The Gypsies Metamorphosed
Encyclopedia
The Gypsies Metamorphosed, alternatively titled The Metamorphosed Gypsies, The Gypsies' Metamorphosis, or The Masque of Gypsies, was a Jacobean era masque
written by Ben Jonson
, with music composed by Nicholas Lanier
. It was first performed on 3 August 1621
, and was the biggest popular hit of Jonson's masquing career.
— at that time the Marquis of Buckingham — the court favorite of King James I
. Buckingham was celebrating his 6 May marriage to Lady Katherine Manners
, the daughter of the Earl of Rutland
. The original 3 August performance occurred at Burley (then Burleigh-on-the-Hill), Buckingham's country house; it was repeated two days later, on 5 August, at Belvoir Castle
in Lincolnshire
, the country seat of Buckingham's father-in-law the Earl of Rutland; and it was staged a highly unusual third time at Windsor Castle
in September.
gypsy fashion: they sing and dance frequently, they tell fortunes, and they pick the pockets of the common people who fall in among them. In the masque, the gypsies' "metamorphosis" is that their complexions change from "Ethiop" darkness to English white, under the beneficent royal influence of James. Thereupon they return all the stolen goods to their proper owners.
One of the masque's unusual features is that aristocrats not only danced in the masque, which was common, but took speaking roles too, which was not. Buckingham himself had a speaking part in which he addressed the King directly; his family and friends were also in the cast. Another unusual feature was the telling of fortunes for the aristocrats of the court. In the first version, fortunes were provided for noblewomen, including Katherine Manners, Lady Elizabeth Hatton
, and the Countesses of Rutland, Exeter, and Buckingham (the latter being the favorite's mother); in a later revised version, prominent noblemen like the Earl of Pembroke
received their fortunes (which of course were always positive and complementary).
era. (A musical setting for the song survives, though it is anonymous and not certainly Lanier's; other song settings for the masque, by Robert Johnson and Edmund Chilmead
, also exist, testifying to the work's popularity.)
in 1641; it also received a separate publication in 1640, in a duodecimo
volume issued by John Okes. The work also exists in manuscript versions; one is an autograph manuscript, the only surviving MS. in Jonson's hand. The manuscripts have been helpful to scholars in repairing the deficiencies of the printed texts, which jumble together the original and revised versions of the masque.
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
written by Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
, with music composed by Nicholas Lanier
Nicholas Lanier
Nicholas Lanier, sometimes Laniere was an English composer, singer, lutenist and painter....
. It was first performed on 3 August 1621
1621 in literature
The year 1621 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*August 26 - Barten Holyday's allegorical play Technogamia, originally produced at Christ Church, Oxford in 1618, is staged before King James at Woodstock Palace...
, and was the biggest popular hit of Jonson's masquing career.
Buckingham
The masque was sponsored (and paid for) by George Villiers, 1st Duke of BuckinghamGeorge Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
— at that time the Marquis of Buckingham — the court favorite of King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. Buckingham was celebrating his 6 May marriage to Lady Katherine Manners
Katherine Villiers, Duchess of Buckingham
Katherine Manners, Duchess of Buckingham, 19th Baroness de Ros of Helmsley , also known as Catherine, was the daughter and heir of the 18th Baron de Ros. She was known as the richest woman in Britain, apart from royalty...
, the daughter of the Earl of Rutland
Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland
Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland, KG was an English nobleman. Despite a brief imprisonment for his involvement in the Essex Rebellion of 1601, he became prominent at the court of James I. He lived at Belvoir Castle in Lincolnshire...
. The original 3 August performance occurred at Burley (then Burleigh-on-the-Hill), Buckingham's country house; it was repeated two days later, on 5 August, at Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir . It is a Grade I listed building....
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, the country seat of Buckingham's father-in-law the Earl of Rutland; and it was staged a highly unusual third time at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
in September.
The show
The masque was a bold and fresh departure from what was normal for the masque form, in that it featured none of the classical gods and goddesses, the mythological figures, or the personifications of abstract qualities that were standard in masques. Instead, the characters are, as the title indicates, gypsies, who behave for the most part in stereotypicalStereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
gypsy fashion: they sing and dance frequently, they tell fortunes, and they pick the pockets of the common people who fall in among them. In the masque, the gypsies' "metamorphosis" is that their complexions change from "Ethiop" darkness to English white, under the beneficent royal influence of James. Thereupon they return all the stolen goods to their proper owners.
One of the masque's unusual features is that aristocrats not only danced in the masque, which was common, but took speaking roles too, which was not. Buckingham himself had a speaking part in which he addressed the King directly; his family and friends were also in the cast. Another unusual feature was the telling of fortunes for the aristocrats of the court. In the first version, fortunes were provided for noblewomen, including Katherine Manners, Lady Elizabeth Hatton
Elizabeth Hatton
Elizabeth Hatton was the second wife of Sir William Hatton, the nephew and heir of Sir Christopher Hatton ....
, and the Countesses of Rutland, Exeter, and Buckingham (the latter being the favorite's mother); in a later revised version, prominent noblemen like the Earl of Pembroke
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, KG, PC was the son of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and his third wife Mary Sidney. Chancellor of the University of Oxford, he founded Pembroke College, Oxford with King James. He was warden of the Forest of Dean, and constable of St Briavels from 1608...
received their fortunes (which of course were always positive and complementary).
Costs
The free-spending Buckingham paid Jonson the unusual sum of £100 for his work on the masque, double the usual sum of 40-50 pounds; but Lanier was even more generously rewarded for his music, receiving £200. One of the masque's songs, which begins with the line "Cocklorrel would needs have the devil his guest," was a popular hit, both in its own time and well into the RestorationEnglish Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
era. (A musical setting for the song survives, though it is anonymous and not certainly Lanier's; other song settings for the masque, by Robert Johnson and Edmund Chilmead
Edmund Chilmead
Edmund Chilmead was an English writer and translator, who produced both scholarly works and hack writing. He is also known as a musician.He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated M.A. in 1631...
, also exist, testifying to the work's popularity.)
Texts
The masque was included in the second folio collection of Jonson's worksBen Jonson folios
The folio collections of Ben Jonson's works published in the seventeenth century were crucial developments in the publication of English literature and English Renaissance drama. The first folio collection, issued in 1616, treated stage plays as serious works of literature instead of popular...
in 1641; it also received a separate publication in 1640, in a duodecimo
Book size
The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
volume issued by John Okes. The work also exists in manuscript versions; one is an autograph manuscript, the only surviving MS. in Jonson's hand. The manuscripts have been helpful to scholars in repairing the deficiencies of the printed texts, which jumble together the original and revised versions of the masque.
Critical responses
The Gypsies Metamorphosed was not only popular with its Jacobean audience; modern critics have tended to judge it affirmatively as well. At least one modern scholar has considered it "Jonson's finest achievement as a writer of masques." The masque's multiple levels of meaning have attracted a wide range of critical commentary.Sources
- Bancroft, Angus. Roma and Gypsy—Travellers in Europe: Modernity, Race, Space and Exclusion. London, Ashgate, 2005.
- Blank, Paula. Broken English: Dialects and the Politics of Language in Renaissance Writings. London, Routledge, 1996.
- Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith, eds. The New Intellectuals: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama. Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1977.
- Netzloff, Mark. England's Internal Colonies: Class, Capital, and the Literature of Early Modern English Colonialism. London, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
- Skantze, P. A. Stillness in Motion in the Seventeenth-Century Theatre. London, Routledge, 2003.
- Walls, Peter. Music in the English Courtly Masque, 1604–1640. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1996.