The Renegado
Encyclopedia
The Renegado, or The Gentleman of Venice is a late Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy
written by Philip Massinger
and first published in 1630
. The play has attracted critical attention for its treatment of cultural conflict between Christian Europe and Muslim North Africa.
Massinger based the plot of his play on a novel by Miguel de Cervantes
titled Los Baños de Argel, which had been printed in 1615
.
, on April 17, 1624
. It was acted at the Cockpit Theatre
by the Lady Elizabeth's Men
; when that troupe was merged or re-organized into Queen Henrietta's Men
in the following year, 1625
, the play remained in their repertory. The 1630 quarto
was printed by Augustine Matthews
for the bookseller John Waterson
; it bears commendatory verses, including one by James Shirley
. Massinger dedicated his drama to George Harding, 8th Baron Berkeley
, a prominent literary patron of the day who was the dedicatee of Burton's
The Anatomy of Melancholy
(1621
) and Webster's
The Duchess of Malfi
(1623
), among other works.
The play was revived in 1662
, early in the Restoration
era.
for which cast information exists. (Only five cast lists survive for the entire history of Queen Henrietta's Men. The others are for The Fair Maid of the West
, Hannibal and Scipio
, King John and Matilda
, and The Wedding
.) The actors and their roles were:
, in what is modern-day Tunisia
; the title character, the "renegado" or renegade, is Antonio Grimaldi, who has converted to Islam and become a pirate. The true protagonist of the play, however, is Vitelli, a Venetian gentleman; he has come to Tunis disguised as a merchant, in order to search for his sister Paulina, who has been captured by Grimaldi's pirates and sold into the harem of the city's Viceroy, Asambeg. Even in the harem, however, Paulina's virtue is protected by an amulet she wears around her neck; Asambeg is infatuated with her and treats her with respect. A Turkish princess named Donusa falls in love with Vitelli; when this is discovered, they are both imprisoned in the Black Tower. Donusa tries to convince Vitelli to convert to Islam and marry her, and so gain freedom for them both; Vitelli refuses, and in their ensuing conversation converts Donusa to Christianity.
The renegade Grimaldi falls afoul of Asambeg's bad temper, and his career as a pirate is finished. He experiences remorse for his past, and engineers the escape of Vitelli, Donusa, Paulina, and himself from Tunis back to Italy.
character has also drawn comment.
Jowitt, in the early 21st century, reads The Renegado as a political allegory on the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Buckingham's failed trip to woo the Infanta Maria in the Spanish. Donusa and Vitelli are viewed as personifying the Maria and the Prince. The ideological difficulties involved in their relationship can then be seen as raising doubts about the wisdom of such a match. Francisco's Jesuitical character is then an allegory of the Duke of Buckingham.
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
written by Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
and first published in 1630
1630 in literature
The year 1630 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* English literature, drama, and education lose a major patron and benefactor when William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and Lord Chamberlain of England, dies on April 10.-New books:...
. The play has attracted critical attention for its treatment of cultural conflict between Christian Europe and Muslim North Africa.
Massinger based the plot of his play on a novel by Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
titled Los Baños de Argel, which had been printed in 1615
1615 in literature
The year 1615 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 6 - Mercury Vindicated from the Alchemists, a masque written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace....
.
Performance and publication
The Renegado was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the RevelsMaster of the Revels
The Master of the Revels was a position within the English, and later the British, royal household heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally had responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels, and later also became responsible for stage censorship,...
, on April 17, 1624
1624 in literature
The year 1624 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*The King's Men perform The Winter's Tale at Whitehall Palace on January 18...
. It was acted at the Cockpit Theatre
Cockpit Theatre
The Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was christened The Phoenix....
by the Lady Elizabeth's Men
Lady Elizabeth's Men
The Lady Elizabeth's Men, or Princess Elizabeth's Men, was a company of actors in Jacobean London, formed under the patronage of King James I's daughter Princess Elizabeth. From 1618 on, the company was called The Queen of Bohemia's Men, after Elizabeth and her husband the Elector Palatine had...
; when that troupe was merged or re-organized into Queen Henrietta's Men
Queen Henrietta's Men
Queen Henrietta's Men was an important playing company or troupe of actors in Caroline era London. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men.-Beginnings:...
in the following year, 1625
1625 in literature
The year 1625 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - The King's Men act Henry IV, Part 1 at Whitehall Palace....
, the play remained in their repertory. The 1630 quarto
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"...
was printed by Augustine Matthews
Augustine Matthews
Augustine Matthews was a printer in London in the Jacobean and Caroline eras. Among a wide variety of other work, Matthews printed notable texts in English Renaissance drama....
for the bookseller John Waterson
John Waterson
John Waterson was a London publisher and bookseller of the Jacobean and Caroline eras; he published significant works in English Renaissance drama, including plays by William Shakespeare, John Fletcher, John Webster, and Philip Massinger.-Beginning:Waterson was the scion of a family of publishers:...
; it bears commendatory verses, including one by James Shirley
James Shirley
James Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
. Massinger dedicated his drama to George Harding, 8th Baron Berkeley
George Harding, 8th Baron Berkeley
George Harding, 8th Baron Berkeley was a seventeenth-century English nobleman and a prominent patron of literature in his generation....
, a prominent literary patron of the day who was the dedicatee of Burton's
Robert Burton (scholar)
Robert Burton was an English scholar at Oxford University, best known for the classic The Anatomy of Melancholy. He was also the incumbent of St Thomas the Martyr, Oxford, and of Segrave in Leicestershire.-Life:...
The Anatomy of Melancholy
The Anatomy of Melancholy
The Anatomy of Melancholy The Anatomy of Melancholy The Anatomy of Melancholy (Full title: The Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it. In Three Maine Partitions with their several Sections, Members, and Subsections...
(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 Webster's
John Webster
John Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.- Biography :Webster's life is obscure, and the dates...
The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi is a macabre, tragic play written by the English dramatist John Webster in 1612–13. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, then before a more general audience at The Globe, in 1613-14...
(1623
1623 in literature
The year 1623 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*February 2 - The King's Men perform Twelfth Night at Court on Candlemas....
), among other works.
The play was revived in 1662
1662 in literature
The year 1662 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*September 29 - Samuel Pepys sees the King's Company production of A Midsummer Night's Dream...
, early in the Restoration
English 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.
The cast
The 1630 quarto features a cast list for the play, making The Renegado one of the few plays in English Renaissance dramaEnglish Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
for which cast information exists. (Only five cast lists survive for the entire history of Queen Henrietta's Men. The others are for The Fair Maid of the West
The Fair Maid of the West
The Fair Maid of the West, or a Girl Worth Gold, Parts 1 and 2 is a work of English Renaissance drama, a two-part play written by Thomas Heywood that was first published in 1631.-Date:...
, Hannibal and Scipio
Hannibal and Scipio
Hannibal and Scipio is a Caroline era stage play, a classical tragedy written by Thomas Nabbes. The play was first performed in 1635 by Queen Henrietta's Men, and was first published in 1637...
, King John and Matilda
King John and Matilda
King John and Matilda is a Caroline era stage play, a historical tragedy written by Robert Davenport. It was initially published in 1655; the cast list included in the first edition is provides valuable information on some of the actors of English Renaissance theatre.-Performance and publication:No...
, and The Wedding
The Wedding (1629 play)
The Wedding is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley. Published in 1629, it was the first of Shirley's plays to appear in print. An early comedy of manners, it is set in the fashionable world of genteel London society in Shirley's day....
.) The actors and their roles were:
| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Asambeg, Viceroy of Tunis | John Blaney |
| Mustapha, basha of Aleppo | John Sumner John Sumner (17th-century actor) John Sumner was an English theatre actor during the Caroline era .-Career:He was a long-time member of the Queen Henrietta's Men, one of the prime playing companies or acting troupes of the time and named for Henrietta Maria of France, the queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife... |
| Vitelli, a Venetian genleman, disguised as a merchant | Michael Bowyer Michael Bowyer Michael Bowyer was an actor in English Renaissance theatre in the Jacobean and Caroline eras. He spent most of his maturity with Queen Henrietta's Men, but finished his career with the King's Men... |
| Francisco, a Jesuit | William Reignalds |
| Antonio Grimaldi, the Renegado | William Allen William Allen (actor) William Allen was a prominent English actor in the Caroline era. He belonged to both of the most important theatre companies of his generation, Queen Henrietta's Men and the King's Men.... |
| Carazie, an eunuch | William Robbins William Robbins (actor) William Robbins , also Robins, Robinson, or Robson, was a prominent comic actor in the Jacobean and Caroline eras.... |
| Gazet, servant to Vitelli | Edward Shakerley |
| Donusa, niece to Amurath | Edward Rogers |
| Paulina, sister to Vitelli | Theophilus Bird Theophilus Bird Theophilus Bird, or Bourne, was a seventeenth-century English actor. Bird began his stage career in the Stuart era of English Renaissance theatre, and ended it in the Restoration period; he was one of the relatively few actors who managed to resume their careers after the eighteen-year enforced... |
Synopsis
The play is set in TunisTunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, in what is modern-day Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
; the title character, the "renegado" or renegade, is Antonio Grimaldi, who has converted to Islam and become a pirate. The true protagonist of the play, however, is Vitelli, a Venetian gentleman; he has come to Tunis disguised as a merchant, in order to search for his sister Paulina, who has been captured by Grimaldi's pirates and sold into the harem of the city's Viceroy, Asambeg. Even in the harem, however, Paulina's virtue is protected by an amulet she wears around her neck; Asambeg is infatuated with her and treats her with respect. A Turkish princess named Donusa falls in love with Vitelli; when this is discovered, they are both imprisoned in the Black Tower. Donusa tries to convince Vitelli to convert to Islam and marry her, and so gain freedom for them both; Vitelli refuses, and in their ensuing conversation converts Donusa to Christianity.
The renegade Grimaldi falls afoul of Asambeg's bad temper, and his career as a pirate is finished. He experiences remorse for his past, and engineers the escape of Vitelli, Donusa, Paulina, and himself from Tunis back to Italy.
Critical commentary
Nineteenth-century critics tended to interpret the play's positive portrayal of a Jesuit confessor as a sign of Massinger's own supposed Roman Catholicism. The play's inclusion of a eunuchEunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
character has also drawn comment.
Jowitt, in the early 21st century, reads The Renegado as a political allegory on the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Buckingham's failed trip to woo the Infanta Maria in the Spanish. Donusa and Vitelli are viewed as personifying the Maria and the Prince. The ideological difficulties involved in their relationship can then be seen as raising doubts about the wisdom of such a match. Francisco's Jesuitical character is then an allegory of the Duke of Buckingham.
Sources
- Fuchs, Barbara. Mimesis and Empire: The New World, Islam, and European Identities. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004.
- Garrett, Martin. Massinger: The Critical Heritage. London, Routledge, 1991.
- Schelling, Felix Emmanuel. Elizabethan Drama 1558–1642. 2 Volumes, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1908.
- Vitkus, Daniel J. Three Turk Plays from Early Modern England: Selimus, A Christian Turned Turk, and The Renegado. New York, Columbia University Press, 2000.