Title the . . . althorp]
this edn; not in Q, F1
0 F1 prefaces text with A
SATYRE.
0.1 Particular
(1) special: cf.
Cynthia (Q), 5.5.135; (2) private (
OED,
3a). The second meaning suggests the coterie nature of the
occasion (cf.
104) and
distinguishes the event from the more ‘laboured’ and ‘triumphal’ shows
of
King’s Ent. (
196–7).
0.1 Queen Anne
(Anna) of Denmark (1574–1619), married James VI of Scotland in 1589. Her
journey south in 1604, accompanied by Prince Henry (see next note), was
a moment of triumph for her, as until then her son had been in the
keeping of the Earl and Countess of Mar (for the dispute over his
custody, see Calderwood,
1842–9, 6.230–1). A Catholic convert,
Anne (who spoke Danish, French, German, and probably Italian) was a
noted patron of music, architecture, painting, theatre, and was one of
the joint inventors of the Jacobean masque (Knowles,
2003;
ODNB).
0.1 Prince
Henry Frederick (1594–1612), eldest son of James Ⅵ, created Duke of
Rothesay (1594) and of Cornwall (1603), and Prince of Wales (1610).
Already Henry was noted for his precocious abilities in dancing,
hunting, tennis, as well as his gravity. Associated with Hercules from
birth, his links to Protestant militarism were emerging in 1603 (see J.
W. Williamson,
1978, 2, 27, 28–30).
0.2 Highness
highnesses (a title of honour) (cf.
OED, 2b).
Title to] Q; AT
F1
Title Althorp] Q (Althrope)
0.2 to at
(
OED, 4), cf. Ger. ‘
zu’; an unusual
usage. Martin Butler (privately) suggests that the Q reading may simply
be an error corrected in F1, but alternatively
1–214 are presented as the Queen’s
party comes
to Althorp and
as she
reaches the house.
0.2 Althorp
One of two main Spencer seats in the sixteenth century (along with
Wormleighton in Warwickshire), Althorp lies about ten miles north-east
of Northampton. The house has undergone extensive rebuilding since the
seventeenth century and little remains of the original H-plan building
which had a gallery by 1600, a great chamber, and garden chambers that
were rebuilt for the 1634 royal progress. The great chamber was large
enough to hold a temporary theatre in 1631 (Heward and Taylor,
1996, 52–3). The
modern spelling ‘Althorp’, pronounced ‘All-thorp’, belies the correct
pronunciation = ‘Awltrup’.
0.3 Lord
Spencer’s Robert Spencer (1570–1627), created Baron Spencer of
Wormleighton in July 1603, had been sheriff of Northamptonshire (1601–2)
and led an embassy to present the Garter to the Duke of Wurttemburg
(1603). His main claim to fame was his fabulous wealth, largely derived
from sheep-grazing, making him ‘the greatest moneyed man in England’
(GEC,
Complete Peerage, 12.159). He was strongly
Calvinist and in 1626 opposed the Forced Loan, presenting himself as the
‘archetypal country peer’ (
ODNB).
0.3 the 25 of
June The entertainment had originally been planned as a
Midsummer ritual (24 June) but was delayed; the royal party only arrived
at Holdenby House (see .) on 25 June, presumably coming
to Althorp in the evening (see Introduction; and cf.
69). The Spencer Papers refer to
the deer (see
212–14)
as ‘killed the same night the Queen came’ (BL MS Add. 75315).
Title published.] Q; published. The Author B. I. / LONDON, / M. DC. XVI. F1
1 invention (1) the ‘devising of a subject’ or ‘idea’ (
OED,
3b); (2) ‘the selection of topics . . . or arguments to be
used’ (
OED, 1d), a rhetorical term. It conveys Jonson’s
sense of occasional entertainments as persuasive ‘argument’ (D. Gordon,
1975, 80–3).
Cf.
Discoveries, 1090–1.
1 satyr Half-goat, half-human figures associated with woods,
rustic living, and sexual appetite. Besides the early confusion of
satyrs and satires (until Isaac Casaubon’s
De Satyrica
Graecorum,
1605, early modern mythographers and classicists gave both
terms the same etymology, so that satyrs are also satirical; McGrath,
1997,
1.104–5), these arboreal creatures were often linked to fairies. See
Nashe,
Terrors of the Night (
Works,
1.347) for ‘the Robin Goodfellows, elves, fairies, hobgoblins of our
latter age which idolatrous former days and the fantastical world of
Greece ycleped fauns, satyrs, dryads and hamadryads’.
Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy, 1.2.1.2 lists them as
‘terrestial devils’ among ‘
Lares,
Genii, fairies, satyrs, wood-nymphs, foliots, Robin
Goodfellows,
[and
]
Trulli’.
1 spinet thicket; spinney (
OED, 2; this is the
first example).
5–134 These lines use the trochaic tetrameter quatrains
found in
Oberon for the satyrs’ speeches (
T. J. B. Spencer and
Wells, Book of Masques, 67), and trochaic
tetrameters are used for fairy speeches in
MND, 5.1. After the
concluding couplet of the Fairy Queen’s speech,
133–4, all the speeches are
heptasyllabic couplets (like those in
Love Freed)
until
274–97 (see n.),
when the youth’s speech shifts to iambic pentameter couplets.
5, 81, 85 SH] Q (Satire)
5 Here . . .
everywhere The powers of omnipresence were associated with
both God and the devil; the Satyr is wondering about the ultimate source
(divine or diabolical?) of this music that comes from ‘
several places’ (
2). Cf. ‘
Hic et ubique’ in
Hamlet, 1.5.164.
7 changes
exchanges (of the cornetts) (
OED, 2a).
15 Cyparissus’ Cyparissus, called ‘Cea’s fairest lad’ by Ovid,
was a renowned hunter and male beauty. He accidentally killed a tame
deer given to him by his lover Apollo and, grief-stricken, was
transformed into a cypress tree by the god (see
Ovid, Met.,
10.120–42).
16 dame lady,
woman of rank (OED, Ⅱ, 7a).
16 Syrinx’
Syrinx was an Arcadian nymph pursued by Pan and transformed into a reed
which Pan then used to make his pipes as a memento of his lost love
(
Ovid, Met., 1.689–712). Spenser,
Shepheardes
Calendar, April, 50–1, equates Syrinx with Elizabeth Ⅰ and Pan
with Henry Ⅷ.
17 Pan A
reference to James Ⅵ and Ⅰ. Usually Pan, the satyr-god, was associated
with rustic sports and sexual licence, but Jonson’s Pan is drawn from
the exalted tradition (he is of ‘heavenly race’, 18) derived from the
Orphic
Hymn to Pan, which imagined him as a venerable,
mysterious figure, symbolizing the mystic energy of the world (M.
Butler,
1992a,
373–4). There may be a further Spenserian allusion to
Shepheardes Calendar, May, 54 and gloss (cf. .;
Merivale, 1969, 527).
19 excellent soft music Probably viol and lute music: the
Spencer accounts contain payments for viol and lute strings (9 Oct and
27 Nov 1601: BL MS Add. 75332).
20 tripping dancing.
20 FAIRIES Early modern fairies have elicited much controversy.
It remains unclear how extensive fairy belief was (Spenser described
‘the opinion’ as ‘very old, yet sticketh in the minds of some’:
Shepheardes Calendar, June, 25, gloss, in Spenser,
1989,
115), and how far
literary representations and social beliefs meshed (K. Thomas,
1971, 724–6;
Woodcock,
2004,
9–11). Whether or not fairies were believed to exist, or were regarded
as evil or benign, most of Jonson’s fairy lore is drawn from stock
cultural tropes, and Mab and her fairies are accused of the usual
fairy-crimes (see
38,
43–4,
47–50,
56–9 and nn.). Jonson’s fairies
also reflect a range of literary intertexts including earlier
Elizabethan entertainments, such as Woodstock (1575), Hengrave (1578),
and Elvetham (1591),
The Shepherd’s Calendar and
The Faerie Queene, and Shakespeare’s
MND and
Wiv. (Purkiss,
2000, 164
overstates Jonson’s reliance on Shakespeare). The conflation of fairies
and elves can be found in a wide range of contemporary sources (such as
Scot’s
Discovery of Witchcraft,
1584, book 1, ch.
15), but may particularly derive from Spenser (cf.
The
Faerie Queene, 2.10.70–3). See also
OED, Elf, 1b, and
Woodcock,
2004,
13. Jonson has Dapper pinched by ‘elves’ in
Alch., 3.5.
20 fairies] Q, F1 (Faeries)
21 MAB Queen of the Fairies. Apart from a name, Jonson’s Mab
owes little directly to Shakespeare’s (
Rom., 1.4.53–95),
but shares certain frequently-repeated tropes, such as the punishment of
careless housemaids. In
Althorp Mab is more benign,
magical, and regal (although the Satyr’s accusations,
54–66, suggest a more malign
potential). This choice of name may have be some specific local and
rural connection: the phrase ‘Mab-led’ was used in the adjacent county,
Warwickshire (
Rom., ed.
Gibbons, 109; K. M. Briggs,
1976, 276).
21 falling
into coming upon by chance (
OED, Fall 62).
21 artificial ring Fairy rings, actually caused by the roots of
toadstools, were supposedly the marks left by fairy dances (Brand,
1870, 3.20). Cf
Temp.,
5.1.37.
23, 35 SH]
this edn;
Faerie Q, F1;
Mab. G
30 stound
moment.
32 SH]
G; not in Q, F1
32 bonny-bell
beautiful woman. A Spenserianism: ‘Bonibell. Homely spoken for a fair
maid’ (Shepheardes Calendar, ‘April’, 92 and
gloss).
33 leasings
lies.
38 cream-bowls Fairies were often supposed to skim the cream
from milk. Cf.
MND, 2.1.36.
41 elves For the elf/fairy conflation, see
20n.
41 offers attempts (
OED, 3a).
42 SH]
this edn; not in Q, F1
42–5, 47–52, 54–59 These lines are cited in Joshua Poole’s
England’s Parnassus (
1657), Z3r (p. 291): see Brand,
1870, 3.33–4
(although he does not attribute them to Jonson). Poole substitutes
‘There’ for ‘This’ (
42), and reads ‘their’ not ‘her’ (
58).
43–4 rob . . .
churning Another piece of fairy lore: they were supposed to
prevent butter churning. Cf.
Scot, Discovery of
Witchcraft, book 1, ch. 4;
MND, 2.1.36–7; and
Devil,
1.1.14–15.
45 discerning
being seen, being discovered (
OED, Discern 5).
46 Pug Also
the name of the minor demon in
Devil; the name is
related to that of Robin Goodfellow, the puck (
OED, 5).
46 anon at
once (
OED, 2).
47–52 Fairies were linked to good housekeeping and
domestic cleanliness often by the punishment of its opposite: see
Scot, Discovery of Witchcraft, book 4, ch. 10; Thomas
Churchyard’s ‘Strange Farleys’ in
A Handful of Gladsome
Verses (1592); and the anonymous ballad ‘The Merry Pranks of
Robin Goodfellow’ (cited in Sidgwick,
1908, 141–8), which link this
domesticity to Puck (cf.
MND, 2.1.32–42).
Wiv., 5.5.37–9, 46–7,
49–55 associates it with the Fairy Queen and her train.
47–50 For these fairy beliefs, see
Wiv., 4.4.54–5, 5.5.37–9, 46–7. H&S compare Drayton’s
Nimphidia, 65–8 (
Works, ed. Hebel,
1961, 3.127),
and Herrick, ‘The Fairies’, 1–3 (Herrick,
1956,
201).
52 tester
sixpence; given as a reward for cleanliness. Cf. ‘The Fairies Farewell’,
6–8, in Corbett (
1955),
50
(
H&S).
46, 53, 60, 67 SH
first (second, third,
fourth) elf]
this edn;
Elfe Q, F1
47, 54, 61, 68 SH]
Wh
(Sat.);
speech aligned left of verse column, no
SH Q, F1
54–5 empties . . .
children Fairies were often accused of substituting
changelings (ugly, weak, or ill-behaved fairy children) for beautiful
mortals. Cf.
MND, 2.1.23, and ‘The Merry Pranks of Robin
Goodfellow’ (Sidgwick,
1908, 148).
55 puts in
ladles This seems to be Jonson’s invention: ‘the ladle with
the bowl-head would be dressed up in baby-clothes’ (
H&S).
56–9 Fairies were often supposed to mislead travellers
or kidnap their victims for mysterious, usually rough, tours. See
Scot, Discovery of Witchcraft, book 3, ch. 4;
MND,
3.1.88–90; and ‘The Merry Pranks of Robin Goodfellow’
(Sidgwick,
1908,
145).
56 Trains
forth Leads out.
56 midwives
Sometimes associated with witchcraft, mainly in literary and
demonological sources, but actual accusations of witchcraft against them
were rare, and modern historians are sceptical of the link (Harley,
1990,
1–5, and n. 10;
Purkiss,
1996,
101).
57 sieve . . .
number Uncertain. Witches were often reputed to sail in sieves
(cf.,
News from Scotland, in Normand and Roberts,
2000, 314, and
Mac.,
1.3.7), and
Scot, Discovery of Witchcraft, book 12,
ch.18, discusses tricks to appear to carry water in a sieve.
No sources, however, mention the
numbering of holes
(presumably a pointless or stupid task). There may be some link to an
impossible task: cf. the proverb ‘To pour water into a sieve’ (
Tilley, W111) and the
modern phrase ‘to carry water in a sieve’. This proverb was well-known
(its Latin equivalent is given in Erasmus,
Adagia,
4.60, as a synonym for ‘the impossible’: McGrath,
1997, 2.274n.) and
may allude to the story of the vestal virgin Tuccia who demonstrated her
chastity by carrying water in a sieve (McGrath,
1997, 2.269–76; Warner, 1985,
241–4).
57 sieve] Q (siue)
58 burrows
shelters, dwelling places, strongholds (
OED, sb.1), although possibly related
to the idea that fairies dwelt in or under hillocks; ‘burrows’ is also
the modernized form of ‘boroughs’ (the spelling in both Q and F) meaning
‘hillock’ (
OED, sb.2).
Cf. James Ⅵ,
Demonology, book 3, in Normand and
Roberts (
2000),
419.
59 water-furrows ditches (
OED, Furrow 2).
61 franklins’
A franklin was a minor (non-aristocratic) landowner; possibly a
Spenserian usage (cf.
The Faerie Queene, 1.10.6, and
see
OED). The rank still had some meaning: in Overbury’s
New Characters Drawn to the Life (
1615), ‘A
Franklin’ appears as a self-contented rustic obsessed with his pedigree
and (very) small landholding (Paylor,
1936,
78–9).
63 Saint Anne’s
Night Saint Agnes’ Eve, 20 January (Blackburn and
Holford-Stevens,
1999, 44–5). Burton (
Anatomy of Melancholy,
3.2.3.1) also spells ‘St Agnes’ as ‘Annes’ and the pronunciation was
identical (the ‘gn’ was closer the modern Fr. sound in ‘mignon’),
although H&S regard Jonson’s spelling (both Q and F) as a direct
compliment to Anne of Denmark.
64–6 Saint Agnes’ Eve was associated with divination:
‘they’ll give anything to know when they shall be married, how many
husbands they shall have . . . by fasting on Saint Anne’s Eve or night,
to know who shall be their first husband’ (
Burton, Anatomy of
Melancholy, 3.2.3.1). The feast and its divination
are best known from Keats’s ‘Eve of St Agnes’.
66 empty (1)
fasting (Cf.
OED, 3b = hungry); (2) worthless (
OED,
6b).
68 you Queen
Anne.
69 Yester-eve
i.e. midsummer’s day. But Queen Anne did not arrive until the following
day, due to a change of plan (see Introduction).
1 For she was expected there on Midsummer Day at
night but came not till the day following.
71 can Both Q
and F1 read ‘con’, but Donaldson’s emendation makes sense of the
passage: the Satyr ironically thanks Queen Anne for being late and
puncturing the Fairy Queen’s pride at her planned feast with Lady
Summer.
71 can]
Donaldson, OSA; con Q, F1
71 yet
still.
72–3 deceive
her/Of cheat her out of (
OED, 4b).
73 pride
Presumably caused by the arrival of Queen Anne?
73 up-heave
exalt, raise up (
OED); presumably ironic here.
74 blown
inflated with pride (
OED, 5b); cf.
OED, Blow v.1, 23a (fig.) ‘to puff up with
vanity’.
78 yesternight last night.
79 cock-shut
twilight (
OED, citing Florio,
Queen Anna’s New
World of Words,
1611).
79 cock-shut] Q,
F1 (Cock-shout) (subst.)
81 and
indeed.
82–3 nipped. . . blue
Pinching (nipping) was a standard fairy punishment (cf. ‘The Merry
Pranks of Robin Goodfellow’, in Sidgwick,
1908, 147;
Err., 2.2.183,
Wiv.,
5.5.38 and 46–7; and
Alch., 3.5.32). The idea was also
proverbial, see
Tilley,
B160: ‘To beat (pinch) one black and blue’.
83, 109 SH]
this edn;
Faery Q, F1;
Mab. G
84 rue
regret.
85 Oh . . .
sue Editors have felt uncomfortable with this short line:
Whalley recast it as ‘Oh, hold, mistress Mab, Ⅰ sue’, and Gifford
reluctantly followed. H&S collate as ‘query, hold, MAB: hold
MAB:’.
85 sue plead,
petition (for mercy or release) (
OED, v.,
11).
86 SH]
this edn;
Elfe Q, F1
86 devil . . .
due A proverbial phrase (
Tilley, D273), usually meaning ‘the
devil is not as bad as he usually appears’; here the sense is more
literal as the elves get even with the satyr.
88 SH]
this edn;
Faery Q (setting 2), F2 (subst.);
Satire Q (setting 1);
Satyre F1; Mab. G
91 gyre
revolution, turn (
OED), presumably of the fairy dance.
95 Oriana’s
Oriana was a poetic name for Elizabeth Ⅰ derived from the heroine of the
chivalric romance,
Amadis de Gaule, a daughter of
Lisuarte, King of Britain (Strong,
1959, 253–4). The most extensive use
occurs in Thomas Morley’s
Triumphs of Oriana (1601),
which it has been suggested constituted Elizabeth’s entertainment by Sir
William Cornwallis when she went maying at Highgate (Fellowes,
1967, 698).
95 Oriana’s] Q (setting 2); Oranas Q (setting 1), F1 (subst.)
95 welcoming
Q prints this as ‘well-comming’, which emphasizes the felicity of the
Queen’s arrival.
m2 Oriens] Q ; Orions F1
2 Quasi
Oriens Anna.
96–108 During Elizabeth I’s entertainment at Elvetham
(1591), the fairies’ song was accompanied by ‘lute, bandora, base viol,
cittern, treble viol, and flute’ (
Lyly, Works, ed. Bond,
1.449). Here, no information is provided about the musical
forces required although we know Spencer owned a viol and lute (see .), and, as
was common practice, he may have borrowed family and neighbouring
musicians (see .). The song was possibly performed by men or boys (see
Introduction); the Kytsons maintained two singing boys.
97 SH]
this edn; not in Q, F1
3 Bringing with her the Prince which is the
greatest felicity of kingdoms.
104 Lares
household gods; the ‘
lar’ (Lat., singular form) was
described as ‘a god of the hearth’ (Primaudaye,
French
Academy (1594), cited in
OED). The Lares are
shown accompanied by a dog and usually associated with the Penates (A.
H. Gilbert,
1948,
156). Cf.
Theobalds, 24.
4 For households.
107 Long live
Oriana The refrain line from Morley’s Triumphs of
Oriana (see .).
108 late Diana
Elizabeth Ⅰ.
112 wake keep
watch over (
OED, v., 6a).
115 Thamyra
Spencer’s wife Margaret (née Willoughby of Wollaton, Nottinghamshire),
died 17 August 1597. Possibly coined by analogy with Thamyris, the
mythical bard who fell foul of Apollo and the Muses, although no obvious
connection can be traced.
119 trace
traverse (v.).
121–8 Gift-giving was a major purpose behind the
Elizabethan progress entertainments, and at Woodstock (1575), the Fairy
Queen gave Elizabeth a ‘gown of great price’ (Cunliffe,
1911, 99). The
choice of a jewel may echo another Spencer-connected occasion, as
Elizabeth had been given a jewel by the fairies in an entertainment at
the Kytson household in 1578 (J. Nichols,
1823, 2.215). At Elvetham (1591) she
received a garland ‘in the form of an imperial crown’ from Oberon (
Lyly, Works, ed. Bond, 1.449).
m5 given] Q (state
1) (giuen), F1; giues Q (state 3)
5 A jewel was given her.
134 beware . . .
tell Cf. ‘Fairies’ treasure . . . reveal’d, brings on the
blabber’s ruin’, Massinger and Field, The Fatal Dowry,
4.1.191–2.
135 fantastic grotesque (
OED, 6). Cf. the
‘fantastic dance’ of fairies at Elvetham (1591) (
Lyly, Works, ed. Bond, 1.449).
137 SH
satyr] SATYRE Q, F1
138 toothless
Lacking ‘keenness’ and ‘edge’, (only ‘ineffective’ in modern usage)
(
OED, 3a, 3c).
139 sleeper
Indolent, inactive person.
140 keeper (1)
an officer in charge of forest, woods, and grounds; now, usually, as in
‘gamekeeper’, but potentially a powerful and honourable office in
Jacobean England; (2) in a more elevated sense, the holder of an office,
such as Keeper of the Privy Seal. See
OED, 1d, 1c, and cf.
‘woodman’ (
173).
147 favours] Q (setting 1); Sauors Q (setting 2)
149 nicety
excessive refinement (
OED, 5, citing this passage).
150 sprucer
more dapper, smarter (
OED, 2c). The pejorative implication is
clear from
EMO’s description of Fastidious Brisk as
‘spruce’ (Characters, 28).
150 courtiery
courtly manners; possibly, also, the collective body of courtiers (
OED).
151 rosary
Usually a set form of prayers counted out using beads; here used
figuratively, perhaps to mean ‘chain’ but with the implication of
amorous devotion (
OED, 5 transf., citing this
passage).
152 oath] Q (setting
2), F1; oth Q (setting
1)
153 ‘Believe . . .
breast’ ‘On breast’ means ‘in or by heart’ (
OED,
Breast 5b), possibly here therefore ‘from my heart’ or ‘in
truth’. The italicization in Q and F1 suggests that this phrase
represents speech (and Gifford treats it as such), perhaps the ‘oath’ in
152, or possibly
as a comic name for a glib courtier.
153 ‘Believe . . . breast’]
this edn; Beleeue me on the brest Q,
F1 (subst.)
154 then] Q,
F1;
not in F2
155 prefer] Q (setting
2), F1; preserue Q (setting
1)
156 suit (1)
clothes; (2) legal case.
157–68 Gifford detects some particular allusion in this
criticism of Elizabeth, but the sentiments are more in line with the
general praise of James’s new regime: cf. Daniel,
Panegyric
Congratulatory,
1603, A3v, which celebrates how ‘the Good shall dwell within
thy Court; / Plain zeal and truth free from base flatterings’, while
praising Queen Elizabeth. James had deplored flattery in
Basilicon Doron, 1.115, which had just been printed in
London.
157 (I . . . clothes)?]
this edn; I meane his Clothes: Q, F1
(subst.)
173 woodman
huntsman.
174 kingly
image Prince Henry.
177 heart
Jonson puns on ‘hart’ = male deer, enhancing the depiction of Spencer as
a forest dweller. The puns continue in ‘dear’ (
178) = deer; and ‘earth’ (
183) = the hiding
place, or burrow of an animal (
OED, 4), often used
in the hunting phrase ‘to run to earth’ = to chase the quarry to its
lair.
179–80 this edn; in margin Q, F1
179 eldest
son John Spencer (c. 1590–1610). At the time
of Althorp he was twelve; he died aged nineteen in
France (GEC, Complete Peerage, 12.160).
188 that part
i.e. his tongue.
189 less
diminished, decreased.
190 shamefastness modesty, propriety (
OED). Shamefastness,
and desire of praise were regarded as the two central qualities in
youth; Elyot’s
Book of the Governour, 1.9, links
‘shamefastness’ with temperance, but balanced by the ‘desire of praise’,
that spurs the true gentleman to ‘learning and virtue’ (Elyot,
1962,
27; cf.
Faerie Queene, 2.9.40–4).
190 shamefastness] Q (shamfastnesse); shamefac’tnesse F1
196–204 The gifts of bow, horn, and hound were Spencer’s
first attempt to cultivate links with Prince Henry. In 1604 he presented
him with the ‘Memoirs of Philip de Comines’; the dedicatory letter in BL
MS Harleian 7007, 8, is cited in Birch,
1760, 40–1, and probably refers to
The History of Philip de Comines, trans T. Danett
(either 1596 or 1601 editions). In December 1605 he sent a sword and
target (shield) to protect Henry in ‘these treacherous times’ (BL MS
Add.; Birch,
1760, 58).
196–204 The gifts of bow, horn, and hound were Spencer’s
first attempt to cultivate links with Prince Henry. In 1604 he presented
him with the ‘Memoirs of Philip de Comines’; the dedicatory letter in BL
MS Harleian 7007, 8, is cited in Birch,
1760, 40–1, and probably refers to
The History of Philip de Comines, trans T. Danett
(either 1596 or 1601 editions). In December 1605 he sent a sword and
target (shield) to protect Henry in ‘these treacherous times’ (BL MS
Add.; Birch,
1760, 58).
196 instruments implements, weapons (
OED, 2a).
198 Actaeon
The hunter, who having surprised a naked Diana in her bath, was turned
into a deer by the outraged goddess and torn to pieces by his own
hounds: see
Ovid, Met., 3.138–252.
199 Phoebe’s
Phoebe is another name for Diana: cf. A. Golding, The ⅩⅤ
Books Entitled Metamorphosis, 1567, E8v, where Actaeon ‘saw
Phoebe where she washed’. Both were names used for Elizabeth Ⅰ, as in
Spenser’s Belphoebe (The Faerie Queene, 2.3.21–31, and
3.6.1–2, 28). Prince Henry becomes the inheritor of
Diana/Phoebe/Elizabeth’s bow.
200 Orion A
renowned hunter in classical mythology.
201 dog . . .
breed Spartan hounds were noted as hunting dogs; cf.
MND,
4.1.111. They are widely mentioned in classical writings, e.g.
Seneca,
Phaedra, 35–7, and Ovid,
Met., 3.208 (the list of Actaeon’s dogs includes ‘
Spartana gente Melampus’ = ‘Melampus a Spartan
[hound
]’).
202–3 ring . . .
name Ringwood was a common name for a hound, cf.
Wiv.
2.1.106 (H&S); also used by Golding as a name for one of
Actaeon’s hounds (Golding,
The ⅩⅤ Books Entitled
Metamorphosis, F2r;
Wiv., ed. Melchiori,
2.1.98n.). ‘Ringwood’ recalls the ‘musical’ voice of the hounds, much
celebrated by contemporary hunting writers. Gervase Markham,
Country Contentments (
1615), prized the music of the pack
and expended much effort on gaining the harmonious balance of voices and
hounds in the pack: cf.
MND, 4.1.103 (and
MND, ed. Holland,
1994, 220–1).
205–8 Queen Anne was a keen hunter and kept greyhounds
(depicted in the later portrait of her before Oatlands Palace: see
Hearn,
1995,
206–7). The King had sent her crossbows on 29 April 1603 (
CSPD, Addenda, 1580–1625, 422).
207 coursing
Hunting game using greyhounds working by sight not scent (
OED,
2; cf.
OED, Course v.).
207 prove
test, try.
213 hunting
music Usually hunting horns, cornetts, and possibly drums
(Munro, 1976, 67).
213 brace . . . killed See Introduction.
215 Sunday According to Anne Clifford, ‘Sunday was kept with
great solemnity, there being an infinite number of lords and ladies’
(Electronic Edition, Masque Archive,
Althorp, 2).
216 dinner lunch.
216 induce introduce (
OED, 2a).
217 officiously dutifully.
218 speaker] Q
(setting 2), F1; speach Q (setting 1)
218 NOBODY Two illustrations survive of figures representing
Nobody, on the title page of Heywood and Smith’s
Nobody and
Somebody (
c. 1606), and in a 1608 manuscript
translation of the play into German. The watercolour in the manuscript
shows a figure with blue breeches that come up to his neck so that he
has no body: see Foakes (
1985),
62–3 and
94–5 (plates 28 and 39). Both Q and
F1 stress this point in their spelling: ‘No-body’.
220 drowning covering.
221 SH]
this edn; not in Q, F1
222 thereafter
conformable (
OED, 2).
223 duke
Ludovic Stuart, second Duke of Lennox (1574–1624). Stuart became
Gentleman of the Bedchamber and Privy Councillor in May 1603, but his
key role had been in pacifying Anne during her attempts to seize Prince
Henry from the Mar family (
ODNB). Stuart was entrusted by the
Scots Privy Council with delivering Henry to his father (
Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, Volume 6:
1599–1604, ed. D. Masson (
1884), 6.571), and arrived at Stirling
on 19 May with orders from the King to accompany the Queen and Prince to
London (Calderwood,
1842–9, 6.231). H&S suggest Henry as Duke of Rothesay,
but he was also Prince of Scotland and has already been addressed
(‘Prince’).
223 earls
Possibly the Earls of Sussex and Lincoln who were deputed to attend Anne
into England (
Nichols,
1.167), although their names are missing from official records
(Brayshay,
2004,
10). Robert Radcliffe, fifth Earl of Sussex (1573–1629) was English
ambassador at Prince Henry’s christening (1594) (GEC,
Complete Peerage, 12.526–8). If Henry Clinton, second Earl of
Lincoln (1553–1616), was included he was an undiplomatic choice since he
was one of the commission that executed Mary Queen of Scots (GEC,
Complete Peerage, 8.693–4).
226 less
lesser.
229 usher] Q, F1
(Huisher)
229 morris A
group of morris dancers, usually consisting of the dancers, a pipe and
taborer (sometimes a drummer), the hobbyhorse, a fool or clown, and
sometimes Maid Marian and a Friar (Forrest,
1999, 370).
230 masque A
group of masquers (
OED, 4); the suggestion is that the morris
is like an Elizabethan masked entry rather than a Jacobean masque.
242 Holmby
Holdenby House, Northamptonshire, built by Sir Christopher Hatton (
c. 1540–90), Lord Chancellor (1587) under Elizabeth Ⅰ,
and finished in 1583. Larger than Theobalds (see
Theobalds, Introduction), it was designed to entertain the
royal court during progresses, providing magnificent lodgings, gardens,
and hunting (Norden,
1720, 49–50; Girouard,
1979). The 1650 survey describes its
‘magnificent towers and turrets’, ‘costly and rare chimney-pieces’, and
‘pleasant, spacious, and fair garden adorned with several long walks,
mounts, arbours, and seats’. In 1603 it was owned by Sir Christopher
Newport-Hatton of Kirby (a nephew of the Elizabethan courtier) who
conveyed it to James Ⅰ in 1608. It remained a royal palace until the
Civil War when it was pulled down after its sale in 1650 (Colvin,
1982, 2, Pt 2,
153–4; Girouard,
1979; Heward and Taylor,
1996, 235–8). Holdenby was visible
from Althorp.
243 dancing
days good times; cf. the proverb ‘my dancing days are not yet
done’ (
Tilley, D118).
Sir Christopher Hatton supposedly rose to prominence by his dancing, but
ODNB regards this legend as ‘not of contemporary
date’.
244–5 These lines present a critique of Elizabeth by
suggesting the new Jacobean court will involve more ‘solid learnings’
(
Hym.,
12) rather than an ability to dance; also an allusion to the
change of monarchy from ‘one Grace’ = Elizabeth, to the joint monarchs,
James and Anne: see .
246 souls
H&S follow F1 here (‘soles’), although Q’s spelling (‘soules’) makes
more sense. Thus
246–7
punningly suggest the dancers’ ‘souls’ would have been transmigrated
into their feet rather than uplifted by royal contact.
246 souls] Q;
soles F1, H&S
248 graces (1)
courtly qualities, gracious demeanour, charm (
OED, n.,
1); (2) favours, good fortune (
OED, 6a, 7); and (3)
God’s favour offered through the salvation of sinners (theological term)
(
OED, 11a, also 11b). Cf.
Highgate,
7,
41, and Introduction.
250 property
quality.
258 jerk
Chapman used ‘jerk and firk’ to describe the movement of dancers in
Sir Giles
Goosecap, 2.1.106.
261 lady’s
woman waiting-woman.
261 woman] Q (setting
1), F1; womam Q (setting
2)
265 A variation on the refrain of a popular ballad,
cited by Cokes (
Bart. Fair, 5.4.177), and in
Gypsies (Burley),
424 (and also found in
LLL and
Ham., 3.2.133: see
Hamlet, ed. Jenkins, 500–1). The hobby-horse was a
costume horse designed to fit around the waist of the dancer or actor;
it was usually made of buckram or another light material, and most
commonly associated with morris dancing.
268 buffoon
jocular; characteristic of a buffoon (
OED, 4). Cf.
‘buffoon licence’,
Staple, 5.6.10.
268 buffoon] Q,
F1 (Buffon)
271 which . . . presented] Q (state 3), F1;
was presented to haue beene
(Q states 1, 2)
272 country county.
273 press crowd.
274 SH]
this edn; not in Q, F1
274–97 The shift to pentameter couplets marks the
entrance of the only mortal, or non-allegorical, speaker. It changes the
tone towards a prognostication for the future of the regime, and Prince
Henry’s possible colonial exploits.
276 pants
heaves with emotion (
OED, 2).
276 leese lose
(
OED, v.1).
287 paragon
comparison (
OED, 3); there may be a pun on ‘paragon’ = a
perfect diamond (
OED, 4). Cf.
Devil,
3.3.177.
288 arctic
star Usually the brightest star in the constellation Bootes
(
OED, Arcturus), but ‘arctic’ can also suggest
‘northern’; the North Star is an alternative name for the Pole Star
(
OED, Pole star 1.a). There may be some deliberate
conflation here to take advantage of the symbolism associated with both
stars, and the phrase recalls contemporary panegyric of James Ⅵ and Ⅰ:
Harington had called him the ‘Bright Northern star’ in 1603 (cited in A.
Fowler,
1996,
97). There may be
Arthurian associations to the term (‘Arthurus’ was an alternate spelling
for Arcturus: see
OED), and
Barriers, 65–71,
describes Henry as Arcturus/Arthur (R. H. Allen,
1899, 98–103, and
Peacock,
1987,
173).
288 arctic] Q, F1
(Artick)
290 the strict
ocean The Narrow Seas; the seas between England and
continental Europe, including the English Channel and Saint George’s
Channel (
Sugden,
360).
292 officious
serving their purpose, efficacious (
OED, 2b).
294 event
outcome (
OED, Event 3a). Cf.
Theobalds, 29.
297 Repeated, in a different order, from
EMO,
5.6.112.
297 struck] Q (stroke); F1 (strooke)
298–305 Thus . . . FINIS] Q;
not in F1
301 not . . . adjoined Referring to the volume (Q) at the end of
which Althorp was printed; it was an appendix to King’s
Ent., the ‘more laboured and triumphal
shows’.
304 lodge (1) house, often isolated, used for hunting (
OED,
2); (2) lodgings (
OED, 4a).
304 stretched in observance The gist is that had James arrived
Spencer would have exerted himself to the utmost (see
OED,
Stretch v., 20) in fulfilling his proper
duty (‘observance’) of ceremonious entertainment.
Some
solemnities are near
See morethe
multitudinous See more
Of his wild and sylvan
trade.
See moreTo
exceed whom she succeeds, our
See moreMy
pipe and I a part shall bear.
See moreAnd
you, dear Lord, on whom my covetous eye
See moreMadam, now an end to make,
See moreTo
exceed whom she succeeds, our
See moreThan a
kingdom’s happiness,
See moreDoth
she private
See moreHighest, happiest Queen, farewell,
See moreThat
doth nightly
See moreThis is she that
See moreWhen they rake not up
their embers;
See moreBut a
sorry entertainer
See moreFor
you would not
See moreAnd as
dear in every part.
See moreLow as is his father’s
earth
See moreNow they print it on
the ground
See moreIn their sleep with
shrieks and laughters,
See moreskipped
in, out, and about their circle while the elves made
many See more