Bennett and H.R. Trevor-Roper (eds)
(Oxford, 1955), 70; discussed pp 140-3
Other copies: BL
M) To his Friends of Christ-Church upon the mislike of the Marriage
of the Arts acted at Woodstock.
But is it true, the Court mislik t the Play, -to
That Christ-Church and the Arts have lost the day;
787
APPENDIX 2
That Ignoramus should so far excell,
Their Hobby-horse from ours hath born the Bell?
Troth you are justly serv d, that would present
Ought unto them, but shallow merriment; I
Or to your Marriage-table did admit
Guests that are stronger far in smell then wit.
Had some quaint Bawdry larded ev ry Scene,
Some fawning Sycophant, or courted queane;
Had there appear d some sharp cross-garter d man
Whom their loud laugh might nick-name Puritan,
Cas d up in factious breeches and small ruffe,
That hates the surplis, and defies the cuffe:
Then sure they would have given applause to crown
That which their ignorance did now cry down.
Let me advise, when next you do bestow
Your pains on men that do but little know,
You do no Chorus nor a Comment lack 20
Which may expound and construe ev ry Act:
That it be short and slight; for if t be good
Tis long, and neither lik t nor understood.
Know tis Court fashion still to discommend 25
All that which they want brain to comprehend.
Source of this transcription: Henry King, Poems, elegies, paradoxes, and sonnets (London,
1657; Wing: K501), 22-3
References: Crum B646; Cavanaugh, pp xl-xli
Note: BL: MS Additional 62134, f I6v, has been identified as King s original MS: But all
is true.... Printed in The Poems of Henry King, Margaret Crum (ed) (Oxford, 1965), 67.
Crum, p 196: These verses did not go beyond King s own family, and are not found with
the satires and defences known to Nichols in manuscript miscellanies, though they are in
Hari (Cf. P. 57)
Other copies: Bodl., BL
N) In Concionem Magistn Bartini Holiday
in Cruce Divi Pauli habitam November 5.
2/ Their Hobby-horse ... Bell: Cambridge s Ignoramus was famous for the affearance of a hobby hone: see
Poem A
788
APPENDIX 2
Woodstochise excepta est nullo tua Fabula risu:
At jam cachinnos Concionator moves.
Si me audis, Bartine, tuas, aut in Cruce Pauli
Comoedias dabis, vel in Scena Homilias./
Thy Comcedy at Woodstock wan no praise
But preaching thou movest every man to laughter
Dost heare me Bartin? in Pauls Crosse thy playes
Or on the Stage thy Sermons act hereafter./
Source of this transcription: Harvard: Houghton MS Eng. 699, f [10]
References: Cavanaugh, p xli, citing Huth s Inedited Miscellanies (unpaginated, Epigrams )
Note: Apparently unique
Other Commentaries and Poems Concerning Woodstock
1) From a 16 February 1621/2 letter from John Chamberlain to Dudley Carleton:
...Here be certain verses [of] made of Dr Corbet deane of christchurch who
preaching before the king at woodstocke last sommer was so grauelled that he 20
was faine to geue ouer, neither had he better lucke in his play then in his
preaching, for thincking to mend the matter w/ th a comedie of the manage
of the Arts, yt proued so tedyous as well for the matter as the action, that the
king indured yt w/ th great impatience, wherupon the very boyes and children
flouted yt [(.)] w/ th a rime. A mariage we had bur offering there was none, 25
saue that the king offered twise or thrise to be gone....
Source of this transcription: PRO: SP/14/127, f 140
Note: Chamberlain incorrectly attributes The Marriages of the Arts to Corbet rather than to
Holyday. (Corbet composed Poem L.) Chamberlain refers to two poems: first, to certain
verses, which no longer accompany the letter but which are described at the end of this
appendix; second, to Poem C
2) From H.L., Gratiae Ludentes. Jests from the Universitie (1638)
At Woodstocke by Schollers.
King James, of Famous memory be-ling at Woodstocke, the Schollers of
Christ-Church, presented him with a play, named the Marriage of the Artes,
a Comedy very good, but not well taken by the Court, whereon one made to
this disticke to the Authour.
8/ Pauls Crosse: site of an outdoor pulpit next to St Paul s Cathedral in London
789
APPENDIX 2
Sixe miles thy Muse had travell d that I thinke.
The cause that made thy verses feete to stinke.
Source of this transcription: src: 15105, pp 102-3
Note: These two verses are excerpted from Poem J (p 780, 11.40-1)
3) One speaking this in the play at Woodstocke
As at a banquett some meates haue sweet some saore last
10
Hoskins of Oxford standing by
as a spectator rimes openly to it.
Euen soe your dubllett is to short in the waste.
Source of this transcription: Folger: MS Va. 162, f 59v
Not cited here at length, because it does not comment on Holyday s play, is The King and the
Court desirous of sport (Crum T844), entitled On the KJnges being at Woodstocke, 1621.
The poem is printed in (Sir) John Mennes, Wit Restor d (London, 1658; Wing: M1719), 62-3;
and in Nichols, pp 1 1 10-1 1. The concluding lines, beginning The reverend Deane with his
ruffe starched cleane, a satire on Richard Corbet (author of Poem L), survive separately: see
Crum A394 and BL: MS Egerton 293, ff 10v-ll ( A Reverent Deane ).
APPENDIX 3
The Royal Slave at
Hampton Court (1636/7)
William Camvright s play The Royal Slave, first performed at Christ Church on 30 August
1636, was performed again at Queen Henrietta Maria s own request at Hampton Court on
12 January 1636/7. Although the performance occurred outside the limits of Oxford and
with professional actors, documents are included here by reason of its close connection to
Christ Church.
Although lacking a date, the Lord Chamberlain s Playlist has, since it was discovered in the
nineteenth century, been associated with the 1637 Lord Chamberlain s Warrant and probably
accompanied it. On this document and the warrant, once suspected of being forgeries but now
regarded as genuine, see A.E. Stamp, The Disputed Revets Accounts (Oxford, 1930).
George Chalmers An Apology for the Believers is the only surviving record of a personal
payment to Cartwright by the king. Its source is a now-lost office book of Sir Henry Herbert,
master of the revels, to which Chalmers, like Edmund Malone, had access (N.W. Bawcutt, The
Control and Censorship of Caroline Drama: The Records of Sir Henry Herbert, Master of the Revels
1623-73 (Oxford, 1996), 15-17; record printed p 200, No 358).
Letter of Queen Henrietta Maria to the University
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Rawlinson D.912; 6 December 1636; English; paper; single sheet; 225mm
x 340mm; autograph signature. Now bound as f 66 into a collection of official letters to and from the
University, entitled Papers Relating to the University of Oxford.
Lord Chamberlain s Warrant Book
London, Public Record Office, LC/5/134; 1634-41; English; paper; 230 leaves; 240mm x 360mm;
contemporary pagination; original vellum binding, repaired in 1959, tide in ink on front cover: Warrants
ab Anno 1634 Vsque ad Annum 1641.
Royal Warrant
London, Public Record Office, SP/16/352; 11 April 1637; English; parchment; single mb; 145mm x
290mm; writing lengthwise on 1 side only; no titles or endorsements (the names "William Hawkins
and lohanms Chapman, presumably clerks of the privy seal, written by the scribe at the end of the
document). Now bound in a guardbook and numbered 55.
APPENDIX 3
Lord Chamberlain s Playlist
London, Public Record Office, AO/3/908 (22); 1636-7; English; paper; bifolium; 200mm x 3
writing on first folio only.
Lord Chamberlains Warrant
London, Public Record Office, AO/3/908 (23); 12 March 1636/7; English; paper; bifolium; 200mm x
305mm; text on f [1], endorsement on f [2v]: Warrant for paymewt of 240 li. vnto the Kingw Players
for Playes Acted 1636 1637 Awo 1637 and vj> luly 37 Received in pane of this warrant C li. er.
more 20 deofwb^r 37 L li. et more L li. per me Eyllaerdt Swanston.
Royal Payment for The Royal Slave (AC)
[Chalmers, George.] An Apology for the Believers in the Shakspeare-Papers, Which Were Exhibited in
Norfolk-Street (London, 1797).
1636-7
Letter of Queen Henrietta Maria to the University
Bodl.: MS. Rawlinson D.912
single sheet (6 December)
5
To Our Trusty and Wellbeloved ye Vicechancellour and
Convocar/on of ye Vniversity of Oxford.
(signed) Henrietta Maria Regina
Trusty and Welbeloved, Wee greet you Well. The Cloathes together with ye
whole furniture and Ornaments belonging to that Play wherewith wee were 10
so much pleased att our last being in Oxford wee have Received: and doe
acknowledge for no contemptible Testimony of your Respect to Vs ye
Vnfumishing your Selfe of such Necessaries meeriy for our Accommodation.
A thing which wee doe not A only take very kindly, but are Ready to
Remember very ReaJly, whensoever you will furnish Vs with any Occasion 15
wherein [( }] our flavour may bee vsefuli vnto you. In ye Meane time you
may bee confident that no Part of these things yat are come to our hands,
shall bee suffered to bee prostituted vpon any Mercenary Stage, but shall bee
carefully Reserv d for our owne Occasions and particular Entertainments att
Court: With which assurance, together widi thankes, and our best Wishes for 20
ye perpetuall flourishing of your Vniversity. Wee bidd you hartily ffarewell.
Given vnder our handfs] at Hampton Court ye sixt day of December. 1636.
Lord Chamberlain s Warrant Book PRO: LC/5/134
p 158 (15 March) 25
Players warrant A Warrant for payment of 240 li. vnto his Ma/t/ Players (vizt) 210 li. for
792 APPENDIX 3
21 playes Acted by them at 10 li. a play & 30 li. more for the new Play
called The royall Slaue. March 15. 1636
p 165 (4 April)
Reward for the To ye Earl of Denbighshire
Master of ye Wardrobe
Wheras ye Charge of ye alterations, reparac/ons & additionO which were
made vnto ye scene, Apparell & propertyes that were imployed for the setting 10
forth of ye new Play called the Royall slaue, which was lately Acted &
presented before his Ma/tye at Hampton Court, together w/ th the Charge
of Dancers & composers of Musique which were vsed therin, amounteth to
ye sumwe of One Hundred fifty fower pounds appearing by the billes of ye
seuerall persons imployed therin. Theis are to pray & require you to prepare 15
A Bill for his Majesties royall signature for a priuy scale to bee directed to ye
Treasurer &C Vnder Tr^zrarer of ye Excheqw^r requireing & authorizing them
out of his Ma/t/ receipt there to pay or cause to bee payd vnto ye seuerall
persons heerafter named (vizt) to Peter Lehuc Property maker the sumwe of
50 li. to George Portman Painter the sumwe of 50 li. &c to Estienne Nau & 20
Sebastian La Pierre for themselues & twelue Dancers the sumwe of 54 li.
amounting in ye whole to ye aforesayd sumwe of 154 li. to bee payd vnto
them w/thout Account imprest or other Charges to be sett vpon them or their
Executors for ye same or any part therof: And this shall bee your warrant.
ApriLH. 1637. / 25
To ye Signett
Royal Warrant PRO: SP/16/352
single mb (11 April)
30
Charles by the grace of God King of England Scotland ffrance and Ireland
defender of the ffaith &c. To the Treasurer and vnder Treasurer of our
Excheqw^r for the time being, greeting. Whereas the charge of the Alterac/ons
reparac/ons and addioons which were mad( )he Scene, Apparell and
properties that were imployed for the setting forth of the New Play called the 35
Royall Slaue which was lately acted and presented before vs at Hampton Court,
together with the charge of Dancers and Composers of Musique, which
were vsed therein amounteth to the somwe of One hundred and ffiftie foure
pounds, As by the Bills of the seuerall persons imployed therein appeareth,
21 1636: underlined
9/ addition*.): letter last through cropping of right margin
APPENDIX 3
Our will and pleasure is, and wee doe hereby will and command you out of
our Treasure remayning in the Receipt of our said Excheqz^r to pay or cause
to be paid vnto the severall persons hereafter named, vizt, to Peter le Hue
Propertie maker the somme of ffiftie pounds; to George Portman, Painter
the somwe of ffiftie pounds and to Estienne Nau and Sebastian la Pierre for 5
themselues and twelue dancers the som/we of ffiftie foure pounds, amounting
in the whole to the aforesaid somwe of One hundred and ffiftie foure pounds.
The same to be taken vnto them without accompt imprest or other charges
to be sett vpon them or their executors for the some or any part thereof. And
these our bids shalbe your sufficient warrant and discharge in this behalf. 10
Given vnder our Privy scale at our Pallace of Westminster the Eleuenth day
of Aprill in the Thirteenth yeare of our raigne.
Lord Chamberlains Playlist PRO: AO/3/908 (22) 15
f [1]
Playes acted before the Kinge and Queene
this present yeare of the lord. 1636. /
20
16 The 12 th - of January the new play from Oxford, the Royall slave.
Lord Chamberlain s Warrant PRO: AO/3/908 (23)
f [1] (12 March) 25
Wheras by virtue of his Mziesties Letters Patents bearing date the 16th of
lune 1625 made & graunted in confirmation of diuers Warrants & priuy
scales vnto you formerly directed in the time of owr late Souu^raigne Lord
King lames, you are Authorized (amongst other things) to make payment 30
for Playes Acted before his Ma/tye. Thees are to pray and require you out
of his Miiesties Treasure in your Charge to pay or cause to bee payd vnto
lohn Lowen and Joseph Taylor or either of them for themselues & the rest of
the Company of his Ma/t/ Players the sumwe of "two hundred & tenne"
pounds (beeing after the vsuall &: accustomed rate of Tenne pounds for 35
each play) for One and Twenty Playes by them Acted, before his Ma/ty at
Hampton Court & else where within the space of a yeere ended in February
last: And that you likewse pay vnto them the sumwe of "thirtye" pounds
more for their paynes in studying &c Acting the new Play sent from Oxford
called The royall slaue which in all amounteth to the sumwe of Two Hundred 40
21/ 16: ie, the sixteenth play on the list
794 APPENDIX 3
& forty pounds: And thees together w/th their Acquittance for the Receipt
therof shall bee your warnw. Whitehall the 12th of March. 1636./
(signed) Pembroke & Montgomery.
To Sir William Vuedale knight
Treasurer of his Majesties Chamber./ 5
V: lunij 1638
Received the same day & yeare of Sir William Vuedale
knight Treasurer of his Mziesties Chamb^ the somwe of CCxl li.
(signed) Eyllaerdt Swanston
240 li. ,
AC Royal Payment for The Royal Slave Chalmers: Apology
pp 507-8 (12 January)
...The acting of Cartwright s Royal Slave, on Thursday the 12th of January 15
1636/7, before the King at Hampton-court, cost one hundred and fifty-four
pounds, exclusive of forty pounds, I which Sir Henry Herbert says the King
gave the author
21 1636: underlined
6/ 1638: underlined
APPENDIX 4
New College Wardens Progress
The following payments are presented here faute de mieux, as volumes in this series are
organized by place rather than dynamically by journey. Francis W. Steer (comp), The Archives
of New College, Oxford (London, 1974), 127, dates this MS c 1600. Steer s dating is confirmed
by internal evidence. The MS identifies the sexton of Newton Longfield (presumably Newton
Longville, Bucks), one Quartermain, as having been parson forty years: the dates of Quarter-
mains tenure, 1558-1613, suggest c 1598; the MS names the vicar of Hornchurch as Charles
Ryves: his tenure in that office implies a range of 1597-1611. The peripatetic warden was
apparently either Martin Colepeper (1573-99) or George Ryves (1599-1613). Since the latter
bore the same last name as the vicar of Hornchurch, and may well have been a relative, he
seems the more likely of the two candidate wardens.
Much more information might be forthcoming if the MS could be fully restored.
A Warden s Progress Book
Oxford, New College Archives, 910; c 1600; English, Latin, Greek; paper; approximately 36 leaves;
200mm x 148mm (197mm x 120mm); unnumbered; poor condition, fire and water damage, many leaves
stuck together; contemporary parchment binding is a folio from what appears to be a 12th-c. psalter.
c 1600
A Warden s Progress Book NC Arch: 910
f [3v]
Musicians xii d. 5
f[4]
to ye musicions in ye morninge xii d. 10
&: to ther playinge at Drinking at master wardens
appoyntemewt j: s
796 APPENDIX 4
( [7] (London (>))
To the trumpeters of ye Duke of lyniox by
master wardenes appoyntemem
f [lOv]
There to Takely
10
At wallricks Hall in Takeley
To musicions nothing they not playinge before I was gone
15
f [13]
To Cambridge horn Thetford 28 miles, hither, a Saterday night by six a clocke
The Hoste ther mr Woolfe at the Rose.
20
Sundaye Dinner for master Wardens menne - himselfe master Steward
& I Dyninge with Master Dr Nevile Deane of Camerburye & Master of
Trynitye Colledge
To ye musicions xij d. 25
9, 1 1/ Takely, Takeley: Tackley, Oxfordshire
18/ Thetford: Little Thetford, Cambridgeshire
19/ the Rose: the Rose Inn. which gave its name to the modern Rose Crescent (near the Market)
APPENDIX 5
College Lords and
Mertons King of Beans
College lords, for the most part Christmas lords including both the king of beans ( rex fabarum )
from Merton (1485-6 to 1539-40) and the Christmas Prince from St John s (1576-7, 1607-8),
are discussed in the Introduction (see pp 612-13) and are the subject of extracts printed in the
Records. Here generalized and undated references are brought together.
Texts and ceremonies relative to Oxford college lords are discussed by the following:
Boas (ed), University Drama, pp 3-10, 196.
George C. Brodrick, Memorials of Merton College, Oxford Historical Society 4 (Oxford, 1885),
46, 245, 249, 279.
Bernard W. Henderson, Merton College (London, 1899), 267.
H.H. Henson, Letters Relating to Oxford in the 14th Century from Originals in the Public
Record Office and British Museum, Fletcher (ed), Collectanea, pp 39-49.
Pantin (ed), Canterbury College, vol 3, pp 68-72.
John Peckham, Registrum Epistolarum Fratris Johannis Peckham, Charles T. Martin (ed), vol 1,
Rolls Series 77 (London, 1882), xlvii.
Salter (ed), Formularies, pp 351, 439-
Salter (ed), Registrum Annalium, pp xviii-xix.
Also of importance are references cited under The Christmas Prince in Appendix 6:1 and
evidence from Cambridge: see Nelson (ed), Cambridge, vol 2, Index, especially under Christmas
lords, colleges.
Wood s Athenae Oxonienses, vol 3, col 480, gives the following account, which begins with
an allusion to St John s:
the custom was not only observed in that coll^, but in several other houses, particularly
in Mertow Co\\ege, where, from the first foundation, the fellows annually elected, about
S. Edmund s day in November, a Christmas lord, or lord of misrule, stiled in their registers
rex fabarum and rex regni fabarum: Which custom continued till the reformation of religion,
and then that producing puritanism, and puritanism presbytery, the professors of it looked
upon such laudable and ingenious customs as popish, diabolical and antichristian.
APPENDIX 5
Also in Athenae Oxomenses, vol 1, col 456, Wood attributes to David de la Hyde: De Ligno
Spoken in praise of Mr. Jasper Heywood, who was in the time of queen Mary, rex
regm fabarum m Merton college; which was no other than a Christmas lord, or a lord, or
king or misrule.
Wood s History and Antiquities, vol 2, pp 136-7, contains another account of de la Hyde s
activities at Merton, this time dated 1557:
The subject was de ligno et foeno in praise of Mr. Jasper Heywood, about this time King,
or Christmas Lord, of the said College being it seems the last that bore that commendable
office. That custom hath been as antient for ought that I know as the College itself, and the
election of them after this manner. On the 19 of November, being the Vigil of St. Edmund,
King and Martyr, Letters under seal were pretended to have been brought from some place
beyond sea, for the election of a King of Christmas, or Misrule, sometimes called with
us of the aforesaid College, Rex fabarum. The said letters being put into the hands of the
Bachelaur Fellows, they brought them into the Hall that night, and standing, sometimes
walking, round the fire, there reading the contents of them, would choose the senior Fellow
diat had not yet borne that office, whether he was a Doctor of Divinity, Law or Physick, and
being so elected, had power put into his hands of punishing all misdemeanours done in the
time of Christmas, either by imposing Exercises on the juniors, or putting into the stocks at
the end of the Hall any of the servants, with other punishments that were sometimes very
ridiculous. He had always a chair provided for him, and would sit in great state when any
speeches were spoken, or justice to be executed, and so this his authority would continue till
Candlemas, or much about the time that the Ignis Regentium was celebrated in that college.
This account by Wood contains some exaggerations, especially as to the antiquity of the
tradition, corrected by Boas (ed), University Drama, pp 5-6.
Some texts pertaining to college lord election ceremonies in Oxford have survived in ASC Arch:
182, ff91v, 94-4v; and BL: MS Royal lO.B.rx, ff 129-33. (Another text had been transcribed in
Salter (ed), Formularies, p 439, but the reference, BL: MS Harleian 5398, ff 132v-3, is apparently
incorrect.) Transcribed below is one mock letter, from among the small number that survive, to
provide a taste of the mock pomposity and ceremony that characterized the activities of college
lords. (See also excerpts from the Christmas Prince festivities at St John s College in 1607-8,
pp 340-81).
The texts may be broken down approximately thus:
- six mock letters (c 1440) introducing Merton College s king of beans (BL: MS Royal
lO.B.ix, ff 129-33). Discussed in Salter (ed), Registrum Annalium, pp xviii-xix, where
the first letter is also transcribed. A satiric letter (c 1414-30) relating to Canterbury College
also appears in BL: MS Royal lO.B.ix, ff32v-3v and is transcribed in Pantin (ed), Canter
bury College, vol 3, pp 68-72. Pantin suggests that the letter was written to enliven the
Christmas festivities and notes that this letter appears in the same MS as the Merton
king of beans letters. The connection remains unclear.
APPENDIX 5
- three letters relating to the custom of electing a Christmas king. Two are described by
Martin in Peckham, Kegistrum, vol 1, p xlvii. Martin s MS reference is ASC Arch: 182,
ff91v, 94. He makes no mention of the third letter, which remains untraced. All three
letters are printed in Henson, Letters Relating to Oxford, pp 39-49, but without a
full declaration of sources.
Under the name of Jasper Heywood, Bliss has added a note of his own in his edition of
Athenae Oxonienses, vol 1, col 665: Heywood exercised the office of Christmas prince, or
lord of misrule in his college (Merton); and among Wood s MSS. in the Ashmole museum
is an oration praising his admirable execution of his office, written by David de la Hyde
Although Bodl.: MS. Wood D.32, f 315, col 2, in the hand of Brian Twyne, contains a passage
that may have given rise to Wood s observations as cited above, no text of de ligno et foeno
has yet been traced.
c 1400-22
Mock Letter from Neptune to the Nobles of the Kingdom of Beans
BL: MS Royal lO.B.ix
f 129v
5
Celestis progenies neptunus & magne dyane filius a ditis palacio ad maximi
lovis artem Rector, dominus & patronus: omnibus & singulis Regni fabe
proceribus. SaJutem cum pace & ad p^rpetue polecie precepta aures erigere/
manus apponere. & tanqam alis pennatis affeccionis pedibus prape conuolare.
Summus cunctorum opifex & genitor causatorum/ orbem terrarum infimum
sub statu condicionis huiusmodi stabiliuit. quod quamuis sperarum omnium
quasi basis existat. et stabile fundamentum. in diuisionis puluerem subito
solueretur. nisi nostie magnifice largitatis continue potiretur humore sic
quecumque regio/ nobilitate stabilita regali si quando priuetur ead<?m in
diuisionem vertitur & nititur in occasum. Hinc est quod nostris auribus nupmme 15
iam intonuit relacio fidedigna. quod Rex vester eximius/ celsi frater attlantis,
renunciaturus seculo. famosissimi regni vestri septrum resignauit & arma Ne
tante regionis communitas nobis ab inicio precipue p^ramanda tanqwanz gens
sine capite populus sine principe vel oves pastore sublato, in direpcionem
incidant prfriter et ruinam. Vobis iniungendo mandamus quatinwj omni mora 20
postposita/ ad eleccionem noui regis celeriter festinetis/ eo procedentes consilio
vt quater in fratris rabiem Gole temp^rante, vestre nauis remigium ad vniuoce
portuw concordie feliciter applicetis Quicquid in premissis feceritis/ nobis
fideliter intimantes/ cum proximo iam illuxerit festivitas clementina. Scriptum
in portu pelionis. Instanti: quo thetis vndique bacho gaudebat honore. 25
71 artem: for arcem
10
APPENDIX 6
Oxford Play Bibliography
Plays listed in this appendix have been divided into four groups:
Group 1: surviving play texts certainly or probably performed at Oxford
Group 2: lost plays certainly, probably, or possibly performed at Oxford
Group 3: plays written at Oxford but not performed, and perhaps not meant for
performance
Group 4: plays sometimes attributed to Oxford, but for which there is no evidence
for performance there, or positive evidence against
Plays originally composed for other venues but performed by Oxford students are listed in
Appendix 9. The distinctions among the various groups are often not sharp.
The following information - where available - is given for each play:
Title Modern edition (usually one only)
Language Reference work(s) (usually one or two only)
Author Synopsis
Early printed edition(s) History
Manuscript(s) Note
Information or conjecture concerning performance histories is based on the Records, evidence
gathered in Appendix 8, tide-pages, internal evidence, and University careers. Conclusions drawn
by or recorded in Chambers, Elizabethan Stage (ES), or Bentley, Jacobean and Caroline Stage (]cs),
are accepted unless specific objection is raised in a note. The modern edition accords with that
indicated by Harbarge, Annals (AED), unless a more recent edition is available.
Printed title-pages, transcribed in full by W.W. Greg, A Bibliography of the English Printed
Drama to the Restoration, 4 vols (London, 1939; rpt 1962), are presented more briefly; all
information bearing on author, title, date, place of performance, and presence of dignitaries
is retained. Greg lists stationers register entries, which are not noted here. Also cited is M.A.
Shaaber, Check-list of Works of British Authors Printed Abroad, in Languages other than English,
to 1641 (New York, 1975).
Listed separately from modern editions are facsimile editions, whether of Latin plays in
Renaissance Latin Drama in England, Marvin Spevack and J.W. Binns (gen eds) (RLDE), or
English plays in Malone Society Reprints (MSR) or Tudor Facsimile Reprints (TFR).
APPENDIX 6:1
Electronic editions of certain Oxford plays are currently available on the Web, and more
are likely to be available over time. Five available at the time of publication, all edited by
Dana F. Sutton, are Iphis by Henry Bellamy; Nero and Tres Sibyttae by Matthew Gwinne;
Thibaldus by Thomas Snelling; and Physiponomachia by Christopher Wren. The first is posted at
http://eee.uci.edu/-papyri/iphis/ while the others may be found by substituting the following
for iphis : Nero/ sibyls/ snelling, and wren. 1
Reference works are generally limited to ES or yes, and to AED. Entries in ES and yes often
contain much more information than is given here. AD references include the year to which its
editors have assigned the plays: estimated limits are included where the exact year is in doubt.
Problems with dates and questions of attribution and production are discussed in the notes.
A synopsis is named where one is available in a standard article or book. Boas signifies
Boas (ed), University Drama.
Appendix 6:1: Surviving Play Texts
Antoninus Bassianus Caracalla
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPTS:
- Bodl.: MS. Rawlinson C.590, ff l-25v: Antoninus Bassianus Caracalla
- Harvard Theatre Collection: Thr. 10.1, ff 8v-19v (actor s part for Antoninus). (No title)
MODERN EDITION: William E. Mahaney and Walter K. Sherwin (eds), Walter K. Sherwin
and Jay M. Freyman (trans), Antoninus Bassianus Caracalla, Salzburg Studies in English
Literature, Elizabethan and Renaissance Studies 52 (Salzburg, 1976)
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.7 (2), prepared with an introduction by J.W. Binns (1983)
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 5, p 1291; George B. Churchill and Wolfgang Keller, Die
lateinischen Universitats-Dramen Englands in der Zeit der Konigen Elisabeth, Shakespeare
Jahrbuch 34 (1898), 264-7; AED 1618
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 9-11
HISTORY: Christ Church (?), 1617-19
NOTE: This play seems to have been written into the blank pages of a (reversed) volume
originally containing notes on a Hebrew text. The fact that the Rawlinson MS is incomplete
at the end is taken by yes as evidence that the play was never finished and thus never
performed; moreover, There is a note at the end in a much later hand, but so badly smeared
802 APPENDIX 6:1
as to be almost illegible. The following may represent an improvement on the transcription
given in yes:
the End /
(...) Reason why because
(...) he that writt this
did write no more.
But the survival of an actor s part in the Harvard MS implies a performance
Archipropheta
AUTHOR: Nicholas Grimald LANGUAGE: Latin
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: ARCHIPROPHETA, TRAGOEDIA lam recens in lucem edita
(Cologne, 1548; Shaaber G393)
MANUSCRIPT:
- BL: MS Royal 12.A.xlvi (holograph (?)): Archipropheta Tragoedia. Authore Nicolao Grimoaldo
MODERN EDITION: L.R. Merrill (ed and trans), The Life and Poems of Nicholas Grimald, Yale
Studies in English 69 (New Haven, 1925), 217-357
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.9 (2), prepared with an introduction by KurtTetzeli von Rosador
(1982)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, Vol 3, p 31; AED 1547
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 17-22
HISTORY: Christ Church or Exeter, 1546-7
NOTE: Latin Biblical tragedy; adapted from Jacob Schoepper, Johannes decollates. MS discussed
by N.R. Ker, Paste-downs in Oxford Bindings, Oxford Bibliographical Society, ns, 5 (Oxford,
1954), 48, no 512a. For a comprehensive note on Grimald, see Appendix 14, p 898
Atalanta
AUTHOR: Philip Parsons LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- BL: MS Harley 6924, ff 1-19: ATALANTA. SCENA ARCADIA
MODERN EDITION: William E. Mahaney and Walter K. Sherwin (eds), Walter K. Sherwin,
APPENDIX 6:1
Jay Freyman, and Eve Parrish (trans), Two University Latin Plays: Philip Parsons
and Thomas Atkinson s Homo, Salzburg Studies in English Literature, Elizabethan Studies
16 (Salzburg, 1973)
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.4 (2), prepared with an introduction by Hans-Jiirgen Weckermann
(1981)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 4, p 373; AED 1612
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 12-17
HISTORY: St John s College, 1612
NOTE: Pastoral. MS carries dedication to William Laud
Bellum Grammatical sive Nominum Verhorumque Discordia Civilis
AUTHOR: Leonard Hutten LANGUAGE: Latin
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: BELLVM Grammaticale, Sive, Nominum Verborumq: discordia civilis
TRAGICO-COMCEDIA. Summo cum applausu olim apud Oxonienses in Scznam producta,
&: nunc in omnium illorum qui ad Gramaticam animos appellunt oblectamentum edita
(London, 1635; Greg L13; STC: 12417). Prologue and Epilogue printed in William Gager,
Me/eager (1592), sigs F6v-7 (see below, under Meleager)
MANUSCRIPT:
- BL: MS Harley 4048, f 74v (rev) (fragment with prologue): Comcedia inscripta belluw
Gramaticale acta apud Oxonienses in y^de Cristi, Anno Domini 1581: Decem^m 18.
This MS page also bears the page number 106 (as numbered from the back, reversed)
MODERN EDITION: Andrea Guarnas, Bellum Grammaticale und seine Nachahmungen, Johannes
Bolte (ed), Monumenta Germaniae Paedagogica 43 (Berlin, 1908)
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.12 (1), prepared with an introduction by Lothar Cerny (1982)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 4, pp 373-4; AED 1582
SYNOPSES: Boas, pp 255-67; RLDE, pp 7-12
HISTORY: Christ Church, 18 December 1581; repeated 24 September 1592 (royal visit)
NOTE: Comedy. Subsequent editions: 1658, 1698, 1718, 1726, 1729. A dramatization of
804 APPENDIX 6:1
Andreas Guarna, Bel/urn grammatical nominis dr verbi regum, de principalitate orationis
inter se contendentium (Argentorat, 1512).
Note on title-page of Anthony Wood s copy of the 1635 edition, BodL MS. Wood 76(4)
(visible in RLDE): Dr Gardiner Canon of Christchurch hath often told me yat Dr Leonard
Hutten was the author of this play. A. W. See also epigram in William Gager s commonplace
book, clearly datable to 1583 (p 183; RLDE, p 5). On the basis of multiple references to
Huttens authorship, and of the date supplied by BL: MS Harley 4048 (identified by Professor
Elliott in 1987), authorship is presented here unqualified by a query mark and the history
has been thoroughly revised. William Gagers Prologue and Epilogue composed for the 1592
royal visit are available in Dana F. Sutton (ed and trans), William Gager: The Complete Works,
vol 2 (New York and London, 1994), 245-53
Caesar and Pompey, or Caesar s Revenge
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITIONS: THETRAGEDIE OF Caesar and Pompey OR QESARS Reuenge
(London, [c 1606]; Greg 232; STC: 4339). The second edition is more informative: THE
TRAGEDIE OF Czsar and Pompey OR CESARS Reuenge. Priuately acted by the
Studentes of Trinity Colledge in Oxford (London, 1607; STC: 4340)
MODERN EDITION: Wilhelm Miihlfeld (ed), The Tragedie of Caesar and Pompey or Caesars
Reuenge. Ein Drama aus Shakespeares Zeit zum ersten Male neugedruckt, Jahrbuch der
Deutschen Shakespeare-Gesellschaft 47 (1911), 132-55, and 48 (1912), 37-80
FACSIMILE EDITIONS: MSR (1911); TFR (1913)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 4, pp 4-$; AED 1595
SYNOPSES: Boas, pp 267-78; see also W.W. Greg, Notes on the Society s Publications, Col
lections 1, pts 4-5, Malone Society (Oxford, 1911), 290-4
HISTORY: Trinity College, c 1592-6
NOTE: Tragedy. On parallels with Shakespeare s Julius Caesar, see Geoffrey Bullough (ed),
Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare, vol 5 (London, 1964), 33-5
The Careless Shepherdess
AUTHOR: Thomas Goffe (?); revised by R. Brome (?) LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED ED.T.ON: THE Careles Shepherdess. A TRAGI-COMEDY Acted before the
APPENDIX 6: 1
KING & QUEEN, And at Salisbury-Court, with great Applause. Written by T. G Mr. of Arts
(London, 1656; Greg 761; Wing: G1005)
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 4, pp 501-5; AED 1619
HISTORY: Christ Church (?), 1618-29 (rev c 1638)
NOTE: Pastoral, jcs, vol 4, p 502, suggests that the play was originally written for an Oxford
audience between September 1618 ... and [Goffe s] death in July 1629, then revised for
one or more non-academic productions
Cephalus et Procris
AUTHOR: Joseph Crowther LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- sjc Library: MS 217. (No title)
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.10 (2), prepared with an introduction by Bernfried Nugel (1982)
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, vol 3, pp 183-5; AD 1627
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 18-22
HISTORY: St John s College (?), 1626-8
NOTE: Comedy. MS gives synopses by scenes. MS dedicated to William Juxon, president of St
John s 1621-33. See Note under Homo, below, concerning similarities between this and
certain other St John s plays and play MSS
The Christmas Prince
AUTHOR: Various LANGUAGE: English and Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- sjc Library. MS 52, pp 5-260: A True, and faithfull relation of the risinge and fall of
THOMAS TUCKER Prince of Alba Fortunata, Lord of St. lohns...
MODERN EDITION: Boas (ed), The Christmas Prince
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.11, prepared with an introduction by Earl Jeffrey Richards (1982)
806 APPENDIX 6:1
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 4, p 71; AD 1607 (and 1608)
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 6-35
HISTORY: St John s College, 1607-8
NOTE: Excerpted at length in Records, pp 340-81. The Christmas Prince was not a play per se
but a sequence of plays and other Christmas lord entertainments stretching over the
Christmas season from 31 October 1607 to 13 February 1607/8. Two plays mentioned in
the documentation but not fully integral to the event were Periander (listed as a separate
play below) and Yuletide (see Appendix 6:2). The following is an outline of the events, with
dates and tolio numbers. All authors are unknown.
Narrative (Election, &c) 31 October-30 November pp 5-13
Ara Fortunae 30 November pp 14-26
LANGUAGE: Latin
Narrative 30 November-25 December pp 26-39
Saturnalia 25 December pp 40-
LANGUAGE: Latin
Narrative 26-9 December pp 47-9
Philomela 29 December pp 50-84
LANGUAGE: Latin
NOTE: The end of Philomela overlaps the beginning of the next narrative
Narrative 29 December- 1 January pp 83-5
Times Complaint 1 January pp 86-1 10
LANGUAGE: English
NOTE: Page 88 skipped in pagination
Narrative 1-10 January pp 111-16
The Seven Days of the Week 10 January PP 1 19-28
LANGUAGE: English
NOTE: Pages 116-17 blank
Narrative 10-15 January pp 129-30
Philomaths 15 January pp 131-68
LANGUAGE: Latin
Narrative 15 January-9 February pp 169-
Ira Fortunae 9 February pp 179-20
LANGUAGE: Latin
Narrative 9-13 February PP 20
Periander 13 February PP 20
NOTE: See separate listing below
Narrative 13 February pp 256-60
APPENDIX 6:1
Christus Redivivus
AUTHOR: Nicholas Grimald LANGUAGE: Latin
EARLY PRINTED EDITIONS: CHRISTVS REDIVIWS, COMOED1A Tragica, sacra & noua
(Cologne, 1543; Shaaber G394). 2nd ed (Augsburg, 1556; Shaaber G395)
MODERN EDITION: L.R. Merrill (ed and trans), The Life and Poems of Nicholas Grimald, Yale
Studies in English 69 (New Haven, 1925), 55-215
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.9 (1), prepared with an introduction by KurtTetzeli von Rosador
(1982)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 3, p 31; AD 1540
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 10-14
HISTORY: Brasenose College, c 1540-1
NOTE: Tragicomedy. On possible performance, see p 85 and RLDE, p 8. For a comprehensive
note on Grimald, see Appendix 14, p 898
The Combat of Love and Friendship
AUTHOR: Robert Mead LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: THE COMBAT OF Love and Friendship, A Comedy, As it hath
formerly been presented by the Gentlemen of Ch. Ch. in OXFORD. By ROBERT MEAD,
sometimes of the same Colledge (London, 1654; Greg 735; Wing: Ml 564)
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 4, pp 851-2; AED 1638
SYNOPSIS: Laurens J. Mills, One Soul in Bodies Twain: Friendship in Tudor Literature and Stuart
Drama (Bloomington, 1937), 357-62
HISTORY: Christ Church, 1634-42
NOTE: Tragicomedy. Date and conditions of performance are highly uncertain
The Converted Robber alias Stonehenge
AUTHOR: John Speed (?) LANGUAGE: English
APPENDIX 6:1
MANUSCRIPT:
Th , - A
The sceane Salisburye Playne (Greg 107)
REFERENCE WORKS: yes, vol 5, pp 1 181-4; XD 1635
HISTORY: St John s College, 1637 (?)
NOTE: Pastoral See jcs on the probability that this was the same play as Stonehenge. On the
>t page of the MS occur titles in rough hands: Love. Hov, The Royal slave (several times)
Loves Hospitall (several times), Loues Labores Lost
The Courageous Turk, or Amurath i
AUTHOR: Thomas Goffe LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: THE COVRAGIOVS TVRKE, OR, AMVRATH the First. A
Tragedie. Written by THOMAS GOFFE Master of Arts, and Student of Christ-Church in
OXFORD, and Acted by the Students of the same House (London, 1632; Greg 458-
STC: 11977)
MANUSCRIPTS:
- Cheshire and Chester Archives: Tabley MS DLT/B 71 , ff 1-25: The Tragaedy of Amurath
third Tyrant of the Turkes As it was publiquely presented to ye Vniversity of Oxon: By ye
students of Christchurch Mathias day 1618
- Harvard Theatre Collection: Thr.10.1, ff 57-71 (actor s part for Amurath). (No title)
MODERN EDITION: Susan Gushee O Malley (ed), A Critical Old-Spelling Edition of Thomas
Gaffe s The Courageous Turk, Renaissance Drama (New York and London, 1979)
FACSIMILE EDITION: David Carnegie (ed), MSR (1974)
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, vol 4, pp 505-7; AED 1619
HISTORY: Christ Church, 24 February 1618/19
NOTE: Tragedy. The Tabley MS includes a poem on the hoarseness that befell the actor playing
Amurath, probably Thomas Goffe himself (see pp 434-6 and p 1 126, endnote to Harvard
Theatre Collection: MS Thr.10.1 f 2). On the flyleaf are the names Thomas and Henrie
once each; inside the back cover, on paper pasted onto the parchment, is written, The
Tragedy of Amurath, with a signature of Thomas Pygott
APPENDIX 6:1
Dido
AUTHOR: William Gager LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPTS:
- ChCh Library: 486: Dido Tragcedia Acta in /de Christi Oxonis Pridie Idus lunij Anno
Domini 1583
- BL: MS Additional 22583, ff34v-44v (acts 2 and 3 only, along with Prologue, Argumentum,
and Epilogue): Prologus in Didonem tragzdiam
MODERN EDITION: Dana F. Sutton (ed and trans), William Gager: The Complete Works, vol 1
(New York and London, 1994), 239-363
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.1 (2), prepared with an introduction by J.W. Binns (1981)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 3, p 318; AED 1583
SYNOPSES: Boas, pp 183-91; RLDE, pp 9-11
HISTORY: Christ Church, 12 June 1583
NOTE: Tragedy. Performance described in Holinshed, Chronicles (see p 191). See RLDE, p 12,
for further bibliographical information. Sutton (ed), William Gager, vol 1, pp 250-1,
demonstrates that both surviving manuscripts of Dido are almost certainly in Gager s hand.
Sutton presents evidence, necessarily tentative (pp 246-9), for considering George Peele
or even Richard Edes as possible collaborators in the composition of the play. For more on
Dido, see also J.W. Binns (ed and trans), William Gager s Dido , Humanistica Lovaniensia 20
(1971), 167-254
Eumorpbus sive Cupido Adultus
AUTHOR: George Wild LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- BL: MS Additional 14047, ff 60-96v: Sequitwr Eumorphus sive Cupido-Adultus. Comoedia.
Acta A loanwensibw Oxon Feb. 5 1634. Authore Georgio Wilde eiusdmi Coll. Soc. et
Legum Bacc/z/an j
MODERN EDITION: Heinz J. Vienken (ed and trans), Eumorphus; sive, Cupido Adultus; A Latin
Academic Comedy of the Seventeenth Century, Humanistische Bibliothek, Reihe 2, Texte, 19
(Munich, 1973)
810 APPENDIX 6:1
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.3 (2), prepared with an introduction by Heinz J. Vienken (1981)
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, Vol 5, pp 1259-60; AED 1635
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 11-16
HISTORY: St John s College, 5 February 1634/5
NOTE: Comedy. Wood, Athenae, vol 3, col 720: Hermophus, a ConW_y - written in Lat.
and several times acted, but not printed ; however, there is no other evidence of a second
performance
The Floating Island (Passions Calmed; Prudentius)
AUTHOR: William Strode LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: THE FLOATING ISLAND: A TRAGI-COMEDY, Acted before
his Majesty at OXFORD, Aug. 29. 1636. By the Students of CHRIST-CHURCH. Written by
WILLIAM STRODE, late Orator of the University of OXFORD. The Aires and Songs set by
Mr. HENRY LAWES, servant to his late Majesty in his publick and private Musick (London,
1655; Greg 746; Wing: S5983)
MODERN EDITION: Bertram Dobell (ed), The Poetical Works of William Strode (1600-1645): . . .
To Which is Added The Floating Island, a Tragi-Comedy (London, privately published, 1907),
137-240
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 5, pp 1189-95; AED 1636
SYNOPSIS: Dobell (ed), Works, pp xli-xliii
HISTORY: Christ Church, 29 August 1636 (night); second performance for the University,
Before whom it was afterwards acted, 3 September (afternoon)
NOTE: Tragicomedy. Described by Laud and others (see pp 537, 543, 545-6)
Fuimus Troes (The True Trojans)
AUTHOR: Jasper Fisher LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: FVIMVS TROES. jfntid. 2. THE TRVE TROIANES, Being A
Story of the Britaines valour at the Romanes first invasion: Publikely represented by the
Gentlemen Students of Magdalen Colledge in Oxford (London, 1633; Greg 482; STC. 10886)
APPENDIX 6:1
MODERN EDITION: Robert Dodsley (ed), A Select Collection of Old Plays, vol 7 (London,
1825-7), 377-456
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 3, pp 304-5; AED 1625
HISTORY: Magdalen College, c 1611-33
NOTE: History. In Athenae, vol 2, col 636, Wood identifies Jasper Fisher as the author of
Fuhnus Troes, published in 1633, adding: Before which time, it had been once, or more,
publicly represented by the gentlemen-students of Magd. coll. in Oxon
Grobiana s Nuptials
AUTHOR: Charles May LANGUAGE: English
MANUSCRIPT:
- Bodl.: MS. Bodley 30, ff 13-25: Grobiana s Nuptialls
MODERN EDITION: Ernst Riihl (ed), Grobianus in England. Nebst Neudruck der ersten
Obersetzung The Schoole ofSlovenrie (1605) und erster Herausgabe des Schwankes Grobiana s
Nuptials (c. 1640) aus Ms. 30. Bodl. Oxf, Palaestra 38 (Berlin, 1904)
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 5, pp 1054-6 (under Shipman, Roger); AED 1638
HISTORY: St John s College, 14 January 1636/7 (a Saturday)
NOTE: Mock-show. The authorship has been assigned to Roger Shipman, and the performance
dated after Ben Jonson s death in August 1637 (jcs, vol 5, p 1056), but see p 556
Homo
AUTHOR: Thomas Atkinson LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- BL: MS Harley 6925, ff 1-1 lv: HOMO
MODERN EDITION: William E. Mahaney and Walter K. Sherwin (eds), Walter K. Sherwin,
Jay Freyman, and Eve Parrish (trans), Two University Latin Plays: Philip Parsons Atalanta
and Thomas Atkinson s Homo, Salzburg Studies in English Literature, Elizabethan Studies
16 (Salzburg, 1973)
SI- APPENDIX 6:1
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.4 (3), prepared with an introduction by Hans-Jurgen Weckermann
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, Vol 3, p 4; AED 1618 (1615-21)
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 18-23
HISTORY: St John s College, 1615-21
NOTE: Tragedy. MS dedicated to William Laud, jcs, vol 3, p 4, suggests that four St John s
College plays - Mercurins (by Blencow), Cephalus et Procris (by Crowther), If his (by
Bellamy), and Homo (by Atkinson), which have much in common, may all represent a
standard exercise of that college
Iphis
AUTHOR: Henry Bellamy LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- Bodl.: Lat. misc. e. 17. On vellum cover: Iphis Comoedia Latina MS autore Henrico Bellamy
MODERN EDITION: Jay M. Freyman, William E. Mahaney, and Walter K. Sherwin (eds and
trans), Iphis, Salzburg Studies in English Literature, Elizabethan and Renaissance Studies
107:1 (Salzburg, 1986)
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.10 (1), prepared with an introduction by Bernfried Nugel (1982)
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, vol 3, pp 19-20; AED 1626
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 6-16
HISTORY: St John s College, 1621-33
NOTE: Comedy. Dedicated to William Juxon, president of St John s College 1621-33 (AEDS
terminal date of 1623 is presumably an error for 1633). See Note under Homo, above,
concerning similarities between this and certain other St John s College plays and play MSS
Love s Hospital (Lovers Hospital)
AUTHOR: George Wild LANGUAGE: English
MANUSCRIPTS:
Additional 14047, ff 7-39: LOVES HOSPITALL. as it was acted before the Kinge
- BL: MS
01 2
APPENDIX 6:1
& Queens Majestyes [a] by the students of St. lohn Baptists Co\\ege in Oxon Augustij 29
1636. Authore GEORGIO WILDE Legum Bzccalarius
- Folger Shakespeare Library: MS J.b.7 (fragment of 2 leaves only followed by 22 stubs with
evidence of writing in same hand): Lovers Hospitall
MODERN EDITION: Jay Louis Funston (ed), A Critical Edition of Love s Hospital by George Wilde,
Salzburg Studies in English Literature, Jacobean Drama Studies 13 (Salzburg, 1973)
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, Vol 5, pp 1260-4; AED 1636
HISTORY: St John s College, 30 August 1636 (afternoon)
NOTE: Comedy. Performed for a royal visit (see p 543). Bodl.: MS. Malone 21 contains Henry
Lawes music for the play
Meleager
AUTHOR: William Gager LANGUAGE: Latin
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: MELEAGER. Tragcedia noua: BIS PVBLICE ACTA IN />
CHRIST! Oxoniar (Oxford, 1592; Greg L2; STC: 11515)
MODERN EDITION: Dana F. Sutton (ed and trans), William Gager: The Complete Works, vol 1
(New York and London, 1994), 27-221
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.2 (1), prepared with an introduction by J.W. Binns (1981)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, Vol 3, p 318; AED 1582
SYNOPSES: Boas, pp 165-78, 192-5; RLDE, pp 8-9
HISTORY: Christ Church, first, 7 February 1581/2; second, January 1584/5 (in the presence
of the earls of Pembroke and Leicester, and of Sir Philip Sidney and other courtiers)
NOTE: Tragedy. Further information on the play appears in the Records (see pp 180-1)
Mercurius Rusticans
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- Bodl.: MS. Wood D.I 8, Pt 2: Mercurius Rusticans Scena Hyncksey vel Hincksie
814 APPENDIX 6:1
MODERN EDITION: Ann J. Cotton (ed), Mercunus Rusttcans: A Critical Edition (New York
and London, 1988)
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.7 (1), prepared with an introduction by J.W. Binns (1983)
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 5, pp 1373-4; AED Supplement i (contains further information)
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 5-8
HISTORY: written 1605-18
NOTE: Comedy. The Bodleian Summary Catalogue (8557, under 8837) declares that the text
was written in 1663 but gives no evidence for this evidently erroneous assertion. The
action takes place in the village of Hinksey, just west of Oxford. The text includes several
songs to tunes named in the margins: The hunt is up, Whoop doe me noe harme, and
Bonny nell. See p 392 for a poem penned into the play MS
Mercurius sive Literarum Lucta
AUTHOR: John Blencow LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- sjc Library: MS 218: Mercurius siue Literarum Lucta. (At conclusion of play: loannes
Blenkow )
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.3 (1), prepared with an introduction by Heinz J. Vienken
(1981)
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 3, pp 29-30; AED 1633
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 6-8
HISTORY: St John s College, 1629-38?
NOTE: Comedy. RLDE, p 6, proposes a date at the end of the 1620s. MS contains no dedication.
See Note under Homo above concerning similarities between this and certain other St John s
College plays and play MSS
Momus
See Panniculus Hippolyto Assntus, Note
01 C
APPENDIX 6: 1
Mr Moore s Revels
AUTHOR: Thomas Moore LANGUAGE: English
MANUSCRIPT:
-Bodl.: MS. Ashmole 47, ff 122v-6: Mr Moores rcvells nere Eastgate in Oxon. 1636
MODERN EDITION: Elliott (ed), Mr. Moore s Revels, pp 411-20
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, Vol 5, p 1375; AED 1636
SYNOPSIS: Elliott (ed), Mr. Moore s Revels, p 412
HISTORY: Performed at East Gate, Oxford, 1636, over three nights
NOTE: Christmas revel (?). Bentley, mjcs, vol 5, p 1375, declares of the text, I do not know
where it is, but see the complete text, pp 560-4. Probably not a college play but one within
the University play tradition
Narcissus, a Twelfth Night Merriment
AUTHOR: Francis Clarke (?) LANGUAGE: English and Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- Bodl.: MS. Rawlinson poet. 212, ff 67-82 (rev): ATwelfe night merriment: anwo 1602
MODERN EDITION: Lee (ed), Narcissus, pp 1-27
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, Vol 4, p 36; AED 1603
SYNOPSIS: Boas, pp 278-85
HISTORY: St John s College, 5 January 1602/3
NOTE: Farce. ES, vol 4, p 36, infers Francis Clarke s authorship from, among other things, the
name Francis given to the Porter, a character in the play (for excerpts see pp 268-71).
On the identity of Clarke, see p 1115, endnote to Bodl.: MS. Rawlinson poet.212 ff82, 67.
In addition to the play text the MS includes four letters, all by the same author: A speech
made for ye foresaid porter... (ff 84-2v, rev), transcribed in Records (see pp 269-71);
A speech deliverd by ffrancis Clarke to ye Ladie Keneda (tT46-5v, rev); A Speech spoken
by Francis Clarke in the behalfe of ye freshmen (ff 44v-3v, rev); and A letter composd
816 APPENDIX 6:1
for Francke Clarke ye porter of St lohn s, who in his brothers behalfe did breake ones head
v/th a Blacke staffe (ff 84v-5, rev). These four letters are printed by Lee (ed), Narcissus
pp 2S-3d
Oedipus (fragment)
AUTHOR: William Gager LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- BL: MS Additional 22583, ff 31-4. (No title)
MODERN EDITION: Dana F. Sutton (ed and trans), William Gager: The Complete Works, vol 1
(New York and London, 1994), 1-26
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.1 (1), prepared with an introduction by J.W. Binns (1981)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 3, p 319; AED 1584
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, p 8
HISTORY: Christ Church (?), c 1577-92
NOTE: Tragedy. Binns, RLDE, p 8: Oedipus consists of five short scenes, which may be either
surviving scenes from a longer play, or the first attempt at what was intended to be a longer
play, or a playlet complete in itself
The Ordinary, or The City Cozener
AUTHOR: William Cartwright LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITIONS: THE ORDINARY, A Comedy, Written by WILLIAM CARTWRIGHT,
MA. Ch.Ch. Oxon (London, 1651; Greg 702; Wing: C714). Also (Wing: C709)
MODERN EDITION: Robert Dodsley (ed), A Select Collection of Old Plays, vol 10 (London,
1825-7), 165-268
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, vol 3, pp 132-4; AED 1635
HISTORY: Christ Church (?), 1634-5
NOTE: Comedy, jcs explicates an internal reference from which the play may be dated, gives an
account of the play s subsequent career on the professional stage, and notes Henry Lawes
music for Priscilla s song in act 3, scene 2
817
APPENDIX 6:1
Orestes
AUTHOR: Thomas Goffe LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: THE TRAGEDY OF ORESTES, Written by THOMAS GOFFE
Master of Arts, and Student of Christs Church in OXFORD: AND Acted by the STVDENTS
of the same HOVSE (London, 1633; Greg 485; STC: 11982)
MODERN EDITION: Norbert Frank O Donnell (ed), The Tragedy of Orestes by Thomas Goffe:
A Critical Edition, PhD thesis (Ohio State University, 1950)
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 4, pp 507-9; AID 1617
HISTORY: Christ Church, c 1613-18
NOTE: Tragedy
Panniculus Hippolyto Assutus (supplement)
AUTHOR: William Gager LANGUAGE: Latin
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: Fragment of text in Meleager (see above), sigs E8-F5v: Panniculus
Hippolyto Senecz Tragcediz assutus 1591. (Prologue and Epilogue printed with Ulysses
Redux (see below), sigs F2v-3)
MODERN EDITION: Dana F. Sutton (ed and trans), William Gager: The Complete Works, vol 2
(New York and London, 1994), 183-215
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.2 (3), prepared with an introduction by J.W. Binns (1981)
REFERENCE WORKS: S, Vol 3, p 319; AD 1592
SYNOPSES: Boas, pp 198-201; RLDE, p 12
HISTORY: Christ Church, Tuesday, 8 February 1591/2
NOTE: Additions to Seneca s Hippolytus, the Latin play. Panniculus . . . assutus means a patch
sewn (onto). Sutton (ed), William Gager, vol 2, p 254, considers but casts doubt upon a
connection between Gager s text and a song by William Byrd. For the date of the perform
ance, see Note under Ulysses Redux, below. For more on Panniculus, see J.W. Binns (ed),
William Gager s Additions to Seneca s Hippolytus, 1 Studies in the Renaissance 17 (1970)
153-91.
818 APPENDIX 6:1
Published with Ulysses Redux was Gager s speech of Momus, presented as an afterpiece
to Panniculus, which had nearly the standing of an independent play and triggered an
important debate between Gager and the anti-theatrical polemicist John Rainolds (see
Appendix 11). Momus speech is edited and translated by Sutton (ed), William Gager, vol 2,
pp 216-21
The Part of Poore (fragment)
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: English
MANUSCRIPT:
- Harvard Theatre Collection: MS Thr. 10.1, ff 21-46v (actor s part for Poore). (No title)
MODERN EDITION: David Carnegie (ed), The Part of "Poore," Collections 15, Malone Society
(Oxford, 1993), 111-69
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1618
HISTORY: Christ Church, 1617-19
NOTE: Moral
Periander
AUTHOR: John Sandsbury (?) LANGUAGE: English
MANUSCRIPTS:
- sjc Library: MS 52, pp 209-56: A True, and faithfull relation of the risinge and fall of
THOMAS TUCKER Prince of Alba Fortunata, Lord of St. lohns..
- Folger Shakespeare Library: MS J.a.l, ff 134- 57v (pamphlet ends f 160): Periander. Folio
134 (cover-leaf): Periander made bye Mr lohn Sansburye
MODERN EDITION: Boas (ed), The Christmas Prince, pp 229-87
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.1 1, pp 209-60, prepared with an introduction by Earl Jeffrey
Richards (1982)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 4, p 71; AED 1607 (and 1608)
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 6-35
HISTORY: St John s College, 13 February 1607/8
819
APPENDIX 6:1
NOTE: Periander occurs in the manuscript of The Christmas Prince, following Ira Fortunae,
the closing play in that sequence. This fact, along with the survival of the text in a second
manuscript, suggests that Periander was an independent play. Discussed by R.H. Bowers,
Some Folger Academic Drama Manuscripts, Studies in Bibliography 12 (1959), 122
Philosophaster
AUTHOR: Robert Burton LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPTS:
- Folger Shakespeare Library: MS V.a.315: Philosophaster./ Comcedia noua./ Scripta Anno
domini 1606. Alterata, [renovata] r reuisa\ perfecta. Anno domini 1615. Acta demura et
publice exhibita Academicis In Aula ALdis Christi, et a Studiosis jdis Christi Oxon aJumnis,
Anno 1617 Februarij die decimo sexto, die lunz ad horaw sextaw pomeridianaw/ Auctore
Roberto Burton, Sacrz Theologian Baccalaureo atq*-./Edis Christi Oxon alumno 1617. Pages
4-7 contain an Argumentuw. (At conclusion of Epilogue, p 84: feb: I6to JEde Christi Oxon.
1617. Page 85 contains Actoruw nomina, followed by Aaed on Shrouemunday night 1617.
feb: 16. die lunz Oxon: It begane a bout 5: at night, and ended at eight. Auctore Roberto
Burton Liniliaco Lecestrense. ) (This volume, owned by Robert s brother William, is a virtual
twin of the Harvard MS, though perhaps in a different hand.) (Cast list)
- Harvard Theatre Collection: MsThr.10, pp 7-89: Philosophaster./ Comcedia noua./
[Inchoata] r Scripta ] Anno domini 1606. Alterata, re[nouata] r uisa\ [perfecta]. Anno
domini 1615. Acta demuw et public^ exhibita Academicis In aula ytdis Cristi, et a Studiosis
zdis Cristi Oxon alumnis, Anno 1617 Februarij [die] decimo sexto, die lunae. ad horaw
sextam pomeridianaw./ Auctore Roberto Burton Sacra? Theologiz Baccalaureo atqw^ /Edis
Christi Oxon alumno./ 1617. Pages 46 contain an Argumentum. At conclusion of
Epilogue, p 89: Feb: I6 to jde Cristi 1617. Page 90 contains Actoruwz nomina, followed
by Acted on Shrouemunday night 1617. Feb: 16. die lunse. It begane about 5. at night and
ended at eight./ Auctore Roberto Burton Liniliaco Lecestrense./ Blank leaves following play
text include modern notes identifying the actors. (This volume, evidently in Burton s own
hand, is a virtual twin of the Folger MS.) (Cast list)
- Harvard Theatre Collection: MsThr.10.1, ff 48-56 (actor s part for Polypragmaticus, in the
hand of Thomas Goffe, including Efilogus, f 56). (No title.) (This volume has no apparent
original connection with Harvard Theatre Collection: MS Thr. 10)
MODERN EDITION: Connie McQuillen (ed and trans), Philosophaster, Medieval & Renaissance
Texts & Studies 103 (Binghamton, 1993)
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.8, prepared with an introduction by Marvin Spevack (1984). (From
Harvard Theatre Collection: MsThr.10)
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, Vol 3, pp 99-100; AED 1606
820 APPENDIX 6:1
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 9-18
HISTORY: Christ Church, composed 1606; revised 1615; acted 16 February 1617/18: It began
about five at night and ended at eight
NOTE: Comedy. The role of Polypragmaticus was played by Thomas Goffe: see MS Thr.10.1
above under Manuscripts, and see Appendix 7 for cast list. Burton himself provides
historical details of the composition and performance: see pp 427-8 and jcs
Physiponomachia
AUTHOR: Christopher Wren, Sr LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- Bodl.: MS. Bodley 30, ff 2-12: <t>YIiriONOMAXIA
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.4 (1), prepared with an introduction by Hans-Jiirgen Weckermann
(1981)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 4, p 377; AED 1609
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 6-10
HISTORY: St John s College, c 1609-11
NOTE: Comedy. MS carries dedication to John Buckeridge, president of St John s
The Queen s Arcadia (Arcadia Reformed)
AUTHOR: Samuel Daniel LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: THE QVEENES ARCADIA. A PastorallTrage-comedie/wW to
herMaiestie and her Ladies, by the Vniuersitie of Oxford in Christs Church, in August last.
1605 (London, 1606; Greg 227; STC: 6262)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 3, p 276; AED 1605
HISTORY: Christ Church, 30 August 1605 (royal visit)
NOTE: Pastoral. On the play s reception see Letter of Chamberlain to Winwood (p 332).
821
APPENDIX 6:1
The Raging Turk, or Bajazet u
AUTHOR: Thomas Goffe LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: THE RAGING TVRKE, OR, BAIAZET THE SECOND. A
Tragedie written by THOMAS GOFFE, Master of Arts, and Student of Christ-Church in
Oxford, and Acted by the Students of the same house (London, 1631; Greg 447; sir:
11980-1)
MODERN EDITION: Ahmed AJam El-Deen (ed), A Critical Edition of Thomas Goffe s
The Raging Tvrke, or Baiazet the Second (1631), PhD thesis (West Virginia Univer
sity, 1984)
FACSIMILE EDITION: David Carnegie (ed), MSR (1974)
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, Vol 4, pp 509-10; AED 1618
HISTORY: Christ Church, c 1613-18
NOTE: Tragedy
The Royal Slave
AUTHOR: William Carrwright LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITIONS: THE ROYALL SLAVE. A Tragi-Comedy. Presented to the King and
Queene by the Students of Christ-Church in Oxford. August 30. 1636. Presented since to
both their Majesties at Hampton-Court by the Kings Servants (Oxford, 1639; Greg 570;
STC. 4717). Subsequent edition (Oxford, 1640; STC: 4718)
MANUSCRIPTS:
- BL: MS Additional 41616 (Petworth sale), ff 1-24 (a pamphlet bound within the volume):
The Royall Slaue A Tragicomedy The Scene Sardes Acted before the King at Oxford. Note
bottom of page in later hand: This Play was written by W;7/wm Cartwright a Student of
Christchurch & was first represented by the Students of that College before King Charles
I &. his Queen on the 30th of Augzm 1636 -The Songs were set by Henry Lawes - Dr
Busby - afterward Master of Westmr school performed a principal part with great applause
he was at that time a Student of Christchurch...
- Bodl.: MS. Arch. Selden B26, pt E: The Royall Slaue A TragUComedy
- Duke of Bedford: The Royall Slave A Tragi=Comedy
- Folger Shakespeare Library: MS V.b.212 (formerly 7044): The Royall Slaue A Trage= Comedy
APPENDIX 6:1
MODERN EDITION: Plays and Poems ofmitam ^^ G
REFERENCE WORKS: yes, vol 3, pp 134-41; AED 1636
HISTORY: Christ Church, 30 August 1636 (evening); repeated 2 September (afternoon); played
professionally 12 January 1636/7 at Hampton Court
NOTE: Tragicomedy. A lost fifth MS - Heber: 1043 - contained a cast list. On performance
at Hampton Court, see Appendix 3. See frequent references in the Records (pp 529 534
(as The Persian Slave), 538, 543-6, 556, and the related endnotes)
Technogamia, or The Marriages of the Arts
AUTHOR: Barten Holyday LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITIONS: TEXNOFAMIA: OR THE MARRIAGES OF THE ARTS. A
Comedie, Written by BARTEN HOLYDAY, Master of Arts, and Student of Christ-Church in
Oxford, and acted by the Students of the same House before the Vniuersitie, at Shroue-tide
(London, 1618; Greg 353; STC: 13617). 2nd ed (London, 1630; STC: 13618). (Folger STC:
13617 carries MS corrections, apparently in the hand of the author)
MODERN EDITION: Sister M. Jean Carmel Cavanaugh (ed), Technogamia by Barten Holyday,
A Critical Edition (Washington, DC, 1942). The text presented in this edition - heavily
annotated in the editor s endnotes - is a photographic reprint of Folger STC: 13617
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, vol 4, pp 589-96; AED 1618
SYNOPSIS: Cavanaugh (ed), Technogamia, pp Iv-lxx
HISTORY: Christ Church, 13 February 1617/18; second performance at Woodstock, before
the king, 26 August 1621 (a Sunday)
NOTE: Moral/comedy. On the play s venues and reception, see Peter Heylyn s Memoirs (p 427)
and Appendix 2. See Appendix 7 for cast list
ThibaUtus sive Vindictae Ingenium
AUTHOR: Thomas Snelling LANGUAGE: Latin
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: THIBALDVS SIVE VINDICTAE INGENIVM. TRAGOEDIA
(Oxford, 1640; Greg L17; STC: 22888). Unsold sheets were later offered for sale with a new
823
APPENDIX 6:1
title-page: PHARAMVS SfVE LIPIDO VINDEX, Hispanica Tragoedia (Oxford, 1650;
Wing: PI 969)
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.12 (2), prepared with an introduction by Lothar Cerny (1982)
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, vol 5, p 1 179; AED 1640
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 14-19
HISTORY: St John s College, 1634-40
NOTE: Tragedy. Performance date is particularly uncertain
Titus et Gesippus
AUTHOR: John Foxe LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- BL: MS Lansdowne 388, ff 121-46, 112-l6v (misbound in MS). (No title)
MODERN EDITION: John Hazel Smith (ed and trans), Two Latin Comedies by John Foxe the
Martyrologist: Titus et Gesippus ; Christus Triumphans, Renaissance Text Series 4 (Ithaca,
1973)
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.6 (1), prepared with an introduction by John Hazel Smith (1986)
REFERENCE WORKS: is, vol 2, p 15, and vol 4, pp 93, 152; AED 1545
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, ppl 1-22
HISTORY: 1544/5 (or unacted (?))
NOTE: Comedy. While evidence of performance at court is strong (ES), a performance at Oxford
can only be inferred
Ulysses Redux
AUTHOR: William Gager LANGUAGE: Latin
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: VLYSSES REDUXTragoedia Nova. IN AEDE CHRIST! OXONIAE
PVBLICE ACADEMICIS RECITATA, OCTAVO IDVS FEBRVARII. 1591 (Oxford, 1592;
GregL4;5rc: 11516)
824 APPENDIX 6:1
MODERN EDITION: Dana R Sutton (ed and trans), William Gager: The Complete Works, vol 2
(New York and London, 1994), 1-182
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.2 (2), prepared with an introduction by J.W. Binns (1981)
REFERENCE WORKS: 5, vol 3, pp 318- 19; AED 1592
SYNOPSES: Boas, pp 201-19; RLDE, pp 10-11
HISTORY: Christ Church, 6 February 1591/2 (first of several plays over a period of three days)
NOTE: Tragedy. Boas demonstrates (pp 196-7) diat during this Shrovetide season Ulysses Redux
was performed on Sunday, 6 February, while Rivales was revived on Monday, 7 February, and
Hippolytus was performed on Tuesday, 8 February. Allusions to all three plays also appear in
the Rainolds-Gager debate: see Appendix 1 1
Vertumnus sive Annus Recurrens (with Tres Sibyllae)
AUTHOR: Matthew Gwinne LANGUAGE: Latin
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: VERTVMNVS SIVE ANNVS RECVRRENS OXONII, XXIX
AVGVSTI, Anno. 1605. Coram IACOBO Rege, HENRICO Principe Proceribus. A loannensibus
in Scena recitatus ab vno scriptus, Phrasi Comica prope Tragicis Senariis (London, 1607;
Greg L6; STC: 12555; variant 12555-5)
MANUSCRIPT:
- Inner Temple Library: Petyt MS 538, vol 43, ff 293-3v (scenario only: see pp 310-12)
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.5 (1), prepared with an introduction by Alexander Cizek (1983)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 3, p 332; AED 1605
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 9-22
HISTORY: Acted by St John s College men at Christ Church, 29 August 1605
NOTE- The English title is The Yeare About. On the play s reception, see Records under
1604-5 and related endnotes. For an additional ceremony performed by students of St
John s, Tres Sibyllae, see p 298.
Folios 284-303 of the Inner Temple Petyt MS comprise a poetic miscellany, all
same early seventeenth-century italic hand. The contents include poems by Mary Sidney,
Sir John Harington, and Thomas Nash, and several poems referring to Oxford, including
DTC
APPENDIX 6:2
A Dialogue betweene Constancie and Inconstancie/ Spoken before the Queenes Maiesue at
Woodstock, by Richard Edes of Christ Church (ff 299-300); The Melancholy Knight s
Complaint in the Wood, also by Edes (f 300v); and Bastards Libel! of Oxeford, by Thomas
Bastard of New College (f 301), with references to William Gager. It can perhaps be assumed
that the plot summary of Vertumnus was made between August 1605, the date of the only
performance of the play, and 1607, when the play was printed, as there would have been no
need for such a summary after publication of the text
Appendix 6:2: Lost Play Texts
Ajax Flagellifer
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Reported by a visitor from Cambridge: see p 299
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 1, pp 127, 130, 233; AED 1605
HISTORY: Christ Church, 28 August 1605 (royal visit); actors from Magdalen College
NOTE: Tragedy. ES, vol 1, p 130: not apparently a translation from Sophocles, but an independent
play. This was probably a different play from the Ajax Flagellifer performed at Cambridge
in 1564 (see Nelson (ed), Cambridge, vol 2, Index)
Alba
AUTHOR: Robert Burton (and others (?)) LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Reported by a visitor from Cambridge: see p 298; also mentioned in a letter of
Burton to his brother: see p 294
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, Vol 1, p 130; AED 1605
HISTORY: Christ Church, 27 August 1605 (royal visit)
NOTE: Pastoral. For a comprehensive discussion of the evidence, see Nochimson, Robert
Burton s Authorship of Alba, pp 325-31
Alexander and Bagoas
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Unknown
826 APPENDIX 6:2
EVIDENCE: Noted in a sermon by Laurence Humphrey: see p 178
HISTORY: Acted by students of Christ Church or St John s (or possibly Magdalen)
NOTE: Identified by Finnis and Martin, Oxford Play Festival
Andronicus Comnenus
AUTHOR: Samuel Bernard LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: See Appendix 14, p 899, for a comprehensive note on Bernard
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, vol 3, p 26; AED 1618
HISTORY: Magdalen College, 1617-19 (AD)
NOTE: Tragedy. It is important to distinguish Bernard s play from BL: MS Sloane 1767, ff 17-66,
a Jesuit neo-Latin tragedy with the same title (see Appendix 6:4)
Anthony and Cleopatra
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Unknown
EVIDENCE: Noted in a sermon by Laurence Humphrey: see p 178
HISTORY: Acted by students of Christ Church or St John s (or possibly Magdalen)
NOTE: Identified by Finnis and Martin, Oxford Play Festival
Astiages
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Unknown
EVIDENCE: See p 245
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1598
HISTORY: St John s College, 1597-8 (in president s chamber)
NOTE: Tragedy
APPENDIX 6:2
Athanasius sive Infamia
AUTHOR: Nicholas Grimald LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Inferred from details of Grimald s life: see Appendix 14, p 898
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1547
HISTORY: Brasenose, Merton, or Christ Church, c 1540-7
Caesar Interfectus
AUTHOR: Richard Edes LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Epilogue, in Latin prose, survives in Bodl.: MS. Top.Oxon e.5, f 359, where a later
hand has supplied the date of 1582: see p 180
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 3, p 309; AED 1582
SYNOPSIS: Boas, pp 163-5
HISTORY: Evidently Christ Church, February 1581/2
NOTE: Tragedy. Francis Meres, Palladis Tamia (1598, src: 17834), sig Oo3, includes Edes
among our best for Tragedie. On the possible influence of this play on Shakespeare s Julius
Caesar, see Geoffrey Bullough (ed), Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare, vol 5
(London, 1964), 33, 194-5, which also includes a translation (p 195). See also John Semple
Smart, Shakespeare Truth and Tradition (London, 1928), 179-82.
Bodl.: MS. Top.Oxon e.5 originally belonged to Robert Dowe, fellow of All Souls
1575-88. It is a miscellany containing copies of various Latin orations, petitions, sermons,
and speeches, Latin prayers, and Latin and English letters, all by various authors and
mostly dating from the mid- to late sixteenth century.
Cbristus Nascens
AUTHOR: Nicholas Grimald LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Inferred from details of Grimald s life: see Appendix 14, p 898
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1540
HISTORY: Brasenose College, 1540?
APPENDIX 6:2
NOTE: Neo-miracle (AED)
The Destruction of Thebes (The Contention between Eteocles and Polynices)
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Unknown
EVIDENCE: Letter of Thomas Cooper: see p 150
REFERENCE WORKS: S , vol 1 , p 129, n 3, and vol 4, p 85; AED 1569
SYNOPSIS: Boas, p 158
HISTORY: Christ Church, projected for 15 May 1569
NOTE: Perhaps not performed
Doublet, Breeches, and Shirt
AUTHOR: Peter Heylyn LANGUAGE: English
EVIDENCE: Heylyn s Memoirs: see p 440
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, vol 4, p 551; AED 1620
HISTORY: Magdalen College, January 1619/20
NOTE: Christmas show
Fama
AUTHOR: Nicholas Grimald LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Inferred from details of Grimald s life: see Appendix 14, p 898
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1547
HISTORY: Brasenose, Merton, or Christ Church, c 1540-7
NOTE: Tragedy
Hippolytus
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Unknown
829
APPENDIX 6:2
EVIDENCE: See p 276
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1604
HISTORY: St John s College, 13 February 1603/4
NOTE: Tragedy
Iphigenia
AUTHOR: George Peele LANGUAGE: Unknown
EVIDENCE: Laudatory verses by William Gager, In Iphigeniam Georgii Peeli Anglicanis verstbus
redditam, printed by A.H. Bullen (ed), The Works of George Peele, vol 1 (London, 1888),
xvii-xviii
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 3, p 462; AED 1579
HISTORY: Christ Church (?), 1576-80
NOTE: Tragedy. Translation of Euripides
Julius et Gonzaga
AUTHOR: Samuel Bernard LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: See Appendix 14, p 899
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 3, pp 27-8; AED 1617
HISTORY: Magdalen College, 23 January 1616/17
NOTE: Tragedy
King Solomon
AUTHOR: Thomas More LANGUAGE: Latin (?)
EVIDENCE: See p 37
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1495
HISTORY: Magdalen College, school, c 1495
830 APPENDIX 6:2
NOTE: Comedy
Lucretia
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Unknown
EVIDENCE: See p 281
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1605
HISTORY: St John s College, 11 February 1604/5
NOTE: Tragedy
Marcus Geminus
AUTHOR: Tobie Matthew LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Reported in Miles Windsor s narrative: see p 131
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 1, p 128; AED 1566
SYNOPSIS: Boas, pp 101-2
HISTORY: Christ Church, 1 September 1566 (royal visit)
NOTE: Comedy
Octavia
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: See p 213
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1591
HISTORY: Christ Church, 1590-1?
NOTE: Adaptation of Seneca (?)
Palamon andArcite (Parts I and n)
AUTHOR: Rkhard Edwards LANGUAGE: English
APPENDIX 6:2
831
EVIDENCE: Reported in Miles Windsor s narrative (see pp 131-3) and elsewhere (see
Index)
REFERENCE WORKS: Es, vol 1, p 128, and vol 3, p 31 1; AED 1566
SYNOPSES: Boas, pp 102-4; Ros King (ed), The Works of Richard Edwards: Politics, Poetry and
Performance in Sixteenth-Century England, Revels Plays Companion Library (Manchester,
2001),79-85
HISTORY: Christ Church, 2 and 4 September 1566 (royal visit)
NOTE: Comedy. Adaptation of Chaucer s Knight s Tale, conceivably through a Latin inter
mediary. Edwards poem is the first of several Elizabethan poems copied into ff 106v-8v,
which are otherwise devoted to the antiquities of Yorkshire, ie, extracts of charters, pedi
grees, cartularies, etc, from the twelfth century onward but evidently entered into the
volume no earlier than 1642. The hand is that of a professional scribe. This is the only
surviving text for any of the 1566 royal plays. It was first printed by Hyder Rollins, A
Note on Richard Edwards, Review of English Studies 4 (1928), 204-6. See Appendix 7
for cast list
Thilarchus and Phaedra
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Unknown
EVIDENCE: Noted in a sermon by Laurence Humphrey, see p 178
HISTORY: Acted by students of Christ Church or St John s (or possibly Magdalen)
NOTE: Identified by Finnis and Martin, Oxford Play Festival
Philotas
AUTHOR: Richard Latewar LANGUAGE: Unknown
EVIDENCE: Reported by Samuel Daniel: see p 208
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 3, pp 275-6; AED 1588
HISTORY: St John s College, c 1588-96
NOTE: Tragedy. Not the play of the same name by Samuel Daniel (see above, Evidence )
832 APPENDIX 6:2
Phocas
AUTHOR: Samuel Bernard LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: See Appendix 14, p 899
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, vol 3, p 28; AED 1619
HISTORY: Magdalen College, 27 January 1618/19
NOTE: Tragedy
Piscator sive Fraus Illusa
AUTHOR: John Hooker LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: John Bale, Illustrium Maioris Brittanniae scriptorum (Wesel, 1549; STC: 1296), 712.
Information is reproduced by John Pits, Relationum Historicarum de Rebus Anglicis (Paris,
1619), 730, and by Wood, Athenae, vol 1, col 138
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1539
HISTORY: Magdalen College, 1535-43
NOTE: Comedy
Progne
AUTHOR: James Calfhill LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Reported in Miles Windsor s narrative: see p 133
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 1, p 129, and vol 3, p 239; AED 1566
SYNOPSIS: Boas, pp 104-5
HISTORY: Christ Church, 5 September 1566 (royal visit)
NOTE: Tragedy. Probably an adaptation of Gregorio Corraro s Progne (1558)
Protomartyr
AUTHOR: Nicholas Grimald LANGUAGE: Latin
031
APPENDIX 6:2
EVIDENCE: Inferred from details of Grimald s life: see Appendix 14, p 898
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1547
HISTORY: Brasenose, Merton, or Christ Church, c 1540-
NOTE: Tragedy. Evidently a play on St Stephen
De Puerorum in Musicis Institutione
AUTHOR: Nicholas Grimald LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Inferred from details of Grimald s life: see Appendix 14, p 898
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1 547
HISTORY: Possibly Brasenose, Merton, or Christ Church, c 1540-
NOTE: Comedy
The Reformation
AUTHOR: Abraham Wright LANGUAGE: English
EVIDENCE: Reported by Wood: see Appendix 13, p 893
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 5, p 1276; AED 1631
HISTORY: St John s College, 1629-33
NOTE: Comedy. Written and produced while Wright was an undergraduate
Rivales
AUTHOR: William Gager LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Performance described by and play named in Holinshed, Chronicles: see p 191.
Prologue printed in Ulysses Redux (see Appendix 6:1), sig F2. Facsimile in RLDE: 1.2 (2),
prepared with an introduction by J.W Binns (1981), p 7; see also Dana F. Sutton (ed and
trans), William Gager: The Complete Works, vol 1 (New York and London, 1994), 223-38.
For the 7 February 1591/2 performance date, see Note under Ulysses Redux
8 34 APPENDIX 6:2
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 3, p 319; AED 1583
SYNOPSIS: Boas, pp 181-3, 197, 254-5
HISTORY: Christ Church, 1 1 June 1583; revived 7 February 1591/2, and again 26 September
\^2 (royal visit)
see
NOTE: Comedy. Allusions to Rivales also appear in the Rainolds-Gager debate:
Appendix 11. Sutton (vol 1, p 227) suggests that the play was rustic and probably stands
in the background of George Peele s Old Wives Tale
St Mary Magdalene
AUTHOR: John Burgess LANGUAGE: Unknown
ENTDENCE: See pp 46-7
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1507
HISTORY: Magdalen College, 1507
NOTE: Miracle play (?)
The Scholars
AUTHOR: Richard Lovelace LANGUAGE: English
EVIDENCE: Prologue and Epilogue printed in Lucasta (London, 1649; Wing: L3240), 75-9;
see also yes, vol 4, pp 722-3
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 4, pp 722-4; AED 1634
HISTORY: Gloucester Hall (?), 1634-5?
NOTE: Comedy. Among works that Lovelace never published, Wood cites The Scholar, which
Lovelace composed at 16 years of age, when he came first to Glocester hall, acted with
applause afterwards in Salisbury-Court (Athenae, vol 3, col 462). Prologue and Epilogue
indicate a performance at Whitefriars (probably Salisbury Court)
APPENDIX 6:2
A Spanish Tragedy
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: English
EVIDENCE: Anecdote in Edmund Gayton, Pleasant Notes upon Don Quixot (London, 1654;
Wing: G415), 94-5
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, Vol 5, pp 1411-12; AD 1636
HISTORY: Oxford, 1636-48?
NOTE: Tragedy, concerning Petrus Crudelis (Peter the Cruel)
Spurius
AUTHOR: Peter Heylyn LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Reported in Heylyn s Memoirs: see p 422
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 4, p 552; AED 1617
HISTORY: Magdalen College, 8 March 1616/17 (acted privately in the presidents chamber)
NOTE: Tragedy
Tancredo
AUTHOR: Henry Wotton LANGUAGE: Unknown
EVIDENCE: Reported by Isaak Walton, Reliquiae Wottonianae (1651): see pp 202-3
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, Vol 3, p 517; AED 1586
HISTORY: Queen s College, 1586-7
NOTE: Tragedy
Troilus
AUTHOR: Nicholas Grimald LANGUAGE: Latin
EVIDENCE: Inferred from details of Grimald s life: see Appendix 14, p 898
836 APPENDIX 6:3
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1547
HISTORY: Brasenose, Merton, or Christ Church, c 1540-7
NOTE: Comedy. Adaptation/translation, direct or indirect, of Chaucer (Troilus ex Chaucero)
Wylie Beguylie
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: English
EVIDENCE: See p 146
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1567
SYNOPSIS: Boas, p 157
HISTORY: Merton College, 3 January 1566/7 (at night)
NOTE: Comedy
Yuletide
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: English
EVIDENCE: Named in manuscript of The Christmas Prince: see p 364
REFERENCE WORKS: S, vol 4, p 71; AED 1608
HISTORY: Christ Church, 21 January 1607/8
NOTE: Burlesque of The Christmas Prince
Appendix 6:3: Plays Written at Oxford, But Probably Not Performed
Antipoe
AUTHOR: Francis Verney ^ GUAGE: En g lish
^s. Eng. poet. e.5: The tragedye of Antipoe with other poetical verses written by mee
Nio?/o Leatt lunwr in Allicant In lune 1622
APPENDIX 6:3
REFERENCE WORKS: 5, Vol 3, p 503; AD 1604
HISTORY: Trinity College (?), written 1603-8
NOTE: Tragedy. Dedicated to James I by Yowr graces most affectionate seruant to command
Francis Verney. There is no evidence that this play was ever performed
The Hunting of Cupid
AUTHOR: George Peele LANGUAGE: English
EVIDENCE: Lost edition, c 1591 (Edward Arber (comp), A Transcript of the Registers of the
Company of Stationers of London, 1554-1640, vol 2 (London, 1875-7), 591): A booke
intituled the Huntinge of Cupid wrytten by George Peele, Master of Artes of Oxeford....
W.W. Greg (ed) has collected surviving fragments in Collections 1, pts 4-5, Malone Society
(Oxford, 1911), 307-14
REFERENCE WORKS: Greg 1 1; s, vol 3, p 462; AED 1586
HISTORY: Oxford (?), written 1581-92?
NOTE: Pastoral. Any connection to Oxford must be speculative. There is indeed no certainty
that this was a play
Liber Apologeticus
AUTHOR: Thomas Chaundler LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPT:
- Bodl.: New College MS. 288
MODERN EDITION: Liber apologeticus de omni statu humanae naturae: A Defence of Human Nature
in Every State (c. 1460): A Moral Play, Doris Enright-Clark Shoukri (ed and trans), Publica
tions of the Modern Humanities Research Association, vol 5 (London, 1974)
SYNOPSIS: Shoukri (ed), Liber apologeticus, pp 11-12
NOTE: Moral play in five acts. Thomas Chaundler (14 18. -90) was warden of New College
1454-75. No independent evidence supports the idea of a performance, but the possibil
ity cannot be entirely excluded. Fourteen accompanying illustrations are reproduced in
Shoukri s edition
838 APPENDIX 6:3
Lodovick Sforza
AUTHOR: Robert Gomersall LANGUAGE: English
EARLY PRINTED EDITION: THE TRAGEDIE OF LODOVICK SFORZA DVKE OF MILLAN
(London, 1628; Greg 418; STC: 11995)
MODERN EDITION: B.R. Pearn (ed), The Tragedie of Lodovick Sforza, Duke ofMillan, by Robert
Gomersall, Materials for the Study of the Old English Drama 8 (Louvain, 1933)
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 4, pp 512-14; AED 1622-8
NOTE: Tragedy. Dedicated to Francis Hyde, proctor of the University. A second edition was
printed in 1633 (STC: \ 1993). jcs, vol 4, p 513: The play is probably only an academic
exercise in dramatization
Nero
AUTHOR: Matthew Gwinne LANGUAGE: Latin
EARLY PRINTED EDITIONS: NERO TRAGALDIA NOVA. MATTVUEO GWINNE Med. Doct.
Collegn Dii i loannis Pr<ecursoris apud Oxonienses Socio collecta e Tacito, Suetonio, Dione,
Seneca (London, 1603; Greg L5; STC: 12551). 2nd ed (1638; STC: 12552). Another issue
(1639; STC. 12553)
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.13, prepared with an introduction by Heinz-Dieter Leidig
(1983)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, Vol 3, p 332; AED 1603
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 10-15
HISTORY: St John s College, written c 1602-3
NOTE: Tragedy. Gwinne s Introduction addresses the question (sigH4, 1.18), At cur non acta?
( But why was it not acted? ). Some copies of the 1603 edition are dedicated to Elizabeth,
others to James
Theomachia
AUTHOR: Peter Heylyn LANGUAGE: Latin
030
APPENDIX 6:4
EVIDENCE: Peter Heylyn s Memoirs: see p 426
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 4, pp 552-3; AED 1618
HISTORY: Magdalen College
NOTE: Comedy
Appendix 6:4: Plays Wrongly Attributed to Oxford
Andronicus Comnenus
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: Latin
MANUSCRIPTS:
- BL: MS Sloane 1767, ff 18v-66: Tragoedia [{...)] Andronicus Commenus
FACSIMILE EDITION: RLDE 1.6 (2), prepared with an introduction by John L. Klause
(1986)
REFERENCE WORKS: jcs, vol 3, p 26; AED 1618 (but see Note below)
SYNOPSIS: RLDE, pp 29-38
NOTE: Jesuit neo-Latin tragedy. This play text is quite unrelated to Oxford (despite its
inclusion in RLDE), and should not be confused with the play of the same title by
Samuel Bernard, listed in Appendix 6:2
Boot and Spur
AUTHOR: Unknown LANGUAGE: English
MANUSCRIPT: Folger Shakespeare Library: MS J.a.l, ff 19-23
REFERENCE WORKS: JCS, Vol 5, pp 1295-6; AED 1612
HISTORY: Unknown, 1611-20?
NOTE: Entertainment. Probably not an Oxford play: see Nelson (ed), Cambridge, vol 2,
p892
840 APPENDIX 6:4
Phoenissae (subject)
AUTHOR: Thomas Goffe LANGUAGE: English
EVIDENCE: Unknown apart from listing in AED
REFERENCE WORK: AED 1619
HISTORY: Christ Church (?), c 1613-29
NOTE: Tragedy. Evidence for this play is quite uncertain
APPENDIX 7
Cast Lists
Comprehensive cast lists survive for two Oxford college plays: Philosophaster (1617) and
Technogamia (1621). A list of actors, without identification of roles, survives for plays from the
royal visit of 1 566, including Palamon and Arcite. These three cast lists are given below. A fourth
cast list, for The Royal Slave (1636), was lost with the disappearance of MS Heber 1043 in
the nineteenth century: see William Cartwright, The Plays and Poems of William Cartwright,
G. Blakemore Evans (ed) (Madison, 1951), 167.
In addition a few actors, sometimes with their roles, can be identified from the Records or
other sources:
- Boas (ed), University Drama, pp 392-3, provides a list of some actors in Christ Church
plays 1582-92, including John King (tragic parts, probably including a part in Meleager),
Thomas Crane (comic parts), Leonard Hutten (comic parts, probably including a part in
Bel/urn Grammatical), Francis Sydney (Ulysses in Ulysses Redux), and Tobie Matthew (NaTs
in Gager s additions to Hippolytus). Boas bases several of his identifications on Gager s
commonplace book (see pp 183-4). For evidence that Francis Sydney played Ulysses and
James Weston Telemachus in Gager s Ulysses Redux, see Dana F. Sutton (ed and trans), William
Gager: The Complete Works, vol 2 (New York and London, 1994), 18-21. The role of
Phemius was played by the master of the choristers at Christ Church, William Maycock
(see Appendix 1 1, p 864).
Thomas Godwin, a commoner of Christ Church, acted in a comedy before James i in
August 1605 (see p 329).
Thomas Goffe evidently played the part of Amurath in his own The Courageous Turk,
performed at Christ Church on 24 February 1618/19 (see p 1 126, endnote to Harvard
Theatre Collection: MsThr.10.1 f 2).
- In Love s Hospital, acted at St John s on 30 August 1636 (see p 543), the author, George Wild
is reported to have taken the lead role (Comastes), while other roles were taken by Humphrey
Brooke, Edmund Gayton, John Goad, and John Heyfeild (see Appendix 13 p 893)
842 APPENDIX 7
- Richard Busby, subsequently master of Westminster School, was hailed as a second Roscius
said, on uncertain evidence, to have played the part of Cratander in The Royal Slave
August and 2 September 1636 (see p 547).
- John Case was the Christmas Prince of St Johns in 1577-8 (see pp 341, 347).
Some thirty members of St Johns were assigned ceremonial roles in The Christmas Prince
(1607-8), such as Prince of Alba Fortunata or Duke of Grove-land (see pp 348-50, 353).
Thomas Tucker, as Christmas lord (or the Prince), took the ex officio role of Princeps in Am
Fortunae (scenes 5 and 6) and Ira Fortunae (acts 2, 4, and 5); he also made an appearance in
act 1 of Times Complaint (see pp 357-8) and played Tereus in Philomela (see pp 355-6) and
the title role in Periander (see p 379). Thomas Downer and John Towse took ex officio
roles in Ara Fortunae and Ira Fortunae; similarly, Richard Baylie, John Englishe, Joseph
Fletcher, Richard Holbrooke, and Rowland Juxon took ex officio roles in Ira Fortunae.
Members of Merton College elected king of beans, from John Persons in 1485-6 to John
Estwick in 1539-40, are too numerous to list here but may be identified by resort to the
Index (see king of beans under Merton College entry).
- Robert Ashley s Autobiography mentions his participation in various plays as a schoolboy
(see Rosalind Conklin Hays and C.E. McGee/Sally L. Joyce and Evelyn S. Newlyn (eds),
Dorset I Cornwall, REED (Toronto, 1999), 170, 339). In 1588-9 he was chosen Christmas
lord of Magdalen (see p 209).
- Peter Heylyn notes in his memoirs that Thomas Holt was chosen Christmas lord of Magdalen
College for 1617-18 (see p 426), John Stonehouse for 1619-20 (see p 440). In the former
year Heylyn played the subsidiary role of ambassador of the University of Vienna, in the
latter year, the duke of Helicon, first peer of the principalitie.
- A Mr Moore, in what may have been a Christmas revel, cast himself in the role of Rex or
Princeps in 1636 (see pp 560-4 and Appendix 6:1, p 815).
The three lists that follow are presented in chronological order. Original spellings of the names
of characters and of last names of actors are preserved, but the lists are not otherwise intended
as facsimiles of the originals and abbreviated names are silently expanded. The first name of the
student actor, if editorially supplied, appears in parentheses. If the form of the last name found
in the University Index is substantially different from that given in the base manuscript, the
index form is also supplied in the parentheses. Doubt concerning the identification of a named
student actor with a known member of the University is expressed by a question mark.
The title Sir ( Dominus or Ds. ) normally refers to students who received the BA degree,
while Mr usually refers to a student with the MA degree. Sometimes, however, Mr is assigned
to students of whatever academic rank who had been admitted as fellow commoners or
843
APPENDIX 7
,ensioners of a college. Corrections or supplementary information are occasionally taken
rom sources other than the base text: all such instances are noted in introductory or closing
>aragraphs. Names of characters not matched to named actors are omitted.
Palamon andArcite and Other Plays (1566)
Fhe cast list, from Miles Windsor s Narrative (see p 135), is analysed by Boas (ed), University
Drama, pp 390-2, using not the text transcribed in the Records (f 123v), but rather the fair
rersion (f 107). Named individuals are of Christ Church unless noted otherwise. Boas suggests
:hat Smithe nutrix refers to the actor who played the Nurse in Calfhill s Progne, and Dalapers
joye refers to a servant who played the child.
Viarbecke (Roger) Mancell (George or John, MC)
Banes (Brian) Wynsor (unidentified)
Badger (John) Twyne (Thomas, ccc)
Rookes (William, MC) Rainoldes (John, ccc)
Ball (John) Pryn (unidentified)
Buste (John or Henry, MC) Egerton (unidentified)
Bristoo (Richard Bristow) Carewe (Peter, see below)
Penson (William) Poll (John Paule or Rice Powell)
Mathewe (Tobie) Yonge (Christopher, college unknown)
Potes (Thomas or Nicholas) Dalapers boye
Thornton (Thomas) Townsend (Stephen)
Pottes (Nicholas or Thomas) Glasyer (Thomas)
[ones (Thomas) Dorset (Robert)
Summers (Henry) Graye (Henry)
Ajgall (John) Fourde (John Forde)
Dalaper (John) Romans (unidentified)
Danet (Audley) lutsam (Ralph, MC)
Edwardes (Richard) Smithe nutrix (Robert)
Other sources reveal that John Rainolds played Queen Hippolyta (see Appendix 11, p 870);
Roger Marbeck, Palamon (see pp 128-9); Brian Baynes, Arcite (see p 129); John Delabere,
Trevatio (see p 129); and Peter Carew (a boy, son of the dean of Christ Church, George Carew),
Emily (see Appendix 13, p 878).
Philosopbaster (1617)
The cast list, heavily annotated in the hand of the original scribe, survives in two sister MSS
in the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Houghton Library, Harvard (see p 428 and Ap
pendix 6:1). In the latter, first names have been added in pencil, in an eighteenth-century
844
APPENDIX 7
hand. Those identifications are further amplified in WE. Buckleys edition (Hertford, 1862)
xv-xxi, upon which the following list is based.
Actors who also appeared in the 1621 performance of Technogamta at Woodstock (see below)
e .narked with an asterisk. First names that differ from Buckleys are marked with a dagger.
Desiderius Dux
Eubulus
Cratinus
Polumathes
Philobiblos
Polupragmaticus
/Equiuocus
Simon Acutus
Lodovicus pantometer
Pontamagus
Amphimacer
Theanus
Pedanus
Stephanie
Polupistos
Dromo
Staphila
Camaena
Tarentilla
Lictor promus
Sir Kinge (Robert)
Mr Gorges (Timoleon)
Mr Bartlit ( Michael Berkeley (?))
Sir Bennet ( Matthew (?))
Sir Haywood (Rowland)
Mr Goffe (Thomas)
Mr lohnson (William)
Sir ffortye (Robert)
Sir Westlye (Thomas)
Sir Osboston ("Lambert Osbaldeston)
Limiter (*Charles)
Sir Vauhan ( Richard)
Morly (*George)
Sir Arundall (Emanuel)
Sir Price (William)
Hilsinge (Richard Heylyn (?))
Sir Ingolsby (Anthony Ingoldsby)
Harris ( John (?))
Parsones (John)
Benefeilde ( Robert Bedingfield)
Price ( Francisf)
Stroude (William)
Sotton (Valentinef Sotherton)
Portry (Alexander Portrey)
Blunt (Robert)
Serle (George)
Hersen (unidentifiedf)
Burton seems consistent in distinguishing between undergraduates and bachelors through the
use of the title Sir for bachelors, a feature that enables us to date the composition of the cast
list with some accuracy. The list cannot have been drawn up before 26 June 1618, for instance,
when Haywood took his BA. And it cannot have been written after 17-19 December 1618,
when Limiter, Morley, Bedingfield, and Sotherton all received their BAS.
Buckley, reading Sotton as Cotton, suggested Robert or John; but Sotton seems to resolve
the identification in favour of Valentine Sotherton. Reading Hersen as Herser, Buckley
gives the first name William, but only on the uncertain authority of the eighteenth-century
annotator.
APPENDIX 7 845
Technogamia (1621)
Several of the actors in Philosophaster also acted in Barten Holyday s Technogamia, presented
before King James at Woodstock in 1621. The cast list was printed by Nichols, Progresses
of King James, vol 4, pp 1 108-9, from a lost copy of the play said to have belonged to
Joseph Haslewood. The following list is based on, but does not precisely follow, the work of
Sister M. Jean Carmel Cavanaugh (ed), Technogamia by Barten Holyday. A Critical Edition
(Washington, DC, 1942), 113-16.
Actors who also appeared in the 1617 performance of Philosophaster (see above) are marked
with an asterisk. Dashes preceding last names indicate students who were not yet BA.
Politees Mr. Vereer (Gerard)
Physica Ds. Hide (Francis (?))
Astronomia Ds. Berkley ( Michael (?))
Ethicus Ds. Goodwin (John)
Geographus Mr. Osbalston ("Lambert)
Geometres Ds. Bennet (*Matthew (?))
Arithmetica Ds. Guil. King (William)
Logicus Mr. Stockwell ( Carrus )
Grammaticus Ds. Morley (*George)
Poeta Mr. Holden (William)
Historia Ds. Needham (John)
Rhetorica - Price (*Francis)
Musica - Spencer (John or Thomas)
Medicus Ds. Limiter (*Charles)
Causidicus - Jones (unidentified)
Magus Ds. Vaughan (*Richard)
Astrologia Ds. Springham (Henry)
Phantastes Mr. Collins (unidentified)
Melancholico - Harrys ( John (?))
Choler - Croft (James)
Sanguis Ds. Beddingfielde (*Robert)
Phlegmatico Ds. Smith (unidentified)
Physiognomus - Clutterbooke (John Clutterbuck)
Cheiromantes Ds. Phil. Kinge (Philip)
APPENDIX 8
Chronological List of
College Performances
The following table presents a chronological list of plays, disguisings, shows, and other college
performances whose dates can be established with some degree of certainty within a known
academic year. The information is presented in five columns:
1 Year
2 Date
3 College (or other auspices)
4 Type
5 Title, author, producer, or other notes
Entries are listed alphabetically by college when dates within the year are unknown and
chronologically when dates within the year are known, with editorial compromises when
evidence is mixed. Italicized date ranges in column two signify the week in which payment
occurred. Q signifies the quarter in which payment occurred, 29 September to 24 December
constituting Ql , and so forth. Christmas signifies the Christmas season rather than 25 Decem
ber. The abbreviations (roy) and (nob), in column four, signify royal or noble audiences. Titles
(where known) are presented in italics. Names in column five given without play titles are
those of producers.
The Records constitute the primary source of the abstracted information; the next most
important source is Appendix 6. The Index should be consulted for details not found quickly
in at least one of these three sources.
1485-6
1486-7
Christmas
6Jan(?)
MC
MC
1487-8
Christmas
MC
1490-1
Christmas
MC
1495-6
Christmas
MC
Easter (3 Apr)
MC
1496-7
MC
1502-3
Christmas
MC
1506-7
MC
player/s
play/players
players
plays
plays
play
plays
interludes
play
le capp mayntenaunce ; for
play (?)
Burgess, St Mary Magdalent
APPENDIX 8
847
1509-10
Easter (31 Mar)
MC
boy players
1511-12
MC
interludes
1512-13
LC
play
27 Dec
MC
interlude
6- 13 Jan
MC
interlude
1517-18
MC
play
1519-20
Easter (8 Apr)
MC
play
1520-1
Christmas
MC
interludes
1524-5
Christmas
NC
play
1528-9
Crd
comedy
1529-30
Christmas
MC
plays
1530-1
Christmas
MC
interludes
1531-2
MC
play (bachelors )
1533-4
Christmas
Broadgates
play
Hall
MC
plays (fellows
and scholars )
1534-5
MC
comedy
1537-8
MC
comedy
1538-9
MC
comedy
1539-40
MC
comedy, tragedy
1540-1
MC
comedies
1541-2
MC
comedies
1542-3
MC
comedies
1547-8
EC
comedy
MC
tragedies
1550-1
EC
comedies
MC
play/s
1551-2
MC
comedies
1552-3
MC
comedies, tragedies,
musical pastime
NC
plays
1553-4
30 Jan
MC
tragedies
1556-7
MC
tragedies
Christmas
TC(?)
tragedy
1557-8
MC
play/s
r!559
TC
comedy
1559-60
MC
comedies,
spectacles
1560-1
MC
spectacle
1561-2
MC
spectacles
Burgess, St Mary Magdalene (?)
cancelled entry
payment made in 1529-30
for previous years play
Alard (?)
theatre constructed
possibly 1555-6
theatre constructed
Terence, Andria
Bale, Three Laws (?)
848
APPENDIX 8
1564-5
Trinity Sun
TC
spectacle
(17 June)
1565-6
1 Sep
ChCh
history/comedy (roy)
2 Sep
ChCh
comedy (roy)
4 Sep
ChCh
comedy (roy)
5 Sep
ChCh
tragedy (roy)
MC
spectacles, comedy
1566-7
3 Jan
MtC
comedy
7Feb
MtC
comedy
1567-8
MC
comedy
21 Jan
MtC
comedy
MtC
tragicomedy
1568-9
15 May
ChCh
tragedy
MC
play/s
Christmas
SJC
plays
1572-3
Christmas
QC
tragicomedy
ccc
play (scholars )
MC
spectacles
1573-4
MC
spectacles
1574-5
ASC
play
1578-9
TC
plays
1579-80
ASC
play (?) (players )
MC
1580-1
SJC
interlude (bachelors )
1581-2
18 Dec
ChCh
comedy
8 Jan
TC
comedy
7Feb
ChCh
tragedy
!5Feb
ChCh
comedies, 3 tragedies
(?) Feb
ChCh (?)
tragedy
18-20 Feb
SJC
comedy, 2 tragedies
MC
spectacles
comedy
comedy
tragedy
1582-3
10 Feb
26 May
SJC
TC
tragedy (?)
tragedy (?)
tragedy (?)
comedy, tragedy
comedy
Matthew, Marcus Geminus
Edwards, Palamon and Artite i
Edwards, Palamon and Arciteii
Calfhill, Progne
Wylie Beguylie
Terence, Eunuchits
Plautus, Menaechmi
Edwards, Damon and Pithias
Destruction of Thebes; in
readiness
theatre constructed
theatrical expenses
Hutten, Bellum
Grammatical* ( 1 )
Gascoigne, Supposes ( 1 )
Gager, Meleager (1)
Browne and Heton
Edes, Caesar Interfectus
Plautus, Menaechmi
Plautus, Aulularia
Seneca or Sophocles (?),
Oedipus
Anthony and Cleopatra
Alexander and Bagoas
Philarchus and Phaedra
Gascoigne, Supposes (2)
APPENDIX 8
849
1596-7
1597-8
1598-9
comedy (nob)
tragedy (nob)
comedies, tragedies
(nob)
comedy (nob)
comedy (1)
comedy (2) (nob)
tragedy (nob)
plays
play
tragedy
comedy
show (students )
tragedy (bachelors )
plays
tragedy
comedy
tragedy
24 Sep (Sun) ChCh comedy (roy)
11 Jun
ChCh
12Jun
ChCh
1583-4
ChCh
21 Jan
MtC
1584-5
(?)Jan
ChCh
14 Jan
ChCh
(?)Jan
ChCh
TC
1585-6
EC
QC
1586-7
ChCh
SJC
1590-1
ChCh
1591-2
6 Jan
MC
6 Feb (Sun)
ChCh
7 Feb (Mon)
ChCh
8 Feb (Tue)
ChCh
26 Sep (Tue) ChCh
27 Dec-2 Jan sjc
l6-22Jan sjc
23-9jan sjc
Shrovetide ChCh
5 Jan sjc
15-21 Jan sjc
29Jan-4Feb sjc
23-4 Feb sjc
1600-1
1601-2
1602-3
17Nov
SJC
1 Jan
SJC
1 Jan
SJC
1 Jan
SJC
5 Jan
SJC
23 Feb
SJC
IJan
SJC
5 Jan
SJC
comedy (roy)
comedy
tragedy
tragedy
masques, mummings
sporte
spectacles
interlude
comedy, tragedy
(scholars and convicts
interlude
interlude
interlude (scholars
and convicts )
interlude
comedy
tragedy
show
play/comedy/
merriment
Gager, Rivalfs (1)
Gager, Dido
Peele (among others)
Plautus, Captivi
Gager, MeUager (2)
possibly 1586-7
Wotton, Tancredo
King and Crane (censors)
Octavia
Gager, Ulysses Redux
Gager, Rivales (2)
Gager, Hippolytus (and
Momus )
Hutten, Bellum
Grammatical (2)
Gager, Rivales (3)
Astiages (1: president s
lodgings)
Astiages (2: hall)
Tuer and Groom
in hall
Clarke (?), Narcissus
850
APPENDIX 8
10- 16 Jan
SJC
comedies
1603-4
Christmas
SJC
shows
13Feb
SJC
tragedy
1604-5
HFeb
SJC
tragedy
24 Mar
ChCh
comedy
27Aug
ChCh
pastoral/comedy
(roy)
27Aug
SJC
show (roy)
28Aug
MC
tragedy (roy,
(and NC)
at ChCh)
29Aug
SJC
pastoral/comedy
(roy, at ChCh)
30 Aug
ChCh
pastoral/comedy
(roy)
1605-6
ChCh
comedy (scholars )
77-23 Feb
SJC
play
1606-7
MC
spectacles
1607-8
21 Jan
ChCh
comedy
31 Oct-13 Feb
SJC
comedies (various)
13 Feb
SJC
1608-9
ChCh
plays
1610-11
1 1-17 Feb
SJC
comedy, tragedy
1611-12?
SJC
pastoral
1612-13
ChCh
plays
MC
comedy (nob)
1613-14
ChCh
plays
1614-15
MC
pastoral/comedy (?)
13-19 Feb
SJC
comedy, tragedy
1615-16
ChCh
2 comedies, tragedy
1616-17
1 Jan
SJC
show
13-19Jan
SJC
comedy, tragedy
20- 6 Jan
SJC
tragedy
23 Jan
MC
tragedy
bef 8 Mar
MC
play
8 Mar
MC
tragedy (poor
scholars )
Hippolytus (acted publicly)
Lucretia (acted publicly)
Burton (et al (?)), Alba
Tres Sibyllae
Ajax Flagellifer, Castilion
Gwinne, Vertumnus
Daniel, Queen s Arcadia
Juckes and Blundell (censors)
Vertue
YuLetide, Juckes and
Osbaldeston (censors)
Christmas Prince (see
Appendix 6: 1 )
Sandsbury (?), Periander
Juckes (censor)
Parsons, Atalanta (possibly
1612-13)
Oates
Browne and Trulocke,
Lancaster
Powell (in presidents
lodgings)
lies
Bernard, Julius et Gonzaga;
in presidents lodgings
White; in president s lodgings
Heylyn, Spurius; in presidents
lodgings
APPENDIX 8
851
1 Jan
SJC
show
5 Jan
SJC
masque
26 Jan
MC
play
2 Feb
SJC
show
13Feb
ChCh
comedy
!6Feb
ChCh
comedy
MC
comedy, tragedy
1 Jan
SJC
show
27 Jan
MC
tragedy
24Feb
ChCh
tragedy
1-7 Mar
SJC
masque/show
19-25 Apr
SJC
masque
MC
tragedy
(?)Jan
MC
show
Q2
SJC
shows
1 Jan
SJC
show
26 Aug
ChCh
comedy (at
Woodstock)
1 Jan
SJC
show
Q2
SJC
show (founders )
1 1-17 Mar
SJC
masque
1 Jan
SJC
show
3-9 Mar
SJC
masque
Qi
SJC
show
1 Jan
SJC
show
Q2
SJC
show
1 Jan
SJC
show
Q2
SJC
show (founders )
Q2
SJC
show (founders )
Qi
SJC
show (founders )
SJC
show (founders )
5Feb
SJC
comedy
2-8 Mar (?)
SJC
tragedy
MC interlude (boys )
7 Dec sjc show
29 Aug (Mon) ChCh tragicomedy (roy)
30 Aug (Tue) sjc comedy (roy)
Bernard, Andronicus
Holyday, Technogamia (1)
Burton, Philosophaster
Bernard, Phocas
Goffe, Courageous Turk
further payment for earlier
masque (?)
Heylyn, Doublet, Breeches,
and Shirt
Holyday, Technogamia (2)
(late payment (?) Lent
began 26 Feb)
Stock
carpenter paid Q3
Wild, Eumorphus
payment 22-8 Feb (but
Lent began 1 1 Feb)
Strode, Floating bland (\)
Wild, Love s Hospital
(before 7 PM)
852
APPENDIX 8
30Aug
ChCh
tragicomedy (roy)
2 Sep (Fri)
ChCh
tragicomedy
3 Sep (Sat)
ChCh
tragicomedy
1636-7
Q2
SJC
3 plays
14 Jan (Sat)
SJC
mock-show
1637-8
Q2
SJC
show (founders )
1638-9
Q2
SJC
show (founders )
SJC
plays
1639-40
Christmas
SJC
show (founders )
20 -6 Jan
SJC
play
1640-1
29 Sept-
SJC
plays
20 Not 1641
Cartwright, Royal Slave (1)
(after 7 PM)
Cartwright, Royal Slave (2)
(afternoon)
Strode, Floating Island (2)
(afternoon)
May, Grobiana s Nuptials;
possibly 1 of 3 cited above
Atkinson
payment made in 1641-2
for previous year s plays
APPENDIX 9
College Plays from
Extra-mural Sources
Classical play titles named in the Records are listed in the Index and cross-referenced to authors,
including Plautus, Terence, and Sophocles or Seneca. Because classical plays were available in
numerous manuscripts and printed editions, no bibliographical information is offered here.
Oxford colleges relied for some of their plays on graduates who had left the University to
pursue careers elsewhere, including Samuel Daniel, Richard Edes, Richard Edwards, and George
Peele. Plays by all four are listed in Appendix 6 on the understanding that the texts were newly
commissioned for Oxford venues. Edwards Damon and Pithias, however, seems to have had
its first performance at court. Evidence for an Oxford performance of John Bale s Three Laws
is admittedly obscure. Of the four playwrights listed below, Foxe and Edwards were Oxford
men, while Gascoigne and Bale were Cambridge men.
References cited are Harbage, Annals (AED), Chambers, Elizabethan Stage (ES) and Mediaeval
Stage (MS), W.W. Greg, A Bibliography of the English Printed Drama to the Restoration, vol 1
(London, 1939; rpt 1962), and M.A. Shaaber, Check-list of Works of British Authors Printed
Abroad, in Languages other than English, to 1641 (New York, 1975).
Christus Triumphans, by John Foxe
PERFORMANCE HISTORY: Prior history uncertain; Magdalen College, 1561-2?
FIRST EDITION: Christus Triumphans, comoedia apocalyptica: autore loanne Foxo anglo. accessit,
in Christum trimphantem, autoris eiusdern panegyricon (Basel, 1556; Shaaber F180)
REFERENCE WORK: MS, vol 2, p 459
MODERN EDITION: Two Latin Comedies by John Foxe the Martyrologist: Titus et Gesippus. Christus
Triumphans, John Hazel Smith (ed and trans), Renaissance Society of America, Renaissance
Text Series 4 (Ithaca, New York, and London, 1973)
NOTE: Draft version is BL: MS Lansdowne 1045, ff 132- 55v; see Nelson (ed), Cambridge
vol 2, pp 703, 969, 979
854 APPENDIX 9
Damon and Pithias, by Richard Edwards
PERFORMANCE HISTORY: Presented to Queen Elizabeth at court, probably in 1564-5, by the
children of the Chapel; revived at Merton College in 1568 (see pp 148-9)
FIRST EDITION: The excellent Comedie of two the moste faithfullest Freendes, Damon and
Pithias (London, 1571; STC: 7514-15; Greg 58). (The title-page gives further information
about the performance before the queen - see Greg - but no information about a perform
ance at Oxford)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 3, pp 310-1 \\AED 1564
MODERN EDITION: Ros King (ed), The Works of Richard Edwards: Politics, Poetry and Performance
in Sixteenth-Century England, Revels Plays Companion Library (Manchester, 2001), 109-84
NOTE: Tragicomedy. Edwards died in 1566, a few weeks after his play Palamon and Arcite
was performed before the queen at Christ Church
Supposes, by George Gascoigne
PERFORMANCE HISTORY: Gray s Inn, London, 1566; Trinity College, 8 January 1581/2
(seep 179)
FIRST EDITION: SVPPOSES: A Comedie written in the Italian tongue by Ariosto, and Englished
by George Gascoygne of Grayes Inne Esquire, and there presented. Printed in: A Hundreth
sundrie Flowres bounde vp in one small Poesie (London, 1573, sigs A4-Klv; STC: 1 1635;
Greg 60)
REFERENCE WORKS: ES, vol 3, p 321; AED 1566
MODERN EDITION: Lodovico Ariosto, Supposes (I suppositi) (1509), George Gascoigne (trans),
Donald Beecher and John Butler (eds), Carleton Renaissance Plays in Translation 33
(Ottawa, 1999)
NOTE: Translation of Ludovico Ariosto, I Suppositi (1509), subsequently printed in 1575
(STC: 11636-7), and with Gascoignes Whole Woorkes in 1587 (STC: 11638)
Three Laws, by John Bale
PERFORMANCE HISTORY: Prior history uncertain; Magdalen College, 1560-1?
APPENDIX 9 855
FIRST EDITION: A comedy concernynge thre lawes, of nature Moses, & Christ, corrupted by
the Sodomytes. Pharysees and Papystes (Wesel (?), 1548; STC: 1287; Greg 24)
REFERENCE WORKS: MS, vol 2, p 449; AED 1538
MODERN EDITION: The Complete Plays of John Bale, Peter Happe" (ed), vol 2 (Woodbridge,
Suffolk, 1985-6), 64-124
NOTE: A payment of 3s 4d to a painter for painting names of the heresies in a spectacle (see
p 103) together with an enigmatic payment for portenta religiosorw in spectaculo baulino
(see p 1097, endnote to MC Arch: LCE/6 f 17) may suggest this play. Three Laws was printed
in subsequent editions beginning in 1562 (STC: 1288)
APPENDIX 10
Town Plays by
Non-Oxford Authors
We have evidence suggesting the titles of eight plays performed in the town that were not by
Oxford authors. Of these, four - The Alchemist, Hamlet, Othello, and The Seven Deadly Sins -
were in the professional repertoire and two - The Chaos of the World and The Destruction of
Jerusalem - were motions or puppet plays popular in the 1630s. The other two - Abraham
and Isaac and Cupid s Whirligig - were amateur performances. We have eyewitness accounts
for all but the performance of Hamlet. The Abraham and Isaac performance is cited as hearsay
by Edmund Bunny from an eyewitness. However, both Henry Jackson and Thomas Crosfield
are direct witnesses. Henry Jackson (1586-1662) is best known as the editor of Hooker s
Opuscula. He was an Oxford-born divine, a fellow of Corpus Christi College, rector of
the parish of Meysey Hampton in Gloucestershire (a parish associated with Corpus Christi),
and a kinsman of Anthony Wood. His references to the performances of The Alchemist and
Othella by the king s men in 1 610 are preserved in copies made from their original manuscript
fifty years after the event by his successor in the living of Meysey Hampton and another
fellow of Corpus Christi, William Fulman (1632-88). Thomas Crosfield (1602-63) was
associated with Queen s both as a student and a fellow from 1618 to c 1640 and was rector
of the parish of Spennithorne, Yorkshire, from 1649 to 1663. The portion of his manuscript
diary with relevant entries scattered among its eclectic selection of subjects runs from January
1625/6 to January 1639/40. He was a frequent observer of what went on in the city and provides
us with considerable information in addition to his observations on the amateur productions
and the two puppet plays. The only witness to the performance of Hamlet in Oxford is the
title-page of the first quarto of 1603. The reference to Tarlton s Seven Deadly Sins appears in
Gabriel Harvey s Fovre Letters and certaine Sonnets especially touching Robert Greene, and other
parties, by him abused, published in 1592 (STC: 12900) as part of his running argument with
Greene and Greene s friend Thomas Nash. A performance in Oxford is not certain but Harvey
(a Cambridge man) says that it was a most liuely playe, I might haue scene in London: and was
verie gently inuited thereunto at Oxford, byTarleton himselfe... (see p 222). Tarlton obviously
intended to play the piece in Oxford although there is no supporting evidence that the perform
ance took place.
For biographical information on Henry Jackson, William Fulman, and Gabriel Harvey,
see DNB, and for Thomas Crosfield see Frederick S. Boas introduction to Crosfield s Diary,
pp xiii-xxviii.
857
APPENDIX 10
Abraham and Isaac, Anonymous
Suggested dates of performance: c 1564-74 (see p 110)
A performance of an Abraham and Isaac play in Oxford was used by Edmund Bunny (1540-
1618), a Protestant preacher, to attack the Jesuit Robert Persons (1546-1610), who was a
member of BaJliol College 1566-74. The reference occurs in Bunny s A Briefe Answer vnto those
idle and friuolous quarrels ofRfobertJ Persons] against the late edition of the Resolution (London,
1589; STC: 4088), a response to Persons The First Booke of Christian Exercise, appertayning to
resolution (Rouen, 1582; STC: 19353) retitled in its second edition, A Christian Directorie Guiding
Men to their Salvation (Rouen, 1585; STC: 19362). See Driscoll, A Miracle Play at Oxford, p 6.
The Alchemist, by Ben Jonson
Suggested date of performance: 4 September 1610 (see p 387)
Henry Jackson describes the performance of a play attacking alchemists that also attacks
Anabaptists. The king s men were in Oxford in August 1610. The single payment to them
of 20s from the city chamberlains accounts is dated 5 August 1610. The positive identifica
tion of the play as The Alchemist WAS made byTillotson in Othello and The Alchemist at
Oxford in 1610, p 494.
The Chaos of the World, produced by William Sands
Suggested dates of performance: 16 July 1628, 1 1 July 1631 (see pp 474-7, 490)
This motion or puppet show was licensed by Sir Henry Herbert on 27 August 1623 to
William Sands and others to show "the Chaos of the World;" to show a motion called "the
Creation of the World" (J.Q. Adams (ed), The Dramatic Records of Sir Henry Herbert (New
Haven, 1917)). Thomas Crosfield saw the puppet show twice in three years. The episodes
from the poem he recorded in 1628 include the Creation, the Fall, Cain and Abel, Abraham
and Isaac, Nebuchadnezzar and the fiery furnace, the Nativity, the Wise Men, the Flight
into Eygpt, the Slaughter of the Innocents, and Dives and Lazarus. In 1631 Crosfield mentions,
in addition, Nineveh beseiged & taken. This may have been a puppet show based directly
on the text in the Book of Jonah or one of the two Renaissance dramatizations: Nineveh s
Repentance (a lost play dated between 1570 and 1661 (Harbage, Annals, p 40; and Chambers,
Elizabethan Stage, vol 4, p 402)) or Thomas Lodge and Robert Greene s Looking Glass for
London and England, c 1590 (Elizabethan Stage, vol 3, p 328).
Sands, a Lancashire man, died in 1638 and bequeathed his Shewe called the Chaos, the
Wagon, the Stage, & all the loyners tooles & other ymplemft 8c [p] appurtenance to the said
Shewe belonging to his son, John Sands (David George (ed), Lancashire, REED (Toronto,
1991), 87).
858 APPENDIX 10
(eds), Uonet/Lornwall, REED (Toronto 1999^ 191 ->nrv\ TU
r r , TJ ;; 121, 200). There was also a well-known puppet
5 th ; o ReSUrreCtl n P erformed ln nearby Witney (Ian Lancashire (ed), Dwnatic TeJL
Records ofBntatn: A Chronological Topography to 1558 (Toronto, 1984), 286)
Cupid s Whirligig, by Edward Sharpham
Suggested date of performance: Christmas season, 1631-2 (see p 498)
This play was first performed by the children of the kings revels in 1607 (Harbage Annals
p < It was published in 1607 (STC: 22380) and later editions appeared in 161 1 (src 22381)
1616 (STC: 22382), and 1630 (STC: 22383) just before this amateur performance in Oxford
as reported by Thomas Crosfield.
Destruction of Jerusalem, by William Gosling
Suggested date of performance: 15 July 1634 (see p 513)
The spectacle described by Thomas Crosfield was probably the same puppet version of the
Destruction that Gosling showed the next year in Norwich. On 28 March 1635 he presented a
licence from the master of the revels to the civic officials in Norwich dated the 9th day of
August in the Tenth yeare of kinge Charles to shew the portraiture of the City of lerusalem in
all places for a yeare. . . (David Galloway (ed), Norwich 1 540- J 642, REED (Toronto, 1984), 219).
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
Suggested dates of performance: 1594-5, 1600-1
Evidence for an Oxford performance of Hamlet occurs in the title-page of the 1603 edition
(STC: 22275):
THE I Tragical! Historic of I HAMLET I Prince ofDenmarke I By William
Shake-speare.l As it hath beene diuerse times acted by his Highnesse ser-l
uants in the Cittie of London: as also in the two V - I niuersities of
Cambridge and Oxford, and else-where I [device] I At London printed for
N.L. and lohn Trundell. I 1603.
Of the two surviving copies of the 1603 edition, only the one at the Huntington Library
preserves the title-page: a photoreproduction of the title-page can be found in G.R. Hibbard
(ed), Hamlet, The Oxford Shakespeare (Oxford, 1987), 68. Boas discusses the possibilities of
an Oxford performance in his "Hamlet at Oxford, pp 245-53. He notes the long-standing
APPENDIX 10
prohibition about playing in the University and concludes that if a performance took place
in Oxford it was under the sponsorship of the city. He notes that Lord Strange s men (with
whom Shakespeare was at the time associated) performed in the city in 1593 and suggests
that if Hamlet was performed at that time, it was in a version earlier than the 1603 quarto.
He asks, Why should not Hamlet, as it appears in the First Quarto, have been written between
1592 and 1594? This would mean that the play could have been performed in Oxford by
Strange s men in 1593. However, a performance date of 1601 is more in keeping with the
traditional understanding of the date of Hamlet. Since the notation of performance sites
appears only in the first quarto and not in subsequent quartos, it is possible that the claim for
performance at the universities may be a printer s groundless boast as suggested in Nelson (ed),
Cambridge, vol 2, p 985-
Othello, by William Shakespeare
Suggested date of performance: 5 September 1610 (see p 387)
This reference comes from Henry Jackson s letter to D.G.P. The last paragraph describes the
death of Desdemona in moving terms, praising the character - and thus by implication the
boy actor - when she appealed to the spectators pity with her very expression.
The Seven Deadly Sins, by Richard Tarlton
Suggested date of performance: before 1588 (see p 222)
Gabriel Harvey, the Cambridge man of letters, makes a passing comment that Richard Tarlton
(d. 1588), the famous clown associated with Shakespeare, personally invited him to see the
play at Oxford. The entry for Richard Tarlton in the DNB states, Tarlton was the contriver
and arranger of the extempore play the "Seven Deadly Sins." See Harbage, Annals, p 50; and
Chambers, Elizabethan Stage, vol 3, pp 496-7.
APPENDIX 1 1
The Anti-theatrical Controversy
At Christ Church on 6-8 February 1591/2, a Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, three of William
Gager s plays - Ulysses Redux, Rivales, and Hippolytus - were performed on the three successive
nights. Hippolytus was the classical play with a supplemental scene by Gager and a satirical
afterpiece featuring the character Momus. The satire comprised a thinly veiled attack on John
Rainolds of Queen s College, whose anti-theatrical diatribes had become both notorious in
Oxford and a thorn in Gager s flesh. When Gager published his afterpiece the following May as
an appendix to Ulysses Redux and rather cheekily sent a copy to Rainolds, there ensued a war of
words that eventually involved a third disputant, Alberico Gentili, Regius Professor of Civil Law.
Most of the letters and treatises that passed among diese three men survive in a contemporary
manuscript (described below) and in John Rainolds, Th overthrow of Stage-PLzyes ([Middelburg],
1599; STC: 20616), which contains items 2, 4, and 6-9 below. Gentili published several of
his contributions in continental imprints (see items 5 and 14 below), while others remain un
published (see items 10-13 below). Several of Gentili s texts have been translated from the
original Latin (see items 5 and 6 below).
Oxford, Corpus Christi College Library, MS 352; c 1592-9; English and Latin; paper; vi + 168; average
210mm x 300mm; late 17th-c. pagination, some sections with earlier, separate foliation, flyleaves in
modern foliation; original vellum binding, in ink in Langbaine s hand on front cover: Mr Langbaine,
on spine: ODD Rainolds Gager Gentilis, and on back inside cover: Mary Langbain. In this Letter
Book of John Rainolds the letters of Gager and Gentili are mostly signed autographs, presumably the
originals sent to Rainolds, while the Rainolds letters are scribal copies. Some bear headings and annota
tions in Langbaine s hand.
The Rainolds-Gager controversy has been discussed at length by Boas (ed), University Drama,
pp 229-48; by Karl Young in An Elizabethan Defence of the Stage, Shakespeare Studies by
Members of the Department of English of the University of Wisconsin (Madison, 1916), 103-24,
and William Gager s Defence of the Academic Stage, Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of
Sciences, Arts, and Letters 18 (1916), 593-638; and by Dana F. Sutton (ed and trans), William
Gager: The Complete Works, vol 2 (New York and London, 1994), vi-xiv. Also cited is M.A.
Shaaber, Check-list of Works of British Authors Printed Abroad, in Languages other than English,
to 1641 (New York, 1975).
The following items make up the controversy insofar as texts survive:
APPENDIX 11
1) Letter from Rainolds to Thomas Thornton, 6 February 1591/2. English.
MS 352, pp 11-14; Bodl.: MS. Tanner 77, ff 35-6v; Young, An Elizabethan Defence,
pp 108-11.
2) Letter from Rainolds to Gager, 10 July 1592. English.
MS 352, pp 17-40; Rainolds, Th overthrow, pp 1-27.
3) Letter from Gager to Rainolds, 31 July 1592. English.
MS 352, pp 41-65; Young, William Gager s Defence, pp 604-37.
4) Letter from Rainolds to Gager, 30 May 1593. English.
MS 352, pp 71-179; ccc: MS 166, pp 9-67; Rainolds, Th overthrow, pp 29-163.
5) Alberico Gentili, Ad Tit. C. De Male/ids et Math, et ceter. similibus. Commentarius (Oxford,
1593; szr: 11732) (Hanover, 1604; Shaaber G164). Latin. Translated by J.W. Binns, Alberico
Gentili in Defense of Poetry and Acting, Studies in the Renaissance 19 (1972), 224-72.
6) Letter from Gentili to Rainolds, 7 July 1593. Latin.
MS 352, pp 183-4; Rainolds, Th overthrow, p 164. Translated, along with items 7-9, by
Leon Markowicz, Latin Correspondence by Alberico Gentili and John Rainolds on Academic
Drama, Salzburg Studies in English Literature, Elizabethan and Renaissance Studies 68
(Salzburg, 1977).
7) Letter from Rainolds to Gentili, 10 July 1593. Latin.
MS 352, pp 185-7; Rainolds, Th overthrow, pp 165-8.
8) Letter from Gentili to Rainolds, 15 July 1593. Latin.
MS 352, pp 191-3; Rainolds, Th overthrow, pp 168-72.
9) Letter from Rainolds to Gentili, 5 August 1593. Latin.
MS 352, pp 195-208; Rainolds, Th overthrow, pp 172-90.
10) Letter from Gentili to Rainolds, undated. Latin.
MS 352, pp 213-19. Unpublished.
11) Letter from Rainolds to Gentili, 25 January 1593/4. Latin.
MS 352, pp 221-72. Unpublished.
12) Letter from Gentili to Rainolds, 8 February 1593/4. Latin.
MS 352, pp 273-92. Unpublished.
13) Letter from Rainolds to Gentili, 12 March 1593/4. Latin.
MS 352, pp 295-307. Unpublished.
14) Alberico Gentili, Disputationes Duae: 1. de actoribus et spectatoribus non notandis
(Hanover, 1599; Shaaber G177). Latin.
In lieu of a full transcript of ccc: MS 352 and a fresh edition of Th overthrow - both far beyond
the scope of the present publication - the following comments focusing on Oxford performance
practices and on details of the lost Rivales are excerpted from MS 352 (items 1-4). Italic script
for titles and for proper names in the MS is not observed, but display script to indicate quotation
is noted.
Letter from Rainolds to Thomas Thornton, 6 February 1591/2
Rainolds declines Thornton s personal invitation to the Christ Church plays
862 APPENDIX 11
(pp -12): Syr because your curteous inviting of me yesterdaye againe to
your plaies dothe shewe you were not satisfied with my answer and reason
therof before geven, why I might not be at them ... yow se that I, thinking
the thmge to be vnlawfull, shall [s(...>] ^inne 1 (yf I approved it) at least,
in domge of that which is not of faith if not in hauinge fellowship wzth the 5
vnfruitfull workes of darkness, And this for that one circumstance w^/ch your
self mentioned, and toucheth (it may be) all yowr plaies....
Letter from Rainolds to Gager, 10 July 1592
10
Rainolds objects to the cost of plays and to use of the office of the revels
(p 39): ..But neither is it a good woorke or service vnto Christ, to spend
thirtie pownd in trimming vp a stage & borowing roabes out of the revils,
for feeding of that humour...
15
Rainolds cites the negative opinion of a friend (Thornton (?)), and remarks
on being pressured to attend plays (p 39): ...as in part I knowe by a grave
learned man, your good frende & mine, who shewed me his dislike of the
representation of amorousnes & drunkennes, in Rivales, both; the former,
not in Rivales onely: in pane I coniecture by that I vnderstand that certaine 20
who came thither, came euen pressed to it by great importunitie; & as my
selfe by such meanes have bene overintreated to doo that sometimes which
I repented afterward...
Letter from Gager to Rainolds, 31 July 1592 25
Gager acknowledges Rainolds letter prompted by the gift of Ulysses Redux
(p 41): . . .wheras, in the beginmnge of your late Letter from or rather treatyse
to me, Master Doctor Rainoldes, you wryte, that you are muche to thanke me
for my letters, & Tragedye; it is as muche, at the most, as thay deserved; but 30
that you add, you are so to doe the more, for enlargmge the answere to
Momus, for yours, and others askinge, why thinges by hym obiected, weare
not answered, I ame rather the more to thanke you, for your takinge it in
so good parte
35
In former years Rainolds wrote in reproof of Theatre-sigh tes and Stage-playes,
including a letter to a mutual friend (item 1 above). Gager claims that he had
not read Rainolds Theses, agaynst plays, or if he had, it was during his
youth (p 41).
40
Gager declares his intention in creating Momus (p 42): ...to move delight
29-30/ to thanke . . . Tragedye: in display script to mark quotation
APPENDIX 1 1
in the audytorye, with the noveltye of the invention and the person, beinge
nowe foreweryed and tyred with the tediusnes of the Tragedye...
Gager notes that academic plays differ from professional plays in being not-
for-profit (p 43).
Gager rejects the appellation, Scenici, or Histriones (p 47): ...for cumwinge
on the Stage once in a yeere, or twoe yeere, sevne, ten, or somtyme twentye
yeeres
10
Gager on the difference between ancient professional and college plays (pp
478): ...thay did it with excessyve charge; we thriftely, warely, and allmost
beggerly; thay acted theire Playes in an other sorte then we doe, or can,
or well knowe howe; but so exquisytly, and carefully, that we may seeme,
compared with them, eyther for skill, or diligence, rather Recitare, which you 15
doe not dislike, then Agere we are vnlike them in the ende and efifectes
of Playinge We contrarywise A doe it to recreate owre selves, owre House,
and the better parte of the Vniuersitye, with some learned Poeme or other;
to practyse owre owne style eyther in prose or verse; to be well acquaynted
with Seneca or Plautus; honestly to embowlden owre yuthe; to trye their 20
voyces, and confirme their memoryes; to frame their speeche; to conforme
them to convenient action; to trye what mettell is in evrye one, and of what
disposition thay are of; wherby never any one amongst vs, that I knowe, was
made the worse, many have byn muche the better; Lastly, we differ from them
in many other circumstances as namely thay frequented the Stage; we doe it 25
seldome, somtyme not in seavne, ten, or twentye yeers; thay on the publick
theater, not of the Citie only, but of the whole worlde; we in a pryvate house,
and to a fewe, men of vnderstandinge; thay weare men growne, one of them
three score yeers oulde, Knightes, of noble houses, Patricij, and one of them
Emporour of the worlde; in vs beinge yunge men, boyes, poore Schollers, all 30
thes things are quyte contrarye
Gager on his Ulysses Redux and on patristic objections to plays (pp 48-9):
...whoe ever would resemble owre Melantho, with your Laureolus? the on
represented by an ingenuus boye, and for her lewdnes imagined to be hanged 35
within; the other acted by Lentulus, a man noblye descended, expressinge
perhapps openly one the Stage, the deformytye of the same punishment,
what likenes is there betweene owre yonge men, puttinge on the personns of
Antinous, and the rest of Penelopes wooers; and berweene gentyllmen of the
noble race of Fabius, in their owne persons, not so muche cownterfettinge 40
1 5- 16/ Recitare . . . Agere: Ramolds was less disapproving of pure recitation so long as it was not accompanied
by action or personification
23/ of: corrected over other letters
864 APPENDIX 1 1
others, as expressinge their owne scurrilytyes? suche as owre Antinous, and the
est of the woers, can not iustly be charged with; no not owre Irus, or Vlysses.
for thoughe luuenaJ thought it dishonorable and shamfull, as he well might,
that noble men shoulde take blowes and whirrytts openly, and that the peeple
should rather have pittyed, then liked suche behaviour in their nobylytye, yet 5
he thought so rather in respect of the actors, beeinge suche as thay weare, that
is, noble men (as it appeerethe by the whole drifte of his 8 Satyr, alleaged by
you so muche, which is not agaynst Playes, them he nowhere, that I knowe,
reprehendethe, but to shewe that trwe nobylytye is to be esteemed by the
vertues of the mynde, and not by bludd, or ancyent howses) then for any 10
other thinge, specialy if it weare no wurse; then is represented in owre Irus
or Vlysses. for neyther would luuenal hym selfe, if he weare alyve, reprehend
eyther the speeches thay vse, or the devyse of bringinge them in so meane
and beggerlye, because bothe are Homers; neyther is their any suche thinge in
their partes, that may make vs base or ridiculous, or scurryle, for representinge 15
them. Vnhappy Vlysses, to whome as it was fatall ever to be in troble in his
life, so is he more hardly dealt withall after his deathe, that his person may
not honestly A be resembled withowte note of infamye to the Actor, which
if I had knowne, howsoever he returned in Ithacaw, he shoulde never have
cumme in Scenaw by my means. Agayne, what resemblance is there betweene 20
owre Hippodamia only singinge, Eurymachus only sayinge, Phemius bothe
singinge and sayinge, all three represented by suche as thay weare; and betweene
Nero, playinge menn s, weemen s, and minstrells panes vpon the Stage in Rome?
left vs therfor consider breefely the force of your arguinge. Many noble men,
and Nero hym selfe, weare infamous, for playinge, thoughe freely, menn s and 25
weemen s partes, and specialye Nero for singinge like a fidler on the Stage;
Ergo Schollers and the Students of Christchurche, are to be noted with a
marke of infamye, for playinge, thoughe gratis, suche partes as thay did in
Vlysse Reduce; and namely the master of owre Choristers, for playinge
Phemius; notwithstandinge for his honesty, modesty, and good voyce, he is 30
as wurthy [(.)] to be delyvered from infamye, as Phemius hym selfe is fayned
to be saved from deathe, for his excellent skill in Musicke, to say nothinge
of the rest
Gager on cross-dressing in plays (p 52): . . .we doe it for an howre or twoe, 35
or three, to represent an others person, by one that is openly knowne to be
as he is in deede; it is not ill in vs to doe so, thoughe it be but in myrthe,
and to delyte...
Gager on the same (p 53): . . .for a boye to pray in the Churche openly, with 40
a caule, or a frenchehoode on his head, as you wryte, thoughe his mynd weare
29/ master of owre Choristers: William Maycock
APPENDIX 1 1
never so chaste it weare a greate fault; but it followethe not that therfor it is so,
for a boy or a yonge man, to come on the Stage with a cawle or a frenchehood
on his head
Gager on the same and on dancing and kissing in plays (pp 54-6): Seeinge
therfor that, as I take it, it is not proved vngodly for a boy or a yuthe, to putt
on womanly rayment in owre case, it followethe that it is [not] the lesse
vnlawfull for suche a one also to imitate womanly speeche, and behaviour,
howe hardly so ever you thinke good to terme it yet a boy, by way of
representation only, may not indecently imytate maydenly, or womanly 10
demeannre. ffor as for all that tracte of your discourse, concerninge the danger
of wanton dansinge, of kissinge bewtifull boyes, of amatorye embracinges,
and effectuall expressinge of love panges, wherby bothe the spec A r ta tors
in behowldinge, and the actors in the meditation of suche thinges, are
corrupted . . . owre younge men dansed only twoe solleme measures, withowte 15
any lyter galliarde, or other [(.)] danse, only for a decoruw, to note therby
vnto the auditorye, what revelinge thay weare to imagin the wooers vsed
within, and yet truly if I might have over-ruled the matter, evne that littell
also, had byn lefte owte; because I feared lest it shoulde be ill taken, thoughe
I thought there was no ill in the thinge, as I nowe perceyve my feare was 20
not vayne. but what are the leadinge or treadinge of twoe Measures, to the
incommodytyes of dansinge which you insinuate? what Herode coulde be
inflamed? what Propertius ravished? what flame of lust kindled therby in
menns hartes? what woundes of love imprinted? whose senses coulde be
moved, or affections delyted more then ought to be, or may honestly be? 25
what enemyes of chastetye made by this sight? what stronge or constant harte
vanquished, nay what reede shaken therby? what so muche as flaxe or towe
sett on fyre? As for the danger of kissinge of bewtifull boyes, I knowe not
howe this suspition shoulde reache to vs. for it is vntrwe, whoesoever towlde
you so, that owre Eurymachus did kisse owre Melantho. I have enquyred of 30
the partyes them selves, [and thay constantly denye it,] whether any suche
action was vsed by them, and thay constantly denye it; sure I ame, no suche
thinge was taught, if you coniecture there was kissinge because Melantho
spake this verse, Furtiua nullus oscula Eurymachus dabit, you may perhapps
therby dislike my discretion for makinge a younge paynym Ladye, so to [take] 35
/bewayle 1 her shamfull deathe (thoughe I can not thinke yet, howe I shoulde
mende it) yet, therby no kissinge can be proved agaynst vs, but that rather, that
thinge only in wordes was expressed, which was thought decent for suche a one
as she was, and in her case, to vtter
Gager on Nero with his Sporus or Heliogabalus, ie, on homosexuality (p 56):
34/ Furtiua ... dabic: No Eurymachus will give stolen kissei
40
866 APPENDIX 11
. .we hartely abhorr them; and if I coulde suspecte any suche thinge to growe
by owre Playes, I woulde be the first that should hate them, and detest my
selfe, for gyvinge suche occasion....
Gager on the moral influence of plays (p 56): ...I have byn often moved by 5
owre Playes to laughter, and somtyme to teares; but I can not accuse eyther
my selfe, or any other of any such beastly thought, styrred vp by them, and
therfore we should most vncharytably be wronged, if owre puttinge on of
womanly rayment, or imytatinge of suche gesture, should eyther directly or
indirectly be referred to the comwandement, Thou shake not [{.)] comwit 10
adulterye. and yet if owre Eurymachus had kissed owre Melantho, thoughe
Socrates had stood by, (and I would Socrates had stood by) he would perhapps
have sayde he had done amysse, but not so dangerously as Critobulus did,
because he might evydently perceyve, that no suche poyson of incontinencye
could be instilled therby. As for the danger to the spectators in heeringe and 15
seeinge thinges lyvely expressed, and to the actors in the ernest meditation
and studye to represent them; I grant that bad effectes doe fall owte in thos
Playes, agaynst the which suche arguments are iustly to be amplyfyde; but
there is no suche myscheefe to be feared to enswe of owres. wherin for
owre penmnge, we are base and meane as you see; and specialy for womanly 20
behaviour, we weare so careless, that when one of owre actors should have
made a Conge like a woman, he made a legg like a man. in sum/w; owre
spectators could not gretely charge owre actors with any such diligence in
medytation and care to imprynt any passions; and so neyther of them coulde
receyve any hurt therby. no not the nwe Nymphe in Hyppolitus whom you 25
so muche note, was any wittye wanton, or any so dangerous a woman, as
that she brought fwell inoughe to heate a harte of yse or snowe. the poore
wenche I perceyve hathe byn hardely reported of to you, and worse a greate
deale then she deserved, as you and the worlde shall one day see. in whose
person the devyse was, partly to sett owte the constant chastetye or rather 30
virginytye of Hippolytus, whoe neyther with honest love made to hym in
the woods, nor with vnhonest attempts in the cyttye could be overcumwe;
partly to expresse the affection of honest, lawfull, vertuous, marriage meaninge
love; for no other did she profer, and therfor me thinkes she is not, vnharde,
to be reproched with the brode name of bawderye, wherof there is no one 35
syllable in worde or sense to be founde in all her speches.
Gager on the moral effect of his plays (pp 57-8): ...Neyther doe I see what
evill affections could be stirred vp by owre playes, but rather good, for in
10-ll/Thou ... adulterye: in display script to mark quotation
\ 21 perhapps: h corrected over another Utter
271 she brought . . . snowe: in display script to mark quotation
APPENDIX 1 1
Vlysse Reduce, whoe did not love the fidelytye of Eumasus, and Philztius,
towardes their [(.)] Master; and hate the contrary, in Melanthius? whoe was
not moved to compassion, to see Vlysses a greate Lorde, dryvne so hardly, as
that he was fayne to be a begger in his owne house? whoe did not wisshe hym
well, and all ill to the wooers, and thinke them worthely slayne, for their
bluddye purpose agaynst Telemachus, and other dissolute behaviour, not so
muche expressed on the Stage, as imagined to be done within? whoe did not
admyre the constancye of Penelope, and disprayse the lytenes, and bad nature
in Melantho, and [thoughte] thinke her iustly hanged for it? whoe did not
prayse the patience, wisdome, and secrecye, of Vlysses and Telemachus his 10
sonne? lastly whoe was not glad to see Vlysses restored to his wife, and his
goods, and his mortall enemyes overthrowne, and punished? In Riuales, what
Cato might not be delyted to see the fonde behaviour of cuntrye wooinge,
expressed by cyvill men, or the vanytye of a bragginge soldier? by the spectacle
of the drunken mariners, if there were any drunkard there, why might he 15
not the rather detest drunkenness by seeinge the deformytye of drunken
actions represented? possible it was not, that any man should be provoked to
drunkennes therby. the Lacedaemonians are commended for causinge their
slaves, beinge drunke in deed, to be brought before their children, that thay
seeinge the beastly vsage of suche men, myght the more lothe that vyce; but 20
we muche better A expressinge the same intent, not with drunken, but with
sober men, counterfettinge suche vnseemly manners, are the lesse therfor to
be reprehended. In Hippolytus, what younge man did not wisshe hym selfe
to be as chast as Hippolytus, if he weare not so allreadye? whoe did not detest
the love of Phaedra? who dide not approve the grave counsayle of the Nurse 25
to her in secret!? or whoe coulde be the worse for her wooinge Hippolytus,
in so general! termes? the drifte wherof, if it had byn to procure an honest
honorable marriage, as it was covertly to allure hym to inceste, he might
very well have listned to it. whoe wisshethe not that Theseus had not byn so
credulus? whoe was not sorrye for the crwell deathe of Hippolytus? thes and 30
suche like, weare the passions that weare, or might be moved, in owre Playes,
withowte hurte, at the leste, to any man
Gager on the character of his actors (p 58): ...Wherfor as the younge men
of owre house, are suche in deede, as I comwended them for; so for me, or 35
for any thinge donne on the Stage, by the grace of God thay may so remayne
and continwe, and I hope shall ever be so reputed
Gager on the relative value of plays (pp 58-9): In your answere to my defence
of owre not mysspendinge tyme aboute Playes, I must needes saye, you spare
40
35/ are-, r corrected over another letter
868 APPENDIX 1 1
vs not a whitt. if you had but sayde that owre playes, are toyes, vnn(...)ssarye,
Oayne, or suche like; it had byn no more perhapps then in strict(..)s, tnve....
and I have harde a godly, and a learned preacher, whome you knowe, in the
pulpitt arTirme, that owre declamations, oppositions, suppositions, and suche
scholasticall exercises, are no better then vayne thinges. but to compare owre 5
Playes, to ye wickednes of a foole committed in pastyme, to a madd mann s
castinge of fyrebrandes, arrowes, and mortall [(.)] thinges, as you doe before;
or to the hauntinge of a dycinge house, or taverne, or stwes, as in this place;
or to a Schollers playinge at stooleball amonge wenches, at mumchance, at
Mawe with idell lost companions, atTrunkes in Guile-halls, dansinge aboute 10
Maypoles, riflinge in alehouses, carrowsinge in taverns, stealinge of deere, or
robbinge of orchardes, as afterwarde; I say to compare oure Playes to no better
then thes thinges, it exceedethe the cumpasse of any tolerable resemblance.
I cowlde have wisht that suche comparisons had byn forborne, if not for the
Playes them selves, (thoughe also thay ought for the Playes them selves, beinge 15
thinges that savor of some witt, learninge; and iudgment, approved vnto vs by
longe continwance, recommended by owre cheefest governors, and donne in
a learned, grave, worshiprull, and somryme honorable presence, with suche
convenient sollemnyrye, honest preparation, ingenuous expectation, dwe
regarde, modest reverence, silent attention, and the generall, as it weare, 20
simwetrye and seemly carriage in them) yet in respecte of the actors, and owre
whole House; of the spectators that sawe them, and hartely approved them,
to whome it weare a foule shame, but to stand by as lookers on of thinges of
suche nature; and lastly, [for] /of 1 thos reverend, famous, and excellent men,
for life, and learninge, and their places in the Churche of God, bothe of owre 25
house, and otherwise of the Vniuersirye, that have byn, and nowe are lyvinge,
with vs, and abrade, whoe have byn not only wryters of suche thinges them
selves, but also actors, and to this daye doe thinke well of them, to whome it
weare a greate reproche, at any tyme to have byn acquaynted with thinges of
so vyle, and base qualytye, and muche more, still to allowe of them. . . . 30
Gager on plays vs. sermons (p 59): ...Wheras I sayde that there was no more
ryme spent vpon owre Playes then was convenient, you replye that It may be
there was, evne some tyme that shoulde have byn spent in heeringe Sermons,
the very day that my Vlysses Redux came vpon the Stage. It may be there was 35
not; and for any thinge that can be proved, or for any thinge that any man
needed to be hindred from Sermons that daye for my Vlysses, it was not so in
deede. sure I ame, that the gentelman that playde Vlysses, was at Sermon, and
divers others of the actors, as if neede were thay coulde prove, perhapps the
rather, to avoyde suche a scandall. if any were awaye, thay might have other 40
6- 1 21 to ye wickednes . . . orchardes: in display script to mark quotation
33 - 5/ It may be ... vpon the Stage: in display script to mark quotation
APPENDIX 1 1
cause so to doe, thoughe (the more the pittye) it is no vnvsuall thinge, for
many other students, as well as owres, someryme to mysse a sermon, and it
may be, that some of them that mysliked owre Playes, weare not there them
selves; it may be the same Sonday night thay were wurse occupyed then owre
actors were; it may be, preventinge vs, playinge Momus parte in good ernest, 5
which we afterwarde did but for pasryme. and yet that accusation touchethe
my poore vnfortunate Vlysses only, not the other twoe
Gager on money spent on plays (pp 61-2): ...the mony bestowde on owre
Playes, was not, to add watstfullnes to wantonnes, but to procure honest 10
recreation, with convenient expence. surely if the Prodigall sonne, had byn as
moderatt, and as thriftye, in his spendinge at his boorde, as we weare in owre
Playes, he might well inoughe have sayde, to any niggarde, that shoulde have
vnwisely fownde falte with hym, as muche as you make hym to saye, not with
the note of a prodigall, but with the commendation of an ingenuous, and a 15
[b] liberall disposition Nero cowlde have as well spared suche huge sumras
of mony, which he spent that way often, as owre House, with the cumpanye
in it, and belonginge to it (thanked be God) can, ons in many yeers, thirtye
powndes...
20
Gager on whether his critics had attended his plays (p 62): ...I have not
done the Vniuersytye wronge, in producinge the iudgment therof, to the
approovinge of owre Playes. for thoughe, as you wryte, there weare some which
weare not present, because thay disallowed them, some disallowed them,
that weare present; yet, bothe thes putt together, if the greater parte may 25
denomynate the whole [bodye], which did with their hartye applause approve
them, I might withowte wronge, I ame sure, to the bodye of the Vniuersytye,
demand of Momus, Academiz tu iudicia nihili facis?...
Gager on gathering an audience for his plays (p 63): ...I may trulye saye, 30
that I never requested any man to owre Playes; neyther did I neede; thay woulde
cumwe without biddinge, or sendinge for, more, and faster then somtyme we
would willingely [ r then ] ] [thay shoulde] thay shoulde have donne. muche
lesse needed thay to be pressed to them, with greate importunytye. I beshrowe
them that did byd suche ghestes, whose roomthes, had byn better then their 35
cumpanyes. for of all men, I woulde thay that dislike Playes, had not byn at
owres..
10/ to add ... wantonnes: in display script to mark 28/ Academi* ... facis?: Do you make nothing of
quotation the judgments of the University 1
10/ watstfullnes: /or wastfullness 32/ or: o corrected over another letter
23-5/ there weare ... weare present: in display script 34/ pressed ... importunytye: in display script to
to mark quotation mark quotation
870 APPENDIX 1 1
Gager on the numbers of those who took offence against his plays (p 63): ...I
did not thinke, till I harde of the Preacher, and receyved your Letter, that
there had byn so many as to make vp a number in this Vniuersitye, of whome
owre Playes weare so mysliked, as nowe I perceyve there are, and yett but a
number only, and to this daye, of my knowledge, I can not name [ay] any 5
man that is of your opinion, besyde you twoe....
Letter from Rain olds to Gager, 30 May 1593
Rainolds objects to kissing in plays, even by implication (p 76): . . .As namely 10
that I mentioned Eurymachus kissing of Melantho: a thing which I gathered to
have bene doon by her owne woords: sith they were both intended to be alone
secretly, when he had fowle vnmodest [speech] lascivious talke with her; & the
musicke &: dansing, whereof she speakes w/thall, was represented on the stage.
But I named them onely for example sake; my drift being general against such 15
playes as expresse such actions: whether sett foorth presently by you, as your
Rivales, in which some of the wooers perhaps kissed Phoeda...
Rainolds on being pressured to act - particularly female roles - in contravention
of (divine) law (pp 84-5): ...fforwhat if some of them knew not this point of 20
law? & were of such age too (which they were all perhaps, at least the players of
wemens parts) as the lawe excuseth for ignorance thereof? what if others were
commanded to play by their superiors, whom they durst not displease; & so
were in a maner inforced thereunto . . . what if a third sort, or more, euen these
also, have since repented their playing. . . 25
Rainolds on having played a female role (Hippolyta in Palamon and Arcite) as
a youth (p 85): ...wherefore having this perswasion of your players, even of
them for whose parts I charged players most, namely Hippodamia, Melantho,
the Nymph, Phsedra, & her Nurse; if I should have noted them as infamous, 30
them I say, not their parts, these players & not players; I should have taken
on me the Judgement that belongeth vnto the searcher of heartes & reines, &
spoken against mine owne conscience. WA/ch if you have made them beleeve
I love them so ill, by reason of the bad conceit I have of them, that I would
doo of spite &C malice to discredit them: yet left me intreat them to thinke I 35
love my selfe better, then that I would through their sides wounde mine owne;
who, when I was about the age that they are, six & rwentie yeares since, did
play a womans part vpon the same stage, the part of Hippolyta..
Ml Phccda: for Phcucira
APPENDIX 12
Degree Plays
In 1512 Edward Watson, college or hall unknown, was required by a grace of congregation to
write one hundred songs in praise of the University and also a comedy in order to receive his
BA (see p 54). In the mid-1540s Nicholas Grimald presented his Archipropheta to Dr Richard
Cox of Christ Church as evidence of his abilities (L.R. Merrill (ed and trans), The Life and
Poems of Nicholas Grimald, Yale Studies in English 69 (New Haven, 1925), 12).
Watson s case is the only known instance in University records of playwrighting as a statutory
degree requirement. Other evidence, however, points to an informal tradition at Oxford of
undergraduates presenting original dramatic compositions as part of the ritual of supplicating
for their BAS.
The main evidence for such a suggestion comes from two poems written c 1640 by Martin
Lluelyn, a student of Christ Church, printed in 1646 in a volume called Men-Miracles. With
Other Poemes (Wing: L2625). The first poem, on p 77, is entitled, To my Lord bishop of
Chichester when I presented him a Play. The second poem, immediately following on p 80
(78 and 79 are omitted in the pagination), is entitled, To Dr. Fell Deane of Christ Church
now Vicechancellour of Oxford, upon the Same occasion. The first poem mentions single
Leafes and lesse papers that the author had given the recipient foure yeares since and that,
because of the latter s encouragement, had now grown into the Trodigie of a Play. The second
poem calls the play a Trifle offered to the dean in order to begge degree and receive a Hood,
adding that this is not a form of supplication as understood.
From this information it is easy enough to reconstruct the date and the participants of this
ritual. Martin Lluelyn matriculated as a student of Christ Church on 25 July 1636, at the age
of eighteen. He took his BA on 7 July 1640. In that year the bishop of Chichester was Brian
Duppa, who had been dean of Christ Church for the first two years of Lluelyn s residency. The
table of contents to the volume confirms this by re-dedicating the first poem To my Lord
B[ishop] of Salisbury] (sig A8), which was Duppa s title in 1646. The second poem is even
more clearly addressed to Samuel Fell, who succeeded Duppa as dean of Christ Church in
1638, and who was also vice-chancellor of the University from 1645 to 1648, ie, at the time
the poem addressed to him was finally published.
These poems, then, record a rite of passage enacted by an undergraduate about to receive
his BA in the presence of the two men who had been heads of his house since he arrived in
Oxford. The nature of the single Leafes that Lluelyn had given Dean Duppa in 1636 remains
APPENDIX 12
mysterious, but he evidently felt in 1640 that a more substantial composition was now called
for, and that it should be a play. There is no indication of what language it was written in and
no suggestion that it was meant to be performed. The only hint as to its subject comes in the
second poem, where the author asks Dean Fell to seat him high in his faign d Queens view,
High as her selfe, and yet both kneele to you (p 81). All that can be made of this is that the
central character in the play seems to have been a queen.
Lluelyn s career as a playwright did not end with his baccalaureate. Although he became a
physician by profession, his attachment to Oxford and its cultural activities continued. In
1660 he was appointed both king s physician and principal of St Mary s Hall. In the following
summer preparations were made for a visit to Oxford by the new king, Charles n, and we
know from a letter of Timothy Halton, a fellow of Queen s, that the play [was] made by Dr.
Llewellyn (see p 607). Whether it was the same play he had written twenty years before we
do not know, because it was never performed due to a want of actors.
Taken together with the much earlier grace involving Edward Watson, the case of Martin
Lluelyn, playwright, does not seem to be an isolated event. A number of Oxford plays, all of
them in Latin, survive in MS copies for which there is no external evidence of performance and
whose existence may be explained if we posit a circumstance like Lluelyn s. Thomas Atkinson s
Homo, surviving in a fair copy dedicated to William Laud, president of St John s, would seem
to be just such a degree play, although a few interpolated stage directions suggest that it may
eventually have received a production. In the same category we can probably put Philip Parsons
Atalanta, also dedicated to Laud, and Christopher Wren s Physiponomachia, dedicated to John
Buckeridge, Laud s predecessor. The fact that these plays, along with Henry Bellamy s Iphis,
John Blencow s Mercurius, Joseph Crowther s Cephalus et Procris, and George Wild s Eumorphus
were all written by St John s men has led Bentley to wonder whether they do not represent
a standard St John s exercise (Jacobean and Caroline Stage, vol 3, p 4). The survival of so
many MSS from St John s is indeed suggestive of this, but Lluelyn s play, which was unknown
to Bentley, may indicate that the practice they represent was more widespread throughout
the University.
APPENDIX 13
Anthony Wood on Oxford
Anthony Wood (1632-95), an Oxford native, took advantage of his father s connections in
Merton College and the University along with his mother s social connections in the county to
make himself into Oxford s foremost - but crankiest - antiquary. (Among other things, he
came to call himself Anthony a Wood, much to the torment of bibliographers.) Wood set
himself the goal ot producing a comprehensive history of Oxford. Given the abundance of
available materials, he divided his project into three sections, covering the city, the University,
and the colleges. Along the way he compiled hundreds and indeed thousands of individual
biographies, and kept a personal diary.
Wood s antiquarian labours consisted to a considerable extent of copying out documents
from the University archives. Although he borrowed wholesale from the papers of his pre
decessor Brian Twyne (1579?-1644), he made a considerable effort to trace Twyne s sources.
A practitioner of the cut-and-paste method of composition, Wood several times destroyed one
draft to create another. Although he published some of his work in his lifetime, particularly
on the history of the University, much of his work was published posthumously and certain
leavings remain unpublished to this day.
Bodl.: MS. Wood F.I is the last of several versions of the History or Annals of the University in
Wood s own hand. The MS title is The History or Annals of the University of Oxford from the
time of King Alfred till A.D. 1660. Wood called this MS his last English copy ( Survey of
the Antiquities of the City of Oxford, composed in 1661-6, by Anthony Wood, Andrew Clark (ed),
vol 2, Oxford Historical Society (Oxford, 1889), 342). The printed edition, edited by John
Gutch (2 vols, 1792-6), is based on this MS. The Gutch edition is a fairly faithful rendering
of Wood s final intentions for the work, with a few typographical errors. It has been used to
provide excerpts under 1612-13 and 1633-4 where the excerpts were not found in MS. Wood
F.I. The first draft of Wood s History, finished c 1673, was cut up by Wood and is now lost,
except for fragments pasted into other MSS (Life and Times, vol 2, p 290, and vol 4, p 230).
A copy of the first draft served as the basis for the Latin translation by R. Peers and R. Reeves
that appeared in 1674. Wood called this the translators copy (Life and Times, vol 4, p 230).
It too has been lost. Wood s personal copy of the printed Latin edition (Bodl.: MS. Wood 430)
contains some marginal notes and corrections. A second draft of the History (Bodl.: MS. Wood
F.38) c 1675, which Wood called his foul copy (Life and Times, vol 2, p 290), survives. It has
not been collated here.
874 APPENDIX 13
Woods Athena Oxontenns or Athenae Oxomenses, covering approximately 1500-1690
"as first published m two volumes over successive years, 1691-2 (Wing: W3382-3A)
A second edition was published in 1721, and a third in 1813-20, in four volumes ed ted
by Philip B hs, Bhss began a fourth edition but of this only a single volume saw the light
f day, in 1848. Because that edition was never completed the closest approximation to a
fmitive edition remains the third, of 1813-20. An understanding of how this complex
nvaluable work is organized is necessary to make efficient use of it. The biographies
xford b.shops and writers - which constitute the essence of the work for most users
ding REED users - take up approximately the latter four-fifths of volume 1 the first
thirds of volume 2, the whole of volume 3, and the first half of volume 4. Since entries
e not alphabetical by last name but roughly chronological, an index is provided at the
end of each part. More important, a comprehensive index is provided at the conclusion
the fourth part, roughly in the middle of volume 4. Meanwhile, the first one-fifth of
volume 1 contains a life of Wood (with supporting materials), while the last third of volume 2
and the last half of volume 4 contain Fasti Oxomenses (third edition), which is indexed at
the very end of volume 4.
For the modern editor of Oxford documents or historian of Oxford it is impossible to rely
absolutely on Wood and equally impossible to proceed entirely without him. In recognition
of that fact we present here certain materials from Wood s compilations, both printed and in
manuscript.
For contemporary sources and parallel descriptions of the events described by Wood, readers
are directed to the Records: for the royal (and noble) entertainments of 1566, 1583, 1605,
and 1636, see pp 126-35, 190-1, 296-310, and 542-5; and for the maypoles at Holywell,
seepp 578-9.
Wood s History or Annals of the University
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Wood F.I (sc 8463) ; 1678-85; English; paper; xx + 568; 280mm x
250mm; ink pagination in Wood s hand; proper nouns, names, and direct speech are typically under
lined; original leather binding dated 2 May 1678.
Gutch, Wood s History and Antiquities
The History and Antiquities of the University of Oxford, In Two Books: By Anthony a Wood, M.A.
Of Merton College. Now First Published in English, From the Original MS in the Bodleian Library:
By John Gutch, M.A. Chaplain of All Souls and Corpus Christi Colleges. Oxford, MDCCXCII.
Wood s Historia et Antiquitates
[Wood, Anthony.] HISTORIA I ET I ANTIQUITATES I UNIVERSITATIS I OXONIENSIS I
Duobus Voluminibus Comprehensae. I [device] I OXONII, I ETHEATRO SHELDONIANO. I
[rule] I M.DC.LXXIV.
Wood s Athenae Oxonienses
Anthony a Wood, Athena Oxonienses: An exact history of all the writers and bishops who have had their
APPENDIX 13
education in the University of Oxford. To which are added the Fasti, or Annals of the said University by
Anthony A Wood. A new edition, with additions, and a continuation by Philip Bliss (London, 1813-
1565-6
Entertainment of Queen Elizabeth Bodl.: MS. Wood F.I
pp 638-9 (31 August)
...In ye Euening came ye Queen with a noble retinew from Woodstock, &:
at ye uttermost part of ye Universitie liberties near Wolvercote, the Earl of
Leycester [with] chancellour, four Doctors in /their 1 scarlet Habits namely
Kennall ye Vicechancf//or Humph/r ey preside/ of Magdalen College
Godwyn Deane of Christ church & Whyte Warden of New College with
8 masters that were Heads of Houses in their Habits met ye Queen, & after 10
[ob] obeysance done to her, ye chancellour of ye Universitie, who before
her, received ye staves of the three Esquire Bedells then present, delivered
them up to her but shee no sooner had received, [them] but gave, them up
againe to ye chancellour & he forthwith to ye Bedells. After this was done
an Oration was spoken before her by Marbeck ye A late Orator A now provost is
of Oriel Coll^ 1 beginning thus Multa sunt divina erga nos Comitatis &c
which being finisht the Queen said to him Wee have heard of you before but
now wee know you. The Spanish Embassadour named Goseman, then with her,
said also Non pauca multis sed multa paucis complexus est. Then ye Queen
gave him her hand to kisse, as she did at ye same time to ye Vicechancellour 20
Doctors &: Masters but while Humphrey was doing yat complement ye Queen
said Doctor Humphrey methinks this gowne & habit becomes you very well,
& I marvayle yat you are so straight laced in this point (blank) but I come
not now to chide
These things being done, shee [with] and her nobility with ye chancellour 25
Doctors, masters &: Bedells before her, rid towards Oxford & being within
half a mile of it ye Mayor named Thonruw Wyllyams with ye Aldermen &
certaine Burgesses to ye number of 13, received her majestic. He then in ye
first place delivered up his mace to her which shee forthwith returned againe;
then he [delivered] spake an English Oration & presented in ye name of ye 30
whole City a cup of silver, double gilt, worth 10 li., & in it about 40 li. in
old gold. This gift was ye first in money yat ever as I can yet learne, y^t was
presented to a prince, for at ye comwing of any one to ye University before
this time ye custome was yat ye citizens would give them five Oxen, as many
sheep, veales, lambes, & sugarloafes but this numerus quinarius was now 35
16/ Multa ... &c: possibly, (Your) divine kindnesses to us are many, etc.
18/ Goseman: preceded by mark " to connect to marginal text
1 9/ Non pauca ... est: He has grasped not a little with much but much with a little
876 APPENDIX 13
altered by s/r Francis Knollys ye Citie steward, & converted into money,
which yet continueth. I
Afterwards entering into ye City /in a rich chariot 1 about 5. or 6 of ye
clock at night, one Robm Deale of New college spake before [here] her
at ye North gate called Bocardo, an oration in ye name of all ye scholars 5
yat stood one by one on each side of ye street from y*t place [about] to
Quartervois: which being finished shee went forward, ye scholars all kneeling
& unanimously crying Vivat Regina which ye Queen taking verie kindly,
answered oftentimes with a joyfull countenance [(sitting] Gratias ago
gratias ago. ,
At her comwing to Quartervois (commonly called Carfax) an oration was
made in the Greek tongue by mr Lawrence ye kings professor of yat language
at ye University which being finisht, shee seemed to be so well pleased with
it, yar. shee gave him thanks in ye Greek tongue, adding y^t it was ye best
oration yat ever shee heard in Greek & yat wee would answer you presently 15
but with this great company wee are somewhat abashed, wee will talke more
with you in our chamber
From thence passing by ye Bachelaurs &: Masters y<zt stood in like order as
ye scholars, &: in their formalities, shee came to ye Hall dore of Christchurch
where another oration was spoken by Mr Kingsmyll Orator of ye Universitie, 20
whom she thanked & said you would have done well had you had good matter
pp 640-4 (1-5 September)
25
...In the afternoon shee was present, but in ye morning absent upon some
indisposition of body. At which time being in her privy chamber, there was
one Peur brought into her presence a very pretty boy named Peter Carew (son as I
think of Dr Carew late Deane of Christ Church) who making an oration to
exile remporf i r i I" 1 - i L
Man* Reg/ her in Latine with [2] A two Greek verses at ye end, pleased her so much 30
yat she forthwith sent for secretary Cecyll to hear it, who being come, she
commanded ye boy to pronounce it againe, saying before he began I pray
god my fine boy thou maiest say it so well as thou didst to me just before -
which being done according to her wish, she, /with 1 Cecyll & divers eminent
persons then present were much taken as well with ye speech as ye Oratour. 35
At night was acted in Christ Church hall upon a larg scaffold erected, set
about with stately lights of wax curiously wrought, a Latine play called Marcus
Geminus, at which were present all ye Nobility, as also ye Spanish Embassador,
who afterwards co/wmended it so highly to ye Queen, being then absent, yat
p 875, l.32-p876, 121 This gift ... continueth.: written in left margin and marked by # for insertion here
35/ were much taken: written into left margin
877
APPENDIX 13
she sayd In troth I will loos no more sport /hereafter 1 for ye good report yat
I hear of these your good doings - The Embassador also then said Multa
[vede] vidi sed hxc sunt admiranda, et sic referam ubi in patriam venero
The 2 d of September being munday ... In ye afternoone ye Queen thought
to have heard disputations in Christ Church Hall, but ye stage taking up ye 5
roome, it could not well be, so yrft keeping for ye most part within her lodging
Mr Thorns Neale ye Hebrew Professor presented to her Majestic a booke of
all ye prophets translated out of Hebrew by him, & a little book [containinge
ye description Effigies 1 of every College, with Latine verses under [each] every
one of them describing theire respective Founders & times of Foundation.] of 10
Latine verses containing [(...)] the description of every college, public schooles
& Halls, with ye Names of ye respective founders A [ of each College" 1 & time of
Foundations, [which [verses were] book was afterwards published by one Miles
Windsore in his \ntituled Europae Orbis Academic printed in Lond0 1591]
At night ye Queen heard ye first [ye first] part of an English play named ^
Palsmon A r or Palamon 1 & Arcyte, made by Mr Richard Edwards, a Gentleman
of her chappel, acted with verie great applause in Christ Church hall. At ye
beginning of which play, there was by part of ye stage which fell, three persons
slaine, namely, (blank) Walker, a scholar of St Marie hall, one (blank) Pennie
a Brewer, and Joh Gilbert, Cook of Corp/ Ch risti College beside five I yat 20
were hurt. W^zch disaster cowming to ye Queens knowledge, /she 1 sent
forthwith ye Vicechancellour &: her chirurgeons to help them, & to have a
care yat they want nothing for their recovery. Afterwards ye Actors performed
their parts so well, yat ye Queen laughed heartily thereat, and gave ye authour
of ye play great thanks for his paines. 25
The 4 th of September being Wednesday ... I At night the Queen was
present at the other part of ye play of Pal[(.)] A z mon & Arcyte, which should
have been acted ye night before, but deferred because it was late when ye
Queen came from disputations at St Maries. \Vhen ye play was ended she 30
called for Mr Edwards ye authour & gave him verie great thanks, with promises
of reward, for his paines: then making a pause, said to him, & her retinew
standing about her, this, relating to part of ye play, - By Palaemon I warrant
he dallieth not in love when he was in love indeed. By Arcyte, he was a right
martiall knight, having a swart countenance & a manly face. By Trecatio 35
A - 1 gods pitty what a knave it is? By Perithous throwing St Edwards rich
2 3/ Multa ... venero. I have seen many things, but these are to be wandered at, and I will say so when I
return to my country
10-14/ of Latine verses ... London 1591: written into left margin and marked by tt for insertion following a
little book, of Latine verses . . . Foundations, to replace cancelled text on 11.810
35/ Trecatio: in error for Trevatio as in ccc: MS 257: see p 129
36/ St Edwards: in error for King Edwards as in ccc: MS 257: see p 129
878
APPENDIX 13
peier Carew
Knight see in
S/r loru;
Cheeks Life
before the
rebell at ye
end of ve life
cloake mto ye funerall fier, which a scander by would have stayed by ye arme
ith an oath, goe foole /- he knoweth his part /I warrant- 1 In ye said
slay, was acted a cry of hounds in ye Quadrant, upon ye traine of a Fox in ye
hunting of Theseus, with which ye yong scholars, who stood <..) ye wind(....>
were so much taken ([some] ^they] 1 supposing it was reall) yat they [who 5
stood in ye windowes to see it] cryed out now now - there there - he s caught,
he s caught. - All which ye Queen merrily beholding said, O excellent! those
boyes in verie troth are ready to leap out of ye windowes to follow the hounds. -
This part it seems being [repeated] [afterwardes] repeated before certaine
courtieres [yat had been absent] in /the Lodgings of 1 Mr Roger Marbecks 10
[lodgings one of] /one of 1 the canons of christ church by ye players in [ye]
their Gownes (for they were all Scholars yat acted) before the Queen cawe to
Oxford, was by them so well liked, yat they said it farre surpassed Damon &
Pythias, than [ye] which, they thought, nothing could be better. Likewise
some said yat if ye authour did any more before his death, he would run 15
mad. But this comedie was ye last he made, for he died within few months
after[wards]. In ye acting of ye said play there was a [pretty] f good ] part
performed by ye Lady aemilia, who, for gathering her flowers prettily in a
garden then represented, & singing sweetly in ye time of March, received
8 angells for a gratious reward by her Majesties cowmand. By whome yat 20
part was acted I know not, unless by Peter Carew, the pretty boy before
mentioned.
The 5 September being Thursday ... I she went to Christ church, & as
shee passed out of St Maries church dore, Mr Edrich somtimes Greek Reader
of ye University presented to her a book of greek verses, containing ye noble 25
Acts of her father, the which ye Queen having no sooner received & looked on
ye title, but Mr Edwards ye Comedian before mentioned said to ye Queen
Madam this man was my master, (meaning his Tutor in Corpz# Christi college)
to whom ye Queen gave answer certainly he did not give thee whipping
enough After ye Queen had refreshed her self with a supper, shee, with her 30
nobility went into Christ Church hall, where was acted before them a Latine
Tragedy, called Progne, made by Dr James Calfhill, Canon of Christ Church.
After which was done shee gave ye authur thanks, but it did not take half so
well as ye much admired play of Palamon & Arcyte.
The 6 of September being Friday ... a Latine sermon was made in ye
Cathedrall by Dr lohn Piers, at w/;/ch were present divers of ye Nobility but
35
4/ who stood (..) ye wind( ): written into right margin
9/ repeated: written into left margin
19/ March: in error for May as in CCC: MS 257: lee f 133
21 -3m/ S;r lohn . . . life: Sir John Cheke, The true subiect to the rebell, or, The hurt of sedition (1549).
reprinted and prefaced with a short life of the author by Gerard Langbaine (1641: Wing: C3778)
870
APPENDIX 13
ye Queen not, because much wearied by attending disputations & ye Latine
Tragedy ye day &C night before. About dinner time ye Vicechancellour &C
Proctors presented to ye Queen in ye name of the whole University 6 pair
of verie fine gloves, & to divers noble men & officers of ye Queens family, I
some two, some one, pair, very thankfully accepted. After dinner, at ye
departure of ye Queen out of Christ Church, Mr Tobie Mathew spake an
oration before her, which she liking verie well, nominated him her Scholar.
Then shee & her Nobility with ye retineu went from Christ Church to Carfax,
& thence to East Gate: [before whom also went] A with those members of
ye Universitie & City /going before 1 yat brought her in. As shee passed 10
through ye streets ye Scholars stood in order Crying Vivat Regina: the walls
also of St Maries Church, Allsoules and Universitie colleges were hung with
innumerable sheets of verses, bemoaning ye Queens departure, [&c] A as [also]
did ye countenances of the Layiry (especially those of ye Female sex) yat
then beheld her. W/^n shee came to ye East bridge by Magdalen Coll^ 15
Sz r Francys Knollys ye City Steward told her, y<n their liberties reached no
further, wherfore shee turned to ye Mayor [of] &c his Brethren &: bid them
farewell with many thanks. When she came to ye forest of Shotover about
two miles from Oxford, ye Earl of Leycester Chancellour of ye Universitie
told her y^t the Universitie liberties reached no farther y#t way, whereupon 20
Mr Roger Marbeck spake an eloquent Oration to her, containing many things
relating to learning & ye encouragement therof by her, of its late ecclips and
of the great probabilitie of its being now revived under ye government of so
learned a princess, the which being done, shee gave him her hand to kisse,
with many thanks to ye whole Universitie, speaking then these words (as tis 25
reported) with her face towards Oxford - Farewell ye worthie Universitie of
Oxford, farewell my good subjects there, farewell my deare scholars, & pray
god prosper your studies, farewell farewell
Thus farre concerning this Entertainment : All yat I shall adde to it, is,
y<zt her sweet, affable, & noble carriage left such impressions in ye minds 30
of scholars, yat nothing but emulation was in their studies, & nothing left
untoucht by them wherby they thought they might be advanced by her &
become acceptable in her eye.
35
Life of Richard Edwards Wood: Athenae Oxonienses, vol 1
cols 353-5
RICHARD EDWARDS, a Somersetshire man born, was admitted scholar
14/ especially: s corrected over p
880 APPENDIX 13
of Corpus Christi co\\ege under the tuition of George Etheridge, on the
eleventh of May 1540, and probationer fellow 11 August 1544, student of
the upper table of Christ church at its foundation by King Henry 8, in the
beginning of the year 1547, aged 24, and the same year took the degree of
Muster of arts. In the beginning of queen Elizabeth, he was made one of 5
the gentlemen of her chappel, and master of the children there, being
then esteemed not only an excellent musician, but an exact poet, as many
of his compositions in music (for he was not only skill d in the practical
but theoretical part) and poetry do shew, for which he was highly valued
by those that knew him, especially his associates in Lincolns inn (of 10
which he was a member, and in some respects an ornament) and much
lamented by them, and all ingenious men of his time, when he died. He
hath written,
Damon and Pythias, a conWy; acted at court and in the university.
Palzmon and Arcyte, a conWy in two parts; acted before queen Elizaber/; 15
in Christ Church hall 1566, which gave her so much content, that sending
for the author thereof, she was pleased to give him many thanks, with
promise of reward for his pains: and then making a pause, said to him
and her retinue standing about her, these matters relating to the said play,
which had entertain d her with great delight for two nights in the said hall. 20
By Palsemon - I warrant he dallied not in love, when he was in love indeed.
By Arcyte - he was a right marshal knight, having a swart countenance and a
manly face. By Trecatio - God s pity what a knave it is! By Pirithous his
throwing St. Edward s rich cloak into the funeral fire, which a stander-by
would have staid by the arm, with an oath, Go, fool - he knoweth his part I ll 25
warrant you, &c. In the said play was acted a cry of hounds in the quadrant,
upon the train of a fox in the hunting of Theseus: with which the young
scholars who stood in the remoter parts of the stage, and in the windows,
were so much taken and surpriz d (supposing it had been real) that they cried
out, there, there, - he s caught, he s caught. AJ1 which the queen merrily 30
beholding, said, O excellent! those boys in very troth are ready to leap out of
the windows to follow the hounds. This part being repeated before certain
courtiers in the lodgings of Mr Rogfr Marbeck one of the canons of Christ
Church by the players in their gowns (for they were all scholars that acted,
among whom were Miles Windsore and Thorns Twyne of Corpus Christi 35
College) before the queen came to Oxon., was by them so well liked, that
21 fellow: end of col 353
14/ Damon and Pythias: in italic font
1 5/ Palacmon and Arcyte: in italic font
2)1 Trecacio: in error for Trcvatio Oi in ccc: MS 257; seep 129
24f St. Edward s: in error for King Edward s as in ccc: MS 257: seep 129
APPENDIX 13
they said it far surpassed Damon and Pythias, than which, they thought,
nothing could be better. Likewise some said that if the author did proceed
to make more plays before his death, he would run mad. But this it
seems was the last, for he lived not to finish others that he had lying
by him
1582-3
Entertainment of the Prince of Siradia Bodl.: MS. Wood F.I
pp 683-4 (10 June) 10
A noble & learned Polonian named Albertus [de AJasco,] Alaskie, or Laskie,
or de Alasco (so many [times] r ways ] doe I find him written by our English
authors) being come to ye English Court to see ye Fashions & admire ye
wisdom of ye Queene, letters dated ye 13 May came from ye Chancellour 15
of ye Uniu^rsitie by her majesties command yat ye members thereof should
[pwuide] make provision for ye reception of him according to his quality, being
9 Sirad a Prince &c Palatine of Sirad[ia]. The day appointed for his reception was ye
10 of June, which being come, he, with our Chancellour and certaine noble
men appointed to attend him, came from Ricot, &c approaching ye east part of 20
ye City met them Dr Humphrey, Dr Tobias Mathew, Dr Anhur Yeldard, Dr
Martin Culpepper & Dr Herbert Westphaling in their scarlet gownes, the last
of whome made an oration to them, which was ansuered verie curteously in
ye Latine tongue by ye Prince. Cowming nearer Oxford met him ye Mayor,
Aldermen, & after ye Townclerk who was Master of Arts, had spoken a short 25
Oration in ye Latine tongue, they presented to, [him] & ye noble men with,
him, gloves: -which being done a consort of Musitians, y^t stood over ye East
Gate, played on their wind-musick till they were gone into ye City.
Going up ye High Street they were saluted from each side by all ye Degrees
of students in their formalities. At length cowming to St Maries church, ye 30
Vicechanc^//our &c seuerall Doctors in their scarlet, saluting them also, the
Insignia of ye Vicechana /^wr were by him surrendered up to ye Chancellour,
but soone after returned. Then ye Orator cowming forth spake before him an
eloquent oration, which being ended, a rich Bible with gloves therm were
presented to ye I Prince & other Gloves to ye noble men, received with great 35
demonstration of thankes.
From thence they went to Quartervois & so downe [ye SourJi] A Fish 1 street
to Christ church gate, where received him & his company the Subdeane,
Canons & students who conducted them to their lodgings, soone after dark
I/ Damon and Pythias: in italic font
21 could: end of col 354 and page break
882 APPENDIX 13
night cowming on strang fire works were shewed in ye great Quadrangle to
entertaine them.
The next day . . he supped at Christ church (which he did every night
yat he remained in ye Uniu<rsity) & then he with [his retmew] r the Nobles 1
and their respective retinews saw a pleasant Comedy acted in christ church
Hall by seueral of ye Uniumity intituled Rivales, which giving them great
content, ye author, Dr William Gager had ye honur to receive from ye Prince
p^rsonall thanks.
10
pp 685-6 (11-12 June)
The Disputations being ended &L the supper following at christ church,
he saw a verie stately Tragedy acted there, named Dido, wherein ye Queens
conquest, with ./Eneas his narration of ye destruction of Troy, was lively 15
described in a Marchpaine patterne. There was also a pleasant sight of Hunters,
with a full crie of a kennell of Hounds (partly as before when the Queen was
here) & Mercury & Iris descending & ascending from, & to, a high place.
The tempest also wherin it rained small comfits, rose water, & snew artificiall
snow was very strang to ye Beholders. 20
The third day ... he was invited to a costly banquet at St Johns college (the
gates & outward walls therof being cou^red with multitudes of verses & other
emblems of poetry) but his desire towards his journeys end, caused him not
to accept of it, only of a pithy Oration, delivered by a Fellow of yat House.
From thence he was accompanied with divers Doctors & Heads of Houses 25
in their scarlet gownes to ye Mile-stone or thereabouts, & then ye Uniumity
Orator, speaking another oration, they all took their farewell of him, their
Chancellour, & ye rest of ye noble company. Some days after when they came
to London, they made such a good report of their entertainment to ye Queen,
yat shee ordered yat thankes should be sent to the Uniufrsity, as if it had been 30
done to her, & I for her honor & credit. Such an entertainment it was,
yat ye like before or since was never made for one of his Degree, costing ye
Uniiursity [&] A r w/th ye 1 colleges (who contributed towards ye entertainment)
about 350 li....
35
1591-2
Entertainment of Queen Elizabeth Bodl.: MS. Wood F.I
pp 719-20 (22-8 September)
It being now 26 years since Queene Elizabeth visited our Uniumitie, /shee
40
APPENDIX 13
resolved this yeare to come again, yat shee might take her last farewell thereof,
& behold ye change & amendment of Learning & Manners yat had been
in her long absence made. The appointed day therefore appearing, which
was 22 September, shee with a splendid retinew came from Woodstock, &
approaching ye confines of ye Uniumitie, was met by diu^rs Doctors, in their 5
skarlet robes, Heads of Houses, Proctors, & about 18 masters of Arts, besides
ye Vicechancellour & r ye ] three Esquire Bedells. After a speech r was spoke
& a gift [were] delivered to her, which shee accepted verie kindly in ye latine
tongue, met her at ye end of St Gyles ye Mayer, AloWmen, Baylives, & others
of ye thirteen in their skarlet, who presenting themselves before her, ye 10
Recorder spake a speech, which ended, they in ye name of ye whole City
presented to her a silver-gylt Cup with 60 Angells therein.
Comwing into ye City shee was received with great acclamations of ye
people, & from ye northgate to Quatervois & so to christchurch great gate
with yat of Vivat Regina, by Undfrgraduats, Bachelaurs and Masters of Arts. 15
From ye Undergraduats she [receiv] had an oration & verses spoken by two of
them, & from ye Bachelaurs & Masters the like: All which shee with brevity
answered in ye latine tongue &: in ye conclusion gave them her benidiction.
At Quatervois, which is ye middle way between ye North, &: christchurch
great gate, shee was saluted by ye Greek Reader with a Greek oration for which 20
shee thanked him in yat I yat language. At length shee alighting in christchurch
quadrangle, ye Orator of the Uniuersity welcom d her in ye name of its
members
As for other ceremonies yat were performed in her abode here, which was
till ye 28 September ye same method was used as in armo 1566 ... In ye nights 25
also were sometimes playes acted in christchurch Hall by seu^rall students
of ye Uniu^rsity, but what they were or how applauded I know not. Every
College also pnmided an oration to be spoken to ye Queene at her entrance
into them, some of which being performed, shee answered very readily with
great affability in ye latine tongue. 30
pp 722-3
. .In ye afternoone shee left Oxford, &C going through Fishstreet to Quatervois 35
& thence to I to f ye ] East gate, receiued ye hearty wishes (mixt with teares)
of ye people, & casting her eyes on ye walls of S. Maries church, Allsoule,
Uniuirrsity & Magdalen Colleges which were mostly hung with verses &c
emblematicall expressions of poetry, was often seen to giue gratious nods to
2 1/ yat I yat: dittografhy (?): first yat does not appear to be a catchword
36/ to I to: dittography (>); first to does not appear to be a catchword
884 APPENDIX 13
ye scholars. When shee came to shotover hill (ye utmost confines of ye
Uniiursitie) accompanied with those Doctors & Masters yai brought her
in, shee gratiously received a farewell oration from one of them, in ye name
of ye whole Uniuroity. WA/ch being done shee gave them many thanks &
her hand to kiss, and then looking wistly towards Oxford said to this effect in
ye latine tongue. Farewell farewell deare Oxford, God bless thee & increase
thy sons in number, holiness & vertue, &c. &: so went towards Ricote.
1604-5 ,o
Entertainment of King James Bodl.: MS. Wood F.I
p 753 (27 August)
The 27 of Augujr the King, Queen, Prince of Wales & a considerable
number of the nobilitie, came from Woodstock to Oxford to ye end yat they 15
might see ye place & entertaine themselves with ye delights of the Muses. At
ye end of the Uniudrsity limits northward, they were met & congratulated by
ye chancellour, Vicechano /^wr Proctors & certaine heads of Houses in their
formalities with an eloquent Oration which being done, they presented to
[(...)] r ye King 1 Stephanus his Testament, com/wing nearer, /they were 20
entertained 1 by ye Mayor, Steward &: ye cheifest of ye Citizens of Oxford;
after whose complements finished also, they [presented] r gave ] the said King
a rich pair of gloves & as tis reported a purse of gold. At St Johns college gate
they had /a 1 speech spoken to them by one of yat societie & ye veiw of divers
copies of verses hanging on ye walls, when ye King came within the North 25
gate, he was saluted thence to christ church with great acclamations &
shoutings of ye scholars (in number now 2254) besides laicks innumerable.
At Quatervois he was stopt by Dr Perin, ye Greek Reader with an excellent
greek oration from a pew or desk set up there for ye purpose. At christ church
by Wake the ingenious Oratour, who, after he had pleased ye Auditory with 30
his Ciceronian stile, the King was conducted to ye cathedral! church under
a canopie supported by Doctors in their scarlet habits
pp 754-5 (27-30 August)
.After ye Yang Queen & Prince had supped, /they 1 were conveyed to christ
church hall, where they [say] saw a Latine Comedy [acted by ye students of]
called Vertumnus acted by ye Students of y*t House....
19-20/ wAich being done . . . Testament-, written into left margin and marked by A for insertion here
40
APPENDIX 13
The third day were disputations in Physick, performed also admirably well
by ye best of yat profession in ye Uniumity: which being done, they went to
New college, where they were entertained with a royall feast and incomparable
Musick. . . . After supper he & the King went to St Johns College, where they
were diverted with a play called Annus recurrens, penned by Dr Gwynne of 5
y^t Society, which pleased his Majesty & ye Auditory verie much.
The fourth & last day A r (30 Augw.^) 1 the King, Prince and Court went
to ye publick Library, newly restored by Sir Thomas BodJey . . they went to
Brasenose, where ye Principal! & fellowes received them at ye gate with a
speech. . . . After dinner, ye YJng being about to depart, ye Uniumity assembled 10
to take their leaves, & being admitted into his I presence ye junior proctor
gave him a farewell speech, [which] & being well accepted by ye king he
gave ye Academians his hand to kisse &c then expressed many honorable
matters of ye Uniucrsity & his entertainment, with a promise yat he would
be a gratious soveraigne to it. 15
Thus briefly concerning this entertainment if any are desirous to know
more the particulars of it, let him consult a book intituled Rex Platonicus,
written by ye ingenious Mr (since Sir) Isaac Wake of Merton college [now]
/at this time 1 Orator of ye Uniu^rsity....
20
1612-13
Music at the Building of the Schools
Gutch: Wood s History and Antiquities, vol 2
p 790 (30 March) 25
Thus far from the Will of Sir Thomas Bodley, concerning the third story
of the Schools and west part of the Library; the first was afterwards built,
though not furnished (only with Pictures) the other built and furnished. After
the said worthy person was interred (the manner of which I have elsewhere 30
told you) nothing remained to be done but of having the first hands put
to the said intended work. He was buried on Monday the 29 of March
1613, and the next day the first stone was laid in the north west end, where
afterwards the Moral and Civil Law Schools were built. Sir John Bennett was
present, and Mr. Seller, the Senior Proctor, delivered at that time an excellent 35
Oration. There was Music with voices, and other instruments, while Dr.
Singleton the Vicechancellor, and Sir John Bennett laid the first stone, who
having then offered liberally thereon, the Heads of Houses, Proctors, and
other followed..
4/ he: ie, the prince
886 APPENDIX 13
1620-1
Barten Holyday s Technogamia Bodl.: MS. Wood F.I
pp 796-7 (26 August)
This year ye King, Prince, and diu?rs of ye nobility came to Woodstock, 5
to whome receeded ye VicechanceV/tfwr certaine Doctors & [ye] both the
Praetors, who being gratiously received by his Majestic, (to whome ye Orator
[m(...> deli] spake a Speeech) they were dismissed, leaving then behind
them many paire of rich Gloves to be given to ye King Prince & ye cheif
of ye Nobility. It must be knowne now, yai on february 13. anw 1617 ye 10
comedie of Barten Holyday student of Christchurch /called the Marriage
of Arts 1 was acted publickly in Christchurch hall with no great applause,
& ye wits now of ye Uniu^rsity being minded to shew themselves before
ye King, I were resolved to act ye said comedie [before him:] at Woodstock,
[whe(..)] wherefore ye author [adding] making 1 some foolish alterations 15
in it, was accordingly performed on a Sunday night 26. August but it being
too grave for ye king, & too Scholarhke for ye Auditory (or as some say yat
ye Actors had taken too much wine before) his Majesty after [2] two Acts
offered seu^rall times to w/thdraw, but being pmwaded by some of those
y*tt were neare him, to have patience till it was ended, least ye yong men 20
should be disencouraged, adventured it, though much against his will,
whereupon these verses were made by a certaine Scholar
At Christchurch Marriage done before ye King
Least yat those ma/mes should want an Offering
The King himself did offer, what I pray?
He offered twice or thrice to go away.
so also in Dr There were seiurall witty copies of verses [came out] made on ye said
pevr Heylyns co medy, among which was yat by Peter Heylyn of MagoWfw College called
Whoop Holyday. v/hich giving occasion for ye making of [man] other
Copies pro et contra, Dr Corbet ye Deane of ChnVrchurch, who had that 30
day preached (as it seems) before ye King with his band starcht cleane,
did put in for one, reproved by ye graver sort, but those yat knew him
well, not at all; for they have said it in my hearing, yat he loved to ye last,
Boyes-play verie well.
As for Holyday ye Author, he was one highly conceited of his worth, 35
especially of his poetry & sublime fancy even to his last dayes...
8/ Speeech: for Speech
27-9m/ Dr petrr Heylyns diarie: last MS; seep 694
887
APPENDIX 13
1633-4
Affray at St John s Bodl.: MS. Wood F.I
p 852 attachment
February 1634 the Vicechd//or, Doctors & others ibeingj invited to see 5
a Tragedie acted by St lohns Scholars, certaine rude scholars disturbed them,
among which were lohn Baker, A.B. of Neuin a Determiner ytft lent lohn
Gaye & willww Batenson Comwoners of Exeter, who through stones against
ye walls & gate, broke windowes & other mischeif, who being discou<red
were taken to ta r s ] ke by Dr. pink ye Vicechancf//0wr, & forced to aske 10
forgiveness on yer bended knees in ye north chappell of St Maries church,
March 21, before ye Vicechance//our Proctors &C Determining Bachelaurs,
then promising faithfully & with weeping teares that they would neuer act
act any thing hereafter contra bonos mores et pacem Academiae.
Gesw Vicecanc<f/zm Pink. p. 14. 15
Music at the Building ofSelden End
Gutch: Wood s History and Antiquities, vol 2
pp 939-40 (13 May) 20
On the thirteenth of May, being Tuesday, 1634, the VicechancelJor, Doctors,
Heads of Houses and Proctors, met at St. Mary s Church about 8 of the clock
in the morning; from thence each having his respective formalities on, came
to this place, and took their seats that were then erected on the brim of the 25
foundation. Over against them was built a scaffold where the two Proctors
with divers Masters stood. After they were all settled, the University Musicians
who stood upon the leads at the west end of the Library sounded a lesson on
their wind music. Which being done the singing men of Christ Church, with
others, sang a lesson, after which the Senior Proctor Mr. Herbert Pelham of 30
Magdalen College I made an eloquent Oration: that being ended also the
music sounded again, and continued playing till the Vicechancellor went to
the bottom of the foundation to lay the first stone in one of the south angles.
But no sooner he had deposited a piece of gold on the said stone, according
to the usual manner in such ceremonies, but the earth fell in from one side of 35
the foundation, and the scaffold that was thereon broke and fell with it, so
that all those that were thereon to the number of an hundred at least, namely
5/ ibeingj: text damaged by tear at top of sheet; 13- 14/ act act: dittography
[beingj supplied by Wood below torn away area 15/ Gcst4 VicecancW/flr)i Pink: Robert Pinck, Gesta
71 Neuin: it. New Inn Hall Vicecancellariatus mi ; MS now Ian
13/ faithfully: ully corrected over other letter} 25/ this place: a piece of Exeter College ground on the
13/ would: uld corrected over other letter) northwest side of the library
APPENDIX 13
the Proctors, Principals of Halls, Masters, and some Bachelaurs fell down all
together one upon another into the foundation, among whom the under
Butler of Exeter College had his shoulder broken or put out of joint, and a
Scholar s arm bruised, as I have been informed.
ITie solemnity being thus concluded, with such a sad catastrophe, the breach 5
was soon after made up, and the work going chearfully forward, was in four
years space finished....
1635-6
Entertainment of King Charles Bodl.: MS. Wood F.I 10
pp 859-60 (29 August)
The plague being now in seu^rall parts of the nation, especially at London,
in R. 124 ye Act & Assizes were deferred, not onlie for ye security of the Scholars &
Citizens, but also ye King & court, who had intentions of visiting /or seing 1 15
ye Uniumity. And being through ye great care of ye Chancellour & Proctors
kept cleer from ye infection, ye King Queen & court came to Oxford 29.
August whose reception, entertainment & departure being memorable, I
shall therfore give you an account of it.
20
On ye same day therfore being Munday, towards ye evening, ye chancellour
(who cawe privatly into ye Uniumity 25. of ye said month) Vicechancellour,
divers Doctors & Masters, went from St. Johns College towards Wodstocke
to meet the King. The Chancellour, accompanied with Juxon ye Lord Treasurer,
Bishops of Winchester, Norwich & Oxford rode in a coach; ye Doctors & 25
Masters on horsback with foot-cloaths, & ye three Esquire Bedells before them.
Having rode as farr as ye way near Aristotles Well, they made a stay. After a
while, came ye King & Queen, Charles Prince Elector palatine &: his Brother
Prince Rupert all in one coach. At whose appearance ye chancellour, Treasurer
& B/5/;ops came out of their coach & ye Doctors &c Masters alighted. [At] 30
r And ] drawing neare to y#t of ye Kings, ye Vicechancellour (with ye rest all I
kneeling) spake an eloquent oration, enduring about a quarter of an hour.
That being done the Chancellour gave up ye Bedells staves to the King, & ye
King againe to ye Chancellour, & he to ye Bedells. After this they drew forward
about a bow-shoot towards ye City, & then being met by ye Mayor, Aldermen 35
& certaine Citizens on horsback (some having Foot cloathes) a speech was
spoken by ye Recorder & ye Mace deliutred up & restored. That being done
also (ye Uniu^rsity membm putting themselves into Ordd-r in ye mean time)
they marched into ye City (ye Citizens leading ye way) and making a stand
14m/ R. 124: OUA: NEP/SupraJR, f 124
14/ deferred: frrcedtd by suptncrtpt (w) to connect to marginal text
APPENDIX 13
at St lohns Coll^ gate, mr Thomas Atkinson of yat house spake another
speech for ye King, very breif & very much approved by his Majesty to ye
chancellour after the solemnity was over. Thence they went through Northgate-
street, then by Quatervois & so through Fishstreet, ye sides of which though
loyned with scholars of all Degrees in their formalities, yet /neither they, 5
nor ye Citizens made any expressions of joy or uttered as ye manner is Vivat
Rex. Deni
Being come within christchurch gate, Strode ye Uniumity Orator, saluted
them with a speech beginning thus. Maximorum optime, et optimorum 10
maxime Rex, si omnium Musarum linguae in me unum confluerent &c which
speech being ended & approued by many (especially those of christchurch)
the chancellour in ye name of ye Uniu^rsitie presented to ye King a [costly
pair of gloves, to ye Queen a fair English Bible] r Bible in folio with a velvet
cover, richly embroydtred with ye Kings arwes in ye midst & also a costly 15
pair of Gloves. To ye Queen another pair of Gloves, 1 to ye Prince Elector
Hookers books of Ecclesiasticall politic with gloves &: to his brother Rupert
Caesars Commentaries in English, illustrated by ye learned Explanations &
discourses of S/r Clement Edmonds
20
pp 861-3 (29-30 August)
That night, after ye King queen & two Princes had supped, they saw a
Comedie acted in Christ Church hall, but such an one it was, that had more
of ye moralist than poet, in it. And though it was well penned, yet it did not 25
take H [so well] with ye Courtiers so well, as it did with ye togated crew. It
was intituled Passions Calmed or The Setling of the Floating Island, made
by Strode ye Orator & performed by ye scholars beyond expectation. It was
acted on a goodly stage, reaching from ye upp^r end of ye Hall almost to ye
hearth place & had on it 3 or 4 openings on each side therof & par/rations 30
between them, much resembling the deskes [&] /or 1 [pews] /studies 1 in a
library, out of which the Actors issued forth. The said partitions, they could
draw in & out at their pleasire upon a suddaine, & thrust out new in their
places according to ye nature of ye sceen, wheron were represented churches,
dwelling houses, Pallaces, &c which for its variety bred very great admiration. 35
Over all was delicat painting, resembling ye Sky, clouds &c At ye upp^r end
a great fair shut of two Leaves yat opened & shut without any visible help.
Within which was [was at] set forth ye emblem of ye whole play in a verie
71 Deni: false start; for Denique, if, then (?)
10-1W Maximorum ... &c: Best king of the greatest and greatest of the best, if the tongues of all the muses
were to flow together into me As one, etc
14-16/ Bible in folio ... of Gloves,: written partly mterlinearly and partly in the right margin
890 APPENDIX 13
sumptuous manner. Therin was ye perfect resemblance of ye billowes of ye I
Sea rolling, & an artificiall Island with churches & houses waving up & downe
& floating, as also rocks, trees & hills. Many other fine peices of work &
Landskips did also appeare at sundry openings therof & a chaire also seen to
come gliding on ye stage without any visible helpe. All these representations, 5
being ye first (as I have been enformed) yat were used on ye english stage, r &
therfore 1 giving [verie] great content, I have been therfore ye more punctual!
in describing them, to ye end yar. posteritie might know yat /w/wt 1 [was]
is A now seen in ye playhouses at London belonging to his Majestic, & ye
Thi s is true Duke of York, is originally due to ye invention of Oxford scholars. 10
Soon after they all returned to Christ Church (the princes having before
seen some of ye fairest Colleges, especially I St Johns, where by his Majesties
Leave they were entered into ye buttery book) who having a desire to see ye
publicke library did, with ye Princes, Nobles, & Chauncellour of ye Uniumity 15
go to yai place, (ye Queen being not yet ready) & [en] r no ] sooner entered,
but were entertained with a speech spoken by William Herbert of Exeter
College, second son of ye Earl of Pembroke, then Lord chamberlaine: ...
word was brought yat ye Queen was come, so ye King went into her Coach
& forthwith proceeded to St lohns College, where they saw ye new building 20
yat ye Chancellour had at his owne Charges lately erected. That done, ye
Chancellour attended them up ye Library staires, where, as soone as they began
to ascend, certaine Musitians above entertained them with a short song fitted
& tim d to ye ascending ye staires. In ye library, they were welcom d to ye
College with a short speech spoken by one of the Fellows called Abraham 25
wright
pp 864-5 (30-1 August)
When dinner was ended, he attended ye King &t Queen toge[a]ther with ye 30
Nobles into seiurall withdrawing chambers, where they entertained themselves
for ye space of an hour. In the meane time he caused ye windowes of ye
comwon hall or Refectory to be shut, candles lighted, & all things to be made
ready for ye play, which was then to begin, called ye Hospitall of Lovers,
made for ye most part (as tis said) by Mr George Wild Fellow of St lohns 35
College. When these things were fitted, he gave notice to ye King & Queen
&C attended them into ye Hall, whethir, he had ye happiness to bring them by
12/ Soon after: it. soon after the convocation
25-61 called Abraham wright: written in left margin and marked by * for inseruon here
30/ he: it, the chancellor
APPENDIX 13
a way prepared from ye presence Lodgings to ye Hall without any ye least
disturbance. He had ye Hall kept so fresh & coole yai there was not any one
person when ye King and Queen came into it. The Princes, Nobles & Ladies
entred ye same way with ye King & then presently another doore was opened
below to fill ye Hall with ye better sort of Company. All being setled ye play 5
was began & [well] acted. The plot good & ye Action. It was merry &c
without offence & so gave a great deal of content, wA/ ch I doubt cannot
be said of any play acted in ye play-houses belonging to ye King & Duke,
since 1660. In ye middle of ye play, ye Chancellour ordered a short banquet
for ye King Queen [&] Lords &c Ladies. And ye College was at yat time so 10
well furnisht, as yat they did not borrow any one Actor from any College in
ye Uniu^rsity
The play ended ye King and Queen went to christ church, retired &
supped privatly & about 8 of ye clock, went into ye Comwon hall there
to see another Comedy called The Royall Slave made by Mr William 15
Cartwright of yat house. It contained much more variety than that of
Passions Calmed. Within ye shuts were seen a curious Temple & ye sun
shining over it, delightfull forests aJso & other prospects. Within ye great
shuts mentioned before, were seen villages & men visibly appearing in them,
going up & downe here & there about their business. The interludes therof 20
were represented with as much variety of sceens & motions as ye I great wit
of Inigo lones (well skill d in setting out a court maske to ye best advantage)
could extend unto. It was very well pen d & acted, & ye strangness of ye
Persian habits gave great content. All men came forth verie well contented,
&: full of applause of what they had seen & heard. It was ye day of St Felix 25
(as ye Chancellour observed,) 6c all things went happie.
in Diario suo, The next day being Wednesday August 3 1 . the Chancellour, Vicechanc^wr
& Doctors attended about 8 in ye morn/w^ye cowminge forth of ye King
Pnnne & ye Queen. At their appearance [they] ye junior proctor (as I take it)
made a farewell speech & then at ye conclusion their Majesties were 30
gratiously please to give ye Uniuersity a greate deale of thanks. After w/?/ch,
ye chauncellor in his owne name & y^t of ye Uniumitie, gave their Majesties
all possible thanks for their great & gratious patience & acceptance of
their poore & meane entertainment, & so they departed.
35
26/ observed: preceded by superscript (c) to connect 29-30/ ye junior proctor . . . their Majesties:
to marginal text written in left margin and marked by * for
27-9m/ In Diario ... Prinne-. William Prynnt, A insertion here
breviate of che life of William Laud, Arch-bishop
of Canterbury (1644; Wing: P3904), extracted
from the manuscript of Laud s Diary
892 APPENDIX 13
p 866 (1-2 September)
Upon Thursday after dinner ye chancellour departed from St lohns to ye
Bishop of Oxfords new house at Cudesdon & then ye play -which was acted
before ye King on Tuesday in ye afternoone, should have been represented 5
againe at ye same place to ye Uniuersity, & strangers y^t were remaning in
ye City, but such was the unruliness of ye yong scholars in breaking in &
depriving ye Strangers of their places, ydt nothing at all was done in it.
On Friday in ye afternoone (September 2) was acted according to ye
chancellours appointment, The Royall Slave in christ church hall before ye 10
Uniuersity & strangers, & ye next day in ye afternoone Passions calmed.
Both which were acted very quietly & gave great content. In November
Vide Gesta following, ye Queen sent to ye chancellour yat he would procure of christ
church ye Persian attire of ye Royall Slave &t other apparell wherin it was
128 acted, to ye end yat shee might see her owne Players act it oner againe, & 15
whether they could do it as well as twas done by ye Uniuersity. Wherupon
ye chancellour caused ye cloaths &c perspectives of ye stage to be sent to
Hawpton Court in a waggon A for wAz ch ye Uniuersity received from her
Reguftr R at a letter of thanks. So yat all of it being fitted for use (the author therof being
then present) twas acted soon after, but by all mens confession, ye Players 20
came short of ye Uniuersity Actors. At ye same time ye Chancellour desired
of ye King & Queen yat neither ye Play or Cloaths nor Stage might come
into ye hands & use of ye comwon Players abroad, which was gratiously
granted. Mr Jasper Maine s Play called ye City Match, though not acted at
Christ Church before ye King & ye Court as was intended, yet it was sent 25
for to Hawpton Court, &: he went there about Christmas following to see
ye setting forth of his play. It took so well, yat it was afterwards acted before
ye King &C Queen at Whitehall, & seuerall times by his Majesties Servants at
ye Black Fryers in London & at length published anno 1639. fol/0
30
Life of Abraham Wright Wood: Athenae Oxonienses, vol 4
col 275
Abraham Wright ... was born in Black-swan-alley in Thames-street in the
4/ Cudesdon: Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire
13-15m/ GCSM ... Uud p. 124, 128: a MS now lost, which served as the basil for the publication of Laud,
Historical Account, printed with separate title-page and separate pagination m The Second Volume of the
Remains of William Uud (1700; Wing: L596)
1 3/ sent: followed by superscript (e) to connect to marginal text
1 8 - 1 9/ her a letter of thanks: written in left margin as a continuation of interlineation
19-2!m/ Renter R at fol. 135, 138 &c: OVA: NEP/Supra/R. ff 135. 138
19/ letter: preceded by superscript (f) to connect to marginal text
APPENDIX 13
parish of St James Garlickhith, in London, on the 23d of December 1611 ...
elected scholar of Saint John s college anno 1629 by the endeavours of Dr.
Juxon president there, who finding him to be a good orator, especially in
proper and due pronunciation (which in his elderly years he retained in his
sermons and public offices) favoured him then and afterwards in his studies. 5
In 1632 he was elected fellow, and having then a genie which enclined him to
poetry and rhetoric, did, while bach^r of arts, make his collection of Delitiz
Poetarum, being then esteemed also an exact master of the Latin tongue, even
to the nicest criticism. On the 30th of August 1636, at which time Dr. Laud
archbishop of Canterbury entertained the king and queen at Saint John s 10
college he spoke an English speech before them when they entred into the
library to see, and be entertained in, it at a dinner; and after dinner he was
one of the principal persons that acted in the comedy called Love s Hospital,
or The Hospital of Lovers, presented before their majesty s in the public
refectory of that house. The chief actor was the author Mr. George Wilde, and 1 5
the others, who were all of that house, were John Goad, Humphry Brook
(now one of the college of physicians) Edmond Gayton, John Hyfield, &c. . .
col 277
20
...He hath also compleated other books, which are not yet printed, as (1)
A Comical Entertainment called The Reformation, presented before the
university at Saint John s college. Written while he was an under-graduate. . . .
Entertainment of King Charles Wood: Historia et Antiquitates 25
p 343 col 2 (29 August)
Finita eadem nocte ccena, Comcediz Anglicanae, quam in Aulz suse
Refectorio agebant ,/Edis Christi &c aliorum Collegiorum Alumni, interfuere
Hospites augusti. Illam Strodus, quern szpe diximus, Orator publicus 30
contexuit, & Passiones pacatae, seu Insula fluctuans in fixam conversa,
nomen fecit; verum ob argumentum serium nimis ac tetricum Aulicis eque
displicuit ac stoicz quasdam pradectiones, tametsi eandem turn Actorum
industria, turn amplissima Tabulati scenici structura (siquidem a suprema
Refectorii parte ad focum pene pertingebat) sub hasc primitus usurpari 35
ccepta, plurimum commendaret.
12/ in, it: for in it,
Til A Comical ... The Reformation: a lost play text; see Afptndix 6:2
23/ while he was an under-graduate: bctuvcn September 1629, when Wright entered St Johns College,
and 16 May 1633, when he took his BA
lates
894 APPENDIX 13
p 344 cols 1-2 (30 August)
Cum pransi hunc in modum essent, Regem ac Reginam atque Optim
omnes, in conclavia seorsim varia deduxit Archiprzsul, ubi horam integram
otio & colloquiis impendebant; ipse vero claudendas interea Refectorii 5
fenestras, accensisque lucernis quae ad operas theatrales pertinerent paranda
curavit, ad Comoediam utique animo intentus, a Magistro Georgio Wild,
Collegii Socio, maximam, ut perhibent, partem conscriptam, & Hospitium
Amatorum nuncupatam. Cum omnia essent in promptu Regem ac Reginam,
una cum Proceribus & Heroinis, via nova, privata plane nullique molestiz 10
obnoxia (siquidem a Regiz, uti nos loquimur, Praesentiz Camera ad Refectorium
patebat) incedentes comitatus est Cancellarius; exclusis, donee ydes ipsi
spectaculis destinatas intrarent, aliis quibuscunqw? ne scilicet adaucto ex
confluentium mulrirudine fervore xstlvo tantis Hospidbus injuriz quicquam
fieret. Recluso deinceps Ostio inferior!, atque intromissis potioris notae 15
Spectatoribus, prodibant in scenam Actores, ex unico illo Sodalitio desumpti;
qui cum ad Argumentum festivum &: jucundum, neque tamen spurcum
aut inverecundum (de profano nihil dicam, ante annos enim paucissimos
inauditum erat Deum ac Religionem Ludos fieri) fabulam edendi peritiam
adferrent, magna omnes voluptate perfuderunt. Mediis quasi spectaculis Regi 20
ac Reginae, necnon Dynastis omnibus, dapes conquisitissimas apponendas
curavit Archiprassul; peracta vero Comoedia ilia, ad ./Edem Christi redibant
Hospites augusti, & absoluta privatim coena, circa horam octavam ad Sodalitii
ejus Refectorium perrexere, a. Ludo altero (Hunc Magister Gulielmus Cartwright
conscripserat, & Captivum Regalem appellarat) oblectationem longe uberiorem 25
percepturi; quod praedictum & argumento, & ingenio, & theatrico praesertim
apparatu superaret. Pone valvas, interius & a tergo Proscenii collocatas (quas
quidem turn primitus fuisse usurpatas adnotandum) repagulis autem tam
affabre commissas, ut diduci quam citissime possent, latissimus juxta &
amcenus admodum patebat despectus: silvae enim virentes, Templumque 30
speciosum, radiis solaribus desuper collustratum, spectantium oculos pascebant;
quibus & Oppidula quaedam sese ingerebant, hominibus quibusdam ultro
citroque commeare, rerumque suarum satagere visis. Denique quamlibet Ludi
partem vividis locorum & personarum Imaginibus, reliquoque apparatu
adornandum curarat Ignatius, Jones, qui quidem spectacula omnigena, maxime 35
vero larvata ilia quae cum choreis celebrantur, Aulicorum ingenio quam
optime accommodabat. Pares etiam debebantur gratiae Magistro Busbeio; cui
Roscius paJmam in scena concederet: tantam vero rum inde, rum ab Actoribus
61 Collegii: St Johns College 35/ Ignatius,: in the annotated Bodleian copy
9/ prompcu: end of cot 1 (BodL: G2.5Jur.). Wood has marked the comma
35/ adornandum: for adornandam for deletion
APPENDIX 13
895
exercitatissimis, & vestitu Persico novitatis pleno, voluptatem percipiebant
quotquot ibi aderant, ut pulchrius nil quicquam aut ingeniosius oculis
auribusve hausisse testarentur. Atque hie ejus die! exitus erat, quern Sancto
Felici dicatum fuisse, & quo prospere omnia successisse advertit Cancellarius.
1641-2
Maypoles at Holywe II Bodl.: MS. Wood F.I
p 876
10
At ye salute of Flora two May-poles were set up in Holywell neare Oxforde in
despite of ye presisians. On ye top of one was placed a Tub &c therin ye picture
of one Edward Golledge or College a musitian & great Puritan living in ye
parish of st peters in Baylie, at whose house also were frequent conventicles.
And because he had formerly stole wood (as twas reported) a little fagot was 15
tied to his back. This mockery had not stood a day or two but exciting much
ye precise people the scholars of New Inne & some of Magdalen hall came
armed &C [pu] pluckt it downe, w/;/ch giving great offence to ye parishioners
of Holywell, much harme would have followed, had not certaine Officers
interposed themselves. 20
4/ Cancellarius: preceded by superscript b to connect to note in printed source, which reads In Diaria suo.
APPENDIX 14
Oxford Playwrights
Playwrights in the provisional list below were associated with Oxford either as graduates or as
sometime students. Cambridge affiliations, which are noted in the University Index, are not
listed here. Each name is followed by the appropriate college or colleges, approximate or infer
able date of admission, and reference works. The latter include one or more of the following:
Wood, Athenae, abbreviated as Ath (principal entries only); Chambers, Mediaeval Stage, abbrevi
ated MS (names accessible through index in vol 2); Chambers, Elizabethan Stage, abbreviated ES
(names given in alphabetical order in vol 3) or ES(K) (ie, Appendix K in vol 4); Bentley, Jacobean
and Caroline Stage, abbreviated jcs (names given in alphabetical order in vols 3-5); and DNB.
See the University Index for Alumni Oxonienses entries.
In Athenae references, the column number indicates the column in which the entry begins.
Athenae includes entries for the following playwrights whose connection to Oxford is tenuous
and who are not listed below: Francis Beaumont (vol 2, col 437), George Chapman (vol 2,
col 575), Aston Cokayne (vol 4, col 128), WilJiam Davenant (vol 3, col 802), John Heywood
(vol 1, col 348), Ben Jonson (vol 2, col 612), George Puttenham (vol 1, col 741), John
Rastell (vol 1, col 100), Thomas Sackville (vol 2, col 30), and John Skelton (vol 1, col 49).
Although James Shirley s connection to Oxford is similarly tenuous, Athenae supplies information
that seems to be authoritative, so he is listed below.
At the end of the list appear short biographies of two Oxford playwrights - Nicholas Grimald
and Samuel Bernard - concerning whose plays standard reference works have been deemed
inadequate.
An asterisk indicates playwrights whose works are listed in Appendix 6 by title. Page numbers
given in the University Index that fall within the range of Appendix 6 (pp 800-40) will assist
the reader in matching playwrights to their plays.
Name College
Atkinson, Thomas sjc
Badger, John ChCh
Barnes, Barnabe BNC
Belchier, Daubridgcourt ccoChCh
"Bellamy, Henry sjc
Dare References
1615 jcs; DNB
1550 ES
1586 Ath, vol 2, col 47; ES
1598 jcs; DNB
1621 jcs
APPENDIX 14
897
Berkeley, William
Bernard, Samuel
*Blencow, John
Braithwaite, Richard
Browne, William
*Burgess, John
Burton, Robert
Calmill, James
Carew, Thomas
*Cartwright, William
Chaundler, Thomas
*Clarke, Francis
Clavel, John
*Crowther, Joseph
Daniel, Samuel
Davies, John
Denham, John
*Edes, Richard
Edwards, Richard
Fisher, Jasper
Foxe, John
Fulwell, Ulpian
Gager, William
Goffe, Thomas
Gomersall, Robert
Gosson, Stephen
Grimald, Nicholas
Gwinne, Matthew
Heming, William
*Heylyn, Peter
Heywood, Jasper
Holyday, Barten
Hooker, John
"Hutten, Leonard
Killigrew, Henry
Kynaston, Francis
*Latewar, Richard
Lluelyn, Martin
Lodge, Thomas
"Lovelace, Richard
Lower, William
QC>St Edmund Hall>
1623
Ath, vol 3, col 1 1 1 1 ; jcs; DNB
MtC
MC
1607
JCS
SJC
1629
jcs; DNB
oc
1605
At/), vol 3, col 986; jcs; DNB
EC
1624
Ath, vol 2, col 364; ES; DNB
MC
1500?
BNC>ChCh
1593
At/}, vol 2, col 652; jcs; DNB
ChCh
1548
Ath, vol 1 , col 377; ES; DNB
MtC
1608
jcs; DNB
ChCh
1628
Ath, vol 3, col 69; jcs; DNB
NC
1435
SJC
1603
ES (1603 is date of play)
BNC
1619
jcs; DNB
SJC
1626
JCS
Magdalen Hall
1579
Ath, vol 2, col 268; ES; DNB
QC > MC
1585
Ath, vol 2, col 400; ES; DNB
TC
1631
Ath, vol 3, col 823; jcs; DNB
ChCh
1571
Ath, vol 1, col 749; ES; DNB
ccoChCh
1540
Ath, vol 1, col 353; ES; DNB
Magdalen Hall
1607
Ath, vol 2, col 636; yes; DNB
BNC>MC
1533
Ath, vol 1, col 528; MS; DNB
St Mary Hall
1579
Ath, vol 1 , col 540; ES; DNB
ChCh
1574
Ath, vol 2, col 87; ES; DNB
ChCh
1609
Ath, vol 2, col 463; jcs; DNB
ChCh
1616
Ath, vol 2, col 590;/cs;ojVB
ccc
1572
Ath, vol 1, col 675; ES; DNB
Various
1540?
Ath, vol 1 , col 407; MS; DNB
SJC
1574
Ath, vol 2, col 415; ES;DNB
ChCh
1621
Ath, vol 3, col 277; jcs; DNB
Hart Hall>MC
1613
Ath, vol 3, col 552;/cs;DA r fi
MtC >ASC
1547?
Ath, vol 1, col 663; ES; DNB
ChCh
1605
Ath, vol 3, col 520; jcs; DNB
MC
1525?
Ath, vol 1, col 138
ChCh
1574
Ath, vol 2, col 532; ESUO; DNB
ChCh
1628
Ath, vol 4, col 621; jcs; DNB
oc>St Mary Hall>rc
1601
Ath, vol 3, col 38; jcs; DNB
SJC
1580
Ath,\o\ 1 , col 709; DNB
ChCh
1636
Ath, vol 4, col 42; DNB
TC
1573
Ath, vol 2, col 382; ES; DNB
Gloucester Hall
1634
Ath, vol 3, col 460; jcs; DNB
?
?
Ath, vol 3, col 544; jcs; DNB
898
APPENDIX 14
Lyly, John
Marmion, Shackerley
Marston, John
Massinger, Philip
*Matthew, Tobie
*May, Charles
Mayne, Jasper
*Mead, Robert
"Middleron, Thomas
"Moore, Thomas
More, Thomas
Nabbes, Thomas
Nowell, Alexander
"Parsons, Philip
"Peele, George
Percy, William
Radcliffe, Ralph
Rastell, William
Read, Thomas
Salisbury, Thomas
"Sandsbury, John
Sandys, George
Shirley, James
"Snelling, Thomas
Speed, John
"Strode, William
Udall, Nicholas
"Verney, Francis
Watson, Edward
Watson, Thomas
White, Francis
Wild, George
Wilson, Arthur
"Wotton, Henry
"Wren, Christopher, Sr
"Wright, Abraham
Zouche, Richard
Notes on Selected Playwrights
Nicholas Grimald (1519?-62), probably of Leighton Bromswold, Huntingdonshire, began his
MC
1569
Ae/j, vol 1, col 676; ES; DNB
Wadham
1618
Ath, vol 2, col 647; jcs; DNB
BNC
1592
Ath, vol 1 , col 762; ES; DNB
St Alban Hall
1602
Ath, vol 2, col 654; jcs; DNB
uc(?)>ChCh
1559
Ath, vol 2, col 869; DNB
SJC
1634
ChCh
1628
Ath, vol 3, col 971; jcs; DNB
ChCh
1634
Ath, vol 3, col 342; jcs; DNB
QC
1598
jcs; DNB
MtC
1627
Ath, vol 4, col 179; yes
Canterbury Hall or
1492?
Ath, vol 1 , col 79; MS; DNB
St Mary Hall
EC
1621
jcs; DNB
BNC
1526?
Ath, vol 1, col 716; DNB
SJC
1610
ES(K); DNB
Broadgates Hall >ChCh
1572
Ath, vol 1, col 688; ES; DNB
Gloucester Hall
1589
ES; DNB
BNC
1537?
Ath, vol 1, col 215; MS; DNB
>
1525?
Ath, vol 1, col 343; DNB
NC
1624
Ath, vol 3, col 831; DNB
JC
1625
Ath, vol 3, col 55;/cs
SJC
1593
Ath, vol 2, col 58; DNB
St Mary Hall
1589
Ath, vol 3, col 97; jcs; DNB
SJC
1615?
Ath, vol 3, col 737; jcs; DNB
SJC
1634
Ath, vol 3, col 275; jcs
SJC
1612
Ath, vol 2, col 660; jcs; DNB
ChCh
1617
Ath, vol 3, col 1 5 1 ; yes; Wfl
ccc
1520
Ath, vol 1 , col 21 1 ; MS; DNB
TC
1600
ES; DNB
?
1512
?
?
Ath, vol 1, col 601; ES; DNB
Magdalen Hall>MC
1607
JCS
SJC
1629?
Ath, vol 3, col 72Q;jcs;DNB
TC
1631
Ath, vol 3, col 318;/cs;/wfl
NC>QC
1584
Ath, vol 2, col 643; ES;DNB
SJC
1608
ES(K)
SJC
1629
Ath, vol 4, col 27 5; jcs; DNB
NC>St Alban Hall
1607
Ath, vol 3, col 510; jcs; DNB
APPENDIX 14
academic career at Christ s College, Cambridge, where he attained his BA in 1540. He then
migrated to Oxford, a member successively of Brasenose and Merton Colleges (1541-7), and
finally of the newly founded Christ Church, having attained his MA on 24 March 1543/4.
While Grimald s modern reputation rests primarily on his contributions to Richard Tottel s
Songes and Sonettes of 1557 (STC: 13860), John Bale s contemporary bibliography Scrip torum
illustrium maioris Brytanniae Catalogus, vol 1 (Basel, 1557), 701, assigns to Grimald several
known or presumed plays. Two of these were published in his lifetime: Christus Redivivus (1543)
and Archipropheta (1548). A MS of the latter, perhaps in Grimald s own hand, survives in the
British Library. These two plays are listed, with details, in Appendix 6:1 (see also pp 85-6).
Six other Grimald plays (Athanasius sive fnfamia, Christus Nascens, Fama, Protomartyr, De
Puerorum in Musicis Institutione, and Troilui) - all lost - are listed in Appendix 6:2.
Both Christus Redivivus and Archipropheta were published not in Oxford or London, but on
the continent. Similarly, evidence of performance abroad is stronger than evidence of perform
ance in Oxford: see L.R. Merrill (ed and trans), The Life and Poems of Nicholas Grimald, Yale
Studies in English 69 (New Haven and London, 1925), 11, 61-7. Our list of Grimald s eight
plays follows Merrill s presumably definitive list, pp 24-7.
Samuel Bernard (c 1591-1657), whose academic career was spent at Magdalen College, matric
ulated on 3 July 1607 at the age of sixteen. He received his BA in 1610, his MA in 1613, his BD
in 1621, and his DD in 1639. He was usher at Magdalen School in 1612 and master there
from 1617 to 1625.
In his memoirs Peter Heylyn reports that on 8 March 1616/17 My English Tragedy cald
Spurius was acted privatly (as Mr Whites & Mr Bernards plaies were) in the presidents Lodgings
(see p 422). This entry is supplemented by two entries in an eighteenth-century auction cata
logue: Jacob Hooke (comp), Bibliotheca Bernardiana: Or, A Catalogue Of the Library of the Late
Charles Bernard, Esq; Serjeant Surgeon to Her Majesty. Containing a curious Collection of the best
Authors in Physick, History, Philology, Antiquities, &c. With several MSS. Ancient and Modern
which will begin to be sold by Auction on Thursday the 22d of March, 1710-11. At the Black-
Boy Coffee-House in Ave-Mary-Lane, near Ludgate-Street (London, 171 1).
A copy preserved in the Bodleian Library (Crynes 701) has auction prices recorded in the
margins. Lot 674 (p 217), which fetched 10s from an unknown buyer, was a folio-sized manu
script of tragedies by Charles Bernards ancestor, Samuel Bernard, containing:
1) Julius and Gonzaga, performed in the president s house in Magdalen College, 23 January
1616/17 (this may be the play referred to by Peter Heylyn on 8 March 1616/17);
2) Andronicus, performed on 26 January 1617/18, in the Magdalen College hall; and
3) Phocas, performed on 27 January 1618/19, in the Magdalen College hall.
A second item, lot 925 (p 218) which fetched 2s, was a quarto-sized manuscript containing three
tragedies and other poetical works by Sarmue/i Bernardi : since the plays are not named, it is
uncertain whether or not these were the same three plays. Neither volume has been traced.
The three titles are listed in Appendix 6:2, where confusion concerning the supposed identity
of Andronicus with a contemporary Latin play entitled Andronicus Conmenus is also noted (see
also Appendix 6:4).
APPENDIX 15
Saints Days and Festivals
The following list contains the dates for holy days and festivals mentioned in the Records. All days
are entered under their official names but unofficial names occurring in the Records are also given
in parentheses and repeated in their alphabetical place as required. Only feast days themselves
are listed; if the night or eve of a feast or its tide or season (likely the feast day itself with its
octave) is referred to, its date may be inferred from that of the feast. Exact dates for moveable
feasts are included in textual notes to the Records. See also C.R. Cheney (ed) and Michael Jones
(rev), A Handbook of Dates for Students of British History (Cambridge, 2000), 63-93.
Accession Day
Elizabeth i 17 November
James i 24 March
Charles I 27 March
All Saints (All Hallows) 1 November
All Souls 2 November
Ascension Day (Holy Thursday) Thursday following the fifth Sunday after
Easter, ie, forty days after Easter
Ash Wednesday the first day of Lent
Candlemas 2 February
Christmas 25 December
Circumcision 1 January
Coronation Day
Elizabeth i 15 January
Charles I 2 February
aster Sunday following the full moon on or next
after 21 March
Eee Saturday the Saturday before Shrove Tuesday
Epiphany (Twelfth Day) 6 January
Hock Monday, Tuesday second Monday and Tuesday after Easter
Holy Cross
Exaltation of 14 September
Invention of 3 May
APPENDIX 15
901
Holy Innocents
Holy Thursday
Kings Day
Lady Day
Lent
May Day
Michaelmas
Midsummer
New Year s Day
Pentecost (Whit Sunday)
Queen s Day
St Andrew
St Anne
St Bartholomew
St Catherine
St Clement
St Edmund, king and martyr
St Edward the Confessor, Translation of
St Felix
St James
St John the Baptist
Beheading of
Nativity of (Midsummer)
St John the Evangelist
St Luke
St Mark
St Martin
St Mary Magdalene
St Mary the Virgin
Annunciation to (Lady Day)
Assumption of
Purification of (Candlemas)
St Mathias
St Matthew
St Michael the Archangel (Michaelmas)
St Nicholas
Sts Peter and Paul
Sts Philip and James
Sts Simon and Jude
28 December
Thursday following the fifth Sunday after
Easter, ie, forty days after Easter
see Accession Day
25 March
the forty days before Easter, beginning with
Ash Wednesday
on or about 1 May
29 September
24 June
1 January
seventh Sunday after Easter, ie, fifty days
after Easter
see Accession Day
30 November
26 July
24 August
25 November
23 November
20 November
13 October
8 March
25 July
29 August
24 June
27 December
18 October
25 April
1 1 November
22 July
25 March
15 August
2 February
24 February
21 September
29 September
6 December
29 June
1 May
28 October
902 APPENDIX 15
St Stephen 26 December
St Swithun, Translation of 15 July
St Thomas 21 December
Translation of 3 July
St Thomas the Martyr 29 December
Translation of 7 July
St Wulrstan 19 January
Shrove Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before
Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent
Trinity Sunday eighth Sunday after Easter
Twelfth Day 6 January
\\Tiit Sunday seventh Sunday after Easter, ie, fifty days
after Easter
Translations
PATRICK GREGORY
The Translations are intended to be used in conjunction with the Records text and Latin
Glossary. The documents have been translated as literally as possible. The order of the
records in the Translations parallels that of the Records text. Place-names and given names
have been modernized. The spelling of surnames in the Translations reflects the same principles
used in the Index. Capitalization and punctuation are in accordance with modern practice.
As in the Records text, diamond brackets indicate obliterations and square brackets cancella
tions. However, cancellations are not normally translated; they may be translated when a
whole entry is cancelled, especially if it appears that a cancellation may be administrative
rather than the correction of an error, or if they seem to be of special interest or relevance.
Words not in the Latin text but needed in the English for grammatical sense or for clarifica
tion are enclosed in parentheses, as are alternative translations of ambiguous or difficult
words and phrases. The translations of Latin verse are in prose but, where possible, they have
been presented so that they correspond line for line or couplet for couplet with the verse
original. No attempt has been made to duplicate the wordplay sometimes found in the more
literary Latin texts, and all the Translations are intended for use in conjunction with the Records
and Latin Glossary.
Not all the Latin in the text has been translated here. Some Latin passages are accompanied
by contemporary English renderings in the Records and are therefore not included in the
Translations. Latin tags, formulae, headings, very short entries, or other short sections in
largely English documents are either translated in footnotes or not translated at all if the
syntax and vocabulary are straightforward. In translated documents containing a mixture
of Latin and English, the English sections are normally indicated with (English), but in
some cases, in which the syntax of English and Latin has become entangled, the English text
appears in the translation in modern spelling. All Latin vocabulary not found in the Oxford
Latin Dictionary is found in the glossary.
The Anglo-Norman University Response to Town Complaints of a Riot (p 4) was trans
lated by William Edwards, the Spanish Letter of Guzman de Silva to the King of Spain
(p 125) by Josiah Blackmore, and the Italian Letters of the Venetian Ambassador Nicolo
Molen to the Doge (pp 293-4) by Dario Brancato. The Latin translations were checked
by Abigail Ann Young and have benefitted greatly from her advice at every stage in their
preparation.
904
TRANSLATIONS 1284-92
Godstow
Regarding the
celebration of
(he diMne office
1284-5
Archbishop Pecham s Register
Lambeth Palace Library: MS Archbishop Pecham s Register
f 223 (November)
Brother John, by divine permission a humble servant of the church of Canter
bury, Primate Of All England, (sends) greetings, grace, and blessing to (our)
beloved daughters in Christ, A.B. the abbess, and the convent of Godstow. . . .
Namely, (we command) that you celebrate the ecclesiastical office in which
you have to speak with (your) bridegroom and receive his spirit at due times
with all reverence, at which time no one at all is allowed to be absent unless
she is obediently occupied in necessary tasks, not in conversations with out
siders. We order, moreover, that the office itself be sung precisely and in its
entirety. Precisely, I say, so that, both in choir masses and in those of the
Blessed Virgin, irrelevant novelties be excluded throughout the whole year
and that nothing new be sung there except by the counsel of the master and
abbess equally and also the precentress, but that the old take precedence over
all the new. The office is also to be celebrated in its entirety, since all curtail
ment of the monastic office celebrated at Abingdon, as the presidents of the
chapter of the monks recently determined, is to be rejected. We permit, how
ever, the children s observances that are customarily held on the feast of the
Innocents to begin only after vespers (on the feast) of St John, and they are
to be concluded completely on the next day, on (Holy) Innocents Day itself.
For the governance of the convent, moreover, the abbess is obliged to call the
more mature and more discreet (members of the convent) for the internal
and external business of the house to be managed advantageously. But if
any (of them) should refuse to come after being called a second time, (her)
pittance shall be taken away from her at the following dinner. But if she
makes herself deaf to the one ordering by not coming the third time, bread
and water only shall be granted to her at the next dinner. We say the same
for all those who stick disobediently to their own will at any time, whoever
(they may be)....
20.
1292
Chancellor s Register QUA: NEP/Supra/A
f 55v (University College statutes)
Likewise all are to live honourably as clerics as befits the saints, not fighting,
not speaking scurrilous or shameful (words), not relating, singing, or willingly
listening to songs or tales about (their) mistresses or wanton things or things
conducive to licentiousness, not mocking or moving anyone to anger, not
shouting so that they keep students from study or rest....
TRANSLATIONS 1297-1306
1297-8
University Response to Town Complaints of a Riot
mb [3]*
905
QUA: SEP/Y/12a
Concerning the conflict that took place Monday in the High Street, whereas
according to those people (of) the town it was the work of the whole common
alty with bells and with horns and at a common cry, the armed bailiffs being
present, and according to the clerks there were only a few individuals without
authority and without a leader and without common cry, the University
declares that the clerks can make a claim against the commonalty for the dam
ages they received to their persons or their goods before the chancellor, in form
of law, and the laity who would make claims against the clerks (can do so)
likewise before the chancellor; he will do right by them so that this lawsuit
on both sides be made only as simple trespass, not of peril to life and limb
c 1300
Chancellor s Register QUA: NEP/Supra/A
f 63* (Decree against observance of local festivals)
Regarding the manner of forbidding the feast days of the (student) nations
By the lord chancellor s and the regent masters authority with the non-regents
unanimous consent it has been decreed and established that from now on
no feast day of any (student) nation shall be celebrated with a solemnity and
customary convocation of masters and scholars or other well-known persons
in any church whatever unless some persons wish to celebrate the feast of some
saint of their own diocese with devotion in the parishes where they are living,
but not inviting masters, scholars, or any other well-known persons of another
parish or their own, just as shall not happen on the feasts of St Catherine,
St Nicholas, and similar (saints). We command also that this decree be observed
by the same chancellors authority under penalty of greater excommunication:
that no one lead dances with masks or with any noise in churches or streets or
go anywhere festooned or crowned with a crown made of the leaves of trees or
of flowers or of anything else. We forbid (this) under penalty of excommunica
tion, which we establish from now on, and of a lengthy imprisonment.
1305-6
AC A Report on the Inquest into the Death of Gilbert Foxlee
Bodl.: MS. Twyne 4
pp 32-3*
It happened on the Sunday next after the feast of the Assumption of the
906
TRANSLATIONS 1305-40
[ward
Thomas
1 isi/wv.
The tailors of
Oxford s J.IIKC
and set the
letters of
King Henry vi
against rounJ
dances on the
eves of St John
the Baptist and
of the apostles
Peter and Paul,
(Register) Aaa,
p 38.1, in the
year 1444.
The Draper)"
Blessed Virgin Mary in the thirty-fourth year of the reign of King Edward (ie,
Edward i) that Gilbert Foxlee, a cleric, died in his hostel where he was staying
in the parish of St Peter in the East, Oxford, around the noon hour. And on
the next Monday following he was seen by Thomas Lisewys, coroner of the
lord king for the town of Oxford, and he had one wound in his left shin near
his knee four inches wide all around and one-and-a-half inches deep. An in
quest was taken afterward in the presence of the aforesaid coroner, by oath,
etc. Almost all the names of the jurors are lacking there. Then there follows:
\vho say upon their oath that, on the Thursday, the eve of the Nativity of
St John the Baptist immediately preceding, the tailors of Oxford and others
from the town who were with them were keeping watch in their shops all
through the night singing and making merry with harps and viols and various
other instruments as is the usual custom to do there and elsewhere on account
of the solemnity of that feast. And after midnight, since they understood that
there was no one wandering there in the streets, they went out of their shops,
and others who were there with them, and danced in the High Street opposite
the Drapery. And, as they were playing in this way, the aforesaid Gilbert Foxlee
appeared with a naked and unsheathed sword in his hand and immediately
stirred up a quarrel against them wishing to break into that dance any way he
could. Seeing (this), moreover, some of them I who were acquainted with him
approached him and wished to take him away from them and asked him not
to harm anyone. But that same Gilbert did not want to stop on this account,
but at once jumped away from them and came back making an attack on one
William de Cleydon. And he would have cut off his hand with his sword as he
went in that dance if he had not quickly withdrawn. And Henry de Beaumont,
corviser, Thomas de Bloxham, William de Ley, a servant of John de Ley, and
the aforesaid William de Cleydon immediately rushed toward him. And the
aforesaid Henry wounded him in his right arm with a sword and the aforesaid
Thomas wounded him in the back with a misericord, but the aforesaid William
de Cleydon wounded him in the head so that he fell. And immediately after
ward William de Ley wounded him in his left shin with a kind of axe that is
called a "sparth," and he gave him the aforesaid wound next to the knee from
which he died on the aforementioned Sunday. But he lived for eight weeks and
and a half days and he received all his last rites.
two
1340
The Queen s College Statutes QC Arch
p 18 (Chapter 20)
And they are to assemble at the same time for dinner and supper, as much
as they are conveniently able, at the hour of summoning for the same
TRANSLATIONS 1340-61
summoning, moreover, is to be made by clarion in a suitable place by one
servant who is appointed to that (task), where he is more likely to be able to
be heard by all and each. . . .
PP 26-7 (Chapter 31)
And since it is not appropriate for the poor, especially those living on alms,
to give the children s bread to dogs to eat, and (since) woe shall betide those
that take their diversions with the birds of the air, none of the scholars of
the said hall is to keep in the same (hall) or adjacent places a greyhound,
or hunting dog, or other personally owned (dog), hawk, or trained bird, or
possess any other kind (of bird). And since a large number (or the frequent
use) of musical instruments is apt often to provoke frivolity and insolence,
and to offer an occasion of distraction from study and progress, let the
aforesaid scholars know that the use of instruments of this kind within their
dwelling, except at times of common relaxation, is entirely forbidden for
them, and every kind of dice game and chess and every other game giving
occasion for the loss of money and coin of any kind in the hall, rooms, or
their dwelling, unless perhaps some person or persons should wish at any
time to amuse themselves decently and peacefully for the sake of recreation
outside the hall and without distracting themselves or the fellows from
study or the divine office. In this, games of dice and that kind of thing, from
which grounds for dispute are apt to arise and penury (is apt) frequently to
afflict the player, should especially be avoided. And let the chaplains, poor
(scholars), clerics, and all servants or residents at the said hall know that
they are bound to the avoidance of games of dice, according to the (same)
manner as the scholars, I under punishment to be inflicted by the provost.
But let the provost and his deputy know that they are bound by the bond of
their oath to stop all the aforementioned but only as far as necessity requires
or decency permits.
1360-1
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: A.I
single mb* (10 July- 17 October 1361) (Internal and external expenses)
Likewise he accounts for 8d paid for expenses of parishioners of Long
Wittenham on the day of the Beheading of St John the Baptist, when there
was a play
908 TRANSLATIONS 1378-87
1378
Continiuttio Eulogii BL: Cotton MS Galba E.vn
f 194 col 2-f 194v col 1
In the same year a knight from the king s retinue (or household) came from
Woodstock to Oxford. Some scholars came at night and stood before his
hostel making a song in rhyming verse about him in English containing
specific words against the king s honour. They also shot arrows at the window
of the hostel.
Upon rising in the morning the knight complained to the king. The
chancellor and his vice-chancellor were immediately called to London and
were set before the chancellor of the realm and the king s council. And the
chancellor of the University was asked why the mockers of the king were
not punished. The chancellor replied I that he was afraid (of committing)
a breach of canon law. And the chancellor of the realm (said) to him:
You will prove that Oxford cannot be governed by a cleric. The king
cannot be disdained in Oxford just as he cannot be elsewhere. And if
you of Oxford cannot correct and chastise disdainers of the king because
of (your fear of) a breach of canon law, as the chancellor says, it follows
that Oxford cannot be governed by clerics but that the king ought to
withdraw your privileges. You ought to defend the privileges of the
University to the greatest extent both on account of your duty and also
on account of your oath, and you speak against those very privileges.
We depose you from your position. The chancellor of the University
replied: I have my position from the pope and from the king. What I
have from the king, the king can take away, but not that which I have
from the pope. The chancellor of England (said) to him: And we relieve
you of the royal part, disqualifying you for the said position, and then
you shall see if you are able to rejoice in the pope s part. The king can
remove the University and you from Oxford.
The vice-chancellor, a monk, was condemned to prison because, as has
been said above, at the pope s command he had imprisoned John Wycliffe
who afterward was freed at the request of friends. The chancellor, concealing
his deposition, although he had been deposed, resigned in convocation of
his own free will, as he said, not being forced....
1386-7
Merton College Supervisors of Founders Kin Accounts MCR: 4K
single mb dorse (1 August- 1 August) (Necessary commons expenses)
^Likewise for gaudies when all the fellows of the hall went out for maying,
2s..
TRANSLATIONS 1389-90
1389-90
Gaol Delivery Roll PRO: J UST 3/180
mbs 2c-d* (18 February)
Gaol delivery held at Oxford Castle before John Hulle and other jn for Oxfordshire
William Gymel and Peter Ardach arrested because they were charged before
Robert Cherlton and his fellows, the lord king s justices appointed to keep
the peace in the aforesaid county, because they together with other unknown
felons allied with them, armed (and) arrayed in a warlike manner, at Oxford
on the Thursday and Friday of the fourth week of Lent in the twelfth year
of the reign of the lord now king of England, appointed among themselves
specific captains and rulers to rise up against I (blank) some Welshmen
being in the town of Oxford, to shoot arrows before themselves in vari
ous streets and lanes, (and) to cry out, Ware, Ware, Ware. Slay the Welsh
dogs and their helps, and who so looketh out of his house, he shall be dead."
And they killed some of them, as (named) below, and seriously injured some
and they forced some Welshmen to their knees (and) made them forswear the
town, leading them to the gates of the said town, and made them urinate on
those (gates) and kiss the gate and while kissing thus they struck their heads
against the gate so that sometimes blood came from the nose while tears came
from their eyes. And they feloniously broke into a certain hall in Oxford,
called Deep Hall, and in the same place they feloniously stole and took
away one book, one penner with a horn, one pair of breeches of William
Whetehull, and one sword and books of John Hoby, to the value of 38s.
And on the said Friday at night they feloniously broke into Thomas Frenches
room situated in the same hall, and they feloniously stole and took away two
swords, one shield, two bows with twenty-six arrows, one jacket of fustian,
one red gown, two pairs of white sleeves (or cuffs), one pair of linen sheets
(or napkins), one lined cloak, five pairs of hose, two ells of canvas, one pair
of linen cloth, and other goods and chattels of Thomas Frenche himself at
the value of 60s. And on the aforesaid Friday they feloniously broke into other
rooms of various scholars staying in the aforesaid hall and they feloniously
stole the goods and chattels found there, namely, books, linen clothes, and
woollen clothes. And on the said Friday they feloniously broke into a hostel in
Oxford called Nevilles Entry by night and feloniously stole and took away the
goods and chattels, namely, doors, windows, and grammar books and linen
and woollen clothing, of William Dannay, the principal of the same hostel,
of John Halkyn, a scholar there, and of other scholars remaining there, to
the value of 60s. And on the same Friday at night they feloniously broke into
a hall in Oxford called St Agase s Hall and feloniously stole the goods and
chattels found there, namely, linen and woollen clothes, grammar as well as
dialectic books, swords, bows, (and) harps, of William Gilton, John Mulle,
910 TRANSLATIONS 1389-90
John Glove, and of other scholars being there, to the value of 4. And that on
Saturday in the said fourth week of Lent in the abovesaid year, the aforesaid
William Gymel and Peter together with other unknown felons feloniously
broke into a hall in Oxford called Pyry Hall and feloniously stole goods of the
principal of the same hall, Matthew Alco, and of Richard Oliver, namely,
two swords, lined cloaks of various colours, one dagger, one axe, and bows and
arrows to the value of 4, and they entered other halls and hostels there on the
same day, namely, Mildred Hall, Hampton Hall, (and) Bastaples Entry, and
feloniously stole various goods of various scholars staying in the said hall to
the value of 50s. And that in the said uprising (men), namely, Edward Nuton,
Geoffrey Hanlane of Wales, Thomas Repton, and John Boweman, were killed
by the said felons. And diat on the said Thursday, the aforesaid felons and vari
ous unknown (men) took doors, planks, and stones from the said despoiled
halls into the High Street next to St Mary s Church and they seized laymen s
timber, boxes, and doors against their will, and they closed themselves up from
Charlton s Inn to Penchurch Lane and there they remained for the night.
They come before the justices, brought here in turn and having said how
they wished to acquit themselves of the aforesaid felonies. They say that they
are in no way guilty on that account and in this matter they entrust them
selves to the jury for good or ill. Therefore let (a jury) be sworn in on that
account. The jurors, who have been chosen, tried, and sworn for this (pur
pose), come. They say on their oath that the aforesaid William Gymel and
Peter are not guilty of the aforesaid felonies nor have they ever withdrawn
from the suit on this occasion.
(They arc) Therefore it has been decided that the aforesaid William Gymel and Peter
acquitted should depart from here acquitted, etc.
mb 3d*
.And on the same Friday they feloniously broke into a hall in Oxford called
St Agase s Hall by night and feloniously stole the goods and chattels found
there, namely, linen and woollen clothes, grammar as well as dialectic books,
swords, bows, (and) harps, of William Gilton, John Mulle, John Glove, and
of other scholars being there, to the value of 4....
m
b 5d*
..And on the same Friday he feloniously broke into a hall in Oxford called
St Agase s Hall by night and feloniously stole the goods and chattels found
there namely, linen and woollen clothes, grammar as well as dialectic books,
swords, bows, (and) harps, of William Gilton, John Mulle, John Glove, an
of other scholars being there, to the value of 4....
AC
TRANSLATIONS 1395-f 1398 91
1395
Expenses for a Degree Feast at Canterbury College
Pantin: Canterbury College, vol 3
p 56
Likewise given to pipers, 20s.
c 1396
Letter Recommending a Father Remove His Son from Oxford
BL: MS Royal 17.B.xlvii
f 44v*
Another similar form
Most assured friend, although I have counselled you elsewhere that, taking an
example from the proverbs promulgated of old - what the head grasps when
young, it will savour when old - you should send your son to the schools of
Oxford so that there he could be informed as much with knowledge as with
moral conduct, yet conceiving frequently from accounts that he will not
progress in learning but abandons detestable moral conduct - the highest
Lord be praised - and that he has been taught commendably both in scripture
and in playing the harp, I counsel you (now) with a pure heart that you
with discernment would direct him to serve in the court of the lord king or
the duke of Lancaster.
c!398
New College Statutes NC Arch: 9429
ff !4-l4v
is On not delaying in the hall after dinner and supper
Likewise because after the refreshment of (their) bodies by the taking of food
and drink, people are commonly made more ready to perpetrate coarse jokes,
immodest speeches, and what is worse, back-bitings and quarrels, and like
wise also other evils both numerous and dangerous, and (because) they, then
considering excesses of this kind less (important) than an empty stomach,
often move the souls of simple persons to arguments, insults, and other excesses,
we establish, ordain, and wish that every day after dinner and supper, when
thanksgiving to the Highest for things received has first been finished, there
after without an interval of time, after the loving-cup has been provided for
those wishing to drink and after drinkings in the hall, at the hour of curfew
each of the seniors, of whatever estate or degree they be, are to move to their
studies or other I places. Nor shall they allow other juniors to delay there
l)1 - TRANSLATIONS f 1398
further except on pnncipal feasts and greater doubles, and except when house
igs, disputations, or other important (*r difficult) business pertaining to
the college has to be dealt with in the hall immediately afterward, or except
when, on account of reverence for God or for his mother or for any other saint,
a fire in the hall is provided for the fellows in wintertime after dinner- or
supper-time; then scholars and fellows are permitted for the sake of recreation
to make a suitable delay in the hall after dinner- or supper-time in songs and
other decent diversions, and to study in a serious manner poems, chronicles,
and marvels of this world and other things that are appropriate to the cler
ical estate.
f 16 (Chapter 24) (Students and fellows not to leave the University without
permission)
I!
. .And that while they are absent in the country they are to be dressed as is
appropriate for clerics and behave decently in moral conduct. And neither at
that time nor while they are present in the University are the scholars and
fellows or any others staying in the college itself to attend or frequent taverns,
shows, or other disreputable places, but refrain entirely from suspect associ
ations lest - which God forbid - scandal, injury, or prejudice should occur
or in any way arise for our said college, (our) scholars, or the fellows of the
same from (their) dishonourable or suspect social intercourse or otherwise
from their shameless behaviour of whatever kind....
f 24* (Chapter 42) (Manner of say ing mass, matins, and the other hours in
the college chapel)
...But on the other feasts written below - namely, (those) of St Stephen,
of St John the Apostle, of the Holy Innocents, (and) of St Thomas the
Martyr; and on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Easter week and
of Pentecost (week); and (those) of the Invention and Exaltation of the
Holy Cross, of the Translation of St Thomas, of St Andrew and St Thomas
the Apostles, of St Mathias, of St Mark, of the apostles Philip and James,
and of St James the Apostle, of St Bartholomew, of St Matthew, of St Michael,
of St Luke, of Sts Simon and Jude, of St Martin, of St Nicholas, of the
Translation of St Swithun, of St Catherine, and of St (Mary) Magdalene -
lesser and subordinate persons, the fellows of the college itself, when the
regard and reputation due to these feasts and persons have been observed,
are to perform the offices in due manner according to the greater or lesser
status or dignity of the said feasts. We wish and command each and every
(office) on each of these aforementioned days to be performed and carried
qi a
TRANSLATIONS f 1398
out by the aforesaid scholars and fellows of the said college, in the aforesaid
manner and form, the abovesaid feast of the Holy Innocents excepted, on
which feast we allow that the boys may say and carry out vespers, matins,
and the other divine offices in reading and singing according to the use
and custom of the church of Salisbury. . . .
ff 34v-5*
63 On dancing, wrestling matches, and other unlawful pastimes not to occur
in the chapel or hall.
Likewise, because a certain stone wall in the middle of the chief or trans
verse wall of the chapel of our abovesaid college is known to lie between
and also separate that chapel and the hall of that college, (and because) the
image of the most holy and indivisible Trinity, the gibbet of the holy cross
with the image of the crucified (Christ), the images of the most Blessed
Virgin Mary and of many other saints, sculptures, glass windows, and vari
ous paintings, and a number of other sumptuous works finely crafted and
adorned with diverse colours for the praise, glory, and honour of God and
of his aforesaid mother, are devoutly placed and set in many ways on the
said chapels side (of that wall), (and because) that cross and images, sculp
tures, glass windows, paintings, and the other abovesaid works, indeed,
could easily and accidentally and likely be harmed, disfigured, removed,
broken, obstructed, or otherwise damaged from the inexperience, carelessness,
and insolence of various fellows I and scholars (and) also of other persons by
the various castings of stones, balls, or other things at the wall mentioned
already on the aforesaid hall s side or by dances, wrestling matches, or other
careless and irregular pastimes that would perhaps take place in the hall or
in the chapel itself, (and because) the said wall also, in part or completely,
could be made worse or even weakened, we indeed, desiring to provide for
the safety of the images, sculptures, windows, and aforesaid works, strictly
prohibit castings of stones and balls and also of any other things at the wall
mentioned already, besides dances, wrestling matches, and any other care
less and irregular games from taking place in the chapel or the aforesaid
hall ever at any time, by which (activities), or any one of them, damage or
loss could be inflicted on the images, sculptures, glass windows, paintings,
or other aforesaid sumptuous works or the aforesaid chief wall in their
construction or structure, in material or in form, by any means. Likewise
because many different rooms are arranged below the aforesaid hall, which
has been raised and built above ground in the manner of a solar, in which
the scholars or fellows of our said college and also the priests, clerics, and
servants and others who are obliged to serve in the chapel of this college
914 TRANSLATIONS f 1398-1401
ought to remain, lie down, rest, and also study, who can easily and likely
be hindered by wrestling matches, round dances, formal dances, leaping
dances, songs, shouts, commotions, and inordinate clamours, spills of water,
ale, and of other liquors, and other tumultuous games that would perhaps
take place in the same hall from their study, sleep, tranquillity, rest, and
quiet, and otherwise sustain serious damages to their books, clothing, and
other things, we indeed, desiring to provide for their convenience and their
rest equally, stricdy prohibit any wrestling matches of this kind, round dances,
formal dances, leaping dances, songs, shouts, commotions, and inordinate
clamours, spills of water, ale, and of all other liquors, and also tumultuous
games and any other extravagances from taking place in the hall or afore
said chapel ever at any time, by which (activities), or any one of them, the
aforesaid students, priests, and others remaining together in the said rooms
could in any way be hindered from their study, sleep, tranquillity, rest, or
quiet, or otherwise sustain damage or injury to their books, clothing, or
other things, or by which the hall itself, in its adornment or construction,
below or above, inside or outside, in any part of it, may be disfigured or
suffer injury or any damage. And if anyone is found guilty in the premises
or any one of the premises, he shall appropriately make satisfaction for the
damage he has caused. And notwithstanding, in order that the punishment
of one be the fear of many, he shall be harshly punished without any partial
ity whatever by the loss of his commons or otherwise according to the
discretion and determination of the warden, the vice-warden, the deans,
and six other senior fellows of the said college according to the magnitude
of the excess.
1399-1400
Durham College Accounts Durham University Library:
Durham Cathedral Muniments, Oxford Ac. 1399-1400
single mb* (3 or 7 July -28 May) (Expenses at Oxford)
Likewise to the almonry bishop
1400-1
Merton College Supervisors of Founders Kin Accounts MCR: 4 1 1 4
single mb* (1 August- 1 August) (Necessary expenses noted)
...Likewise for May, 2d....
TRANSLATIONS 1401-28
1401-2
Durham College Accounts Durham University Library:
Durham Cathedral Muniments, Oxford Ac. 1401-2
single mb (13 May-5 May) (Expenses at Oxford)
Likewise to the almonry bishop 20d
1410-11
Expenses for Inception at Canterbury College Bodl.: MS. Tanner 165
f 147* (Necessary expenses and wages)
...Likewise in payment made to entertainers, 6s 8d
Merton College Supervisors of Founders Kin Accounts MCR: 4115
single mb* (1 August-1 August) (Necessary expenses noted)
...Likewise for gloves given for the triumph of versification (or for a feat of
versification), 4d
single mb dorse*
...Likewise for maying, 6d
1414
AC Chamberlains Accounts Bodl.: MS. Twyne 23
p 242*
..Likewise for seven stone of lead for repair of the bullring, 7s 6d.
1427-8
Chancellor s Register QUA: Hyp/A/ 1, Register Aaa
f 13 (31 July) (Goods found in Thomas Cooper s study)
...Likewise one old harp. Likewise one broken lute....
916 TRANSLATIONS 1431-45
1431-2
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3754
mb 1 (23 March -27 July)
...Likewise to the lord duke of Gloucester s entertainer/s, 6d..
c 1440
All Souls College Inventory Bodl.: MS. D.D. All Souls c.268, no 210
mb 2 col 1* (Contents of the vestry)
..Likewise one shirt, one hood, and a mitre for the (St) Nicholas bishop.
1443
All Souls College Foundation Statutes ASC Arch
ff [25- 5v] (That fellows and scholars shall not leave the town without
permission)
. . .And that while they are absent in the country they are to be dressed as is
appropriate for clerics and behave decently in moral conduct. And neither at
that time nor while they are present in the University are the same scholars
or fellows or any others whatsoever, chaplains staying in the college itself, to
attend or frequent taverns, shows, or other disreputable places, I but refrain
entirely from suspect associations lest - which God forbid - scandal, injury, or
prejudice should occur or in any way arise for our said college, (our) scholars,
or the fellows of the same from (their) dishonourable or suspect social inter
course or otherwise from their shameless behaviour of whatever kind
1443-4
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb (Receipts)
..And of 13s 2d from the church ale....
1444-5
AC St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts
Bodl.: MS. Top.Oxon c.403
f 39 (Receipts)
..And of 12s (received) in the church ale at the feast of Pentecost....
TRANSLATIONS 1456-64
1456-7
Lincoln College Computus LC Arch: Computus 1
f 3 (21 September-21 December 1456) (Offerings of All Saints Church)
Likewise on St Nicholas Day
The remaining part, which comes to 6d, given, namely, to the bishop by
master rector s command.
f I4v (21 December 1455-21 December 1456) (Necessary expenses)
After the feast of St Michael the Archangel
Likewise to the clerk of St Michael s Church on
St Nicholas Eve 6d
1460-1
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7713
mb 5 (External payments)
. . .And paid to the lord king s entertainers for a reward given to them, 3s 4d
1461-2
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 2 1 3/4/F 1 / 1
single mb* (Receipts)
And of 4s 3 l /id received among the parishioners at the feast of Pentecost for
a church ale..
1463-4
St Michael at the North Gate Churchwardens Accounts
ORO: PAR 211/4/Fl/l, item 33
single mb (6 January 1463/4-6 January 1464/5) (Receipts)
Likewise they received from the women
at Hocktide 4 S
918 TRANSLATIONS 1464-7
1464-5
St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 2 1 4/4/F 1 /3
single mb* (Receipts)
Likewise received for ale at Pentecost 8s
1465-6
AC St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts
Bodl.: MS. Top.Oxon c.403
f 42* (Receipts)
...And of 11s 2d received in ale sold against Pentecost.
St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 2 14/4/F 1/4
single mb* (Receipts)
And (the churchwardens charge themselves) with 7s received at the feast of
Pentecost for ale.
And with 3s 3d received at Hock Tuesday.
1466
Chancellor s Register OUA: Hyp/A/ 1, Register Aaa
f 236
Mr Robert Paslew has hired John Harris, harp-maker, as his servant, for a
gown or (its) price of 6s 8d, and the same John has been sworn to observance
of the privileges of the University, etc.
1466-7
St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 214/4/F1/5
single mb* (Receipts)
Likewise at the feast of Pentecost
for ale 6s 2d
TRANSLATIONS 1467-9
1467-8
All Souls College Bursars Accounts Bodl.: MS. D.D. All Souls c.278
mb 4* (2 November 2 November) (Rewards)
And of 2d given to one playing the hobby horse at Christmas time.
mb 5* (Various expenses)
And of 16d paid to various (persons) playing in the hall at the time of the
Purification.
St Michael at the North Gate Churchwardens Accounts
ORO: PAR 211/4/F1/1, item 38
single mb (8 March 1467/8-8 March 1468/9) (Receipts)
Likewise they received at Hocktide 15s 8d
St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 214/4/F1/6
single mb (Receipts)
Likewise on the day of Pentecost for ale 20s
Likewise on the day (blank) ale 23d
Likewise twice received for ale 5s 8d given to Pannuel
1468-9
St Michael at the North Gate Churchwardens Accounts
ORO: PAR211/4/Fl/l,item39
single mb (8 March 1468/9-29 March 1470) (Receipts)
Likewise at Hocktide
St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 214/4/F1/7
single mb* (Receipts)
Likewise for ale given by John Rogers
Likewise for ale given by Thomas Dalton 20d
920 TRANSLATIONS 1468-72
Likewise at the feast of Pentecost for ale 20s
(Payments)
Likewise for the carrying of small cups with a lion
and a dragon at an ale 2d
1469-70
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3785
single mb (28 July- 24 November) (External expenses)
...Likewise in reward by the lord warden s order to players at Holywell for
the church of St Peter in the East, 12d....
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7720
mb 4 (Necessary external costs)
...And paid to the lord king s entertainers for a reward given to them, 2s....
St Michael at the North Gate Churchwardens Accounts
ORO: PAR211/4/F1/1, item 42
single mb* (20 March 1469/70-7 March 1470/1) (Receipts)
Likewise at Hocktide one torch weighing thirty
pounds, at a price per pound (of) 4d total, and in coin, l!/2d
1471-2
OUF Proctors Accounts OUA: NW/5/3
single mb (29 April 1471-30 Aprill 472) (Payments)
Likewise to the king s trumpeters for a reward, 3s 4d.
St Michael at the North Gate Churchwardens Accounts
ORO: PAR211/4/F1/1, item 43
single mb* (25 December- 25 December) (Receipts)
In receipt on Hockday 2s 6d
TRANSLATIONS 1471-6
In receipt for ale sold in the week of Pentecost 14s
1472-3
St Michael at the North Gate Churchwardens Accounts
ORO: PAR211/4/F1/1, item 46
single mb* (2 February 1472/3-2 February 1473/4) (Receipts)
In receipt for ale sold in Pentecost week 17s Id
In receipt for ale sold from John Rogers gift 4s 6d
1473-4
St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 214/4/F1/9
single mb (Receipts)
Likewise received at the feast of Pentecost for ale 14s
1474-5
St Michael at the North Gate Churchwardens Accounts
ORO: PAR211/4/F1/1, item 49
single mb* (2 February 1474/5-2 February 1475/6) (Receipts)
Likewise they received net for ale sold in Pentecost week 13s 6d
Likewise they received from ale sold from John Rogers
gift on the feast of St Anne 2s $d
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb (8 December-8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise they received at Hocktide 8s Id
Likewise for ale sold in Pentecost week 13s yd
1475-6
St Michael at the North Gate Churchwardens Accounts
ORO: PAR 21 1/4/Fl/l, item 50
single mb (25 December- 25 December) (Receipts)
..And of 4s 5d for ale sold.... And with 15d received on the day called
TRANSLATIONS H75-8
Hockday.. . And with 15s lOVid for ale sold at the feast of Pentecost..
St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 214/4/Fl/lO
single mb* (Receipts)
Likewise received for ale at the feast of Pentecost iy s
Likewise received for ale given by John Holywode 3 S 4J
Likewise received for ale given by Peter Schormolode 2s 8d
Likewise received for ale given by Richard Rust 3 S
Likewise received for ale given by John Smith 5s
Likewise received for ale given by Thomas Dalton 3$ 3d
1476-7
Lincoln College Computus LC Arch: Computus 1
f 32v (21 September-21 December 1476) (Necessary expenses)
Likewise to the clerk of St Michael s Church on
St Nicholas Eve
St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 2 1 4/4/F 1/11
single mb (Receipts)
Likewise on the day of Pentecost for ale 13s
1477-8
St Michael at the North Gate Churchwardens Accounts
ORO: PAR 211/4/F1/1, item 53
single mb (2 February 1477/8-2 February 1478/9) (Receipts)
...And with 21 d (blank) received on the day called Hockday. And with
17s (?) !/2d in Pentecost week in ale sold And with 7s 8d received of
money collected by the women on Hock Monday. And with 2s 3d re
ceived, which sum the young men collected from ale sold after the feast
of Pentecost....
TRANSLATIONS 1477-82 923
St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 214/4/F1/12
single mb (Receipts)
Likewise for ale at the feast of Pentecost 16s 6d
1479-80
All Souls College Bursars Accounts Bodl.: MS. D.D. All Souls c.278
sheet 9* (2 November 2 November) (Various expenses)
And of 12d paid to those playing for the church of Evesham.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7722
mb 7 (Necessary external costs)
...And in wine given to servants (ie, Serjeants) of the town of Oxford on
the feast of the Circumcision, 6d. And in wine given to the lord prince s
entertainers, 12d. And in reward given to the same, 6s 8d
St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 214/4/F1/13
single mb* (Receipts)
Likewise received from John Robyns by reason of
ale given 2s 8d
Likewise received for ale on the feast of Pentecost 1 Is Id
1480-1
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb* (Receipts)
Likewise in coin at Hocktide 6 S
Likewise in ale sold in Pentecost week
1481-2
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO : PAR 2 1 3/4/F 1 / 1
single mb* (Receipts)
Likewise in coin at Hocktide g s
924 TRANSLATIONS 1481-3
Likewise in ale sold in Pentecost week 9s
1482-3
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1482-3 MC Arch
f 26v (Chapel costs)
. . .Likewise on 5 December for the bishop s gloves on the feast of St Nicholas
4d....
Sr Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb* (Receipts)
Likewise in coin at Hocktide 9s
Likewise in ale sold in the week of Pentecost 10s 3d
1483
Magdalen College Statutes MC Arch: MS 277
f 20v (That fellows and students should not leave town without permission)
. . .And that while they are absent in the country they are to be dressed as is
appropriate for clerics and behave decently in moral conduct. And neither at
that time nor while they are present in the University are the same scholars
and fellows or any others whatsoever, chaplains or clerics staying in the college
itself, to attend or frequent taverns, shows, or other disreputable places, but
refrain entirely from suspect associations lest - which God forbid - scandal,
injury, or prejudice should occur or in any way arise for our said college,
(our) scholars, or the fellows of the same from (their) dishonourable or suspect
social intercourse or otherwise from their shameless behaviour of whatever
kind
f 38v
On not delaying in the hall after dinner
Likewise, because after the refreshment of the body by the taking of food
and drink, people are commonly made more ready to perpetrate coarse jokes,
immodest speeches, and what is worse, back-bitings and quarrels, and likewise
also other evils both numerous and dangerous, and (because) they, then con
sidering excesses of this kind less important than an empty stomach, often
move the souls of simple persons to arguments, insults, and other excesses,
we establish, ordain, and wish that every day after dinner and supper, when
thanksgiving to the Highest for things received has first been finished, thereafter
TRANSLATIONS 1483-5
without an interval of time, after the loving-cup has been freely provided for
those who wish (it) and after drinkings in the hall, at the hour of curfew, each
of the seniors, of whatever estate or degree they be, are to move to their studies
or other places. Nor shall they allow other juniors to delay there further except
when house meetings, disputations, or other important (or difficult) business
pertaining to the college has to be dealt with in the hall immediately afterward,
and also unless disputations or explanations of the chapters of the Bible read
at mealtimes by any theologian of the fellows to be appointed according to the
discretion of president, vice-president, or a senior then present and without
forewarning - indeed we wish that anyone thus appointed without warning,
if he is found refusing or much negligent in the said elucidation, to incur the
penalty of the kind which has been ordered for those abusing their tongues in
their maternal language, (and) indeed we wish these explanations to take place
every day it seems expedient to die president or in his absence the vice-president,
so that everyone present at the said reading be made more attentive - or except
when, on account of reverence for God or for his mother or for any other
saint, a fire - which we wish to be made from coal only - is provided in the
hall for the fellows; then fellows and scholars after dinner- or supper-time are
permitted for the sake of recreation to make a suitable delay in songs and
other decent diversions, and to study in a serious manner poems of kingdoms,
chronicles, and marvels of this world and other things that are appropriate to
the clerical estate.
1483-4
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1483-4 MC Arch
f 68 (Chapel costs)
. .And paid for the bishop s gloves on the feast of St Nicholas and for his
cross-bearer, 8d
f 68v*
..And for bread suitable for consecration and for the men making the
prophet s tabernacle for the histories
1484-5
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 17v
Injuncuon made On the same day the junior masters were enjoined there to beware of excessive
familiarity, arrogance, and presumption toward the senior masters under due
penalty. The same junior masters were also enjoined there not to utter shouts
or clamours hereafter on solemn nights (ie, on the eves offcast days (?)} to the
926
TRANSLATIONS 1484-6
detriment of the house or the disturbance of the fellows on pain of loss of
Sn COmm0nS A " d Mr &yngton had been enjoined there not to play musical
instruments hereafter within the quadrangle either before the propositio tituli
or after.
The regent
masters fire*
Regarding the
regents fire
f 18
On the same day the regents fire was held in the hall while Mr Woodward
was the senior regent, and this custom has passed into disuse for many
years (past).
Fire on
chapter day
f 18v*
On the same day a fire was held in the high hall after the last bever, because
from ancient times it was accustomed to take place on that day on which
the chapter is held if it is held before Lent, and for this reason ^propositio
tituli was postponed until the following day.
1485-6
Magdalen College Battells Book MC Arch: CP 8/49
f 49 (10- 16 December)
On Wednesday at dinner with the fellows: two bearwards of Lord Stanley....
f 83 col 1 (22-8 July)
Likewise on Saturday, namely, St Mary Magdalene s Day, at dinner
...And with the fellows at another table:... three singers
On Sunday at dinner with the fellows: two youths, singers And at supper
with the fellows: one singer from Westbury
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1485-6 MC Arch
f lOOv* (Other external expenses)
. . .Paid 27 December to the mayor s officer for his pension also by ancient
custom, 2s 2d
TRANSLATIONS 1485-7
f 103 (25 December-25 March) (Hall costs)
...Paid in the second term to Mr Croft, the dean, for painting of gear (or
costume/s) for the player/s at Christmas-time, as appears by his bill, 3s 5d..
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 22*
Mr Persons is elected king of the college t*
On 18 November Mr John Persons was elected as the king of beans in the
college according to the ancient custom and this (was) because he had then
been preferred (to a post) at Eton College.
f 23*
Regarding rhc On the same day a fire, which is called the chapter fire, was held in the high
chapter fire j^jj after supper
New College Hall Book NC Arch: 5529
f [90v] (15-21 July)
On Wednesday (the following persons) came to supper with the fellows:...
three performers of Lord Stanley
1486-7
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1486-7 MC Arch
f 130v* (25 December-25 March) (Itemized hall costs)
Paid on 6 January to harper/s and to performers at the time of the
play in the hall, by the deans and bursars consent, in reward 8d
Paid for some gear for the players, called the cap of maintenance,
as by the dean s bill 9J
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 30v
Mr Byrde was
elected as k,ng On the preceding day, that is to say, 19 (November), Mr Byrde was promoted
"King- to king notwithstanding that at that time Hanchurche as a bachelor was
TRANSLATIONS 1486-9
promoted and in the same year Mr Ardern was proctor.
f 31v
The regents fire On the fifteenth day of the same month the regents fire was in the high hall,
The regents Mr Ardern, the proctor, being then senior regent.
fire
1487-8
Lincoln College Computus LC Arch: Computus 2
p 20 (21 December 1486-21 December 1487) (Necessary expenses and
other costs)
Likewise I paid to the clerk on the feast of St Nicholas 6(.)
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1487-8 MC Arch
f I45v (Hall costs)
Paid for players clothing at Christmas-time by the advice
of one dean as appears by Mr Radcliffe s bill 2s 2d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 34v
On the nineteenth day of the same month Mr William Neal was elected
as king.
f 35v
The regents fire On the thirtieth day of the same (month) the regents fire was in the high
hall, the senior regent being Mr Robert Ardern.
1488-9
Lincoln College Computus LC Arch: Computus 1
f 89 (21 December 1487-21 December 1488) (Necessary expenses)
Likewise to the clerk of St Michael s on St Nicholas Eve 6d
TRANSLATIONS 1488-90 929
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1488-9 MC Arch
f 176v (Chapel costs)
...Paid to John Wynman for the writing of one book of the bishop s service
for (Holy) Innocents Day, 5cL...
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 39v
Mollond was
elected as king On the nineteenth day of the same month, with all the fellows one consent,
Kin g Mr Simon Mollond was elected as king.
December ^ n ^ December, that is to say, the eighth day before Christmas, a scrutiny
s . , .. was held in which deposition was made against the ill-advised manner of some
before masters toward the bachelors on St Edmund s Eve, allowed unpunished by
the deans, and other things were deposed but none of great significance and
the scrutiny was dissolved.
f 40
The regents fire On the twentieth day of the same (month) the regents fire was in the high
hall, Mr Thomas Kent being the senior regent.
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb (8 December- 8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise they received net at Hocktide 1 Is Id
Likewise in Pentecost week they received net 13s Id
Likewise from proceeds of one quart of ale and for players garments 9d
1489-90
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3808
mb 1 (27 March -7 August) (External expenses)
...For 12d (given) in reward to certain players at the warden s command.
930 TRANSLATIONS 1489-91
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 43
Harper was On the nineteenth day of the same (month), by the unanimous consent of
the fellows, Mr Thomas Harper was elected as king.
1490-1
Magdalen College Battells Book MC Arch: CP 8/50
f 30 (26 March- 1 April)
On Sunday at supper with the fellows: one tenant at farm, called Philip
Harris, and another (man), Venne, a singer. On Tuesday the same singer
at dinner with the fellows. And on Friday the same (singer) at dinner with
the fellows
f 47 (25 June -1 July)
...On Thursday ... at dinner with the fellows: a certain singer from
Abingdon
f 50 (23-9 July)
...On Friday at dinner in the hall:... Nicholas, a singer....
f 52 (6- 12 August)
On Sunday ... at supper with the fellows: one singer from London..
f 55 (27 August- 2 September)
On Sunday at dinner with the fellows: two chapel singers of the lord bishop
of Hereford
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1490-1 MC Arch
f 11 (Hall costs)
..Paid for candles used at the time of the plays in Christmas, 6d.
TRANSLATIONS 1490-4
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 47v
King On the twentieth day of the same (month), by the unanimous consent of the
Wcldish is fellows, Mr George Weldish, the second of the four seniors, was elected as
as king j ( j n g f or fa e coming year.
1492-3
Lincoln College Computus LC Arch: Computus 1
f 106v (21 December 1491-21 December 1492) (Necessary internal expenses)
Likewise to the parish clerk on St Nicholas Eve
6d
5 King
elected n. king
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 97v
On the twentieth day of the same month, by the unanimous consent of the
fellows, Mr Richard Rawlyns, the fourth of the four seniors, was elected as
king for the coming year because at that time he had been preferred.
New College Hall Book NC Arch: $529
f [I66v] (8-14 June)
On Sunday (the following persons) came to dinner with the fellows:
performers of the lord prince (and) two servants with them ____
.. two
King of the
kingdom of
Molder elected
as king
1493-4
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 101
On the nineteenth day of the same month Mr John Molder had been elected
as king of the kingdom of beans.
New College Hall Book NC Arch. 5529
f [1/9] (7- 13 December)
On Saturday (the following persons) came to dinner with the fellows:..
TRANSLATIONS 1493-6
two performers who did not give warning of their coming.
f [182] (11 -17 January)
On Tuesday two performers came to supper with the fellows.
f [183v] (1-7 February)
On Saturday (the following persons) came to dinner with the fellows:,
two performers
On Wednesday (the following persons) came to dinner with the fellows:
one performer
1494-5
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 103v
"Kmg of beans On the same day, by the unanimous consent of each (of the fellows), Mr
Robert Dale, at that time proctor of the University, was elected as king of
daskjn g the kingdom of beans.
<:1495
Magdalen School Copy Book BL: MS Arundel 249
f 85v* (Letter of Thomas More to John Holt)
Thomas More greets John Holt
We have sent you everything you wanted except those parts that we have
added to that comedy that is about Solomon. I cannot send those to you now
since they are not with me, (but) I will see to it that you receive (them) and
anything else you want from my things next week
1495-6
Lincoln College Computus LC Arch: Computus 1
f 123 (21 December 1494-21 December 1495) (Necessary expenses)
Likewise on the feast of St Nicholas to the clerk 6d
Likewise on wine to the bishop 2 /id
TRANSLATIONS 1495-1502
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1495-6 MC Arch
f 41 v (Chapel costs)
Paid to Henry Martin for linen, (that is,) a (length of) linen
(cloth), and other things bought for the play on Easter Day as
appears in the bill
f 42v (Hall costs)
Paid for bread and drink consumed at the times of the plays
at Christmas 12d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 106v
Mr Thomas On the same day, by the unanimous consent and assent of each (of the
ieaumom is
elected as king
of beans.
"king
fellows), Mr Thomas Beaumont was elected as the king of our kingdom
New College Hall Book NC Arch: 5529
f [208v]* (6-12 February)
On Tuesday (the following persons) came to dinner with the fellows:... two
performers of the duke of Bedford
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb (8 December- 8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise on the feast of Hocktide 22s 2d
Likewise the said churchwardens received at the feast
of Pentecost 49 S
c 1496-1502
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb* (Receipts)
Likewise on the feast of Hocktide they received net 20s
934 TRANSLATIONS f 1496-1500
Likewise they received on the feast of Pentecost 46s 7d
1496-7
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1496-7 MC Arch
f 81 v (Hall costs)
Paid for coals and candles used at the time of the plays 3s 4d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 109
King On the nineteenth day of the same month, by the unanimous assent and
Claxu.n is consent of the fellows present, Mr Robert Claxton was elected as king, that
elected as k.ng ^ tQ ^ Q f Quf k j ngdom Q f beans.
1497-8
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 113
King On the same day, with one vote (ie, ballot (?)) of all (the fellows), Mr John
\Vaigrave is Walgrave was elected as king.
elected as king
1498-9
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 117v
" King On the nineteeth day of the same month Mr Edward Bernard was elected
Edward Bernard as king by one vote (it, ballot (?)) of all (the fellows).
is elected as king
1499-1500
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 121
On the nineteenth day of the same month, with one vote (ie, ballot (>)) of all
wiTtcT* the fellows, Mr Thomas King was elected as king.
as king
Month of
February
Injunction (to)
Ireland
TRANSLATIONS 1499-1501
f 121v
935
On the fourth day of the same month, at 10 AM, the vice-warden called six
seniors to the warden s lodgings to provide correction regarding a certain
immoderate wake excessively held by Mr Ireland on the day of the Purification
of St Mary at night, with shouts, clamours, and knocks at the fellows and
chaplains doors, together with a certain indecent song. At this time a certain
decree was shown, made in the second year of the reign of King Richard in,
against foolish wakes of this kind, in which the junior masters were enjoined
that henceforth on nights of recreation they not make foolish wakes of this
kind, shouts, or clamours to the detriment of the house, or the disturbance
of the fellows or chaplains, by which they would be less fit to celebrate the
divine offices, under pain of loss of commons. A discussion was held there
among the seniors about this (matter), (that is,) whether uncontrolled wakes
of this kind were simply condemned under that penalty aforesaid. At this
time some affirmed that they were not, if they were made on the authority of
any dean and not extravagantly, all agreed, however, that the wakes recently
held by Mr Ireland were done extravagantly and kept on his own authority
only. On that account, with the unanimous consent of all the seniors, for his
greater warning and as an example to others, he was enjoined to pay 6d for
his commons. It was also decreed there, moreover, that none of the fellows of
whatever estate or degree henceforth hold or keep wakes of this kind, shouts,
or clamours to the disturbance of the fellows or chaplains under pain of loss
of commons.
St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 214/4/F1/14
single mb* (25 November-25 November) (Receipts)
Likewise of collections at Whitsontide
Likewise at Hocktide
40s
9s 6d
Goodhew is
elected king
1500-1
Merton College Register
f 126
MCR: 1.2
On the nineteenth day of the same month, with the unanimous consent
of the fellows, Mr John Goodhew was elected as king because he (was)
preferred to (the post of) master of Wye College in Kent.
936
"Doctor of
theology, king"
Saunders was
elected as king
TRANSLATIONS 1501-2
Chancellor s Register QUA: Hyp/A/2, Register D (or D reversed)
f 93* (29 May)
Proceedings of the court held before Thomas Bank, commissary
On 29 May a certain William Jannys, harper and stranger, came and com
plained that two men, namely Pittes and Hawkinse of the parish of St Michael
at the North Gate, were keeping his harp unjustly, claiming service from him
which he never owed to them or promised. And to prove this he brought John
Huskinse of St Mary s Parish who promised and pledged surety that he would
prove the same, namely, that the aforesaid William did not promise the afore
said Pittes and Hawkinse any service but he promised service to himself, John
Huskinse, and his fellow/s. And therefore both the aforesaid William and the
aforementioned John asked me (ie, Thomas Bank) that it be registered that
the oftensaid William promote his case before the commissary of the Univer
sity lest he be unjustly harassed by the town bailiffs or by the town s mayor
because he was a stranger, promising by his oath that he would reply, obey,
do, and accept what justice requires if this was agreed upon, etc.
William Jannys, John Huskinse, Pittes, and Hawkinse.
1501-2
Merton College Register
f 131
MCR: 1.2
On the nineteenth day of the same (month) Mr Hugh Saunders, a doctor of
sacred theology, was elected as king by the consent of all the fellows, both
because, although a senior, he had not previously undertaken the duty of king,
and because he was preferred to the vicarage of the parish church of Meopham
in the diocese of Canterbury.
""Regarding the
regents fire
ii. c . .
Fire
f 131V
On the seventeenth day of the same (month) the regents fire was held with
very entertaining interludes, Mr Thomas Scarsbrook being the senior.
New College Hall Book NC Arch: 5330
f [26v] (29 January-4 February)
On Wednesday (the following persons) came:... two performers to dinner
with the fellows ... two performers to supper with the fellows.
TRANSLATIONS 1501-4
On Thursday (the following persons) came:... one harper . . to dinner
with the fellows
937
1502-3
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1502-3 MC Arch
f 126 (External payments)
Paid in expenses incurred in Christmas-time on bevers
after the interludes and other (events)
13s 4d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 137
"King* On the same day the same Mr William Ireland by unanimous consent of all
Ireland was the fellows was elected as our king for this year, in the first place because this
elected as kmg J ut y had come to him by reason of seniority, (and) then also because he had
been preferred this year to the rectory of Cuxham.
1503-4
Merton College Register
f I44v
MCR: 1.2
John Adams is
elected as king
"Vice-warden
as king"
On the nineteenth day of the same month, by the unanimous consent of all
the masters who were then present, who were very few for the cause which
has been given above, Mr John Adams, the vice-warden, at that time a senior
by reason of the new decree, which is set down above on the next folio
preceding, was elected as king.
The regents fire
f I45v
On the thirtieth day of the same month Mr John Madstone, at that time senior
regent, entertained the masters and bachelors with the regents fire and other
luxurious arrangements according to the ancient custom.
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb (8 December-8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise on the feast of Hocktide net
19s
938
TRANSLATIONS 1503-6
Likewise on the feast of Pentecost
36s 8d
1504
AC St Peter le Bailey Churchwardens Accounts Bodl.: MS. Wood C.I
p 78* (Receipts)
Of coin collected at Hocktide, 8s 4d.
1504-5
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 151v*
.A
On the nineteenth day of the same month Mr William Gidding by unanimous
Gidding is consent of all the fellows is elected as king of beans, both because he (is) senior
fellow and because he has been preferred to the parish church of Meopham
Kjng in the diocese of Canterbury.
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb (8 December- 8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise on the feast of
Hocktide net
Likewise they received on
the feast of Pentecost net
19s 3d
30s 8d
D^-
Consaunt is
elected as king
conditionally
King
1505-6
Merton College Register
f 158
MCR: 1.2
On the nineteenth day of the same month, by the unanimous consent of all
the masters and fellows and other bachelors who had been present at that time,
Mr Nicholas Consaunt, vice-warden, is elected as king under the condition
that if Mr Scarsbrook was inducted into a benefice, as was being said by
many, he would undertake the duty, but if not, the aforesaid vice-warden was
nevertheless the one pronounced (ie, as king) on the basis of those attending
TRANSLATIONS 1505-7
939
(the meeting), and ancient custom. And the condition was known only among
the fellows.
January
Regarding [he
town officers:
how che noble
granted of old
as a gift was
denied chem
The regents fire
f 158v
On the first day of that month town officers came to our college, as they
were accustomed, to sing a song in the high hall and to receive from the
bursar, from kindness and as a free gift, one noble. But on account of their
ingratitude, and because they said they ought to receive (it) as an obligation
and not from our generosity, we, for that reason, with suitable words and
some sort of kindness shown to them, denied the said money to them on
that occasion. And they thus withdrew to the college of St Mary Magdalen
where, as we have heard, they received a similar response.
On the fourteenth day of that month Mr John Wayte, at that time senior
regent, entertained the masters and bachelors with the regents fire and
luxurious arrangements according to the ancient custom.
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 2 1 3/4/F 1/1
single mb (8 December-8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise the said churchwardens received
on the feast of Hocktide net
Likewise the said churchwardens received
on the feast of Pentecost net
18s2d
43s
1506-7
Lincoln College Computus LC Arch: Computus 2
p 30 (21 December 1505-21 December 1506) (Necessary internal expenses)
Likewise to the clerk of St Michael s
6d
Magdalen College Battells Book MC Arch: CP 8/51
f 63* (3-9 January)
On Epiphany Day at dinner with the fellows in (their) mess:... at the fourth
(mess) for meals, a harper....
TRANSLATIONS 1506-7
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1506-7 MC Arch
f 200* (11 November- 11 November) (External payments)
Paid to Sir Burgess for the writing of the play of
St Mary Magdalene
Paid to the person leading songs by Mr Edward
Martin at the vice-president s command gj
x Paid to Kendall for his diligence in the play of St Mary
Magdalene at the vice-president s command 12d
f 201*
Paid to Sir Burgess for the notation of various songs at
the vice-president s command according to the bill 5s
f 201 v
Paid for a performers expenses in Christmas-time this year 4s
Episcopal Visitation of Magdalen College
Hampshire Record Office: 21M65/A1/18
f 47* (20 January) (Interrogatories for Bishop Richard Fox s visitation taken
before John Dowman, LLD, vicar general)
41. Likewise let them ask how books, ornaments, valuables, and other goods
were guarded by the said college.
45- Likewise let them ask whether any fellow or scholar of the said college uses
cloaks or liripipes outside the precinct of the college.
f 58v* (Reply of Mr John Burgess, MA)
To the fortieth article he says that the sacrist is negligent in providing books
to the fellows for their cubicles and that in Christmas-time the players use
copes in interludes.
TRANSLATIONS 1506-7
f 69* (Reply of Sir John Burgess, BA)
941
...he says, moreover, that Pollarde, from the knowledge of that sworn witness,
went out of the college in lay clothing and in the manner of one performing
interludes..
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 165
p john Chambrc On the nineteenth day of the same month, by the consent of the masters and
is elected as king f e l| OWS) Mr John Chambre, a doctor of medicine who was at that time in
Rome, was elected as king.
f I65v
[The regents fire] On the eleventh day of that month Mr Wayte, the senior regent, entertained
The regents fire a jj tne f e j| ows w j m tne re g e nts fire and other luxurious arrangements accord
ing to the ancient custom and usage.
New College Hall Book NC Arch: 5530
f [157] (2-8 January)
On the same day, at supper with the fellows, a certain performer
1507
Balliol College Statutes BC Arch: Statutes 1
f [31] (Concerning serious prohibitions)
...We forbid also anyone at any place or time from frequenting indecent or
suspect places or engaging in business or transactions forbidden to clerics,
from immersing himself in persistent drinking and frequent drunkenness,
from baiting or vexing anyone with injurious actions or opprobrious insults,
from attending indecent or prohibited plays or those inciting vice or impeding
doctrine and provoking contention, (and) from mixing with entertainers or
jugglers. If he should be delinquent in these things thus prohibited by us
or in other similar greater (offences), after being twice warned by the master
or his deputy together with his dean, he shall be expelled if he offends a
third time.
942
TRANSLATIONS 1507-9
1507-8
Lincoln College Computus LC Arch: Computus 2
p 23 (21 December 1506-21 December 1507) (Necessary internal expenses)
(...) for wine, namely, for the St Nicholas bishop
(...) for the clerk of St Michael s
5d
6d
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1507-8 MC Arch
t 2 1 6v (External expenses)
+ Paid for a bever given to the bishop on St Nicholas Eve,
in wine 2!/2d, in ale 2 1 />d, and in fire 2!/2d
6 /2d
"\\avie enter
tained the fel
lows as (his)
Jut\ as king
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 175
On 10 January Mr John Wayte, as (his) duty as king, entertained all the
fellows with a fire and with other luxurious arrangements according to
ancient custom.
r. the Mr Wyngar, at that time senior regent, entertained all the regents on the
fifteenth day of the aforesaid month.
entertained the
regents
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/F1/1
single mb (8 December-8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise the said churchwardens received on the
feast of Hocktide net
Likewise the said churchwardens received on the
feast of Pentecost net
17s
40s
1508-9
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1508-9 MC Arch
f 23 lv (11 November- 11 November) (External payments)
Paid for wine given to the bishop, 2!/2d, and fire, 2d,
and a bever, 2d, on St Nicholas Eve
6 /2d
TRANSLATIONS 1508-9
Paid to the king s servant leading a bear to the college
by the vice-president s command
943
12d
Merton College Register
f 191
MCR: 1.2
"King" On the twenty-first day of this month, after a letter was read in the hall
Me Hill elected according to the ancient custom, all the fellows by unanimous consent elected
to duty as lung Mf Hi U k j ng fa tne com j n g ye ar.
Town officers
"In noway as an
obligation. See
above f (blank)
and below ff
242b and 256(.)
The Icing s
banquet
f 194
On the first day of this month town officers came to our college to sing a
song before the fellows in the high hall, at which time they received 6s 8d
from the bursar in the colleges name from kindness, to answer on our behalf
in their house of convocation for our possession in the town.
Mr Hill, elected as king, entertained all the fellows with many luxurious
arrangements on the eighth day of this month.
f 194v
The regents fire" On the fifteenth day Mr Wyngar, the senior regent, entertained all the fellows
with a fire at night according to the ancient usage.
The regents fire On the fifteenth day of this month the regents fire was (held), Mr Wyngar
being the senior regent.
Chapter dinner
Chapter dinner
The chapter
fire*
f 195
On the twentieth day of this month the second bursar held the chapter dinner
for the dissolution of the chapter and in the great hall on the same night the
chapter fire (was held).
Plays
ff 196-6v
On the nineteenth day of the same month the senior bachelor, together with
the junior, invited the warden to deign to see the diversions intended for his
944 TRANSLATIONS 1508-10
coming on the following night in the high hall of the college. Agreeing to
this he took himself there with many other venerable men when the time
for recreation had come. When the play was finished all the fellows I of the
college, after they had been brought to the warden s lodgings with a good
many other comrades of neighbouring halls, had a meal prepared with vari
ous confections. All the bachelors, coming (in) at the end of this (meal), sang
rounds, each in his order (or one after another).
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb (8 December-8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise they received on the feast of Hocktide net 25s 6d
Likewise they received on the feast of Pentecost 3 7s 7d
1509-10
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1509-10 MC Arch
f 6 (11 November- 11 November) (External payments)
Paid to a performer in Christmas-time by
the vice-president s command 12d
f 6v
Paid for bread, food, and other things given
to boys performing on Easter Day by the
vice-president s command
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 204
jents fire On 24 January Mr Wyngar, the senior regent, entertained all the fellows with
a fire and banquet at night according to the ancient custom. And this was the
end of that responsibility because the last year of his regency in the faculty o
arts will now come to an end.
TRANSLATIONS 1509-12
945
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 2 1 3/4/F 1 / 1
single mb (8 December-8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise they received on the feast of Hocktide net
Likewise they received on the feast of Pentecost
1510-11
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1510-11 MC Arch
f 19 (External payments)
Paid to a certain performer in Christmas-time
in reward 8d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 209
On St Wulfstan s Day Mr Wyngar, the king, entertained all the fellows with
many dishes of food.
On the tenth day of this month Mr Hewes, proctor (and) senior regent, held
the regents fire and entertained the same (regents).
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb* (8 December-8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise they received on the feast of Hocktide net 23s
Likewise they received on the feast of Pentecost 53s 4d
1511-12
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1511-12 MC Arch
f61* (Hall costs)
Paid for bevers given to the fellows and scholars
after interludes 6s 8d 2s 8d
946
"Wilson
See on the
next page"
TRANSLATIONS 1511-13
Register of Congregation and Convocation QUA: NEP/Supra/G
f 143*
On the same day cited above this (licence) was granted for Edward Watson,
scholar of grammar, to be admitted for teaching in the same faculty since (he
has completed) a course of four years with sufficient practice for teaching,
provided he compose one hundred poems (or songs) in praise of the University
and one comedy within a year after the position has been accepted.
Admission for
teaching in
grammar
King
Election of
the king
f I43v*
Sir Edward Watson was admitted for teaching in grammar on the same day.
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 214
On the eve of St Edmund the King, when the ancient customs had been
completed and the letter read through, all the fellows by unanimous consent
elected Mr Morwent king for the coming year.
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb (8 December- 8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise they received on the feast of Hocktide net
Likewise they received on the feast of Pentecost
21s 4d
56s 8d
1512-13
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1512-13 MC Arch
f 33v (11 November- 11 November) (External payments)
Paid to Peter Pyper for piping in the interlude
on St John s Night
6d
f 34
+ Paid to John Tabourner for playing in the interlude
in the octave of the Epiphany
6d
TRANSLATIONS 1512-14
+ Paid to Robert Jonson for one coat for the interludes
947
4s
Hewes was
elected king
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 218v
On the eve of St Edmund the King messengers came from distant parts
bringing with them a letter for the electing of the king. When this was read
through and other customs performed, by the unanimous consent of all,
Mr Hewes was elected as king for the following year.
f 219
"Symons,
senior regent On the tenth day of this month Mr Symons, proctor and senior regent,
entertained all the masters splendidly at night by means of a fire with many
The month of j i- / j\ i
, a delicacies (and) with wine.
!)n , f . ...
I ne regents hre
f 219v
The master On the twentieth day of this month the master warden entertained all the
masters in his house at night and they had a very good play in the great hall.
Mr Hewes
entertainment
On the twenty-fourth day of this month Mr Hewes, the present year s king,
entertained all the masters at dinner and at night.
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb (8 December-8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise at Hocktide
Likewise on the feast of Pentecost
19s 8d
52s 4d
King
Dr
jymons was
elected king
1513-14
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 222
On the eve of St Edmund the King messengers came from remote parts
bringing with them a letter for the electing of the king. When this was read
948
TRANSLATIONS 1513-17
and other customs performed, by the unanimous consent of all, Mr Symons
was elected as king for the following year.
The month of
February
The regents fire
f 222v
On 26 February Mr Richard Walker, at that time senior regent, entertained the
masters and bachelors with the regents fire and other luxurious arrangements
according to ancient custom.
Powell
the kings
entertainment
Walker the
senior regent s
entertainment
1514-15
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 227v
On the twenty-ninth day of this month Mr Poxwell, the king, entertained all
the fellows at dinner with capons and wine, and honourably at night with a
fire and many dishes of food.
On 4 February Mr Walker, the senior regent, entertained all the fellows with
many dishes of food and with wine.
Knight was
elected as king
1515-16
Merton College Register
f 230v
MCR: 1.2
On the nineteenth day of the same month Mr William Knight, by the
unanimous consent of all the fellows, was elected as king for the coming year.
1516-17
Corpus Christi College Statutes
ff 60-60v (22 June)
CCCA: A/4/1/1
On not delaying in the hall after meals
Immodest speeches, back-bitings, quarrels, coarse jokes, long-windedness, and
other vices of the tongue rarely accompany an empty stomach but often a
swelling and full one. Therefore we give a command in order to counter (such
things) at their beginnings, establishing that every day in our college after
dinner and supper, when thanksgiving to the Highest for things received has
first been finished and the loving-cup has been freely provided for those who
wish (it) and also after those drinkings which they call bevers, customary for
TRANSLATIONS 1516-18
the time according to the usage of the University, each of the seniors, of what
ever degree or estate they be, are to move immediately without any interval to
their studies or other places. Nor shall they allow other juniors to delay there
further, except when either house meetings or other important (or difficult)
business pertaining to the college has to be dealt with immediately in the hall
or when readings, disputations, or expositions and explanations of the Bible
follow forthwith - when these also are completed and finished, they are to
depart at once - or when for the reverence of God, of his glorious mother, or
another saint, a fire is built for the diversion of each of the inhabitants there.
For then the fellows and scholars of our college are permitted for the sake of
recreation to make delay after the aforesaid meals and drinkings, modestly as
is befitting to clerics, in songs and other suitable diversions, and to discuss
amongst themselves, read, and recount poems, chronicles, and marvels of this
world and other things of this kind.
On the disposition of bedrooms
We go out of the hall to the bedrooms as to places for rest and sleep and
refuges after cares and labours. We establish therefore that everyone of our
college conduct himself decently and modestly both with his room-mate
and with other neighbours, and (act) in such a way that he hinder no one at
any time from sleep, rest, or study by excessive shouts, laughs, songs, clamours,
dances, (or) playing of musical instruments. But if at any time one is pleased
to converse with others before the fire or elsewhere for the sake of relaxing
the mind, the time is to be passed with moderate silence in those things
which pertain to virtue and learning, and on those (occasions) there are not
to be late feasts or drinkings, but temperate and salutary (meals).
1517-18
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1517-18 MC Arch
f 123v* (11 November- 11 November) (External payments)
Paid to one bringing a play coat from Mr Burgess 2d
f 126* (Chapel costs)
Paid to Sir Perrott for the dyeing and making of the
coat for him who played the part of Christ and for
wigs for the women 2s 6d
950
TRANSLATIONS 1517-19
Pollen was
elected as king
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 239
On the nineteenth day of the same month Mr John Pollen was elected as
king for the coming year by the consent of all the fellows.
f 239v
December On the tenth day of this month the warden, after he had heard of the senior
King* bachelor s negligence in providing a letter with a seal according to the ancient
Enjoining of the custom for the election of the king, enjoined the same that Williot shall not
senior bachelor receive one penny of (his) exhibition, nor shall he lay claim to the place and
rank of a senior until he has testimony regarding his laudible penance, since
on the eve of (St) Edmund the King, by his example and carelessness, the
bachelors did not come at that same time wearing masks (and) in outland
ish clothing.
St Peter in the East Churchwardens Accounts ORO: PAR 213/4/Fl/l
single mb (8 December- 8 December) (Receipts)
Likewise on the feast of Pentecost
Likewise they received on the feast of Hocktide net
3 6s 8d
22s
Freindship
elected as king
1518-19
Merton College Register
f 241
MCR: 1.2
On the eve of St Edmund the King Mr Freindship was elected as king while
two bachelors only, that is to say, a senior and junior, went around the fire
with a letter and seal in the way it used to be done before, the (old) ceremon
ies being preserved.
Note regarding
town officers:
under what con
dition they re
ceived one noble
this year
f 24lv
On 1 January town officers came to our college, as they were accustomed, to
sing a song in the high hall and they sang. Afterward one noble was given to
the same (officers) by the bursar, the vice-warden being present. At which time
it was made clear to them that this gift, that is, a royal, was not given to them
by our college as an obligation of any kind, because for two or three years they
TRANSLATIONS 1518-21
have received nothing, but only from our kindness and generosity in order that
we would be friends with each other as we used to be. And the speech pleased
them and they withdrew.
1519-20
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1519-20 MC Arch
f 141 (Chapel costs)
Paid to Sir Magott for two pairs of gloves for the
St Nicholas bishop 4d
f I41v
Paid to Robert Payntar for the cross and crown and his
diligence about the play on Easter Day 8d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 245
D Holdar elected On the eve of St Edmund the King Mr Holdar was elected as king for this
"king coming year while eight bachelors first went around the fire with a letter
and seal in the way it used to be done before, the (old) ceremonies being
preserved.
f 248v
January On 1 January town officers came to the college to sing a song in the high
hall. When it was finished one noble was given to them by Hooper, the
second bursar. After they had gratefully accepted it they withdrew giving
thanks.
1520-1
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1520-1 MC Arch
f 170v (External payments)
[Paid for coals used on St Nicholas Eve in the hall, 4d, and for coals used
during various interludes in Christmas-time, 16d, and for candles used on
the nights, lid.]
TRANSLATIONS 1521-4
1521
A Brasenose College Statutes BNC Arch: A.2.3
p 36 (Chapter 23)
..but in addition establishing that none of the fellows or scholars or
servants is to feed or keep any dog or bird of any kind, or any other
animal within the said college or outside it to the harm or detriment
of the same or to the annoyance, disquiet, or disturbance of any of the
fellows or scholars of the same college, nor shall he also hinder any fellow
or scholar of the said college whatever by song, clamour, shouting, a
musical instrument, or any other kind of tumult in any way from being
able to study or sleep
1521-2
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 256
A song by the On 1 January town officers of Oxford came to the college, who afterward
according to custom sang a song in the common hall. They received 6s 8d
from kindness only and not as an obligation.
1522-3
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 257
On 1 January town officers came to the college according to custom, who also
sang a song in our hall. Afterward they received 6s 8d from the bursar, from
benevolence only and not as an obligation.
1523-4
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 258v
January On 1 January town officers came to the college, who according to ancient
custom sang a song afterward in the common hall. Gratefully receiving 6s 8d
from benevolence only and not as an obligation, they went away.
TRANSLATIONS 1524-8
1524-5
Merton College Register
f 26lv
953
MCR: 1.2
On the first day of this month town officers of Oxford came to the college to
sing a song in the hall according to the ancient custom. When it was finished
one noble was given to the same (officers) by Mr Ball, the second bursar, from
the pure benevolence of the fellows. They accepted it in a grateful spirit and,
giving thanks, they departed.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7477
mb 4 (Hall costs)
...And paid to the steward on Christmas Day for the play, 4d
1525-6
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 266
On the eve of St Edmund the King John Clutterbuck was elected as king for
the coming year by the unanimous consent of the fellows.
On 1 January town officers of Oxford came to the college to sing a song in
the hall according to the ancient custom. When it was finished one noble was
given to them from the pure benevolence of the fellows. They accepted it in
a grateful spirit and, giving thanks, they departed.
1526-7
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 268v
On St Edmund s Eve Mr Ball was elected as king.
1527-8
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 270v
On St Edmund s Eve Mr Tresham was elected as king.
954
TRANSLATIONS 1527-30
f 271
The coming of On 1 January town officers came to the high hall as is the custom and there
tnev san S a son g- When this was done a noble was given to them from bene
volence. They accepted it in a grateful spirit and thus they withdrew at once.
1528-9
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 272v
Election of
the king
Town officers
On St Edmund s Eve Mr Bluett was elected as king.
On the day of the Lord s Circumcision town officers came and had 6s 8d
from the bursar as they were accustomed.
1529-30
Cardinal College Expense Book PRO: E/36/104
f 12v (1 November- 1 November)
Paid in reward to two entertainers, the duke of Norfolk s
servants, at the dean s command, 15 July
2s 6d
f 14
Paid for the bartells of the minor canons when they were
preparing to put on a comedy last year as it appears in the
steward s bill
6s 1
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1529-30 MC Arch
f 248 (External payments)
x Paid to Merkame for wine given to the (St) Nicholas
bishop in a bever
-4 Paid for gaudies given for the fellows and scholars in
Christmas-time after the plays were performed and for
other gaudies as it appears in the bill
+ Paid for gloves given to the (St) Nicholas bishop
lid
[27s 7 /2d]
4d
B Election of
the king
Town officers
TRANSLATIONS 1529-32
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 273
On St Edmund s Eve Mr Reynolds was elected king.
On the day of the Lord s Circumcision town officers came and had 6s 8d
from the bursar as they were accustomed.
955
1530-1
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1530-1 MC Arch
f 7v (External payments)
Paid to the lady princess performers
20d
f 8v
+ Paid for a bever given to the fellows and scholars
after the interludes in Christmas-time
[6s 8d]
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 274
Election of On St Edmund s Eve Mr Richard Ewer was elected as king.
the king
1531-2
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1531-2 MC Arch
f 21* (External payments)
Paid to the queen s players by the lord presidents
command
Paid for a bever given to the fellows after the bachelors
play in the great hall as it appears in the bill
12d
6s 3d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 276
Election of
the king
On the eve of (St) Edmund the King, when the fellows had assembled
at the fire in the hall, by the old custom Mr Robert Tayler, registrar of the
956
TRANSLATIONS 1531-3
University, principal of Alban Hall, and vice-warden in the college, was chosen
and appointed as king for the coming year, taking the place after Clutterbuck s
departure and (his) preferment to the chapel of Windsor by the warden.
Lindsay con.
Knyght
Dr Lindsay
died on 2 March
1534, Alumni
Oxonienses, f 672
Lindsay con.
Knight
Chancellor s Court Register QUA: Hyp/A/4, Register EEE (or B reversed)
f 248*
On 7 June Master Doctor Lindsay, STD, claimed before the aforesaid lord
substitute (judge) that he lent to Mr John Knight, MA, a certain pair of
clarichords, which he asked be restored by the same (John Knight), and he
(Mr Knight) did not wish to but said that the said Master Doctor Lindsay
gave the said pair to the same (John Knight), agreeing that he had received
it from him in the presence of the said doctor, who denied that he gave it but
(said) that he lent it only, and he asked for justice to be done for himself in
this matter together with expenses incurred and to be incurred. And then the
said Mr John Knight asked for a term-day for proving that the said Master
Doctor Lindsay gave the said pair of clarichords to him, and the lord (judge)
assigned to him the next Monday and at 1 PM by the consent of the said
master doctor, and he warned the parties to appear.
On 9 June aforesaid, at the aforesaid hour, the aforesaid Master Doctor
Lindsay appeared and asked the lord commissary to compel the said Mr
Knight to restore the said clarichords and their true value, in the presence
of Mr Knight who introduced no proof that the said master doctor gave
him the aforenamed pair of clarichords. At his petition, indeed, the master
(commissary) sentenced the aforesaid Mr John Knight to restore the said
pair of clarichords within eight days in the same good condition in which
they were at the time of their handing over, and to satisfy the parties, that
is to say, Messrs Baldwin and Best, by whose consent the aforesaid pair of
clarichords had been sequestered into the hands of the said Master Doctor
Lindsay, also in the expenses to be assessed by the lord commissary and to
discharge the said master doctor against (any claims of) the aforesaid parties
by sufficient guarantors within the next eight days following under the
aforenamed punishment as above.
1532-3
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 277v
Election of
the king
On the eve of (St) Edmund the King, when the fellows had assembled at the
TRANSLATIONS 1532-4
fire in the hall, by the old custom Mr John Davy was chosen and appointed
as king for the coming year.
1533-4
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1533-4 MC Arch
f 44 (External payments)
Bill + Paid to Richard Alard for two meals after the fellows and
scholars plays as appears by two bills joined into one 12s 2d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 279
Devenell is On 19 November, that is to say, on the eve of (St) Edmund the King, Mr
elected is king Henry Devenell was elected as king because he has been preferred to the
rectory of Bridport in the county of Dorset.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7488
mb 7 (Necessary external costs)
...Paid in reward to the king s players at the warden s command, 3s 4d
mb 8
...Paid in reward given to drummers (from) Calais at the vice-warden s
command, 12d
Chancellor s Court Register QUA: Hyp/A/4, Register EEE (or B reversed)
f 257v (A Christmas play at Broadgates Hall)
On the same day Robert Woodward, manciple of the house of Broadgates
Hall, appeared and claimed that he had lent Sir John Moore, a scholar of the
said hall, 15s for the purchase of specific clothing for the plays and stages in
Christmas-time, which (money) he sought from the said Sir John Moore with
legal expenses. And to prove the loan he brought in George Wimsley, LLB,
and Thomas Burgayne, scholars of the said hall, who having sworn on the Holy
Gospels deposed diat the aforementioned manciple had lent the aforesaid sum,
15s, to the same Sir John Moore on this condition, (namely,) that he return die
958 TRANSLATIONS 1533-7
same sum after the collection usually held among the scholars of the said house
to contribute to the payment. (This evidence was given) in the presence of the
said Sir John Moore, who confessed that he had received the aforesaid sum from
the said manciple, but he says that he has paid 7s to the aforesaid manciple,
which sum, 7s, the aforesaid manciple confessed that he had received, and the
judge found the aforesaid Sir Moore liable for the remainder, that is, 8s together
with legal expenses, and he ordered the same to pay the said sum, together with
legal expenses, to the aforesaid manciple within the eight days next following
under penalty of law and without delay. The judge assessed the expenses at lOd.
1534-5
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1534-5 MC Arch
f 77 (External payments)
Paid to a performer for diversions made for the fellows
in Christmas-time 4 s 4d
Paid for a light meal made after the performance of a
comedy as is entered in Alard s book 9s 3d
Paid to the lord king s jugglers at the lord president s command 20d
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7489
mb 8 (Necessary external costs)
...Paid in reward given to royal players, 2s..
1535-6
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1535-6 MC Arch
f 67 (External payments)
Paid to a performer for diversions made for the fellows
and students in Christmas-time
1536-7
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch:
mb 5 (Necessary external costs)
..Paid to the king s players by the vice-warden s hands, 20d..
TRANSLATIONS 1537-9
1537-8
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1537-8 MC Arch
f 120v (External payments)
x Paid to two drummers for (their) pains during Christmas-tide 4s 8d
f 122
Paid for sweetmeats given to the fellows when the comedy
was performed 6s 8d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 283 (November)
Mr Ramridge was elected as king.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7495
mb 4 (Necessary external expenses)
...In reward given to Lord Cromwell s entertainers, 7s
1538-9
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1538-9 MC Arch
f 13 lv (Hall costs)
Paid to Hammond for (his) labour for three days about the stage 18d
f 136 (External payments)
Paid for sweetmeats given to the fellows when the comedy
was performed 8s
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 284v
On the twentieth day Mr Borough, vicar of Croydon, was elected as king of
Merton.
960 TRANSLATIONS 1539-41
1539-40
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1539-40 MC Arch
f 150v (External payments)
Paid to two harpers in Christmas-time 4 S gj
Paid for a banquet given for the fellows at that time when
the tragedy was performed 8s 4d
Paid for bread and drink given to the demies while they were
busy mounting a public comedy 20d
Merton College Register MCR: 1 .2
f 285v
ick was On 19 November Mr Estwick was elected as king on the eve of (St) Edmund
elected as king the j-^
f 286
9 Coming of On 1 January town officers of Oxford came to the college to sing a song in
the hall. When it was fi
benevolence of the fellc
thanks, they withdrew.
the hall. When it was finished one noble was given to them from the pure
benevolence of the fellows. They received it in a grateful spirit and, giving
1540-1
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1540-1 MC Arch
f 158 (Hall costs)
Paid for candles used in the hall during the time comedies
were performed 5s
f 162* (External payments)
Paid for a bever given to the fellows after comedies
were performed 12s4d
Paid to Mr Harley for a drummer hired during the
Christmas holidays
TRANSLATIONS 1541-2
1541-2
Magdalen College Liber Computi 1541-2 MC Arch
f 170v (Hall costs)
Paid for candles used while the comedies were performed 4s 4d
f 176 (External payments)
Paid to Mr Redman for a drummer 4s 8d
f 176v
Paid for a light meal given to the fellows after the comedies
had been performed 13s 4d
New College Hall Book NC Arch: 5530
f [167] (24-30 December)
On Wednesday at dinner with the fellows:... two entertainers.
f [168] (31 December- 6 January)
On Sunday.. .
at supper with the fellows: two entertainers.
On Tuesday at dinner with the fellows:... two entertainers.
At supper with the fellows: two entertainers.
On Wednesday at dinner with the fellows:... two entertainers.
At supper with the fellows: two entertainers.
On Thursday at dinner with the fellows:... two entertainers
At supper with the fellows: two entertainers
On Friday at dinner with the fellows:... two entertainers.
f [169] (7- 13 January)
On Sunday...
%2 TRANSLATIONS 1541-2
at supper with the fellows:... two entertainers.
On Monday at dinner with the fellows:... two entertainers.
At supper with the fellows:... two entertainers.
On Wednesday...
At supper with the fellows: two entertainers.
On Friday at dinner with the fellows: two entertainers.
f [170] (14 -20 January)
On Saturday ... at dinner with the fellows:... two entertainers.
On Sunday...
at supper with the fellows: two entertainers.
f [173]* (4- 10 February)
On Friday at dinner with the fellows:... two entertainers of Lady
Willoughby.
The Queen s College Long Roll QC Arch: 2P131
single mb (1 July- 1 July) (External expenses)
...Likewise to pipers for the months of August and June, 20d
Dedicatory Epistle to Gilbert Smith, Archdeacon of Peterborough
Grimald: Christus Redivivus
sigs A3v-4*
...But after I, having passed my time in the college of learned men that
takes its name from the brazen nose for one month and likewise a second,
had for my part adorned that Sparta, and after it so happened that the
college youth, perhaps by fortune, were on fire to ascend the stage whereby
they would both excite their own souls and show a certain image of life
to be seen by the citizens, what I was working on and what I had in
TRANSLATIONS 1541-3
hand began to be known to many very quickly, from (being known by)
the few who used to frequent my cubicle. And so Matthew Smith, warden
of the college and your kinsman, a man furnished with marvellous mod
esty, generosity, and holiness of life, Robert Caldwell, a thoroughly honest
man and remarkably I learned, (and) young men, most carefully chosen
and of the greatest promise, (all) worked together with me with the result
that I entrusted to them my offspring to be produced on the stage, and
for this reason I dedicated and devoted my work to them. Since, more
over, it seemed difficult for me to refuse them sometimes striving for
brilliant things, sometimes desiring things worthy of their own nature, I
allowed indeed that this very comedy be publicly performed under their
auspices in a gathering of the most erudite men. As soon as rumour
resounding with a clamorous voice had poured this (news) out into your
ears, you have continued not only to admonish me through my most
diligent instructor John Airy but also yourself kindly to ask again and
again for an edition of this play in verse. And indeed as often as I myself,
being rather confused with amazement and embarrassment, have shown
myself devoted to excuses and said that it was not possible that traces of
ignorance would not appear everywhere in a youth of more or less twenty
years, and regarded everything, which I have mentioned above, as an
obstacle, just as often that man, my teacher - such was his assiduity both
of obedience to you and of challenging me - stood firm and employed
the examples, now of more recent (authors), now also of ancient ones,
whose monuments are extant, written not without the highest praise at
that age
1542-3
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/5
f 5 (Hall costs)
Paid for candles while the comedies were performed 4s
f 9v (External payments)
Paid for a bever given to the fellows after the comedies
had been performed 13 S 4J
Paid to Mr Ottley for a drummer during the Christmas
season 4 S 8c j
964 TRANSLATIONS 1544-fl546
1544-5
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/5
f 22 (External payments)
Paid to the drummer Tyllesley for his work during the
Christmas holidays 4 S
1545-6
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/5
f 35v (External payments)
Paid for a drummer during the Christmas holidays at
the hands of Mr Wodroffe 4 S 8d
c 1546
Christ Church Cathedral and College Foundation Statutes
ChChArch: D.P.vi.b.l
f 183* (Chapter 35) (On the disposition of bedrooms)
In order that the bedrooms be prudently and well disposed, we establish,
ordain, and wish that everyone of our church conduct himself decently and
modestly in his dormitory both with his room-mate and with other neigh
bours, and that he hinder no one at any time from sleep, rest, or study by
excessive shouts, laughs, songs, clamours, dances, (or) playing of musical
instruments. But if at any time one is pleased to converse with others before
the fire elsewhere for the sake of relaxing the mind, the time is to be passed
with moderate silence in those things which pertain to virtue and learning,
and on those (occasions) there are not to be late feasts or drinkings, but
temperate and salutary (meals)
ff 194-4v
48. On not delaying in the hall after meals
In order that, after the filling of the belly and thanksgiving, literary studies
or other works of piety be pursued, we establish, ordain, and wish that every
day after dinner and supper, when thanksgiving to God has been finished,
each and every canon of our church, of whatever degree they be, shall with
draw without any interval from our hall except when either meetings or
other important (or difficult) I business of the church has to be immediately
dealt with, or (when) readings, disputations, or expositions of the Bible are
TRANSLATIONS C 1546-50 965
to follow forthwith - when these are completed, they are to depart at once -
or (except) when a fire is built on the more solemn feasts for the diversion
of all the inhabitants there. Then we permit the canons of our church and
the others aforesaid for the sake of recreation, modestly as is appropriate for
clerics, to delay after the said meals and drinkings in the hall in songs and
other suitable diversions, and also to pursue literary leisure amongst them
selves, to discuss, read, and recount poems and histories and other things
of this kind.
1546-7
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 299
The arrival of On 1 January [town] city officers of Oxford came to the college to sing a
song in the hall. When it was finished 6s with 8d were given to them from
the pure benevolence of the fellows, and they accepted (the money) in a
grateful spirit and giving thanks they withdrew.
1547-8
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: B.i.16
mb 1 (17 December- 24 March)
. . .Likewise 6s 8d paid for expenses of a comedy to be performed publicly
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/5
f 63v (External payments)
Paid for candles used at the time of the tragedies and
(for) torches 19 S gj
Paid for the fellows light meal before the tragedies 10s
1549-50
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/5
f 90v (External payments)
Paid to a drummer in Christmas-time 4 S
TRANSLATIONS 1549-fl550
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 302v
i it) officers On 1 January city officers of Oxford came to the college to sing a song. When
it was finished 6s with 8d were given to them from pure benevolence. They
accepted (the money) in a grateful spirit and giving thanks they withdrew.
c!550
Christ Church College Foundation Statutes ChCh Arch: D.P.vi.b. 1
f 55* (Chapter 35) (On the disposition of bedrooms)
We establish, ordain, and wish that everyone of our church conduct himself
honourably and modestly in his bedroom both with his room-mate and with
other neighbours, and that he hinder no one at any time from sleep, rest, or
study by excessive shouts, laughs, songs, clamours, dances, (or) playing of
musical instruments. But if at any time one is pleased to converse with others
before the fire or elsewhere for the sake of relaxing the mind, the time is to
be passed with moderate silence in those things which pertain to virtue and
learning, and on those (occasions) there are not to be late feasts or drinkings,
but temperate and salutary (meals)
f 60* (Chapter 53)
On not delaying after meals
We establish and wish that every day after dinner and supper, when thanks
giving to God has been finished, each and every canon of our church, of
whatever degree they be, shall withdraw without any interval from our hall
except when either meetings or other important (or difficult) business of
the church has to be immediately dealt with, or (when) readings, disputa
tions, or expositions of the Bible are to follow forthwith - when these also
are completed, they are to depart at once - or (except) when a fire is built
on the more solemn feasts for the diversion of all the inhabitants there.
Then we permit the canons of the church and the others aforesaid for the
sake of recreation, modestly as is appropriate for ecclesiastics, to delay after
the said meals and drinks in the hall in songs and other suitable diversions,
and also to pursue literary leisure amongst themselves, to discuss, read, and
recount poems and histories and other things of this kind. Further, in order
that there be no opportunity for wrongdoing available, (we grant) authority
to the dean and chapter to draw up (and) pass on rules and decrees in our
TRANSLATIONS C 1550-2
church, not to be violated without punishment, (provided) only that (these
rules) not work against these our statutes.
1550-1
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: B.i.16
mb 1* (c 25 December -7 April)
...Likewise of 5s Id paid to Dolye painting those things that were needed
for performing the comedies. ... Likewise of 18s 7d paid for repairs on Lord s
house and for expenses that were incurred in putting on the comedies
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/5
f 99v* (Hall costs)
Paid on 17 January to Thomas Pickhaver for five days work
about the stage at 8d a day 3s 4d
Paid to Walter Oven working for the same time at 6d a day 2s 6d
Paid to Robert for three days work about the same 2s
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 305v
On 1 January city officers of Oxford came to the college to sing a song. When
it was finished 6s 8d were given to them from pure benevolence, for which
they gave great thanks and departed.
1551-2
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/5
f 125* (Hall costs)
Paid on 23 January to Hickes constructing the stage for three
days, (together) with half (a day), and for one night 3s
Paid for two dozen lamps, 9(s) 8(d) for each dozen 19s 4d
Paid for eight dozen candles 10s
Paid on 23 January to Hammond and (his) son working for
six days on building the stage at I4d a day 7s
968 TRANSLATIONS 1551-3
f 131v* (External payments)
Bill Paid for meals eaten by the fellows after the comedies
were performed as it appears in the bill 42s 6d
f 132v
Paid to a drummer in Christmas 4s 8d
1552-3
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/5
f I48v (Hall costs)
Paid for ropes for the use of those putting on the tragedies I4d
Paid to Mr Taynter for cord for the same use 6d
Paid on 28 January to Wilmot for his work with the
participants beforehand 3d
f 1 57v* (Store costs)
Paid at the same time to Sutton (and) Wilmot for erecting
(and) replacing the boards and pulling down the stage for
three days 3s
f 159 (Costs of internal repairs)
Paid on 21 January to Robert Hammond and (his) son making
the stage, to (one of them) squaring timber, (and) to (the other)
making chests (or cupboards) in the kitchen for six days
Paid to Robert Hickes working with Hammond for the
same number of days
Paid on 28 January to Robert Hammond for his work of
pulling down the stage (and for him) squaring timber for
four days at I4d a day
Paid on 4 March to Robert Hammond and (his) son making
a table and other things in the musical pastime for four days
TRANSLATIONS 1552-5
f I60v (External payments)
Paid for meals spent on the fellows and the rest after the
comedies were performed as it appears in the bill
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7522
mb 7 (Internal costs)
...Paid for cleaning the houses after the plays, 4d....
1553-4
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/1
f 43*
[Paid to pipers for fourteen days during the Christmas holidays, 26(...).]
f 56v (Hall costs)
Paid on 3 February to Hickes working about the stage for
six days at 8d a day 4s
Paid at the same time to Hammond with (his) two sons
working for six days about the stage at 15d a day 7s 6d
f 60 (External payments)
Paid on 9 February to Sir Day for pipers in Christmas-time 4s
Paid on 13 January on the coming of the same (Lord Mahravers)
to the tragedies for two nights according to the bill 42s 8!/ad
Paid for meals given to the fellows after the tragedies were
performed according to the bill 10s 9d
1554-5
Magdalen College Libri Computi Me Arch: LCE/5
f 187v (External payments)
Paid to pipers during the Christmas holidays 4s 8d
970 TRANSLATIONS 1556-8
1556-7
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch LCD/1
f 130v (Hall costs)
Paid on 5 February to Hickes working about the stage for
one day and a half 12d
Paid at the same time to Hammond working for half a day 4d
Taid tor half a dozen torches 2s 4d
Paid for rope at the time of the tragedies 12d
f 1 34 v (External expenses)
Paid to pipers in Christmas-time 4s
Cardinal Pole s Statutes Bodl.: MS. Top.Oxon b.5
f 85 (6 November) (Chapter 17)
With reference, moreover, to townsfolk, (enquire) whether the women (or
wives) be disreputable, also (whether there be) games of chance, fencing
schools, or swordsmen or dancing schools.
(Enquire) whether there are any who receive scholars in taverns or private
homes and at feasts without a licence either of the warden of the college or
the provosr of rhe hall.
1557-8
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/5
f 203v (Chapel costs)
Paid on Maundy Thursday to twelve choristers 12d
f 205 (Hall costs)
Paid for rope acquired about the theatre 12d
f 213 (External payments)
Paid to piper/s in Christmas-time 4s 8d
TRANSLATIONS 1557-60
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/1
f 147 (Hall costs)
Paid on 9 January to Oven and his servant working about the
stage for three days at lOd a day for one (and) 8d for the other 4s 6d
1558-9
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 320v
Given to the On 1 January, that is, Circumcision Day, city officers of Oxford came to the
aty officers of college to sing a song. It indeed did not quite fit the bill and not, however,
Oxford from ^
pure md volun- without just complaint, tor the one or them who had sung was seized with
tary generosity a sudden sickness, as everyone said with one voice. On that account we
determined to make allowance for them and nevertheless gave them, from
pure benevolence, 6s 8d. They accepted (the money) in a grateful spirit
and giving thanks they withdrew.
The Queens College Long Roll QC Arch: 2P146
single mb (7 July 7 July) (External expenses)
...Likewise to pipers, I6d
1559-60
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 5* (Hall costs)
Paid on 9 February to Oven and his servant working about
the stage for eleven days at 19d a day 17s 6d
Pa d C Webstef buS X ab Ut the Same ( task ) for three <%
the stage" at 9d a day 2s 3d
Paid to Cryspe engaged about the same (task) for the
same time 2s 3d
Paid to Wright and Cutberde carrying many things to
the same stage for five days at 14d a day 5s 10d
Paid to Welles and Heywood sawing various things for
the same stage for four days at 20d a day 6s 8d
Paid to John Willows and Henry Heywood on 26 January
sawing various things for the same stage for three days,
together with half (a day), at 20d a day 5s
TRANSLATIONS 1559-61
Paid at the same time for two dozen torches g s
Paid to Alkot and Welles removing the stage iQd
Paid to Hickes repairing the benches and tables after the
comedies were produced o j
f 8* (Internal repairs)
Paid on 28 January to Oven and (his) servant busy for
five and a half days about Mr Atkinson s window and
the stage in the hall at 19d a day g s
f 8v* (External payments)
+ Paid to the lord president for expenses on lords sons at
the time of the shows 53s 4d
Paid to pipers in Christmas-time 4s
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/1
f 183
Paid:" we gave pipers in partial payment of a greater sum 13s 4d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 322v
On 1 January city officers of Oxford came to sing a song. When this was
done we gave them 6s 8d from pure benevolence.
1560-1
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 17* (Hall costs)
Paid to Joynere, (a) painter, painting the names of the heresies
for the show which the choirmaster produced 3s 4d
TRANSLATIONS 1560-2
f 21 (External expenses)
\ Paid to pipers in Christmas-time 4s
1561-2
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 35v* (Hall costs)
Paid on the last (day) of January to Squire and (his) son
sawing various things for the stage for five days and a half
at 20d a day 8s 4d
Paid at the same time to Oven and (his) servant con
structing various things for producing the shows for six
days at 18d a day 9s
Paid on 7 February to Squire and (his) son sawing various
things for the stage for four days at 20d a day 6s 8d
Paid on 8 February to Oven and (his) servant erecting the
stage and constructing various things for the shows for five
days at 18d a day 7s 6d
Paid at the same time to Rixon and White working together
for the same number of days at 18d a day 7s 6d
Paid to Showsmythe repairing glass windows by agreement 6s 8d
Paid to the same in reward for glass broken during the shows 3s 4d
Paid for candles spent at the time of the shows 6s 8d
f 40 (External payments)
Paid to pipers in Christmas-time 4s
Paid for meals given to Mr Winchecombe and others at
the time of the shows as it appears in the bill 11s lOd
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/1
f 222 (6 February)
"Paid: we gave as a loan to Sir Brasbridge on 6 February,
3s (of which was) for hair for women (/>, a wig or wigs) 3 10s
974
TRANSLATIONS 1561-2
f 223v
Paid for two dozen torches to put on the shows
8s
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 326
On 21 October Mr Jones, the chief of the town officers of Oxford, readily
received 6s 8d, and that by the consent of the lord warden and the seniors,
from Mr Giffard, the bursar, in the place of Mr Atwood, who on the nine
teenth of the same month declined of his own free will to be a fellow any
longer. The said Jones not only acknowledged that he and his (fellow officers)
had this sum not by right but from the pure generosity of the college, but
also declared (as much) to those present - Marshall, the vice-warden, and
Giffard, the bursar.
The officers
did not sec us
thi^ year
f 326v
On Circumcision Day the town officers of Oxford did not come here to us
from dinner (ie, after dinner (?)) at all, which could seem a wonder since
before this they were accustomed to take very eagerly those things which
our college conferred on them freely and voluntarily.
Letter of John Foxe to Laurence Humphrey BL: MS Harleian 416
f [lv]* (January?)
No indeed, I think that 1 should be thankful less on account of the scholarly
world, to which indeed no small part (of me) looks (with gratitude), than for
anything of use and profit that is hoped for from your honour. Anyway, while
I was writing these things to you and was wanting (to write) more on this
matter of gratitude, (...) occupying myself in the very wide and very joyful
field of writing, our Robert, servant of your Edward, whom as you know I
think as worthy now as I have always loved him from long ago in Basel on
account of a rare quality of piety and modesty, (and) whom you also benefited
in accordance with your richer ability, made an unexpected and timely arrival.
After him followed also your letter bearing not only the hand of my old
(friend) Laurence but also all the candour of (his) heart. In order that I might
write something in reply to that letter, since duty does not permit (me) to be
silent, regarding the show of which you write in it, Christus Triumphant, I pray
that Christ, the director of every good action, turns all to good for the men of
TRANSLATIONS 1561-5
Magdalen if they have indeed decided (to put it on). But I am amazed at their
reasoning in defence of this (choice) since there are so many comedies - Latin,
Greek, sacred, and profane - available on which they perhaps could have
exerted their efforts more usefully in other ways. But seeing that it so appears
to them, even if it is not possible for me to be a spectator because of business,
nevertheless I will not fail to be among those who always gladly applaud the
excellent efforts of the men of Magdalen. Meanwhile I am very grateful for
your graciousness in so lovingly inviting me there. As for inserting the con
version of (St) Paul, I am not yet certain what I should promise or what I
should respond. For the one asking is someone whom I should not refuse. I
am so detained by business at the moment that there is no time left over even
if I should wish it. I hope, however, to write to you regarding this business
more fully in a few days, our triumphant Christ permitting.
1562-3
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 59v (External payments)
Paid to pipers in Christmas-time 4s
1563-4
The Queen s College Long Roll QC Arch: 2P 1 50
single mb (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
. . .Likewise to a piper, 6d
1564-5
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 97 (External payments)
Paid to pipers in Christmas-time 4s
Paid to pipers on Pentecost Day by the vice-president s command 12d
Trinity College Bursars Books TC Arch: I/A/1
f 66v (External expenses)
Paid for the show set forth on Trinity Sunday, namely, (for) the
oak placed in the deer park 6s 6d
976 TRANSLATIONS 1565-6
1565-6
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 106 (Chapel costs)
Paid to Showsmythe mending windows by agreement 6s 8d
Paid to the same repairing windows broken by balls and
during the time of the shows 3s 4d
f 106v (Hall costs)
Paid to Oven and two servants working about the stage at
various times during the Christmas holidays for six days 14s
Paid to Oven and two servants working about the stage
for six days 14s
Paid to Rixon and Morris doing the same thing for four days 6s
Paid to Squire and (his) servant sawing various things for
the same project for four days 6s
Bill Paid to Mr Brasbridge for expenses on the comedy 7s lOd
Bills Paid for various things belonging to the shows according
to the bills 137sll /2d
Paid for candles used in the time of the shows 15s
Paid to Oven and (his) servant working about the show
for three days 7s 6d
"Paid for coals used at the same time 4
f 108v (Groundskeeping costs)
Paid Oven and two servants trimming (or shaping) lumber
for the new stage for three days 7s 6d
Paid Squire and (his) servant sawing at the same time for
five days 8s 4d
f 109v (External payments)
Paid to pipers in Christmas-time
TRANSLATIONS 1565-6
Paid to someone bearing a letter from the queens counsellors
Paid for expenses at the time of the queen s progress 6
f 110
"Paid for meals given to gentlemen at the time of the shows 17s 4d
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/1
f 293 (Memoranda)
"Paid:" we gave pipers in advance 43s 4d
We gave in advance to the bachelors for presenting the shows 3 1 Is 8d
Letter of Guzman de Silva to the King of Spain
Archive General de Simancas: Estado, legajo 819
f [2v] (6 September)
This queen has been received at this University in the manner princes are
customarily (received) in the places that welcome them with all due applause
and jubilation. They proffered four orations from various places upon her
entrance, three in Latin and one in Greek, in which they praised her virtues
and learning, demonstrating their jubilation and happiness at her visit.
Included among the public functions on the days she has been here have
been exercises in all areas of learning and, at night, comedies and tragedies
(have been performed) in the Latin language and in English. Yesterday was
the day on which the festivities ended, and the queen thanked them in Latin
with good and solemn word(.}. No matters relating to religion, only ordinary
ones, were treated in these functions, either in comedies or disputes, except
the last one, which was about theology
Nicholas Robinson s Of the Actes Done at Oxford
Folger Shakespeare Library: MS Va. 176
f 158v (1 September)
A story of a certain Geminus concluded this day. Some studious men of
Christ College (/>, Christ Church) had turned this story into the form of a
978 TRANSLATIONS 1565-6
comedy. But after they had dispensed with an oration, they performed the
same (comedy) on a stage in the hall of the same college, where everything
was very brilliant with respect to splendour and decoration with royal expend
itures and with the help of Mr Edwards, who remained at the University
tor almost two months in order also to make a certain work in English,
which on the following night he set forth. At this historical comedy the
royal counsellors (and) noble men and women, together with the legate of
the king of Spain, were present. The queen was absent either on account of
fear of illness or (because) she was engaged in other business. The first hour
after midnight had already sounded when an end was put to this show.
f 159 (2 September)
As on the previous night, on this one also this stage was decorated splendidly
so that The Knights Tale, as Chaucer calls it, translated from Latin into English
speech by Mr Edwards and other students of the same college, was set forth to
the public, (blank) After her royal majesty had entered onto the stage and all
the entrances were closed, part of a wall by which one goes into the hall - by
what chance or for what reason I do not know - fell down and crushed a scholar
of St Mary s Hall and a townsman by the name of Pennye. They died there and
also another scholars leg was broken. And both of a cook s legs were shattered
and his face was cut up, as if by blows, by the fall of stones. Nevertheless, the
show was not interrupted but continued to midnight.
f I6lv (4 September)
On this night what had remained of the story or tale of Palamon and Arcite
was performed with the queen herself present on the stage.
ff !64v-5 (5 September)
...afterward I her royal majesty is conducted into the hall with wax torches
lit, because the eighth hour had already sounded.
In the silence of this night it is shown on stage how KingTereus ate his son
who was killed and prepared by his wife, Procne, on account of the rape of
her sister. All (was put on) with the finest preparation and in truly royal style
as was certainly proper. When this tragedy received its applause everyone went
to bed.
TRANSLATIONS 1565-6
Bereblock s Commentary Bodl.: MS. Rawlinson D.1071
pp 13-15 (1 September)
...As night was approaching the most elaborate shows were given, which for
many, I who being at leisure were anticipating them the whole day, were the
pinnacle of reward in their distinction. And nothing indeed more precious
or more magnificent could be devised than their provision and construction.
First there was an elaborate approach (to the hall) by means of a doorway that
was open in a large, solid wall and from it, a raised wooden platform placed on
posts runs forward by a small (ie, narrow (?)) and skilful track across transverse
steps toward the great hall of the college. It is equipped with a festive garland
and an engraved and painted canopy so that by it, without the bustle and
disturbance of the pressing crowd, the queen could make her way to the pre
pared shows with, as it were, an even step. There was the hall with a gilded
panelled ceiling, a ceiling both painted and arched within, and you might say
that it imitates the size of the ancient Roman palace in its grandeur and pride,
and the image of antiquity in its magnificence. In its upper end, which faces
west, a great and raised stage is built up, one also elevated by many steps. Along
every wall raised steps and platforms have been constructed, benches were
atop the same (raised steps and platforms) of many (different) heights, from
which distinguished men and ladies might be admired, and the people all
around were able to observe on all sides of the plays. Burning lamps, hanging
lamps, and candles made a very bright light there. With so many lights
arranged in branches and circles and so many torches (or chandeliers) providing
flickering light here and there with unequal brightness, the place shone, so
that like daylight, (the lights) seemed to sparkle and help the splendour of
the shows with the greatest radiance. On either side of the stage, magnificent
palaces and most sumptuous houses are constructed for the comedies and
masques. A seat had been fixed on high, provided with pillows and tapestries
and covered with a golden I canopy: (this) place was appointed for the queen,
but she, in fact, was not present on this night. When everything had been pre
pared in this order and the house was quite full and occupied, one might have
seen immediately on the stage Geminus Campanus accused falsely by Duillius
and Cotta in the presence of Alexander Severus because of envy and emulation;
slaves, farmers, and rustics ensnared by the allurements of bribes; (and) wit
nesses introduced. And nothing (was) more laughable than to observe those
(characters) sordidly triumphing as if in certain victory, decreeing Geminus
punishment, squabbling over the division of his wealth, and fighting among
themselves to a great degree, then deploring their misfortune with laments and
tears like a woman s. When the play had gone on for some time like this, more
honourable freedmen are later introduced whom neither penalty nor bribery
could bring to an unjust accusation. Their written documents, testimonies,
980 TRANSLATIONS 1565-6
evidences, (and) questionings made the truth clear. The accusing slaves, there
fore, are then crucified at the emperor s command. Duillius and Cotta are
deservedly punished; the freedmen rewarded; Geminus is freed; great applause
is inspired from all. When it is finished everyone departs for bed.
pp 19-21 (2 September)
. . .While night was approaching they gather together for the prepared shows,
whose magnificent organization and refinement of incredible elegance had
so filled the minds and ears of all with their reputation, that an infinite and
innumerable multitude of people gathered together there out of an immense
and immoderate desire to see (them). The presence of the prince, of which
they were deprived now for two days, had added such desire for her to
the minds of all that their number had therefore been greatly increased and
larger. Hardly had the queen entered with her nobles, men of the first rank,
and sat down on an elevated seat, when everyone I flocked together to the
entrances of the theatre - it was in the hall of the college - with such a great
rush and the steps were now (so) completely filled with the people that in
their violence they spoilt the general joy with horrible destruction. There was
a wall of squared stones, with huge steps. On either side a barrier was placed
in order to sustain the rush of those going up. The crowd becomes more dense;
the rush greater; the wall, although it was very strong, could not hold. From
one side of the steps it fell. Three people were crushed by the collapse, as
many wounded. Of the those crushed, the one who survived the longest did
not live more than two days. The wounded recovered in a short time, when
remedies had been applied. Although this misfortune was able to spoil the
general joy, it was not able to ruin it (completely). And so everyone returns to
the shows, now more cautious because of the others perils. There one could
observe the royal youths, Palamon and Arcite, whom the same land had long
held in concord, whom the same life-threatening danger and common prison
had joined together, whom the bond of affinity and the swearing of oaths had
made brothers. Those men were wretchedly perishing for the love of one and
the same maiden, Emily, sister(-in-law) of the duke of Athens. Here then in
them it was possible to see their souls agitated back and forth by motion, blow,
and thrust, hither and thither and, in prison, hardly in sufficient concord,
thrown into disorder by a stronger desire, fighting, battling - why go on?
They are prohibited by a command; they do not heed the command. They
are imprisoned; they break out; they go into exile. Love does not allow them
to go on I further: two days is too much; he cannot bear three. And so the
royal youth does not heed capital punishment. In a less proper style of dress
he returns; from being Arcite, by a change of name, he becomes Philostrates.
He instructs himself in every kind of duty; no service is so vile that he does
no 1
TRANSLATIONS 1565-6
not pursue it. Nothing is so irksome by its nature that Emily s presence does
not make it sweet and pleasant to him; without that most pleasant one, every
thing is laborious, tedious, and hateful. Palamon, meanwhile, tricks the guard
with a potion, escapes from his troubles, flees by night, hides in the woods by
day. At last he encounters his brother. Here Emily stirs up new commotions,
and love had already caused such strong disturbances and affronts to the mind
that soon they were fighting, but the fight is calmed immediately by the inter
vention of Theseus. Then Palamon tells (him) who they are (and) for what
reason they were fighting. He begs, moreover, not (to be put to) death although
he had gravely offended. Moved by the prayers of those (women) who had by
chance been with him during the hunt, the duke decrees a duel. He orders that
they prepare to fight on the fortieth day. He promises the maiden as a reward
to the victor. It is not possible to say with what great pleasure indeed and joy
the young people had departed. We also, after everyone had called on God
together on behalf of the prince, departed on that night.
p 29 (3 September)
...no shows were given this night because the queen, having been detained
before by an excessively long disputation, was not able to be present at the
same (shows) without some jeopardy to her health.
pp 33-4 (4 September)
...This night, after the plays had been temporarily interrupted, they were
begun again by agreement. We therefore returned to the theatre late at night
with great contention (or exertion). The queen and the nobles are invited to
the show; those invited arrive. Everyone sat down; a great silence followed.
At that point both knights were present on the stage for the appointed day,
each flanked by the strongest guard. On one side was Emetrius, king of India,
under whose protection was Arcite. A hundred soldiers followed him. The
Thracian Lycurgus, to whose virtue, faith, and good fortune Palamon was
entrusted, had the same number on the other side. It seemed to Theseus that
the battle should be waged by single combat (and that) the maiden would be
his whose was the victory. By no means does this decision displease the kings,
nor do the brothers object to it. Therefore three marble enclosures are made
in the woods; there three most sacred altars are constructed. Emily goes in
supplication to the one that was Diana s; here then she prays for a solitary
life and perpetual chastity. The unhappy (maiden) was not able to gain
very much by entreaty; the goddess proclaimed marriage. Arcite, on the
other hand, sought victory from him in whose care are the defences of warlike
982 TRANSLATIONS 1565-6
valour. Mars immediately thundered, Victory, to him. Palamon prays to
Venus at her altar for the maiden, and she at once promises the maiden to him.
Here now a quarrel took place among I the gods; Saturn broke it up. Mean
while each prince undertook the office of arming his knight. When this
was finished the song and noise of trumpets are heard. Then they battle fero
ciously in close combat. As their armour rattled right from the first onrush,
and their glittering swords flashed, a monstrous horror grips the spectators
and, since hope has still inclined to neither side, the fighters, tired with ex
haustion, rest twice. The third time, now when not only the movement of
bodies and brandishing of spears on both sides, but also blood and wounds
were a spectacle for all, Palamon collapses and is laid before his victorious
brother. Everyone acclaims Arcite with joy (and) rejoicing and giving thanks
they receive (him). Now all hope - though not all care - had deserted the
exhausted Palamon. Therefore he rages with more elevated speech and more
ardent action (or delivery) and curses Venus, whom he had served since infancy,
as having neither will nor power. Venus did not endure the aggrieved (Palamon),
and she could not with equanimity bear that Mars should take precedence
over her. She pleads her case like a woman with laments and weeping. Moved
by her tears Saturn strikes the victor with subterranean fire as he was triumphing
in his quite manifest victory. Thus Arcite dies on the spot. Then great prepara
tion was made for his burial. He is honoured in a public funeral; nobles carry
his bier; kings follow (it); the body is cremated with great solemnity. Finally,
by royal counsel and the common consent of all, the maiden is given to
Palamon, and that deed performed before the now very crowded theatre
was approved with incredible shouting and applause from the spectators;
and on this night those shows were set forth.
p 43 (5 September)
...This was the sixth day after the prince s coming to the city. That (day)
now provided the fourth night of our plays on the stage. Then the fullest
and most sumptuous entertainment which the general expectation desired
is restored by a general effort. The queen and the nobles were marvellously
and exceedingly delighted by the elegance of its magnificent stage. Ovid
provided the story from the sixth book of the Metamorphoses. It is agreeable
to tell as much as we can of this (story)....
pp 45-6
That show was a remarkable likeness of the human race in its (depiction of)
depraved deeds, and for those watching I it was like a clear fable of all those
who indulge excessively in either love or anger, both of which, even if they
come to better (people), inflame (them) nevertheless with excessive appetite,
TRANSLATIONS 1565-7
983
and render them far more intemperate and fierce than (they were) before and
much farther removed in voice, face, spirit, words, and deeds from temperance
and moderation. When the show was over, after the people in rising had given
applause and approval in the princes name, hastening they return home.
She visits the
University of
Oxford
Camden, Annates (1615) STC: 4496
P 103
Elizabeth, having at this time travelled into the country for the sake of
relaxing her spirit, turned aside to the University of Oxford so that she would
show herself no less well disposed to the muses of Oxford than to those of
Cambridge, (who are) openly rivals of one another. There, being magnificently
received, she stayed seven days, especially delighted by the charm of the loca
tion, the beauty of the colleges, (and) the talent and the meticulous learning
of the learned students. They passed the night with theatrical plays and the
days with learned disputations, for which she gave abundant thanks in Latin
with singular sweetness of speech, and benevolently said farewell.
1566-7
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3932d
single mb (22 November- 21 March) (External expenses)
. . .To pipers by agreement when the students performed a play in the warden s
lodgings, 5s.... To pipers when the students gave a comedy at the warden s
lodgings, 5s
Merton College Register MCR: 1.2
f 347
On 3 January an English comedy, Wylie Beguylie, was performed at night in
the wardens lodgings by the scholars, when the vice-warden, masters, (and)
bachelors, with all the members of the house and some outsiders, were present.
(The scholars,) who are deservedly to be praised for performing it correctly,
displayed the greatest promise.
f 348
On 7 February Terence s Eunuchus was performed at the warden s lodgings
984 TRANSLATIONS 1566-8
by the scholars, when all the members of the house and some outsiders
were present.
Episcopal Visitation to New College
Hampshire Record Office: 21M65/A1/26
f 55* (18 March) (Charges against Martin Colepeper)
. . .And that the same Mr Colepeper wickedly holds, or at least has held, the
aforesaid Davidic psalms in derision by calling the same Robin Hood
ballads and (does so) continually
f 56v (Charges against Bartholomew Bolnye, Christopher Diggles, and
William Browne)
Likewise that the aforesaid Bartholomew Bolnye, contrary to the form of the
statutes of the said college, is accustomed to fighting, and that, for the sake
of dancing, almost every day he betakes himself from dinner into the town
and to suspect places Likewise that the said Christopher Diggles and
William Browne in a similar way commonly frequent the town and the
aforesaid suspect places for sake of dancing....
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/p/21(4)
p 65 (21 December-2l December)
Paid to the dean and chapter of Christ Church for a third part
of their expenses in the past year for the reception of the queen,
on the strength of an order of a certain convocation, issued in
response to the consideration of a letter of the earl of Leicester,
chancellor of that University, as appears by a bill of Doctor
Westfaling, treasurer there: for the third part of the lumber sold
to Corpus Christi College, 4 3s 4d, and for the aforesaid ex
penses in the reception of the prince, 33 4s 8d, in total 37 8s
1567-8
All Souls College Bursars Accounts Bodl.: MS. D.D. All Souls c.283
mb 6 (2 November-2 November) (Various expenses)
And of 2s given to the waits at Christmas.
985
TRANSLATIONS 1567-9
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 129v (Hall costs)
Paid to Oven and two servants busy about the theatre for
the (one) day 2s 6d
Paid to Oven and two servants working about benches broken in
the performance of the comedy for six days at lOd a day for each 15s
Paid to the same (men) doing the same and other things there
for four days (at the same amount) a day as above
f 135v (External payments)
Paid to pipers in Christmas-time 4s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3932e
single sheet* (21 November 20 March) (External expenses)
. . .To pipers and students putting on die play Damon and Pithias in die wardens
lodgings, 10s. To other pipers playing in the great hall on Circumcision Day,
2s. To pipers and students when they produced the comedy Menaechmi, 10s
Merton College Register MCR: 1.3
P 3
On 21 January, at night, Plautus comedy Menaechmi was performed in the
hall by the students, although a few days before the same (students) had
performed the tragicomedy Damon and Pithias in English in the warden s
lodgings, while the masters, bachelors, and other members of the house,
with some outsiders, were present.
1568-9
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 144 (Hall costs)
Paid to Hammond and (his) servant repairing benches and
removing the stage for three days 4s
986 TRANSLATIONS 1568-73
f 14/v (External payments)
Paid to pipers at the time of the Christmas holidays 4 S
1569-70
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 168 (External payments)
Paid for pipers in Christmas-time 4 S
1571-2
The Queen s College Long Roll QC Arch: 2P156
single mb (7 July 1572-7 July 1573) (Expenses)
...Likewise to the queen s pipers on 27 August, 10s
1572-3
All Souls College Bursars Accounts Bodl.: MS. D.D. All Souls c.284
mb 4 (2 November 2 November) (Various expenses)
And of 3s 6d given to the waits.
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 205v* (Hall costs)
Paid to Oven and four servants making and removing the stage
for producing the shows 28s
Paid to those sawing various things at the same time for
the same stage 9s 8d
Paid to Mr Lister for two hundred boards 10s
Paid to Mr Gilbert for seven two-by-fours for the aforesaid stage 3s 4d
Paid to Younge for two hundred boards for the same work 10s
Paid for candles spent during the spectacles 10s
f 209 (External payments)
Paid to pipers 5s
TRANSLATIONS 1572-4
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3944c
single mb (21 November- 20 March) (External expenses)
..To musicians of the town of Oxford, 12d....
The Queen s College Long Roll QC Arch: 2P156
single mb (7 July -7 July) (Internal repairs)
...Likewise for the construction of a stage in the hall for recounting a
tragicomedy, 3s 8d
(Expenses)
...Likewise in expenses for the tragicomedy in Christmas, 7s 5d
1573-4
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 218v* (Hall costs)
Paid to Noke making a door for the shows 10s 9d
Paid to Oven making wainscot there "according to
the bill 37s 3d
Paid to a smith for a lock and two pairs of hinges 10s 6d
Paid to Oven and (his) servants making, setting up, and
removing the stage for the shows 5 3s
Paid to Noke and (his) servant for setting up pinnacles and
strengthening what had been either destroyed or weakened
at the time of the show
f 223 (External payments)
+ Paid to pipers 25s 5d
f 223v*
Paid to trumpeters (blank)
TRANSLATIONS 1573-6
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/1
f 440v (External payments)
Paid to the queen s [pipers] trumpeters
30 August
1574-5
All Souls College Bursars Accounts Bodl.: MS. D.D. All Souls c.284
mb 5 (2 November- 2 November) (Various expenses)
And of 12d for the torches at the play.
And of 6s 8d given to musicians at the same time.
1575-6
All Souls College Bursars Accounts Bodl.: MS. D.D. All Souls c.284
mb 4 (2 November-2 November) (Various expenses)
And of 2s given to the waits.
And of 2s 6d given to the musicians at Christmas and (All) Souls.
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/1
f 456v* (29 September 25 December) (External payments)
+ Paid to Mr Lillie for the earl of Leicester s players
(or entertainers) 20s
Paid to Wilson, a musician, for music in the hall
on the feast of the Annunciation to (St) Mary 10s
Merton College Register MCR: 1.3
p 49
The regents fire [On 22 November the regents fire, which for many years has lain hidden
in ashes and almost extinguished, again takes strength and bursts out with
such heat that its force could not be repressed, (even) without fruit, nuts,
wine, and the rest.]
TRANSLATIONS 1575-9
989
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7553
mb 8 (External expenses)
...Paid to Wilson, a harper, 4s....
Episcopal Visitation to New College
Hampshire Record Office: 21M65/A1/26
f 110 (16 January) (Charges against Mr Smith)
...Then the lord (judge) charged against Smith that he is accustomed to sing
indecent songs and that he said he never wished to believe any preacher. And
he denies the indecent speech. As to the rest he confesses (English)
1576-7
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 236v (External expenses)
+ Paid to musicians during Christmas-time and other times 28s
f 237
Paid to Lord Chandos trumpeter during the Christmas
holidays [18]s
1577-8
All Souls College Bursars Accounts Bodl.: MS. D.D. All Souls c.284
mb 5* (2 November 1576-2 November 1577) (Various expenses)
And of 2s given to the waits.
And of 2s 6d given to musicians at the feast of All Saints.
1578-9
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7556
mb 6 (Internal costs)
..Paid to trumpeters at the Christmas holidays, 3s 4d.... Paid to musicians
on Circumcision Day, 4s
990 TRANSLATIONS 1578-82
Trinity College Bursars Books TC Arch: I/A/1
f 222 (25 December-25 March) (External expenses)
Paid to a mason working about the window in the hall at
the time of the plays 2s
1579-80
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/6
f 260v (External expenses)
Paid to musicians in the wake (or on the eve) and the
bursars feast ]6s
Magdalen College Vice-President s Register Me Arch: VPl/Al/1
f 42v
Likewise at the same time the lord president and the remaining thirteen
seniors, agreeing together, have decided that the probationers are to pay
40s for the players expenses. The rest, whether fellows or commoners, and
demies, together with the remaining multitude, are to completely satisfy
the remaining expense according to the dignity of (their) persons and
ranks.
Trinity College Bursars Books TC Arch: I/A/1
f 232v (25 December-25 March) (External expenses)
Paid to musicians in the Christmas holidays 2s 6d
1581-2
Christ Church Treasurers Account Bodl.: MS. Top.Oxon c.23
f 46
And in expenses about the comedies and tragedies this year
as it appears in the same place
TRANSLATIONS 1581-2
991
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.6(b.)
mb 2
And in expenses about the comedies and tragedies this year
as it appears in the same place
7
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/2
f 3v (External payments)
Paid to musicians at the time of the shows and for the wake
(or eve) 13s 4d
Paid to musicians at Sir Foxes direction
Paid to musicians at the bursars feast and for the wake (or eve) 13s 4d
OUM Laurence Humphrey s Ash Wednesday Sermon (1582) STC: 13961
pp 163-5* (28 February)
Laurence Humphrey s
sermon on
avoiding leaven
Mt 16, Mk8, (and) Lk 12
Jesus said to them - the disciples - Take heed and beware of
the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Comedies and
tragedies in
Oxford at the
end of February
The truth to be
acknowledged
August! ne
Enough already, enough, listeners, have we amused (our) ears and eyes with
theatrical shows; enough have we seen, have we heard of masks (or demons)
and of ghosts; enough have we indulged comic laughter and tragic sorrow.
Now this day, this, as it were, ashen feast demands other behaviour, another
regimen, another character from each one of us, in order that, forgetting the
things which are behind us, we may proceed forward and do with sincerity
those things which are before our eyes and before our hands, so that we may
pass from playful things to serious, from comedy to sackcloth, from tragedy
to ashes, from the profane to the sacred, from plays to the very search for and
training in truth, since our representation of the truth is more brilliant than
the entirety of the most ornate stage, and the truth of the Christians more
beautiful and lovable than Helen of the Greeks. For if, as is rightly held by
your philosophers, contraries are so constituted that you cannot know the one I
unless you know the other, now after you have devoted (your) attention for a
992
TRANSLATIONS 1581-2
2. The truth
to be loved
3 Ardently
Pla)-5 in the col
leges of St John,
Christ (Church),
Man r Magdalen
number of days and nights to plays, pleasant ones indeed and laudably acted
(but) plays nevertheless, greater zeal is most certainly to be placed in the
knowledge and contemplation of the truth, and to be placed so that, (as) it
sufficed only to have seen and understood the former, one is bound to love
and embrace the latter. For as there is no desire for the unknown, so, after
we know it, it is to be longed for, desired, and loved. But he who loves coldly
does not love; he who is not fervent, who is not ardent, who does not perish
for love, does not love. This force is in love, and this is the nature, this the
property of every ardent love, (whether) good (or) bad, considered (or) blind,
that unless it is vehement, intense, burning, in the opinion of indeed all lovers,
it is judged to be cold love or rather not (love) at all. This I believe you have
seen and noted in these your plays, in which the flame of love appears and
bursts forth in such a way that it seemed to be not love but bitterness, not
fervour but fury. Do you not remember that Euclio adored his pot (of gold)
thus; Antony, Cleopatra thus; Alexander, his eunuch Bagoas thus; Philarchus,
his Phaedra thus; Meleager, his Atlanta; Plautus Menaechmus, (his) courtesan
Erotium; Oedipus also, his mother Jocasta; Julius Caesar, (his) empire thus, so
that he imagined that for the sake of a kingdom every binding oath was rather a
bond to be violated? And will we not burn with the love of Christian truth whose
face and form, if you are pleased to gaze (upon them) for (even) a little while
with your mind s eyes, I will undoubtedly excite marvellous yearnings for her?
6. The worship
of gods
Sophocles
pp 175-6*
The Jesuits offer worship (and) prayer not to God alone but to other gods.
(This) was derived from the Pharisees who worshipped the dead, adorned the
sepulchres of dead saints (or holy men), and celebrated (their) memory, I and
ravaged, with every monstrosity of torture, the bodies of those whose survivors
(ie, descendants ) opinions their fathers were not able to bear. The Romanists, in
order that diey might please all die gods for themselves (and) offend none, insti
tuted die feast of All Saints, as it were, a morsel thrown to all, and they turned
the Pagan Pantheon at Rome into a memorial of all these (saints). (They were)
terrified, I believe, by the pitiable example of King Oeneus, who when he had
made sacrifices to all the gods omitted Diana alone. He, (his) wife, (and his) chil
dren paid the penalties of neglected duty as the stage has shown to you in tragedy.
Works perni
cious to others
pp 180-1*
But are (the Jesuits) a general good? Are they useful to the church (and) to
others? To whom? Surely not to widows? They devour their homes. Under the
pretence of long prayers, confessions, (and) exhortations, they whisper the
TRANSLATIONS 1581-2
most inane and sophistical old wives tales to them. Thus the Pharisees (did)
in the gospels and thus was Queen Alexandra made foolish by them and
deranged as if by a Circean potion, so that a marvellous, or rather, monstrous
metamorphosis of a woman occurred - not like Oeneus three daughters
transformed into birds, as you have heard in the theatre, but a queen changed
into the Pharisees servant and slave, so that she who had ruled all other
nobles was seen to serve the Pharisees I and do their wishes.
993
Epilogue to Caesar Interfectus
p 359*
Bodl.: MS. Top.Oxon e.5
The epilogue of Caesar Interfectus; how that matter performed in Christ
Church, Oxford, appeared on the stage; which epilogue was both written
and spoken there on the stage by Mr Richard Edes. 1582.
Caesar triumphed over the republic; Brutus over Caesar. The former was able
to do nothing more; the latter desired nothing more. Either the former ought
to have done nothing, or the latter ought to have done less. I have reason to
praise each; 1 have reason to find fault with each. The Caesar who seized the
republic (acted) wrongly; the Caesar who seized (it) without slaughter and
blood (acted) well. The Brutus who restored liberty (acted) rightly; he who
thought to restore it by Caesar s murder (acted) dishonourably. The temper
ance of victory drew, so to speak, a veil over the turpitude of the former crime;
unwelcome cruelty spread shadows over the latter deed of glory. The former
conducted himself very well in the worst cause; the latter, very badly in the
best (cause). Nor were there lacking those who, as if by applying torches near,
incited these very illustrious men, the one eager for a kingdom, the other for
liberty. Antony laid a fire under Caesar; Cassius under Brutus. Antony so
desired the royal diadem for Caesar that he handed (it) over; Caesar (so)
refused it that he desired (it). Whatever he wished for, Brutus wished for very
much; (whatever) Cassius (wished for, he wished for) excessively. Certainly
he was indeed the greater leader as Brutus was the greater man; in the one
strength (was) greater; in die other, virtue. You would prefer to have Brutus as
a friend; you would fear Cassius more as an enemy. The former hated tyranny;
the latter a tyrant. A just fortune followed Caesar if we look at his tyranny;
an unjust one if we look at the man. But the immortal gods do not tolerate
tyrants, even the best, and, as if in reward for such great virtue, it was granted
to him that he would foresee his murder, not that he would avoid it.
Gager, Meleager (1592) STC: 11515
sig A2*
He (Gager) prays for a happy and favourable beginning of the new
994 TRANSLATIONS 1581-3
year for the most illustrious and noble hero, Robert, earl of Essex,
knight of the golden garter, master of the royal horses.
The eleventh year is now almost gone, most noble earl, since Meleager first
came onto the stage, the eighth since it (was performed) again. And the first
time (it appeared) indeed willingly and of its own accord; (but) in the third
year afterward, it appeared a second time, invited and publicly called forth
with the most famous earls of Pembroke and Leicester, at that time our
chancellor, together with the most noble Philip Sidney and a number of
illustrious courtiers sitting there and watching. With what approval it was at
that time received, I do not now remember nor have I ever made much of
it. It was enough praise for Meleager - if indeed that was praise - that it was
twice subject to the discrimination of the most sophisticated ears with at any
rate no disgrace of noticeable distaste. Behold, now it goes out for a third
time, not indeed onto the stage but into the light that is your gaze
1582-3
William Gager s Commonplace Book BL: MS Additional 22583
f 63v* (26 September) (List of deans, prebendaries, masters, and students
then at Christ Church)
Mr Leonard Hutten
Whether a comedy is be to written or acted,
You, Hutten, are able to justly take first place.
f 64*
Mr John King
Your raging tragic parts are praiseworthy, King,
A young man of what great promise? How great a star of the house?
Mr Thomas Crane
The second hope of our Rome and of great native talent,
A comic role is more suitable for you, Crane.
Register of Congregation and Convocation QUA: NEP/Supra/L
f 19v* (17 May) (Orders for plays for royal visitors)
Likewise it has been decided that two stages are to be built, one in St Marys
Church for public disputations, the other in Christ Church for stage plays, and
that no one from the University or anyone else, with foreigners (or strangers)
alone being excepted, should presume to mount the stages under penalty of
TRANSLATIONS 1582-4
imprisonment for the space of one month and of a payment of 40s to the
University and the proctors
Likewise that stage plays be organized (or set forth) in the hall of Christ Church
at the discretion of the dean, of the treasurers - or of (at least) one of them -
and of the bursar, together with the consent of the vice-chancellor, Doctor
Humphrey, Doctor Delabere, Mr Willis, (and) Mr Edes, the proctor, or with the
consent of two of the above named, both regarding the argument of the plays
and their participants and expenses.
Camden, Annales (1615)
P 344
STC: 4496
Albert Laski, the palatine of Siradia, came to England this summer from
Poland, neighbouring Russia, to visit the queen; an erudite man with a (fine)
figure, a most promising beard, (and) seemly and very attractive clothing. He,
after being received by (the queen) herself and (her) nobles with great honour
and luxurious arrangements, and by the academy of Oxford with erudite
amusements and various shows, secretly departed after four months, being
oppressed by the foreign air.
Hannisters Registers OCA: A. 5- 3
f 17* (12 August)
William Gibbons, musician, has been admitted into the liberty of this city
on the same day and year, and he paid 4s 6d as a fee to the officer/s of the
same city and he has been sworn.
1583-4
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.6(c.)
mb 2
And on the expenses of the comedies and tragedies produced
this year
nil
Merton College Register MCR: 1.3
P 94
On the twenty-first of the same (month) the postmasters performed a comedy
996 TRANSLATIONS 1583-5
by Plautus, which is called Captivi, in the lord wardens hall. The lord warden,
moreover, donated (...) 20s.
The Queen s College Long Roll QC Arch: 2P161
single mb (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
..Likewise to pipers on the feast of the Circumcision, 18d.... Likewise given
to pipers on 2 February, 10s....
Register of Congregation and Convocation QUA: NEP/Supra/L
f 24 Iv* (24 July) (Statutes in answer to royal complaints)
Likewise it was decided that the vice-chancellor s licence may not be granted
to players (or entertainers) to hold stage plays within the precinct of the
University except by special favour of convocation.
City Memorandum Book OCA: D.5.2
ff [1-lv]* (21 December)
Let all know by the present (bond) that I, William Gibbons, of the city of
Oxford, minstrel, am bound and firmly obliged to William Frere of the
aforesaid city of Oxford, esquire, in (the amount of) 200 of good and
legal English money to be paid to the same William Frere or to his assured
attorney, his heirs, or assigns. Indeed, I firmly oblige myself, my heirs,
executors, and administrators to make this payment properly and faithfully
by the present (bond), sealed with my seal, given on 21 December in the
twenty-sixth year of the reign of our Lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God,
queen of England, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, etc.
1584-5
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/2
f 20v col 1* (Charges of external payments)
Paid for stage plays in the coming of the earl
of Leicester 3 19s 5d
Paid for the banquet in the coming of the
same (earl)
TRANSLATIONS 1584-7
The Queen s College Long Roll QC Arch: 2P162
single mb* (7 July-7 July) (External expenses)
...Likewise given to Morris on the feast of Christ s Circumcision, 12d. Like
wise given to pipers at the provost s command, 10s
Trinity College Bursars Books TC Arch: \IAJ\
f 276 (25 December-25 March) (External expenses)
Paid for plays 20s
Register of Congregation and Convocation OUA: NEP/Supra/L
f 282v* (Visit of Lord Leicester, chancellor)
At 1 PM on the aforesaid day, venerable men, appointed by the venerable
house of convocation, according to the appointment entrusted to them, met
in the house of the venerable man, Doctor Underbill, the vice-chancellor,
and by common consent decided that sermons and debates should be held in
each faculty and also that stage plays (should be held) at Christ Church and
Magdalen College, for the expenses of which they will allow 20 to be divided
equally between the said colleges.
1585-6
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: A.n.9
f 105* (Memorandum)
. . .Toward the expenses of the play in our hall, 10s. . . .
The Queen s College Long Roll QC Arch. 2P163
single mb (7 July-7 July) (External costs)
...Likewise to musicians on 2 February, 12d
1586-7
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/2
f 36v col 1 (Charges of external payments)
Paid to pipers on the bursars feast 6 S
TRANSLATIONS 1586-9
The Queen s College Long Roll QC Arch: 2P164
single mb (7 July-7 July) (External costs)
..Likewise to Morris, a piper, on the feast of the Circumcision, 12d..
1587-8
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/|3/21(4)
pill (17 July- 16 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to the earl of Leicester s players (or entertainers) so that they
would depart with their plays (or pastimes) without greater trouble
to the University 20s
Paid to the most honoured Lord Howard s players (or entertainers) 20s
1588-9
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 15 (Charges of external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 6s 8d
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: V/P/JV21(4)
p 114 (10 July 1588 -16 July 1589) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to players (or entertainers) so that they would not perform
unseemly plays (or pastimes) within the University (blank)
Robert Ashley s Autobiography BL: MS Sloane 2131
ff [3-3v]*
. . .When I was just twenty-two years old and in the month of December, since
the Christmas holidays were on the point of being celebrated and a solemn
custom had developed in (my) college that someone would be elected out of
the outstanding young men among the fellows whom the rest would revere
and exalt as a lord with proclamations and praises, by whose commands, as
of a prince, would the rest of the crowd be ruled in triumphs, set dances, and
round dances, I was hailed as the lord and prince of the youth by reason of the
hope and expectation which I had aroused (in them) regarding myself. They
carry me on their shoulders in that cloistered kingdom, place me on a throne,
honour (and) grace me with encomia and speeches. I endeavour to acknowledge
TRANSLATIONS 1588-91 999
with a grateful spirit the partiality of such ardent young men toward me, to
regard myself with modesty and humility, and to make much of their judgment
and estimation of me, as I it was the custom to indicate in a brief speech.
After that, I rule, I triumph.
1589-90
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/2
f 44 v col 2 (Charges of external payments)
Paid to pipers on the bursars feast 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Roll QC Arch: 2P165
single mb (7 July-7 July) (External costs)
..Likewise to Morris and his fellow, a piper, on the feast of the Circum
cision, 12d...
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/|V21(4)
p 116 (16 July- 10 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to the queens players (or entertainers) so that they would
leave the University without annoyance 20s
1590-1
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 26v (Charges of external expenses)
Paid for the binding of a book of poems presented to the queen 10s
f 27
Paid to pipers on the bursars feast
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 24v (20 November- 19 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians of Oxford by agreement, 6s 8d....
1000
TRANSLATIONS 1590-2
Vice-Chancellors Accounts OUA: WP/|3/21(4)
p 118 (16 July- 16 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid by Dr Edes, the vice-chancellor s deputy, to some
players (or entertainers) so that they would leave the
University without disturbance and noise
10s
1591-2
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.6(f.)
mb 2
And on the expenses of the comedies and tragedies held
this year as it appears in the same (bill)
nil
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: A.n.9
f 134v (1 November- 1 November)
Likewise of payments to the royal trumpeters when they came to the college,
for the honour of the college, 20s.
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 38v (Charges of external payments)
To Lord Howard s pipers
For lamps for the plays on the feast of Epiphany
To pipers on the bursars feast
For the college s share in the lady queen s arrival
068
040
050
18 10s
Merton College Register MCR: 1.3
p 158
The queen s At this time we received a message that the queen was going to visit our
University in the month of September. Very many deliberations were held
both publicly and privately regarding the courtesy to be offered most
abundantly to the queen s majesty both by the University and by each college,
in proportion to our wealth. For this reason the vice-chancellor asked each
college to contribute specific sums of money, in proportion to (their) property
Taxation of
the colleges
TRANSLATIONS 1591-2
1001
Allowance made
10 the warden
for two courses
for trie courtiers
meals
Dinner for the
royal counsellors
and nobles put
on by the
college, and dis
putations held
The queen
makes a speech
to the members
of the University
and revenues, to the common expenditures to be incurred by the University.
Moreover, the prefects and fellows of the colleges establish that for each 100
of past revenue, 20s be paid to the University for the common use. Moreover,
the property of each college had been reported to the vice-chancellor in this
way: (English)
It is particularly decided by us that, while (her) royal majesty is staying here,
the warden shall cause two courses, properly arranged, to be prepared for each
meal to oblige the courtiers of the nobility. One-third of the expenses incurred
in this preparation is paid by the warden, the remaining two-thirds by the col
lege. The tenants at farm from Kibworth, Barkby, Cuxham, Ibstone, Wolford,
(and) Stratton St Margaret arranged these meals with various kinds of victuals.
On 22 September the queen came to the university; she departed on the
twenty-eighth.
On 25 September, after more private meetings for (her) royal majesty, all the
nobles and every lord, earl, (and) baron who was in hall come to a dinner
having been invited by us, accompanied by all the famous courtiers of note,
and all these, sixty in number, sitting in the high hall at one table, which is
extended through the entire hall, partake of a banquet quite elegantly and
magnificently prepared. When dinner was finished disputations were held,
with Mr Cuff, Regius Professor of the Greek language, responding; Messrs
Frenche, Trafford, Wilkynson, (and) Mason objecting; and Mr Savile, the
proctor at that time, moderating. The question: whether disagreements among
the citizens are useful to the state. When the disputations regarding matters
pertaining to the state were finished, the royal counsellors withdraw with the
ambassador of France, who was diere at the feast at the same time, bound for
Mr Colmers chamber.
When the leading men of the University and others assigned to offer the
exercises had been assembled, the queen made a speech upon her departure,
an example of which is found on page 160.
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: Si. C.I
f 49 (External expenses)
Likewise to the queen s trumpeters
10s
Likewise to the University at the queen s arrival
3
1002 TRANSLATIONS 1591-3
The Queen s College Long Roll QC Arch. 2P167
single mb (7 July-7 July) (External costs)
...Likewise to the earl of Cumberland s trumpeters by order of the provost,
5s Likewise to Morris and his sons, pipers, on Circumcision Day, 2s. Like
wise to pipers on the day next after the Purification of the Blessed Virgin
(Mary), 10s Likewise to trumpeters, 2s
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/|3/21(4)
p 119 (16 July -13 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to certain players (or entertainers) so that
they would leave the University without noise
and annoyance
1592-3
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 48 (External payments)
To pipers on the bursars feast Gs 8d
To trumpeters at various times
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 31
f 33v (28 July -24 November 1592) (External expenses)
. .To royal trumpeters by the warden s command, 20s. .
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 3 (7 July-7 July) (External costs)
..Likewise to royal trumpeters by the provost s command, 20s.
Likewise to certain trumpeters by the provost s command, 3s 4d. Likewise to
pipers from Oxford, 10s....
TRANSLATIONS 1592-4
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/p/21(4)
p 122 (13 July 1592-17 July 1593) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to players (or entertainers) of various nobles so
that they would leave the University without noise
and annoyance
Catnden, Tomus Alter Annalium (1627) STC: 4496.5
P 53
The queen visits The queen, having gone into the country for the summer months,
made her way through Oxford where, delighted by the most refined
speeches, stage plays, (and) learned disputations, she remained for a
number of days, received by Buckhurst, the chancellor of the Univer
sity, with lavish banquets. While departing she bid farewell in a Latin
speech, in which she professed that she placed (her) very well-known
love for the members of the University far before all the other delights,
even the most charming. For this she gave abundant thanks, made a
prayer, and gave advice. (Her) prayer was that she desired nothing
more than the well-being of the whole realm with the most prosperous
security and honour, and so also (that) the University, as much as any
other light of the realm, would daily shine more bright and flourish for
eternity. (Her) advice was that they should worship God above all, not
according to certain people s refined ingenuity, but according to the
laws of God and of the realm; (that) they should not go before the laws,
but follow them; (that) they should not dispute whether better (laws)
could be prescribed, but observe those which have been prescribed, obey
their superiors, and finally embrace each other in brotherly respect and
harmony.
1593-4
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 57 (Charges of external payments)
To pipers on the bursars feast 050
To trumpeters in Christmas-time [5] 5 Q
1004 TRANSLATIONS 1593-5
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 40 (23 November- 22 March) (External expenses)
..To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d....
The Queens College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 5 col 2 (7 July~7 July) (External payments)
Likewise to pipers from Oxford 10s
Likewise to trumpeters by order of Mr Airay, deputy 3 S 4J
1594-5
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 68 (Internal payments)
To pipers on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 44 (22 November 21 March) (External expenses)
. . .To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 7 col 1 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise given to a musician on 1 January 2s
Likewise given to trumpeters from Oxford 10s
St John s College Computus Hebdomalis sjc Arch: Acc.v.E. 1
f 19v (17-23 February)
Bestowed for musicians, 36s 6d.
TRANSLATIONS 1594-7
1005
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/p/21(4)
p 124 (12 July 1594-5 August 1595) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to the lady queen s players (or entertainers) so that they
would leave the University without noise and trouble 20s
Paid to Lord Morley s players (or entertainers) so that they
would leave the University without noise and trouble 10s
1595-6
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 79 (Internal and external payments)
Paid to Buckner, a musician, on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 48v (21 November- 19 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 8v col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to pipers on the feast of the Circumcision 2s
Likewise to pipers from Oxford on 26 January 10s
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/j3/21(4)
p 128 (5 August- 17 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to the lady queen s players (or entertainers) so that they
would abstain from public activity (or performance)
1596-7
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 91 v (Internal and external payments)
To pipers on the bursars feast 5 S
1006 TRANSLATIONS 1596-8
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 53 (19 November- 18 March) (External expenses)
.To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d....
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
Mlv col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to Morris and other fiddlers 2s
Likewise to pipers from Oxford 10s
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/(V21(4)
p 129 (17 July- 14 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to certain players (or entertainers) so that they would
leave the University without noise 20s
Hannisters Registers OCA: L.5-1
f 245v*
George Buckner, musician, has been admitted to the liberty of the aforesaid
20s city on the said 24 November in the aforesaid thirty-ninth year. And he paid
20s to the use of the said city and 4s 6d for the officer s/officers fee, and he
was sworn, etc.
Leonard Major, musician, has been admitted to the liberty of the aforesaid
city on the same 24 November in the aforesaid thirty-ninth year. And he paid
20s to the use of the said city and 4s 6d for the officer s/officers fee, and he
was sworn, etc.
1597-8
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.7(a.)
mb 4
And on the expenses of the comedies and tragedies
produced this year
TRANSLATIONS 1597-8 ] 07
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 105 (Internal and external payments)
To pipers on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 59v (18 November-24 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7586
mb 6 (Internal expenses)
...Paid to George Buckner, a musician, 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 14 col 1 (7 July-7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise on 2 January to Morris, a fiddler 2s
Likewise on 16 February to pipers from Oxford 10s
St John s College Computus Hebdomalis sjc Arch: Acc.v.E.l
f 57v (16-22 January)
A tragedy of Astiages
Acted after thirty years in
the president s house
f 58 (23-9 January)
The same tragedy
of Astiages performed publicly
in the hall
1008 TRANSLATIONS 1597-9
f 59 (27 February- 5 March)
Bestowed for musicians 21s 9d
and for others 5 S 6d
1598
Hentzner s Travels in England Hentzner. Itinerarium
P 214
...The remains of a fortification, quite large but entirely ruined, are seen
at an intersection (or in an out-of-the-way place) in the town. We were
received at supper with very excellent music made with various and diverse
instruments.
1598-9
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.7(b.)
mb 3d
And on the expenses of the comedies and tragedies
produced this year nil
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/2
f 91 col 1 (Charges of internal and external payments)
To pipers on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 65v (24 November-- 23 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d....
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 16 col 1 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to town fiddlers
TRANSLATIONS 1598-1600 1009
St John s College Computus Hebdomalis sjc Arch. Acc.v.E.2
f 5v (15-21 January)
Tenants with Bestowed for shows 22d
New Year s gift
f 7v (5-11 March)
Paid for a comedy and a tragedy performed by scholars
and fellows 54s
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/|V21(4)
p 134 (18 July- 17 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to royal players (or entertainers) and others in order that
they would leave the University without noise and trouble 25s
1599-1600
All Souls College Bursars Accounts Bodl.: MS. D.D. All Souls c.287
mb 1 1 (2 November-2 November) (Rewards)
And of 6s to trumpeters at various times.
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 1 1 7v* (Internal and external expenses)
To trumpeters of the earls of Southampton and Nottingham
in reward 6s
To pipers on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 70v (23 November-2 1 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d....
1010
TRANSLATIONS 1599-1600
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7588
mb 7 (Internal expenses)
. . .Paid to trumpeters in reward, 4s
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: Si. C.I
f 93 (Internal expenses)
Likewise to Lord Mountjoy s trumpeters on Christmas
by agreement
5s
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 18 col 1 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
29 December Likewise handed over to trumpeters
31 December Likewise to clarioners
i January Likewise to Morris, a fiddler
17 January Likewise to pipers from Oxford
2s
2s
2s
10s
St John s College Computus Hebdomalis sjc Arch: Acc.v.E.2
f 18v (7- 13 January)
And for trumpeters
2s 6d
f 23 (5-11 May)
Bestowed for (Lord) Monteagle s trumpeters
2s
Baron Waldsteins Diary Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana: Reg. lat. 666
f 167* (12 July)
Saturday, 22 July
The beginning of the Oxford commencement: in the morning lectures wer
TRANSLATIONS 1599-1600 10H
held by each professor. We were present at the theology lecture of a certain
Holland, a very learned man. After midday theological disputations and
outstanding declamations on travel (are held). The Windischgraetzes join
us, with whom we travel by boat in the evening with music.
AC Proceedings Regarding George Buckner Bodl.: MS. Twyne-Langbaine 3
ff 121-lv* (20 August)
Proceeding of the court held before Thomas Edwards and Robert Master the
vice-chancellor s deputies
"(English) Proceedings concerning the goods of George Buckner, a suicide, taken from
the Acta Book, specifically among the Acta of Trinity term, AD 1599, and
the Acta of Michaelmas term of the same year, in the long vacation in the
month of August.
Today and in this place the said venerable men, Thomas Edwards and
Robert Master, deputies of the aforesaid venerable man, going to the
house of a certain George Buckner, a suicide, in the name of the University
of Oxford took possession of (a) house or a tenement in the parish of
St Mary Magdalen outside the North Gate of the city of Oxford, and of all
and each of the goods, rightful possessions, and loans which were in the said
house or tenement, or otherwise belonging to the same George Buckner
during the time of his life and death as forfeit to the University and pertaining
to the same (University) by reason of (its) privileges and charters, by which
every and each of the goods, rightful possessions, and loans of any persons
dwelling within the precinct of the aforesaid University who do violence to
themselves and kill themselves are granted to the said University. I In their
judgment, since the aforesaid George did violence unto himself and was a
suicide in AD 1598 in the month of January last past, the aforesaid venerable
men, deputies of the aforesaid Thomas Thornton, entering into the vacant
possession of the same house and tenement of the late George aforesaid,
took (it) in the above name (ie, of the University). And moreover, in the
name of (his) goods, rightful possessions, and loans, and of (their) possession
of the same, they took from the hand of Ursula Buckner, widow of the
aforesaid George (English).
In the presence of Mr Thomas Frenche, notary public, and
John Wodson (...) of the said University
(English)
1012 TRANSLATIONS 1600-1
1600-1
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.7(c )
mb 3d
And on the expenses of the comedies and tragedies
produced this year n jj
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 130* (Internal and external payments)
To royal trumpeters, 20s, to Lord Compton s
(trumpeters), 5s 1 5 S
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
To the steward for the duke of Bavaria s feast by the bill 10 10s 9d
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 76 (21 November-20 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7590
mb 5* (24 June -29 September)
...Paid to trumpeters in reward, 2s 5s.
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 19v col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
26 December To trumpeters by order of the provost 2s 6d
i January To Morris, a piper 18d
29 January To pipers from Oxford 10s
St John s College Computus Hebdomalis sjc Arch: Acc.v.E.2
f 31 v (5-11 January)
An interlude upon the new year s first day by scholars and fellows while dining
(or among the diners).
TRANSLATIONS 1600-3
f 33 (16-22 February)
Bestowed for lesser (ie, in skill or in importance) pipers 21s 4d
f 33v (23 February -1 March)
(English)
Bestowed for greater (/>, in skill or in importance) pipers 37s [Od]
1601-2
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.7(d.)
mb 3*
And on the expenses of comedies and tragedies produced this year nil
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 141 (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 81 v (20 November- 19 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 21 v col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to the queens trumpeters 20s
28 January Likewise to pipers from Oxford 10s
Likewise to Morris, a piper 18d
1602-3
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: A.n.9
f 179v (1 November- 1 November)
Likewise of payments and a gift given to royal trumpeters 20s
1014 TRANSLATIONS 1602-3
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 1 5 1 v* (Internal and external payments)
To Sir Richard Lucy s trumpeters in reward 6s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 86v (19 November- 18 March) (External expenses)
. . .To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.3
p 202
At the same time it was agreed that the bursar in the customary manner
would pay 6s 8d to the pipers who pipe for us in the morning.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7593
mb 4* (25 December-25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to trumpeters, 3s Paid to Leonard and (his) fellows, musicians,
6s 8d....
(24June-29 September)
...Paid to trumpeters in reward 10s
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 23v col 1* (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to Morris, a piper
Likewise to pipers of Oxford
St John s College Computus Hebdomalis sjc Arch: Acc.v.E.:
f 60v (14-20 February)
Given to greater (/>, in skill or in importance) pipers, 42s 6d.
TRANSLATIONS 1603-4
1603-4
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.7(e.)
mb 3*
And on the expenses of comedies and tragedies produced
this year
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 163 (Internal and external payments)
To pipers on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 93 (18 November- 23 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d
Merton College Register MCR: 1 .3
p 209
Granted to Then also it was agreed there that the bursar should bestow 6s 8d upon
the common musicians of the University and of the town, according to the
usual custom.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7595
mb 5 (25 December-25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to town musicians, 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 25v col 1* (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to Morris, a piper
Likewise to pipers from Oxford 1Q S
1016 TRANSLATIONS 1603-5
St John s College Computus Hebdomalis sjc Arch: Acc.v.E.2
f 72v (16-22 January)
For pipers 5s 2d
f 73v (20-6 February)
(English)
Bestowed for the expenses on the tragedy and the musicians
for the whole year 3 7s 5d
apart from coin.
Whereof 43s were paid to musicians, apart from 9s 6d in coin.
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/|V21(4)
p 148 (23 July- 14 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to royal trumpeters being at Woodstock 20s
p 149
Paid to the queen s players (or entertainers) so that
they would leave without noise 40s
1604-5
Christ Church Treasurers Accounts ChCh Arch: iii.c.l
f 124
And on the expenses of comedies and tragedies produced this year nil
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: A.n.9
f 187v (1 November-1 November)
Likewise of 10s given to royal trumpeters
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/7
f 170 col 1 (Internal and external payments)
To trumpeters of Sir William Monson 6s Od
TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
To trumpeters of Lord Cromwell, in reward
To the lord vice-chancellor, Doctor Abbot, for
the college s contribution at the coming of
the king 36
For two pairs of gloves for the prince and for
one (pair) for the lord chancellor of Oxford 10 15s
To the king s and the prince s musicians
in reward 200
To the prince s yeomen in reward 200
To Mr Castilion producing a comedy at the
coming of the prince (and) for candles and
drink at the time of the repetition (or rehearsal) 10s
col 2
To Dr Hood bringing globes (or bowls) from the
most noble lady, Lady Arabella, in reward 200
To Billingsley for gloves given to Lady Arabella 2 10s
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 98v (23 November 22 March) (External expenses)
...To the common musicians by agreement, 6s 8d
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7596
mb 4 (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
(25 March -24 June) (External expenses)
Paid to royal trumpeters, 10s
1018 TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S i.C.l
f 119 (External expenses)
Likewise to the vice-chancellor for expenditures on the
coming of the king, made according to the decree of the
University and by the agreement of the provost and college 6
f 120v (Internal expenses)
Likewise to royal trumpeters 10s
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 27 col 2 (7 July-7 July) (Internal expenses)
25 December Likewise to the piper, Morris
f 27v col 1
3 lulv Likewise delivered for a trumpet and (its) carriage from
-J Q
London and (its) repair
f 28 col 1* (External expenses)
Likewise to pipers from Oxford
Likewise to trumpeters from Barnard Castle
Likewise to three clarioners
f 30 col 2* (7 July 1605-7 July 1606)
i August Likewise delivered to the vice-chancellor at the coming
of (our) most serene king
Likewise to six clarioners
25 (August) Likewise delivered for two pairs of gloves for (our) most
serene queen
3s
Likewise to (our) most serene king s trumpeters
20s
TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
1019
St John s College Computus Hebdomalis sjc Arch: Acc.v.E.4
f 7 (25 February-3 March)
Bestowed for the tragedy of Lucretia, 3 17s 8d, apart from 22s 4d paid
in coin.
In decrements, 1 Is 9 /2d
(4-10 March)
Bestowed for musicians for the whole year and for two nights 3 2s
Whereof paid to musicians 3
apart from 1 Is 6d in coin given to those musicians
In decrements, 32s 9 3 /4d
f 13 (12-18 August)
Levied upon the fellows individually by decree of convocation in the
coming of the king, namely, upon a knight s son, 3s 4d; upon an esquire s
son, 20d; upon a gentleman s (son), 12d; upon a commoner s (son), 4d;
in total 53s 4d.
Whereof paid to the University by G.R., 40s, and by the college, 5.
f 13v (2-8 September)
For decrements, 35 14s
(English)
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/(J/21(4)
p 152 (14 July 1604-17 July 1605) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to royal trumpeters being at Woodstock 20s
Letters of the Venetian Ambassador Nicolo Molen to the Doge
Archivio di Stato: Senate, dispacci ambasciatori Inghilterra, filza iv
f 72 (10 August)
On Tuesday, at eight in the morning, the second of the present (month), I
went to see His Majesty at Theobalds, Lord Cecil s place, as ordered....
1020 TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
f 72v
..the king ... then proceeded to discuss his trip with me and invited me
to go to Oxford, which is a University town where masters and scholars
are preparing several disputations and comedies to entertain His Majesty,
who despite not having visited the city for some time, nevertheless has the
pleasure of being received with great joy, solemnity, and all requisites of
honour
f 82 (14 September)
In these past few days I have been in Oxford on His Majesty s invitation,
which I told Your Serenity in my other (letters) I had to do. The king, along
with the queen, prince, and the entire court, entered the city with great pomp
on Tuesday, the sixth of the current (month), where he stayed for three days,
which were entirely filled with comedies in the evening after dinner and with
various disputations in the daytime....
Wake, Rex Platonicus (1607) src: 24939
pp 18-19* (27 August)
An ancient story, well known among the Scottish Britons, concerning
the royal lineage, offered an opportunity for the play. It tells that once three
sibyls encountered two Scottish nobles, Macbeth and Banquo, and predicted
that the former would be a king but would beget no king; the latter would
not be a king but would beget many kings. Events have confirmed the truth
of the prophecy, for the most powerful James is descended from Banquo s
stock. Three young men, cleverly dressed in sibyls costumes, coming from I
the college and singing charming songs by turns, declare to the king that
they are those sibyls who had once predicted reigns for Banquo s offspring,
and that they now appear again to predict with the same truth of prophecy
for James that he is now, and will be for a long time, the most fortunate
king of Britain and the father of many kings, so that the British crown will
never lack an heir from Banquo s offspring. Then softly singing threefold
sweet (words) of blessings in a threefold turn of song to the three princes,
and begging pardon because the students of the college of St John, who
was the forerunner of Christ, had, with a forerunner s greeting, preceded
the students of Christ Church where the king was then going, they left the
princes, who were delighted with this little pretence. The whole crowd
of bystanders, expressing their desire for the happy fulfilment of these
predictions with vows and prayers, followed them from there as far as the
city s North Gate.
TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
pp 45-8*
i A great part of this (wall at Christ Church) fell down when the Lady Eliza
beth attended a show here in the year 1566, from the onrush and weight of a
countless multitude. By its collapse very many people were killed (and) the
limbs of many others were crushed pitiably, although for the whole duration
of the present royal visit, God so willing, no one either here or anywhere
suffered even the slightest wound, which is unusual in so great a crowd, t
But to move on according to plan, while these things are being finished in
Magdalen College, other labour calls members of the University eager for the
atrical preparation, where they were going to receive the princes after dinner. I
A site for the stage had been provided, the hall of Christ Church, because it
(was) both the most spacious and close to the royal lodgings. For they both 1
have a common gateway, to which one climbs by a double flight of very wide
steps, that holds the most expert architects astonished on account of the lofty
size of the tower and arches resting on a single column. It is not clear whether
the interior of the hall is more ample in the extent of its site because of the
founders generosity or the artisans skill. The eighteen tall windows filled
with painted work; the circle of the whole hall above,
kThe book i of k (like) the zodiac, shines in a vast circle, glittering with the bands,
^ j t were unenc iing, of sculpted shields of the heraldic art; hangings from the
painted ceiling gilded at threefold intervals (and) glowing with a variety of
every emblem - these things, (even) if there had not been other shows here,
would have been enough of a show. The stage occupied the upper part of the
hall, (and) its proscenium, gently sloping, came to an end in a level surface -
it lent much dignity to the actors departure as if they were coming down
a mountain. Embroidered hangings and stage houses were artfully prepared
with devices for the variety of every setting and action, so that die appearance
of the whole stage would suddenly become new, to the amazement of all, not
only for the change for each show each day but also for the change of scene in
one and the same play. The devices by which all these things were concealed
over a large area had been both hung and painted as if for (ie, to represent)
moving clouds by a very artful hand, so that you would suppose them fleeing
at once upon the imminent arrival of (our) British sun (ie, King James) and so
that you would believe you were looking at the sky itself, if you did not soon
behold the moon and stars (ie, Queen Anne and her retinue) glittering below.
From the lowest floorboards of the hall I to the highest apex of the panelled
ceiling, wedge-shaped blocks of seats are fixed in a large circle to die walls. In
the midst of the auditorium, a royal throne surrounded by lattice-work is set
up for the princes, which the places of noblemen surround on either side; the
remainder, the space between the throne and the stage, an area set apart for
noblewomen, is a little lower down. When the king and queen had entered
together with Prince Henry - who drove there after dinner in a coach - and
1022
TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
k Muhammad
used to pretend
thai this dove,
which had been
taught to take a
grain of wheat
from his ear with
(its) beak (and
so) afterward
frequently poked
its beak within
(his) ear, was the
Holy Spint, who
was a messenger
from God to him
and whispered
everything to him.
while an incredible multitude of all estates was filling up the wedge-shaped
blocks of seats and the auditorium - in such a way that the spectators them
selves were part of the show - the witty comedy Vertumnus is put on to cheer
the princes by students of the same college, who were always regarded as chief
both in the tragic buskin and the comic slipper. In this (comedy) three rivals
vie for Pomona s love: Chaerilus, a vain poet; Sylvanus, a great drinker; and
Vertumnus. He ensnares her by a trick of many forms, dressing up first as a
fisherman, then a courtier, and thirdly as a soldier, to trick her into love. But
by no means is his prayer answered by these tricks. Finally he ceases to be a
man, and as a woman assails a woman. And in that guise he awakens marvel
lous love for him in Pomona. Having done that he reveals himself and the
real Vertumnus possesses the real Pomona.
Since no noble delight by which either the ears or eyes could desire to be
soothed was absent from this play - which learned men will conjecture from
its very argument and will easily understand if it should be printed, which is
hoped for - then nothing could be more pleasing to all the members of the
University and courtiers than that they should observe by such obvious signs
that small streams of joy were flowing back in turn into the hearts - whence,
God willing, all our joys pour forth. For to those who do not understand the
great troubles of kings, (their) dispositions appear dull, but I anyone would
understand that those people understand nothing who do not understand
that their (ie, kings ) consolations and, so to speak, diversions from such great
troubles are necessary.
One (event), however, although it occurred by chance, should not be passed
over. When a certain number of doves were released from a net, as the play
required,
You observe how doves come to shining roofs
one of them sought out the queen - truly a bright-shining and dovelike breast
- and settled on her chair, as I have heard many asserting doves (do), either as
devised with skill, like Archytas , or taught by skill, k like Muhammad s.
Why go on? Everything pleased everybody, except those who did not
understand or were seeking sleep rather than wit. However, after the king,
always wakeful in serious matters (and) also (wakeful) now for the plays,
had commended everything with a fine clapping of his hands and by the
testimony of his voice - the queen and the prince and the rest then follow
him (in this) - everyone departs to refresh their eyes for tomorrow s shows
for it was the middle of the night.
pp 78-9 (28 August)
But brief is the pause in pleasure, which the very pleasing sights of a tragedy
renew, and the seasoning, so to speak, of a serious disputation which precedes
it. The name of the play, which young men chosen from the whole University
TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
1023
performed, (was) Ajax Flagellifer. although the title was borrowed from Soph
ocles, still (the play) was as different in matter as in expression. The choice of
its argument was made not only because it provided, with a splendid and
stately variety of representations, abundant delight for such great spectators,
but because the matter also seemed to be very appropriate for both courtly
and academic ears and minds. For that celebrated dispute over the arms of
dead Achilles is represented. Ajax claimed those arms as a reward for military
prowess, but Ulysses obtained (them) as the deserts of (his) wisdom and
learned eloquence. The conquered soldier fills the stage and all (its) round with
(his) furious bellow; he calls upon the Furies; he curses gods and men; he
breathes nothing but threats and vengeance. But wrath indeed (is) vain without
strength, and strength (is vain) without prudence; and a ferocity, which the
cultivation of letters and learning does not temper, results in (its) possessor s
destruction. After I the madman s various wicked deeds, after he had slaugh
tered a flock of sheep instead of the Greek leaders and had scourged a large
ram savagely in the place of Ulysses, he, when finally restored to (his own)
mind, kills himself, more insane (now) than when (he was) insane. Tecmessa
most piteously mourns the death of her lord, but the shade of Hector, which
completely undetectable to Ajax provided the function of the chorus, rejoices.
It is not easy to say with how marvellous a variety all these things fed both
the eyes and the ears, all the more so because, on account of the variety of the
matter, the whole fabric of the stage and the artful apparatus of the embroidered
hangings were renewed again and again to the amazement of all. Where just
now you had gazed on the living image of Troy and the Trojan shore, soon
afterward you would see woods and deserts, horrific caves and the dwellings
of the Furies, and while these were immediately vanishing, (you would see)
unexpectedly the very agreeable appearance of tents and of ships.
pp 112-13 (29 August)
But after dinner one must hasten to the stage where, in the usual place,
Annus Recurrent is presented to the princes by men of St John s - a play
with a comic slipper but a tragic foot (ie, a comedy written in tragic metre),
for it is written in tragic senarii for a novelty (or for a surprise), with the
scene, fashioned most precisely into the form of the zodiac and with the
sun passing through all twelve signs with splendid artifice. By its course
the four seasons of the year, the four I stages of human life, the four types
of humours of the body, and other forms of diversity, whether of fortunes
or of dispositions or of loves, or of plays (or games) - if there be any (such)
anywhere - are all led forth onto the stage in a delightful harmony and
represented in (the character) Microcosm, first a youth at the University,
and then experiencing the diversity of every other (human) condition.
But why do I (write) these things when that most amusing comedy itself
1024 TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
has already emerged from the press? It began with the sun entering Aries
and finished when Pisces was being cooked by the fire of the sun. It was
worthy indeed of lasting for the cycle of a whole year but, so that leisure
for resring might be granted the princes who were exhausted by the great
weariness of that day, the sun seemed to have traversed its zodiac more
quickly.
pp 134-6 (30 August)
The members of the University, moreover, who had polished everything
up to this point - whatever was done or said - for that sensitive and learned
ear of the great arbiter (ie, the king (?)), judged this an especially opportune
time to offer something also for the ears of the less learned men and,
above all, of the noblewomen. They had no doubt that some (of the noble
women), such as (were) shining among so many stars of our sun, were
more assiduous in the writings of our Sidney and Chaucer than in those
of Plautus or Aristotle - for not everyone belongs either to Arabella or to
Lucy (ie, to Arabella Stuart or to Lucy, countess of Bedford). They judge
this to be an especially opportune time to charm (Queen) Anne s holy
clemency and, along with Prince Henry, the whole beauty of the female
court. And this (they do) not only with the native (ie, English), but also
with the pastoral pan pipe, with which the choicest men among the
Arcadians of the Isis have sung Arcadia Restaurata. And with one work
they affected the minds of the princes and of all the spectators with great
pleasure beyond belief, and at the same time taught actors in our native
tongue, even if the most experienced, how great a difference there is between
the commercial stage and the learned (stage). It is difficult to say which was
the greater glory: that of the action or that of the verse. It is not difficult to
judge, however, how much it captivated the ears of all. For both the court
and the University speak of the former, and they speak as if they could never
say enough. The thing itself speaks of the latter, and the book has already
been worn out by everyone s hands.
Our Thalia is not ashamed to dwell in the woods.
Especially our Daniel s woods; you will not think cities themselves more
urbane than they. From the divine ark of his genius I our Arcadia and other
writings fly up, very highly praised with such great praise. Our University
rightly gives thanks for so great (a play) to her own foster son; so much the
more, since he at least exists, may contemporary poets and all those coming
after him learn from his example that there is not such a great war between
mental acuity and the purity of the page but that they are able and ought
to embrace each other.
If anyone not fluent in English should wish to know from me the
TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
1025
f Boemus relates
chat this is a
customary prac
tice (or 3 solemn
observance)
among the
Germans
circumstances of this Arcadia, let him think of anything that can happen either
by deception or love-philtre, so that thereby evil loves may be cemented;
of anything (that can happen) either by falsities or jealousies, so that thereby
even good and true loves may be ripped apart; of anything (that can happen)
so that thereby young men may burn for lust (and) maidens for wanton
ness of minds and of dress. And let him understand how much the repub
lic of the Arcadians is inflamed by the torches of lascivious debauchees and
of corrupting procuresses. Those who were best able to remember the former
probity of Arcadia because of their age, to long for it because of their
virtue, to restore it because of their authority and wisdom, were eager to
hold out a healing hand to these. And other bad (habits), no less perni
cious than this evil behaviour, had invaded Arcadia: wicked corruptions
of sacred rituals under a pretext of piety, the smokey frauds of fly-by-night
hucksters (hiding) under the honoured name and feigned dress of doctors,
and finally the tenpenny dregs of hack lawyers, who boast of being jurists
among shepherds (but) among jurists are not even esteemed as shepherds.
In the meantime all their tricks are represented and, after the earlier form
of the republic has been restored, are punished by laws and penalties. If I
say that (this) marvellously pleased the queen, the prince, and all the
spectators, I shall only have said what the queen, the prince, and all the
spectators both displayed with great applause I then and also bear witness
to (it) still with marvellous praise.
But why am 1 seized, like a fool, by these fleeting names of pleasures and
glory when no one suffers misfortune more unhappily than one who has
known the peak of happiness? And why would I boast that the glory of
Utopian Arcadia has been restored when I see the glory of (our) Arcadia on
the Isis and (their) pure pleasure disappearing? Thus all human things have
been put on the stage and with the very brief comedy of our joy finished,
tragedy and imminent grief waits for the University. For if four ancestors
rightly supposed that the sky should be mourned and that they should shake
(it) with loud lamentation when they saw the bright face of the sun or moon
disappearing, what great sorrow awaits us who, since (our) sun, and Cynthia,
and the bright Julian star (ie, the king, queen, and prince) are about to take
the presence of their splendour away from us at any time now, are oppressed
more heavily by shadows than we have been surrounded by shining light?
But stay, our delight, stay! If, moreover, you remain as long as you find us to
be not unappreciative, not inattentive hosts, you will remain here eternally.
But we who devoutly imitate that grief of our ancestors resort to their
superstition in vain. For our light cannot be recalled by (our) laments, nor
does anything remain for us, except to envy others who are able to see the
same light which we ourselves cannot.
1026 TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
Gwinne, Vertumnus (1607) STC: 12555
sigs B3-4
Thalia to the most illustrious earl of Montgomery,
Lord Philip Herbert
Earl Philip, dear to the king, whose harvest is (yet) on the stalks,
Thalia, pleasing to you,
invites, honours, greets, and adores you, earl of Montgomery, as her patron.
She, suffused with the blush of modesty, asks
will she, who once pleased when seen, be pleasing when she comes to be read?
They saw her - as she triumphantly recalls and remembers -
they, the darlings of the human race, the ornaments of the city and globe,
gods upon the earth, and the most celebrated lights of the world.
The king, an Augustus, the equal of Jove, (and his) offspring worthy of Jove,
the prince; the latter, a miracle among youths, the former, among men.
Earls, an assembly worthy of Apollo, saw her:
first and foremost, Dorset, an Apollo, governor of the muses.
And then three Howards by name - I would say divinities -
distinguished in counsel (and) command, supreme in (high) office,
Northampton, Nottingham, and Suffolk, know (her).
The first presides over ports; the second, ships; the third, buildings.
Then - but forgive me if the order, being inverse, fails in verse;
hardly anyone has been seated in the order of the stage -
he to whom famous Worcestershire gave its name was present,
or rather he was pre-eminent, for (his) dear devotion gave (him) the first place.
Rutland, (a man) of old-fashioned (moral) rectitude was there with them.
(Their) great friend Cumberland was near at hand, but Mars
or rather the Muses weep for him (now) because (their) friend died.
Then Southampton and then the hero Devon:
may the gods wish that the former lives on; the aether has carried the latter away.
The latter was, the former remains - and may he remain - a support to the
poet. I
And then my Maecenas, your brother, a second
Phoebus, Pembroke, for whom once (there was) a serious little book
thirteen years before, in the manner of one reading medicine:
he wrote such things about the macrocosm (and) microcosm,
as Thalia has now recalled playfully on the stage.
You, earl, gracious above all others, as Adonis (saw) Venus,
joyfully saw (and) joyfully listened (to the play), unless I am deceived by love;
but in your feelings, which demonstrate true love,
you were doubtful whether it would please, until you saw that it had pleased.
In this spirit, among many (others), the hero Danvers
TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
and Effingham are noted to have watched and listened.
May others forgive, greater or lesser,
Scots or English, dukes or earls, barons
or knights, renowned in wealth or understanding,
supporters of the muses, whom the muses honour and celebrate in return,
if out of reverence Thalia fails to mention any with whom she is not
acquainted.
May countesses, your stars equally pardon -
(they are) both the objects of your desire and the wonders of our heaven,
and the illustrious mistresses of (our) souls, dare I say, or (our) love,
ready to be looked at as they deserve - or to look -
if Thalia modestly passes over in silence those whom she does not know.
Above the rest, like the moon among lesser orbs,
Thetis among the water nymphs, Juno among (the) goddesses,
the pearl, the gem of gems, and the first goddess of goddesses,
Anna, (the same) backward and forward, like a little ring, the image of love,
descended from kings, parent of kings, the queen of Britain,
eagerly expected - would that she had joyfully looked on! But
Melpomene had exhausted her the previous day (and) Ajax had vexed her,
the following day the waiting Arcadian (muse) Euterpe charmed her.
She would like Latin less well, as she would like the vernacular better:
although the latter would have been more, the former less, appropriate for
the scholars.
Of the others absent for a similar reason, he
that earl of Salisbury, the Hermes of the English race,
(its) tongue, head, heart, mind, hand, a hero second only to Jove, I
and she, the excellent Lucy, (countess) of Bedford, the glory of womanhood,
a pillar for the muses, a patroness of the poet:
would that only they had been spectators! For if Thalia desires
to please anyone with our art, she desires to please them.
However, she was able to please hardly anyone, and not (at all) them.
Nor can she fail to mention you, O highest chancellor,
when she speaks of illustrious friends of the muses,
for she and her poet, insignificant though he may be, are indebted
to (you,) Egerton.
But neither the very great business of the realm allowed (him) to attend,
nor (did his) authority (sit so) lightly, however greatly it would have pleased
Thalia.
You, however, (Montgomery,) were then a witness or perhaps (its) source or
(its) performer,
that she gave pleasure (to her audience),
for she attributes that pleasure to you. But indeed she who pleased when seen
1028
TRANSLATIONS 1604-5
B The kjngs:
Duncan of the
Scots; Cnut
of England;
LJywelyn ab
Seisyll of Wales
and heard
asks further: will she please when she is read?
May Thalia, who will be silent at your bidding, be read at your bidding.
Why, you ask, is Thalia not in comic verse?
Let her seek to be equal to heroic (matter) by means of heroic metre.
sig C2\
A proscenium suitable for the four seasons. A palm in the middle with
twelve branches (and) the same number of lights. The area above the stage (*>,
the ceiling (?)) in the form of the zodiac with the image of the sun running
through the twelve signs, three for each subsequent act. The voice, action,
role, gesture cannot be expressed in writing. Imagine them.
sigs H3-3v* (27 August)
At the king s entrance from (St) John s College, situated outside the
North Gate of the city, three in the role of sibyls greet (him) thus,
as if from a wood.
1 . It is said that prophetic sisters once sang
of your offspring s endless rule, O famous king.
Noble Lochaber acknowledged Banquo as thane.
They prophesized immortal sceptres, not for you,
Banquo, but for your immortal descendants.
Now, Banquo, you retreat from the court to hide in the forest,
we three equally sing the same fates for you and yours.
Now, O one expected by your (subjects), you approach the city from the forest.
And we greet you: greetings to you whom Scotland obeys.
2. To you whom England obeys, greetings. 3. To you whom Ireland obeys,
greetings.
1 . To whom France gives titles, territories, and more, greetings.
2. To you whom one Britain, previously divided, worships, greetings,
3. Highest British, Irish, and French monarch, greetings.
1. Anne, mother, sister, wife, daughter of kings, greetings.
2. Greetings, Henry, heir, most handsome prince. Greetings.
3. Duke Charles and the very charming Polish prince, greetings.
1 . And we put neither limits nor terms to those fates,
except to the kingdom of the earth; may the stars be the limit of fame.
Recall Cnut famous for a fourfold kingdom.
O greater than your forebears, worthy to be raised by your (subjects) with the
diadem of the sun. I
TRANSLATIONS 1604-6
Nor do we sow slaughters, nor wars, nor anxious hearts;
nor is there fury in us, but we are excited by the agency of that
divine will by which Thomas White was moved in a dream;
a knight of London, he dedicated these buildings to the muses.
To the muses? No rather, to God, and (their) guardian, John:
he, the forerunner of Christ, has bidden (us) to go to greet the one dear to God
and His care, as he passes close by, on his way to Christ Church.
Therefore, after the greeting has been spoken,
continue on your way. May the University be joyful in your sight, continue
on your way.
M.G.
1605-6
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.7(g.)
mb 3d*
And on the expenses of the comedies and tragedies
performed this year 6 12d
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 3v col 2 (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 102 (26 July-22 November) (External expenses)
...To the lord vice-chancellor in the coming of the king by agreement, 12.
f 103 (25 November -25 March) (External expenses)
. . .To the common musicians by agreement, 6s 8d. . . .
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7599
mb 5 (25 December-25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
1030 TRANSLATIONS 1605-7
The Queen s College Long Rolls qc Arch: LRA
f 30v col 1* (7 July-7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to Morris, a fiddler 2s
Likewise to pipers from Oxford 10 S
St John s College Computus Hebdomalis sjc Arch: Acc.v.E.4
f 15v (14-20 October)
Paid out by the decision of convocation a second time for
the University s expenses in the coming of (his) royal majesty 57s 4d
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/|V21(4)
p 154 (17 July -17 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid for the remainder of the money laid out during
the reception of (his) most serene royal majesty 151 9s 6d
Hannisters Registers OCA: L.5-1
f 275 (9 December)
John Smith, musician, recently an apprentice of Leonard Major of the city of
Oxford, has been admitted to the liberty of the aforesaid city on 9 December
in the aforesaid third year, and he paid the officers fee and 2s 6d for the
corporation treasury and was sworn.
1606-7
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.8(a.)
mb 3d
And on the expenses of the comedies and tragedies
produced this year
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/2
f 142 (Repairs)
For expenses incurred for the shows this year 22 19s S /id
TRANSLATIONS 1606-8
(Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast
To trumpeters of Lord Oxford and Lord Compton
in reward 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 109v (25 November -20 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d; on their supper, 2s.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7600
mb 8 (25 December-25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to trumpeters in reward, 3s.
Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
The Queens College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 32 col 2* (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to pipers 10s
Likewise to Morris, a piper Is6d
1607-8
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.8(b.)
mb 3d
And on the expenses of the comedies and tragedies
produced this year as it appears in the same place 6 12s 4d
Lincoln College Calculus 1607-8 LC Arch
f 5* (7 December- 6 March)
feast of the Purification of (St) Mary 18s
Musicians of the house, 7s id
1032 TRANSLATIONS 1607-8
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/2
f 149v (Internal and external payments)
To the lord king s trumpeters in reward IQ S
f 150
To musicians on the bursars feast
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 115v (20 November- 18 March) (External expenses)
,.To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d; on their supper by agreement, 18d....
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7603
mb 6 (25 December-25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians in reward 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 35 col 1* (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to trumpeters from Oxford 10s
St John s College Christmas Prince sjc Library: MS 52
pp 5-10* (Election of the Prince)
(English)
I believe, electors, most illustrious men, that these benefits - which
bring more difficulty and responsibility when conferred than they can
(bring) honour when properly administered - are to be undertaken
more with caution at the first threshold than they are either to be
avidly sought with the expectation of great dignity or recklessly seized
with the blind desire for an unknown good. Since, conscript electors,
I have always registered dignities of that kind carefully in the roll of
these (benefits), it seems to me that you - with all due respect to your
diligence, allow me to say - should not expect thanks so much as I,
who am about to undertake that responsibility, deserve them. For
only that benefit is accepted with thanks - I speak with reference to
TRANSLATIONS 1607-8
1033
the cimes - which neither solicitude I nor duty urges. Moreover, there
are such infinite anxieties which surround that model, if you like, of
lordship that few would freely wish them to be included in lordship,
none can avoid (them), none endure (them). For when the appearance
of true power is to be shown, some proportion of cares is always to
be expected. But when electoral dignity, the regard of the electors, the
applause of the people, (and) the consensus of all call (me) to pre
eminence with a view to promoting democracy, willingly I shall
temper the impetus of our strenuously resisting soul, and earnestly
devote care to satisfy the state as a whole, (even) if I am less able
(to satisfy) each individual one of you. I do not therefore regard it
appropriate to reply to the adversaries of our advances, who praise
the disordered and confused care of power, or to agree with those
extolling (or exaggerating) the necessity of a monarchical constitution.
I have not come as the judge of your debates: I am sent for as (your)
emperor (or commander). I willingly attribute the rising of our glory
to your love, men especially dear to us; I do not judge that (our)
august and glorious advance will require (anything) from you, out of
your sense of duty, beyond love for us. I do not profess tyranny (but)
I will exercise rule. In order that the happier advances of this (rule)
be promoted and stabilized day by day, you ought to be more lavish
with money than with (your) mouth. Wherefore I establish that the
first fruits of love and of your duty are to be exacted immediately,
lest I myself should appear to rule without authority or to have seized
power without glory. We follow the Athenian polity, to whose
standard I, appointed now to the task of kings, with the curators
of plays, will take care, as my first responsibility in these sacred
observances, that the observances sacred to Minerva, Vulcan,
and Prometheus take place according to customary usage. But
meanwhile, men already (made) greater by our authority, according
to the image of the aforesaid republic, I desire producers, or
assistants, who shall not only be put in charge of the plays but
also, using liberality in the republic s expenses according to the
proportion of wealth, shall partly offer rewards from the public
purse and partly spend from their own (funds) for this reason:
that they are prefects over those (plays). You will furnish when
warned those other things that pertain to your duty, you will
offer voluntarily, as I hope, the things that pertain to your love.
(English)
pp 47-9
(English)
1034 TRANSLATIONS 1607-8
I doff the tyrant Tereus by Fortune s leave.
I go on to be tongueless in Fortune s way.
Thus a mute punishment for a mute crime follows.
May another Tereus appointed be pleasing, I pray.
(English)
pp 111-16
(English)
Since it has never been a hindrance in any way to the majesty of the greatest
princes that several times they stood in need of more friends and their help
and support, and since each most noble one (of the princes) was accustomed
to owe much to a certain particular privilege, I, lest I should appear to be
lacking in the smallest entitlement of majesty or not to enjoy any privilege of
nobility, being forced and compelled by very many constraints - which we do
not judge honourable enough to explain according to the custom of princes
or safe enough for your duty to investigate - send this mandatory letter to
you, by virtue of which a sum of money is exacted, which you will present to
this our collector according to the proportion and substance of your love.
This (sum) I bind myself and my successors to repay faithfully and without
any fraud or evil trickery to you or your heirs on the Greek calends. Given
and sealed I with our privy seal, from the white hall of Alba Fortunata, on
1 February in the first year of (our) reign.
(English)
pp 169-78
(Engltsh)
Now we are replete with rich food.
We bear to you a flowing abundance.
Playfully we sing joy to you.
Live joyfully.
They call you a god, venerable Bacchus.
They call you a goddess, reverend mother.
Cast away heavy sorrows from yourselves.
Live joyfully.
Ceres gives strength and strengthens
human bodies, and he, Bacchus, the father of wine,
frees our souls from troublesome worries.
Live joyfully.
Lest sadness tire your souls,
this happy throng bids you put aside your worries,
TRANSLATIONS 1607-8
and the holiday urges rejoicing.
Live joyfully. I
Behold, Ceres the creator of fertile crops
and the father of wine and peaceful sleep
merrily offer this cup to you.
Take, f Monarch.
Master.
They all drink in order while the actors repeat these last songs very often.
Soon each person in the whole gathering is thus wished joy in order.
Tenor If abundance can make anyone happy,
abundance bids (us) to have the name, happy.
Joyful abundance bids (us) dispel sad worries,
abundance, whom Bacchus and nurturing Ceres embrace.
Counter tenor Who is not delighted by the cup taken in moderation?
Whose soul is not delighted by sweet wines?
Sweet wines delight; wines bring sweet sleep;
sweet wines enhance magnificent food.
Mean Nurturing Ceres nourishes mortal hearts with crops.
Nurturing Ceres adorns the field with crops.
If anyone lacks Ceres gifts, he is not
pleased by father Bacchus welcome gifts either.
May you not be lacking Ceres or Bacchus gifts.
May Jupiter himself answer my prayers.
Treble Nurturing Ceres is gladdened by your feasts, and lo,
abundance and Bacchus sing of glad rejoicing.
Presently, they all exit singing.
M"n We sing of glad rejoicing; we will sing
this the same always, for grieving is not
permitted now. A joyful holiday is celebrated here.
Live joyfully.
More often may the holiday return to us.
More often may the drinking of wine be permitted.
More often may we merrily sing to you.
Live joyfully. They exit. I
(English)
I believe those were the suitors of Penelope,
TRANSLATIONS 1607-9
whom the perhaps just anger of Telemachus
drove out of Ulysses house. I
(English)
1608-9
Christ Church Treasurers Accounts ChCh Arch: iii.c.l
f 152
And on the expenses of the comedies and tragedies
produced this year 5
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 15 (Internal and external payments)
To the earl of Pembroke s trumpeters 6s
f 15v
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3-1
f 127v (18 November- 24 March) (External expenses)
. . .To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d, and for the same (musicians) on (their)
supper, 22d
Merton College Register MCR: 1.3
p 229 (Allowances)
On 29 January we allowed to pipers as usual, 6s 8.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7604
mb 8 (25 December-25 March) (Internal expenses)
(English).... Paid to the town musicians
TRANSLATIONS 1608-10
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 36v col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to trumpeters 2s 6d
Likewise to the king s trumpeters
Likewise to pipers from Oxford
Vice-Chancellors Accounts OUA: WP/(V21(4)
p 160 (17 July- 14 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to the king s trumpeters
1609-10
Christ Church Treasurers Accounts ChCh Arch: iii.c.l
f 164
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies
performed this year nil
Letter of Henry Jackson to D.G.P ccc: MS 304
ff 83v-4*
>io. D.G.P.
-Recently the king s stage actors were here. They performed to great
applause, the theatre being full. But they rightly seemed impious to pious
and learned men because, not being content to injure alchemists, they
most foully sullied the Holy Scriptures themselves. Of course they carped
at Anabaptists so that (their own) audacity would hide under this mask.-
-(They say that) our theologians, who, I m sorry to say, gathered (there)
very eagerly. -
(They say that) our stage has never sounded with greater applause
than when that masked scoundrel entered, who impiously and extravagantly
defiled the Scriptures so as I to place the Anabaptists feigned sanctity
before the spectators to be derided. They also held tragedies which they
acted decorously and aptly. They moved (the audience to) tears in these
(tragedies) not only by what they said but also by what they did.-
-But indeed that Desdemona, who was slain before us by her husband,
although she always pleaded her case very well, nevertheless moved (us)
1038 TRANSLATIONS 1609-10
more after she was murdered, when lying on the bed she appealed to the
spectators pity with her very expression.-
September 1610.
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: A.n.9
f 207v (1 November 1 November)
Likewise of 10s paid and given to royal trumpeters.
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch. LCE/8
f 25 v (Internal and external payments)
To the king s trumpeters in reward 100
f 26
To trumpeters in reward
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 31
f 132v (24 November -23 March) (External expenses)
. . .To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d; for the same (musicians ) supper, 2s 6d.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7606
mb 9 (25 December- 25 March)
..Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d....
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S I.C.I
f 152v (Internal expenses)
Likewise to the king s trumpeters
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRA
f 38v col 1 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
2s 6d
Likewise to trumpeters
TRANSLATIONS 1609-12
Likewise to Morris, a fiddler ld
Likewise to pipers from Oxford
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 4v col 2 (7 July 1610-7 July 1611) (External expenses)
Likewise to the king s trumpeters on 29 August 20s
1610-11
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 35v (Internal and external payments)
To various nobles trumpeters in reward 6s
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 140 (23 November- 22 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d; for the same (musicians ) supper,
2s 6d..
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 4v col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to pipers from Oxford 10s
Likewise to Morris, a fiddler 18d
1611-12
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.8(d.)
mb 2d*
And on the expenses of the comedies and tragedies
produced this year n j|
1040 TRANSLATIONS 1611-12
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: A.n.9
f 216 (1 November- 1 November)
Likewise of 38s paid to the king s and prince s trumpeters.
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 45 (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
f 45v
To royal trumpeters in reward 20s
To the prince s trumpeters in reward 20s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 146v (22 November- 20 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d; for their supper, 2s To royal
trumpeters, 6s
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 7 col 1 (7 July 7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to pipers from Oxford 10s
Likewise to Morris, a fiddler 18s
f 9 col 2 (7 July 1612-7 July 1613) (External expenses)
Likewise to the king s clarioners on 28 August 20s
Likewise to the prince s trumpeters on 27 September
1041
TRANSLATIONS 1612-14
1612-13
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.8(e.)
mb 2d*
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies
produced this year
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 55v* (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
To Mr Oates for the comedy to be held before the
prince palatine, by (his) bill 5 9s
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7611
mb 8 (29 September 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d.
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 9v col 1 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
i January Likewise to Morris, a fiddler 18d
is February Likewise to pipers from Oxford 10s
1613-14
Christ Church Treasurers Accounts ChCh Arch: iii.c.l
f 198
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies
produced this year n ;j
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: A.n.9
f 224 (I November- 1 November)
Likewise to the king s trumpeters
1 2
1042 TRANSLATIONS 1613-14
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 63v (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5$
To the kings trumpeters 20s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 155 (19 November- 18 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7614
mb 9 (29 September-25 December) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to a musician playing in the hall, 6d....
(25 December-25 March)
...Paid to a musician, 12d Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d.
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S I.C.I
f 180v (Internal expenses)
Likewise to royal trumpeters, 10s....
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f llv col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to pipers from Oxford on 4 February
Likewise to Morris, a piper
f 14 col 1 (7 July 161 4 -7 July 1615)
Likewise on 18 September to royal pipers
TRANSLATIONS 1613-15
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/P/2l(4)
p 172 (2 August- 27 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to the lady queen s players (or entertainers)
1614-15
Christ Church Treasurers Accounts ChCh Arch: iii.c.l
f 205
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies
produced this year n "
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 71v (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
f 72*
To Mr Powell for expenses on a comedy held in the
lord president s lodgings 1
To trumpeters at commencement 5s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 161 v (17 March -28 July) (External expenses)
. . .To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7615
mb 9 (25 December 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
1044 TRANSLATIONS 1614-16
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 14 col 1 (7 July-7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise on 1 January to John Morris, piper 18d
Likewise on 1 February to pipers from Oxford \Q S
col 2
Likewise on 1 1 July to royal pipers 10s
Vice-Chancellors Accounts OUA: WP/(3/21(4)
p 174 (27 July- 20 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Likewise paid to royal trumpeters at Woodstock 22s
Likewise paid to those serving the lord vice-chancellor,
the doctors, and proctors at the time of the dinner at
Woodstock 22s
Likewise paid to royal trumpeters at the time of the
last commencement 10s
1615-16
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.8(f.)
mb 2d
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies
produced this year 6 13s 4d
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 80 (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
f 80v
To the king s trumpeters -1 2s
To the queen s trumpeters
TRANSLATIONS 1615-16
To the queen s drummer/s
To trumpeters
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch. 7617
mb 7 (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...(English) Paid to town musicians, 6s 8d
The Queens College Long Rolls QC Arch. LRB
f 17v col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
1 January Likewise to 3. fiddler, William Morris 18d
24 February Likewise to four pipers, strangers 5s
2 March Likewise to pipers from Oxford
f 20v col 2 (7 July 1616-7 July 1617) (External expenses)
23 (August) Likewise to the queen s trumpeter/s 10s
24 (August) Likewise to the king s trumpeters 10s
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/0/21(4)
p 176 (17 July 17 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Likewise paid to trumpeters 10s
Likewise paid to the lord king s players (or entertainers) 40s
p 179* (17 July 1616-17 July 1617) (Extraordinary expenses)
Likewise given to the lord king s trumpeters on
24 August 16 16 22s
Likewise given to the lady queen s trumpeters on
23 August 1616 22s
Likewise given to the lord king s drummers 21s
Likewise given to the most illustrious Prince Charles
servants 28 August 22s
1046 TRANSLATIONS 1615-17
Hannisters Registers OCA: L.5.2
f 29v
Memorandum that on 13 August in the aforesaid year, Edward He/wood,
son of Walter Heywood of Cokethorpe in the county of Oxford, yeoman,
placed himself as an apprentice to Leonard Major of the city of Oxford,
musician, to learn his art which he practises. And he stays with him as an
apprentice and serves from the feast of St Michael next to come after the date
of the present (indenture) up to the end and completion of seven years thence
next following, etc. And at the end of said term he will give the same, his
apprentice, two sets of clothing (>, one for daily use and one for holiday use)
appropriate for such an apprentice, etc.
Hugh Bosle Memorandum that on 24 August in the abovesaid year, Roger Bates, son of
5 Roger Bates Edmund Bates of Norton in the county of Oxford, yeoman, placed himself
as an apprentice to Hugo Bosle of the city of Oxford, musician, to learn
his art which he practises. And he stays with him as an apprentice and
serves from the day of the issuing of the present (indenture) up to the end
and completion of seven years thence next following. And at the end of the
said term he will give the same, his apprentice, two sets of clothing (ie, one
for daily use and one for holiday use) appropriate to such an apprentice, and
one treble viol, in English, one treble violin, etc.
1616-17
Christ Church Treasurers Accounts ChCh Arch: iii.c. 1
f 212
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies held
and produced this year nil
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: A.n.9
f 236 (1 November- 1 November)
Likewise of 1 2s paid and given to royal pipers.
Likewise of 11s 5d paid for the repair of a trumpet.
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 85v (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast
TRANSLATIONS 1616-17
Twice to the earl of Essex s trumpeters
To the queens trumpeters
To the lord king s trumpeters
To musicians and for the burning of perfume in
the bishop of Winchester s supper 5s 6d
f 86
To Hoby by (his) bill for various (expenses) in the
tragedy by poor scholars 8s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 174 (21 March -25 July) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7619
mb 6* (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
(English) Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
(24 June -29 September)
(English) Paid for gloves given to the bishop of Winchester, 3 2s.
Paid to royal trumpeters, 11s. (English)
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 21 col 1 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
l January Likewise to Morris, a fiddler 18d
17 February Likewise to pipers from Oxford 10s
f 22v col 2 (7 July 1617-7 July 1618)
Firstly, to royal clarioners, 8 September 20s
1048 TRANSLATIONS 1617-18
1617-18
Christ Church Treasurers Accounts ChCh Arch: iii.c.l
f 220
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies held
and produced this year nil
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 93v (Internal and external payments)
To the earl of Essex s trumpeters 3s
To certain nobles trumpeters 11s
To diverse (persons) by (their) bills (or for various
(expenses) by bills) for the comedy and tragedy
beyond the 22 17s 4d deducted from battells 24 9s 5d
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7621
mb 8 (29 September- 25 December) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the earl of Essex s trumpeters, 2s....
(25 March -24 June)
...Paid to trumpeters, 12 d
(24 June --29 September)
...Paid to trumpeters, 5s....
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 22v col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to Morris, a piper
Likewise to pipers of Oxford on 4 February
1049
TRANSLATIONS 1617-18
Vice-Chancellors Accounts OUA: WP/fV21(4)
p 181 (19 July 1617-20 July 1618) (Extraordinary expenses)
Likewise given to royal servants waiting on
the lord vice-chancellor and the doctors at
Woodstock at dinner-time
Likewise paid to the king s trumpeters 22s
Likewise paid to royal fiddlers (?) 5s
Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy (1624) src: 41 60
p 124
a l have not so long ago touched on those (philosophasters) in a Latin com
edy Philosophaster, which was held publicly at Christ Church, Oxford, in
the year 1617 (ie, 1617/18) on 16 February t
... a Philosophasters are those who are licensed in the (liberal) arts (but) do not
have art, + and they bid those be wise who are endowed with no wisdom, and
they contribute nothing to (this) position except the desire (to be wise)
Robert Burton s Philosophaster Harvard Theatre Collection: MS Thr. 10
p 8* (Prologue)
Let it be known that it was written eleven years ago;
it hid away among bookworms and maggots until this day,
condemned by the author to eternal obscurity.
By the importunity of others, it comes now to the stage.
pp 89-90* (Epilogue)
If (there is) anything aberrant or hackneyed which excessively offends the
ears, we warn that this play was written eleven years ago.
They applauded.
16 February.
At Christ Church.
1617 (ie, 1617/18). I
The names of the actors.
(English)
1050 TRANSLATIONS 1617-19
The author was Robert Burton
of Lindley in Leicestershire.
Hannisters Registers OCA: L.5-2
f 401*
John Baldwin, the son and recently the apprentice of John Baldwin of the
aforesaid city, musician, has been admitted to the liberty of the said city on
20 July in the aforesaid year and sworn likewise.
1618-19
Christ Church Treasurers Accounts ChCh Arch: iii.c.l
f 227
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies held
and produced this year nil
Exeter College Rectors Accounts EC Arch: A.n.9
f 246v (1 November- 1 November)
Likewise to royal trumpeters
To musicians on the bursars feast
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7623
mb 5 (29 September- 25 December) (Internal expenses)
..Paid to a certain old poor man singing in the hall, 4d..
0110
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 103 (Internal and external payments)
To trumpeters at various times
To the kings trumpeters
To various persons by (their) bills (or for various
(expenses) by bills) for the tragedies beyond 18 9s
deducted from battells 13 18s M
5
TRANSLATIONS 1618-20
(25 December-25 March)
...Paid to trumpeters, 5s.... Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d..
(25 March- 24 June)
...Paid to trumpeters, 2s 6d
(24 June -29 September)
...Paid to royal trumpeters, 11s
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S i.C.l
f 2 1 6 (Internal expenses)
Likewise paid to royal trumpeters 10s
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 25 col 1* (7 July-7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to Morris piping 18d
20 March Likewise to pipers from Oxford 10s
f 27 col 1 (7 July 1619-7 July 1620) (External expenses)
23 August Likewise to royal pipers 20s
1619-20
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.9(a.)
mb 4*
(...) of the tragedies and comedies performed
and produced this year n j|
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 113v (Internal and external payments)
To the earl of Rutland s trumpeters 2s 6d
TRANSLATIONS 1619-20
To the count palatine s trumpeters 2s 6d
To a little boy who drummed in the hall 10 S
To royal trumpeters and (those of the earl
of) Buckingham j j
To musicians on the bursars feast 5 S gj
Mer ton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 189 (24 March -29 July) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d....
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7624
mb 5 (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d. (English)
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 27 col 1* (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to Morris piping 18d
21 February Likewise to royal pipers about to set off into Bohemia 10s
Likewise to pipers of Oxford for (their) annual payment 10s
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/P/21(4)
p 185 (17 July 1619-21 July 1620) (Extraordinary expenses)
Likewise to those waiting on the vice-chancellor and
the rest of the doctors at dinner-time at Woodstock 53s
Likewise to royal trumpeters
p 186
Likewise to players (or entertainers) so that they
would leave the University
TRANSLATIONS 1619-21 1053
Hannisters Registers OCA: L.5.2
f 63
Leonard Major Memorandum that on 3 November in the seventeenth year of the reign of
King James of England, etc, and in the fifty-third (year of his reign as king)
Francis Jones of Scotland, Francis Jones, son of John Jones of the parish of Appleton in
the county of Berkshire, husbandman, placed himself as an apprentice to
Leonard Major of the city of Oxford in the county of Oxford, musician, to
learn his art which he practises. And he stays with him as an apprentice and
serves from the feast of All Saints which was in AD 1618 up to the end and
completion of seven years thence next following, to be fully completed and
finished. And at the end of said term he will give to the same, his apprentice,
two sets of clothing (ie, one for daily use and one for holiday use) appropriate
to such an apprentice.
f 395^
George Payne, recently apprentice to Leonard Major of the city of Oxford,
musician, has been admitted to the liberty of this city according to custom,
on 22 November in the abovesaid year, and he swore his oath.
1620-1
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.9(b.)
mb 3d
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies held
and produced this year
nil
Magdalen College Libri Computi MC Arch: LCE/8
f 120v (Internal and external payments)
To Lord Stanhope s trumpeters (...)
To trumpeters at commencement (...)
To the princes trumpeters (...)
To the king s trumpeters (...)
To musicians on the bursars feast
5s
1054 TRANSLATIONS 1620-1
Merton College Register MCR: 1.3
p 268
On 1 1 February, when the fellows met in the vestry after evening prayer, we
allowed according to custom 6s 8d for pipers.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7626
mb 6 (25 December 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S i.C.l
f 226v (Internal expenses)
Likewise paid to royal trumpeters 10s
Likewise paid to the princes trumpeters 5s
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 29 col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to Morris piping 18d
Likewise to pipers from Oxford 10s
f 31 v col 1 (7 July 1621-7 July 1622)
Likewise on 22 August to the prince s trumpeters
Likewise on 27 August to the king s trumpeters
Trinity College Bursars Books TC Arch: I/A/2
f 23 Iv (25 March- 24 June) (Reparations)
Likewise to trumpeters from the king
Likewise to trumpeters from the prince
TRANSLATIONS 1621-2
1621-2
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.9(c.)
mb 3*
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies held
and produced this year m
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/9
f 4v (Internal and external expenses)
To the earl of Oxford s trumpeters 3s
To the earl of Essex s trumpeters 6s
To unknown trumpeters 2s 6d
f 5
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Register MCR: 1.3
p 283
Granted to Then also it was agreed that the bursar should pay 6s 8d of college funds to
the common musicians of the University and the town according to the usual
custom.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7629
mb 6 (25 December 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 31 v col 1 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise on 1 January to Morris piping
1056 TRANSLATIONS 1621-3
col 2
Likewise on 1 1 March to pipers from Oxford IQ S
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/fV21(4)
p 189 (20 July- 1 8 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Likewise given to those waiting on the lord vice-chancellor
and the rest of the doctors at the time of the dinner at
Woodstock
p 190
Likewise to royal trumpeters 20s
Likewise to royal players (or entertainers) that they
would leave the University and not play (or perform) 20s
1622
A Jesus College Statutes jc Arch: ST4
p 94 (Chapter 26) (Weapons not to be carried and hindrances to study to
be removed)
...We wish also that none of the fellows or scholars or servants of the said
college, or those living in it, shall feed or maintain any dog, or any kind of
bird, or any animal whatsoever, within the said college or outside it to the
loss or detriment of the college or to the harm, disturbance, or distress of
any of the fellows or scholars of the same, or also in any way hinder any
fellow or scholar of the said college whatsoever with singing, noise, shouting,
a musical instrument, or any kind of commotion from being able to study
or sleep under penalty to be inflicted by the principal or, in his absence, the
vice-principal at (his) discretion.
1622-3
Christ Church Computi ChCh Arch: iii.c.9(d.)
mb 3d*
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies held
and produced this year
nil
TRANSLATIONS 1622-4
Magdalen College liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/10
f 4v (Internal and external payments)
To Lord Stanhopes trumpeters
To unknown trumpeters
To musicians on the bursars feast
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch. 7631
mb 6 (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
..Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 34 col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
February Likewise to the trumpeters, or musicians,
from Oxford 10s
1623-4
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/1 1
f 4v (Internal and external payments)
To the king s trumpeters, 1; the prince s, 6s;
the duke of Buckingham s, 5s; Lord Stanhope s, Is 6d 1 12s 6d
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
Merton College Register MCR: 1.3
p 286
Granted to Then also it was agreed that the bursar should pay 6s 8d to the common
musicians of the University and the town according to the usual custom.
1058 TRANSLATIONS 1623-5
New College Bursars Accounts NcArch: 7633
mb 8 (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d.
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S I.C.I
f 243v (Internal expenses)
Likewise to the king s and the prince s trumpeters 0160
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 36v col 2 (7 July 7 July) (External expenses)
7Februar) Likewise to trumpeters from Oxford 10s
Likewise to Morris piping 18d
f 39 col 2 (7 July 1624-7 July 1625)
13 August Likewise to the prince s trumpeters
25 (August) Likewise to the king s trumpeters 20s
Vice-Chancellors Accounts OUA:
p 198 (31 July -27 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to royal trumpeters and other trumpeters at
another time
Paid to certain players (or entertainers) so that they
would not play (or perform)
1624-5
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch. LCE/12
f 4v (Internal and external payments)
10s6d
To royal trumpeters
TRANSLATIONS 1624-6
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 2 1 5v (19 November- 18 March) (External expenses)
...To musicians by agreement, 6s 8d....
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7635
mb 8 (24 June -29 September) (Internal expenses)
Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 39 col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
6 January To MotHS, 3. piper 1 8d
19 February To pipers of Oxford 10s
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/ft/21(4)
p 200 (27 July -25 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Paid to musicians at the funeral of James,
late the king, etc 20s
Paid to King James trumpeters 22s
Paid to trumpeters of Charles, now the king 22s
1625-6
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/13
f 4v* (Internal and external payments)
Claimed by the bursars of the previous year for
the trumpeters returned from the naval fleet 3s 4d
To Lord Stanhope s trumpeters 3s
To musicians on the bursars feast 5 S
1060 TRANSLATIONS 1625-7
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7637
mb 8 (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d..
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 41 col 1 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to the king s trumpeters 20s
20 December Likewise to trumpeters from the royal fleet 5s
i Apnl Likewise to flute players of the city of Oxford 10s
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/|3/21(4)
p 202 (25 July- 22 July) (Extraordinary expenses)
Likewise to royal trumpeters when the king
was at Woodstock 1 2s
p 203
Likewise to royal trumpeters coming from the ships 10s
1626-7
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/14
f 4 (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
f 4v
To the king s trumpeters
To a certain magnate s trumpeters
TRANSLATIONS 1626-8
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7638
mb 8 (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d....
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: Si. C.I
f 262 (External expenses)
Likewise to the king s trumpeters
The Queens College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 43 col 1 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to royal trumpeters 10s
col 2
Likewise to Morris, piper 18d
Likewise to trumpeters of Oxford 10s
f 44v col 2 (7 July 1627-7 July 1628) (External expenses)
\ August To the king s trumpeters 20s
1627-8
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/15
f 4 (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7640
mb 7 (25 December 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
1062 TRANSLATIONS 1627-9
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S i.C.l
t 268v (Internal expenses)
Likewise to royal trumpeters 050
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRB
f 45 col 1 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
To Morris, a fiddler joi
23 February To pipers of Oxford IQ
To trumpeters c s
1628-9
Magdalen College Draft Libri Computi MC Arch: LCD/3
f 80v (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
To the king s trumpeters 1 2s
To the queen s trumpeters 10s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 239v (31 July- 20 November 1629) (External expenses)
...To royal trumpeters, 6s. To the queen s trumpeters, 10s
f 240*
...for the reception of nobles and ambassadors ... to musicians at the same
time, 10s. For the reception of the most serene king, Charles, and the most
illustrious queen, by bill, 9 10s To musicians at the same time, 10s
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7642
mb 5* (25 December 25 March) (Internal expenses)
..Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
TRANSLATIONS 1628-30
mb 6* (24 June -29 September) (External expenses)
...Paid to the king s and the queen s trumpeters, 20s..
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: Si. C.I
f 276 (Internal expenses)
Likewise to royal trumpeters -1
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
f 3v col 2* (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
16 May Likewise to pipers of Oxford
Likewise to Morris, a fiddler, on 1 January 18d
f 5v col 2 (7 July 1629 -7 July 1630) (External expenses)
19 (August) Likewise to the king s trumpeters 20s
22 (August) Likewise to the queen s trumpeters 20s
Hannisters Registers OCA: L.5.2
f 366v* (4 December)
John Gerrard, Philip Golledge, Richard Burren, and Sampson Stronge,
musicians, were admitted freely to the liberties of this city, paying only the
officers fees and each of them (paying) 2s 6d to the corporation treasury,
and they swore their corporal oath just as it appears more fully in the act
passed at the same council, etc.
1629-30
Christ Church Treasurers Accounts ChCh Arch: iii.c. 1
f 276
And on the expenses of the tragedies and comedies held
and produced this year n j]
1064 TRANSLATIONS 1629-31
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/16
f 3v* (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
To the earl of Warwick s trumpeters and (those)
returned from the naval fleet 5s 6d
New College Bursars Long Book NC Arch: 4200
f [182] (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
Paid to the town musicians 6s 8d
f [182v] (External expenses)
Paid to trumpeters of the sheriff of the county
of Oxford 5s
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
f 5v col 2* (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
Likewise to Morris, a fiddler 18d
f 6 col 1
M JV Likewise to pipers of Oxford
1630-1
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/l6a
f 3v (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast
To the king s trumpeters and to others (/>, other
1 7s 6d
trumpeters (?))
TRANSLATIONS 1630-1
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3-1
f 247 (18 March -29 July) (External expenses)
...To trumpeters, 5s
Merton College Register MCR: 1.3
p 308
2 August 12d for each fellow has been granted to certain musicians, whom the Univer
sity had hired not so long ago as different from the town (musicians) and
permitted to rejoice in die badge and name of the University, and (the money)
shall be deducted in the next term.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7645
mb 10* (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d....
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: Si. C.I
f 286v (Internal expenses)
Likewise to royal trumpeters 00 010 00
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
f 8 col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
On 1 January to Morris, a fiddler 18d
On 7 March to pipers of Oxford 10s
f 10 col 1* (7 July 1631-7 July 1632)
is August To the king s trumpeters 20s
To Morris, a fiddler
166 TRANSLATIONS 1630-1
Trinity College Bursars Books TC Arch: I/A/2
f 343* (25 March -24 June) (Expenses)
To royal trumpeters 10s
To navy pipers on 25 May 6 S
Hannisters Registers OCA: L.5.2
f :iOv*
9 July 1631
(English)
"Memorandum that on 24 May in the tenth year of the reign of King Charles
(/>, 24 May 1634) both Christopher Palmer, who married Mary, lately the
wife of the said Richard Burren, and the same apprentice (John Hancocke,)
and Sampson Stronge, a citizen and musician of the city of Oxford, came
before Francis Harris, esquire, mayor of the same city and me, Timothy Cartar,
clerk of the commonalty of the aforesaid city. And then the same apprentice,
with the said Christopher s consent, placed himself as the apprentice of the
said Sampson Stronge for the remainder of the aforesaid term and from
the end of the same term up to 24 May then next following. And the same
Sampson at that time accepted the same apprentice into his service and under
took to give to the same apprentice on the same 24 May after the end of the
said term just what the aforesaid Richard Burren ought to give to the same
apprentice and just as is specified in the aforesaid enrollment (made) on (..)
July 1631.
Likewise Timothy Cartar, clerk of the commonalty of the city of Oxford, is
(a witness to the enrollments (?)).
f 361*
Robert Duke and Edward Golledge, musicians, have been admitted freely, as
others (have been) before, to the liberties of this city on 19 September in the
seventh year (of the reign) of King Charles, at the council held then; and they
were sworn.
City Waits Obligations OCA. F.5.2
f 51
Let all know by the present (bond) that I, John Baldwin the younger of the
city of Oxford, musician, am bound and firmly obligated to Thomas Cooper,
TRANSLATIONS 1630-2 1067
esquire, mayor of the aforesaid city of Oxford, (and) to William Potter,
William Wright, Oliver Smith, William Boswell, and Henry Bosworth,
aldermen of the same city, to (the sum) of 10 of legal English money to be
paid to the same Thomas Cooper, William Potter, William Wright, Oliver
Smith, William Boswell, and Henry Bosworth, or to any one of them, (or)
hereafter to their assured attornies, executors, administrators, or assigns.
Indeed I firmly oblige myself, my heirs, executors, and administrators to
well and faithfully make this payment by the present (bond) sealed with my
seal, given on 15 November in the sixth year of the reign of our lord Charles,
by the grace of God, king of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, defender
of the faith, etc.
f 53
Let all know by the present (bond) that I, Sampson Stronge of the city of
Oxford, musician, am bound and firmly obligated to Thomas Cooper,
esquire, mayor of the aforesaid city of Oxford, (and) to William Potter,
William Wright, Oliver Smith, William Boswell, and Henry Bosworth,
aldermen of the same city, to (the sum) of 10 of legal English money to
be paid to the same Thomas Cooper, William Potter, William Wright,
Oliver Smith, William Boswell, and Henry Bosworth, or to any one of
them, (or) hereafter to their assured attornies, executors, administrators,
or assigns. Indeed I firmly oblige myself, my heirs, executors, and
administrators to well and faithfully make this payment by the present
(bond) sealed with my seal, given on 15 November in the sixth year of
the reign of our Lord Charles, by the grace of God, king of England,
Scotland, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, etc.
1631-2
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/17
f 3v (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5 S
To trumpeters JQ S
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.1
f 250 (29 July- 18 November 1631) (External expenses)
...To royal trumpeters, 10s
1068 TRANSLATIONS 1631-2
Merton College Register MCR: 1 3
p 311
By agreement of the wardens and fellows, 10s each year shall be paid here-
ter to the new fiddlers of the University in place of the 6s 8d, which of old
the bursars were accustomed to pay to the town officers.
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7647
mb 8 (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
..Paid to the University musicians, 6s 8d....
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S i.C.l
f 292 (Internal expenses)
Likewise to trumpeters 5 6d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
f 10 col 1* (7 July-7 July) (External expenses)
To fiddlers of Oxford 10s
Brian Tivyne s Notes on the History of the University Music
Bodl.: MS. Twyne-Langbaine 4
ff 105-7*
(English)
Regarding musicians, or singers, of the University
From the register of the University of Oxford or the act book, page 93.1.
In AD 1501 and the sixteenth year of (the reign) of King Henry vii.
[Before the commissary, Thomas Bank, STD, rector of Lincoln College, at
the time when William Smith, the reverend father in Christ and bishop of
Lincoln, founder of Brasenose College, was chancellor of Oxford.] t
On 29 May a certain William Jannys, a harper and a stranger, came before us
and he complained that two men, namely Pittes and Hawkinse of the parish
of St Michael at the North Gate, were unlawfully keeping his harp, claiming
TRANSLATIONS 1631-3
service from him which he never owed nor promised them. And to prove
this he brought in John Huskinse of the parish of St Mary, who promised
and gave surety that he would prove precisely this, namely that the aforesaid
William did not promise the aforesaid Pittes and Hawkinse any service, but
promised service to himself, John Huskinse, and to his fellows. And there
fore the aforesaid William as well as the aforesaid John asked me that it be
9 Case registered that the oftensaid William pleaded his case before the commissary of
the University, so that they would not be unjustly harassed by the town bailiffs
or by the mayor of the town because he was a stranger, promising on his
oath that he would respond, obey, do, and accept what justice required if an
agreement were made in this regard.
William Jannys, John Huskinse, Pittes, and Hawkinse
These things were done in the presence of Mr Thomas Bank, STD, rector
of Lincoln College, and the deputy of Mr William Atwater, STD, commissary
general of the reverend father in Christ, William Smith, then bishop of
Lincoln, chancellor of the University of Oxford, and founder of Brasenose
College.
(English)
(English) on the feast of St Matthew the Apostle, after a citation of the
community of the town had been held beforehand and after an innumerable
multitude both of locals and of outsiders had been brought together (and)
after the common bell had been rung, the aforesaid burgesses in an armed
band attacked the scholars of the aforesaid University with the sounding
of horns, in a hostile manner, with malice aforethought, etc. (blank)
(English)
1632-3
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/18
f 3v (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5 S
To the king s trumpeters j
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7650
mb 9 (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d..
1070 TRANSLATIONS 1632-4
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S i.C.l
1 297 v (Internal expenses)
Likewise to royal trumpeters 0110
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
( 11 col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
To Morris, a fiddler, on 1 January 1 6
To pipers of Oxford 10
Trinity College Bursars Books TC Arch: I/A/3
f 22 (24 June- 29 September) (Expenses)
To royal trumpeters 0100
1633-4
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/19
f 3v (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast and the founder s obit 10s
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.2
f 2v (26 July -22 November 1633) (External expenses)
10s
...To royal trumpeters
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7651
mb 8 (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
..Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
The Queens College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
f 12 col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
To the king s trumpeters
TRANSLATIONS 1633-5
To Morris, a fiddler 1 6
To pipers of Oxford 0100
ous Chancellor Laud, Corpus Statutorum (1634) src: 19005
sig Hh2v* (Of forbidden amusements)
Likewise that neither tightrope-walkers nor entertainers, who go onto the
2) L.24l.b. stage for the sake of profit, nor contests nor shows of fencers shall be permitted
within the University of Oxford or its precinct without the special permission
of the vice-chancellor. Nor should members of the University or students
be present at the same. Indeed, entertainers, tightrope-walkers, and fencers
contravening (this order) shall be imprisoned. And let undergraduate students
if any gathering at this kind of show should be apprehended - be punished
or chastised according to the judgment of the vice-chancellor or proctors; let
each graduate, however, pay 6s 8d to the treasury of the University as often
as this occurs.
1634-5
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/20
f 3v (Internal and external payments)
To musicians for the bursars feast and the
boys interlude 10s
To the king s trumpeters 13s 4d
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7653
mb 6 f25 December 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: Si. C.I
f 308 (Internal expenses)
Likewise to royal trumpeters 0100
TRANSLATIONS 1634-6
The Queen s College Long Rolls Qc Arch: LRC
14v col 1 (7 July-7 July) (External expenses)
To Morris, a fiddler
Is 6d
Trinity College Bursars Books TC Arch: I/A/3
f 39v (24June-29 September) (Expenses)
To the king s trumpeters JQ S
1635-6
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/21
f 3v (Internal and external payments)
To musicians on the bursars feast 5s
To the lord king s trumpeters 100
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.2
f 15v (31 July-20 November) (External expenses)
...For royal trumpeters, 6s
f 18 (18 March -29 July)
...For the college to receive (his) royal majesty, 20
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7655
mb 7 (25 December --25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the town musicians, 6s 8d..
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S i.C.l
f 312v (External expenses)
Likewise paid to the lord vice-chancellor at the
arrival of the most serene king for the use of the
lord provost and the fellows by acquittance 1000
1073
TRANSLATIONS 1635-6
f 313 (Internal expenses)
Likewise to royal trumpeters
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
f 15v col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
To the lord king s trumpeters
To Morris, a fiddler ! 6
f 16 col 1
To fiddlers of the University for the present
and past year
1
f 17 col 2 (7 July 1636-7 July 1637)
On 24 August to the lord king s trumpeters 01 00 00
Trinity College Bursars Books TC Arch: I/A/3
f 51 (Expenses)
Paid for receiving the king and queen 1000
Paid to royal trumpeters 0100
Register of Congregation and Convocation QUA: NEP/Supra/R
f 138*
(English). Dated 12 December 1636 (and reads in the) beginning, Who to our
advantage, as if/ etc, on page 128 in The Deeds of Laud s Chancellorship"
19 December An auspicious work in which our mother, the University, obtains thanks and
indulgence from the queen s most serene majesty.
On Monday, 19 December, AD 1636, the reason for the convocation was to
publish the letter of the following tenor, which the queens most serene majesty
sent to the University.
1074 TRANSLATIONS 1635-6
The Great Charter QUA: Long Box xix
mb 14 (5 March)
..Moreover, since Lord Edward, formerly king of England, the first (of his
name), in a certain writ of his containing (the phrase) given at Chertsey on
12 November in the thirty-third year of his reign, directed to the sheriff of
the county of Oxford, had prohibited that jousts and tilts or any other feat of
arms be conducted or held near the town of Oxford, whereby the repose of
the scholars of the University of Oxford might in any way be impeded or
disturbed, contrary to the liberties of the same University, just as it appears
more fully in the same writ, we, from our more abundant grace and from sure
knowledge and our instigation alone, by means of the present (letter) for our
part and that of our heirs and successors, give and grant to the aforesaid
chancellor, masters, and scholars, and their successors by means of the present
(letter), that the chancellor, or vice-chancellor, or his deputy for the time being
themselves (shall have authority to act in this matter), lest anything of this
kind, (namely,) jousts, tilts, tourneys, feats of arms, tournaments, adventures,
or idle and vain or contentious shows accustomed to be presented or exhibited
to the people for the sake of profit, sport, or spectacle, whereby the scholars
could be called away from their studies, be held or take place within the
University of Oxford or its precinct, or within the city of Oxford and of its
suburbs, or throughout a five-mile radius, without the special consent and
assent, previously obtained, of the said chancellor himself, or of his vice-
chancellor or his deputy, and of both or one of the proctors of this University
for the time being. And as much for ourselves as for our heirs and successors
in perpetuity we give and grant by the present (letter) full power and authority
to the said chancellor, masters, and scholars, and their successors, to restrain
or expel, by their own agency or by their officials or servants, all and every
one who will in future attempt to offer or present some or any of the afore
mentioned within the aforesaid limits without the assent and consent,
previously obtained, of the chancellor himself, the vice-chancellor or his
deputy, and of the proctors of the University or of one of them, as has been
said above, and also to banish and remove immediately outside this precinct
or jurisdiction stubborn and disobedient (persons), to be imprisoned at their
(ie, the chancellor s, masters , and scholars ) good pleasure....
Letter of Thomas Read to Sir Francis Windebank PRO : S PI 1 6/33 1
f [1]* (8 September)
Most honoured uncle,
I have added these finishing touches to the comedy - (its) prow, if you will,
and stern, which perhaps can please (even) without a stage. Although we may
TRANSLATIONS 1635-7 1075
not attain courtly elegance, yet who will refrain from imitation? We do not
challenge Apollo in the arena but venerate him as a tutelary god. The other
offspring of our muses still remain hidden. But if they should go forth at
some time to the public, I will commit (them) not to your censure but your
guardianship, since I know you will be not the Aristarchus of academic studies
but (their) Maecenas.
Your honour s most observant
kinsman
Thomas Read
From New College, 8 September
1636
1636-7
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.2
f 21 (29 July- 18 November 1636) (External expenses)
...To royal trumpeters, 10s
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7656
mb 9 (25 December-25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the University musicians, 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
f 17 col 2* (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
To Morris, a fiddler 00 01 6
f 17v col 1
On 7 April to pipers of the University
of Oxford 001000
St John s College Computus Annuus sjc Arch: Acc.i.A.21
f 22 (25 December-25 March) (Allowances)
Likewise in the same (week)
for plays 3 lgd
1076 TRANSLATIONS 1636-8
Likewise in the thirteenth (week)
to musicians
13 6s 8d
Vice-Chancellors Accounts QUA: WP/P/21(4)
p 234 (22 July 1636-7 August 1637) (Debits)
Likewise of coin received on the first and
second occasion from the colleges and halls
in receiving (his) royal majesty 718 9 4
1637-8
Balliol College Bursars Accounts BC Arch: Computi 1615-1662
f 134v (7 July- 18 October 1638) (Expenses noted)
Likewise to royal trumpeters 0100
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/23
f 3v (Internal and external payments)
To the king s trumpeters 1 Os Od
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7657
mb 7 (25 December 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the University musicians, 6s 8d
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S i.C.l
f 323 (Internal expenses)
Likewise to royal trumpeters 00 10 00
The Queens College Long Rolls QC Arch. LRC
f 18v col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
On 2 January to pipers of Oxford on that day
when we entertained guests
TRANSLATIONS 1637-8
To pipers of Oxford for predawn music in winrer
To Morris, a piper, on 1 January
f 20 col 2 (7 July 1638-7 July 1639)
Firstly on 21 August to the lord king s trumpeters 1
St John s College Computus Annuus sjc Arch: Acc.i.A.22
p 44 (25 March- 24 June) (Allowances)
Likewise for musicians 17 9s 4d
Trinity College Bursars Books TC Arch: I/A/3
f 72 (25 March-24 June) (Expenses)
To royal trumpeters 10s
Archdeacon s Court Book ORO: MS. Oxf.Arch. papers Oxon.c. 13
f 306* (16 December)
Against Edward Brookes of St Michael s parish for working upon St Andrew s
Day last past
(He was) cited in person on the last day of March by Tomlinson, who was
sworn, etc. When the third call had been made, etc, he appeared. After he
was sworn, etc, and when he had been charged as above, he denies (English).
On the next The lord therefore decreed that (his) servants should be cited, etc.
Against James Dudley of the same parish in like manner
(He was) cited in like manner, etc. When the third call had been made, etc, he
appeared and confesses (English). The lord (judge) therefore admonished him
(English) and to appear on the next (court day) to see the further procedure, etc.
Against John Watson of St Thomas parish in like manner
(He was) cited in like manner, etc. When the third call had been made, etc, he
appeared and responds in like manner in every respect and was admonished
in like manner, etc.
Against John Symmonds and Thomas Cox of the same parish
Having been sought on the aforesaid day, etc, sworn by Tomlinson, who was
1078 TRANSLATIONS 1637-9
sworn, etc, they appeared and confess in like manner and the lord (judge)
admonished (them) in like manner as above.
1638-9
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/24
f 3v (Internal and external payments)
5
To musicians for the bursars feast
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.2
f 32v (27 July -23 November 1638) (External expenses)
...To royal trumpeters, 10s....
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7660
mb 8 (25 December- 25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the University musicians, 6s 8d
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
f 20 col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
On 1 January to Morris, a piper 1 6
To pipers of Oxford for predawn music in winter 10
St John s College Computus Annuus sjc Arch: Acc.i.A.23
f 71v* (25 December- 25 March) (Allowances)
Likewise in the eleventh (week) for musicians 20 2s 4d
Likewise in the twelfth (week) for stage plays 5 5s
Hannisters Registers OCA: L.5.2
f 340
William Milliard, John Milliard, and William Stronge, musicians, have been
TRANSLATIONS 1638-41
freely admitted to the liberties of the city, paying only the officers fees and
each of them (paying) to the corporation treasury. And they have sworn their
corporal oaths, etc.
1639-40
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/25
f 3v (Internal and external payments)
To musicians for the bursars feast 5s
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7661
mb 9 (25 December-25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the University musicians, 6s 8d.
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
f 21 v col 1 (7 July 7 July) (External expenses)
On 1 January to Morris, a piper 1 6
To pipers of Oxford for predawn music
in winter 0100
1640-1
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7663
mb 9 (25 December-25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the University musicians, 6s 8d.
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
f 23 col 1 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
To Morris, a piper, on 1 January 1 6
To pipers of Oxford for predawn music
in winter 0100
1080 TRANSLATIONS 1640-2
St John s College Computus Annuus sjc Arch: Acc.i.A.25
f 24* (25 December-25 March) (Allowances)
Likewise in the twelfth (week) for musicians 6 15s 8d
1641-2
Magdalen College Liber Computi MC Arch: LCE/27
f 3v (Internal and external expenses)
To royal trumpeters 1
Merton College Bursars Accounts MCR: 3.2
f 56 (18 March -29 July) (External expenses)
...To trumpeters by the vice-warden, 6s 8d
New College Bursars Accounts NC Arch: 7665
mb 10 (25 December-25 March) (Internal expenses)
...Paid to the University musicians, 6s 8d.
Oriel College Treasurers Accounts oc Arch: S i.C.l
f 341 (Internal expenses)
Likewise to certain nobles trumpeters 00 05 00
The Queen s College Long Rolls QC Arch: LRC
f 24v col 2 (7 July -7 July) (External expenses)
To pipers of Oxford 10
To Morris, a piper, on 1 January
St John s College Computus Annuus sjc Arch: Acc.i.A.26
f 24* (25 December-25 March) (Allowances)
Likewise in the eleventh (week) for musicians &am 
