peele, battle of alcazar(2)

37
for Andrew Gurr THE REVELS PLAYS COMPANION LIBRARY The Stukeley Plays The Battle of Alcazar by George Peele The Famous History of the Life and Death of Captain Thomas Stukeley edited by Charles Edelman Manchester University Press Manchester and New York distributed cxcJusirle/)' in the USA by Palgral!c

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Page 1: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)

for Andrew Gurr

THE REVELS PLAYS COMPANION LIBRARY

The Stukeley PlaysThe Battle of Alcazar by George Peele

The Famous History of the Life and Deathof Captain Thomas Stukeley

edited by Charles Edelman

Manchester University PressManchester and New York

distributed cxcJusirle/)' in the USA by Palgral!c

Page 2: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)
Page 3: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)

EDITIONS AND TEXTUAL CONVENTIONS LIST OF CHARACTERS

NOTEli

I YnkhlV\<."h, p. 2.86.l. Bradley, pp. 172.-3.

Moroccans

ABDELMELFC, also known as Muly Molocc:o, rightful King of Morocco.ABDIL RAYES, his Queen.CA LSEI'I us BAS II loW, general of the Turkish troops suppor"/ing Abdelmelec.ZAREO, a Moor of Arg..r, follower of Abdel",clec.C ELY 81 N, a captain ill AiJdelmelec's army.MULY MAl-iAMET SETIl, brother to Abdelmelec.RUBIN ARCIIIS, widow of Abdelmelec's brother, AbdeluJlme".Rubin's Young Son.·MUl,Y MAIIAMET. tbe Moor, nephew to Abdelmelec.CALIPOLlS, Milly Mahomet's lude.MULY MAHAMET'S SON.

PISANO, Milly Mahomet's Captmll.~tESSENGER.

A BOY serving Muly Mah:'lmet.ATTENDANT.AMBA,\SADORS {rom Milly Mahomet to the King of Portugal.

Portuguese and Spaniards

SEBASTIAN, King of Portugal.DIEGO LOPES, Gove",or of L,sbo".DUKE Of AVERO.

DON DE MENESES, Governor of Tangier.Dukc of Barcclcs.·Lewes de Silva.·CliRISTOPHERO DE '·AVOKA.

Lord Lodovico Cacsar.·Counry Vimioso....AM BASSA DO itS {rom K;,'g Philip of Spai" to the Killg of Portugal.PORTUGUESE SOl-OIER.

TWO CAPTAINS.

SOI.DIERS.

The PRESENTER.

from theBradley's

materialis David

inscrtingauthority

This edition relies on W. W. Greg's Molone Society reprint of the '594quarto. Greg notes only 3 few (and insignificant) variations in the print­ing of the four cxram original copies, and Yoklavich observes that Greg'sfacsimile is 'scrupulously accurate','

Four modern editions are cited in the textual collation. AlexanderDyce's Works of Ceorge Peele IDyce'1 wos puhlished in ,828. This editionhad several reprints, but without significant change to the texc; in [861,Dyce completely rc-edited the ploy for his one-volume collection, TheDramatic a"d Poetical Works of Robert Cree"e a"d Ceorge PeeleIDyce1 1. In the colbrion, when only Dyce' is cited, it may be assumed thatthis reading was reproduced in OyceZ

; emendations appearing for the firsttime in Dyce' ore so indicated. A. H. Bullen's text, in The Works of CeorgePeele, v. I, appeored in ,888. Bullen olmost always accepts Dyce" read­ings, so he is seldom cited, except for those few instances where he dis­agrees with Dyce. or offers a new emcndation. John Yoklavich's editionfor Yale University Press, 1961, is in old spelling, and bears little textualapparatus. Othcr than regularising speech headings and stage directions,including the insertion of somc directions from the Plot, he substantiallyreproduces Greg's edition of Q; hence Yoklavich, like Bullen. is rarelycited.

This edition follows Yoklavich inPlot; unless otherwise indicated, myreconstruction. 2

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• mute charaCTer.

Others

TWO ITALIAN SOLDIERS.

Pages, ianissaries, ladies.

i

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ACT I

{Sound sennet.! Enter the PRESENTER 1, a Portllgal).

Presenter. Honour, the spur that pricks the princely mindTo follow rule and climb the stately chair.With great desire innames the Portugal,An honourable and courageous king,To undertake a dangerous dreadful wafAnd aid with Christian arms the bacbarous Mom,The negro Muly Hamer that withholdsThe kingdom from his uncle Abdelmelec(Whom proud Abdallas wronged),And ill his throne insHdls his cruel sonThat now llsurps upon this prince,This brave Barbarian lord Muly Molocco.The passage to the crown by murder made,Abdallas dies, and deigns this tyrant king

I1.ProJ.!

filE BATTLE OF ALCA7AR62

English and Irish

Captain Thomas STUKEll:.\'.

JONAS and IIERCULEII), Iwo English captains serving SWkeley.An Irish 8151101' .

Characters III the Dumb Shows

Two Young Princes, brothers to Muly Mahomet.Abdelmunen , brother of Abdelme/cc, murdered by his nephew Muly

Mahomet.Two Murderers.Ghosts, Nemesis, Furies, Death, Fame.

Act II Tim ~d.; Actus I D)'u'; Act I Dyu'; trol III Q. I.Pro!.1 Tim ed.; "ot lit Q.OSD. Tim ~J.: Enter the l)r(S(nler Q; Sound ~nnet, Entcr a Portmg.lll Piol. 1 SH·tTIm ed.; not In Q. 3. Portugal1 Tim ed.: l)orflOgall Q: I'ortingal O)'e('l. '4. deigns)

1'1115 ed.; dClsnes Q; leaves Dyer; dcslOes Yoklav'eh.

). th~ Portugall Sebastian, the KlOg of Portugal. Q has 'Portlngall' here, but 'Por­tugali' or 'PClrtugal(s)' elsewhere. Ik>th forms are common in early modern texts.

7. 1U~gro Milly Hame/l Muly Mahamer, the Moor.9. AlJdallasl Muly Abdallas, f:uher of Muly Mahamet the Moor, and elder brother

of Abdehnelec (see fig. I).11.. Milly Molocco\ One of only tWO tuneS Abde1mdec is referred to as Muly

Molocco; the other is at 1..1.H (~c :l1~o pp. 1.)-4)'I). passage It) tile crimmI The rem:under of the I>resenler's speech makes Muly

Mahamcl directly responsible for the murderoll described. In I'olemon (sig. Su), 'MuleyAhdallas ... privelie compassed Ihe Illunher of his brOlhers, lh:u hee might safclie leavelhe kingdome to his sonnes', bUI Peele follows the Unmng (p. 14), where Abdallas'although hc were cruel, yet did ht' rcfralOe from mutherll1~ his Ihree brethren'. M.ulyMahamel 'practlsed agamst hiS undes, ..ending a Moore to Trcmisennc 10 kin the eldest,who was det:uned by the Turkes, the wlllch he (hd effect'; see also pp. 11.-13·

14. deIgns tins tyrant kmgl Dyce, ohscr\'lOg lhat 'solllelhmg seems to be wantinghere', SubStlHneS 'Ieav"' for 'deIgns' (Dycc1

), Bradley (p. 141) argues for 'desines' I.e.

'deSigns' in ItS onglOal sense of 'nommalcs' or 'appolllrs' (OED v I), bur l have foundno examples III EIIZ:1hcthall vcrs<' of 'deSign' with emphaSIS on the first syllable, as

L

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10 SO. I ThIS ed.; Entcr Muly Mahamct and hiS sonne. and his two young brethren,the Moore shewNh them the bed, and then takes hIS leave o( rhem, and they bcrakethem to their rest. And then the presenter spcaketh Q; Sennel. Enter Muly Mahamenmr Ed. Allen, his sonne Amho. Jef(cs, moores attendant. mr Sam, mr Hum & w.Cartwright, ii Pages to :mend the moore, IIlr Aliens boy, IIlr Townes boy. To them ~

young brctheren, Dab & Harry. To them Abdelmenen w. Kendall Piol. ~1. mummedlTJns ed.; mumd Q; mumm'd Dyu'. :16 SO.) subsl. Q.

[ACT l

The second dumb shoUl.

Enter rMULY MAHAMETJthe Moor and two Murderers bringingi" his ""cle Abdclmunen, the" they draw Ihe curtains a"d smolher

the young Princes i" the bed. Which done m sight of Ihe Imcle,Ihey strangle him in 1,,5 chair, aud then go forlh, and thell the

l' R ES ENTER saith:

His brethren thus in (atal bed behearsed,His father's brother o( tOO light belief,This negro puts to dC3th by proud command.Say not these things are feigned, (or true rhey are, 30And understand how eager to enjoyHis father's crown this unbelieving Moor,Murdering his uncle 3nd his brethren,Triumphs in his 3mbitious tyrannyTill Nemesis, high misrress of revenge, 35Th3r with her scourge keeps all the world in awe,With thundering drums awakes the goel of warAnd calls the furies from Avernus' crags,To r3nge and rage and vengeance to inflictVengeance on this accursed Moor for sin, 4°And now behold how Abdelmelec comes,Uncle to this unhappy rr3iror king,Armed with grear aid that Amurath had sellt,Great Amur3th, Emperor of the E.3st,For service done to Sultan Solimon, -45

64 TtlE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

Of whom we trear, sprung from rhe Ambian Moor,Black in his look and bloody in his deeds,And in his shirr. stained with a cloud of gore,Presents himself with naked sword in hand,Accompanied. as now you may behold,With devils coated in the shapes of men.

The first dumb shaUl.

ISound SCI/net. Enter MUlY MAHAMET the Moor. his son. threeMoors atte"dall1 and two Pages to attend the Moor. To them the

Moo,'s ftVQ young Bredtren.J The Moor ShOWClh them the bed, andthen takes his leave of them, and they betake them to their rest. And

the" the PRESENTER speaketlJ:

Like those rh::lt were by kind of murder mummcd,Sir down and see what heinous stratagemsThese d3mned wits contrive. And 10. alas,How like poor lambs prepared for sacrificeThis traitor king h3lcs to rheir longest home,These render lords his younger brerhren both.

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'5

PROL,j THE BATTLE OF AI.CAZAR 6j

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would be reqUired for thiS line. Since 'deigns' can be rakcll to mean 'grants' (OED u ~).

and is metrically 3pt, thiS seems the better chOlet: the passage l1ught be understood as'deigns this tyrant (to be] king', Further confUSion arISes III that Abdalllls first 'insulls'his son as successor (I.Prol.l 0) and then 'deigns' the same thing four Illles later.

10. devtls . .. melll thl.'SC must he the 'Moors 3ttendam' given an entrance in thePlot, there to ;:ISSISt ill rhe murders,

20. 50·1 The first pari of this dlrl..'Ctlon 1$ from the Plm. 'nle dumb show would havelxocn cbborott, as the Ploner provides Muly Moham(!t wllh three :mcndanrs and rwopages. 'To lhem' indic::ues th,u the elHrance o( lhe 'twO young brethren' is slightlydelayed, and Yoklavich places it after I. 1.6, but smce the Presenter would be speakingwhile the pantomime was gOlllg on, any placement o( his lines III relatlonship to thedumb show would be arbitrary, so the Q direction remams mtact in thiS edilion.

2.1. kind of murder mllmml'd\ TI1C sense seems to be 'like lhose mummed, i.e..silenced 10ED v I), by murder done hy their kmd (kill), Sit down ...'; d. Yoklavich,P·349·

u. 5" down Qlld sec) The Presenter addresses the seated par.rons, Ignoring those inthe yard, as does the Chorus In Henry V, 'Yet Sit and §t:e' Mmdmg true things by whattheir mock'ncs be' (-4,Cho.51.-J).

16. SO.) So labelled In Q; the Pinner numbers the dumb show preceding Act '1 '2

dumb show', and accordingly (or subsequent ;lCtS,

Abde.lmunml Abd al-Mumin, Abd ai-Malek's brother, apponl1ed governor ofTIemcen (in whal is now northem Algeria) and later ass.'lssIOated (Yahya, pp. } t, 9};

see fig.• ).)5-6. Nemesis .. , scollrgt'l Nemesis, Ihe goddess of revenge, is given a scou.rge in

Marston's A"tomo's Revtngt, 'There IS fI thing call'd scourging Nemesis' (4.1.1.-48 ).}8. AJlCTfwsl (rom the Greek (or 'birdless', In Virgil, Aeneas emers the underworld

through a cave near Cumac in haly: 'And there th'unnavigable lake extends, 'O'erwhose unhappy waters, void of light, , No bird presumes to steer his airy flight; , Suchdeadly stenches (rom the deprhs arise,' And steaming sulphur, that infects the skies. ,From henet [he GrecIan bards their legends make,' And give the name Avernus to thelake' (6,HI-7). As a lake does not have 'crags', Pede. appears ro use Avernus as ageneral t'trlll (or the underworld.

H. AnumuJJ! Murad III, who became Sultan upon the death o( hiS father Selim II(known to historl3ns 3S 'Selim the SOt') in 1574. He promptly murdered all hisbroth~rs, hence the newly crowned Henry V reassures hiS brothers in 2 He"ry / V,'This IS [he English not the Turkish court' Not Arnurath an Amuralh succeeds' ButHarry, Harry' (s.1.·47-9),

45. SU/IOII 50/""011\ Amurath was grandson ro Suleiman the Great (reigned152 0-66), not son; Abddmclec's service was done for Sellin. The error IS 10 Polemon(sig. 5}r); see Yoklavlch, p. HO.

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t .11 TJus ed.: Scene I Dycel; t.ot m Q. 050.1 slIbst. Q. Billie,,; Enter Abdelrnelec mrDoughton, CalceplUs bas.!oa rur Juble, Zareo mr Charles, attend.ue Wilh the Bassaw. Kendall, Ro. Tailor &. George Plot. Bashaw) Tins ed.; B.'usa Q. and Zarro) Q.Bulle,,; and Argerd Zauo Dyeel. I SH.) Tins ed.; AWel., Abdelm., Abdilm., Abdil.Q; Abdllm Dyce'; Abdelm. Dyer; Abdel. Yoklautcb. Argier! Ztreol TiltS ed.; ArgerdZ..treo Q, Dyce'. s, godl Tins ed.: Cod Q.

1.1.1 The action of thiS scene lakes place n«:-ar Argier (Algiers).050. SASH,,"'I a Turkish general or governor. One of (he tWO modern forms of

Q's 'Bassa', lhe Other hems 'P:Isha'; 'U3shaw' was more common in military use.Z"REOI For D)'ce's namlllg lhe character 'Argerd Zareo' see following note. The

Plor entry dIrection is subsramially the same as in Q, bm there is no mention of Zareobeing 'a Moor'. Bradley argues that lhe Ploner saw hml as a while ch3r3cter, which ledto difficulties in Ihe doubllllg of roles later; Zareo's 'nallve home' is 'Argier' (II. 1-2),but there is no ex.plicit reference 10 his race III Ihe dialogue: see n. 1..j.47.SH and pp.2.9-30.

I. All hail, Arg,er] Abdelmelec's greellng 111 Q, 'Alhalle Argerd Zareo and yeeMoores', has troubled conunentators, who assume lhat he is addressing his lieutenant,'Argerd ureo'. But he is clearly s;l!uting the Clry of Argier, upon remming after a longabsence. In Eastward Ho, Slitgut artlves ar Cuckold's I-laven and proclaims 'All haile,flllrc haven of married men andy' (slg. E,vl, while in Ti,e fa" MaId of Bristow, KingRichard .... rrives at Briscol with' All halle thou blessed bosome of my peace I Richardfindes inst'ance of his home returne' (5Ig. 0 jV); see Edelman, 'The Sattle of Alca7..ar',exphcator 61 (1003): 196-7.

S· 'by godl All prevIous edlllons read 'Cod', but 1)«le seems co follow the popularconcepnon of the nme thai Mo\lems were pag.°ms, as Implied by the 'thy', and manysubsequent appeals to 'the gods'. On three occaSlt)ns, however, a Moroccan characterIllvokcs 'Cod' (see n. 4.1.691,

Exit.

I ... [I

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20

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67iHi:. BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

12((. Bashaw) Tins ed.; Bassa Q. 20 SH.I Tim ed.: B3~sa. Bas. Q; Bas. Dyce'; Cal.8.1S. Dyc~; Bas$.1 Yakltlllleh.

9. ItJorldj Dyce suggests 'East', the ·transcnbe.'-s or cOlllposilOr's eye having caughl'''world'') in the next line' (Dyce1

).

12. Calsepllls Bashawl The general of the Turkish Iroops w.... s acrually a Venetianrenegade called Ramelan (Bovill, p. 21.). In PolemOil. Abdclmelec 'determined to rest alittle while In Ihe Cine of Fes, and there dismissed the TurkIsh forces which came withhim under the leading of Rabadllll Bassa' (sig. 54v). The nallle Calsepius is probablyPeclc's invenllon (Bradley, p. J 41).

16. M)'rtJlldo1lS1 'AccQrding [0 the Ilmd, Achilles led a oond of warlike Myrmidonsfrom Thcssaly at Troy, Zeus had created them Ollt of ants, or ",,,rmekes' (DavidBevingron, ed" Tro'/lfs a"d Cress,do, London, 1998, p. 180).

20-33.1 This fourteen-hne spt.,t.'ch, all one sentence wilh lhe repctirion of openingwords, is but one o( many in which re:e1c imltales Marlowe's rhelorical deVICes (see pp.

27-!1).16. servia:, .. warl Polemon (sig. S1.\I) records, 'to avoide Ihe furie of Ihisl brother

.. , Muley Abddmelec went to Conslanlinople, where he did loCrve so well both by seaand land, .. and through hiS vahalll acts and VICtOflCS gorten of his enimlcs, he wanthe fame of a great name, nOt ondy among lhe people. bUI also with the I)rince o( theTurkes hlmselfe'. In the UmtlJl8 (p. 1.. 1, Abdelrnc1ec gave ':In honorable testemonie ofhimself in the lasr sea fighl ,'11 Navarin, belwlxt Ihe armies of the league and the Turke,and at the laklllg of Colette (La Goulene)'.

That strengthens dlec ..... ith mighcy gracious armsAgainst the proud usurper of rhy right,The royal seat and crown of Barbnry.Grear Amurath, great Emperor of the world,The world bear witness how I do adoreThe sacred name of Amurarh the Grea!.Calsepius Bashaw, Bashaw Calsepius,To rhee and to thy trusty band of menThar carefully anend us in our camp,Picked soldiers comparable co the guardOf Myrmidons that kept Achilles' tent,Such (hanks we give to rhee and to them all,As may concern a poor distressed kingIn honour and in princely courtesy.

CAlse(Jilis Bashaw. Courreotls and honourable Abdelmelec,We are nOf come ar Amurath's commandAs mercenary men to serve for pay,Bur as sure friends by our great master sentTo grarify and co remunerateThy love, rhy loyalry and forwardness,Thy service ill his fotther's dangerous war,And to perform in view of all the worldThe true office of righr and royalry,To see thee in rhy kingly chair enrhroned,

sc. J I

5

50

IACT rTHE BATTLE Of ALCAZAR

Under whose colours he had served in field,Flying the fury of this negro's father,That wronged his brethren to install his son.Sit you and see this {rue and tragic war,A modern matter full of blood and rUlh,Where three bold kings confounded in their heightFell to the eanh contending for {1 crown,And call this war The Battle of Alcazar.

Sound drums and trumpets, and enter ABDELMELEC withCALSEI'IUS BASIIAW and his guard, and ZARED, a Moor,

with soldiers.

Abdelmelec. All hail, Argier! z..,rco and ye Moors,Salute rhe frontiers of your native home.Cease. rattling drums, and Abdell11c1cc hereThrow up thy trembling hands to heaven's thronc,Pay to thy god due thanks and thanks to him

66

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68 THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR IACT t sc. I] TilE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR 69

-44 SH.I Tim ed.; Rubyn, Rub. Ar., Rub. Q; Rub. Dyu'; Rub. Ar. D,'cr, Yok/avlch.man at "rms) Q; man-at-arms Dyer. -49ff. Fel) Tl1is ed.; Fesse Q. Dyu'; Fess Dyc:e1•

So. Shan" Tins ed.; Xarif Q fer I. 69). 65. Muly Sharif) Tins ed.: Muli zare£ Q;MuIr X"rif Dyce'.

49. Fe:1 Both the powerful kmgdom in nonhern Africa and Its capiml, to LeoAftlcanus Ihe 'principalJ cltle of all Barbane ... a world u is 10 sec, how large, howpopulous, how well·forrified and walled (his citlc is' (Leo Afncanus, ed. Brown, pp.416, .419). TIle spellings 'Fez', 'Fes,' 'Fessc' and 'Fess' are all found III early moderntexts: Q of A/cowr conslSfently uses 'Fesse', while Stukelry has the first three spellings;many evcnt the difference in pronunciarion would have been slight.

So. Milly Sharin Peele drew the genealogy in Ihi~ speech from I)olemon (sig. R3r-v).ilnd follows Polemon's 'Xarif' for 'Sharif'. meaOlng 'noble, or suhlime', 3 tide given totk'SCendJms of Mohammed's second grandson al·Hasan. I have followed Ronan'$SPCUUlR (Ronart, \tIest, p. 48)); d. OED's 'shcred'; see also p. 12.

Jr.1 nus shan Ime appears to ha\'~ a word or words missing tx.'rwccn 'quarrels' and',lid'. Bullen suggests 'quarrels (by heaven's) aid'.

S9. (trtsl companions (OcD sb' I); d. Solym(II/ and I'erseda, 'When didst thou,with r.h)' lklmpler in tbe Sunne I Sit sowing with thy (eres, but I WJ"i by' (sig. Az.v); secn. _\.';.40.

64-l'\ S«: n. I. So.

55

45

50

60

65

Rubin Archi5. Brave man ar arms whom Amurarh hath sentTo sow the lawful true succeeding seedIn Barbary, that bows and groans withalUnder a proud usurping tyrant's mace.Right thou the wrongs this rightful king hath borne.

Abdelmelcc. Distressed ladies and ye dames of Fez,Sprung from the true Arabian Muly Sharif,The lodcstar and rhe honour of our line,Now clear your warcry eyes, wipe tcars awayAnd cheerfully give welcome to these arms.Amurath hath sent scourges by his menTo whip that tyrant tr<litor king from hence,That hath usurped from us and maimed you all.Soldiers, since rightful quarrels I... J aidSuccessful are, and men rhar manage thelllFight nOt in {ear as trairors and their (eres.Thar you may understand what arms we bear,Whar lawful arms against our brother's son,In sight of heaven, even of mine honour's worrh,Truly I will deliver and dlscoutseThe sum of all. Descended from the lilleOf Mahomet, our grandsire Muly SharifWith Store of gold and treasure leaves ArabiaAnd strongly plants himself in Barbary.And of the Moors th;lI now with us do wendOur grandsire Muly Sharif was the first,

)1. jalllssartesl )'t!m Ische,., or 'new troops'. taken from their parenrs as infants andmoulded into the renowned and feared Turkish infantry. According to Giovanm 1knero(The Travellers Brevlat, London, 1601, pp. 44-S), the Turks recruited Christian boysfrom Europe, 'for they alwales accounted the Asians effeminate and cowardly. alwaiesmorc readle to flie then willing to fight; but the Europians. hardy, couragious and goodmen of warre'; see Edelman, Militar)', pp. ,69-71.

)). SD. MUI.Y MAHAM£T SET1tj Abd ai-Malek's youngcr brother and eventualsuccessor, Mul)' Ahmed al·Monsour, is known simply as 'Muly Hamet' in Polemon andSwkeley. Q has 'Muly Mahamet Xeque' in this direction, hut 'Muly Mahamet Seth' inall subsequent scenes; see pp. }l-3 and fig. J j for 'Xcquc' set n. 1.1.70.

wnh othersl As Bradley notes, the 'others' of the Q dlr~tion would have to be the'dames of Fcl.', addressed by AbddmelCC' at I. 49. Although the Plotter does nor includethem, 'there can be no question that 1theyl arc an original part of the play. and providewith spectacular vlsmll effect the Impression given in the sources of the inhabitants ofMorocco greeting Abdelmelec with rich presents' (Bradley, p. 180).

38. silver nJO<HlSj the Ottoman symbol of the crescent (Yok\avich, p. :)51).-42. eometl This comet I also mentioned In the Act S dumb show (s.Pro1.l-4 SO) and

in St"kd~ (20.2.1 SO), inspired the Portuguese as well as the Moroccans. 80tulpheHolder, an English merchant who provided Burghley with ill1elligence, wrOte ~o hunon 9 December I S77: 'Saturday at nyght, rose owt of (lhe WSW! from thys place agreJte blasyng srar Ilrs beams) towarde the eaSr. inclynyng somerhyng towarde the "Outh... suche sOrte as thc Iyke has fewe rymes byn scene as they say, &. sryll conrynuSo't 10the wonder of manye' (SP Dom. £ltt. Addenda I S66-79, v. 17).

43. sortmg) divine ordaimng of events (OED v' Ih); d. Richard III, 'All may Nwdl, hUI If God SOrl It so' (2.}.}6).

To settle and to seat thee in the same, .30To make thee Emperor of this Barbary,Are come the vicero)'s and sturdy janissariesOf Amurarh. son to Sultan Solimon.

ISound semlct.j Emer MUlY MAHAMET I~ETHI.

RU81N ARCHIS. ABOlt RAYES, luilh albers.

Abdi/ Rayes. Long live my lord, the sovereign of my heart,Lord Abdelmelec, whom the god of kings, 35The mighty Amuralh. hath happy made,And long live Amurath for this good deed.

Muly Mahamet Seth. OUf Moors have seen the silver moons to waveIn banners bravely spreading o"er the plain,And in these semicircles have descried, 40All in a golden field, a star to ris!'.A glorious comet that begins to blaze,Promising happy sorting to us all.

J 3 50·1 This ed.; EllIer Muly Mahamer Xeque, Rubin Arches. Ahdil Ra)·es. wuh othersQ; Sound. To them Muly mahamcT Xeque, Abdula Rais, &; Ruben 1-1 Jeffes. dick Juble& Jc-..mcs Plot; EnTcr Muly Mahamet Seth, Rubin Archis, Abdc:l Rayts, wllh orhersDyu'. H sl-q Que. Abel. Ra. I. JO; Abd. Ra)'es Dya': Abel. Ra. YoklQlllch. )8$1-1.1 Tim cd.: Muly Mah., Muly Xc., Muly Q; Muly Mah. Seth Dyu'; Muly Mah. S.Yak/dllleb. wave! Dyer; wane Q. 40. thesej Dyce': IhlS Q.

Page 8: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)

70. Sheikh) This cd.; Xeqllc Q. 74. Abdallasl Dyce': Abdullas Q (& I, ilJ· 7~.

four, Abdelmuncnl Dyu': fulrc Abdelmenen Q. '1. friends) Dyer; friend Q, 1.01.

our war atlendsl slIbst, Q: on war ~mend Dyer.

70. Mill)' Mahomet She,kh) Q follows Polemon'S spellmg, 'Xeque' for 'Sheikh' Of

'Sha}'kh"lit. 'old man', the title &Iven to the parriarchal chief of a m~ or clan (Rcman.£ost, pp. 484-Sj see fig. I),

79. di5,,,,ttll/l make l1ull ami v(ud (0£0 v I), cf. Comedy of brors, 'our laws IWhich princl'S, would Ihey, may nor dis.'lIlnul' (I. t.l'p.-).

9). encumbers I encumbrances. annoyances (0£051,); d. Dekker's lIlt & NOI

Good. the D~t!llis m It, 'Raves he for bonds and incombet5' (5+1.59).101.. atlettds) aw.'t1b. l'xpecrs (01:.0 v I}); Dyce suggestS 'on war 3ttend', but Q\

Ime makes sense wllh Ot.O·~ ;,hcrnauve, albeil less common, definition.

7TTHE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

109. wreak) 'Pain or punishment lIlfhcted in return for an millry, wrong, offence,(fL.' {OED sb 1); d. Chapman's Rew"ge of Bussy D'Ambols, 'can you but appeasevnur 8J't'3I·spleen·d sister I Por our dclay'd wreak of your brolher's slaughter',u.p-z.).

111. SO.) 8mdle1's surmL~ (p. I" 1) that Rubll1 may sing a lament here IS supportedb)' 'lhnc rites', 1. Ul.

Ui. PllltOl gravel the underworld. d. Wilson, The Three /Albes of lAmdo", 'WeM'o1r,h nOf '·Iuros pensive' pit, nor roSle of Limbo !:Ike' (sig. Au).

It S. am"",1 wnh full force (OED adv I).11. .... Phltgeth()IIJ Sec n. 5.1.108.J }o. ,he honour) i.e. 'thou who.1ft rhe honour' (Bullen).

10? reach?1 Ora'; r.each, Q, I I 1. SO.) TIns ed.; 1101 ", Q. 1)0 the honour) Q.BHIII'''; thvu honour Dycel.

(RUBIN ARCI-ITS sings.1Abdelmelec:. Rubin, rhese rites ro Abdelmunen's ghost

Have pierced by this to 1)lu[O's grave below;The bells of Pluto ring revenge amain, r I 5The furies and the fiends conspire with thee,War bids me draw my weapons for revengeOf my deep wrongs, and my dear brOther's deaf-h.

Milly Mahomet Seth. Sheathe nor YOllr swords, you soldiers ofAmurath.,

Sheathe not your swords, )'OU Moors of Barbary 11.0

rhat 6ghl in right of your anointed king,But follow to rhe galcs of death and hell,Pille dearh and hell to entertain his soul.Follow, I say. [0 burning PhlcgcrhonThis traitor tyrant and his companies. 11.5

GJIS~p1US Bashaw. Heave lip your swords against these stOny holds,Wherem these barbarous rebels are inclosed;Called for is Abdelmelee by ,he godsTo ,iJ upon rbe throne of Barbary.

Abdll Rayes. Bashaw, grear thanks, the honour of the Turks. 130

Forward, brave lords, umo this righrful war.

As freely and as resolurely allAs any Moor whom thou cOl11l1landest most.

M"ly Mahomet Seth. And why is Abdelmelec then so slow 105

To chastise him with fury of the sword,Whose pride dOth swell to sway beyond his reach?Follow this pride, then, with fury of revenge.

Rubin Archis. Of dearh, of blood, of wreak and deep revengeShall Rubin Archis frame her tragic songs; 110

In blood, in death, in murder and misdeed,This heaven's malice did begin and end.

sc. I J

85

'10

95

100

80

75

70

IACT ,TIlE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

From him well wot ye Muly Mahamct Sheikh,Who in his lifetime made a perfect law~

Confirmed with general voice of all his peers,That in his kingdom should successivelyHis sons succeed. AbdaHas was the first,Eldest of four, Abdelmunen the secondAnd we the rest, my brother and myself.Abdaltas reigned his time, but see the change:He labours to invest his son In aU,To disannul the law our father madeAnd disinherit liS his brethren,And in his lifetime wrongfully proclaimsHis son for king that now contends with us.Therefore I crave ro rcoblain my right,That Muly Mahamet the traitor holds,Traitor and bloody tyrant both at once,That murdered his younger brethren both,But on this damned wrelch, this traitor king,The gods shall pour down showers of sharp revenge.And thus a maner nOf to you unknownI have delivered; yet for no distrustOf loyalty, my well beloved friends,But that the occasions fresh in memoryOf these encumbers so may move your miJldsAs for the lawful true succeeding prince,Ye neither think your lives nor honours dearSpcnr in a quarrel just and honourable.

Colsepius Bashaw. Such and no other we repure the causeThat forwardly for thee we undertake,Thrice puissant and renowned Abdelmclec,And for thine honour, safety and crown,Our lives and honours frankly to exposeTo all the dangers thar our war attends,

70

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7L THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR [ACT I .c. L] THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR 73

Sound selmer. Enter \MU1..Y MAHAMETl 'be Moor in his chariot,attended with his SON, 1I,is wife CA L 1ro L t S. and] P I SA NO his

captain. with his guard ami treasure.

M"/y Mahomet. Pisano, take a cornet of our horse,As many argolets and armed pikes,

135 51).1 Plot, Dyu'; Exil Q.

1.2.) Tim ed.; Scene II Dyer; '101 ;', Q. 050.) TIJis ed.; Emer the Moore in iusCharim, 3ncnded with hill sonne. Pisano hiS captalllC with his g.-ud and treasure Q;Enter In a charrioft Muly Mahamert & Calipolis, on each si.de a page, moores aUto·dam Pisano lOr Hunr & w. Cartwright and young Mahamcl Anthony Jeffes PlOT; •••with hiS guard and rreasure and his Queen Dyu'; Entcr, in his chariOt, the Moor.C,lipolis, and their Son, Pisano with the Moor's Guard and treasure Dyer. 1 SH.)Tim eli.; Moore'., More, Mu. Mllh., Muly Mah., Muly Ma. Q; Moor Dyu'; The MoorD)'a-Z; Moore Yok/omclJ.

5

10

IExit '>'SAND.I

And with our carriage march away beforeBy Sqra., and tho.e plors of gtoundThat to Morocco leads the lower way.OUf enemies keep upon the mountain tops,And have encamped [hemselves nor far from Fez.Madam,Gold is the glue, sinews and srrength of wac,And we must see our treasure may go safe.Away!

~. Morocco) ThIS td.; Moroccus Q. 8. Madam, I Gold) Dyal; Madame, gold Q,8ttfk". H SO.) subs/. Plot, Yaklavic"; Exit Pisano & c. Dyu'; Exit Pisano with theItt.burtandsol1leorthe Guard Dyce; not", Q. I} SH.I Timed.; Muly Mah., Mah.,The Moores sonne Q: The Moor's Son Dya'; The Moores $Onne Yokfavlw.

}. ('"""agel bagg.lge tralO (0£0 sb 19); d. Hooker's f-/lJ/o'Y of lrelalld, 'Tht car·rl1j.tt was dragging after (he annie, and slender lie manned' (Holinshc:d, 6: 1.79).

4. Sqras) Posslhly (he plalO of Algar, lying on (he wesr coasl of Morocco (Sugden),oot more probably the pla« is Peelc's invtnrion, perhaps IOsptrtd by Scyros. rhe Islandwhere Theus hid her son Achilles affer learning that he was f.ned to die 3[ Troy.

~. M()rOGOO] Writl'en as Moroccus, M::trOCC-us. Man)Cco or Morocco in Q. The1I~.onSI5[ency follows no pattern, e.g. of Europeans pronouncing Ihe word one way andAfrICans a.nOther; I h.:lye regularised 311 ro'Morocco'.

8'"9.1 'Madam' is part of the next line In Q - the compositor did nor always!.trarate c:<ua·merrical vocarives or exclamations as be dOC's at I. 's.

9.1 YoL:.Iavit'h (p. 351) nores that thiS aphorism appears III Cicero's PJ,ifiPPIC$, '''eroosbtll" PUUffiattl ",fimtam' (5.1.j); d. Massmger's Believe A$ You Lm, 'the saphir, rubie,!,KlOth, amber, currall! ... they are indt'Cdc rhe nurses! and smncwcs of your war'(u,S,-71.

ll. Away) thiS order evidently to Pisano, who exits alone; lhe Plor shows 'ex.' m's.,,,, Idetor Sam Rowley) manellhe rest'.

u. bo)'! According l'O rhe Uniting (p. 30), 'Mulei Cheque son to the Cheriffe lwaslllf dtt agt of twdve yet-res'.

1}-~6.J Muly Mahamet:'s Son IS already on Stage; for hun 10 possess rhe informa·non he Ihen gtvC$ IS nOt credible (Bradley, p. '17). Probably, part or all of the spt'CChongmally belonged to a messenger. who cmered 3( thiS point.

Now, boy, what's [he news?M"ly Mahomet's 50ft. The news, my lord, is war, W1Ir and revenge;

And if J shall declare the circumstance,'TIs thus: 1 5Rubin, our unde's wife, thar wrings her handsFor Abdelmunen's death, accompaniedWith many dames of Fez in mourning weeds,Near to Argier encountered Abdelmelec,That bends his force, puffed up with Amurath's aiel, 20

Against your holds and castles of defence.The younger brOlhe~ Muly Mahamet Selh,

'35{Ex.IIt"·1

135. IInderlakes! 3 common (orm of the second person singular (Abban, p. 14.1.1­

1.;z..1 The action occurs In nonhern Fez.., 'in a cenam valley three leagues from tberi\'er of Sala lOwardes the west, along rhe sea coast, in a pla.ce called Motha Amca·hana lar·Ruknl ... where the 29. of June at rhree of the c1ocke. m the after noont,.acruell3nd hloudie banaile was foughl' (Polcmon, sig. Tn); see also Stukeley n. 25.IS.

050.1 The charlot entrance is an example of the specrdcular sraging ROS(' audierll.."t1seemed (() S3VOUrj d . .l Tamlmrl",,,c (5.1.6;z.SD) and p. ;z.8.

CA LoII'O Lilt) Muly Mahamefs queen is not 10 the Q direction, nor does she speak,bUt she I.. named in the Plot and 1$ rhe only candidate for 'Madam' at I. 8. How Peekthoughl of the name has been rhe causc uf some speculation: Rice (p... )0) suggests htread of tplleys from the Turkish town of Callipolis (now Gallipol i) in Polemon's accoumof the battle of Lepanlo, but the scholarly Peele must have been familiar with the ·be:tu­tlflll City' of Plaro's Republtc.; d. Jonson's masque tove's Trtllmph Through C,If,poltS:·F.uphemus. SCnt downe from "Ieaven to Gallipolis, which is understood Ihe Cln)' ofBeauty or Goodnes' (II. 17-18).

L SH.) Q uses 'Muly Mahamet' or '-l1le Moor' III various abbreviated forms; tn tMPlof he is always 'Muly Mahamcf.

P,stUlal see Appendix I.cor"t") a company of cavalry, SO called from its horn (oornum)·shaped standard; d.

I Htmry VI, '0 God, that SomerKt, who in proud hean! Doth stop my eOmeu., WM

in Talbot's place' (4.}.2.4-5).2. argol~/sl lighe·armed horse·soldiers, originally mounred bownlen.

ILL]

How can this banlc but successful beWhere courage meeteth with a rightful cause?

Rubin Arcl7is. Go in good time, my best beloved lord,Successful in thy work thou undertakes.

Page 10: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)

74 THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR [ACT r SC.2J THE RATTl.E OF ALCAZAR 75

Greets the great Bashaw, that the King of TurksSends fO invade your right and royal realmAnd basely beg revenge, arch-rebels all, 25To be inflict upon our progeny.

Milly Mahomel. Why, boy, is Amur.nh's Bashaw such a bugThat he is marked to do this doughty deed?Then, Bashaw, lock the winds in wards of brass.Thunder from heaven, damn wretched men to death, 30Bear all the offices of Saturn's sons,Be Pluto then in hell and bar the fiends,Take Neptune's force to thee and calm the seas.And execute Jove's justice on the world,Convey Tamburlaine into our Arrie here, 3STo chastise and to menace lawful kings.Tamburlaine, trhlmph nor, for thOll must die.As Philip did, Caesar, and Caesar's peers.

Muly MalU1wet's Son. The Bashaw grossly flattered to his raceAnd Amurath's praise advanced above the sound 40Upon the plains, the soldiers being spread,And that brave guard or srurdy j::missaricsThat Amurath to Abdelmelec gavc,And bade him boldly be to them as safeAs if he slept within a walled town [.. ·1 45\"('ho take them to their weapons threatening revenge,Bloody revenge, bloody revengeful war.

Muly Mahamet. Away, and let me hear no more of this.Why, boy,Are we successors to rhe great Abdallas 5°

31. Bearj Dyc~: Barre: Q. JS. Tamburiaine:J Dyu'; T:unberlame: Q to' I. 37)· 49·boy, 1 Arel Dyc":; boy, 3re Q. SO AhdallasJ Bulle,,; Abdilmclec Q; Abdc:lmunt11Dyee'.

27. h"81 bugbear, ,In unagmnry oblect of terror (0£0 sb' la).1.8. doughty I valiant, brnve (OED 0 Ib).31. SolUm's sims) Pluto, NCptllllC and Jove (j,e. lIades, Poseidon and Zeus) W(1't'

sons of the: ot:m Croll liS, whom the: Romans associated with their god Saturn.}7. d, the hero's dying words in 2 7'amburIQi,tt, 'Tamburlaine, the scourge or Cod,

muSt die' (5.3.2.48).JR. Phil,pl Philip o( Macedon.3:b47.) Greg (p. 106) observes, 'th(:sc hiles, a mere Jumble o( participial and rela­

rive clauses, are clearly Impossihle as they nand'; there could well be Imes rtUSsing afterI. 41 (Bradley, p. '47)·

45.1 Some lines must have dropped out o( the text here, a common occurrcm."t. MOSto( rhese omIssions fire noted hy Bradley (p. 167). who C~I1S them to 'a c,1.re!CMcom­posltor'; see also pp. '9-1.1.

So. Abdollas) Bullen's e:mcnd.:iuQn (or Q's 'Abdllmelec' muSt be correct, '>Im

Abdallas was Muly Mahamet's (ather, and IS metrlcal.

Descended from (he Arabian Muly Sharif,And shall we be afraid of Ba,haws and of bugs,Raw head and bloody bone?BoY. seeS! here this scimirar by my side?Si,h ,hey begin '0 ba'he in blood, 55Blood be the theme whereon our rime shall tread.Such slaughter wirh my weapon shall I makeAs through the srream and bloody channels deep,Our Moors shall sail in ships "nd pinnacesFrom Tangier shore untO the gares of Fez. 60

Milly Mahamet's 5011. And of those slaughrered bodies shall thy sonA hugy tower ereer like Nimrod's frame,To threaten [hose unjusr and partial godsThat ro Abdallas' lawful seed denyA loog, a happy and triumphanr reign. 65

Sound (In alarum within, and enter a ME 55 EN GER.

Messenger. Fly, King of Fez, King of Morocco, ny,Fly with thy friends, Emperor of Barbary,o fly the sword and fury of the foeThat ragerh as rhe ramping lionessIn rescue of her younglings from rhe bear. 70Thy rowns and holds by numbers basely yield,Thy land to Abdelmelec's rule resigns,Thy carriage' and rhy treasure raken isB)' Amurath's soldiers, rhar have sworn Ihy death.Fly Amufath's power.. and Abdelmelec's Ihrears, 75Or thou and rhine look here to bre.:uhe your lasr.

.\ful)' Mahamet. Villain, what dreadful sound of death and nightIs this, wherewirh thou dosr afflIct our ears?But If ,here be no safery to abideThe favour, fortune and success of war, 80Away in haste, roll on my chariOt wheels,Restless till I be sa fely set in shade

sr. Sh3rifl This ed.; Zarif Qj Xari( Dyu'. Yak/Qvicl,. 62.. hugyl D)'cc; huge Q;hugae Yok/QUlth. 66 SH.I This td.; Mes. Q; Mess. I)yce l

• Morocco] TIJis ed.i\1oroccu, Q. 77. fhghr] Oy«'; fight Q.

61. bJIgy) a comOlon form o( 'huge'; d. , Toml",rlame. 'Your three(old army andmy hugy hOM ISha.1I swallow lip 1hese b.1Se'·born Persians' (3·3·94-5).

'J"",OO's frame) the Tower o( B.'Ibel (Genesis, chs 10-11).

65. SO.] It is nOi unusual, in Eliz.1.bethan plays, (or an entire: banlc and its a(rer­math to rake place ofr·St-age wlthm a (ew momems.

66-76.J This messenger speech may have httn lakell by (he returning I)isanoIB,.dl,y, p. t81).

Page 11: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)

8}. unhauntedJ Dyce l; unhanted Q. K". yew\ Dycc; hue Q. 87. sick) D)'ct,

se<ke Q. Cccmpia's\ Oyce'; Cccropes Q. 89 50.\ Plot; Exit Q.

\

co

1. Ntmts,s Imth bloody wlnlll d. the 'third addition' to the Spalllsh Tragedy (Q16od, 'And there is Nc..'fflesis and J:uries I And thing.~ called whll'pes I And they some·trtflCS d~ meelt with murderers' (sig. C.. r).

) 50.1 Q has no dumb '.lhow, bur the Plot has dlrectu.:ms for one that IS consiStenlwllh the PrtSenter's speech. I (ollow Yoklavlch III inserting a dIrection here, and othersat 11':'5 and 31.

J. DIl"n~arrb,'ecl) Q hIlS 'architecls" hut the slIlgular makes sense, as the Presentermw,t bt re.re.rrlltg to 'speechless nighr'; the unmerrical'dlvlOe' is probably a composllor'st'rfOf. but there is no clear candld.lte for substlrullon. Greg Ip. 107) and Dyce proposeth~1 the. archltecl be 'dire'; M. K. Nelhs offers 'dumme', as It rdalC"5 Olccly ro 'speechlessnight' ('Peele's Night: Dumb or Dl\'ine Architect'. N&Q 30 (1983): 131-l), but Bradleyjr.. 149), for prtltlSdy the same reason, conSiders 'dmunc architect' to be: ·obvious'.

81.iD.J 'Ir was the sl3g~·practlcc of ghoSL~ to cry "Vindlcta·" (Bull~n, p. 141).

.\a tl ThIS td.; Actus Secunda. Serena pnma Q; Al"tU$ ~undi. Scena pflma D)'u';

.\1."1 II D)·rel. 2.. I)rol.) Tim td.: "ot m Q. 050.) Th,s ~d.; Abrum. And then rhepmnltcr ~peakt'th Q; Enter the Presenter Piol. 1 SH.) Tim ed.; II0t ", Q. 3 SD.}Plm: nol In Q. $. Divine architect) D)'ct': DIYlne Architects Q: DIre architect D)·cr.N \0.1 s"bst. Q. fO. shricks) Dyct"; shrikes Q.

ACT 2

[•.ProL]

Alanmt. IEnter tlJe "RESENTI:.R,j and then tbe "RElOoENTER speaketh.

Prl'sl'nter. Now war begins his rage and ruthless reignAnd Nemesis with bloody whip in handThunders for vengeance on this negro Moor.

(Eltler aboue Nemesis·1

Nor may the silence of the speechless nighl,DIvine architect of murders and misdeeds,Of rrngedies and tragic tyrannies,Hide or contain this bMbarous crueltyOf this usurper to his progeny,

IEnterJ tbree Ghosts crying 'uind,cta'.

Hark, lords, 35 in a hollow place afar,The dreadful shrieks and clamours that resoundAnd sound revenge upon this traitor's soul,Traitor to kin and kind, to gods :md men.Now NemesIS upon her doubling drum,Mo\'rd with [his ghastly moan, this sad complall1t,

8\

\.ACT 1

[Exeu"t.]

Of some unhauntcd place, some blasted groveOf deadly yew or dismal cypress trec.Far from the light or comfort of the SUll.

Thef(~ to curse heaven. and he that heaves me hence,To sick as E.nvy at Cecropia's gateAnd pine the thought and terror of mishaps.Away!

TilE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

8}. utllJalmtedj not (requented. lonely, solnary (0£0 ppl t); d. The Maid's Mtt.l­morplJostS, 'But pray ye m:tlde, it Will be vtry good I To rake the shad~, In tbisunhaumed wood' ISlg. D)r).

8". deadly)'t'lVl Q reads 'hue', but In Elizabethan handwming an 'h' goes brio,,"the line, and is easily mishlken (or a 'y'. The yew rree was 'deadly' in IWO sell.iCS. bemghoth poI~onou.s and the wood (rom which the English longbow was fashioned; d.Richard II. 'The very headsmen leurn to bend their Oows I O( doubJe.bral yew'(}.1..111-1)).

81. sIck ... gatel Q reads 'sceke', but 'sICk', in the sense of 'sicken', was nOI unusualin Peele's rime; Bullen Sllpp<lrlS Dycc's emendafion by ciung l. Nellry IV, 'Sar it did iO

a little nme before I That nur great grandsire Edward sicked and died' (4.).12...-8i.Muly Mahamet alludes to the story of Aglauros, rhe daughter o( Cecrops. King ofMhe-ns, III OVid's Mt!ta",orplJ()s~s (t.111-8jS). She was envious o( her sisrer Hme,loved by the god Mercury, and, when sht b:Hred the door of He~'s hoUSt~ Mercurrturned her to Slone.

76

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78 TilE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR [AC!' • PROL.] THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR 79

'Larullls aloud into Alecfo's ears, 1.5And with her thundering wakes whereas they lie,In cave as dark as hell and beds of steel,The furies, just imps of dire revenge."Revenge', cries Abdehnuncn's grieved ghost,And rousedl with the tecror of this noise 1.0

These nymphs of Ere-bus. '\'\Ireak and revenge',Ring Out the souls of his unhappy brethren,And now Start up these torments of the wodd,Waked with the thunder of Rhamnusia's drum,And fearful echoes of these grieved ghosts, l.S

{To them lYl1lg belmul the curtains three Furies. olle witha whip, Quother with a bloody torch, and the ,I,ird with

a ,lJoppi"g k"i{e. J

Aleera with her brand and bloody torch,Megaera with her whip and snaky hair,Tisiphone with her fMal murdering iron,These three conspire. these three complain and monn.Thus, Muly Mahamct, is a council held 30

19. Abdelmunen's] Dyer. YoklalJlch; Abdilmelecs Qi Abdllmunen's Dyu12". Rhamnusia'sl Oyce' ; Ramusians Q; Ramnusias YoklaviclJ. 2S SO.I Tins rd.; Tothem lying behind l'he Curtaines } funes: Parsons, George & Ro. Tailor, one with :l

whipp, another with a "Iotly torch, :lI1d [he }d with a Chopping knife l'Iot; 'lOt In Q.

IS. Alutol see n. II. 2"-9.J6. whereas] where (OED rei. adl..'. I).17-18.1 The funes, or enn)'cs, wtre the mythological tormenters of crtmina,ls, e!>JX'­

cially .....hen the offence was ag.'unSI blood kin; 'imp" in rlus context. IS a ehild of thedeVil or hell (OED sb 4). The 'beds of steel', also found at 4.1.7°, :Ir(' prob:lbly drawnfrom the AeneId, 'The Furies' iron beds; and Strife, that shakes I f ler hlssmg trennand unfolds her snakes' (6.392-').

Ll. "ymphs of Erebu'si an oxymoron. Nymphs, the female divinities who residtJm narural phenomena such as trees, mountains and lakes, can hardly be equatedwith furies roused frorn Ercbus. i.e. [he 'primeval darkness' (ilarvey, p. t68}i ct.Shakespeare's frequent U~ of 'nyrnph' In The Tempest; SL"C also n. 4.1..73.

44. Rhamml$lal another narne for Nemesis, whose 'chief cult cenr~r' was the townof Rhamnus 011 the north·eastern coast of Attica (Edward Tripp, Tilt Meridt,m HJ"J­book of Qassicol M)'tho/ogy, New York, 1970, p. 512).

1.6-9.) The appearance to Pecic's dumb show of the 'threto sisters born of Night'. asOVid calls them in the Metamorphoses (4.452.), 1$ similar (0 thai described Over CWtllt)'years earlier in Gorboduc: 'hrst the MII.sick of HOJueboies began to plaIt, durmgtwlm:hl' there came forth from muler tlte Stage, as thoughe Ollt of Hell t"ra I-Urtt.s.Aluro. Megera & CtlSlplmlle clod In Macke garments sprinkled wtth blo"d & Il.lJIus.therr bodies g"t IIJ1th Stlakes. tbetr heds spread with Serpents In steade of h~re, tNOtIC bCdrmge m her halide a SlIoke, the other a lvhip, 6' the tJnrde a b"",iIl8 FirebTamu'(SIl;. Csr). Jleele, unlike Norton and Sackville, gives only one fury (Alecto) snak)' hJl!.

To wrcnk the wrongs and murders thou hast done.IExeu"t show.J

By rhis imagine was this barbarous Moorhased frolll his dignity and his diadem

And lives forlorn among the mountain shrubs,And makes his food the flesh of savage beast<. 35Amurath's soldiers have by this installedGood Abdelmelec in his royal seat,The dames of Fez and ladies of the landIn honour of the son of Solimon,Erect a statue made of bencen gold 40And sing to Amurath songs of lasting praise.Muly Mahamet's fury overruled,His cruelty controlled and pride rebuked,Now at last. when sober thoughts renewedCare of his kingdom and desired crown, 4SThe aid, chat once was offered and refused,By messengers he furiollsly imploresSebasrian's aid. Brave King of Portugal!He, forward in all arms and chivalry,Hearkens to his ambassadors, and grams soWhat rhey in letters and by words entreat.Now listen, lordings, now begins rhe game,Sebasrian's tragedy in [his tragic war.

I£.<il. 1

u SO.) YokJalllth; exeunt Plat; not m Q. )9. Solimon] O)'ce' , YaHaulGh; SohmanQ. of7. implores] o,u', Yokltwicb; imployes Q, 48. nid. Bravel TIm ed.; aidebene Q; aid, brave [)yce'. 53 SO.) Yaklau,eh; exeunt Plol; 1101 i" Q.

:and specifies the propenics to be held by each, addll1g visual colour to the scene - lhePIO{ call.. (or 'whip, bloody torch, and choppmg knife'. Ancient Pistol undoubtedly hasIhl~ spt«h m mmd when he states, 'Rouse up Revenge from chon den With fell AICCto's,n,kel for Doll .. in' (.H4, S.5-l7-8).

31 SO.1Yokhwich's placement ()( 'exeunt show' here is reasonable, although any\.ool(e: muSt be considered somewhat arbitrary.

n, By tlus tmagmt was) Of.O glVt5 this passage 3S its only example o( 'imagine',b ~ noun, meaning 'device, contrivance'. A more likely reading, although 'was' is syn·U~t",1l.lIrodd, would be 'imagine:' as an imperative - the Presenter IS telling spectatorswh.u W pl..:ture in their mjnds.

40. statue . .. gold) The events described in this speec,h are in Polemoll. except forthe gulden starue. Although neither the stage direcnolls nor [he Plot mentions it, Bradleylp. t-.9) argues for a statue to be placed or revealed on stage. the $Cene indudmg 'a"range attempt at an oriental ceremony'.

of7. Implores) As 'furiously' does nOt ~t well with Q's 'implores', Dyce's subslllu·lIlII'l of '''nplores' seems sensible.

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80 THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR IACT' SC. r] TI-IE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR 81

u. my due and duties do Lpay) D)Pce2; due "nd duetie is done, Lpaic Q. }O. Resigns]Bulle,,; Rcsigne Q; Receive Dyce1; Rcsigncs Yak/oldeh. 36 SH.I This eel.: Queene Q;Queen Dyc.e'; Ab(1. Ra. Yok/Oldeh.

19.) Pan of Rubin's speech after '~hee' appears to be missing.}6. SH. Abel" Ro)'es) Yoklavich correctly IdClltlfics Q's 'Queen' as Abdil Ra)'e5j

Dyce assumes she is" separar(' character, '3 petty princess'; see also p. 15.

39. palace of the su"l POSSibly a reference t'O Phaethon's lourney through Ethiopiaand India in search o( his fMher Apollo in MetomorphoYs, 'The Pal:1cc o( the Sun rosehigh alo(( I On soaring columns, bflght With flashing gold' (1..1-20); d. Slukeley,n. 1 T.2.7-8.

46. Imp) here, Ihe scion o( a noble house (OED sb J); Pistol's greeting (he newlycrowned Henry V as 'most royal Imp of (;tille' (5.S.41) is probably one o( rhe severalparodies of Peele III 2 Hen')' IV (see n. 2.+94; also p. <l.7).

'··Ii A/arum withi", and thell enter A80ELMELEC. MULY MAI-IAMET

SETH, IZAREO,I CALSEPIUS BASHAW, with Moors and;anissar;es. aud the Ladies [and Rubin's young son].

Abde/melec. Now hath the sun displayed his golden beamsAnd dusky clouds dispersed. the welkin clearsWherein the fwenry-coloured rainbow shows.After this fight happy and (ortunate,Wherein our Moors have won the day, 5And vicwry, adorned with fortune's plumes,Alights on Abdclmelec's glorious crest.Here find we rime to breathe; and now beginTo pay thy due and duties thou dost oweTo heaven and earth, to gods and Amurath. 10

Sound Tmmpets.And now draw near and heaven and earth give car,Give ear and record, heaven and earth with me.Ye lords of Barbary, hearken nnd attend,Hark to the words I speak and vow I makeTo plant the true succession of the crown: 15Lo, lords, in our seat royal to succeedOur only brother here we do install,And by the name of Muly Mahamet SethEntitle him true heir unto the crown.Ye gods of heaven gratulate this deed, 2.0

That men on earth may therewith stand contene.

'L.r) Tim ed.; Scene I Dyer: "ot m Q. 050.) subst. Yoklavu:.h; Alarum within, andthen enter Abdilmelec, Muly Mah~met Seth, C.,lsepius Bassa. with Moores andJanizaries, and Ihe Ladlts Q; Sound. Enter Abdelmelec, mahalnet Xeque, Zarro,C.'llccpms Bassa, Abdula Rais, & Ruben. Anendants. mr Hum & George & )'otlngsonne D~b Plot. 5. Moors have won) This t'd.; Moors h:lVc losl Q. B"lIe,,: trait'rousMoors have losl D)'e~.

1.1.1 The ~cljon o( (he scene IS nOI localised, but may be: imagined 1'0 be taking placein Fez.

050.1 Rubin's son is:t mute part, bUI, as the Plot nnd 11. 32-.47 require, he must bepresent (see Br:adley. p. 184).

). tUlimty.c%uredl perhaps a nusreading o( 'thous:lnd coloured'. 'Twenrie' :and'thou5-'lnde' or '(howSo'lnde' :1re f.urly Similar 111 Elizabethan handwnnng. and Virgil'sdescription of Lris (goddess of the rainbow) descending to VIS\( the dymg Dido (see n.s.ProI.9) reads 'Downward the various goddess took hc::r flight I And drew a thousandcolors from the light' (Aene,d, 4.1005-6).

S. Ollr ••• daYI Q's 'lost the day" mak6 no sense. Dyce inserts 'uaitorous', addingneeded syllables, hut then Abdehnclec would not say 'our traitorous Moors'.

8. and nDIU begi"j Here Abddmelec begins s~aklllg 10 hUllsclf.

Lo, thus my due and duties do I PilYTo heaven and earth, to gods and Amurath.

Sound trll11Ipets.Muly Mahomet Seth. Renowned Bilshaw, to remunerate

Thy worthiness and magnanimiry,Behold the noblest ladies of the landBring presem tokens of their gratitude.

Rubin Archis. Rubin, that breathes bur for revenge,Bilsh:lw. by this commends herself to thee [... JResigns the token of her thankfulness.To Amurath, the god of earthly kings,Doth Rubin give and sacrifice her SOil,

Not with sweet smoke of fire or sweet perfume,But with his father's sword his morher's thanksDoth Rubin give her son to Amurath.

Abdil Rayes. As Rubin gives her son, so we ourselvesTo Amurath give, ilnd fall before his face.Bashaw, wear thou the gold of Barbary,And glister like the palace of the sun,In honour of the deed that thou hast done.

Coisepius Bashmu. Well worthy of the aid of AmurathIs Abdelmelec and these noble dames.Rubin, thy son I shall ere long bestowWhere thou dost him bequeath in honour's feeOn Amurath, mighty Emperor of the East,That shall receive the imp of royal raceWith cheerful looks and gleams of princely grace.This chosen guard of Amurath's ianissariesI leave to honour and attend on thee.King of Morocco. conqueror of thy foes,True King of Fez, Emperor of Barbary,Muly Molocco, live and keep thy seat

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8. TilE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR IACT • sc. '1 TilE BATTLE OP ALCAZAR 8}

55 50.\ Plot. Dyer; E.>at 001ne5 Q.

2.2.1 T/,;s ed.; Scene II D)'cr; "ot m Q. 050.1 subst. Q; Enter Diego Lopis, Gover­nor of Lisborne mr Rich. Allen, Srukcley, Jonas, Hercules, & an Irish Bishopp mrTowne, Ro. Tailor, W Kcnd~1I & mr Sh~a Plot. liTUKEL£V! Stukdey, Stukley Q;5tukclcy Dyu'; 5tukley Yak/allle". 1 SILl This ed.; nic. Q. Lisbonj D)·ee'; Lis­borne Q (exe. Lishborne 5.1.164). 9 511.1 Tim ed.; Bi~h()p, Bish. Q; Bish. Dya',Yoklav;Gh.

55. great I)ompeYI i.e. Pompey the Gretll (106-48 BC), defeated by Julius Caesar atthe battle of Pharsalia.

1.1..\ Our story now goes to Lisbon.050. JONAS and HP.RCU LP.S I I)eelc's maklllg Stokeley's captains, Jonas and

Hercules, English causes no end of confUSion later; see Appendix 1.I. LJSoo,,\ Q is cnn.;;istem with 'usbornc', but 'Lisbon' is fat more common in pla)'s

of the period. Smce the actors' pronunClatlon would prob;\bly nOt have changed fromplay to play, the modern spelling is employed here.

'4. lmawaresl without Intimation or warning (0£0 adv ,,); d. 3 Ht,,')! VI, 'Eitherbetra)'ed by falsehood of hiS guard J Or by hiS foe surprised at unawarcs' (".5.8-9).

E"ter DIEGO LOI'ES the Governor of Lisbo1l. tbe Ir;sh 815HOI).

STUKElEY. JONAS and HERCULES.

Diego Lopes. Welcome to Lisbon. valiant Catholics,Welcome brave Englishmen to POrtugal.Most reverent primate of the Irish churchAnd noble Srukcley, famous by thy name,Welcome, thrice welcome to Sebastian's rown, 5And welcome, English captains, to yOll all.It joycrh us to see his Holiness' fleer,Cast anchor happily upon our coast.

Bishop. These welcomes, worthy governor of Lisbon,Argue an honorable mind in thee, 10

But treat of our misfortune therewithal.To Ireland by Pope Gregory's command,Were we all bound, and rherefore thus embarkedTo land our forces there ar unawares,Conquering the land for his Holiness, J 5And so restore it to the Roman faith.This was the cause of our expedition,

35

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'5

And Ireland long erc this had been subduedH,ad nor foul weather brought us to this bay.

Diego Lopes. Undcr correction, are ye not all Englishmcn,And 'longs not Ireland to that kingdom, lords?Then may J speak my conscience in the cause,Sans scandal 10 the Holy See of Rome:Unhonourablc is this expedition,And misbeseeming you to meddle in.

Stukeley. Lord Governor of Li"bon, understandAs we are Englishmen, so arc we men,And I am Stukeley so resolved in allTo follow rule, honour and empcr)',Nor to be benr so strictly to the place\'Qherein at first I blew the fire of life,But that I may at liberty make choiceOf all the continents that bounds the world.For why, I make it nor so grear desertTo be bcgor or born in any place,Sith thar's a rhing of pleasure and of easc,Thar might have been performed elsewhere as well.

Diego Lopes. Follow what your good pleasure will,Good Captain Srukeley, be it rar from meTo take exceptions beyond my privilege.

Bishop. Yet, caprain~ give me leave to speak:We musr affect our country as our parents,And if at any time we alienareOur love or indusrry from doing it honour,It must respect effects and 10lleh the soul I...1Maner of conscience and religion,And not desire of rule or benefit.

1.6 SH.) This ed.; Sruk. Q (ext:. Stokley 4.~.68). Dyee'; StlIke OYGel; SUI,k. Yok/amc".

19. (allow . .. empC'ryl Stoke-Ie)' uses 'follow' in the sense of 'Strive after' (OI::Dv 6), 'cmpery' beinA 'the sr;ltus, dignity. or domlllioll of an emperor' (OED slJ I); secn.1.+«.

Jj. bounds) The sin~lllar verb folJowll1g a plural sublect is common 111 caJly modernusage (Abooll, pp. 'Jj-7).

42. affectj love, have affect,on for (OED v' 1.a).45.1 Some text may be missing after this line, as Ilercuies' rejoinder (II. 50-5) seems

out of proportion to whatever POInt the nishop may be making.45. t((ectsl affects, i.c. 11l0l1\'C'S or intcntions, contrary to OEO's misleading defini·

tlon. The dictionary gIVes no alternauve spellmg for 'affect' (OED sl) I), while clungan 1850 ed'tlon of Tyndale'S Suppn o( the tord, 'God is ~rchcr of heart and reins,thoughts and affects', The ISH ex,avo of (hiS work, however, reads 'thoughts and.(f.<", (sig. 08r).

55IExelll/l.]

In spite of (orrulle's spire or enemies' threats.Ride, Bashaw, now, bold Hashaw homeward rideAs glorious as great Pompey in his pride.

1'·'1

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84 TI-IE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR IACT 2 SC. 31 THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR 85

8. SD.I ThIS ed.; Exeunt Q.

1.31 ThIS cd.; Scene III D)'ce!; "ot ttl Q. 050.) s"l1s(. Q; Enter Mull) Mahamet,Cahpolis. young mahamct & .z. moores w Carrv.·right and mr Jlunt Plot. ). prisonlQ; pu;son Dyee'.

to the Punt:lIls' dtnial of chur~h I\lcr.uchy, and IrOnically suggests that evcry parishminister be made equal 10 a Pope: 'ollely lct the li3)'d 1)t)lltIfc beware, he prove nOi agre.1t Pope in a littlc Roome; or dis(:ovcr the hUl1lour of aspirmg Stukely, that wouldrather be:: king or :\ moulhl1l, thell the second In Ireland. or England' (Pierce·sSllp(!f("fQgatioll, London, I S93, p. 8S)·

8). Huff! to fluff or swell with pride or arrogl1llce (Ol-:D v .. ,. When Sir JtromeHorsey tried to deliver an edict from Queen Ehz..,btlh to the I lanse towns Forbiddingthem to trade with Spall1, the Burgermcislcr of Lubtck 'hurf. theral, s31cnge they wouldpass With their shippingc in spight of the Quell of Englandl> power' (Travels o{ Sir1"0"'1' HONey (1591), 111 Russia at tlu Close of 'be S,xteenth ~"tury, cd. Edward A.Bond, London, 18S6, p. 2.)8).

1..;.) The action t:1kes place somewhere In the Arllls M:ount3lns.10J This hne is quoted b)' Jonson III Tlte I'MtdsteT (J.40j46-p', while twO thC'atre

bo)'s, one ptrched on the others shoulders, strut the stage in Imitallon or Edward AlleynBradley, p. '53).

1-}.1 'There is no sense 10 be got OUI of Ihesc hnes' (,reg. p. 110).

IExil·1

Than the richest subject of a monarchy.Huff it, brave mind, and never cease t'aspire,Before thou reign sole king of thy desire.

E1I1er iMULY MAIIAMET! the Moor wi//) CALI rOllS his wife,Ins SON and /IUO o/hers.

Muly MalJamet. Where 3rt thou boy? Where is Calipolis?o deadly wound that passeth by mine eye,The fatal prison of my swelling heart!o fortune constant in unconstlincylFight earthquake~ in the entrails of the earth 5And eastern whirlwinds In the hellish shades,Some foul contagion of the infected heaven,Blast all the trees, and in their cursed tOpsThe dismal night raven and tragic owlBreed, and become foretellers of my fall, lO

The fatal ruin of my name and me.Adders and serpents hiss at my disgrace,And wound the earth With angu,ish of their stings.Now, Abdelmelec, now triumph in Fez,Fortune hath made thee King of n..1rbary. 15

12.31

49. BlsIJop of So",t Asstsl Obviously a pun on 'Asaph" hur our Bishop is Irish, notWt:lshj ~ee AppendiX II.

68·1 Somc IlIlcs mUSI hc missing afttr 'hvc'. Q has no 't'.XCU!1t' here, but the rest ofSluke1cy's speech reads like 3 soliloquy.

79· Marqllcss) Wilham Pillen. an Env,hsh merch:ult. witnessed Stukeley'$ arrival inLisbon. and nou~:d 'the same 5tllklcy there was called by noe other name than Marqut:S'(Castries, I: 5'1); Set pp. 1)-10.

81. KlIIg o{ Q mo/e-/ulll :1 statement Widely associated with $tukelc)'_ In P'nu'sSl4pererogtltum, puhh",hed a yCM before cht" quarto or A/caw" Gabrid Harvey ob)ecr5

Stukeley. Well soid, Bishop, spoken like yourself,The reverent lordly Bishop of Saint Asses.

Hercules. The Bishop talks according to his coat, 50And rakes nor measure of it by his mind.YOli see he hath il made thus large and wideBecause he may convert it as he list,To any form may fit rhe (;:Ishion best.

Bishop. Captain, you do me wrong to descant thus 55Upon my coat or double conscience,And cannOt answer it in another place.

D,ego Lopes. "lis bur in jest, Lord Bishop, pur it up,And all as friends deign to be entertainedAs my ability here call make provision. 60Shorrly sholl I conduct you to the King,Whose welcomes evermore to strangers arePrincely :md honourable as his state becomes.

Stukeley. Thanks, worthy Governor. Come, I!ishop, come,Will yOli show fruits of quarrel and of wrath? 6;Come, lei'S in with my lord of Lisbon here,And put all conscience inio one carouse,Letting it out again, as we may live. I...!

IE:uunt, manel STUK£LEY.!

There shall no action pass my hand or swordThai cannot make a step 10 gain a crown, 70

No word shall pass the office of my tongueThat sounds not of <lffection to a crown,No thought have being in my lordly breastThat works not every way to win a crown.Deeds, words and thoughts shall all be as a king's, 7SMy chtefest company shall he With kings,And my deserts shall cOltmcrpoise a king·s.Why should not I then look to be 0 king?I am the Marquess nOw of Ireland madeAnd will be shortly King of Ireland. 80King of a mole-hill had I rather be

66. IcC"1 D)'c~: let us Q. ~8 $D.1 subst. l)'c~; "01 til Q. 79. Marquessl This ed.;marques Q; Marquis Oyce' .

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86 TilE RATTLE OF ALCAZAR [ACT 2 sC·31 TIlE BATTI.E OF AI.CAZAR 87

CaJipolis. Alas, my lord, what boors these huge exclaimsTo advanmge us in this distressed esrnre?o pity OUf perplexed estate, my lord.And rum all curses 10 submiss complaints.And those cornplainrs [0 actions of relief. 20

I faim, my lord, and nauglll may cursing plainrsRefresh the fading substance of my life.

Milly Mahamet. Faint all the world, consume ~md be accursed,Since my stare (aints and is accursed.

CoUpo/is. Yet patience, lord, to conquer sorrows so. 2.5Muly Mabamet. \'(Ihat patience is (or him that lacks his crown?

There is no patience where the loss is such,The shame of my disgrace h~Hh put on wingsAnd swiftly flies aboul lhis earthly ball.Car'sl thou 10 live then, fond Calipohs, )0

\'Vhen he rh~H should give essence to thy sOlll,He on whose glory :\11 thy joy should stay,Is soulless, gloryless, and desperate,Crying for b;:utle, famine, sword and fire,Ibther rhen calling for relief or life. 35But be content, thy hunger shall have end,Famine shall pine to death and thou shalt live.I will go hunt Ihese cursed solitaries,And make the sword and mrget here my hound,To pull down lions and umamed beasts. 40

Exit.Muly Mahomet's SO". Tush, mother, cherish your unhearty soul

And feed with hope of happiness and ease,For if by valour or by policyMy kingly father can be fortunate,\'fIe shall be Jove's commanders once again, 45And flourish in a threefold happiness.

,6 511.1 TI", ed.: Cal)·., Calyp. Q: C,Io". D)'ce': Calyp. YoklaVlch. 41 50.1 Q; ExilMuly Mahamct, milnet the rc~t Not.

19. sub""ss! common (orm o( 'submlssiv~' (01:.0 a,).l.j. to c.onqllrr sorrows sol the 'so' at the end o( the line IS odd, and implies

that IhlS line was part Q( a longer speech than IS retained In Q (see Yoklavich,p. J57)·

H· famme, sU'ord and {irel the tl'3dlllonal inslrumems of war; d. Henry V,'Leashed III like hounds, should bnllne, sword, and fire I Crouch (or employment'( ..1"01.7-8).

)8. soll/ant'sl deserts; d. Dekker, ~tlr()-mas',.\', 'I meane I Will go solus, or in soli·[aries alone' (4.2..161-1).

Atte"dant. His majesty hath scnt' Sebastian,The good and harmless King of Porrugal,A promise 10 resign Ihe royaltyAnd kingdom of Morocco to his hands. 50But when this haughty offer takes effectAnd works affiance in Sebastian,My gracious lord, warned wisely to advise,I doubt not but will watch occasionAnd take her foretOp by the slenderest hair, 55To rid us of this miserable lire.

Muly Mahamet's 50"_ Good madam. cheer yourself, my father's wife,He can submit himself and live below,Make show of friendship. promise, vow and swear,Till by the virrue of his fair pretence, 60Sebastian trusting his integriry,He makes himself possessor of such frui[SAs grow upon such grear advantages.

Calipolis. But more dishonour hangs on such misdeedsThan all the profit their return can bear. 65Such secret judgements hath the heavens imposedUpon the drooping st.ate of Barbary,As public merirs in such lewd 3ncmprsHath drawn with violence lIpon our heads.

E"ter MULY MAHAMET with Irawl flesh "po" his sword.

Muly Mahomet. Hold thee, Dlipolis, feed and faint no more. 70This flesh I forced from a lioness,

47 51-1.1 YokfaL',ch; Zarro Q. 69 50.1 TIllS ed.; Enter Muly Mahamct with lyonsflesh upon hiS sworde Q; to them muly mahamel a gains w'll raw flesh Piol.

47 51-1.1 Q ghtes Ihis speech 1'0 Zareo, although he obviously cannot be prescnt. Greg(pp. 110-11) surmises thlll Pecic Intended thai the actor plaYlllg Zareo would doubleas the attendam. Bradley agrees, noting Ihal a 'blacked-up' :.ICtor would be needed, butargues ,hat the Ploncr $..1W z.,reo as white-skinned, and, since black make-up couldnot be removed and re-applled quickly, this cau~d castlllg problems elsewhere in thePloner's production. See Bradley (pp. )7-8,1:'7,142.,161-1.,178,183-4,191) for anIOtriguing discussion of this matter, which cannol be given 111 detail here.

48. harml~ssJ innoccnr (OED a 3).S1.. works affiancel cre3t~ (ailh, trust (01:.0 sb I).n. adulse) conSider, thlllk over (OeD u 3); d. n. 2..4.13°.54-5.1 Thai 'occasion' or 'opponumry' had a (oretop (a lock of hair (rom Ihe

forepart o( the head) (Q be seized was a common expression; d. MarSton, Anto"iasReue"ge, 'Opportunity shakes us hiS foretop' (5 .I.X 1-2.).

6950.) Muly Mahamet's speech indlcales that he carnes 'Iion's flesh' (Q srage direc­tion) 111 that a lionl')5 prevlQu~ly owned It I I.C. he has stolen some of her dmner.

Page 17: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)

72.· meet/ t)yce'; meate Q. 96. digestl Dyce'; disgesl Q. Bullen. t02. SO.) Dyct'.Yoklou;ch; exeunt manet muly Plol: "or If' Q.

87~·1 The osprey's SllpJXlstd pOwer to make any fish inst-andy surrender to be eatenis meraphonc'llly ascribed to COriolanus: 'I think he'll be to Rome I As is lhe ospreyto the fish, who rahs it I 8y sovercignry of n:lrurc' (4.7.33-5).

94· feed then gild (ai'" 110/) famously parodIed by Shakespeare in.2 Henry IV, 'Thenfeed and be fat, my fair Cahpohs I C.ome, give's some sack' (2+ I76-7}, as well as in~kker's Sattro·m(ut,x, 'Feede and be fat my (alre CAllpohs, srir nor my beauteouswriggle-railes' ('4.1.1 5<r1), and Marsron's \'(Ibat YOIt \'(1,(1, 'Feed and be fat my fairCalipolis' (5.1.1). See p. 1.].

97· strengthl obsolele form o( 'sm~ngthen' (OED).10:. 50·1 The Plot shows 'e.Tt!lIfJt manel muly'. As ~·tuly Mahamet's speech dOt's not

end In a couplet, he may h;tve remained on stage co deliver a sohloqu)' which has beenonuued from Q (Greg, p. I 10).

88

.1.4) ThIS ed.; Scene IV Oyc~; rIot m Q. 050. Counry Vimiosol This ed.; CountyVinioso Not; "01 m Q. I SI-I.I ThIS pd.; Sebast., 5tb. Q; K. Seb. D)'eel

; Sebast.YokloVJch. 1. SO.I ThIS t!d.; un one Q: To them 1. l1100rrs embassadors mr Sam mrHum & .1 pages Plol; Exit one and brings in the Embass. D)'ee' ; The Moorish Ambas­sadors are brought III b)' an Anendant Dycr; The Moorish Ambassadors are broughtIII Bulle". 9. Imports) Q; Impon Dyc~l. 11.. quittalJ This t!d.; quitall Q; 'quitalOyu l . 15. Morocco) TIm ed.; Maroccus Q.

891"1-1£ BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

1..4.1 The SC'tting is Lisbon, rhe royal palace.OSD.) The Plot direction includes the wrongly spelled 'Counry Vinioso', who

neither speaks nor IS spoken of in Q. The powerful Don Alfonso of))ortugal (1 S 19-79),Count of Vimioso, is ponmyed in the Umliug as somelhlllg of a 'yes-man': withSebastian determined to go to Africa, 'one of the chiefe thar did mOSt applaud hishumour WAS Alphonso of Porlllg-all, Earle ISICI of Vimioso, who had beene (in theKings former voyage into Affricke) Chamberlaine, and had charge of the victu"ls;wherein he behaved himselfe so sparingly, as if they h:rd continued any longer inAffricke, or else ,I( sea, they hAd becne starved' (p. 3 S). He is listed amongst 'the namedof the chle(e slaine III the banle' (p. 51.). although in fact he was captured) dying of hiswounds soon after. HIS !'Oil Don FranCISCo, who succeeded him, was also captured, andlater rtlC3scd through the intercession of I'hllip II (CAstries, I: 388); the OolorollsD,scouru, probably confu~ing hml with h,s furher, misrakenly lists Francisco amongthe de.1d (sig. BJv). Various theories, ha~d on likel)' doubling patterns, have beenoffered (or this rextual oddity (see Greg, pp. ll<rll; Yoldavich, p. 358; Bradley,pp. '89-90 ).

9. Imports) see n. 1..'1.)3.1'1. qmtta/) abbreviated form of 'requna!'; d. RalJe of L"crt'a. 'As in revenge or

qUlnal of such strife' (I. 1.36).

ISO/Old sem16t.j Emer SEBASTIAN King of Portugal. theDUKE OF AVERO, tbe Duke of Barceles, Lewes de Silva.

CHRISTOPIIERO DE TAVORA land the Counr)' VimiosoJ.

Sebasl;an. Call forth those Moors, those Illen of Barbary,That came with letters from the King of Fez.

Ex;1 one [ruho br;ngs;" tbe AMBASSADORSI.

Ye warlike lords and Illen of chivalry,Honourable ambassadors of this high regenr,Hark to Sebastian, King of Portugal. 5These lerrers scm from your distressed lord,Torn from his throne by Abdelmelec's hand,Srrengthencd and raised by furious Amurath,Imports a kingly favour at our handsFor aid to reobtain his royal sent, J 0

And place his fortunes in their former height.For quittal of which honourable arms,By these his letters he doth firmly vowWholly to yield and to surrender lipThe kingdom of Morocco to our hands, I 5

sc. 41

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I£Xel/II/.j

THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

Meat of a princess, for a princess meet.Learn by her noble stomach to esteemPenury pleney, in cxtrcmesr dearth,Who when she saw her foragemcm bereft,Pined not in melancholy or childish fear,But as brave minds are strongest in extremes,So she redoubling her former forceRanged thorough the woods, and rent the breeding vaultsor proudest savages to save herself.Feed then and faint nOt faif Calipolis,For rather rhan fierce fumine shall prevailTo gnaw thy entrails with her thorny teeth,The conquering lioness shall artend on theeAnd lay huge heaps of slaughtered carcassesAs bulwarks in her way to keep her back.l will provide thee of a princely osprey,That as she nierh over fish in pools,The fish shall turn their glistering bellies upAnd thou shalt take thy liberal choice of all.Jove's stately bird with wide commanding wingsShall hover still about thy princely headAnd beat down fowl by shoals into thy lap.Feed then and mint not, fair CalipoJis.

Colipolis. Thanks, good my lord, and [hough my Stomach beToo queasy to digest such bloody meal.Yct srrenglh I it with virrue of my mind;J doubt no whir bur I shall live, my lord.

Milly Mahomet. InfO the shades then, fair Cllipolis.And make thy son and negroes here good cheer.Feed and be fat that we may meet the foeWith strength and terror [0 revenge our wrong.

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90 TIlE 8ATTLE OF ALCAZAR [ACT 2 sC·41 Tf-IE BATTLE or ALCAZAR 9'

19. daYI Tim cd.: date Q. 11 SILl ThIS ~d.; Emhas., Emh, Q; Emh. Dyu'; FirstAmb. Dyer; Emhas. Yak/alJ'c". 17 SD.I Dyer: nol ", Q.

16. eont,;bllwryl onc who rays trihute (0£0 sb),I,. fortune's dGlyl Q shows '(orrunes datc', but 'daie' makes slightly more sense, d.Middleton's Nme"ix, ''Twas first my birthday, now my (on-line's day' (5.1.6). OEDnotes Ihat 'comain' could he used reflexively, so the meamng might be that MuirMahamer's 'lines', wnnen under duress, are valid only as long as his luck remains bad.

11. V,aroysj 'corruption again, seemlugly' (Bullen). Perhaps the ambassador isusing 'viceroys', a more exotic rcrm than 'my lords', as an honorific for Sebasrian'sCOUr1lers, but it would be discourlcOUS so to address them before the King.

2.7 SO. A brand IS broughr 101 rhe Plot docs nor menrion rhe brand. bUI 'we offerht"re our hands .. .' demands its prescllct". Yoklavich (p. 359) nOtes, 'some "Turk.ish"and fnghtful stage busmess mllsr be lI11agmed',

44. emper)'1 'absolute domllllon' (OEO 511 Ib); as 111 Henry V, the king promISingto rule' France '10 largt" and ample e'mpery' (1.1.u6); d, 1,Z..19.

And (0 become to liS conrributary,And to content himself with the realm of Fez.These lines, my lords, writ in extremiry,Contain therefore bur during fortune's day,How shall Sebastian then believe the same?

Moorish Ambassador. Viceroys, and most Christian King of Portugal,To satisfy thy doubtful mind herein,Command forrhwith a blazing br:lnd of fireBe brought in presence of thy majesry,Then shalt thou sec by our religious vowsAnd ceremonies most inviolateHow firm our sovereign's proresrarionll arc.

IA brand is brought in by an attendant.,!Behold, my lord, this binds our bith to thee:In token that great Muly Mahamcr's handHath writ no more th311 his Stout heart allows,And will perform to thee and (0 thine heirs,We offer here our hands into this HarneAnd as this flame doth fasten on this flesh,So from our souls we wish it may consumeThe heart of our great lord and sovereign,Muly Mahamet, King of Barbary,If his intent agree not with his words.

Sebastian. These ceremonies and prOtestationsSufficelh us, ye lords of Barbary.Therefore rcrurn rhis answer to your king:Assure him by rhe honour of my crownAnd by Sebastian's rrue unfeigned faith,He shall have aid and succour to recover,And seat him in his former empcry.

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Let him rely upon our princely word; 45Tell him by Augusr we will come to himWith such 3 power of brave impatient minds,As Abdelmelec :.lnd great AmurathShall tremble ar the strengrh of Portugal.

MOOrish Ambassador. Thanks to the renowned King of Portugal 50On whose stout promises our smte depends.

Sebastian, Barbarians, go glad your distressed king,And say SebastirlO bves to right his wrong.

IExeunt A"tBASSADORS.j

Duke of Avero, call in rhose Englishmen,Don 5wkeley and rhose captains of the neet 55That larely landed in our bay of Lisbon.Now breathe, Sebasrian, and in breathing blowSome gcmle gale of rhy new formed joys.Duke of Avero, it shall be your charge,To take the muster of lhe Portug~ls 60And bravcsr bloods of ~II our country,Lewes de Silva, you shall be dispatchedWith lerrers unto Philip King of Spain.Tell him w~ crave his aid 11l this behalf;I know our brother Philip nill deny 65His furtherance in this holy Christian war,Duke of Barcelcs, 3S rhy ancestorsHave 31ways loyal been [Q Portugal,So now in honour of thy toward youth

SI. dependsl Dya'; depend Q. 53 SO.) D)'cr: kxn Q; Exeunt Dyce'. 61. deSilva) Dyu'; de Sylva Q.

j4. Ollkc of Al'eroj Jorge de Ltnc<lstre, Ihe second Duke of Avciro, named in theUniting as 'Ceorge d"Alenc3Stro, Duke o( ,\vero .. , sbllle with a shot' ar Alcazar (pp.42,49), Bradley (p. 189) nOtes a 'Iextual pecuhamy' l!llhat Avero is lI1slruaed to 'callm' the Englishmen, bur is present to receive another order five lines later. Q has nodireclion for Avero'.. exit or rc·clllry with Stukeley, however the 'c<llling Ill' could easilybe done with a Signal IOwards the door. In He"ry V, Ihe King S3)'5 'Call in the mcs·sengers scm from Ihe Dallplun' (1.2..2.11), but F has no exit direction (or anyone inresponse, and Ihe Amh3Ss,'ldors, like the Englishmen In rhls scene, CUfer unattended.

60. ['ortugo!51 Peele ~llways uses thiS (crm for 'Portuguese'; d. S/ukcJey, where wefind both 'Porling.'llls· and 'POrtugucsc',

61. Lewes de SI1l'a! a UHIIC character III rhe Q leXl, According 10 Ihe Vnitmg (p.H). he was 'one o( the kmglt chide (avorltes\ who Ifled to dissuade Sebastian froml1larchmg overland to LanlOsa 'saYlIIg there WJ.!> no reason (or an annie (0 march byland, thar weill to a tQwne adjo)tllll1l; upon thc sea' (see It. 4,Z.·42.)·

65. ",Jlj Will not {OeD v 1),015 1Ilihe phrase 'wllI·he' mll·hc',69. III •. . )'OI//hl '(oward youlh' IS wmC'thlllg of an underslatemelll, smce 'yoong

TheodQre, Duke nf B.'lrcellos. for so they call the eldesr sonne o( the Dukes ofBf3ganc;e' (Vmtmg, p. 4Z.), was all of t"e'n yearl'. old, lie neverrhelcss tr;l\'elled to Africa,

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92 THE BATTLl:. or ALCAZAR IACT 2 sc. 41 nil! BATT1.E OF ALCAZAR 93

Thy charge shall be to Anrwerp speedily, 70To hire us mercenary men at arms.Promise them princely pay, and be thou sureThy word is ours: Sebastian speaks the word.

Christophero de Tavora. I beseech your majesty employ me in rhls war.Sebastian, Chriswphero de Tavora, next limo my self, 75

My good Hephaes'ion and my bedfellow,Thy cares and mine shall be alike in this,And thou and I will live and die tOgether.

ISoulld sen"et.j Enter STUKElEY

I, JONAS, HERCUl.ES, and the Irisb 8ISHOI'I·

And now, brave Englishmen, ro yOll

Whom angry srorms have put imo our bay, 80Hold nor your fortune e'er the worse in this:We hold our strangers' honour:. in our hand,And for distressed frank and free relief.Tell me then, 5tukelcY7 for th.u's thy name I trow,Wilt thou, in honour of thy country's fame, 85Ilazard thy person in this bmve exploitAnd follow us to fruitful Barbary,With these six thousand soldiers thou hasr broughrAnd choicel)' picked rhrough wanton Italy?

74 SI I.) Tills ed.; Chn. Q; Chnsto. D)'u'. 75. Chrisrophero de Tavora) Tim cd.;Chnstopher de T,wer:a Q. 76. Ilephaestionl Dyce'; Efesn.1n Q. 78 SD.I ThIS ed.;Enter Stukley and rhe rest Q (afUr I, nJ; to them ~tukeley, Jonas, Hercules & IrishBlshopp Plot; Re-enter the Duke of Avero, wuh rhe Insh Bishop. Sruke1ey, Jonas,Hercules, ,lInJ others Dyer.

reprcsenung his father who was tOO III to gel, mkmg with him twenty-rwo pavilions forhis personal usc (Bovill, p. lOll. lie WllS taken prisoner lU Alcazar, and according torhe Dolorol4s Discourse. 'there IS offered for [he ralinSOI11C of rhe Duke of Bargansa hissonne 10000 dllCCrll5: bltl It i... refuscd' (lUg. 84V). A mure character in Q.

7S, ClmstolJI,ero de '[(wora) Sebasth1l1's 'chamberlnine, and masler of his horse(whom he loved el1nrcly) was made commander of all the nobilitie thilt should gointo Affrickr' (Um,m8. p. 2.5). Borh parrs of hiS lIame have been emended: Q has'Christophrro' III rhe entry direction (sec n. 1.4.050) and 'Christopher' here, burthe 1)lot has 'Chnstopnro'. As vo(artve IlIles :ue commonly extra·metriC31 bur nOtunmerncal. It IS hard (Q believe thar l)etle would have discarded rhe fouNyllable'Chnsrophero'. The family name, from the city and nver in Porrug.1l, is T;l\'ora, as isfound in the Plot and all chrOnicle "OurCe5; Q has 'Tavera' In rhe srage direction andhere, and 'Ah':uo Peres de T.wero' (thiS chMacter's brother) ar 4.1,3°,

76. Ilepha(!stlml I Ihe comp'" ilion of Alexander the Great, a standard trope for 'royalfriend'; cf, A Knack to Know a Knnvt, 'Dunston Will say as once Ilef~t1on dId I WhenAlexander wan rich Mac:edol\c' (sig. A3v).

88. SI:C thousand S()ldlt~tsl Both chrollJde sources and diplomatic papers of rhe runevary Wldcl)' In SI\'II\& the number of C;rukelt·)"s rroops (sec pp, 8-9).

Thou art a man of gallanr personage, 9°Proud in rhy looks, and famous every way;Frankl)' tell me, wilt thou go with me?

Stukeley. Courageous King, the wonder of my thoughtS 1" ·1And yer my lord, with pardon understand,Myself 3nd these, whom weather harh enforced 95To lie at road upon thy gracious coast,Did bend our course and made amain for Ireland.

Sebastian. For Ireland, Stukeley? Thou mistak'sr wondrous much,\'Qith seven ships, rwo pmnaccs, and six thousand men?I tell thee, Stukeley, they are rar tOO weak 100

To viol3te rhe Queen of Ireland's right,For Ireland's queen commanderh England's force.\'Qere every ship tcn thousand on rhe seas,Manned wilh the srrengrh of aHlhe easlern kings,Conveying all the monarchs of rhe world 1°5To inv3de the isl3nd where her highness reigns,'Twere all in vain, for heavens and desriniesAnend and wait upon her majesry,Sacred, imperial and holy is her sear,Shining wirh wisdom, love and mightiness. 110

Nature thar every thing imperfecr made,Fortune thar never yet was consrant found,Time thar defaceth every golden show,Dare nor decay, remove, or be impure;Borh narurc, tIIne and fonune, all agree 11STo bless and serve her royal majesty.The wallowing ocean hems her round abour,Whose raging floods do swallow up her foes,And on the rocks their ships in pieces splir,And even in Spain, where all the rraltors dance, 12.0

And play themselves upon a sunny day I· ..1Securely guard rhe west part of her isle,The sourh rhe narrow Britain sea begins,Where Neptune sirs in triumph, to direct

98. ThOll mlsrak'sr wondrous muchl Bulle"; thou misrakst me wonderous much Q;thou mak'sr me wonder much Dyce1.

93.1 Some rext following r1l1S hne IIlUSt be Missing (D)'ceJ

).

9tL Tholl ... milch) Bullen's emendation seems correct. Qs 'misrakst mc' is non­sensical. since Srukdey ha~ nor IIllSllndctinood anythllll; King Sebasrlan has said, butappears to have 'mistaken' In the general sense of 'err(:d' (mistake OED I' 601). Thespeech, as Yoklavich (po 359) observcs, 'is probably the most corrupt in the pIa)', landlit is ImpoSSible to know just where there have been imperfect reviSIons and deletions'.

110.) This and the follOWing hnts are, a~ Bullen nOles, 'hideously corrupt'; hnes arC'prohably mlS!illlg after I. 12.1.

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129. Distams the check I Dyer: disdaines the che..:ke Q. 151 SH.l Q; Jon. O)'a'.lSI SH.\ TI,i. ,d.: Here. Q.

126. German seasj ~ comlllon n~me for ""hallS now called the North Sea; d. PererHc)'lyn, M,rrcx;osmus: or a Lilt/I' Descrlptloll of the Great Wurld {Oxford, l6:u,p. 24 I). 'England IS bounded un the IiaSt With Ihe German, on the West with theIfI~h, on the South with the Bmish Ocean'.

129. D'stai"s the c::heekl D)'cc's plausible emendation of Q's 'disdaines the ch«.kc',laking 'dlStalll' as '10 deprl\'c of colour' (OI~D v 3). Venus quarrelled with Proscrpinaover Adoms, and the Image may refer, III a nllssmg IlI1e, (0 Proserpina shedding tears;d. Zenocrau: III I Tamlmrlame, 'Thence fiSC the lears that so dlSI311l my cheeks' (3.2.6.4).

I}O. AdvlSl.' tl,eel "onslder, reneet (01:.0 v 51; d. Twe/[tI, NIght, 'Advise you what)OU SlIY, the muu:.tcr 1$ here' (4 ..z..96); St.'C n. .t.}.S}.

132.. danger. deatl, and I,ell doth) See n. 2..2.33.1}9. Cregory the Seventhj Peelc IS SIX (,rcgorys astray; Gregory XIII was Popt at

Ihe time; d. n. ,.1. I56.

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TI-IE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

161. 'I()bmwryl vollllll'cer, rafher Ihan Cl.ll1SCnpled soldiers; d. Thcrsites in Troilllsand Cr~sslda, '( serve here volunrary' (1..1.96). Greg (p. Ill) rightly nOICS Ihat thesuddenne<;s of Jona,,'s conversion I/llplles that lhis scene has been pruned.

,67 SD·1 Plol, Dy,,,', Exit Q.

Sebastian. Consider, lords, you are now in Portugal,And I may now dispose of yOll and yours.I-lath not the wind and weather given )'OU up,And made you captives to our royal will?

Jonas. It hath, my lord, ~nd willingly we yieldTo be commanded by your majesty;But if you make liS volunr3ry menOur course is then direct for Ireland.

Sebastia". Th:u course will we direct for Barbary.Follow me, lords. Sebastian leads the wayTo plant the Christian faith in Africa.

Stttkcll!)'. Saint George for England, and Ireland now adieu,For here Tom Stukeley sh3pes his course anew.

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Their course co hell thnt aim at her disgrace,The German seas alongst the cast do rUIl,Where Venus banquets all her water nymphsThat with her beauty glancing on the waves,Distains the cheek of fair Proserpina.Advise thee then, proud Stukeley, ere thou passTo wrong the wonder of the highest God,Sith danger, death and hell dOth follow thee,Thee and rhem all that seek to d::H1ger her.If honour be the mark whereat thou aim'st,Then follow me in holy Christian wars,And leave to seek thy country's overthrow.

Stuke/e')'. Rather, my lord, let me admire these words,Than answer to your firm objections.His holiness Pope Gregory the SeventhHath made us four the leaders of the rest:Amongst the rest, my lord, I am but one;If they 'gree, Stukeley will be rhe firstTo die with honour (or Sebastian.

Sebastian. Tell me, Lord Bishop, captains, tell me all,Arc you content to leave this enrerpriseAgainst your country and your countrymen,To aid Mahamet, King of Barbary?

Bishop. To aid Mahamct, King of Barbary,'Tis 'gainst our vows, greal King of Portugal.

Sebastia". Then, captains, what say you?Jonas. I say, my lord, as the Bishop said,

\Y/e may not turn from conquering Ireland.Hercules. Our coumry and our countrymen will condemn

Us worthy of death, if we neglect our vows.

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SC. 11 THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR 97

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ACT 3

IJ·Prol.l

ISound senner.) Enter the PRESENTER and speaks.

Presenter. Lo, rhus into :I lake of blood and goreThe brave courageous King of PortugalHath drenched himself, Gnd now prepares amainWith sails and oars to cross the swelling seasWith men and ships, courage and cannon shot,To pl:lIu this cursed Moor in fatal hour,And in this Cat,halic case the King of SpainIs called upon by sweet Sebastian,\'(tho surfeiting in prime rillle of his youthUpon ambitious poison, dies thereon.

[Enter Nemesis above. To ber three Furies bringing iII the scales.To them enler three Devils. Then ellter to them three Ghosts.

The Furies first (elch in SEBASTIAN a"d carry him Ollt again, whichdone they (euh in STUXELEY and carry him 0111, the" bring in tbe

Moor and carry him out. Exeunt. I

Act 31 TIJis ed.; Act\ls III Dyce'; ACI III Oral; "ot HI Q. J. ProL) ThIS ed.; 1Iot In

Q. OSD.) TIns eJ.; Sound, Enter the Presenter Plot; Enter the presenter and speakesQ. ISH.) Th/.S cd.; "ot In Q. 7. case) Q; cause Dyer. 10. ambitious} Q; ambi­tion's Billie". SO.I subst. YoklolllCh; Emer NemeSIS above Tho. Drum. To htr } Furiesbnnging In the scales: Georg Somcrscu Tom Parsons and Robin Tailor. To them 3dlvells: I11r Sam, H. Jef(cs & Amho. Jdfcs. To them 3 ghosf$: w. Kendall, Dab & Harry.The Furies First Fech In Sebastian & carrie hun out ag.1.in, then which done they Fechin Stukc1ey & Carrie him out, then bring in the Moore & Carrie him OUI. Exeunt. Plot;1Iot ", Q.

7· tim Catholic easel Oycc's 'CllUSe' scems apt in IhlS context, but since 'casc' isrepeated 3t }.3.44 with Ihe same scn)c:, II was probably illlcnded.

9· surfelti"gl feeding to excess or sal'icty (surfell OED lJ t); d. 2 Hen')' IV, 'I havelong dreamt or such (I kind or man I So surfeit-swelled, so old, and SO profane'(j·H9-jO).

10 SO.1Althoug.h Ihere is no dirtetH)n In Q, the 1)lot provides for a dumb show.Along wnh scales to be carried by the Furi~, the Ploner calls for '3 "iolls of blood &a sheeps gather' (he:'lrt, lungs and !lverl, presumably for remo"al of the gUtS of Sc:bas.tian, Stuktley and Muly Mahamet aher Iht Funes have weighed their futC:S. This Pre­senrer speech, unlike the others, does nOI allude 10 the aCllons described in the PlOt;Greg's conjecture Ihat the original speech was pruned, the missing pornon beingbetween II. 10 and II, IS prohabl)' correct (see Yoklavich, pp. 359-60).

By this rime is the Moor to T:rngier come,A ciry 'longing to rhe Porrugal;And now doth Spain promise with holy face,As favouring rhe honour of the cause,His aid of arms, and levies mcn apace. t 5BUI nothing less than King Sebastian's goodHe means, yet at GuadalupcaHe met, some say, in person with the PortugalAnd treateth of a marriage wit.1t the King.But 'ware ambitious wiles and poisoned eyes: 20

There was nor aid of arms nor marriage,For on his way without those Spaniards King Sebastian went.

{Ex.t·1

I,· IiISOHltd sennel. Enter IIVO, br;1I8i1l8 in a chair of state.]Ellier rat olle door SEBASTIAN} the King of Portugal,

the DUKE OF AVERO, lSTUKEl.EY. To them at Qnother doorlLewes de Silva and the AMIlASSADORS ofSpain.

II. TangIer! Oyce1; Tangar Q. 17. Guadalupcal This ed.; Sueor de Tupea Q.u. Spaniards Killgl Q; Spaniards I King Oyu'. 50.1 l)yee'; not m Q.

3.11 Th,s ed.; Scene I Dyer; trot In Q. OSO.) Tim ed.; Enter "1C~ king or Porrug.,11and his Lordes, Lewes de Sylva, lmd the Embassadors of Spaine Q; Sound. Enter 2

I J. Tarlgter) the principal seaport of Morocco, 'built by the Romnnes upon theOcean sea shore' (Leo Afrlcanus, ed. Brown, p. 507).

12. '/o"gmg to the Portugal) The POrtuguese became maSters of Tangier in 10471; in1662 they ceded i~ 10 the English as pan or the dowry of C.1.therine of Braganza, Queenof Ch.rles II (Brown, p. 6171.

'3. with IJoly (aeel Peele i!t emphasising the treachery of the Spanish, who have nointcnnon of keepmg their promise: of aid to Sebastian (Bradley, pp. 158-9).

17. G"adal"pea) Q's 'Sucor de Tupea' muSt be a compositor's nor very good guessfor 'Cuadalupea [Guadalupej, a citlt or C.,suha' Wolemoll, sig. T3")' London receivedintelligence from Spain that Sebastian's counsellors proposed the meeting in the hopethat Philip 11 would prevelll his nephew from lIlv;lding Africa: 'they thought they couldno~ use a better meane then to procure the meeting of rhe lInkle and nephew, that theKinge of Spayne by his autorille and experience mighl diswade him from that sO charge­able and daungerotls an enterprise' (Castries, I: '9~1).

'9. marriage with the Kit,gl Negotl;llions for Scbasflan 10 marry one of the Sp,lnishinfantas art not in Polemon, an indication lhal Pt.'de saw the U"itmg III the origmalItalian (see p. J.7). The English translation (1600) relates th:il Plullp &:lve Sebastian 'thepromise or mnniage wirh one or his daughters, whC'n she should come 10 yetres, for as)'rl !M)' were: 100 yoong' (p. 16).

2-1. Ora proposes a new line 3t 'Klllg Scbasllan', bUI thr Presenter's fourth-act~pttCh also ends with a hcpmmcter (...Pro!.1 J).

3.I.J 11te Qcuon conrinut'f m Llsbon's royal palace.OSD.J The Q direction is badly deficienl 111 not mlllling Stokeley, but enough remains

or the damaged Plot to give an ,dea of how the entrance was !ita~ed. Srukelcy is mcluded,

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98 THE BATTLE OF AI.CA7AR [ACT 3 ,c. II TifF UATTI.E OF ALCAZAR 99

Sebastian. Honourable lords, Ambassadors of Spain,The many favours b)· our meetings doneFrom our beloved ~l11d renowned brmher,Philip the Cntholie King of Spain,Say, therefore, good my lord Ambassador,Say how your mighty Jn3ster minded isTo propagate rhe fame of Portugal.

First Ambassador. To propagate the (.tOle of PorrugalAnd planr religious truth In Africa,Philip, the great and puissanr King of Spain,For love and honour of Sebastian's name,Promiserh "ide of arms and swears by usTo do your majesty all the good he can\'(lith men, munition, and supply of WM,

Of Spaniards proud in King Sebastian's ..tid,To spend their bloods in honour of their Christ.

Second Ambassador. And farcher to manifest unro your m::ljesryHow much the Catholic king of Spain affectsThis war with Moors and men of lirrle faith,The honour of your everlasting praise,Behold, to honour and enlarge thy name,He makcth offer of his daughter IsabelTo link in marriage with the brave Sebastian;And to enrich Sebastian's noble wife,

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His majesty doth promise to resign 2.5The tirles of the Island, of Moloceus,That by his royalty in India he commands.Thest' favours with unfeigned love and zeal,Voweth King Philip to King Sebastian.

Sebastian. And God so deal with King Sebastian's soul 30As justly he intends to fight for ChriSt.Nobles of SpalO. SlOce our renowned brother.Philipl the king of honour and of zeal.By you rhe chosen orators of Spain I, ..1The offer of the holds he makes 35Are not so precious in our accountAs is the peerless dame whom we adore:His daughter, in whose lo)'alry consistsThe life and honour of Sebastian.As for the aid of arms he promiscth, 40We will expect and thankfully receiveAt Cadiz, as we sail alongsr the coast.Sebastian, clap thy hands for joy.Honoured by this meeting and thiS match,Go. lords, and follow to the famous war 45Your king, and be his fortune such in allAs he intends to manage arllls in right.

Exeunt. Martem STUKFLEVQlld Ithe DUKE OF AVERO].

brmging in a ch,tlr of St;llC mr Ilunt, w. Kendall Dab & I larry. Enter at one dore Sebas­tian, Duke of Avera, Stukeley, I Page Je;1lOes, Jonas & Hercules. To them at anotherdore Embassadors of Spaine mr Jones mr Charles, attendants George & w. C.1.rrwright1'101; Enter Sehastian the king of I'ortugal and hiS lords, Lewes de Silva and the Embas.sadors o( Spain Dyal

; Enter Kmg Sebasllan, Lords, Lewes de Silva, and rhe Ambas·sadors and Legatc of Spain Dyer; Emer the KlIlg o( Portugal and his Lords, Lewes deSilva, and the Amhassadors and Legate o( Sp3in Billie". 8 SH.) This cd.; Embas. Q;Emb. Dyce'; First Amb. Dyer. 17 51-1.1 TillS ed.: Legate Q.

as is De Silva, who does nOI speak in the SCene, bllt. since he was dispatched with amessage 1'0 Philip II in 2,4, it makes sense (or him to return with lhe Sp:mish ambas­sadors. The 1'10£ also has Jonas and Hercules prescnt, btlf it is unclear if the originalproductlon would have allowed (or them; Hradley aSCribes such discrepancies betweenthe Q and Plot $lage directions to the I)!o«er's producrion haVing a different doublingpattern (Bradley, pp. 160, 19S-6).

). brollter) meant met'lphoncally here.4· (Alltol,c Kmg of Spam) Somt of Sc:bastian's speech might be missmg after this

line, 31though the passage can be made to make SOme sen~ by cuttmg I. 2.

17 $1"1·1 Q's speech heading of 'Legate' 1$ lusnfiable: allhough the (enn usually refersto a Papal envo)', II can IIldicate 'ambassador' in a gener:)1 sen~ (OED Sbl). But sincehe represents the King of Spam. and Ihe word 'legate' is nOt spoken, to thc audiencehe would simply be the Second Ambassador.

2}.) Sec n. }.ProI.19.

25. doth) D)'ee'; with Q. l.7, India) D)'c~; ludah Q. commands.) Dyt:c.Yok/atl/th: commands; Dyce'; commands Q. 42. Cadl'll Dyte'j Cardis Q. 47 50·1Plol; Exeunt. Manet Srukley and another Q; &(unt King and TrAin. Manet Stuhleyand anolher Dyu'; Exeunt all except SlUkeley :lIld Anolher Dyer; Exeunt. MancntStukelcy :lOd another 8l1lfen.

26. Isla"ds ofMolotClIs) Ihe Moluccas, or 'Spice Islands' uf the East Indies, betweenCelebes and New Guinea (Sugden).

27. lfUJial the Indies. Yoklnvich (p. 161) 'luggests thoU Q's 'Iudah', i.e. Judah, mightbe correct, since 'Jerus3lcrn wall SOll1ctlllleS conSidered 10 be part of Ihe "Indies .. ', butPhilip II would not 'colllmand' the Moluccas fronlthere. see E. A. J. Honigmann's com­mentary on the 'Ind,,'n/Judean' crux in Othello's final speech, The Ardl!" Shakespeare:Olbelfo. London, 1996, PP. 342-3.

H'} The symalC o( the speech begll1s to dls.,ppcar here; as Greg notes (p. 96J. somelines must be missing.

H. I,olds) (ortresses (Ol:.O sb' 10). There has been no mell1101l of Philip offeringSebastian any such 'holds', although we learn o( sud an o((er from AbdeJmclcc toPhihp at ).2.18. 'It is ImposSible 10 su~esl any tolerable emendation; for a 1ll1c or moreseems to have been dropped' (Bullen).

4 2 • Cadl.l) Q's 'Cardls' has been modt:flused; stress wall on the first syJl3blc. Cf.Stllitc/ey, where 'Cales' (the more common (orm <II Ihe time) IS mamtallled for metri·cal purposes.

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tOO TilE 6ATT1.E OF ALCAZAR rAO 3 sC·31 TIlE BATTI E OF ALCAZAR 101

ss SH.) Tim ed.; Th~ other Q (allt/ at I. 6J). 68 SO.] PlOI, Dyce'; Exu Q.

3.1) Tins ed.; Scene II D)·ee'; not", Q.

67-8.) Possibly a posi-Armadn sentiment, but SC~ p. 18.

3·2.·) The action IS M't In Fez. TIllS S('enc: was not played III the Plotter's prodtk.-r1on(sec Bradley, p. 16 I).

Emer ABOELMELEC, MULY MAHAMET SETH. ZARI!O andt"eIT train.

Abdelmtlec. The Portugal, led with deceivmg hope,Hath raised his power and received our foeWith honourable welcomes and regard,And left his country bounds, and hither bendsIn hope to help Mahamet to a crown SAnd chase us hence, and phuu this negro MoorThat dads himself in coal of hammered steelTo heave us (rom the honour we possess.But for I have myseH a soldier been.I have in pity to the Portugal 10

Sent secret messengers to counsel him.As for the aid of Spain whereof they hoped,W/e have dispatched our letters to their princeTo crave that in a qu;urel so unjust,

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30Exeunt.

He that entitled is the Catholic kingWould nOt assist a careless Christian prince.And as by leners we 3rc let to know,Our offer of the seven holds we madeHe thankfully receives, with all conditions,Differing III mind as far from all his wordsAnd promises to King SebastianAs we would wish, or you my lords deslfe.

Zareo. What resteth then bur Abdelmelcc mayBeat back this proud invading Ponugal,And chastise this ambitious negro MoorWith thousand deaths (or Ihousand damned deeds?

AbdelmeJec. Forward. Zareo ~lIld ye manly Moors!Sebastian, see in time untO thy self,If thou and thine misled do thrive amiss,Guiltless is Abdelmelec of thy blood.

Enter DON DE MENESES, Governor o{Tallgier. with Ilis company.speakillg to the CAPTAINlsj.

Don de Meneses. C1ptains,We have received letters from the King,

13·31

10. mind as far] Dyee-; nllnd (Jr Q.

].31 TJlls ,d.; Scene III D)'c~; nol m Q. OSD.) subst. Q; Emer Governor o( Tanger& Capt:.1Ins mr Shaa, H je{(es 1'/01; Enrcr Don de MenySl'i:, with Captains :lIld others(}yte1. r SU.) Tins ed.i Gover., Govern, Q; GO\'. Dyu'; De Men. D)·eel. Gover.YoH:Jvlrh. CaPl_InS, I \'(rel Dyce'; C'lplalOe, we Q; Cnpt3U1s, we 811/1~".

18. HI/tit holds) There is no direct re(erence to an offer o( seven fortresses in theJuonlde sourCeS. According ro the U"itmg (p. 10), 'm the me~ne time Mulei Maluckf~lul,!Moloccol he:'lflng o( these prep:1ralive~. fearIng the Catholique king should joyncwlrh the PortugaIs, sent wi'\cly unto him to will him to advise what part of hiS tcrri­[Ones he pleastd to have, the whICh he would give to be his (riend ,,"d confedenne',In gtnel1'J, Abdelmelec's many overtures to Philip II were no secret: from rhe momenthe regained fez 10 1576, Abdelmclec actlvely sought;l mutual sccuriry t'rtaty with Spain,J~ both countries (e::tred 0lt001311 dOIlUn.1tlon o( the region. I Ie emphasised h~s pro­ware.rn sentiments at every opportunity, and ')llIlip, 011 his p:trt, was anxious to procure\iClr'M"an S3hpetrt (see pp. 11-14). Spain's (ailure to prOVide more than token supportto SothJ\nan point'i: to the success o( Moroccan diplomacy (sce Yahya, pp. 66-80).

,\,j.1 The 3C110n takes place 10 TangIer.OSD. DON DE M E.NESES I Don Duane de Meneses, Governor o(Tangier :lnd 'grear

maUler o( the campe'. namcd in the D%rolls D,scourse amongst those 'as were laken,IlQd .ue knowen to remaine ah\·c in 63rbary' (Slg. B4rl.

T. \.Jplain.s) The Ploner calls (or ollly one cnpt'llln: Bradley (p. 199) credits thIS tohli doubling JUttern. This edmon follows DyCt' III Kl\'lll~ th~ vocative :t st:par:uc linehe:t n. 1.1.8-9).

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13-21

Stukeley. Sit fast, Sebastian, and in this workGod and good men labour for Portugal.For Spain. disguising with a double (ace,Flaners thy youth and forwardness, good King.Philip. whom some call the C'\rholic king,I (ear me much thy f"lth will not be firm,Bur disagree with thy profession.

Avera. What then shall of these men of war become,Those numhers lhat do multiply in Spain?

SrllkeJey. Spain hath a vent (or them and their supplies.The Spaniard ready to embark himselfHere gathers to a hcad, but all too sureFlanders, I fear, shall feel the force of Spain.Let Ponugal fare as he mayor C3n,

Spain means to spend no powder on the Moors.Avero. If kings do dally so with holy oaths,

The heavens will right rhe wrongs that they sustain.Philip, if these forgeries be in thee,Assure thee, King, 'rwilllight on thee at last,And when proud Spain hopes soundly to prevail,The time may come thar thotl and thine shall fail.

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102 TIlE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR [ACT 3 sc. 3] THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR 1' 0 3

6. rem:lIndersl Q; rCtn:llns COli;. Dycel. 9 SILl Th,s ed.; COlp. Q; Firsl Cip. D)!c,f;Capl. Ynk/fllllch. 19511.1 Tbis ed.: Ano. CapL Q; $cc. Clp. O)·clI. 2.8-)I.J 4/f.Oyct"; J 1/. Q. 2.8. 'llx~and-rwentierhl Bill/eli; 2.6 Q: twenty-sixth Dyce'.

6. remamdersl O)'ee suggesls 'renHuns'. bur Peel("~ vcrS(' IS sufficiently yariable 10allow 'remainders'.

8. stalled) a CommOl1 form of 'lIlslalloo' or 'placed'; d. R,clJa,d III, ., see rhee nowI Decked in Ihy f1~hr~, as rhon an sialled in nunc' (1.3.2.03).

2.7· lOP a"d tol) Ral/allt) shorr for 'wpsall and tOJ'gallam 5<:111', hence 'wilh all sailSCI, 111 full arrilY or Luter' ('lOp' OED sb' ,c).

28-} I.) These four hnes arc prlnlcd as Ihrce III QJ hur 'read "six-and·rwenrieth" IforQ's '1.6.'1 and make fnur hnes of the passage' (Greg, p. 115).

1.R. slx-,:md·tll,,.,,t,eth do)' ofJune) ThiS detail comes from Polemon (sig. T4\'): 'KingSebastian (h:1\ mg nOllullatcd before <;c;wen of the lhlefc of Ihe Realme govcrnours of

}o. C1dl1J Dyu'; Cardls Q. 31. eighth) D)'u'; eight Q. 41. Aulisl Dyce'; AldcstQ. 42. hoislclhj TIm ed.; hOlseth Q. "5. recelvel D)'ce'; rescue Q; reseveYoklav,cIJ_ 47 SD.) "'01, D)'a'; Exit Q.

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30

IExeunt. I

The !lay of Lisbon, .nd wirh .11 his neetAt C.diz h.ppily he .rrived in Sp.inThc eighth of July, larr)'ing for the aidTh.u Philip King of Spain, had promised;And fifteen days he there remained aboardExpecting when this Spanish force would corne,Nor stepped ashore as he were going still.BUI Spain thaI meant and minded nothing lessPrelends a sudden fcar and care. to keepHis own from Amurath's fierce invasion,And to excuse his promise to our king;For which he Storms as great Achilles erstLying for want of wind in Aulls gulf,And hoisteth up his sails and anchors weighsAnd hitherward he comes, and looks to meetThis manly Moor, whose case he undertakes.Therefore go we 10 welcome and receiveWith <:.'\nnOI1 shO! and shouts of young and old,This flect of Porrugals and rroop of Moors.

the kingdome) because Ihe: Cardinali hiS unkle had refused the government, for that hecould nor Intre;HC the klllg 10 rchnqlll~h the voiage, launched our of Ihe ha\'en, andhoised up ~ailes rhe .16. of June, with tell or twelve g:tlleon.s, in whom were emb;Hkedrhe: whole nobillllc of his kll1gdomc'.

39.} As nOted by Yoklavu;h (pp. 1.76-7), Phlhp II's excu$C comes from lhe f..\-pld·'ration (p. J): 'The KIllK of CastIle graul1t'll1g thiS pernlon, prolluscd to 3)'de him, wllhfift)'c gallyes well appollltcd and furmshed, and foure thOns,1nd armed souldiours. KingS<'oostian Irusllng Ihereunro, with all care and dilhgence prepared his armye ... But theKlllg of C.1srilc, under prcrence thaI the grcale Turke. prepared an armye (or rhar yeare,nOI onelye denyed Ie) performe his promise, bur also (that is farre worse) caused aproclamation 10 bee made and puhllshed thorowolltc all Spayne, subject to his juris­dicrion, whereby u11 hiS sllhjeClcs were cOOlmaundcd uppon great pennalrics that noneof them should ::lccompanye Kingc Sl.'bastian in Ihat voyage'.

40-1.) The Greek fleet was unable to ~llil from Aulis umit Agamemnon appeased theanger of Anemis by sllcrincing his daughter, Iphigeneia. Achilles' 'storming' is obscure:in Euripides' 'pbigtl1~,a ot Auhs, as Iphlgencla's betrOlhed he srrongly opposes the sac·riFice. although In the end he docs nOlhing to SlOP it. Peele may be alluding to his firsldramatic cHon, a translation of one of Euripides' '/lll/gef/em plays, written while hewas a student al Oxford (sec Horne, pp. 41.-6)·

10

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25

That with such signs and rtrguments of loveWe entertain the King of Barbary,That marcheth toward Tangier with his men,The poor remainders of those that fled from Fez,When Abdelmelec go, the glorious d.yAnd smiled himself in his imperial throne.

First Cnptoin. Lord Governor, we are in readinessTo welcome and receive this hapless king,Chased from hie; land by angry Amurath.And if the right rest 111 this lusty Moor,Bearing a princely heart unvanquishable,A noble resolution then it isIn br~we Sebastian Out Chnstian kingTo aid this Moor with his victorious arms.Thereby to propagate religious truthAnd plant his springing praise 111 Africa.

Seco"d Captain. But when arrives this brave SebastianTo knit his forces with this manly Moor,That borh in one, and one in both In,Jy joinIn this 3t1Cmpt of noble consequence?Our men of Tangier long to see their king,\,(,hose princely face, that like the summer's sun,GI.ds .11 'hese hilher p.rtS of B.rb.ry.

Do" de Meneses. Captains, he cometh hitherward amain,Top and tOP gallant, all in brave array.The six~and-twcntiethday of June he left

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104 THE BATTLE or ALCAZAR [ACT 3 ,c. 41 THE RATTLE or ALCAZAR 105

'6. Dingl bear (oro u 'I.28, Bllt] unlessH. in hostage) Thc sense o('hoslage' as a person t:lken captIve and threatened wilh

harm unless drmnnds arc Iller was nOt in early modrrn usage. Polemon (sig. UIV) rdatesIhat Muly Mllhamet 'promised also 10 give Ihl.' King of Portugal! fWO or Ihree havensIn Barbarie. With thclr termones adloymng, (or surclie lhereo( hee gave his sonnc inhbSl3ge',

H. A.s G~g nOtes (p. 11 s), Ihere !nun be hne.. rnisslI\g before thiS one, as Ihe 'him'10 bt 'dragged along Ihis runlllng ri\·er (I. 37) IS Abddmdec, not Muly Mahamefs son.

presagelhj augurs, predicts; d. Edlllard Ill, ':l Country swaine I Whose habit rude,:lind manners blunr and playne I PresJgeth nought' (sig. 84vJ.

46,) 1111S speec:h, like Ihe prevIous one, seems to have IlIles omlfrcd.49. It"l hmdranccs (OED ,b'l.

IHJThe trumpets sound, the chambers are discharged. Theil enter

lat oue door 'he Portugal army with drum and coloufs:SEBASTIAN, CI-IRISTOPllERO DE TAVORA, the DUKE OF AVERO,

STUKELEY, JONAS. Hl:.RCUl.ES, Lodovico Caesar. AI m'D/her door[DON DE MENESESI the Governor of Tangier. alld two CArTAINS.

From behind the cllr/ains to tbem M U 1.. Y M A HAM ET andCA LI po LIS ill their chariot with Moors. one Oil each side,

attellding young M A II A M ETJ.

Sebastian. Muly Mahamcc, King of Barbary,\~ell met and welcome ro our town of TangierAfter this sudden shock and hapless war,\Velcomc, brave Queen of Moors, repose thee here,Thou and thy noble son, and soldiers all, 5Repose you here in King Sebastian's town.Thus far in honour of thy name nnd aid,Lord Mahamct, we have advenruredTo win for rhee a kingdom, for ourselvesFame, and performance of those promises J 0

Thar in thy faith and royalry lholl h"stSworn to Sebasrian King of Portugal.And rhrive ir so wirh thee as thou dost mean,And mean rhou so as thou dosr wish to rhrive;And if our Chrisr, for whom in chief we fight ISHereby to enlarge rhe bounds of Christendom,Favour this war. and as I do nOt doubt,Send vicrory ro lighr upon my crest,Brave Moor, I will advance rhy kingly son

3·41 Tim ttl.; Scene IV Dyer; 1101 ", Q. OSD.} subst. Yoklavlch; The TrumpetSsound, the chambers are dlsch:ugdc:. TIlen cmer the king of Porrugall and the Moore,with all theyr tmine Q, S"bSl. Dyc:e', B"lIell; Enter at one dare [h~ Portingall army withdrom & Cullors, Sebastian, Chrisloporo Duke of Avera, 5lukeley, Jonas & Hercules,Lodovico Caesar Illr Jones. An anOther dare Governor of Tanger Illr Shaa & 2. Cap­tains H Jef(L"S &. mr Sam. From behmd the cunains to them Illuly mahal1let & Calipo­las m their charion with moores, one on each Mde & attending young mahamet, & w.Can-wright & George Plot; Trumpets sound and chambers arc di.scharged within. Thencmer King Sebastian, Ihe Duke o( Avero, Lord lodOWick, Stukcley, &c.; the Moor,C.'llipolis, their Son, &c. DYG~.

3·4·1 The setting tS Tangier: 'the Klllg wlfh his five gallels and (ower galleons (Itavingthe rest o( the ships) weill to Tanger, where he l1lade a shon Abode' (Umtillg, p. 30).

050.) The latter pare of the emry dlrooion IS based on Greg's reconstruction ot thedamaged 1)lotj Bradley IIlvestigates Ihe matter IIldepcndcmly and finds himself in agr«·ment (Greg, pp. H-6; Bradley. pp. 171.-3,100-3).

chambers are dIscharged} Set p. 24.

And with. di.dem of pe.d .nd goldAdorn thy temples and enrich thy he.d.

Muly Mahamet, 0 brave Sebasrian, noble Portugal,Renowned ilnd honoured, ever maysr thou beTriumpher over those chat menace Ihee,The hellish prince, grim Pluro. with his Im.lceDing down my soul to hell. and with this soulThis son of mine, rhe honour of my house,But I perform religiously to rheeThar I have holily er"it undcrra 'en.And that rhy lords and caprains may perceiveMy mind in rhis single and pure ro be.As pure as is rhe water of rhe brook,My dearesrson to thee I do engage,Receive him, lord, in host.ge of my vow t...1For even my mind presagcrh to myseJrThllr in some slavish sort I shall beholdHim dragged along this running river shore,A spectacle to daum rhe pride of thoseTha' climb aloft by force, .nd nOI by right.

Muly Mal1ame/'s SO". Nor can ic otherwise befall the manThat keeps his sear and sceptre all in fear,111at wears his crown in eye of all the worldReputed rheft and nor inheritance.What title then hath Abdelmelec here,To bar our father or his progeny?Right royal prince, hereof you make no doubt [... JAgreeing with your wholesome Christian laws:Help then, courageous lord, with hand and swordTo clear his way, whose lets arc h1\vless men,And for rhis deed ye .11 sh.1I be renowned,Renowned and chronicled in books of fame,

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'06 T1-IE 8ATTLI~ Of' ALCAZAR IACT 3

72.· LodoYlcl TIllS ed.; Lodowicke Q; Looowick D)'ce'. 7). M:llagan] Tins td.;Mcssegon Q.

56-63.1 a vcry different Stuke1ey from the one who delivers a similar speech inCapta", Thomas Stukeley (2.1.51.-8).

72.. Lodolllc) Like Lewes de Silva (see n. 1.....62.). lodovico Caesar (the '0' dropprdhere for metru:al reasons) IS named III sUlgc dirccnons llnd dialogue, hue remains mmtm the Q texi. In describing the POrfll~ue~ formations al Alca7.ar. Polemoo has, 'Jhtfourrh halfllilc were Porwgals, under the conduct of a ccrrainc noble man of that nation,who~ nAme was LudoYicke C:lcsar' (sig. Xu).

73. Mnzagolll a lown built by Ihe I)onugucse in 1506; Muly Mahamctcolnmandalthe Moorish army rhal f.ultd to take It III I S61. (Brown, p. 379; Bovill, p. u}.

OSO.) Bradley (p. 16)) notCS that Ihe Q dIrection, where the !)rescnrer simply'!ipta.kcth' without a precedll1g entry direclion. ntlghl IIld,cate that he, a 'l)orrll1g31.1'.was Intended to double as 0011 de Meneses and could h:lve remained on slage.

6. IAmqutl1 pronounced a.!l in the Q spellmg, 'banket'.:' SO.1 TIle section of the 1'101 cont3lOing this dumb llhow surVI\'es nearly illl<lL't. I

follow Yokla"'ich In msernng Ihe Plouer'" dlrecnon ot thiS pollli.

11. J'illllflby ambitIOUs I Dyce suggestS 'drawn huller by', Bullen 'drawn by proud',to rep;ur the metre. bUI as 'drawn by' ('drawen by' In Ql could be dfectlvely spoken.Is.t ~pondet, the hne IS reasonably good as u sr-Jnds.

ACT 4

14·Pro1.JIEnter the PRl:.SENTER.!

Presenter. Now hardened is Ihls hapless heathen princeAnd strengthened by the arms of Portugal,This Moor, this murderer of his progeny,And war and weapons now, and blood and deathWait on the counsels of this cursed kmg: 5And to a bloody banquet he invitesThe brave Sebastian and his noble peers.

lEllter a banquet brought in by tum Moors. Enter to the blood)lbanquet SEBASTIAN, MUl.Y MAIlAMET, the DUKE OF AVERO, and

STUKEL£Y. To them cnter Dellth and three Furies. Olle with blood, oneIt/ith dead mell's heads III dishes, ollother It/ith dead mell S bOlles. J

In fatal hour arrived this peerless princeTo lose his life, his life and many livesOf lusty men, courageous Portugais, 10

Drawn by ambitious golden Jooks.

Al'l' 4J Tim ~d.; Actus .. Q; Actus IV /)'u'; ACI IV Dye';. ... Pro!' I Tins ed.; 1Iot j"

O. OSD.J Plot. Dyer; The PresencC'r speak<.1"h Q. I 51-1.) This cd.: not j" Q. 6.b3nqUC'tl D,,(e'; lr.tnker Q, Bulle". 7 SO.J subs'. Yoklollich; Emcr to (he bloudieNnke. Qi Enter <l oonqueu brought in by mr Hunt nnd w. Carrwflght. To the banquelcnttr SebJ!itlan, Muly mnhamet, Duke of Avcru & Srukclcy. To Ihem DC:lIh & J Furiesmr Sam, Ro. Tailor, George & Parsons, one w'1I blood 10 dyppe lighrs, one with deodmens heads In w.'Shcs, and :mocher wilh dead men's bon(.~ Plot. 9. 10seJ Dyce'; looseQ. t I. ;unbltiousl Q; ,unbuion's Bulle".

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Exeunl.

In books of fntllc and ch::\r3crers of brass,Of brass, nay beaten gold. Fight then for fume,And find rhe Arabian Muly Harner here,AdvClHurouS, bold. and full of rich rc\,\'ard.

Stukeley. Brave boy, how plain this princely mind in theeArgues the height and honour of thy birth.And well have I observed thy forwardness,\'Vhich being tendered by your majesty.No doubt the quarrel opened by the l110mhOf this young prince unpartially to usMay anim3tc and hearten all the hostTo fight against the devil for Lord Mahamcr.

Sebastian. True, Stukeley, and so freshly ro my mind,Hath this young prince reduced his father's wrong,That in good time I hope tillS honour's fire,Kindled already with regard of right,Bursts inro open flames and calls for wars,Wars, wars to plal1f the rrue succeeding prince.Lord Mahamct, I take thy noble son,A pledge of honour nnd shnll usc him so.Lord Lodovic. and my good lord of Avero,See this young prince conveyed safe to Mazagan.And there accompanied .IS him htteth best,And to this war prepare ye more and less,This rightful war, that Christians' God will bless.

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IoN Till:. BATTLE OF ALCAZAR [ACT 4 ,c. II TilE 8ATTLE OF ALCAZAR 1°9

Let fame of him no wrongful censure sound,Honour was object of his rhnughrs, ambition was his ground.

IExellllt·1

14· J IIEllter ll/ltIJ drum alld c%urs ABDELMELEC, MUI.Y MAHAMET SETH,

CELY81N, 'l.AREO and attendants. IAbde/me/ec. Now tell me, Celybm, whar dorh the enemy?Celybi". The enemy, dread lord, hath left the town

Of Arzil, with a thousand soldiers armed,To guard his fleer of thirteen hundred sail,And mustering of his men before the walls, 5He found he had tWO thousand armed horseAnd fourteen rhous:H1d men th3t serve on foot,Three thousand pioneers, and a thousand coachmen,Besides a number almost numberlessOf drudges, negroes, slaves and muleteers, 10

Horse-boys, laundresses and courtesansAnd fifreen hundred waggon. full of sruffFor noble men brought up in delicate,

Abdefmelec. Alas, good King, thy foresight hath been linlallTo come with women intO Barbary.With laundresses, with baggage. and wirh trash,Numbers unfir to multiply thy hos[.

Celybi1l. Their payment in the camp is passing slow,And vicruals scarce, that many fainr and die.

Abdelmelec. Bur whither marchelh he In all this haste?Ce/ybi1l. Some thinks he marcherh hirherward

And means to take this city of Alcazar,Abdelmelec. UntO Alcazar, 0 unconstant chance!Celybi1l. The brave and valiant King of !'ortugal

Quarters his power in four battalions -Afrant the which, to welcome us withalArc six and thirry roaring pieces plilced­The firsr, consisting of light armed horse,And of the garrisons from Tangier brought.I. led by Alvaro Peres de Tavora.

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I) SD.I Plot; Fxil Q.

4. J) TIllS ed.; Scene I Dyeri not i" Q. OSD.I 1'10/; Enter Abddmelec and histraine Q, subs/. Blllltm; E.nter Abdelrntlec, Argerd Zareo, and OIhers D)'eel; EnterAbdelmdec and hiS trame Iwlth Cclybm and Zureol YOHJI4cIJ. I. dmhl DyceJ; doelhQ. 1. 511.1 Q (Iali!r Ccly.); Cd. Dral; Ccly. Yoklalllcl,. 3. Arzill Dyul; Arell Q.

13. SD·I 'Exeunt', rather than Q'Il 'exit', as the dumb show and Ihe Presenter wouldprcsumabl)' depan at about the same tune.

4.1.) The actlon is sel near Alcalar.050.) Bradley ag.rees with Greg's reconStruC1IOn, from a fragment, of the Plot's 4.1

entry directIon. When the damaged righi-hand coluOln of Ihe PIOI was first pastedtogelher, (his frngll1ent was lI1corrccd)' placed (see Greg, pp. }7-8; Bradley, pp. 172-3,

'04-5)·I. Ce/)'bi"j Rice (p. 430) sugsests Ihal, like Cnhpolis {see n. 1.1 OSD}, this name

derives from Polemon's account of the battle of Lepanto, where Celybin IS the sur­name of several TurkIsh capf;lins; another possible IIlsplr:uion IS 'Cclebinus', one ofTantburlall1e's sons. Peele ntoy have IIwemcd a nome because Abdelmdec's master ofthe hurse was 1I Cordovan renegade n:uned 'SoJimano' III Dell'IInione (sig. Eu), andhe would not h,we wanted lO use the great Sllhan's mune again (see t.ProI.4S).

3. Art,/l Leo AfriClnu~ Writes, 'The great citle of Anilla called by the AfricansAze!l.. , was bUilt by the Romans upon the Ocean sea shore, aboul seventle miles fromlhe strelts of Gibrahar, and an hundred and fOrlle miles from Fez' (Brown, p. 504).Polemon nOles Ihal 'the klllg hmlsclfe marched by land thuherwards [[0 Lanssa), goingout of Arz.llihe 19. of June' (sig. U\\').

8. p,ofll!'crsl foot·soldlers of low rank, oftcn assigned to dig trenches or mmes; seeEdelman, MIl,tary, pp. l.H-7.

11. laundresses) Dye.t'; landresses Q. cOllrte.s.1I1s) TillS ~d.; curtiz.1ns Qi counezansD)·ee' . 16. laundressesl D)'eel

; landrcsse Q. 11. some thmks hej Qj SOllle Ihink heDyce'; some lhlllk, my lord, he 1J,llle". 30. Tavoral Tim etl.; Tayero Q.

II. laundresses a"d C(wrresa"sl 11olcmoll has Sebastian's army mcilldll1g "almosl aninfinite number of drudges, slaves, ncgroe\, mulleners, horse boies, landresses, andthose swccle wenches lhar the Frenchmen doe lUt'rnhe call rhe daughters of dellghr'(slg. U1V). Yoklavkh's commenl (p. 36\"), Ihat 'by "landres!ICs" we are probably tounderstand "prost'ltllles'" IS hlud to accept: ClaytOn'S A/1"roved Order of Martial DIS·c,plmtJ (London, 159 I, p, 34) stares Ih')I only 'victualers or bundresses, which shall belicensed by Ihe Marshalls byU' ..hall follow the camp; su also l:.delmall, MIlitary, p. 95·

12-13.) "He had also 51)«( and thlftle field pieces and 1SOO waggons full of mattes,vessell, and household 1IolUffc onelle for noble men' Woltmon, sig. U1V). In usmg thewords 'in delicate', Ileele seems to emphasise POrtllgucse effeminacy; d. I)celc's EdwardI, where Quccn E.linor I~ 'broughr up III lucencssc and III dclJcaclc' (I. 2.)42).

11. Some thi,tks! As rius is a short Ime, there may he corruption here, but the seem­mgly ungrammatical 'some thinks' IS probably IIltendc.,'d; d. Edward I, 'Some thll1keshe pralcs L1uellcn were in he.;IVCll' (I. 80 I), and Rowley, Wile" YOII See Me, YOII KIJOW

Me. 'some thinkes he's 11 shephe.1rd' (sig. J)u).1.5. his .. . batta/,ollS) Peele IS rel)'lIlg 011 Polemon, who wrnes that Sebastian

'divided hiS whole arm,,: mto <t. bauJlles' (sig. Xu); Ihe U",tmg (p...p) reports that'the front, was in ,I manner diVided IIltO three',

16. Afro"ll 111 front of (01-.0 /1r~p),

18. The first] nOt the firsl of the 'ro:lflng Plect=S' (cannon) hUI the b:lftalions of I. 1.5·)0. A/tlOro l'eres de TalJOra) Chnstophero's brother, •Alvaro Pirez, brother and heu-

lenant to Chri"lophcr of Tavora' (U",tmg, p. '11); sec n. 1.·4·75·

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J [0 TIlE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR [ACT 4 SC. [I TilE 8ATTLE. OF AL.CAZAR In

)4. Marquess! Th,s ed.: Marques Q; Marquis D)'u1• 35. Agllllur) Thu cd.; Aquilaz

Q. )8. Lodovlcol This ~d.: Ludevlco Q. .p.. brave hiS fight I Q; brave us in thefighl O)'er. 4S. harquebus I TI"s ed.; hargubuzt' Q; harquebuze Dyct' .

)2.. German l,orsemt'II) Polemon (si~. T",r) has Ihe German mercenafle$ as infantry,nO( horse: 'they were also fresh water souldiour Is'cl, and unskilfull of martial! marters'.

35· Alonso Agmlar) Philip II sent a small Castlhan rC'gimem, 'the Captaine whereofwas Alonzo Aquilar' Woltmon, sig. X1.f); Ocll'wlIom! has'Alfonso dl Agu.ilar' (sig.D8r), the Umlmg 'Alphonso d'Agllllar' (p. 41).

38-4:t. I'eelc has done well ~o far, but lists of trOOp l1umhcrs and commanders arehard to keep merncal; d. 1.+99.

42. brave Ius fight I Oycc's 'brave liS III the fight' gives thc line two nceded syllables,but rhe originAl may havc oc'Cn 1I1tcnded: 'to bravc' cnn be laken as 'to array or deck0111'; d. RIchard III, 'He \Ihe sunl should have braved the cast an hour ago' (S.6.9). A'fight' can be an army in formatlon for b;ltt'1c, as in Drayton's Second /'art, or a Co,,­thmanc;c of Po/)'-O/lnotl (London, 1611. 'XXII Song', p. )1.), 'The King inro three fightshiS forces doth diVide'.

45. harqllebusl A common type of firearm III the Sixteenth ccnrury, cvenruallyreplaced by the musket.

46·1 In d«enbll1g the army Ihat Sebastian brought to Afnca, Polemon nOtes 'eightthousand that bare long pikes, Ihen the which kmde of souldlours there is none of les~

use and service. and more unfit for wars 111 BarbariC'. When placed in its final forma­lion, Muly Mahamet's ooule had 'five hundreth harguebuziers and five hundrerhspearcs' (sig. U3r).

58. harquebllsicrsl Tim ed.; harguebul.u.·rs Q; harquebuziers D)·u f• 59. ten

thous:lnd horse wichl Yoklaillch; len thousand with Q; cell thou~and foot With Calif·D)'cr. 63. harquebusl Tf'is ed.; h:Hgubuze Q; harqllebulc Dyce f

• 69. God's)Dyu'; Gods Q.

65

55

70

60

Exeu"t.

$0 will they be advised anorher rimeHow Ihey do [Ouch the shore of Barbary.

Abdelmelec. Zareo, hear our resolurion,And thus our forces we will first dispose:Hamer, my brother, with a thousand shotOn horseback, and choice harquebusiers all,Having ten thousand horse with spear and shield,Shall make the right wing of the barrie up;Z3reo, you shall have in charge the left,Two thousand argolers and ten thous:lI1d horse.The main b3trJe of harquebus on foot,And twenry thOlls3nd horsemen in their troops.Myself environed with my trusty guardOf janiss~ries, fortunate in war I·· .JAnd toward Arzil will we take our way.If then our enemy will balk our force,In God's name let him, it will be his beSt.Bur if he level at Alcazar walls,Then beat him back with bullets as (hick as hail,And make him know and ruc his oversightThat rashly seeks ,he ruin of ,his land.

59. tm thollsand horstl the word 'horse', nor 11\ Q. was obviously lnu:nded, 35 theline paraphrases 1'01e01ol\, 'he had also ten thousand horsemen with speare and shedde'(Yoklavich, p. 365).

66.} Greg notes (p. 1161. 'somethlltg IS clearly wantmg after this, since the sense is:"The malOe bartell ... My selfe (will lead I"' '. Polel11Cln reads (sig. Xu), 'The third bat·caile, which was Ihe maine bawille. whercln king Abdclmeltt sl'Oodc, was defenced withhorquebuziers on fome. Then dyd the kmS followe, environcd with his ga.rde of tWohundrech souldlOurs, Ih:1t had (orsworne the (ailh, who were all we;lponed with h91­berdes'; for 'janiss3f1cs' see n. 1.1.32.

68. ""II balk Ollr forcel A seemingly corrupt' passaKe is made dear by understand­ing 'balk', in thiS context, as 'to pass by,' or 'shun' (OED vI 2.). Pecic would haveread in Polelllon how Abdelmelec waS trYIllS 10 aVOid a fight: 'Sut when Abde1melecknew by espies almost everie houce whal was done: In the campc of the Chrisrinns, andhow weake the l)orrug.ll1 forces were, and how coldly all things were orderC'd. andtherefore did sec Iha[ the wrelched klllg hemg III the pflme of his rearts, was nttr<: todtath 3J1d destruction: he wroughl by all me9nes he could, Ihat he should not be (orcedto fight a batrnile. because he was not olhc:rwisc \'f:fle III affccred towards Christians'(Slg. UJr).

69. In Cod's nom",) Q has 'Gods', which may be a rnisreadmg. Except for this line,5.1.105 :lnd 5.1.2.15, Moroccans generally refer I(l 'the gods' or 'Jovc'_ One possibleemc:nd.llion IS 'I' the gods' name'; see also n. 1.1.5·

45

50

35

40

The left or middle bailie of lra!iansAnd German hor~cmcl1 5rukcley dorh command,A warlike Englishman sent by the PopeThat vainly calls himself Marquess of lrelt'nd.Alonso Aguilar conducts the third:That wing of German soldiers most consists.The (oureh legion is nOne but Portugais,Of whom Lodovico c',csar hath the chiefest charge.Besides rhere stand six thousand horseBravely attired, pressed where need requires.Thus have I rold your royal majestyHow he is placed to brave his fight.

Abde/melec. But whcre's our nephew Muir Mahamet?Cel)'bill. He marchedl in the middle, guarded about

With full five hundred harquebus on foot,And twice three thousand needless armed pikes.

Zt"eo. Great sovereign. vouchsafe to hear me speak,And let Zareo's counsel now prev3il:Whilst time doth serve and that these Christians dareApproach the field with warlike ensigns spread,Let us in haste with :111 our forces mCCtAnd hem them in, that not a m:1n escape.

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1.8. Trophlc.sl Dyce'; Troupes Q; Trophcs Yoklavuh. 1.9 SO.) Subst. Yokfavicb; Tothem Chrisloporo Dick Juhle. the Governor of Tanger & W. Kendall Plot; trot m Q.)1. hugy) Dyu'; hugle Q.

1.8. Trophlcs) Q's 'Troupes' IS obViously meant to be 'Trophes', somenmes pro­nounced wirh twO syllables; cr. The Tragctlte of Caesar a"d Pompey, 'Grac'd with eter­nail trophes of renownc' (sig. H IV); Heywood, 1. Fatr Maid of tJ~ West, 'We reckonas a trophe of your loves' (Slg. hv); see 5.1.191·

1.9.1 Some of Avero's spe«h mUSt be mi'lsing, as he docs not say what 'prudent fore­sight' demands. It is hkely that a !tizcable ponion of the originallcxt W3.l1 omilted here;what remains implies thar Peele intended to follow Polemon and have Sebastian agreeto march to Larissa as the I)orruguese commanders unanimously adVise: 'his Counsailelaboured to their unermOSl, to dlsuade the king frol11 joytling in banaile, but ratheradvised him to mnrch to L1ri'lsa, and they wrought so much by blaming and urginghim, that the king at lenglh yeelded to go to Latlssa' (sig. UJr-v). Muly Mahamet'sappeal for an immediate arrack and SebastIan's r~vers~1 would prOVide for some excit­ing drama.

1.9. SO.) I follow Yoklavlch in IIlscrt'lng Ihe entry direction, b3sed on the Plot. here.JJ. at ""awares) See n. 1.1.14·)6-60.) In Poltmon, Abdelmdec was wlllmg to let Sebastian march to the sea, 'for

he would have suffered hiS el11l11ie to have mken Larissa, thll1king that the PorrugaJlbeing contented with the rakmg of It, would fcom thence returne home'. This IS exaaly

IplIEmer by torcbilghllo comldl SEBASTIAN, the DUKE OF AVERO,

STU K E LF.. Y. JON AS, with attendants aud soldiers, a guard.]

Sebastian. Why tell me lords, why left ye PortugalAnd crossed the seas with us to Barbary?Was it to see the country and no more.Or else to fly before ye were assailed?I 3m ashamed to think that such as you, 5Whose deeds have been renowned heretofore,Should slack in such an act of consequence.\Y/e come to fight, and fighting vow to die.Or else to win the thing (or which we came.Because Abdelmelec, as pitying us, 10

Sends mess:Iges to counsel quietness.You stand amazed and think it sound advice.As if our enemy would wish us any good.No, let him know we Scorn his courtesy,And will resist his forces wharsoe'er. 15

:ast fear aside, myself will lead the way,And make a passage with my conquering swordKnee-deep in blood of these accursed Moors.

4.1) This ~d.; Scene II Dyc~; flot m Q. 050.1 Not: Emer Sebastian king of POrtu­gall, the Duke of Avero. Stukley, and others Q; Enter King Sebastian, the Duke of Avero,Stukeley, Hercules, and others Dyct? 4. flYI Oyu'; slay Q.

4.1.1 The action IS at the ))onllguese camp, near Alcaz.:u, on the eve of the baule.Pede confl:ues what are three Ponugucse councils III Poltmon: the first was 'when theKing of POrTug"lll was come Ihe S:II11rd"ie lllornll1g (1 August) to the river of Larissali.e. LIXUS, see n. 4.1.411, & was encamped neere to the place where he thought thermight be a foord found to pass over his ordenance. &. was minded to go to Larissa'.He broke camp on Sunday morning. :md 'when he had found a Coord' to cross overthe river, he stopped "nd commanded hiS men 'to make It readie against the next daie'.That night. Sunday J AUgUSl, 'the King of Portugnll sawe that his enimies were reciredinfO their camp, he also did the like, "nd lodged in Ihe vene same place from whencehe came. He assembling his counsrllie the chlefe men of the annie that night. deter­mined the next daie, hemg mundaie, 10 offer the enimie barraile' (sig. U3v-U4r, XLr).

050·1 As the Ploner calls for torches. we should imagine thiS scene as takmg place011 Sunday, Ihe night bc~fc)re the bartle. The 'guard' probably refers 10 Ihe soldiers, nOta separate office.

4- (1)') Q has 'sI3Y'. The initial of' and's' were very sll1ular in Elizabethan hand­writing, and the compositor probably misread 'fly' or ·fhe·.

II. messages to co"usd qlHt'I1lt'U! Polemon (sig. U3r) menuons Abdelmelcc's urgingSebastian to abandon the fight: 'he laboured pnvilie and secretly b)' c("aine menand they mostly merchants, ro ceml1e the Kmg of PonugJlI of the guiles and deceitsof Mahamct, thai had brought hllll Into these daungecs, and to present ruine andjeoperdie of life'.

And they th~l[ love my honour follow me.Were you as resolute as is your king,Aleazar walls should fall before your faceAnd all the force of this BiHbarian lordShould be confounded, were it ten times more.

Avera. So well become these words a kingly mouth,That are of force to make a coward fight,But when advice and prudent foresightIs joined with such magnanimity,Trophies of victory and kingly spoilsAdorn his crown, his kingdom and his fame I...1

IEnter CHRtSTOPIiERO DE TAVORA, DON DE MENESES

and HERCUL.ES.)

Hercules. We. have descried upon the mountain topsA hugy company of invading Moors,And they, my lord, as thick as winter's hail\ViII fall upon our heads at unawares.Best then betimes ('avoid this gloomy storm.It is in vain to strive with such a stre.am.

Enter MUL.Y MAHAMET.

Muly Mahomet. Behold thrice noble lord, uncalled I comeTo counsel where necessity commands,

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35

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1J4 TH£ 8A1'TLE OF ALCAZAR IACT 4 SC.2J TilE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR 115

what Muly Mahamet (ean~d mOSl. so he, 'n subtile fellow, ambirious, and deccitfull... began With ,I craftie tale to tel ISebasuanl that many Moores horse men hadfled umo him from AbdcJmeleG, & that lhe rest of lhe armic wen! about to do thesame. , . He added also other argumelllS making for his purpose, by the which h~ dis·swadcd the Porrugall (rom gOing to larISsa, t1nd 10 So."lie the truth, it had otherwise benean harde maner for him to have gon forward, seclllK hIS el1nny was so ncere' (sig. Ujr1U4 r).

40. fors/owl to be slow or dilatory (Ol- 0 I' I); d. J Henry VI, 'Forslow no longer,make .....e hence amam' (2..j.56).

42.· larISsa! The Roman [own of LIXllS, now L"lnlche, on the west coaSt of Morocco,fony miles west of AIc3t.'lr. A 1S74 document pr~rved III the State Papers Domesticnames 'the port of Allar",he and other porte$ wuhm the Streates, which serve for thetrade of Fesse for Sail! of clothes' among the &rbary pons 'which the Queenes sub·jeers use to ltJfick' (CaStries, I: 132.-\).

..... Idj hinder, prevelll fOI:.D v 2.).

And honour of undoubted victoryMakes me excl3im upon this dastard flight.\Vhy, King Sebastian, wilt thou now forslowAnd let so great a glory slip th)' hands?Say you do march unro Larissa now,The forces of rhe foe are come so nighThat he will let the passage of the river,So unawares you will be forced to fight.Bm know, 0 King, and you thnce valiant lords,Few blows will serve. I ask but only this:That with your power you march into the ficld,For now is all [he army resoluteTo leave the trairor helpless in the fightAnd fly to me as to their rightful prince.Some horsemen hove already led the wayAnd vow the like for their companions;The host is full of Ulmult and of fe<lr.Then as you come to plant me in my scatAnd to enlarge your famt: in Africa,Now, now or never, bravely executeYour resolution sound and honourable,And end this war together with his life,That doth usurp the crown with tyranny.

Sebastian. Capra ins, you hear the reasons of the King,\'Qhich so effectually have pierced mine earsThat 1 am fully resolule 10 fighl,And who refuseth now to follow me,Let him be ever counted cowardly.

42.. L'lriss.ll Yoklamd,; Tanssa Q.

40

45

50

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60

65

Avera. Shame be his sh3re th:H flies when kings do fight,Avero lays his life before your feet.

Stukeley. For my pari, lords, I cannOt sell my bloodDearer than in the comp,lIly of kmgs.

E.xeunt. Mallet MUlY MAIIAMET.

Muly MalJamet. Now have I set these Portugais 3work 70To hew a way for me lIll{O the crown I•.. 1Or with your weapons here to dig your graves.You bastards of the Night and Erebus,Fiends, furies, hags thai fight in beds of "teel.Range through this army wirh your iron whips, 75Drive forward t() this deed this Chrisrian crew,And lei me triumph in the traged)',Though it be scaled and honoured Wilh the blood,Both of the Portugal and barbarous Moor.Ride, Nemesis, ride in thy fiery carr, 80And sprinkle gore amongst these men of war,That either parry eager of revengeMay honour Ihee with sacrifice of death;And having bnthcd thy chariot wheels in blood,Descend and take to thy tOrmenting hell 85The mangled body of lhal !raitor kingThat scorns the power :lI1d force of Portugal.Then ler the earth discover to his ghost,Such rortures as usurpers feel below,Racked let him be in proud Ixion's wheel, 90

69· SD.I Q, Bullen: ExculH all excepl Ihe Moor Oyer. 71. baslards) D)'eel; das­tards Q. ].4. funesl Dyee1; hunts Q. [Julie". 7~L the blood I Oyer; my blood Q.

70""97.) In what was 10 be: hi') final essay, SWinburne (p. 8) wrOle 'the soliloquy whichcloses Ihe fourth act IS matchles!l, I .)holiid hope, for dn ....d of dcsper:mon and platitudeof bombast, III all the dramaric memormls of hopc:les~ impotence'.

]2..) Some text ill probahly Il11SSIIl& hefore tillS line. Deleting il would restore somesense 10 the pasSo"lgc.

7). b(Jstards of tile NIght) 'I)cclc IS ,tpparently alludlll& 10 the monstrous Issue ofNQ.'t, the sisteT of F..rcbus, by whum ~he became the mother of \'3nOUS offspring'(Yoklavlch, p. 366); see 310;0 n. 2..1)ro1.2. I,

J4. f"rtesl Of Q's 'Faifits', Bullen nOles, 'D)'cc reuds "fllncs"'-pcrhaps rightly, burwe often find "fairy" when we should expect '"fury" '. How 'often' this occurs IS unccr·min, but Ihis ICXl is so full of funes and so sccllllllgl)' bereft of faines Ihat D)"ce mustbe correct.

bt-ds of steel) See n. 2.I)rol.17-18.90. Ixton"s whee/l IXlon IS the first of four cfllnmal~ named III thl) pa"sage who were

famous for their punishments in Ihe underworld, 3S mid III Book -4 uf Metamorphoses.He tried 10 seduce Hera, so Zeus chamcJ hlln to a wheel; he IS 'alway" txhind hmlSClf,alwa)'s ahead' (-f.4lll); see n. 1..Prol.2.6-9.

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9 I. Pitied! afO.clcd wlfh pam (pine OeD v I); d. Kmght of fhi! B.4mmg Pestle, 'Herebe Ihest pmed wrerches' (). 1.431.).

TOIl/alusl The f.Hher of Niobe, Tamalus stOle ncctar and ambrosia from the gods;his PUnlShlllCnl was to be placed where he 'C311 never CJtch Ihe water, never grasp I TIle

oYcrhanglllg hranche...• (Metafllorplmses, 4-45 8-9).91. Ti/)'I/sl fhe giant slain by Apollo And Artemis for his attcmpted rape of their

mother, LttO. He 'lies Stretched across nine acres and provides I His vitals for the \'ul­tures' (Mctlltnorphoscs, 4.457-8). Grcft's view (p, 116) thai Q's 'lisons' was meant tobe 'Titans', since It is closer to It lhan to '1ityU'i', IS doubtful.

93· StsypJ1US) nmongsl the various misdeeds ascnbed to Sis)'phus IS his tellingAsopus lhat hiS d:lUghter Aegtn:l wa!l having a liaison with Zeus. As pUnishment, he'chases and heaves Ihe boulder doomed to roll I For ever hack' (MetamorphosfOS, 4.460).

s

10

Pined let him be with Tantalus' endless thirst,Pray let him be to liryus' greedy bird,Wearied with Sisyphus' imlllortal roil;And lasrl)' for revenge, (or deep revenge,Whereof thou goddess and deviser art,Damned let him be, damned and condemned [0 bearAll torments. tortures. plagues and pains of hell.

92.· lityus') Dyce'; lisons Q; "limn's Yoklot'uh.

9S

Exit.

ACT 5

Is·Prol.lE"ter tlJe P R liS E NTE R before the last llumb show, and speaketh.

Presenter. 11\ be to him that so much ill bethinks,And ill betide this (oul ambitious MoorWhose wily trains with smoothest course of speechHath tied and tangled in a dangerous war,The fierce and manly King o( Portugal.

Lightning and tbunder,

Now throw the heavens forth their lightning flames,And (hunder over Afrie's fatal fields,Blood will have blood, (oul murder 'scape no scourge.

Enter Fame like an Angel, mId bmrgs the crowns upon a tree.

At last deseende(h Fame, as IrisTo finish fainting Dido's dying life;Fame from her Stately bower doth descendAnd on (he tree as fruir new ripe 10 fall,Pl3eeth the crowns o( (hese unhappy kings.That erSt she kept in eye of all the world.

Here the blatill8 star.

Now fiery stars and streaming comets blaze, J 5Thar rhreat the eanh and princes of the same,

Fireworks.

Act 51 TIns f!d.; Actus V D)'ce': ACI V D)'cel; "ot", Q. 5. Pro!.) Tins ~d.; nor In Q.Sl-t.) Tins etl.; tlot '" Q. 4. Hath I Q; I lave- Dyce'.

050.) There is no survivlI1g fragment of Ihe Plot for Ihe Act 5 dumb show, but Q'sstage directions provide somt indication.

9. Famel Fama, usually translated as 'Rumour" 350 in the Metamorphose-s(I Z..J9-6 J) and [he At!1Ield (4.17 t-9o); d. T,tus A"dromc'ls, 'The Emperor's COurt isItke the house of Fame I The palacc full of rongues, of eyes and ears' (2.I.l1.7-8).

as Insl This line IS short a syllabic III a ..pcech chat IS Olhcrwisc metrically regular;'as Iris did' or 'went' was probably Ifuendcd. In Ihe Atmclll, Juno, unhappy that Didoshould suffer a IlOgering de:uh, 'Scm Ins down, to free her frol11 the strife I Of lab'ringnatutt, and dissolve her lifc' (".997-8); see n. z..I.}.

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r8, CassiopeJ a mythical queen o( Ethiopia, who boasted thar 'she excelled theNereids in beauty, landJ for this she was put among the constellations, seated in a chair... as the sky turns, she seems to Ix- carried along lying on hff back' (H)'ginus, Poetic"Astr01Jomlca. tmn~. Mary Grant, Lawrence, Kansas, 1960, p. 195).

l r. croum . .. {alii Q shows 'crownes', bur the stage directions have only twO

crowns in the dumb show, so it (allows thar the Presem~r should speak of the­<diadem' of Portugal and the 'crown of Barbary', The placing of The other {"USmakes the passage stem more difficult than ir is, for there is no reason for the Prescn.rer ro StOp speaking: the diad~m and crown are parr' of a smgle thought. J haveinserted \3 comma after 'B:ub:lry'; the sense might be improved if Ihe Presenter pausesthere.

29· (l1tset! auack, assaultj d. Heywood, Four "rentices, 'Give a brave onser,shivering all their pike~' (sig. Ku).

greut ordnancel One of the great iromes of this banle is that the ordnance of the'heathens' was supplied by England, in exchange for Moroccan salrpetre, the <:hicfingredient of ~lInpowder (sec p. r4). After the battle, Bishop Philip Scga, the I'ope'sNuncio in Spain, wrote of Qllet'n Elizabedl, 'there is no evil that is nOt devised by thatwoman, who II is perfectly plain, succou.red Mulocco IAbdclmelec) with arms and espe.cia.ll)' WIth arrillcry' (CSI' Rom. (J 572-78), p. 49 j}.

s.11 This ed.; Scene I D)'cel; not in Q. 0$0.1 Q. BullelI; the Moors, who formAbdelmelec's army, fly DyGel. Zarc!)) Q, BullelI; Argerd Zareo D)'ccZ. r7· h;lrqu('·bus) T/Jis ed.; Harqucbush Q; harqucbuze Dyce'. 27· heaven) D)'ce'; heavens Q.Bullen.

5.1.1 Act 5 is a single barrIe scene; (he anion is cominuous.050. chambers be dischorgcd] See p. 24·9'-J 9-1 This speech is seriously corruprj some rexr must be missing here, after I. 10

omd possibly after J. 17·l" frallglJtedJ loaded, laden (fraught OED fJpl J).

5

25

15

20

10

Alarums within. let the chambers be discharged,then cliter to the battle, and the Moors fly·

Skirmish still, then cnter ABOELMEt£C;'1 his chair,ZAREO and their train.

Abdelmelec:. Say on, Zareo, tell me all the news,Tell me what fury rangeth in our campThat hath enforced our Moors to turn their backs.Z:ueo, say, what chance did bode this ill,What ill enforced this dastard cowardice?

Zareo. My lord, such chance as wilful war affOJ:dsSuch chances and misforrunes as attendOn him, the god of battle and of arms.My lord, when with our ordnance fierce we sent [...JOur Moors with smaller shot' as thick as hail [...JFollows apace to charge the PortugaLThe valiant Duke, the devil of Avero,The bane of Barbary, fraughted full of ireBreaks through rhe ranks, and with five hundred horse,All men <tt arms, forward and full of might,Assaults rhe middle wing, and putS to flightEight thousand h<1 rquebus that served on footAnd twenty thousand Moors wirh spear and shield:And therewithal the honour of the day.

Abdelmelec. Ah, Abdelmelec, dost thou live ro hearThis bitter process of this first attempt?Labom, my lords, to renew our forceOf fainting Moors, and fight it to the last.My horse, Zareo! 0 the goal tS lost,The goal is lost. Thou King of Portugal,Thrice happy chance ir is for thee and thineThat heaven abates In}'srrcngth and calls me hence.My sight doth fail, my soul, my feeble soul

[5·1]

w

25

JO

Exit.

One (ails.

Down falls the diadem of Portugal~

The other (ails.

The crOWll of Barbary, and kingdoms fall.Ay me, that kingdoms may nor stable srand.And now approaching near rhe dismal day,The blood)' day wherclll rhe barrles join,Monday the fourrh of August seventy-eight.The sun shi,nes wholly on the parched eanh,The brightest planet in rhe highest heaven.The heathens, eager bent against' theif foe,Give onset with great ordnanc,e to the war;The Christians with great noise of C3nnOI1 shot,Send angf)l onsers ro rhe enemy.Give car and hear how war begins his song,With dreadful clamours, noise and trumpers' sound.

Fire, fire about the axle-tree of heaven,Whirls round, and from the foot of CassiopeIn fatal hour Consumes these fatal crowns.

2 I. crown o( narbary, andl This ed.; crQwnes or Barb:H)' 3nd Q.

Page 33: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)

-

3° SO. DII!sl Dyer; He dyeth Q; He dierh Bul/en. JO SO. Cnttf

IAbde/me/ec'sJ !Jmtbtr! This td.; enter his brother Q. S"lIell; enter Muly MahamerSerh Dyee'.

37· types I high titles. dignl£ies (npe OED sb I); d. J /le"r)' VI, 'Thy farher beanrhe type o( KlIlg of Naples I Of bOlh lhe Sicils, and Jerusalem' (1.4. 111.-3).

39· stock I a log, block of wood (OED sb I b) .... 1.. brul/cd) reponed; d. 1 Henry 1V, where the death o( Hotspur, 'Being bnutte!

once, rook fire and heal away I From rhe besr·ttmpered courage in his troops'(1.1. 11 4- I S)·

H·) 'The liner being ShUl, fhey placed at rhe dome a wirric yoong chdde:, who beingInstructed what he had to doc, maklllg shcwe to speake untO him. and receive hisanswer, wide rhem hiS pleasure was rhey should p3Sse (orward' (Umllng, pp. 4]-8);see also p. }I.

[ACT 5

55

65

60

70

[2.(

Exeullt.

THE 6ATTlE OF ALCAZAR

Milly Mahtlmel Selh. Go then to see it speedily performed.Brave lord, if Barbary recover this.Thy soul with joy will sit and see the sight.

se. 11

Exit BOY.

Alarums. Enler to the battle, and Ihe Christialls fly.The DUKE OF AVERO slai". Ellter SEBASTIAN and STUKELEY.

Sebasltan. See'si thou not, Srukeley, 0 Srukeley, sec'st thou notThe great dishonour done to Christendom?Our cheerful onset crossed in springing hope,The brave and mighry prince. Duke of AveraSlain in my sight; now joy betide his ghost,For like a lion did he bear himself.Our batdes are all now disordered,And by our horses' Strange retiring back,Our middle wing of foormen overrode.Stukeley, alas, I sec Illy oversight.false-hearted Mahamet, now to my costI see thy treachery, warned to bewareA face so full of fraud and villainy.

Alarums tuifhi"3 alld las}/bcy run out, two Isoldiersl set uponSTUKELEY, ond he driveth Ihem in. 1£'Cit SEBASTIAN}.

Then enler the Moor and his BOY, {lying.

Muly Mahomet. Villain, a horse!Boy. 0, my lord. if you return you die.Muly Mahomet. Villain, I say, give me a horse to fly,

To swim thc river, villain, and to ny.

H SH.I Dyc:~. Yoklovlch; I/O I/CW s{Jeaker Q. S1 SO. A/arums) Q. Bul/e,,; AlarumswuhlJ1 Dyc,J. 70 SO.) TIllS ed.; Alarums within, and they runne our, and twO setupon Sr.uklcy, and he delvedl them in Q.

S5 SRI Q has no speech headrng, but the next three lines obViously belong ro Muly\tah3l1\e:r Strh.

stt II speedily performed) Dyce1 inscrts a srage di.rection here. 'The body ofAhdelmC'le<' 15 propped up in his ch:uc'.

p SO.I If the dlJC:cril1n IS taken Ilt'ierally, then Avero's body IS left on sfage. as occurswilh Stukdey'$ body :It S.I.IBo. The carrYing 0(( of bodies is often unaccounted (or inrU~s of thiS period: twO of many examples that could be Cited are Rutland in J Hel/ry~I (QF, !.l'l") and the King at the end of RIchard I/IIQF, l.8 050).

"'0 SO.) Q's sraSe direction has 5wkeley and Sebastian running off before 'twO serupon Slukeley'. Srukeley's ass.,'tilam:s may be the fWO italians o( rhe next sequence, butllile onnor be su~ (sec AppendiX I).

JO

J5

40

45

50

THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

Shall be released from prison on this earth,Farewell, vain world, for I have played my part.

120

Dies.A 10118 skinllish, and then enter [AbdelmelecsJ brother,

MULY MAHAMET SETH.

Milly Mahomet Seth. Brave Abdelmclec, thou thrice noble lord,Not such 3 wound was given lO BarbaryHad rwcnry hosts of men been put to sword,As death, pale death with fatal shaft, hath given.Lo, dead is he, my brother and my king,Whom I might have revived with news I bring.

Zareo. His honours and his types he hath resignedUnto the world, and of a manly man,Lo, in a rwinkling a senseless stock we see.

Muly Mahomet Seth. You trusty soldiers of this warlike King,Be counselled now by us in this advice:Let not his death be bruited in the camp,LeSt with the sudden sorrow of the newsThe army wholly be discomfired.My lord Zareo, rhus I comfort you:Our Moors have bravely borne themselves in fight,likely to get the honour of the day,If aught may gonen be where loss is such.Therefore ill rhis apparel as he diedMy noble brother will we here advance,And ser him in his chair with cunning props,That our Barbarians may behold their kingAnd think he doth repose him in his tent.

Zareo. Right politic and good is your advice.

Page 34: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)

9J. my lord I Thes(" subst. Dyce1; my Lord, these Q. 1°5. Minos, Rhadamanth and

Aeacusl DyuJ; Mmos, Rodamant, and Eocus Q.

fl5

110

120

125

1>3

'3 0

Slab /)lm.

TilE BATTI,.E OF ALCAZAR

IBxel/ltl.1

A/arums. E,,'er STUKELEY w;lb two ITALIANS.

And drag thee thorough the loathsome poolsOf Lethe, Styx and fiery I'hlethegon.

First Ita/tel'" Stand, tmitor, stand ambitious Englishm:.'ln.l)roud Srukeley stand, and stir not ere thou die.Thy forwardness ro follow wrongful :.'Inns,And leave ollr famous expedition crstIntended by IllS Holiness for Ireland,Foully harh here betrayed and tied liS allTo ruthless fury of our heathen foe,For which (15 we arc sure to die,Thou shalt pay satisfaction with thy blood.

St"kp/ey. Avaunt, base villains, twit ye me with shameOr infam)' of thiS injurious war,\'(Ihen he rhat IS the judge of right and wrongDetermines battle llS him pleaserh best?But since my Stars bode me this tragic endThat J musr perish by these ba.rbarous Moors,Whose weapons have made passage for my soulThat breaks from our rhe prison of my breast,Ye proud malicious dogs of Italy,Strike on t strike down [his body [0 the earthWhose mounr-ing mind StoOPS to no feeble stroke.

101'1. l.trhc, Styx and fiery Phlethrgon) Dyu'; Lethes, Sukcs, and fiery Phlegllon Q.teg \D.) l)y(i; Exit Q. Alarums ... Italutnsl Q; J\larullls within: re-enrer Srukdcywounded. (ollowed h)· Hercules and jonas D)rc~; Alarum;. Entcr SllIkclcy wllh IWQ

haltan." Ilerculn and jonas BU//('II. 109 5H.} rbis etl.: Ilere. Q. I)yul; tulian

l"JHJt'Ifh. 11.'1 511.1 Yoklavlch; jonas Q; jon. Dya J• 1.11 50.) Yok/av,c},: Fxeunr

Q. r",runt Iler". and Jonas Dya'; Exeunt IIcrcules and JOlla!> l»)'cel.

Second 110110". \'(Ihy suffer we rhis English man to live?Villall1, bleed on, rhy blood in channels runAnd meet with those whom thou ro death hast done.

Exeunt Itlvo IlAI.IANSJ.

Swkt/ey. Thus Stukeley. slain with many a deadly stah,010 in thrse desert fields of Alrica.

108. tflln•.\tyx alld fiery PJJlelhegoll) tbe three rlve~ of Ilades. Ltrhe wa!> lhe riverof obhvlfm _ thOM! who drank from it forgot their former hvcs. Styx w~'" Ihe m... mr.t\'I<&~C to and through Ihe underworld, and Phlegelhon wa~ Ihe mer of f1ame..j d.",lUiWS: 'Now, h)' rhe kingdoms of Infernal rule I Of Styx, AchcrClll, "nd rhe fiery lake101 tvtr·burntng Phlegetholl, I swear' (8·47-9)·

l08 ~l). two ITALIANS) See Appendix: I.

sc. 11

80

85

,s

'0

ros

100

[ACT 5

75

THE BATTLE OF ALCAt,AR

Where shall I find some unfrequented place,Sonte uncouth walk where I may curse my fill:My srars, my dam, my planets and my nurse,The fire, the air, the W<Hcr, and the earth,All causes that have thus conspired in oneTo nourish and preserve me to this shame?Thou that wen at my birth predominate,Thou Faral star. what planet ere thou bt\Spit out thy poison bad, and all the illThat (orrune, fate or heaven may bode" man.Thou nurse in(orrunate. guilty of all.Thou morher of my life d13f brought'sf me forth,Cursed mayst thou be for such a cursoo son,Cursed be thy son with every curse thou hOlSt.Ye elemcms of whom consistS this clay,This mass of flesh, this cursed crazed corpse,Destroy, dissolve, disturb and dissipate\Vhar warer, earth, and air congealed.

Alarums and enter Ihe BOY.

IH

Boy. 0 my lord,These ruthless Moors pursue you at rhe hecl~

And corne 3main to put )'OU to the sword.Mu/y M"hamci. A horse, a horse, villain, a horse

Thar I may rake rhe river straight and ny.Boy. Here is a horse, my lord,

As swiftly paced as Pegasus.MouO[ thee thereon, and save thyself by flight.

Mu/y MalJamel. MouO[ me I will,Bur ma)f I never pass the river rill I beRevenged upon thy soul, accursed Abdelmclcc,If nOI 011 earth, yet when we meet in hell,Before grim Minos, Rhadamamh and Aeacus.The combat willi crave upon rhy ghost,

85· ",(or/wrotel ThiS form of 'unfonunate' was common In early modern usage.9.1-4· 0 my tord I Thesel See n. 1.2.8.96. a horseI MaUrice Pope sees this sequence as 'dramatic precedent' for the famQus

line from Richard 111 ('My Kingdom for a Horse', N&Q 4 I (1994): 476). The rttnalR'der of Ihe SCene has shon and long lines. bUI any atlempr In alter Q's Ime3llon I.:rtatt:§'a problem elsewhere.

10j. MulUs, RJuu/mllalltlJ and AeaclIs) rhe ludges of the dead in rhe underworld; d.Spamsh Tragedy. 'Not far from hence amidst ten thous:tnd souls I Sat Minos, Aeacu~.lind Rhadamanrh' (1.1 <P-J).

Page 35: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)

124

Enter MULY MAIIAMbT SETI.J,lzAREO] (lnd train,with drums and trumpets.

Milly Mahomet Seth. Rerrear is sounded rhrough our camp, and nowFrom barrie's fury cease, our conquering Moors.Pay thanks to heaven with sacrificing fire,AJc:'lzar and )'e rowns of Barbary. rntms to Abdelmelec's body]NoW" hast thou sat as in a trance and seen,To thy soul's joy and honour of Ihy house,The trophies :lI1d the rriumphs of rhy men,Grear Abdelmelec and rhe god of kingsHarh made rhy war successful by thy righr I· . ·1

TIJE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

Hark, friends, and with the story of my lifeLet me beguile the torment of my death.In England's London, lording:., was I born,On [hat brave bridge, the bar thai thwarts the Thames.My golden days, my younger careless years,Were when I (Quehed the height of Fortune's wheel,And lived in affluence of wealth and easc.Thus in my country carried long aloft,A discontented humour cleave me thenceTo cross (he seas to Ireland, then [Q Spain;There had I welcome and right royal payOf Philip, whom some call the Catholic king.There ,hd Tom Stukeley glitter all in gold,Mounted upon hiS jennet white as snow,Shining as Phoebus in King Philip's court;There like a lord famous Don Stukeley lived,For so they called me in the Court of Spain,Till for a I>low 1gave a bishop's man.A strife 'gall rise berween his lord and me,For which we bOth were banished by rhe King.From thence, to Rome rides Srukelcy all aOaunt,Received with royal welcomes of the Pope.There was I graced by Gregory the Grcat,That then created me Marquess of Ireland.Short be my tale, beeause my life is short:The coasl of Italy and Rome I left,Then was I made lieutenant generalOf those small forces that for (reland went,And with my companies embarked at Ostia.

r61. O~I1.11 l)yu', Yaklalllch; Austria Q.

[ACT 5

[35

140

145

150

[55

160

sc.ll TilE UATTLE OF ALCAZAR

My sails I spread, and with these men of warIn rotal hour :It Lisbon \'Ie :urived.From thence to this, t'O rhis hard exigentWas Srukeley driven to fighr or else to die,Dared ro the field, thar never could endureTo hear god Mars his drum, bur he musr march.Ah sweet Sebastian, hadst thou been well advisedThou mighrst h:lvC managed arms successfully,But from our cradles \'Ie were marked allAnd destinate to die in Afrie here.Srukeley, the story of thy life is told,Here breathe thy lasr and bid thy friends farewell.And if thy country's kindness be so much,Then let thy counrry kindly ring thy knell.Now go, and in thar bed of honour dieWhere brave Sebastian's breathless corse doth lie.Here endeth Fortune's rule, and bitter rage,Here ends Tom Stukeley's pilgrimage.

Dies.

125

165

r7°

'75

[80

185

13 6• I" h.ngla"d"s Londonl 51ukcley was (rom oevonshlre;.sec p. l­

151. blow .. . mm'l sec AppendIX II.154· allaulltl 'in rl nauntlllg Slate Qr posiliol\' {OED adul; d. Putrenham. The Art~

of English l'oesle (London, 1589, p. 150). 'for a counicr to know how to weare afelher. and sel his cappe a flaum'.

Jj6. Gregory rhe Grear/ Pecic's second 3uempl al naming t.he correcl Pope is moreWildly o(f lhan Ihe firsl (1'4.1 )9). Gregory I, usually named 'the Great', l.ivt.d c.540-6°4·

160. IU!Jltenmlr g~ne'dll a 'general heurenant', sumeone With wide-ranging aurh()r­iry; see Edelman, Mtldary, p. 104.

16~. Ostia) ObViously the ba..is of the compo~llor's 'AuSUla', bUI Ostia was not in

fact Stukeley's embarkation poll1l. On 19 February 1578. Sir Almas Paulct, the EngLshambassador to France, wrote 10 Lord Burghlcy, 'I am cu:dlbly infourmid lhat Stukcltywas 51111 31 Civil3 Vtdlla on Ihe XXVIII'" of the laslc, where rhere had bene SOnle murinitemongsllus !Iouldlours' (Castries, I: 189); On .. March, 8ernardlllo de MendoZ03, Philip

180 SD. DIes) Dyer; He dycth Q: He dlclh Bulle". .80 SO.) subs'. Q. ZAIU:O)Tim ta.; Argerd Zareo Dycel, 184 50.1 TIllS ed.; "at In Q. 18 S. S3t) co"j. Bul/cllj51! Q. 187. trophies) lhee'; Ifophcs Q.

U') amb35Qdor 10 England, wid his king lhal Queen Ellzabelh 'IS milch alarmed afn~ from florence lhal Srukcley hud left Civit3 Vecchia with SIX hundred lIIen in ag;lUcon' (UP Spn, (1568-79), p. S61).

In. destmattl ordained, destined (0£0 ppl); d. The Lo"do" ProdIgal, 'That agulll)" conSCience I May bring him t'O this destll13te repentance' (sig. A4 vl.

180 SD.) See n. S. I .57 SD.18s.1 Muly M:lhamet Selh mUSI be addre;s,"& Abdclmclcc's lifeless body here.

Bullen', 'hast thou $.1(' ,"stead of Q's 'sir' slightly Improves Ihe sense, but the speech isapp3~nrly w corrupt thnl no coherent readll1g is poSSIble.

lU, god of lungs] Amufalh (see 1.1.35-6)·

Page 36: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)

199· gu.udsl D)'cr; gard Q. 215. Goo's I D)'ee l; God.s Q. shall I it keepI D)'er;

"h;J111 kecpe Q. 215 SO. I Oyer: [lifer two Portugais wllh Ihe bodie o( the king Q.

190 .) 'HI'" appears 10 h:IVe 110 antecedent; a:. l)yce1 notcs, 'something IS wanriogbefore thiS line'. Indeed, sOlllclhiJ1~ IS wanllng after it as well: t.he tranSition fromaddrcs"in~ Abddmdcc'S body ro a tribute, addressed w Abdelmelec'S followcn.- ·1,.0,Ihis Wtl'i hc' - is very ahrupr.

193· hlllie bi", belled apparently a cunlln:md 10 carry orr Abdelmc1ec's body, but Qhas no stage direction, and there is a Similar lIlStrllcnon at II. :'07-8,

:'04· sOIlSh, to SWIm the fordl 'Muley Mahamet seeking (() s:we hrmselfe by flight,llS he would have passed over at the (<lord of the river of L1riss.1 which is In}"rie 3ndmnomh, W,lS casl OUI of Ius saddle b) hiS hor~ that "trlVed and struggcled to get OUlof rhe dun, and heelll~ unskdfull to swil11me, was drowned :and perished in the river'(Polemon. sig. X4r). Polemoll'" 'river of L1rissa' 1'0 wad Loukkns, or 'luccu~',as an LtoAfncanus (Brown, p. 4~S).

205· Godl Sec n. 4.1.69.208. (im~ra/sl often denotes the 'illlglllar; cr. j"/Ills Ca~sar, 'I II.!. funerals shall rIO{

be In our camp' (S.2..104).21" types) Sec n. 5.1,17.11 s. Godsl See n. ... 1.1;1).

His friends whom denth and farcs hath [a'en from thee.La, this was he rh;lf was the pcoplc'~ pride,And cheerful sunshine to his subjects all.Now have him hence, that royally he mayBe buried ~lnd embalmed as is meet.ZareQ, have you through the camp proclaimedAs erst we gave in charge?

,areo. We have, m)' lord, and rich rewards proposedFor rhem rhat find rhe body o( the King.For by those guards Ihat h3d 111m in their charge,W/e understand [hat he was done to demh,And for his 'iearch two prisoners, PortugaIs,Arc set at brge 10 find their royal king.

Muly Mahamet Seth, But of the trair'rous Moor you hear no news,Thar fled the field and soughr to <wim the (ord?

Zareo. Not yel, my lord, bur doubtless God will tellAnd with his finger point OUt where he haunts.

Muly Mahomet Setb. So let It rest, and on this earth bestowThis princely corse, rill further (or his funeralsWe provide.

Zareo. From him to thee as true succeeding prince,With all allegiance, and with honour's type'i,In name o( all rhy people and rhy land,We give this kingly crown and diadem.

M"ly Mahomet Seth. We thank you all, and as my lawful righr,With God's defence and yours shall I it keep.

cllter two I'ORTUGALS 'llltb the body of [Ki"g SEBASTIANI.

~Ifi SH,I Tins ~d.: I'orf. Q; First I'ort, Dyer, as SI)·I flus ed.; Emer two bring·mg m the Moore Q; Enter rwo !)eaS3l1ts bringll1~ III Ihe hody of tht Moor Dyer. 226

~H"I ThiJ ('d.: One: Q. First fleas. D)'cr.

117TilE BATTLE OF ALCAZARSC. IIPortuguese Soldier. As gave your grace in charge, right royal prince,

The fields and sandy plains we have surveyed,And even among the thickest o( his lords,The noble King of Portugal we foundW[3pped in his colours culdly on the earth, 220

And done to dearh wlrh many a mort:ll wound.Muly Mahamet Seth. Lo, here, my lords, rhis is rhe earth and day

O( him rhat erst was mighty KlIlg of Porrugal.There let him lie, and )'OU for this be (reeTo make return from hence to Christendom. 225

E"ter two ISOLDIERSI brmgi"g lit tbe Moor.

Soldier. Long live the mighty Kmg o( Barbary.Muly Mahomet Seth. Welcome, my (riend, whar body hast thou there?Soldier, The bod)' of rhe ambitious enemy,

That squandered all this blood 10 Africa,Whose malice sem so m~lI1)' souls to hell, 230

The trairor Muly Mahumer do I bring,And (or thy slave I rhtow him at thy (ecr.

Muly Mohamet Seth, z.1.reo, give this man ;1 rich reward,And than.ked be the god of JUSt revengeThat he hath given our foe inlo our hands, :'35Beasdy, unarmed, slavish, full of shame.But S:lY, how came this traitor fO his end?

Soldier. Seeking to save his li(e by <hame(ul flight,He moumeth on a hor Barbarian horse,And so in purpose to have past the scream, .14 0

His headstrong steed throws him from out his scar,Where diving oft for l:lck of skill to swim,If was my chance alone fO see him drowned,Whom by ,he heels I dragged (tom out the poolAnd hither have him brought thus filed with mud. "245

ltfmy Mahomet Seth. A dearh roo good (or such a damned wretch.Bur since our rage ~Jnd cigour of revengeBy violence of his end prevented is,Thai all rhe world may learn by him 10 avoidTo hale on princes to injurious war, 1.5°

us So,I l)y.,;e has cwo peasants hnnglllg in the hod)'; one can on I) wonder from",~re Iht')' Inay have: come. It IS mOst nnllkely thai, with ",oldlcrs available, IWO actors\\ould Jon pc:lsallt costumn lUSt (or thiS entr:mce.

145" filrtf} defiled, tilt- shorter (orm bt'lIlg common 111 Ihe Sixteenth cenrurYi d. Apmsand V,rgmJa (Q, IS7S). 'Or should my Vlrgll1s n3me be hide' (sig. A}r).

'95

'90

200

205

110

21 5

IACT 5THE BATTLf OF ALCAZARr16

Page 37: Peele, Battle of Alcazar(2)

1.28 THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

His skin we will be parted from his flesh,And being stiffened our and scuffed with Straw [...JSO to deter and feM the lookers onFrom any such fool faci or bad attempt.Away with him.And now, my lords, for this Christian king:My lord Zacco, let it be your charge,To sec rhe soldiers tread a solemn march,Trailing their pikes and ensIgns on the ground,So to perform the princc's funerals.

Here elldetlJ the tragicaJ battle of Alcawr

IACT 5

255

260lEx,,,,,,).

The Famous History of the Life and Deathof Captain Thomas Stukeley

1.60 SD.I TIm cd.; "01 ", Q.

l.j2. stllffed WIll} straw) 'Bur as (or the bo<he of Muley Mahantet. the newe kinghis uncle cOl1l1uaullded the skinne fO be pulled off (because he had beene th~ author ofso many slaughters) and TO he sailed, and then stuffed wi 111 srrawe. and 10 be <:arriedabout thorough OUI all provinces of his kingdomc, for to dererre all other for artempt.ing the like af ~Ilie nme after' Wolcmon, sig. Yu). The compositor muSt ha,'e misseda line or hnes following thiS one, describing how the Stuffed body was to be displayed(Bmdley, p. 167)· This idea was nOI onglOallU Muly Ahmed al~Monsour: Earle NestorMarrlllingo's 'True Reporl' of the siege of Famagusrn in 1571 reveals mal, when thecuy fell to the Turks, the body of Ihe Venetian general, 'thai woonhy and nobleBragadlOO', was 'taken and filled wilh Sfrawc landl was commanded foonhwith to behangt<! upon rhe bowspril of a fOist (a small galleyl. and tOO be carie<! alongst the coastof SYria by the sea SIde' (Jfakluyt, 5: 47),

'54· facti deed. <xplol! (0£0 sb .bl.2.59·) Muly Mah.unet Seth is ordering hiS men to trail their pikes In 'the funeral!

posture' With rhe head. nOt the butt, testlllg on rhe ground; set' Edward Davies, TheArt of \t'or olUl E."glonds Traymngs (london, 1619, p. 198); Edelman, Mllitdry, pp.253-4·

260. (he prince's {tmuolsl 11 mighl s«m unusual that the play does nOt end with acouplet, but there is nIl final couplet In either Hamlet or COriolanus, twO plays thatdose, as Ihis one does, with an order for a milimry funeral.