Dramatis Personae

POSSIBLE INFLUENCES AND SOURCES

The Roman play appears to be a popular genre around the date that The Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero was published. Shakespeare had already written Julius Caesar, and there was also Ben Jonson's play, Sejanus, and another anonymous play entitled Nero. Playwrights could express and highlight political opinions, as well as expose the failures of the king and his court.

Embedded within the play are references from the works of other playwrights, with numerous references to Shakespeare. In Hamlet, Act I scene v, Old Hamlet king of Denmark, recently dead, appears as a ghost to his son, Hamlet, to inform him of his murder by poison being poured into his ear while he slept in his orchard. The ghost then asks Hamlet to avenge his murder. This idea is mirrored in The Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero, where Tiberius is in his orchard and the ghost of the murdered Germanicus appears to him and talks of revenge for his death. Another similarity to Hamlet within the play is when Germanicus, alone on the stage, comments on the awful prodigies in Rome; this speech is very similar to Horatio's in Act I scene i, 115-128. Shakespeare's reference to 'Nemean lion's name' in Act I, scene iv, 83 is again mirrored in The Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero, when Tiberius refers to Nemea and lions. The chameleon mentioned by Sejanus, is also mentioned in, Hamlet, Act 3, scene ii, 93. Furthermore, 'Ides of March' is taken from a line in Julius Caesar, (Act I, sc.ii, 18). In the play there are several references to other plays, Tamburlaine, by Marlowe; Shakespeare's Richard II, and a line from a poem by Chidiock Tichborne, called 'Elegy', written while he was in the Tower of London before his execution for his involvement in the Babington affair in 1586 -'…my glass is run.'

Roman plays often represented those in hierarchal positions abusing the powers they had been allotted. The Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero is set in the ancient court of Rome and emphasises the corruption within it. The play also makes allusions to Mary Queen of Scots, mother to James VI and I. England was under Protestant rule and the allusion the play makes towards Roman Catholics implies James' involvement with Catholics due to his connection with Mary Queen of Scots. Mary was a Catholic and charged with conspiring plots against the crown, she was executed in 1587 in the hall at Fotheringay Castle, and had chosen as her successor to her right to the crown, Philip of Spain; she had cast James aside because he was a Protestant.

The playwright would have derived his historical knowledge on the biographer to the Caesars, Suetonius; precise details of his life are not known, bur he was born around AD 69 and he died around AD 140. Suetonius wrote the book The Twelve Caesars, which 'provided a model for Einhard's Charlemagne in the ninth century and a source for Petrarch's Lives of the Illustrious Romans in the fourteenth. The English translation by Philemon Holland (1606), though diffuse, is spirited and popular.' (1)

Robert Graves (1895-1985) also based his historical novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God on the work of Suetonius. Another source of historical knowledge was the Roman historian, Tacitus (c.55-120) who wrote Historiae, which was a history of the empire from Galba in AD 68 to the assassination of Domitian in AD 96; he also wrote Annales, which is a history of the Julian line from Tiberius to Nero. (1) 'Tacitus' writings gave a critique of court corruption an implicitly radical political edge. James, for one, recognised this implicit political threat - he considered Tacitus anti-monarchical and was disturbed by his subjects increasing interest in the historian's writings.' (2)

The extensive knowledge of classical and mythological history demonstrated through the language of the characters shows their status and education. The allusion to the deities only serves to show the judgements and lives of the gods as unsuitable, a metaphor for God's anointed on earth, allowing parallels to be made between the corrupt, murderous Tiberius and King James VI and I.

The playwright’s extensive knowledge of classical and mythological history is demonstrated by the language of his characters, this is designed to show their education and status. The allusion to the deities often only shows that even the gods had unsuitable lives and judgements; a metaphor for God’s anointed on earth, allowing parallels to be made between the corrupt, murderous Tiberius and king James VI and I.

1. Tranquillus Gaius Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, translated by Robert Graves(London: Penguin Books, 2003) p. x.

2. Magnus Magnusson (General ed.) Chambers Biographical Dictionary (Edinburgh: W &R Chambers Ltd. 1995), p. 1427

COLONIAL REFERENCES

There is much evidence in the play to suggest the playwright had knowledge of writers of travel, which would have informed the people of the Renaissance of new geographical discoveries. The playwright displays his knowledge by mentioning these exotic and distant places throughout his text, such as Africa, Armenia, Babylon, Capri, the Danube river, Germany, Greece, the Orient, Sicily, and Thebes: he includes references to Indians and Pigmies, and mentions a wide variety of exotic animals: elephants, tigers, crocodiles, camels, bears, leopards and asses. James VI and I was also very interested in exotic animals and possessed several which he let roam free in James' Park. The inclusion of merchandise from distant countries hints at new found wealth: gold, pearls, diamonds and jasper, and exotic fruit such as the pomegranate are mentioned. All these references show the Renaissance was an expanding world.

RELIGIOUS ALLUSIONS

During the reign of the emperor Augustus, Jesus Christ was executed; Tiberius was forty two years of age at this time and still had fourteen years before becoming emperor of Rome. There are several biblical references within the play: 'Palantia's leave her Lucifer', 'saviour of the world', 'Babylon', and 'blazing comets of the East'; Germanicus comments on the 'new devised religion / Of the inconstant Jews called Christians.' The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 demonstrated the lack of faith Catholics had with promises of freedom from persecution, and hopes of seeing the Roman Catholic faith established by law. James persecuted the Catholics and was perceived as a tyrant. Roman Catholics were treated with horrible contempt: no Roman Catholic was allowed to live in London, and no Catholic could be a lawyer or a doctor.

In the play Tiberius is portrayed as a kind of anti-Christ, ruthless and ambitious in his malicious quest for power. Tiberius is so full of evil he is unable to stop, and will not let anything or anybody stand in his way. Matricide is only the start of his unquenchable lust for keeping his crown, his unnaturalness is highlighted when he goes on to plot and kill the deaths of Germanicus and all his family, also innocent messengers who inform him of other victims' deaths, and not being satisfied with having the deaths of so many on his conscience he emulates the original sin by giving Agrippina a poisoned apple: a metaphor for Roman Catholics and the poison at court.

The pinnacle of his blood lust, Tiberius' dying wish for genocide where he would decapitate and 'unpeople' the entire world, only enforces the concern the playwright had, and encourages Christian (Protestant) audiences to question the moral motivations of the court.
Tiberius is not the only evil character within the play; Sejanus demonstrates qualities of not being at one with Christian doctrine. He describes the '…tumults in my cloven heart' which connotes similarities appertaining to the devil, one being possessed by devil-like qualities, inhuman, evil, showing no remorse or empathy with fellow human beings. This type of character can be seen in the persona of Aaron in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus; in the final Act of Othello, when Othello looks to see whether the feet of Iago are cloven like the Devil's; in The Tempest, when Caliban talks of 'cloven tongues' and in Troilus and Cressida, where Cressida speaks of a 'cloven chin'.

Through the characters of the play, the playwright highlights the violations made by James I's failings as a patriarchal ruler; instead of showing the court as an image of virtues and manners it is represented as morally and politically unstable. The implications of a corrupt court invoking the wrath of God could have terrible judgements made not only on the sinners but the nation as a whole.

DEDICATEE

Front Matter

To the Right Worshipfull Sir Arthur Mannering Knight, (Sonne and Heyre vnto Sir George Mannering of Eithfield in the Countie of Salop) Carver vnto Prince Henry his Grace.

‘In 1607 the publisher Francis Burton very cautiously dedicated The Tragedie of Claudius Tiberius Nero, to Sir Arthur Mannering, fearing reprehension “for this my Dedication” because “so many Plaies have formerly been published without Inscription unto particular patrons (contrary to Custome in divulging other Bookes)”’ (3)

In 1611 Francis Burton made another dedication using the name of Sir Arthur Mannering in a volume of sermons written by Lancelot Andrewes (4) (1555-1626), called Scala coeli, which reads:

The right worshipful Sir George Mainwaring of Ightfield. Knight, and to the virtuous Lady, Madam Anne his beloved wife and to the right worshipful Sir Arthur, their son and heir, carver to Prince Henry, Prince of Wales.

How Francis Burton came to be acquainted with Sir Arthur Mannering is not known. The interesting thing is, the more one delves into the life of Sir Arthur Mannering, the more relevant the themes within the play become to him.

Sir Arthur was born into a landed family deriving in Ightfield in Shropshire; a small rural village with scattered farmhouses, cottages and a church. Sir Arthur Mannering was Carver to Henry, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of James VI and I; Henry died at the age of eighteen in 1611. Sir Arthur’s name crops up at regular intervals in different documents. The Heralds’ Visitation of Shropshire, which was edited by Grazebrook and Rylands and was published by the Harleian Society in 1889, shows that Sir Arthur Mannering (sometimes spelt Mainwaring) was married in 1623 to Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas Denny of Holcomb in the county of Devon. Margaret died in 1649. A manuscript(1) of the pedigree of the Mainwaring family of Ightfield, shows that Sir Arthur Mainwaring actually married twice, his second wife being, Grisilda, daughter of __ Woodruffe and relict (i.e. a widow) of Sir Francis Clerke.

It is ironic that Sir Arthur should have married twice, especially when he had fathered three children with the unfortunate Mrs Anne Turner, who endeavoured to gain matrimonial status with Sir Arthur without success. Anne Turner was married to an eminent London physician, Dr George Turner, a Catholic, who was well aware of the situation between his wife, Anne, and Sir Arthur Mannering. When he died in 1611, Doctor Turner bequeathed in his will the sum of ten pounds to Sir Arthur Mannering to buy his wife, Anne, a wedding ring. He was even so good as to suggest an inscription for the inside of the ring: Fato junguntur Amantes (May the fates unite the lovers). Sir Arthur never married Anne; he ‘would have been quite a catch for in 1609 he had been left a large estate worth £1,500 a year by his cousin’ (5)

The interesting connection with Sir Arthur Mannering and Mrs Anne Turner was her connection with Frances Howard, Countess of Essex and Somerset. Both Anne Turner and Frances Howard were publicly tried and found guilty of the murder, by poison, of Sir Thomas Overbury (1581-1613). Although the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury was in 1613, the connection that the play and Sir Arthur Mannering have, though distant, is an interesting one. Sir Thomas Overbury was murdered by poison over a period of several months, finally being put out of his misery by being administered an enema of mercury sublimate on the 14^th of September 1613: Overbury was found dead the next day, the 15^th, at around 7.00 o’clock in the morning. Anne Turner had procured poison for Overbury’s murder by consulting the astrologer, necromancer and physician, Dr Simon Forman; it was also proved at the trial that she had administered ‘love potions’ to Sir Arthur which were also given to her by Simon Forman. Anne Turner was hanged at Tyburn on the 14^th of November 1616, her brother, who was a servant to Prince Charles, took her body down off the gallows and made sure she was buried in St. Martin in the Fields. To the disgust and outrage of the public, Frances Howard was reprieved by James himself.

3. Marta Straznicky, Reading the stage: Margaret Cavendish and Commonwealth closet drama,

http://www.geocities.com/hargrange/cavendishstranz.html p. 5.

4. Lancelot Andrewes was Bishop of Chichester in 1605; subsequently Bishop of Ely; and Bishop of Winchester in 1618.

5. Anne Somerset, Unnatural Murder: Poison at the Court of James I (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1997), p. 73.

POISON

Poison was regarded an ‘alien crime to the English character’ (Somerset 259) and Sir Edward Coke ‘claimed that there was no record of any convictions for poisonings between the reigns of Edward III and Henry VIII,’ (Somerset 260), a period of about two hundred years. This is not strictly true, as Henry VIII regarded poisoning as ‘so odious’ that it should be regarded as high treason and that offenders of the crime should be boiled to death in hot water, ‘only to be immersed a little at a time to give the utmost pain. This law was repealed in the reign of Henry’s son, Edward; as a result poisoning was classified as a felony, and the penalty for it was hanging.’ (Somerset 260).

Poisoning became more widespread with the discovery of mineral compounds. The culture of poisons was reflected in the drama of the Renaissance; Italy had a popular literary tradition with poison, as many books first found publication there as early as 1473, when a book by Peter of Abano (1250-1312) calledTractatus de venenis, printed in Padua. This book on poisons was translated into French in 1593. Works on poisons were often dedicated to Popes, such as the book written by Peter de Marra in 1362 and entitled The Papal Garland Concerning Poisons, addressed to Urban V (c.1310-1370)). Ambroise Paré writes about poisons in his Oeuvres, which appeared in 1575 in twenty six volumes; Paré details the different effects of poisons on the body. Although written to instruct surgeons, it would have aided dramatists who included differing aspects of death by poison in their plays.

Playwrights include numerous ways of bringing about death by poison for unsuspecting victims, usually restricting it to two categories, death by slow poison, or one which was quick acting. Not only could poison be put into food and drink, but it could also be administered externally affecting touch, smell and, in fact, every aperture of the body was considered a possible gateway for fatal poison. Dramatists often portray fatal poison on rapiers as a means of effecting immediate death. The pouring of poison in the sleeper's ear is another theatrical device, as in Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II, where Lighthorn boasts of the art (V.iv, 34-35). We are told, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, that Old Hamlet asleep in his orchard was poisoned by Claudius in his ear (Act I, sc.v) Ambroise Paré was himself accused of this in 1560 when he allegedly tried to kill king Francis II. Poison was a useful way of destroying an enemy, and could be distributed in so many ways: pomanders, fumes of torches, tapers, candles, letters, garments, drinks and food, to name but a few. Dramatists often reflected these various means of disposal in their dramas.

The ‘sleeping’ potion first appeared in English drama in 1578-1579 in the Latin play, Hymenaeus, which was performed at Cambridge; this was a decade before Marlowe wrote The Jew of Malta, where the sleeping potion is used by Barabas to escape death (V.i, 80). It is also used in Shakespeare’sRomeo and Juliet, (1594-1595); and in Dekker’s, The Honest Whore, (1604-5). As a convention on the English stage, poison appears to drift in around the early 1590s and drift out in the 1620s. There are numerous plays using this method (see Appendix). It may be of note to mention here that as far back as to the times of Jesus, Jews were given a kind of narcotic drink to alleviate the pain they were about to suffer when being crucified: this is mentioned in Matthew 27:34; Mark 15:28, and John 19:29.

Poison, as a device for murder has to be one of the most evil, as premeditated and calculated stratagems have to be employed. Poison as an artistic device upon the stage became popular and convenient, this may also be attributed to the rise and fall of the Machiavel. In The Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero, the playwright uses his knowledge of the poison device frequently, with poisoned crowns, drinks and apples, alluding to the corruption of James VI and I, ‘in Jacobean London, the public theatres staged graphic revenge tragedies set in courts where devious poison plots seemed a staple of political activity.’(1) Poison is also used as a symbol for the corruption within man himself, his incessant greed, ambition, hate and lust which infests not only his soul, but the life of others.

POLITICS

The political allusion within The Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero focuses its attention on the corruption that exists within the Roman court, which allows the court of James VI and I to be viewed and examined more closely. Tiberius, like James, had his favourites, ‘all classes alike resented the king’s extravagance, his attachment to unworthy favourites, and the moral and financial corruption of the court circle.’(6) The court of Rome, like the court of James, also had its spies and enemies, the plots against Tiberius reflect the plots and conspiracies against James, and in ‘Jacobean political culture, popish plots against the Protestant monarch was an accepted, even predictable, occurrence.’(7)

To evaluate poison plots in early Jacobean drama and connect an association with James 1’s early years of reign, it must be understood that rumours of assassination plots against the king were rife. Poison plot stories were convincing because contempories were culturally predisposed to take such rumours seriously. Popish assassination plots against the monarch, both rumoured and actual, had surfaced with regularity during Elizabeth’s reign (8).

Rumours of poisoning the monarch had extended beyond Elizabeth’s reign into the reign of James 1 and V1 both before and after the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Because of the Gunpowder Plot, and the public trials followed by public executions, rumours were ubiquitous. In 1606 a proclamation was made by John Chamberlain, to quell rumours that the king had actually been assassinated. In 1611 when Prince Henry died, it was rumoured that he had been poisoned, and that Anne Turner had information regarding this, especially as she was strongly associated with Sir Arthur Mannering, who was Carver to the Prince at the time. At her trial the Reverend Dr Whiting asked Anne Turner, amongst other prying and highly suggestive questions, whether she knew anything about the death of the Prince, Anne said that ‘she heard say the Prince was poisoned at Woodstock with a bunch of grapes.’ (9)

In 1594, a Portuguese Jew called Rodrigo Lopez, was hanged, drawn and quartered for attempting to poison the queen; he was believed to have been paid by papist agents. Another would-be poisoner, Edmund Squire, was allegedly corrupted by Jesuits while a prisoner in Spain, Squire attempted to poison the queen by smearing poison onto the pommel of her saddle.

The corruption within the Roman court in the play represented the corruption of the court of James. It reflected the disorder and instability of the hierarchy within the court. The Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero, through the character of Tiberius, attacks James as a monarch and a man, showing his judgement in others, especially favourites, to be unwise. As a king or father figure to the nation, he was portrayed as a failure, both iniquitous and unwise.

6. Alastair Bellany, The Politics of Court Scandal in Early Modern England: News Culture and the Overbury Affair, 1603-

1660 (Cambridge: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 2002), pp. 46-7.

7. Douglas Bush, The Early Seventeenth Century 1600-1660 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 5.

8. Bellany, The Politics of Court Scandal, p. 200.

9. Bellany, The Politics of Court Scandal, p. 200.

TEXTUAL EDITING

Trying to stay close to the primary authority of the text has not been easy as the necessity to ‘modernise’ the text was my first priority, but as spellings and punctuation have been changed, the text is now only a variant of the original. Distinguishing what exactly is meant by the word ‘original’ is not an easy task; the text I have been given ofThe Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero may have been corrupted by an indecipherable manuscript when first given to the publisher. During the printing process a number of printing errors may have taken place; misreading of the original script, setting wrong type, the omissions of words, or sections of the text put in the wrong order.

AsThe Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero has no subsequent editions, it has been difficult to ascertain and evaluate textual intention; to use what W.W.Greg called ‘accidentals’ (punctuation, spelling, capitalisation and typographical matters like the use of italics) made it difficult to determine intentional or just grammatical errors, which I have changed to make sense syntactically. Greg’s ‘substantives’ (words) have been changed to give a clearer understanding for the reader, though with reluctance.

Where it was not possible to find a ‘modern’ equivalent for a word, that word has remained in its ‘original’ form. I have altered and changed commas, semi-colons, colons and full-stops. Old spellings have been changed for ‘modern’ equivalents, and where the playwright has used dashes ‘---’, I have changed to the recognisable ellipsis ‘… ’ . I have divided the play into five acts and divided each act into scenes, as the original text had none. Because the exercise was to modernise the text, I have also changed ‘Aye’ for ‘I’. For the sake of clarification, I have added stage directions to make the text more lucid for the reader; these I have kept to a minimal. Where the playwright has written prose, I have left, as it is often used to indicate feigned madness and status. Obvious errors made by the playwright have been altered.

I have attempted to provide readers with a modernised edition of the text with editorial emendations. My intention was not to eliminate authorial intention but in trying to produce a text as near to the original as possible it could be argued that by editing the text, I have done so. I have included a glossary of words changed and where possible given a meaning to the words.* Because of limited time, there are important and interesting issues omitted from this introduction.

WORKS CITED

Primary Texts

Bellany. A, (2002) The Politics of Court Scandal in Early Modern England: News Culture and the Overbury Affair, 1603-1660 (Cambridge: The Press Syndecate of the University of Cambridge)

Berger. T. L., Bradford. C.W., Sondergard. S.L. (1998) An Index of Characters in Early Modern English Drama Printed Plays, 1500-1660 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

Bush. D, The Early Seventeenth Century 1600-1660 (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

Graves. R (Translated by), Grant M (Revised: Introduction by), (2003) Suetonius: The Twelve Caesars (London: Penguin Books)

Magnusson. M (General ed.), (1995) Chambers Biographical Dictionary (Endinburgh: W & R Chambers Ltd.)

Sadie. S. (ed.), 1980 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: Volume6 (London: Macmillan Publishers Limited)

Sadie. S. (ed.), (1980) The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: Volume19 (London: Macmillan Publishers Limited)

Somerset. A. (1997) Unnatural Murder: Poison at the Court of James I (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Stranznicky. M, Reading the stage: Margaret Cavendish and Commonwealth closet drama http://www.geocities.com/hargrange/cavendishstranz.html

Secondary Texts

Cox. J. D., and Kastan. D.S.(eds.), (1997) A New History of Early English Drama (New York, Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press)

Findlay. A. (1994) Illegitimate Power: Bastards in Renaissance Drama (Manchester: Manchester University Press)

Greenblatt. S. J. (1980) Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare (Chicago, London: The University of Chicago Press)

Greetham. D. C., (1994) Textual Scholarship: An Introduction (New York, London: Garland Publishing, Inc.)

Jenkins. H (ed), (1994) The Arden Shakespeare: Hamlet (London, New York: Routledge)

Murphy. A. (ed.), (2000) The Renaissance Text: Theory Editing Textuality (Manchester: Manchester University Press)

Schenk. G. (1956) The Book of Poisons (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson)

Traister. B. H. (2001) The Notorious Astrological Physician of London: works and days of Simon Forman (Chicago: University of Chicago Press)

White. B, (1965) Cast of Ravens: The Strang Case of Sir Thomas Overbury (London: William Clowes and Sons, Ltd)

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Tiberius Tiberius is the main protagonist in the play. Tiberius was born in Rome on November 16^th, 42 BC. His full name was Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar. When he was four, his mother divorced his father and married the triumvir Octavian, who eventually became Emperor Augustus. His father, Nero, was quaestor and commanded Julius Caesar’s fleet during the Alexandrian War. When Tiberius was nine his father died, and he delivered a eulogy for him at his funeral.

According to Suetonius, Tiberius was strong and heavily built, with a well proportioned body; he had eyes that could see in the dark and liked to grow his hair long over the nape of his neck. He was also a handsome man. Tiberius, apparently, had an unusual talent; he could, with his left hand, ‘poke his finger through a sound, newly plucked apple or into the skull of a boy or young man.’!

Tiberius was married to Vipsania Agrippina, the daughter of Marcus Agrippa, (they had a son, Drusus). He was forced to divorce her in 12BC and quickly marry the daughter of Augustus, Julia. Julia was later banished to Pandataria in 2 BC where she starved herself to death.

Tiberius spent most of his adulthood as a soldier in Spain, Armenia, Gaul, Pannonia and Germany. Tiberius spent seven years fighting in Germany, where the army of Rome had been annihilated under the general, Publius Quintilius Varus. Tiberius was well rewarded when he returned to Rome. Tiberius was a talented soldier and had proved his loyalty to Rome. Tiberius succeeded Augustus as emperor in AD 14.

In the play, Tiberius is the protagonist. He is shown as a callous, cruel, scheming murderer. Tiberius dies at the hands of his nephew, Caligula, who succeeds him as emperor. When Tiberius actually died on Capri in AD 37, the people of Rome‘ran through the streets yelling: “To the Tiber with Tiberius!”’

Sejanus Praetorian prefect. Feigned friend to Tiberius. Assumes control of Rome while Tiberius is away on Capri. Deceitful, scheming, ambitious and a violent murderer. Sejanus shows his lust for Livia by sexually assaulting her. He is finally killed by Tiberius, by the object of his desire, a crown which is placed on his head while it burns.

Julia Mother of Tiberius. She hints at her involvement in the murder of Augustus. She plots with Sejanus to kill Tiberius. She is finally banished to Pandataria, where she dies.

Livia Grand-daughter of Julia. Lusted after by Sejanus. Dies by throwing herself into a deep well.

Agrippina Married to Germanicus and mother to Drusus, Nero and Caligula. After the death of her husband, Germanicus, she is presented with his heart in a box. She is killed by Tiberius, who feeds her a poisoned apple, then has her mouth crammed with food.

Drusus Son of Agrippina, brother of Caligula and Nero. Drusus is imprisoned along with his brother, they are chained together and starved to death.

Nero Brother to Drusus and Caligula. Starved to death with his brother, Drusus.

Caligula Meaning ‘little boots’. Caligula is the youngest son of Agrippina and Germanicus. He feigns madness while he plots and schemes to become emperor of Rome. He finally murders the aging Tiberius by smothering him and then stabbing him. Caligula succeeds Tiberius as emperor.

Germanicus Husband to Agrippina, father to Drusus, Nero and Caligula. Brave, valiant and a respected soldier. Germanicus is poisoned on the instructions of Tiberius who was jealous of him.

Macro Lieutenant to Sejanus.

Vonones An Armenian, killed with his son by Germanicus.

Spurius

Nerva

Sabinus

Spado

Maximus

Piso

Phebians

Centurian

Arch Flaman

Assinius

Ghost of Germanicus

GLOSSARY

Aboone among

Ad Lectores Latin: to the readers

Administring administering

Adue adieu

Ænigmæs enigmas

Affricke Africa

Agriuarij original spelling

Archadie Arcady

Asse ass

Autor author

Aye I

Ayre air

Banisht banished

Belcht belched

Beshrew bestrew

Bettors betters

Bewray betray

Blew blue

Brandusium Brindisi, Greece

Briaris mythical monster

Burganetto burgonet, a piece of armour

Carroll carol

Cassia any tree of the genus Cassia, bearing leaves from which senna is

extracted

Castrell kestrel

Catastrophize catastrophe

Catcht caught

Cato famous censor and author, idealised as the pattern of an ancient

Rome; famous stoic and republican leader against Caesar.

Chaft chaffed

Chast chaste

Chasest chased

Chimicke chemical

Cipria Capri

Cittie city

Clitemnestræs Clyemnestra

Clowed clothed

Cog type of ship

Cog cheat

Conioy’nd conjoined

Corslet a piece of armour

Cosen cousin

Cowe cow

Crockadile crocodile

Danubiaes Danube’s

Danubis Danube’s

Deifie defy

Demie demi

Desart dessert (ed)

Destinie destiny

Dianire Diana

Die dye

Displaies displays

Disse the underworld

Disse dice

Drayling trayling

Drufus Drusus

Durst dare

Dyrest direst

Eacus Æneas

Eies eyes

Eke each

Emperious imperious

Empery empery

Endiapred original spelling

Ere before

Epicycle epistle

Exeunt exit

Extreamite extremity

Fabij members of the Fabian family

Fact in its older sense of criminal deed

Fistila fistula

Fjnis finish

Flaminies flamen

Founts fount

Frantique frantic

Fye fie

Gage gave

Gallat gallant

Gallogretians French-Greeks: there were Greek colonies in southern France

Germaine German

Gesse guess

Ghoast ghost

Glozing glazing

Goar gore

Gracia Greece

Guiues gyves

Gyues gyves

Habergeon a piece of armour

Had-iwist had I known

Hailde hailed

Harlles heartless

Harts hearts

Hasdruball a relation of Hannibal

Heel he’ll

Heyre heir

Honie honey

Iarre jar

Iarrs jars

Ille I’ll

Illion Illium

Imploy employ

Incamp’t encamped

Inioyn’d enjoin

Inrang’d arranged

Iorney journey

Ioynt joint

Ioynter jointer

Itis it’s

Iudeian Indian

Iury jury

Iustest justice? most just?

Iustifie justify

Iuuvelloped enveloped

Kild killed

Laconiades Laconians

Latonae Latona

Leach old word for doctor

Leaper leopard

Limes limbs

Linckt linked

Loe lo

Loe though

Louedst loved

Lucullus a Roman

Maist may

Manet Latin: he stays

Marie marry

Martichora some species of monster

Mathematiticke mathematic

Maugre in spite

Maugre meagre

Mervaile marvel

Meuse mews

Misliketh dislikes

Murther murder

Murtherer murderer

Navie navy

Nay no

Ne don’t

Numidia a place in Africa where slaves came from

Nune changed to arm

Nurst nursed

Oft often

Omnes Latin: everybody

Oppugning opposing

Ore over

Ouertoylde over toiled

Palphraies type of horse

Panaturia Pandataria

Panomphea just gossip

Pearelesse peerless

Pharsalie a big battle

Phisitians physicians

Pigmy original spelling

Pittie pity

Pollicie policy

Pompeies Pompeii’s

Possest possessed

Poysd poised

Pressageth presses

Pretors praetors

Prorogu’d postponed

Proroque postpone

Ptolomie Ptolemy

Quire meaning a ream of paper / choir

Quirtes an order of minor Roman gentry

Quoined original spelling

Raigne reign

Raign’d reigned

Receyuing receiving

Recouerie recovery

Relique relic

Riverets rivulets

Romish Roman

Royaliize original spelling

Safetie safety

Saver saviour

Scaevola a Roman who had his hand cut off

Scaped escaped

Scapt scrapped

Scipio a Roman general

Searen seven

Sheele she’ll

Sinononimies synonymies

Sirra sirrah

Sirrop syrup

Sith such

Sithence since

Sithian Sythian: a person from Sythia

Sodaine sudden

Solus alone

Sophonisba Carthaginian women

Staid stayed

Stayre stair

Stix Styx

Syphax a general

Tane taken

Tarquinius Torquin

Taxus toxins

Tearmes terms

Terrhene sea near Italy

Thave they’ve

Theame theme

Thinketh thinks

Throane throne

Tois toys

Troth truth

Troynouant New Troy, name for London

Tryumphes triumphs

Tubants Numidian

Tung tongue

Uonones Vonones

Vassailes vassals

Veruice very nice?

Vnciuille uncivil

Vnquisht vanquished

Vnquoth uncouth

Vnpolilitiquely impolitely

Vpo upon

Vtican like Cato, a censor

Welkins spies

Wilome while

Ye you

PLAYS CONTAINING POISONS

1589 The Jew of Malta C. Marlowe

1592 Arden of Faversham Anon. (T. Kyd?)

1592 Edward II C. Marlowe

1592 Roxanna W. Alabaster

1593 The Massacre at Paris C. Marlowe

1594 Alphonsus of Germany G. Peele (?)

1597 Romeo and Juliet W. Shakespeare

1600 Grim the Collier of Croydon W. Haughton

1602 How a Man May Choose a Good Wife T. Heywood

1602 Satiromastix T. Dekker

1603 Hamlet W. Shakespeare

1604 The Honest Whore (The Converted Courtesan) T. Dekker

1605 The Fair Maid of Bristow Anon.

1607 The Tragedy of Claudius Tiberius Nero Anon.

1607 Nero M. Gwinne

1607 The Puritan Anon. (T. Middleton?)

1607 The Revenger’sTragedy T. Middleton

1607 The Devil’s Charter B. Barnes

1607 The Fleer E. Sharpham

1608 Law Tricks J. Day (G. Wilkins?)

1609 Every Woman in Her Humour Anon.

1609 The Two Maids of Moreclacke R. Armin

1609 The Turk (Muleassees the Turk) J. Mason

1609 Cymbeline W. Shakespeare

1611 Match in London T. Dekker

1612 The White Devil J. Webster

1613 The Knight of the Burning Pestle F. Beaumont (J. Fletcher?)

1615 Four Prentices of London T. Heywood

1616 Four Plays in One J. Fletcher

1617 A Chaste Maid in Cheapside T. Middleton

1618 The Knight of Malta J. Fletcher / N. Field /

P. Massinger

1620 The Costly Whore Anon.

1621 Women Beware Women T. Middleton

1623 The Duke of Milan P. Massinger

1623 The Duchess of Malfi J. Webster

1626 The Maid’s Revenge J. Shirley

1628 Lodovick Sforza R. Gomersall

1628 Julia Agrippina T. May

1631 The Traitor J. Shirley

1634 The Shepherd’s Holiday J. Rutter

1638 Cornelianum D. Randolph

1639 The Lovesick Court R. Brome

1640 The Arcadia J. Shirley

DEITIES MENTIONED