Social Problems

Social Problems

1563 The first War of Religion* ends but many more will follow, which helps explain why we don't hear much about French theatre during this time. There is the beginning of a general outbreak of plague in Europe with over 20,000 dead in England.

The first printing press finally comes to Russia. The Catholic Counter Reformation is busy in Bavaria. The term "Puritan*" is first used in England. 1564 - In England two important playwrights are born: Christopher Marlowe* and William

Shakespeare*. 1564 The Counter Reformation spreads to Poland. In India Babur*.s grandson, Akbar* opens

a house of worship where all faiths can argue and discuss (including the Portugese Jesuits.) 1565 - Madrid, now the capital of Spain, grants a charitable organization, the Confradia de la

Sagrada Passion*, the privilege of coming up with a place to put on all comedias given in the city. They come up with three squares (or corrales.)

In Italy we find the first mention of a public theatre building in Venice. More of these will show up but they don't have the innovative influence of the buildings the Academies will build. Venice is big on public theatre because it is not run by nobles and a monarch and has a strong, rich, middle class.

1565 John Hawkins* not only takes slaves to the New World, he brings sweet potatoes and tobacco to England.

Things are getting economically less than glorious in Italy, what with those trade routes to the East closed by the Turks and Spain,

Portugal and England doing all that New World business and tootling around Africa to the East. They are losing out on the "first in trade" race. They try to make up for it with an all out effort in the arts and learning business.

Mary* Queen of Scots marries Henry (Lord Darnley) and rapidly becomes pregnant. 1566 Mary* Queen of Scots gives birth to a son, the future James VI* of Scotland and,

eventually, James I of England. Nostradamus dies and in the Netherlands there are Calvinist* riots. Suleiman I* dies. We might take a moment here to look at the work of this leader of the

Ottoman Turks who brought the Ottoman Empire* to its height. Not only does he vastly enlarge the territory he started with, he also makes enormous cultural improvements. He Ottoman Turks who brought the Ottoman Empire* to its height. Not only does he vastly enlarge the territory he started with, he also makes enormous cultural improvements. He

1566 - The earliest English prose comedy, The Supposes*, by Geroge Gascoigne* is presented before the English Court. His play is taken from that popular 1509 play, I suppositi*, by Ariosto*.

In Florence they have one of those elaborate processions (descended from the Roman triumph*) called trionfi*. This one is called A Masque of the Genealogy of the Gods and is designed by Giorgio Vasari* (1511-1574). There are a lot of drawings of this one that still survive. It includes 21 pageant wagons and 392 mythological figures in gorgeous costumes. People watch these processions from balconies, palace galleries, courtyards and town squares.

1567 In the Netherlands nationalist and Protestant fervor combine in revolt against Catholic Spain. The Duke of Alba is sent in as military governor and begins a reign of terror.

In France the Protestants (Calvinists who will are called Huguenots) are fighting with the Catholics. This will continue for a long while.

Mary* Queen of Scots' husband, Lord Darnley dies and she is kidnapped by the Earl of Bothwell*. The political pawn is now going from bad to worse. She abdicates in favor of her infant son.

Titian* is still painting. In Russia there are disastrous weather and harvests this year and next. In the New World Francis Drake* is sailing with John Hawkins* and the South American

Indians are being decimated by typhoid fever. 1568 Mary* Queen of Scots flees Scotland to England. This is not a good idea. 1568 - The first public theatre presentation takes place in Madrid. 1569 - Those clever constructions for changing scenes, periaktoi*, are used in Florence. 1569 In Lisbon (Portugal) there is an epidemic of carbuncular fever and 40,000 die. In northern England there is a rebellion (this happens frequently) but down in London they are

having a public lottery.

A Flemish geographer, Gerhardus Mercator*, comes out with his Cosmographia* and a map of the world for navigational use. The kind of projection he uses for this map bears his name ever since.

Only 70 people return for those ships of John Hawkins* that were captured by the Spanish. This makes the English mad and they (especially Francis Drake*) set out to plunder Spanish ships in the Caribbean.

The Russians finally prevent the Turks from building that canal and reach a peace between the Ottoman Empire* and Russia.

1570 -By this date the English cycle plays are dead. Lodovico Castelvetro* (1505-71) comes out with his demand (in his Poetica d'Aristotle*) that

Aristotelian* principles be introduced into contemporary drama. This work, while crude and inaccurate in its interpretation of Aristotle *, is best known for establishing the notion of the "three Unities" and will influence playwrighting for centuries.

1570 There is a lot of dynastic marrying going on making Hapsburg* alliances. Charles XI* of France marries Elizabeth, and Philip II* of Spain (widower of Bloody Mary*) marries his fourth wife, Anne of Austria. Both women are daughters of Maximillian II*, the Hapsburg Holy Roman Emperor*. He needs all the friends and relatives he can get to protect his Empire because the aggressive Turks are busy sacking Nicosia and Cyprus and declaring war on Venice.

The Spanish take the Phillipines which finally gives them a foothold in the East. Russia now has severe plague. Peasants who survive flee to the eastern frontier. 1571 The Turkish fleet is defeated by the Austrians in the Gulf of Patrus at Lepanto

(Cervantes* fought at this battle and mentions it in his Don Quixote de la Mancha*.) England has been losing money by selling their wool to the Low Countries (who are currently

in considerable civil turmoil) where it is turned into finished cloth so they enact an Act of Parliament forbidding the export of wool from England, hoping to do their own cloth making.

Titian* is still painting. 1572 The infamous St. Bartholomew's Day's Massacre* (August 24, they kill 2,000) of the

Huguenots in France helps bring to an end the year-long fourth French War of Religion* and amnesty for the Huguenots.

The English Parliament demands the execution of Mary* Queen of Scots. The Dutch War of Independence (from the Hapsburgs*) begins. At this time England is having trade troubles because of the wars in Europe (especially the

Spanish blockade at Antwerp) and the Spanish interference with English merchant vessels between the North Sea and the Straits of Gibraltar. Because of this the English merchants start seriously looking west to the Americas.

1572 - In England another famous playwright, Ben Jonson* (1572-1637), is born. 1572 - This year the matter of actors' patrons is further stiffened by requiring that the patron

must be no lower in degree then a baron. This means that any company of actors in England must be under the patronage of a "peer." (This didn't mean that the peer pays them, just that they are organized under his patronage. They are free to seek employment wherever it's legal.

Let's take a moment here to clear up this English Peerage business. There are two relevant parts. First, the term peer dates from the Magna Carta when people were guaranteed the right to be tried by a jury of their "peers", that is people of their own social station. The second is an out growth of the feudal system in which "peer" came to mean the tenant-in-chief who held his land directly from the crown. Gradually the English system developed the hereditary nobility (where the title descends in the family line) into five levels of "peers": duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. These are the "peers" who make up the hereditary House of Lords, the upper house of the English parliament. The peerage is somewhat different in every country but only the English really affects the theatre.

1573 Remember that Pastoral* play business? Well it peaks in popularity about now when an Italian named Toquato Tasso* comes out with Amita*. One of the two most admired and imitated pastoral plays (we'll get the other one in a minute), it impresses all Europe.

1574 - The Spanish build a theatre in the Corral de la Pacheca* with a roof covering the stage and sides of the patio. There is also an awning for the rest of the patio. The theatre is built at the insistence of a company of Italian players who use this playing space.

James Burbage* (c. 1530-97) gets a licence to open a theatre in London but it will take him two years to get it built.

1575 There is an active theatre space in Spanish Seville, the Corral de Don Juan*. There is State bankruptcy in Spain despite the fact that Spain gets one-fifth of all the

Americas' silver and gold. 1576 - Finally the first theatre to be built in England opens, called, appropriately enough the

Theatre*. James Burbage* built it and the Leicester's Men* (later to be called Oxford's Men*) are playing there.

One of those old monasteries appropriated by the crown, Blackfriars*, (which is in London) has been used, in part, as a storage place for costumes and properties for Court entertainments. This year the master of the choir boys at Windsor adapts part of the building as a theatre for the boys productions.

1576 If you remember the Spanish king, Philip II*, inherited the Netherlands as well as Spain. All that rebellion among the Dutch leads the Spanish to sack Antwerp. This doesn't help its reputation as the most important international port.

1577 In England the Holinshed Chronicles* (a neat history that will help Shakespeare do his history plays) is published.

In France they are busy with the 6th War of Religion*. In the world of art El Greco* and Rubens* are painting. And, in the exploration business, Francis Drake* leaves England on a voyage to South

America and on into the Pacific and around the world. Down in Italy a woman is born who will show up in theatrical tragedy later as a tragic

heroine, Beatrice Cenci* (1577-99.) 1577 - A second theatre, The Curtain*, opens outside London. 1578 - Another corral is built in Seville, and later, a third. With the increasing number of

theatres in cities around Spain, the number of professional actors also rises. 1579 Francis Drake* gets into the Pacific and up the west coast to claim New Albion (in

California) for England. Spain invades Portugal. The Ottoman Turks* have established diplomatic relations and granted commercial privileges

to England because they both hate Spain. Meanwhile the Turks* are expanding in Georgia (Russia), Yemen and Morocco.

1579 - Spain gets another permanent theatre this year, the Corral de la Cruz*. These permanent theatre are additions to the use of the corrales. There are people in England who are busy opposing theatres, too. As the Protestant movement spreads we will hear more from them. This year we have a guy called Stephen Gosson* writing The School of Abuse*

1580 Spain and Portugal become linked again (Philip II* inherits Portugal) and we see the first empire on which the sun never sets. They dominate the Persian Gulf and the west coast of India (through Portugal) as well as the Americas and the Holy Roman Empire. They will retain much of their colonial empire into the mess with Napoleon in the early nineteenth century.

The French are occupied with the 7th War of Religion*. There is an earthquake in London and Francis Drake* returns to England and a knighthood

from his trip around the world. Meanwhile the English subdue some rebellious Catholics in the north, this makes the Pope excommunicate Elizabeth I* and that gives Philip II* of Spain

a good excuse to start plotting to replace her with Mary* Queen of Scots (remember she is descended from the sister of Elizabeth's father.) This won't do her any good.

1580 - In Italy the Olympic Academy of Vicenza* starts building an influential theatre building, the Teatro Olimpico*. It is the oldest surviving Renaissance theatre. The architect, Andrea Palladio* (1518-1580), who designed it, dies before it's completion and Vincenzo Scamozzi* (1552-1616) finishes it up. It looks like a reconstruction of a Roman theatre except it is inside. It will be more useful for that new opera form than for the theatre.

In England we have what will later be known as the last performance of a miracle play (in Coventry*.)

1581 In Italy there is an exceptional man of science, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), busy studying and experimenting.

1581 - Despite those religious wars, the French court is fascinated with this dance business. The Ballet Comique de la Reyne* is performed at court and somebody named Coroso* writes

a treatise on dance technique, Il Ballerino*. In England Geroge Peele* writes a pastoral play and Shakespeare* gets married to Anne Hathaway.

1582 - Spain gets still another permanent theatre this year, the Corral del Principe*. 1582 Calendar Reform -

The Julian* calendar (put in effect by Julius Caesar* in 46 B.C.) has resulted in

a noticeable difference between what the calendar says and the solar year. To fix this the Pope Gregory XIII* orders a calendar reform which cuts ten days out of the present year (October 5 becomes October 15) and provides that there will be no leap year day added to years divisible by 100 except those divisible by 400. (That means that the year 2000 will have its extra leap year day.) The Gregorian calendar* is adopted by all the Christian nations except England and Russia. England won't adopt it until 1752 and Russia holds out until 1918. The error in this calendar won't really bother us until we have accumulated a full day by the year 3,3000. However, this calendar reform really messes up the process of keeping records. We find some people making the change retroactively and others leaving old dates as they were. So, keep in mind that the dates you will find in various sources differ for a number of reasons. First, there are the obvious differences between when a play is written, when it is performed first and when it is published for the first time. Second, there are cases of inaccurate record keeping, typographical errors and mistakes. Third, we have the differences brought about by the calendar changes. These affect works dated in the last ten days of the year. These may now be dated as occurring in the following year. Keep these problem in mind when you find date discrepancies. We have tried to provide those dates that are generally agreed upon.

1582 The English are eager to get an overseas empire too and they send expeditions to Mesopatamia, India and the Persian Gulf.

In India Akbar* announces a new faith (Divine Faith) which is a synthesis of Hindu, Christian and Moslem, but it doesn't fly.

The Russian Orthodox Church breaks from the Greek and no longer recognizes the authority of the Greek Patriarch.

1583 The English set up a colony in New Foundland (Canada.) The Turks* are beating the Persians and still fighting Austria but their technological progress

is declining and the Europeans are forging ahead. In the Ottoman Empire* inflation is rife, is declining and the Europeans are forging ahead. In the Ottoman Empire* inflation is rife,

1583 - In England the Queen's Company* (Queen Elizabeth's Men) of players is formed in London when the Master of Revels*, Edmund Tilney*, gets sent around the country to pick a company for her majesty. The members are drawn from a number of currently successful troupes, especially Leicester's Men*.

Another prompt book is available from the Mystery Cycle production at Lucerne*, France. In Italy Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola* (1507-1573) comes out with another one of those

useful publications, The Two Roles of Perspective Practice*. In this he writes at some length about periaktoi* and how you can make them with from two to six sides.

1584 Russian colonists defeat the Tartar tribes and take over much of Siberia. Ivan IV*, better known as Ivan the Terrible, dies and his son, Fyodor gives most of his powers to his brother- in-law, Boris Godunov* (c. 1551-1605). We will find Boris turning up as the subject of Russian theatre and opera.

The Englishman, Sir Walter Raleigh* (he spelled it Ralegh), finds Virginia and annexes it for England.

1584 - This year Miguel de Cervantes* Saavedra (1547-1616), better known as just Cervantes*, begins writing plays. He is probably the best known Spanish writer today, more for his novels (especially Don Quixote de la Mancha*, 16045 Part I) than for his thirty plays. Of these plays only eight comedias and eight extremes survive. Fortunately he also wrote at length about the plays, productions and playwrights of his time in Spain, providing us with a vivid picture of the theatrical world of his time.

1584 - At the Blackfriars* theatre in London John Lyly* (c. 1554-1606) puts on his Campaspe*, a pastoral. Lyly writes exclusively for court tastes and his plays are performed by Boy's Companies* (we'll go into this a little later.)

1585 - In Spain this is the year when Lope de Vega* (1562-1635) begins to write for the stage. He is far and away the most popular Spanish writer for the stage. We talked about the content of his plays in the introduction and we will look at his best known play later when it appears but this is a good time to consider the man. De Vega made a big splash in everthing

he did and he did just about everything. He will participate as a military man in the upcoming Spanish Armada *, work as secretary to a nobleman, participate in a number of businesses and, in 1614, become a priest. Perhaps this last profession clashes most with his best known quality of being constantly involved in love affairs. He is usually described as flamboyant, which may be an understatement. Unlike most of the Spanish playwrights he is not primarily

a company manager, nor is he an actor. He claims he wrote an unbelievable number of plays (between 15,000 and 18,000) and that this number includes 483 comedias*. The rest are autos*, and entremeses*.

The full-length plays, comedias, come in two major kinds:

1- Capa y espada*, or the cape and sword, dealing with men of minor nobility -

2- legendary plays referred to as teatro, ruido (noise) or cuepro (corpse) acording to the primary subject matter concerning rulers, saints, mythological or noble characters doing things in far away places and times.

These full-length plays are introduced with a prologue (loa*) and between the acts the entremeses* (interludes*) are performed. These interludes are short sketches, usually topical and may indlude songs. These will gradually grow into short farces (by 1650.) The prologues varied from simple monologues (like the English versions) to short dramatic sketches.

1585 In this conflict between Spain and the Netherlands Elizabeth I* takes the Netherlands under her protection. What with all those problems in Antwerp, they loose their international importance to the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Philip II* of Spain decides to work on invading England.