Lord Chamberlain's Men
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a playing company that William Shakespeare worked at as an actor and playwright for most of his career. Formed at the end of a period of flux in the theatrical world of London, it had become, by 1603, one of the two leading companies of the city and was subsequently patronized by James I.
It was founded during the reign of Elizabeth I of England in 1594, under the patronage of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, then the Lord Chamberlain, who was in charge of court entertainments. After its patron's death on July 23, 1596, the company came under the patronage of his son, George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, for whom it was briefly known as Lord Hunsdon's Men until he is in turn to became Lord Chamberlain on March 17, 1597, whereupon it reverted to its previous name. The company became the King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron.
[edit] References
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- Baldwin, T.W. The Organization and Personnel of Shakespeare's Company. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1927.
- Chambers, E. K.. The Elizabethan Stage. Four Volumes. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923.
- Cook, Ann Jennalie. The Privileged Playgoers of Shakespeare's London, 1576–1642. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.
- Greg, W. W. Dramatic Documents from the Elizabethan Playhouses. Two volumes. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1931.
- Gurr, Andrew. The Shakespearean Stage, 1574–1642. 3rd Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
- Halliday, F. E. A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964. Baltimore, Penguin, 1964.
- Nunzeger, Edwin. A Dictionary of Actors and of Other Persons Associated With the Public Presentation of Plays in England Before 1642. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1929.
