Open Access<i>The Peaceable King, or the Lord Mendall</i>: A Lost Jack Cade Play and its 1623 Revival
Author(s) -
David Nicol
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
early theatre
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2293-7609
pISSN - 1206-9078
DOI - 10.12745/et.19.1.2699
Subject(s) - subtext , politics , performance art , art , art history , law , literature , political science
The lost play The Peaceable King, or The Lord Mendall was recorded by Sir Henry Herbert in 1623 as an old play revived by Prince Charles’s Men. Its title indicates that it was about Henry VI and Jack Cade, and like Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 2 , it may have explored the clash between a peace-loving king and a popular rebellion. Its revival in 1623 may have had a political subtext, since at this time King James too was known as a ‘peaceable king’ and was facing open hostility from a portion of the populace that objected to his pacific foreign policy.