''The Battle of Hastings'' is a 1778 play by the English writer

Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to: * Richard Cumberland (philosopher) (1631–1718), bishop, philosopher * Richard Cumberland (dramatist) (1732–1811), civil servant, dramatist * Richard Cumberland (priest) (1710–1737), Archdeacon of Northa ...

. It is a

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

set around the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...

in 1066. It was staged at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...

in October 1778 by

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...

. Sheridan later mocked Cumberland's sensitivity to criticism by modelling the character Sir Fretful Plagiary, in his 1779 play '' The Critic'', after him.Baines, Ferraro & Rogers p.87 The original Drury Lane cast included

Robert Bensley Robert Bensley (c. 1740 – 1817) was an 18th-century English actor, of whom Charles Lamb in the ''Essays of Elia'' speaks with special praise. Life His early life is obscure, but his family was not poor: an uncle, Sir William Bensley, was ...

as Harold Godwinson, John Henderson as

Edgar Atheling Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...

John Palmer John Palmer may refer to: People Politicians * John Palmer (fl. 1377–1394), English politician *Sir John Palmer, 5th Baronet (1735–1817), British politician *John Palmer (1785–1840), U.S. congressman from New York *John Palmer (1842–1905) ...

as Earl Edwin, William Brereton as Prince Waltheof,

James Aickin James Aickin (died 1803), was an Irish stage actor who worked at the Edinburgh Theatre in Scotland and in theatres in the West End of London. He was the younger brother of the actor Francis Aickin (died 1803) with whom he shared the stage at the ...

as Earl of Northumberland,

Richard Hurst Richard Hurst is a British writer and director of comedy, theatre and television. Biography Born Richard Turner in Surrey, he attended Boston Grammar School and Oakham School before studying at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and training as a directo ...

as Raymond,

Elizabeth Younge Elizabeth Younge (1740 – 15 March 1797)Her epitaph in Westminster Abbey states that she died at the age of 52 but ''The New Monthly Magazine'' which gave her d.o.b. as 1940 wrote, "How this error in her age arose there is no possibility of ev ...

as Matilda and

Mary Ann Yates Mary Ann Yates (1728–1787) was an English tragic actress. The daughter of William Graham, a ship's steward and his wife, Mary, she married Richard Yates (c. 1706-1796), a well-known comedian of the time. In 1754, aged 25, she appeared at Drur ...

as Edwina.

References

Bibliography

* Baines, Paul & Ferraro, Julian & Rogers, Pat. ''The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Eighteenth-Century Writers and Writing, 1660-1789''. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. * Hogan, C.B (ed.) ''The London Stage, 1660–1800: Volume V''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1968. * Mudford, William. ''The Life of Richard Cumberland''. Sherwood, Neely & Jones, 1812. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of English Drama 1660-1900. Volume III: Late Eighteenth Century Drama''. Cambridge University Press, 1952. Plays by Richard Cumberland 1778 plays West End plays Tragedy plays Plays set in England Plays set in the 11th century Cultural depictions of British kings Hastings Plays based on actual events Cultural depictions of Harold Godwinson {{18thC-play-stub