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Anyone involved in the production of plays in Elizabethan England, from the playwright to the theater owners, knew that the Master of Revels was the man to impress — and fear. It was he who auditioned acting troupes, selected the plays they would perform for the court, and controlled the scenery and costumes to be used in each production. During the reign of James I, the Master of Revels reached the apex of his power and had complete authority over both the production and the publication of plays.
According to Thomas Blount in his 1656 dictionary "Glossographia", the origin of the word "Revels" is the French word "reveiller", to wake from sleep. He goes on to define "Revels" as:
'Sports of Dancing, Masking, Comedies, and such like, used formerly in the Kings House, the Inns of Court, or in the Houses of other great personages; And are so called, because they are most used by night, when otherwise men commonly sleep' [10]
List of Masters of the Revels
- Walter Halliday (1461–83)
- Sir Thomas Cawarden (1544–59)
- Sir Thomas Benger (1560–72)
- Sir Thomas Blagrave (1573–79)
- Sir Edmund Tilney (1579–1610)
- Sir George Buck (1610–22)
- Sir John Astley (1622–40)
- Sir Henry Herbert (1640–73, de facto from 1623)
- Thomas Killigrew (1673–77)
- Charles Killigrew (1677–1725)
- Charles Henry Lee (1725–44)
- Solomon Dayrolles (1744–86)
resources
- office of the Master of the Revels in the sixteenth century, Documents Relating to the Office of the Revels in the Time of Queen Elizabeth, Volume 21 (Google eBook) Great Britain. Office of the Revels. A. Uystpruyst, 1908 - England - 512 pages
- Shakespeare's Boss, Shakespeare's theatre, The Globe Theatre, The Office of the Revels, The Master of Revels