The Fair Penitent is Nicholas Rowe's stage adaptation of the tragedy The Fatal Dowry , the Philip Massinger and Nathan Field collaboration first published in 1632. Rowe's adaptation, premiered onstage in 1702 and first published in 1703, was a great popular success through much of the 18th century, and was praised by critics as demanding as Samuel Johnson ("There is scarcely any work of any poet so interesting by the fable and so delightful in the language").
40-406: The Fatal Dowry is a late Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger and Nathan Field , and first published in 1632. It represents a significant aspect of Field's very limited dramatic output. Though hard evidence is lacking, the play is thought to have been composed c. 1619; it may have been the last writing for the theatre done by Field before his death in 1620. The play
80-407: A crash program of selling off royal demesnes , Lord Treasurer Robert Cecil reduced the debt to £300,000 and the annual deficit to £46,000 by 1610—but could not follow the same method of relief much farther. The result was a series of tense and often failed negotiations with Parliament for financial supports, a situation that deteriorated over the reigns of James and his son and heir Charles I until
120-604: A major war at the last minute, and keeping Britain in peace. Frederick and Elizabeth's election as King and Queen of Bohemia in 1619, and the conflict that resulted, marked the beginning of the disastrous Thirty Years' War . King James' determination to avoid involvement in the continental conflict, even during the "war fever" of 1623, appears in retrospect as one of the most significant, and most positive, aspects of his reign. In literature, some of Shakespeare 's most prominent plays, including King Lear (1605), Macbeth (1606), and The Tempest (1610), were written during
160-504: A modern edition of the play in 1969. (In the same year, Malcolm Goldstein published a modern edition of Rowe's Fair Penitent. ) Jacobean era The Jacobean era was the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of James VI of Scotland who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I. The Jacobean era succeeds the Elizabethan era and precedes
200-401: A new level of development. Bacon laid a foundation, and was a powerful and persuasive advocate for modern objective inquiry, predicated upon empiricism as a lens to study the natural world. This school of thought was in stark contrast to the dominating scientific philosophy of the time: Medieval scholastic authoritarianism. On practical rather than general levels, much work was being done in
240-591: A prominent actress. Where the original "concentrates largely on the legal and political affairs of the cuckolded husband," Rowe focused far more directly on the domestic tragedy of Calista's infidelity. The original Lincoln's Inn Fields cast included John Bowman as Sciolto, John Verbruggen as Altamont, Thomas Betterton as Horatio, George Powell as Lothario and Elizabeth Barry as Calista. The production also included incidental music and arias written by German-born Baroque composer Jakob Greber for his mistress, operatic soprano Margherita de L'Épine . The play
280-838: A tool for their own goal of achieving destruction of the other side. The Catholics in Spain, as well as the Emperor Ferdinand II , the Vienna-based leader of the Habsburgs who controlled the Holy Roman Empire, were both heavily influenced by the Catholic Counter-Reformation. They had the goal of expelling Protestantism from their domains. Lord Buckingham , who wielded increasing influence at court, wanted an alliance with Spain . Buckingham took Charles with him to Spain to woo
320-475: Is impressed by Charalois' courage, virtue, and self-sacrifice, and decides to pay the general's debts himself. Rochfort has an only daughter named Beaumelle, the centre of a set of fashionables and foppish young people, featuring the aristocratic Novall Junior and his hangers-on . Beaumelle's waiting-woman , Bellapert, is a cynical sensualist who tempts her mistress with the idea of marrying to enjoy sexual indulgence with many illicit lovers. Beaumelle's father
360-559: Is so taken with Charalois that he arranges a marriage between the young man and his daughter. Novall Junior is furious about the marriage, since he has lost his chance of taking Beaumelle's virginity; but Bellapert assures him that the marriage will work to his advantage. Others, including Charalois' friend Romont, perceive the growing intimacy of Novall Junior and Beaumelle, and try to warn the parties involved — without success. Eventually, Beaumelle consummates her incipient affair with Novall Junior. Charalois walks in upon them, catching them in
400-574: The Caroline era . The term "Jacobean" is often used for the distinctive styles of Jacobean architecture , visual arts, decorative arts, and literature which characterized that period. The word "Jacobean" is derived from Neo-Latin Jacobaeus from Jacobus , the Ecclesiastical Latin form of the English name James . The practical if not formal unification of England and Scotland under one ruler
440-528: The Great Fire of London ). Significant Jacobean buildings include Hatfield House , Bolsover Castle , Aston Hall , and Charlton House . Many churches contain fine monuments in Jacobean style, with characteristic motifs including strapwork, and polychromy. The mason and sculptor Nicholas Stone produced many effigies for tombs as well as architectural stonework. In the domain of customs, manners, and everyday life,
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#1732863280567480-600: The King James Bible . In 1617 George Chapman completed his monumental translation of Homer 's Iliad and Odyssey into English verse, which were the first ever complete translations of either poem, both central to the Western Canon , into the English language. The wildly popular tale of the Trojan War had until then been available to readers of English only in medieval epic retellings such as Caxton 's Recuyell of
520-515: The Elder (died 1619), William Larkin ( fl. 1609–19), and Sir Nathaniel Bacon (1585–1627). Some would also claim, as part of this trend, Cornelius Johnson, or Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen (1593–1661), born and trained in London and active through the first two Stuart reigns. The decorative arts – furniture, for example – became increasingly rich in color, detail, and design. Materials from other parts of
560-663: The German princes were banding together in the Union of German Protestant Princes, headquartered in Heidelberg, the capital of the Palatine. King James calculated that his daughter's marriage would give him diplomatic leverage among the Protestants. He thus would have a foot in both camps and be able to broker peaceful settlements. In his naïveté, he did not realize that both sides were playing him as
600-515: The Habsburg Emperor ousted the new king and queen of Bohemia and massacred their followers. Catholic Bavaria then invaded the Palatine, and James's son-in-law begged for James's military intervention. James finally realized his policies had backfired and refused these pleas. He successfully kept Britain out of the Europe-wide war that proved so devastating for three decades. James's backup plan
640-510: The Historyes of Troye . Jonson was also an important innovator in the specialised literary subgenre of the masque , which went through an intense development in the Jacobean era. His name is linked with that of Inigo Jones as co-developers of the literary and visual/technical aspects of this hybrid art. (For Jonson's masques , see: The Masque of Blackness , The Masque of Queens , etc.) The high costs of these spectacles, however, positioned
680-422: The Jacobean era saw a distinctly religious tone. Virginia tobacco became popular. James I published his A Counterblaste to Tobacco in 1604, but the book had no discernible effect; by 1612, London had 7,000 tobacconists and smoking houses. The Virginia colony survived because the English acquired the nicotine habit. The Fair Penitent In making his adaptation, Rowe eliminated characters and simplified
720-457: The Jacobean era, as was true of the Tudor and Stuart periods in general. Paul van Somer and Daniel Mytens were the most prominent portrait painters during the reign of James, as Anthony van Dyck would be under the coming reign of his son. Yet the slow development of a native school of painting, which had made progress in the previous reign, continued under James, producing figures like Robert Peake
760-592: The Massinger canon in being both weak in plot and unusually strong in characterization." The play has been praised by critics; Arthur Symons considered it one of Massinger's "two most distinct and most distinguished tragedies" (the other being The Duke of Milan ). In 1702, Nicholas Rowe adapted The Fatal Dowry into a new version he titled The Fair Penitent . Aaron Hill also reworked Massinger and Field's play into his own version, The Insolvent (written c. 1732; published 1758). In both adapted and original forms,
800-654: The Stuarts far from the relative frugality of Elizabeth's reign, and alienated the middle classes and the Puritans with a prospect of waste and self-indulgent excess. Francis Bacon had a strong influence in the evolution of modern science, which was entering a key phase in this era, as the work of Johannes Kepler in Germany and Galileo Galilei in Italy brought the Copernican revolution to
840-783: The United States of America. In 1609 the Parliament of Scotland began the Plantation of Ulster . A notable event of James' reign occurred on 5 November 1605. On that date, a group of English Catholics (including Guy Fawkes ) attempted to assassinate the King and destroy Parliament in the Palace of Westminster . However, the Gunpowder Plot was exposed and prevented, and the convicted plotters were hanged, drawn, and quartered . Historians have long debated
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#1732863280567880-494: The act. Charalois challenges Novall Junior; Novall attempts to avoid the duel, but in the end, he fights with Charalois, and is killed. Charalois stages a mock trial, with his father-in-law Rochfort as the judge. Rochfort, even in his emotional turmoil, hears Charalois' accusation and Beaumelle's confession, and sentences her to death. Charalois stabs her; Beaumelle dies. Novall Senior discovers his son's death, and has Charalois arrested and prosecuted. Charalois defends himself before
920-423: The action "to create a more focused play than the original." He pursued "neoclassical simplicity" but in the process sacrificed the "underlying moral principles" of the original. Rowe shifted the setting from Dijon to Genoa , and changed the main characters' names. Rowe also accentuated the role of the female protagonist, making the play much more a vehicle for a female star performer, a "better acting piece" for
960-541: The areas of navigation, cartography, and surveying—John Widdowes' A Description of the World (1621) being one significant volume in this area—as well as in continuing William Gilbert 's work on magnetism from the previous reign. Scholarship and the sciences, or "natural philosophy", had important royal patrons in this era—not so much in the King but in his son, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales , and even his wife, Anne of Denmark . The fine arts were dominated by foreign talent in
1000-486: The character in this play. However, a character named Lothario as a seducer predates the play. It first appeared in 1605 in Miguel de Cervantes novel Don Quixote . In this story Lothario is urged by his lifelong friend Anselmo to attempt to seduce his wife in order to test her faithfulness. At first most unwilling, he eventually enters into the scheme with skill and success. Malcolm Goldstein edited The Fair Penitent for
1040-460: The court, and wins an acquittal. One of Novall Junior's followers, however, is an ex-soldier named Pontalier who was redeemed from debtor's prison by the judge's son; repaying that favour, Pontalier stabs and kills Charalois in the court, and in turn is stabbed and killed by Romont. Scholars have estimated that the play is 60% Massinger's work, and 40% Field's. Field's hand is most prominent in Act II, in
1080-503: The crisis of the English Civil War . The Jacobean era ended with a severe economic depression in 1620–1626, complicated by a serious outbreak of bubonic plague in London in 1625. King James I was sincerely devoted to peace, not just for his three kingdoms but for Europe as a whole. He called himself "Rex Pacificus" ("King of Peace"). Europe was deeply polarized, and on the verge of the massive Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), with
1120-458: The curious characteristics of the king's ruling style. Croft says: Political events and developments of the Jacobean era cannot be understood separately from the economic and financial situation. James was deeply in debt in Scotland, and after 1603 he inherited an English debt of £350,000 from Elizabeth. By 1608 the English debt had risen to £1,400,000 and was increasing by £140,000 annually. Through
1160-613: The elder Charalois, was a general who had gone into debt to pay the expenses of his troops; unable to repay those charges, he died in debtor's prison , and his rapacious creditors refused to release his body for a proper burial. The general's son has taken his cause to court, but his suit is rejected by the judges, led by the hostile Novall Senior, president of the Dijon parlement . The younger Charalois amazes everyone by offering to assume his father's debts and take his place in prison, thus freeing his father's corpse. A retiring judge named Rochfort
1200-480: The play had success in revivals over a long period. Rowe's version was enormously popular in its era; an adaptation by Richard Lalor Sheil , starring Charles Macready , was done at Drury Lane and in Bath in 1825, and the original was performed at Sadler's Wells in 1845. Richard Beer-Hofmann 's German-language play Der Graf von Charolais (1904) was based on The Fatal Dowry ; it was filmed in 1922. T. A. Dunn produced
1240-650: The princess, the Infanta Maria Anna . However, Spain's terms were that James must drop Britain's anti-Catholic intolerance. Buckingham and Charles were humiliated. Buckingham subsequently became the leader of the widespread British demand for a war against Spain. Meanwhile, the Protestant princes looked to Britain, since it was the strongest of all the Protestant countries, to give military support for their cause. His son-in-law and daughter became king and queen of Bohemia, which outraged Vienna. The Thirty Years' War began as
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1280-460: The prints of Hans Vredeman de Vries , were employed on buildings and furniture. European influences include France, Flanders, and Italy. Inigo Jones may be the most famous English architect of this period, with lasting contributions to classical public building style; his works include the Banqueting House in the Palace of Whitehall and the portico of Old St Paul's Cathedral (destroyed in
1320-459: The reign of James I. Patronage came not just from James, but from James' wife Anne of Denmark . Also during this period were powerful works by John Webster , Thomas Middleton , John Ford and Ben Jonson . Ben Jonson also contributed to some of the era's best poetry, together with the Cavalier poets and John Donne . In prose , the most representative works are found in those of Francis Bacon and
1360-449: The second half of Act III, and in Act IV scene 1. The two collaborators divided the task according to their artistic strengths: Field wrote the portions of the play that deal with the fashionable world of Beaumelle and Novall Junior, while Massinger handled the parts involving soldiers, the law court, and the serious moral issues of the drama. The play has been called "unique among the plays of
1400-510: The smaller established Protestant states facing the aggression of the larger Catholic empires. In 1604, James made peace with Catholic Spain , and made it his policy to marry his daughter to the Spanish prince. The marriage of James' daughter Princess Elizabeth to Frederick V, Elector Palatine at Whitehall 14 February 1613 was more than the social event of the era; the couple's union had important political and military implications. Across Europe,
1440-612: The world, like mother-of-pearl, were now available by worldwide trade and were used as decoration. Even familiar materials, such as wood and silver, were worked more deeply in intricate and intensely three-dimensional designs. The goldsmith George Heriot made jewellery for Anne of Denmark . Architecture in the Jacobean era was a continuation of the Elizabethan style with increasing emphasis on classical elements like columns and obelisks. Architectural detail and decorative strapwork patterns derived from continental engravings, especially
1480-676: Was acted by the King's Men at the Blackfriars Theatre . The 1632 quarto was printed by John Norton for the bookseller Francis Constable . The quarto's text is corrupt and badly printed. The play is set in Dijon in Burgundy in the later part of the fifteenth century, in the aftermath of the battles of Grandson , Morat (both 1476) and Nancy (1477), all mentioned in Act I, scene ii. The protagonist's father,
1520-545: Was an important shift of order for both nations, and would shape their existence to the present day. Another development of crucial significance was the foundation of the first British colonies on the North American continent; Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, Newfoundland in 1610, and Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts in 1620, which laid the foundation for future British settlement and the eventual formation of both Canada and
1560-588: Was revived at both of the major London theatres of the era, Drury Lane and Covent Garden ; the former production starred Mrs. Siddons as Calista. The 1703 first edition was dedicated to the Duchess of Ormond —but did not credit the original authors of The Fatal Dowry, leading to later critics' accusations of plagiarism against Rowe, as in William Gifford 's edition of Massinger's works. The eponym " Lothario ," meaning "a man who seduces women," stems from
1600-577: Was to marry his son Charles to a French Catholic princess, who would bring a handsome dowry. Parliament and the British people were strongly opposed to any Catholic marriage, were demanding immediate war with Spain, and strongly favored with the Protestant cause in Europe. James had alienated both elite and popular opinion in Britain, and Parliament was cutting its financing. Historians credit James for pulling back from
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