The argument The important source is Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum I.vii (cf. also I.xviii). If our author is also citing some work entitled Vita S. Albani (perhaps this one). Possibly this reference results from a confusion of the British St. Albanus with the like-named Italian one, the patron saint of the island of Burano in the Venetian Lagoon, where his relics are preserved (in point of fact he is reputed to have been a citizen of Caerleon). This confusion would perhaps help to explain our playwright’s curious notion that Amphibalus was a foreigner, more specifically an Italian (see line 510). Certainly he saw some other hagiography since Bede does not mention Amphibalus by name, nor does he appear in any other early account of Alban’s life. Amphiabalus first plays a part in St. Alban’s story in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regu Britanniae (it has been suggested that Geoffrey misunderstood the Latin word used for the cloak, amphiboles, worn by Alban). Perhaps our playwright suppressed whatever doubts he may have entertained because it was dramaturgically useful to assign Alban a confidante to whom he could disclose the contents of his mind).
Britannos toto orbe divos Houlihan (p. 155) observed the echo of Vergil, Eclogue i.66, penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos.
4 fugam capessunt Houlihan noted that this phrase comes from Livy I.xxv.7.
Personae Some but not all of these names have significance (as noted by Houlihan p 161).z Marcellus was an upper class name (a member of the Gens Claudia.). Capnodes = “smoky one,” Proteus has been discussed in the Introduction, Theopistus “trusting in God,” Agatho = “good,” Thraso = “bold,” Craterus = “strong,”
Polemo = “warlike,” Gurges = “gullet (i. e. a spendthrift or a glutton)” Offa = “shapeless mass, monstrous appearance,” Artotrogus = “bread muncher”, and Megasthenes = “great strength.” Additionally, Faustulus was the name of the shepherd who raised Romulus and Remus, and Harpax is a slave in Plautus’ Pseudolus.
Act I The setting of this entire Act iis Alban’s house.
2 Paphos was an island sacred to Venus, who had a special association with roses.
4 Cfl Horace, Odes III.xi.10 ludit exultim (all of these classical echoes are recorded by Houlihan pp;. 162ff. unless otherwise indicated).
14 Cf, Seneca, Thyestes 536, quis influentis dona fortunae abruit.
20 Cf. Horace, Odes I.iii.8, animae dimidium meae and ib. II.xvii.5, te meae si partem animae rapit.
22 Cf. Aeneid V.324 calcemque terit iam calce.
23f. Cf. Horace, Odes I.xxiii.21f. sub curru nimium propinuqi solis.
25f. Cf. ib. III.x.1, extremum Tanim si biberes (the Don being cited as a very distant and uncouth location).
31f. Of course for a Christian bonus pastor has a special meaning (Houlihan compared John 10:11 etc.).
37f. A Cf. tondentes gramina at Lucretius II.660f.
39 For fulminei dentes apri Houlinhan mistakenly compared “Seneca, Phaedra I.xxi.5” where she meant Phaedrus I.xxi.5.”
43f. Cf. Seneca, Thyestes 596f.:
Nuillus sors longa est: dolor ac voluptas
Invicem cedunt; brevior voluptas.
45ff. These lines are modeled after Aeneid IV.314ff.:
Mene fugis? Per ego has lacrimas dextramque tuam te
(Puando aliud mihi iam miserae nihil ipsa reliqui),
Per conubia nostra, per inceptos hymenaeos,
Si bene quid de te merui, fuit aut tibi quicquam
Dulce meum, miserere domus labentis et istam,
Dro, si quis adhuc precibus locus, exue mentem.
48 For “living water” with baptismal connotations cf. John 4:10.
67 Paeon was an ancient god of healing. Most likely Amphibalus is proposing to disguise himself as a physician, although in the event he does not do so. Houlihan (p. 164) suggests he may be saying “I will cunningly devise a cure for myself,“ but what ailment is he supposed to be curing? Is this merely a very elaborate way of saying “I shall feign illness?”
68 Dextris avibus had become so idiomatic that our playwright was unconcerned that the phrase originally had such pagan religious associations.
69 Fata qui nutu regit would be used again by the Jesuit playwright Gabriel Françiois LeJay in his Josephus Aegypto Praefectus Tragoedia (p.185 of the 1748 Ingolstadt - Augsburg edition).
76 The Roman god of the woodlands.
82 In mythology Machaon was the son of Asclepius and a healer himself.
87 The dryads were nymphs with an especial association with oak trees (the word “Druid” is cognate).
88 Massic wine was especially prized in antiquity.
90 The ancient king of Pylos in Homer.
92 Cf. Horace, Odes II.x.29f., neque semper arcum tendit Apollo.
Diligit tutus.
100 Houlihan compared the military imagery at Ephesians 11:14 - 17.
120 “Dark Jove“ or “Jove of the Underworld” (repeatedly mentioned in this play) = Pluto or, if you will, Satan.
II.i The Jesuit gymnasium at St. Omers had a student body largely made up of boys from genteel families. In an age when organized team sports had not yet been invented, hunting was a highly popular sport for such young men. Academic playwrights sometimes catered to their enthusiasm by including a hunting sceene in a play. No doubt the best known example is the lengthy messenger speech describing a hunt in Act III, scene i of William Gager’s 1582 Oxford tragedy Meleager.
Evidently this scene was staged in such a way that the speaking characters are standing on the front stage and the central alcove behind it is decked out to represent a forest glade (“Delia’s grove.” The actors cluster around the alcove entrance peering inside to observe the hunt in progress until line 178, when the alcove curtain is closed and the focus of the action centers on the beggars appear asking alms from Alban.
123 The story of how Meleager led an expedition to kill the Calyidonian Boar is told at Ovid, Metamorphoses VIII.299ff. Possibly our playwright intended a reference to William Gager’ 1583 Oxford tragedy Meleager (printed 1593).
129 In mythology Adonis was killed by a wild boar.
136 Delia (“the goddess of Delos”) was a cult title of Diana.
154 His dog’s name. This and all the other dogs’ names mentioned below come from the description of Actaeon’s hunt at Ovid, Metamorphoses III.206ff. Houlihan (p. 165) explained the significance of their names: Melampus = “Blackfoot,” Lysisca = “Wolfhound,” Laelaps = “Hurricane,” Pamphagus = “All-devouring,” Tigris = “Tigress,” Aello = “Storm-swift,” and Hylactor = “barker.”
159 B’s stage direction is Venantur inter siparia. Inter siparia (“within the curtains”) indicates that the action transpires within the large alcove, where the actors stand and watch the action occurring offstage.
171 One of the side alcoves was presumably used to represent Sylvanus’ chapel, where Alban can be seen overthrowing his statue.
174 Houlihan compared Cicero, Brutus xxi.82, orationes redolentes antiquitatem.
178 The plural siparia probably indicates that the curtains to both the central and side alcoves were drawn shut.
179 The word siderius (if this is not a copying mistake) not found in the classical Latin lexicon, but one immediately thinks of Gallileo’s Sidereus Nuncius.
191 They are still in the forest. The other side alcove must have been used to represent Diana’s shrine.
192 Thymbraeus was a cult title of Apollo (cf. Aeneid III.885). Cynthius (used immediately below) was another. Diana was of course the quiver-bearning goddess.
193ff. Places particularly sacred to Artemis-Diana: Gyaros is a minor island in the Cyclades. Ortygia (the original name of Delos, and often thought to be the true birthplace of Artemis/Diana) was originally a floating island but joined to it by Apollo. Th e story is told by Ovid, Metamorphoses XV.307 - 360. The Eurotas is a river in Laconia, upon which stood the city of Sparta, the site of the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia.
207ff. For perplexas vias...sylvae cf. Aeneid IX.391 - 3, perplexum iter...silvae...legit. For creditum...hospitem cf. tibi creditum...Vegilium at Horace, Odes I.iii.5.
216f. Cf. Horace, Epode I.iii.3, nivali compede vinctus.
222 The reference is to the tripod upon which sat the prophetic priestess at theoracle of Delphi.
224 Architectus sceleris appears at Cicero, Pro Cluento 20.
226 In ms. B the stage also specifies that Agatho should exit with Proteus. In this scene Agatho does not appear as a speaking character, but it is possible that they at least a tradition that he is present as a mute.
235 Trivia was another of Diana’s cult names.
238 The statue of Pallas Athena which dropped out of the sky and on the ownership of which depended the fate of Troy.
243f. Nowhere else in the play are we told that these two characters are brothers, but evidently this is the reason why in the next scene Proteus is so frank in enunciating his actual ambition in Capnodes’ presence
247f. One cannot help remarking on the metatheatrical elements of this play: here Proteus is compared to an actor playing a role (likewise in the first stage direction of II.iv he is described as “taking off his mask,” at line 574 Marcellus describes himself as playing the part of a judge, and Act III the actors playing Alban and Faustulus trade costumes onstage).
II.iii Evidently this scene is to be played on the front stage with Alban originally in the central alcove (stage directtion at 272, and then entering to join Proteus (stage direction at 275). Capnodes’ presence would hardly be appropriate for the remainder of the scene, so he must exit as Alban enters.
251f. Ulysses is called duplex at Horace, Odes I.vi.7.
253 Normally a beard was a token of wisdom (because ancient philosophers tended to sport them), not piety (cf. Erasmus, Adagiorum Chiliades I.ii.96). I know of no tradition that Christians were identifiable by their beards, and of course ancient Christians were eager not to be identified.
256f. For Cynthius see the note on line 192. The Eumenides (“The Kindly Ones”) was a euphemism for the Furies.
267f. Rubicunda might seem like a strange adjective to apply to ripened grain, but cf. Vergil, Georgics I.297.
269 An accurate description of standard English agricultural practice.
279 Cf. Aeneid X.248, ocior et iaculo et ventos aequante sagitta.
297 The drinkers wave or shake their cups to indicate they need refilling.
290 In this play the word tholus (lit. “dome”) is repeatedly used to designate a pagan shrine or temple. Evidently we are asked to visualize a small structure a square floor and four pillars rising up to support a domed roof sheltering the statue of a god from the elements. A similar shrine is often represented on Attic vase-paintings.
302f. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses IX.129f., sanguis...emicuit, mistus Lernaei labe veneni. The swamp of Lerna was of course the home of the Hydra.
308 At Rome the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus was built close to the Tarpeian Rock. Hence the god was sometimes called “Tarpeiain” (e. g0. by Propertius IV.(v).4).
310f. Theseus and his good friend Pirithous.
311 The Pactolus was a famous gold-bearing river in Lydia.
326 Dabit = dabit ut (the meter precludes the possibility that a word has dropped out of the text).
328f. See the commentary note on line 48. At the same time, Houilihan’s note (p. 168) is “According to Donatus, the eagle drank more than it ate in old age, hence aquilae senectus was proverbial for an old man fond of drinking, and for a vigorous old age.” Proteus goes on to say that his sins burden himself as heavily as a mountain.
330 The MS. has Antlaeo. A reference here to the mythological molestor of wayfarers Antlaeus would make no sense in this context, whereas Atlaeo, invoking a character in mythology famous for lifting a heavy weight obviously would.
355 Houlihan acutely suggested that the little book in question is a catechism.
338 And she compared sitientes aures at Cicero, Epistulae ad Attiocum II.xiv.1.
342 For tutis auribus cf. Horace, Odes I.xxvii.17f.
III.iv The scene remains unchanged. Marcellus is first erncountered in the central alcove, and then he and Crispus come forward to join Proteus on the main stage.
345 Charybdis was a sea monster in Greek mythology, which dwelt in the Strait of Messina. She was later rationalised as a whirlpool. It was believed that her counterpart Charybdis lived under a rock on the opposite side of the strait. Here (as often) her name is invoked to describe any hidden danger.
347 For Sinon see the Introduction..
352 The oracular Sibyl wrote her prophecies on individual leaves.
356 Cf. Aeneid II.725, per opaca locorum.
368f. Cf. Lucretius I.738 ex adyto tanquam cordis.
373ff. One of the important items on the authorities’ bill of particulars against Christians was that their faith prevented them from swearing oaths of loyalty to Caesar and the state (this particularly applied to soldiers’ oaths). They were therefore politically suspect.
388ff. Superstitiou390s people regarded comets as heralds of ill omen.
390ff. A king of Arcadia, transformed into a wolf. For his story cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses
392 Cytae was a town in Colchis, the home of Medea.
III.i The setting is Alban’s house, represented by one of the side alcoves (the other one us used as Faustulus’ hovel)
406f. For chaos inane divum cf. Ovid, Fasti IV.600.
410ff. In academic drama it was not uncommon to write out the text of a letter or similar document in prose.
411 See the commentary note on line 347.
422 For the Romans the cypress had an especial association with death and funerals.
435 For nigram...horam cf. Tiibullus III.v.5.
442 Particularly fine robes were woven on the island of Cos. The pecten was the reed with which a weaver guided his thread.
444 Oebalian = Spartan (the Spartan lawgivery Lycurgus had ordained that Spartan soldiers should wear red cloaks).
459 The buskin or boot was worn by the tragic actor, the sock by the comic one, and we are reminded there is something very metatheatrical about having actors swap costumes onstage.
464 In mythology Argus was Io’s hundred-eyed guardian.
469 Cf. nimbus peditum at Aeneid VII.793. In both cases the idea is they kick up a cloud of dust as they move.
471ff. In academic drama it was not usual to have members of the lower classes (such as servants) speak in prose. We may perhaps think of this as done here under the influence of the London popular theater, in which lower-class characters were more likely to express themselves in prose than their betters.
473 Faustus means “lucky, happy.”
483 For splendide mendax cf. Horace, Odes III.xi.35.
488 For movet...coloribus cf. Horace, Epode I.v.19f. The reference is of course to Aesop’s fable about the crow and its borrowed colors.
III.ii The scene remains unchanged.
506 The catechism previously given to him: from it he has learned the proper responses necessary to convince Alban of his sincerity.
510 See the commentary note on line 48.
525 A little catalogue of popular methods of public execution, including crushing with heavy plates of metal and breaking on the wheel.
531 Cf. Horace, Odes III.i.16. At least here (and probably in Horace as well) the urn in question is the one into which the jurors cast their ballots. There also seems to be a hint that, if necessary, Marcellus will be willing to falsify the vote in order to achieve the desired result.
III.iii The setting is Marcellus’ official residence, which also serves as his courtroom.
536 Aeneas’ faithful companion in Vergil.
550 Referring to the way that Jupiter violently replaced his father Cronus as ruler of Olympus.
552 The complaint that the gods’ behavior in classical mythology provided an excuse for human malfeasances goes back at least as far as Euripides.
556 Decipis = decipis te (the meter shows that no word has dropped out of the text).
III.iv The setting is forecourt of the prison in which Alban and Agatho are being held, with a scaffold constructed for their execution. This m ust have been set up in the central alcove: (cf. the stage direction after line 619 requiring its curtains to be closed). The remainder of the scene is played on the outer stage, which provided sufficient time to clear the central alcove for the dumb show that concludes the play.
604 (stage direction) Normally the word theatrum was used to designate the front stage. Is the same true here? Perhaps, in view of the nature of the dramatic action, it was speciallyi hung with black as a sign of mourning.
602 The Romans used a white pebble to mark an especially favorable day on their calendars.
606 Normally, as Houlihan noted, a pegma was “a piece of wooden machinery for raising and lowering actors on the stage.” From the dramatic context, here the word is clearly being pressed into service to designate a scaffold (the St. Albans theater scarcely had the luxury of any such mechanical devices).
617f. “Reference to the belief that those who suffered death for the Faith before admitted to Baptism were saved by ‘Baptism by blood.’” (Houlihan, p. 171).
620 The Getes were a people of Thrace, proverbial for their uncouth savagery. The Cimmerians mentioned below were another such people, inhabiting a part of what is now Russia. Because there homeland was so far north their winter days were so short that “Cimmerian darkness” was also proverbial and could be used to suggest they lacked the enlightenment of civilizated life.
652 Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust) was a famous Roman historian.
654 As noted by Houlihan (p. 172) “the blind leading the blind” is a proverbial expression that can be traced as far back as Lucretius VI.39.