Clause, King of the Beggars, is a central character in The Beggars Bush (1622) and the later variations of it. At the end of the play it is revealed that he is actually Gerrard, a deposed Earl of Flanders, who before the action starts has rescued his heir Florez and apprenticed him to an English merchant Goswin, whose business and name Florez has inherited. Gerrard has taken the disguise of Clause the beggar, but his natural authority has lead to his election as the King of the beggars, in the episode which formed the droll The Lame Commonwealth. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: May 30th, 2011 | Filed under: Writers, Speculations, The Play | Tags: Francis Kirkman, Godmanchester, Izaak Walton, The Lame Commonwealth, The Play | No Comments »
The Beggars Bush play is important for the both the maintenance and the distribution of the phrase, and therefore its availability as a place name. The text was available not only as a printed source, for which see the Publication History and for example, William Godwin, but also in manuscript form. Although the play is now forgotten it was widely performed, both in London and the provinces. Records of early performances of plays are fragmentary and incomplete; they depend on the chance survival of ephemeral records. When playbills were published and then plays advertised in newspapers records become better for London. We know that plays were performed in the provinces, initially by the main London companies when on tour or when the theatres in London were closed, and then by provincial companies. Even when performed in new editions the play playbills still showed The Beggars Bush. I have compiled a Chronology of Performances, available below. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: May 15th, 2011 | Filed under: The Play | Tags: Francis Kirkman, The Lame Commonwealth, The Play | No Comments »
Another source which would have kept the phrase alive is Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler, one of the most popular of all English books, and one with much interest to the countryman. It was first published in 1653, and continuously reprinted into the twentieth century.
In the second edition (1655) a group of beggars who, being unable to resolve an argument amongst themselves, decide to refer the dispute for resolution by “old father Clause, whom Ben Jonson in his Beggars Bush created King of their Corporation”. There is no doubt this is the Fletcher & Massinger Beggars Bush, which Walton has misattributed. It shows, and may have helped sustain, the popularity of the play and of the character Clause. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: April 10th, 2011 | Filed under: Writers, The Play | Tags: Ben Jonson, Clause, Francis Kirkman, Izaak Walton, James Mabbe, Literary, The Lame Commonwealth, The Play | No Comments »
The satirical verse On the Dominical Nose of O[Liver] C[Romwell] contains evidence of the popularity and distribution of the play The Beggars Bush. It refers to the character Higgen, the Orator Beggar.
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Posted: March 30th, 2011 | Filed under: The Play | Tags: Henry Tubbe, The Lame Commonwealth, The Play | No Comments »
This is a droll in The Wits, by Francis Kirkman (1673) which is based on the text of Act 2, Scene 1 of Beggar’s Bush, by Fletcher & Massinger.
This text is taken from “The Wits, or Sport Upon Sport”, ed. J. J. Elson (1932). The spelling is uncorrected.
The notes on canting are based on the glossary in A. V. Judges, The Elizabethan Underworld. [1]
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Posted: March 28th, 2011 | Filed under: The Play | Tags: Clause, Francis Kirkman, John Fletcher, John Taylor, Literary, Philip Massinger, The Lame Commonwealth, The Play, beggars | No Comments »
The Wits, or Sport for Sport a collection of drolls (short plays) included one based on Act II Scene 1 of The Beggars Bush called “The Lame Common-Wealth”. This was adapted for informal and small scale performance anywhere. It may have been important in the distribution of Beggars Bush as a place name. At the very least it is an intriguing byway and example of the remarkable entrepreneurial career of the publisher Francis Kirkman. The frontispiece is widely reproduced, and inaccurately described, but demonstrates the popularity of the character Clause from the play & droll.
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Posted: March 20th, 2011 | Filed under: Writers, The Play | Tags: Ben Jonson, Clause, Francis Kirkman, John Fletcher, Literary, Performance Chronology, Philip Massinger, Publishing Chronology, The Lame Commonwealth, The Play, The Wits | No Comments »
“The Beggars Bush” is a play written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger in 1622, but commonly included in the “Beaumont and Fletcher” canon. Through performance, print, characters and development of the original text it was likely to have made a substantial contribution to the survival and distribution of the literary phrase. As to the eponymous Beggars Bush itself the play is vague. It is a meeting place for the beggar characters, some of whom, it is revealed, are not beggars at all. It does not attempt to portray a real location – the play is not set in England but in and around Bruges.
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Posted: March 20th, 2011 | Filed under: Writers, The Play | Tags: Ben Jonson, Clause, Dutch, Francis Beaumont, Francis Kirkman, Henry Chettle, Izaak Walton, John Day, John Fl, John Taylor, Literary, Londons Ordinary, Performance Chronology, Philip Henslowe, Philip Massinger, Publishing Chronology, The Lame Commonwealth, The Play, beggars, geuzen | No Comments »
