John of Bordeaux
Encyclopedia
John of Bordeaux, or The Second Part of Friar Bacon is an Elizabethan era stage play, the anonymous sequel to Robert Greene's
Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay
.
The play was never printed in its own historical era, and survived in a single, untitled, defective manuscript until it was named and published in 1936. On general considerations it is usually dated to the 1590–94 period, or shortly after the success of Greene's original Friar Bacon.
. It gives the appearance of being a shortened version, cut down for acting; it is annotated by the hands of two prompters, one of whom also annotated the surviving MS. of Edmund Ironside
.
The MS. text, with its "two missing scenes," "confused nomenclature...and seemingly abbreviated romance plot," presents a range of problems to modern editors. Its difficulties lured one scholar into the contradiction of arguing that John of Bordeaux was a "bad quarto
" — that never got printed.
Among the notes added to the MS. by the prompters is the name of John Holland, an actor who was with Lord Strange's Men
in the early 1590s. That company performed a Friar Bacon play on February 19, 1592. Most scholars believe that this was Greene's original Friar Bacon; yet some researchers have pointed out that since Greene's original was the property of Queen Elizabeth's Men
, it can make more sense to suppose that Strange's company was acting the "second part of Friar Bacon," John of Bordeaux.
) of Thomas Lodge
; Lodge collaborated with Greene on the play A Looking Glass for London
(c. 1590). If Greene authored the play, it must have been written, or at least begun, before his 1592 death. The MS. "contains one speech in the hand of Henry Chettle
, obvious written to supply a lacuna...."
, fulfills the role of Prince Edward in the earlier play: Ferdinand lusts after a woman named Rossalin, just as Edward pursues Margaret. Rossalin, unlike Margaret, is married, to John of Bordeaux, the commander of the Emperor's armies in his war against the Turks. Ferdinand's pursuit of Rossalin is much harsher and more ruthless than that of Edward's of Margaret: Rossalin is disgraced, deprived of her home, reduced to beggary, imprisoned, and even threatened with death.
Vandermast, the villainous magician from FBFB, returns in the sequel for a series of contests of magic with Bacon — which Bacon consistently wins. Though the manuscript text is defective toward the end of the story, it is clear that Bacon brings about a happy ending, with the restoration of John and Rossalin to their prior good fortune and the exposure and repentance of Ferdinand. Bacon's English servant Perce constitutes the center of the play's comic relief
in the subplot, as Bacon's servant Miles does in the original play. Among his other stunts, Perce gets German scholars to trade their copies of the works of Plato
and Aristotle
for a couple of bottles of wine.
The story in John of Bordeaux bears some resemblance to that in the anonymous A Knack to Know an Honest Man (1594
), which was a sequel to the earlier A Knack to Know a Knave (1592
). Greene, among others, has been proposed as the author of A Knack to Know a Knave.
Robert Greene (16th century)
Robert Greene was an English author best known for a posthumous pamphlet attributed to him, Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit, widely believed to contain a polemic attack on William Shakespeare. He was born in Norwich and attended Cambridge University, receiving a B.A. in 1580, and an M.A...
Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay
Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay
The Honourable History of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy written by Robert Greene. Widely regarded as Greene's best and most significant play, it has received more critical attention than any other of Greene's dramas.-Date:The date of authorship of Friar...
.
The play was never printed in its own historical era, and survived in a single, untitled, defective manuscript until it was named and published in 1936. On general considerations it is usually dated to the 1590–94 period, or shortly after the success of Greene's original Friar Bacon.
The manuscript
The sole extant original text of John of Bordeaux is MS. 507 in the Duke of Northumberland's Library at Alnwick CastleAlnwick Castle
Alnwick Castle is a castle and stately home in the town of the same name in the English county of Northumberland. It is the residence of the Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest, and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:Alnwick...
. It gives the appearance of being a shortened version, cut down for acting; it is annotated by the hands of two prompters, one of whom also annotated the surviving MS. of Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside (play)
Edmund Ironside, or War Hath Made All Friends is an anonymous Elizabethan play that depicts the life of Edmund II of England. At least three critics have suggested that it is an early work by William Shakespeare.-Text:...
.
The MS. text, with its "two missing scenes," "confused nomenclature...and seemingly abbreviated romance plot," presents a range of problems to modern editors. Its difficulties lured one scholar into the contradiction of arguing that John of Bordeaux was a "bad quarto
Bad quarto
Bad quarto is a term and concept developed by twentieth-century Shakespeare scholars to explain some problems in the early transmission of the texts of Shakespearean works...
" — that never got printed.
Among the notes added to the MS. by the prompters is the name of John Holland, an actor who was with Lord Strange's Men
Lord Strange's Men
Lord Strange's Men was an Elizabethan playing company, comprising retainers of the household of Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange . They are best known in their final phase of activity in the late 1580s and early 1590s...
in the early 1590s. That company performed a Friar Bacon play on February 19, 1592. Most scholars believe that this was Greene's original Friar Bacon; yet some researchers have pointed out that since Greene's original was the property of Queen Elizabeth's Men
Queen Elizabeth's Men
Queen Elizabeth's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in English Renaissance theatre. Formed in 1583 at the express command of Queen Elizabeth, it was the dominant acting company for the rest of the 1580s, as the Admiral's Men and the Lord Chamberlain's Men would be in the decade that...
, it can make more sense to suppose that Strange's company was acting the "second part of Friar Bacon," John of Bordeaux.
Authorship
The MS. is anonymous, and critics have proposed various solutions to the authorship question. Greene himself has been a favorite candidate; at the extreme, the play has been described as "definitely of Greene's authorship" — though most commentators have not gone so far. It is noteworthy that three of the play's characters have names that derive from the Rosalynde (15901590 in literature
-Events:*The Children of Paul's perform at Court twice in the first week of January; one of the plays they acted may have been John Lyly's Midas. Later in the year, however, they are banned from performing because of the involvement of their chief script-writer, Lyly, in the Marprelate...
) of Thomas Lodge
Thomas Lodge
Thomas Lodge was an English dramatist and writer of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.-Early life and education:...
; Lodge collaborated with Greene on the play A Looking Glass for London
A Looking Glass for London
A Looking Glass for London and England is an Elizabethan era stage play, a collaboration between Thomas Lodge and Robert Greene. Recounting the Biblical story of Jonah and the fall of Nineveh, the play is a noteworthy example of the survival of the Medieval morality play style of drama in the...
(c. 1590). If Greene authored the play, it must have been written, or at least begun, before his 1592 death. The MS. "contains one speech in the hand of Henry Chettle
Henry Chettle
Henry Chettle was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era.The son of Robert Chettle, a London dyer, he was apprenticed in 1577 and became a member of the Stationer's Company in 1584, traveling to Cambridge on their behalf in 1588. His career as a printer and author is...
, obvious written to supply a lacuna...."
Plot
The plot of John of Bordeaux depends heavily on that of the original Friar Bacon. The setting shifts to Germany from England, where Bacon is visiting the Emperor's court. Ferdinand, the son of Emperor Frederick IIFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
, fulfills the role of Prince Edward in the earlier play: Ferdinand lusts after a woman named Rossalin, just as Edward pursues Margaret. Rossalin, unlike Margaret, is married, to John of Bordeaux, the commander of the Emperor's armies in his war against the Turks. Ferdinand's pursuit of Rossalin is much harsher and more ruthless than that of Edward's of Margaret: Rossalin is disgraced, deprived of her home, reduced to beggary, imprisoned, and even threatened with death.
Vandermast, the villainous magician from FBFB, returns in the sequel for a series of contests of magic with Bacon — which Bacon consistently wins. Though the manuscript text is defective toward the end of the story, it is clear that Bacon brings about a happy ending, with the restoration of John and Rossalin to their prior good fortune and the exposure and repentance of Ferdinand. Bacon's English servant Perce constitutes the center of the play's comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
in the subplot, as Bacon's servant Miles does in the original play. Among his other stunts, Perce gets German scholars to trade their copies of the works of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
and Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
for a couple of bottles of wine.
The story in John of Bordeaux bears some resemblance to that in the anonymous A Knack to Know an Honest Man (1594
1594 in literature
-Events:*The London theatres re-open in the spring, after two years of general inactivity due to the bubonic plague epidemic of 1592–94. Many of the actors who used to be Lord Strange's Men form a new organization, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, under the patronage of Henry Carey, 1st Baron...
), which was a sequel to the earlier A Knack to Know a Knave (1592
1592 in literature
-Events:*Ulysses Redux, a Latin play by William Gager, is staged by the students of Christ Church, Oxford on February 5. Two days later, on February 7, the students revive Gager's 1583 Latin play Rivales...
). Greene, among others, has been proposed as the author of A Knack to Know a Knave.