PREFACE. If the wishes expressed by numerous competent judges may be regarded as a sufficient criterion for the utility of an undertaking, I am justified in hoping that the essay now presented to the reader will not altogether fail of its proposed object. For some time past, indeed, whoever has had occasion to speak of the so-called English Comedians and their relation to the old German and English stages, has always complained of the want of a documentary history relating to them. In the year 1849, having been fortunate enough to make the personal acquaintance of Ludwig Tieck, I obtained from him so much interesting information regarding the appearance of English Actors in Germany, as to cause the liveliest desire to follow up the traces of those strolling players. The remarks by which Tieck in his 'Old German Theatre' first directed attention to this subject in the year 1817, are calculated to stimulate the student to further investigations in the same field rather than to satisfy him; and in the historians of literature who have succeeded Tieck, I have only met with contradictory views, based more on conjecture than on research. One fact alone seemed to be fully evident: that the whole subject of the actors, their origin, their objects, and also the pieces which they performed, was veiled in obscurity. It was the custom to speak of them as of a myth, in the consideration of which we were to base all information regarding them on legendary rather than on historical ground. Nor indeed was there any firm footing to be obtained in the materials which had become known. up to that time. Since then, I endeavoured to throw some light upon the question in a few scattered articles, which at distant intervals appeared in the Athenaeum. These were followed up by valuable contributions from other quarters; but quite recently only a few happy discoveries have put me in possession of materials which several of my literary friends considered as calculated to give a certain degree of a completeness to the results of previous researches. In saying this, however, I must not be understood as intending to state that I believe the subject to be exhausted in the present essay. So far from entertaining such an opinion, I on the contrary am well aware that in many parts of my attempt the matter offered is incomplete, and that I can lay claim to nothing more than having made my contributions to a structure, the superstructure upon which, I hope, will be continued by abler hands than mine. Nor should I have ventured to publish matter thus casually collected, had I not entertained the conviction, that any essay however imperfect, if throwing any light upon a question connected with Shakespeare, cannot be altogether useless. I had also originally intended to avail myself of an external incident as a motive for the publication of the present pages, and to found on it a claim to the reader's indulgence, as I had hoped to publish it as a contribution to the Shakespeare Tercentenary Festival; but circumstances over which I had no control deprived me of this advantage. The work was nearly through the press, when its further progress had to be interrupted for more than six months. present Four out of the six old German Plays, the first four pieces of the work — which constitute its most important part, were to have been published more than twenty years ago, by the Shakespeare Society in London, as may be gathered from the list of their intended publications; the Society however was dissolved without having carried its intention into effect. To these four pieces two others are added which possess no less interest for the present purpose. In all the six pieces, here presented to the reader in the original language with an English translation annexed, the old printed editions or manuscripts have been faithfully adhered to. In the second piece alone, 'The Beautiful Phaenicia' by Jacob Ayrer, I have confined myself to extracts, because the whole piece, which is extremely long, contains a great deal of matter entirely foreign to the object of the present essay. For the translation of these pieces I am indebted to friends, who kindly granted me their valuable assistance and to whom it is a special pleasure for me to express here publicly my sincerest thanks. The 'Beautiful Sidea' and the 'Phaenicia' have been translated by Professor Thomas Solly. Any one who has made the attempt to give a nearly literal translation in another language of the concise and pithy style of the German poets of the sixteenth century, preserving moreover the metre of the original, will be able to appreciate the difficulties of his task, and will agree with myself in admiring the skill of the translator. It would have been an easier problem for him to give the verses a somewhat more poetical colouring than the originals themselves can boast of having. Our object, however, was not to offer any improvement on the original, but a faithful reflex of it, both as regards matter and form. The translation of the four succeeding pieces will be found not to be less meritorious. Julius and Hyppolita', as also 'Hamlet' have been translated by Miss Georgina Archer; Titus Andronicus' by Mr. Moritz Lippner; and 'Romeo and Juliet' by Mr. Lothar Bucher. Documents scattered far and wide, which had hitherto lain hidden in public libraries, state archives, and similar depositories, were necessary for the introductory and historical part of the work. For their kind and ready aid in enabling me to procure such materials I have sincerely to thank several personal friends as well as other gentlemen whose personal acquaintance I have not had the advantage to enjoy. My especial obligations are due to Mr. Friedrich Culemann of Hanover, Mr. Moritz Fürstenau of Dresden, Professor Hoffmann von Fallersleben of Corvey, Baron Wendelin von Maltzahn of Berlin, Mr. Ernst Pasqué of Darmstadt, Mr. W. B. Rye of the British Museum, Mr. C. W. Sack of Brunswick, Dr. A. Tobias of Zittau, and Dr. Ferdinand Wolf of the Imperial Library of Vienna. Berlin, October 1864. |