Anthony Munday
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Anthony Munday (or Monday) (1560?10 August 1633) was an English playwright and miscellaneous writer. He was baptized on 13 October 1560 in St Gregory by St Paul's, London, and was the son of Christopher Munday, a stationer, and Jane Munday. He was one of the chief predecessors of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
in English dramatic composition, and wrote plays about
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
. He is believed to be the primary author of ''
Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
'', on which he is believed to have collaborated with
Henry Chettle Henry Chettle (c. 1564 – c. 1606) was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era, best known for his pamphleteering. Early life The son of Robert Chettle, a London dyer, he was apprenticed in 1577 and became a me ...
,
Thomas Heywood Thomas Heywood (early 1570s – 16 August 1641) was an English playwright, actor, and author. His main contributions were to late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre. He is best known for his masterpiece ''A Woman Killed with Kindness'', a ...
,
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, and Thomas Dekker.


Biography

He was once thought to have been born in 1553, because the monument to him in the church of St Stephen Coleman Street, since destroyed, stated that at the time of his death he was eighty years old. From the inscription we likewise learn that he was "a citizen and draper". In 1589 he was living in the city, and dates his translation of ''The History of Palmendos'' "from my house in
Cripplegate Cripplegate was a gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London. The gate gave its name to the Cripplegate ward of the City which straddles the line of the former wall and gate, a line which continues to divide the ward into tw ...
". That he carried on the business of a
draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...
, or had some connection with the trade as late as 1613, may be gathered from the following passage at the close of ''The Triumphs of Truth'', the city pageant for that year, by
Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...
: "The fire-work being made by Maister Humphrey Nichols, a man excellent in his art; and the whole work and body of the Triumph, with all the proper beauties of the workmanship, most artfully and faithfully performed by John Grinkin; and those furnished with apparel and porters by Anthony Munday, Gentleman." The style of "gentleman" was probably given to him with reference to the productions of his pen.


Early years

He probably already had appeared on the stage as an actor when he was bound apprenticed in 1576 for eight years to the stationer
John Allde John Allde, also Aldaye, Alde or Aldye ( fl. 1555–1592) was a Scottish stationer and printer. He was the first person on the registers to take up the freedom of the Stationers' Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Ma ...
, an apprenticeship from which he was soon released. By 1578 he was in Rome. In the opening lines of his ''English Romayne Lyfe'' (1582) he states that he went abroad solely in order to see strange countries and to learn foreign languages; but he may have been a spy sent to report on the Jesuit English College in Rome or a journalist intent on making literary capital out of the designs of the English Catholics then living in France and Italy. He writes that he and his companion, Thomas Nowell, were robbed of all their possessions on the road from
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
to
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
, where they were helped by an English priest who entrusted them with letters to be delivered in
Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...
. These they handed over to the English ambassador in Paris. Under a false name, as the son of a well-known English Catholic, Munday gained recommendations which secured his reception at the English College in Rome. He was treated with special kindness by the rector, Dr Morris, for the sake of his supposed father. He gives a detailed account of the routine of the place, of the dispute between the English and Welsh students, of the carnival at Rome, and finally of the
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
dom of Richard Atkins.


The playwriting years

His political services against the Catholics were rewarded in 1584 by the post of messenger to her Majesty's chamber, and from this time he seems to have given up acting. In 1598–1599, when he travelled with the
Earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...
's men in the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
, it was in the capacity of playwright to rewrite old plays. He devoted 'himself to writing for the booksellers and the theatres, compiling religious works, translating '' Amadis de Gaule'' and other French (sic) romances, and putting words to popular airs. He was the chief pageant-writer for the City from 1605 to 1616. These works included ''
London's Love to Prince Henry ''London's Love to Prince Henry'' (31 May 1610), was a pageant on the River Thames organised by the city of London for the investiture of Prince Henry as Prince of Wales. This pageant was performed on the Thames between Chelsea and Whitehall. I ...
'' (1610), his publication describing the city's pageant on the Thames for the investiture of
Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People *Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father *Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) *Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...
as
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
in May 1610. One of the more gorgeous Lord Mayor's shows was that of 1616, which was devised by Munday. It is also possible that he supplied most of the pageants between 1592 and 1605, of which no authentic record has been kept.


His works

At what date he acquired the title of "poet to the city" is not known; he had certainly been previously employed in a similar capacity, as
Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
introduces him in that capacity in ''
The Case is Altered ''The Case is Altered'' is an early comedy by Ben Jonson. First published in 1609, the play presents a range of problems for scholars attempting to understand its place in Jonson's canon of works. Date and publication The play's title was firs ...
'', which was written in 1598 or 1599. He pours ridicule upon ''Don Antonio Balladino'' (as he calls Munday), and Middleton mentions him in his ''
The Triumphs of Truth ''The Triumphs of Truth'' was a medieval pageant to honor a British Lord mayor and written circa 1613 by English Renaissance playwright Thomas Middleton. The pageant was credited with first creating the term white people to refer to Europeans. ...
''. Munday was a prolific author in verse and prose, original and translated, and may be counted among the predecessors of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
in dramatic composition. One of his earliest works was ''The Mirror of Mutability'', from 1579: he dedicated it to his long-time patron
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (; 12 April 155024 June 1604) was an English peer and courtier of the Elizabethan era. Oxford was heir to the second oldest earldom in the kingdom, a court favourite for a time, a sought-after patron of ...
, and perhaps then belonged to the Earl's company of players, to which he had again attached himself on his return from Italy. Munday's ''Banquet of Dainty Conceits'' was printed in 1588. Nearly all the existing information respecting Anthony Munday's dramatic works is derived from
Philip Henslowe Philip Henslowe (c. 1550 – 6 January 1616) was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance ...
's papers. At what period he began to write for the stage cannot be ascertained: the earliest date in these manuscripts connected with his name is December 1597; but he may have been a member of the Earl of Oxford's theatrical company before he went to Rome prior to 1578. In the old catalogues, and in
Gerard Langbaine Gerard Langbaine (15 July 1656 – 23 June 1692) was an English dramatic biographer and critic, best known for his ''An Account of the English Dramatic Poets'' (1691), the earliest work to give biographical and critical information on the playwrig ...
's ''Momus Triumphans'', 1688, a piece called ''Fidele and Fortunatus'' is mentioned, and such a play was entered at
Stationers' Hall The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in ...
on 12 November 1584. There is little doubt that this is the same production, two copies of which have been discovered, with the running title of ''Two Italian Gentlemen'', that being the second title to ''Fidele and Fortunatus'' in the Register. Both copies are without title-pages; but to one of them is prefixed a dedication signed A.M., and we may with tolerable certainty conclude that Anthony Munday was the author or translator of it, and that it was printed about the date of its entry on the Stationers' Books. Munday wrote two plays on the life of
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
, ''The Downfall'' and ''The Death of Robert Earl of Huntington'', first mentioned in the Rose theatre records in 1597–8 and published in 1601.


Catalogue of plays

The subsequent catalogue of plays which Munday wrote, either alone or in conjunction with others, is derived from the materials supplied by
Edmond Malone Edmond Malone (4 October 174125 May 1812) was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare. Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his law practice for at first p ...
. * ''
Fidele and Fortunio ''Fidele and Fortunio'' was a comedy written by Anthony Munday and first published in 1584. Its authorship has been disputed but scholars are now generally agreed that the initials "A.M." appearing in the first edition of the play refer to Antho ...
'' or ''Fedele and Fortuna'', by Anthony Munday. c. 1584. * ''
Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
'', by Anthony Munday,
Henry Chettle Henry Chettle (c. 1564 – c. 1606) was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era, best known for his pamphleteering. Early life The son of Robert Chettle, a London dyer, he was apprenticed in 1577 and became a me ...
,
Thomas Heywood Thomas Heywood (early 1570s – 16 August 1641) was an English playwright, actor, and author. His main contributions were to late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre. He is best known for his masterpiece ''A Woman Killed with Kindness'', a ...
,
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, Thomas Dekker, ca. 1591–3. *''Mother Redcap'', by Anthony Munday and
Michael Drayton Michael Drayton (1563 – 23 December 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. He died on 23 December 1631 in London. Early life Drayton was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothin ...
. December 1597. Not printed and therefore did not survive. *'' The Downfall of Robert Earl of Huntington'', by Anthony Munday. February 1597–8. Printed in 1601. *'' The Death of Robert Earl of Huntington'', by Anthony Munday and
Henry Chettle Henry Chettle (c. 1564 – c. 1606) was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era, best known for his pamphleteering. Early life The son of Robert Chettle, a London dyer, he was apprenticed in 1577 and became a me ...
. February 1597–8. Printed in 1601. *''The Funeral of Richard Cordelion'', by Robert Wilson, Henry Chettle, Anthony Munday, and Michael Drayton. May 1598. Not printed. *''Valentine and Orson'', by
Richard Hathwaye Richard Hathwaye ( fl. 1597–1603), was an English dramatist. Life Little is known about Hathwaye's life. There is no evidence that he was related to his namesake Richard Hathaway, the father of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, though Ri ...
and Anthony Munday. July 1598. Not printed. *''Chance Medley'', by Robert Wilson, Anthony Munday, Michael Drayton, and Thomas Dekker. August 1598. Not printed. *''Owen Tudor'', by Michael Drayton, Richard Hathwaye, Anthony Munday, and Robert Wilson. January 15991600. Not printed. *''Fair Constance of Rome'', by Anthony Munday, Richard Hathwaye, Michael Drayton, and Thomas Dekker. June 1600. Not printed. *''Fair Constance of Rome, Part II.'', by the same authors. June 1600. Not printed. *''The Rising of Cardinal Wolsey'', 54by Anthony Munday, Michael Drayton, Henry Chettle, and Wentworth Smith. 12 November 1601. Not printed. *''Two Harpies'', by Thomas Dekker,
Michael Drayton Michael Drayton (1563 – 23 December 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. He died on 23 December 1631 in London. Early life Drayton was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothin ...
,
Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...
,
John Webster John Webster (c. 1580 – c. 1632) was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies '' The White Devil'' and ''The Duchess of Malfi'', which are often seen as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. His life and car ...
, and Anthony Munday. May 1602. Not printed. *''The Widow's Charm'', by Anthony Munday. July 1602. Printed in 1607, as Malone conjectured, under the title of ''The Puritan or Widow of Watling Street'', and ascribed to Shakespeare. *''The Set at Tennis'', by Anthony Munday. December 1602. Not printed. *'' The first part of the Life of Sir John Oldcastle'', by Anthony Munday, Michael Drayton, Robert Wilson, and Richard Hathwaye; printed anonymously in 1600 (Q1), and again in 1619 (Q2) under the name of William Shakespeare. * ''London's love, to the Royal Prince Henrie meeting him on the river of Thames, at his returne from Richmonde, with a worthie fleete of her citizens, on Thursday the last of May'' (London, 1610).


Translations

*''Palmerin D'Oliva'' (1588) * Francisco de Morais's ''The honorable, pleasant and rare conceited historie of Palmendos'' (1589) * Etienne de Maisonneuf's ''Gerileon of England'' (1592) *The anonymous ''Primaleon of Greece'' (from 1594) *'' Amadis de Gaul'' (from 1596) * Francisco de Morais's ''Palmerin of England'' (from 1596) *''The Dumbe Diuine Speaker'' by Giacomo Affinati d’Acuto Romano (1605)


Contemporary reception

The earliest praise of Munday is contained in
William Webbe William Webbe (floruit, fl. 1568–1591) was an English critic and translator. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, and was a tutor for distinguished families, including the two sons of Edward Sulyard of Flemyngs, Essex, and later the children o ...
's "Discourse of English Poetrie", 1586, where his "Sweete Sobs of Sheepheardes and Nymphes" is especially pointed out as "very rare poetrie."
Francis Meres Francis Meres (1565/1566 – 29 January 1647) was an English churchman and author. His 1598 commonplace book includes the first critical account of poems and plays by Shakespeare. Career Francis Meres was born in 1565 at Kirton Meres in the par ...
, in 1598 ("Palladis Tamia," fo. 283, b.), enumerating many of the best dramatic poets of his day, including
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, Heywood, Chapman,
Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...
,
Lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...
, etc., gives Anthony Munday the praise of being "our best plotter".


References


Further reading

* Tracey Hill, ''Anthony Munday and Civic Culture'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004).


External links

* *
Anthony Munday (1560?–1633)
at Luminarium {{DEFAULTSORT:Munday, Anthony 1560s births 1633 deaths English Renaissance dramatists 16th-century English poets 16th-century male writers 16th-century English dramatists and playwrights 17th-century English poets 17th-century English male writers 17th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets