171:
At Prynne's trial, some fifty separate and allegedly seditious excerpts from the book were quoted; but the one that has attracted most attention from subsequent critics is Prynne's attack on women actors as "notorious whores." Though Prynne's text made clear he was referring to French actresses who
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twice, fined £5,000, and imprisoned for life. In addition, his book was to be burned by the common hangman, and he was expelled from his university, prohibited from practicing law, and mutilated by the severance of his ears. During his imprisonment, Prynne continued to produce anonymous pamphlets
211:, which induced the authorities, in 1637, to inflict further mutilation: first, the surviving stumps of his severed ears were cut off, and, second, his cheeks were branded with the letters “S.L.” The letters represented the words “Seditious Libeler,” but since his biting words sometimes attacked
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marshals a multitude of ancient and medieval authorities against the "sin" of dramatic performance. The book condemns most aspects of dramatic performance in its era, from the practice of boy actors representing women to the "obscene lascivious love songs, most melodiously chanted out upon the
65:
The title page of the first edition is erroneously dated 1633; as a result many sources cite this as the date of publication. Depositions given in connection with Prynne's trial indicate that the actual writing of the text was accomplished between spring 1631 and mid-to-late 1632.
235:. Prynne responded with a “posting-bill,” or flyer, of his own under the title “Vindication,” which bore the date January 10, 1648, oddly a full year before the publication of the alleged retraction. In 1825, the
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which was staged on
January 9, 1633, most likely after Prynne's book was in print, but she had also appeared and danced in two earlier masques and performed a spoken part in French in a private performance of
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Prynne's book was not by any means the first such attack on the stage, though it certainly was the longest. Its
Puritan theology was in any case unwelcome to the civil authorities, led by
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255:
Prynne was released from prison during the Long
Parliament. The notorious book was never fully suppressed; however, in the next generation, even King
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149:
62:
was published late in 1632 by the bookseller
Michael Sparke. It had been in preparation by its author for almost ten years before its printing.
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231:. Written in Prynne’s style and under his name, the text purported to be a retraction of the sentiments expressed in
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89:, state players, and such other Christmas disorders, now in use with Christians, were derived from these Roman
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Mr. William Prynn His
Defence of Stage Plays in a Retractation of a former Book of his called Histrio-Mastix
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457:
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had recently performed at
Blackfriars, the remark was, at the time, taken as a direct reference to Queen
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and his argument addresses, in part, the anomaly of the dates by explaining the slow acceptance of the
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Prynne was imprisoned in 1633 but not tried until 1634, at which time he had to appear before the
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edited by Jane
Milling and Peter Thomson, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004; p. 379.
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328:
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85:, as noted in the following: "Our Christmas lords of misrule, together with dancing, masks,
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contains an attempt to shed light on the
Puritans' fanatical opposition to the theatre.
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E. W. Brayley undertook to expose the “retraction” as a hoax in a slim volume entitled
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47:
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153:
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published in 1632 is a critique of professional theatre and actors, written by the
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215:, Prynne preferred to render them as “Stigmata Laudis,” or, “the marks of Laud.”
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festivals, which should cause all pious
Christians eternally to abominate them."
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117:
398:
332:
502:
Inigo: The
Troubled Life of Inigo Jones, Architect of the English Renaissance,
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17:
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481:
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An Enquiry into the Genuineness of Prynne’s “Defense of Stage Plays,”
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Running to over a thousand pages, and with a main title of 43 lines,
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An Enquiry into the Genuineness of Prynne's 'Defence of Stage Plays'
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The Idolatrous Eye: Iconoclasm and Theater in Early Modern England
58:
While the publishing history of the work is not absolutely clear,
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Men in Women's Clothing: Anti-theatricality and Effeminization,
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Ungodly Delights: Puritan Opposition to the Theatre 1576-1633
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London, Headline Book Publishing, 2003; pp. 222-3, 298-300.
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represents the culmination of the Puritan attack on the
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Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1967; p. 85. See also
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Histriomastix: The Player's Scourge, or Actor's Tragedy
140:
William Hudson on behalf of Noy, he was defended by
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592:. Manchester: Manchester UP. p. 51, n.91.
8:
393:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
360:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
327:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
311:Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1994.
296:The Cambridge History of Theatre, Vol. 1,
589:Margaret Cavendish: Gender, Genre, Exile
354:Hart Jr, James S. "Atkyns, Sir Edward".
540:Sanders, Herbert M. (March–June 1900).
390:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
357:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
324:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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202:In the end, Prynne was sentenced to be
176:. The Queen had had a speaking role in
148:. Sentence on Prynne was pronounced by
321:Barnes, Thomas G. "Hudson, William".
7:
30:For the play by John Marston, see
25:
431:. Yale University Press. p.
223:Not long before the execution of
109:Theological and political context
677:Non-fiction books about theatre
27:1632 critique by William Prynne
427:The Personal Rule of Charles I
1:
407:UK public library membership
374:UK public library membership
341:UK public library membership
46:author and controversialist
259:had a copy in his library.
79:English Renaissance theatre
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387:Orr, D. A. "Herne, John".
29:
672:Henrietta Maria of France
586:Rees, Emma L. E. (2003).
542:"Literature in Captivity"
521:. Encyclopedia Britannica
207:attacking leaders of the
81:and celebrations such as
152:, and the other judges (
456:Brayley, E. W. (1825).
183:The Shepherd's Paradise
399:10.1093/ref:odnb/13085
333:10.1093/ref:odnb/14042
626:by Michael O'Connell
292:A Companion to Arber,
166:Sir Thomas Richardson
462:. London. p. 13
366:10.1093/ref:odnb/862
219:Purported retraction
136:. Prosecuted by the
32:Histriomastix (play)
190:Honorat de Racan's
124:Trial and sentence
646:978-88-7694-244-0
500:Michael Leapman,
405:(Subscription or
372:(Subscription or
339:(Subscription or
16:(Redirected from
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134:seditious libel
132:on a charge of
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48:William Prynne
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18:Histrio-Mastix
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168:) concurred.
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603:. Retrieved
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130:Star Chamber
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485:(1631) and
237:antiquarian
118:William Noy
105:stage...."
54:Publication
662:1632 books
656:Categories
519:Britannica
409:required.)
376:required.)
343:required.)
288:W. W. Greg
275:References
257:Charles II
180:'s masque
146:John Herne
91:Saturnalia
571:Brayley.
482:Chloridia
251:Aftermath
247:of 1582.
225:Charles I
204:pilloried
199:in 1626.
197:Artenice,
138:barrister
87:mummeries
83:Christmas
552:(3): 319
423:(1992).
263:See also
193:pastoral
605:30 June
573:Enquiry
556:30 June
525:30 June
491:(1632).
466:30 June
269:-mastix
44:Puritan
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164:, and
160:, the
70:Themes
642:ISBN
628:ISBN
607:2017
594:ISBN
558:2017
527:2017
468:2017
437:ISBN
144:and
93:and
433:758
395:doi
362:doi
329:doi
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