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Christopher Marlowe - Massacre At Paris: "Virtue is the fount whence honour springs."
Christopher Marlowe - Massacre At Paris: "Virtue is the fount whence honour springs."
Christopher Marlowe - Massacre At Paris: "Virtue is the fount whence honour springs."
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Christopher Marlowe - Massacre At Paris: "Virtue is the fount whence honour springs."

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The Massacre at Paris is a historical play by the celebrated Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe, also the author of the masterpiece Dr. Faustus. It displays the events of the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre that took place in the French capital in 1572. The gory massacre, which lasted for several weeks, was of a religious aspect. In addition to Parisian Calvinist Protestants, thousands of their coreligionists poured into the city to celebrate a the wedding of one of their leaders when they were violently attacked and exterminated by mobs. The massacre is believed to be planned by French Catholic leaders and resulted in a general atmosphere of religious terror throughout the country. The play also describes the way the Duke of Guise, leader of the Catholic League, was later lured into a trap and assassinated by his Protestant enemies. Although the play is set in the neighboring France, the religious massacre that took place and its connotations were of great importance to Protestant England. Significantly, by the end of Marlowe’s work, an English messenger had to take a letter to Queen Elizabeth from the French King Henry III who had recently converted from Protestantism to Catholicism in order to be crowned.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 20, 2013
ISBN9781780006475
Christopher Marlowe - Massacre At Paris: "Virtue is the fount whence honour springs."
Author

Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights.

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    Christopher Marlowe - Massacre At Paris - Christopher Marlowe

    Massacre At Paris

    By Christopher Marlowe

    Among the giants of literature stands one who, although his works are few, is equal to their stature. 

    Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury to John and Catherine Marlowe in 1564. The exact date of his birth is unknown though he was baptised on 26 February.  (Interestingly on April 26th the same year William Shakespeare was baptised)

    Marlowe attended The King's School in Canterbury and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, studying on a scholarship and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1584.

    In 1587 the university hesitated to award him his Master of Arts degree due to a rumour that he had converted to Roman Catholicism. However, his degree was awarded when the Privy Council intervened on his behalf, commending him for his faithful dealing and good service to the Queen. The nature of Marlowe's service was not specified by the Council, although the Council's letter is evidence that Marlowe had served the government in some secret capacity.  Much of his life is now subject to rumour and intrigue

    Of the dramas attributed to Marlowe Dido, Queen of Carthage is believed to be the first. It was performed by the Children of the Chapel, a company of boy actors, between 1587 and 1593 and first published in 1594.

    Marlowe's first play performed on the regular stage in London, in 1587, was the epic Tamburlaine the Great, about the conqueror Timur, who rises from shepherd to warrior. Among the first English plays in blank verse, it is considered the beginning of the mature phase of the Elizabethan theatre. Tamburlaine was a success, and was followed with Tamburlaine the Great, Part II.

    The two parts of Tamburlaine were published in 1590; all Marlowe's other works were published posthumously. The sequence of the writing of his other four plays is unknown but all deal with controversial themes.

    Plays

    Dido, Queen of Carthage (c.1586)

    Tamburlaine, part 1 (c.1587)

    Tamburlaine, part 2 (c.1587–1588)

    The Jew of Malta (c.1589)

    Doctor Faustus (c.1589, or, c.1593)

    Edward II (c.1592)

    The Massacre at Paris (c.1593)

    Marlowe was the foremost Elizabethan tragedian of his day. He greatly influenced William Shakespeare, who rose to become the pre-eminent Elizabethan playwright after Marlowe's early death. Marlowe's plays are known for the use of blank verse, and their overreaching protagonists.

    A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May 1593. No reason was given for it, though it was thought to be connected to allegations of blasphemy. On 20 May he was brought to the court to attend upon the Privy Council for questioning. There is no record of their having met that day, however, and he was commanded to attend upon them each day thereafter until licensed to the contrary. Ten days later, he was stabbed to death by Ingram Frizer. Whether the stabbing was connected to his arrest has never been resolved.

    The jury concluded that Frizer acted in self-defence, and within a month he was pardoned.

    Christopher Marlowe was buried in an unmarked grave in the churchyard of St. Nicholas, Deptford immediately after the inquest, on 1 June 1593.

    Many samples of his work can be found at our youtube channel   http://www.youtube.com/user/PortablePoetry?feature=mhee   Many of these poems are in an audiobook by our sister company and can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon and other digital stores.  Among the readers are Richard Mitchley and Ghizela Rowe

    Massacre At Paris

    Table of Contents with inital stage directions

    Dramatis Personae

    Scene 1: Enter Charles the French King, [Catherine] the Queene

    Mother, the King of Navarre, the Prince of Condye, the Lord high

    Admirall, and

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