On this day...

Timur the Lame, or 'Tamerlane' is said to have been born in 1336. The highly controversial Mongol leader, spent a successful lifetime conquering much of Western and Central Asia, founding both the Timurid empire and dynasty. Such a life seems to have all the facets of an enthralling drama, and indeed he was the inspiration for Christopher Marlowe's 'Tamburlaine the Great'.

Written in either 1587 or 1588, the play signifies the beginning of Elizabethan drama's golden age, demonstrating for perhaps the first time, the potential of blank verse in drama.Although arguably superseded by the late-Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedies, it is easy to see its influence in the works of Shakespeare, especially in the 'Henry' sequence. The play explores humanity and its potential in the face of power and so is often seen as having atheist overtones - a criticism often levelled at Marlowe himself. Performed by the Admiral's Men, the play gave famous renaissance actor Edward Alleyn his signature role.

On this day...

English playwright Christopher Marlowe, was baptised in 1564. Although the exact dates of neither man's birth is known, Marlowe arrived just two months before his great contemporary and rival, William Shakespeare. Gaining his place on a scholarship, Marlowe was educated at Cambridge and received his degree in 1584. However, three years later, when Marlowe was due to receive his Masters, the university under the impression of a Catholic conversion, hesitated to award it to him, resulting in an intevention by the crown. His 'good service' and 'faithful dealing' to the Queen has led to much subsequent speculation, some even suspecting him of being a secret agent in Sir Francis Walsingham's intelligence service.

Marlowe's literary career began at much the same time. 'Tamburlaine', Marlowe's first major work, is one of the first English plays to have been written in blank verse, and is considered by many, alongside Thomas Kyd's 'The Spainish Tragedy', to be the beginning of mature Elizabethan drama. Numerous succesful works followed, including, 'The Jew of Malta', 'The Massacre at Paris' and 'The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus'. Yet it is, perhaps, Marlowe's death which has aroused most interest for scholars over the years. On May 30th 1593, Marlowe was stabbed in a Deptford inn. Quite why this happened, no one is sure. Some speculate it was a row over the bill, others, that it was connected to his arrest only 10 days before. Regardless, Marlowe will go down in history as a true genius of his craft.

On this day...

Philip Henslowe, Elizabethan theatre entrepreneur, died in 1616 at the age of 66, only three months before the greatest theatrical name of the era, William Shakespeare. A shrewd businessman from the start, Henslowe quickly developed interests in areas such as dyeing, pawn-broking, money lending and property. Yet he is best known for his work in the theatre industry, most details of which have only been uncovered thanks to his diary, which contains records of payments to writers, box office takings and expensive costume purchases. After a infamous split with James Burbage, Henslowe became the partner of 'The Admiral's Men' and used his own venues, The Rose and The Fortune Theatre, for their performances. Whereas the diary denotes numerous plays by Shakespearian titles, such as 'Hamlet', 'Henry V' and 'Troilus and Cressida', no record of payment is made to Shakespeare. Instead payments were listed for 27 Elizabethan playwrights, including the names Ben Johnson, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Middleton and John Webster. 

On this day...

Queen Mary I, died in 1558; leading to the ascension of Queen Elizabeth I to the throne, and sparking of one of the greatest periods of literature in history. The Elizabethan era is, of couse, best known for dramatist and poet William Shakespeare. 25 of his 37 plays were purportedly performed during Elizabeth's reign, and she herself was known to be an admirer; the Lord Chamberlain's Men said to have performed over thirty-two times at court. Yet Shakespeare was not the only influential playwright of the era; contempories Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe are equally renowned, the latter possibly even more so in his lifetime. Elizabethan literature also widely contributed to the field of poetry, not least with the reinvention of the sonnet by Shakespeare, but also through the works of Philip Sidney and the first writings of John Donne; Donne was voted this year, the nation's second favourite poet. Other figures of the era include; Thomas Kyd, John Webster and Thomas Middleton. Much of this prolific writing continued into the Jacobean period.

On this day...

English dramatist, Thomas Kyd, was baptised in 1558; the first record available of his birth. Kyd is best known for his authorship of 'The Spainish Tragedie'; yet, despite being recognised in his own time, this was only attributed to him in 1773. This led to further scholarly study into his works; even producing a theory that he wrote a 'Hamlet' which pre-dated Shakespeare's. Kyd's respect spread from his pan-European audiences to his contempories, Ben Jonson evelvating him to the same level as Christopher Marlowe; with whom he shared lodgings. He died in 1594, recognised as a key figure in the development of Elizabethan drama and plot. 8 years after his death, Jonson is noted as being payed by Philip Henslowe for additions to the play.

On this day...

Sir Walter Raleigh, courtier to Queen Elizabeth I, died in 1618. Perhaps more famous for bringing both potatoes and tobacco to England from his voyages to the New World, Raleigh also wrote poetry, considered to be one of the era's 'silver poets' by C.S. Lewis. Fighting for recognition amongst better known contempories such as John Donne and Christopher Marlowe, Raleigh's best work could be said to be 'The Lie', a social criticism condemning institutions such as the Church and courts; stating the latter 'shines like rotten wood'. He also wrote 'The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd', as a reply to Marlowe's 'The Passionate Shepherd to his Love'; a poem which has since seen responses from John Donne, Cecil Day-Lewis and Ogden Nash.