Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-59673-2 - King Edward III Edited by Giorgio Melchiori Frontmatter More information THE NEW CAMBRIDGE SHAKESPEARE general editor Brian Gibbons associate general editor A. R. Braunmuller, University of California, Los Angeles From the publication of the first volumes in 1984 the General Editor of the New Cambridge Shakespeare was Philip Brockbank and the Associate General Editors were Brian Gibbons and Robin Hood. From 1990 to 1994 the General Editor was Brian Gibbons and the Associate General Editors were A. R. Braunmuller and Robin Hood. KING EDWARD III Edward III is a major new addition to the Shakespearean canon. Presenting this fully annotated, modern-spelling text of Edward III, Giorgio Melchiori does not claim that Shakespeare is the sole author, but author of a significant part of the play, the extent of which is discussed in detail. The Introduction explores the historical background and the genesis of the play in the context of contemporary theatrical practice and of Shakespeare’s own early cycle of history plays. It stresses the original ideological stance and the theatrical qualities of the play as a whole. The Commentary examines in depth the play’s linguistic and poetical features, while an extensive appendix on the use of sources explains the stages of its composition. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-59673-2 - King Edward III Edited by Giorgio Melchiori Frontmatter More information THE NEW CAMBRIDGE SHAKESPEARE All’s Well That Ends Well, edited by Russell Fraser Antony and Cleopatra, edited by David Bevington As You Like It, edited by Michael Hattaway The Comedy of Errors,editedbyT.S.Dorsch Coriolanus, edited by Lee Bliss Cymbeline, edited by Martin Butler Hamlet, edited by Philip Edwards Julius Caesar, edited by Marvin Spevack King Edward III, edited by Giorgio Melchiori TheFirstPartofKingHenryIV, edited by Herbert Weil and Judith Weil The Second Part of King Henry IV, edited by Giorgio Melchiori King Henry V, edited by Andrew Gurr TheFirstPartofKingHenryVI, edited by Michael Hattaway The Second Part of King Henry VI, edited by Michael Hattaway The Third Part of King Henry VI, edited by Michael Hattaway King Henry VIII, edited by John Margeson King John,editedbyL.A.Beaurline The Tragedy of King Lear, edited by Jay L. Halio King Richard II, edited by Andrew Gurr King Richard III, edited by Janis Lull Love’s Labour’s Lost, edited by William C. Carroll Macbeth, edited by A. R. Braunmuller Measure for Measure, edited by Brian Gibbons The Merchant of Venice,editedbyM.M.Mahood The Merry Wives of Windsor, edited by David Crane A Midsummer Night’s Dream, edited by R. A. Foakes Much Ado About Nothing,editedbyF.H.Mares Othello, edited by Norman Sanders Pericles, edited by Doreen DelVecchio and Antony Hammond The Poems,editedbyJohnRoe Romeo and Juliet, edited by G. Blakemore Evans The Sonnets, edited by G. Blakemore Evans The Taming of the Shrew, edited by Ann Thompson The Tempest, edited by David Lindley Timon of Athens,editedbyKarlKlein Titus Andronicus, edited by Alan Hughes Troilus and Cressida, edited by Anthony B. Dawson Twelfth Night, edited by Elizabeth Story Donno The Two Gentlemen of Verona, edited by Kurt Schlueter The Two Noble Kinsmen, edited by Robert Kean Turner and Patricia Tatspaugh The Winter’s Tale, edited by Susan Snyder and Deborah T. Curren-Aquino the early quartos The First Quarto of Hamlet, edited by Kathleen O. Irace The First Quarto of King Henry V, edited by Andrew Gurr The First Quarto of King Lear, edited by Jay L. Halio The First Quarto of King Richard III, edited by Peter Davison The First Quarto of Othello, edited by Scott McMillin The First Quarto of Romeo and Juliet, edited by Lukas Erne The Taming of a Shrew: The 1594 Quarto, edited by Stephen Roy Miller © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-59673-2 - King Edward III Edited by Giorgio Melchiori Frontmatter More information KING EDWARD III Edited by GIORGIO MELCHIORI © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-59673-2 - King Edward III Edited by Giorgio Melchiori Frontmatter More information University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8 8BS, United Kingdom Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521596732 C Cambridge University Press 1998 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1990 10th printing 2014 Printed in the United Kingdom by CPI Group Ltd,cr0 4yyCroydon A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Shakespeare, William, 1564–1616. King Edward III / edited by Giorgio Melchiori. p. cm. – (New Cambridge Shakespeare) Includes bibliographical references. isbn 0 521 43422 x (hardback) – isbn 0 521 59673 4 (paperback) 1. Edward III, King of England, 1312–77 –Drama. 2. Civilisation, Medieval – 14th century – Drama. 3. Great Britain – Kings and rulers – Drama. i. Melchiori, Giorgio. ii. Title. iii. Series: Shakespeare, William, 1564–1616. Works. 1984. Cambridge University Press. pr2859.a2m45 1997 822.33 –dc21 96–54616 cip isnb 978-0-521-43422-5 Hardback isnb 978-0-521-59673-2 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-59673-2 - King Edward III Edited by Giorgio Melchiori Frontmatter More information CONTENTS List of illustrations page vii Preface ix List of abbreviations and conventions xi Introduction 1 Date and destination 3 Authorship 9 The genesis of Edward III: a Garter Play 17 From sources to structure 25 The final version of the Countess scenes: ideological ambiguity 36 The play in the context of the histories 39 The play on the stage 45 Note on the text 52 List of characters 56 The Play 59 Textual analysis 171 Appendix: The use of sources 178 Act 1 178 Act 2 188 Act 3 199 Acts 4 and 5 207 The Reign of King Edward III rearranged according to historical chronology 216 Reading list 217 v © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-59673-2 - King Edward III Edited by Giorgio Melchiori Frontmatter More information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-59673-2 - King Edward III Edited by Giorgio Melchiori Frontmatter More information ILLUSTRATIONS 1 A battle at sea. From BL Royal MS. 14 e iv fo.276r (by courtesy of the British Library Board) page 4 2 The coronation of King Edward III. From MS. 20 fo.68r(c.1330) in the Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (by permission of the Master and Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge) 18 3 King Edward III in full regalia. From BL Stowe MS. 594 fo.7v (by courtesy of the British Library Board) 20 4 Table: Intermarriages between the Houses of England and France. 26 5 English troops embarking for France. From BL Royal MS. 18 ei fo.103v (by courtesy of the British Library Board) 29 6 Gold noble first minted in 1344. From a copy of the 1351 issue in the British Museum (by courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum) 30 7 Map of the English campaigns in France, 1346 and 1356 (based on H. J. Hewitt The Organization of War under Edward III, 1966,and Michael Prestwich, The Three Edward, 1980) 31 8 Map of the battle of Crecy´ (based on John Laffin, Brassey’s Battles (Brassey’s Defence Publishers, 1986), p. 131) 32 9 Map of the battle of Poitiers (based on John Laffin, Brassey’s Battles (Brassey’s Defence Publishers, 1986), p. 339) 34 10 The surrender of the burghers of Calais. From MS. 6,fo.218vin Lambeth Palace Library (by courtesy of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Trustees of the Lambeth Palace Library) 40 11 The arms of England, from c. 1337 42 12 The arms of the Pelham family, from c. 1357 43 13 The Pelican emblem, in Geoffrey Whitney, A Choice of Emblemes and other Deuises (Leyden, 1586), p. 87. From a copy in Cambridge University Library, class-mark sss-22.24 (Cambridge University Library Photographic Service) 44 14 Act 2, Scene 2. Ian McCulloch as King Edward and Annabel Leventon as the Countess in Toby Robertson’s 1987 Theatr Clwyd production (photo: Phil Cutts) 47 vii © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-59673-2 - King Edward III Edited by Giorgio Melchiori Frontmatter More information List of illustrations viii 15 Act 4, Scene 7. Colin Hurley as Prince Edward, Jonathan Burn as King John, Sam Howard as Philip in the 1987 production (photo: Phil Cutts) 49 16 Act 5, Scene 1.Zoe¨ Hicks as Queen Philippa and Ian McCulloch as the king in the 1987 production (photo: Phil Cutts) 50 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-59673-2 - King Edward III Edited by Giorgio Melchiori Frontmatter More information PREFACE The Reign of King Edward the third appeared only once in a collected edition of Shakespeare’s works: it happened about one hundred and twenty years ago, when F.