Samuel Rowley was a 17th-century English dramatist and actor. Rowley first appears in the historical record as an associate of

Philip Henslowe Philip Henslowe (c. 1550 – 6 January 1616) was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance ...

in the late 1590s. Initially he appears to have been an actor, perhaps a sharer, in the

Admiral's Men The Admiral's Men (also called the Admiral's company, more strictly, the Earl of Nottingham's Men; after 1603, Prince Henry's Men; after 1612, the Elector Palatine's Men or the Palsgrave's Men) was a playing company or troupe of actors in the Eli ...

, who performed at the

Rose Theatre The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. It was the fourth of the public theatres to be built, after The Theatre (1576), the Curtain (1577), and the theatre at Newington Butts (c. 1580?) – and the first of several playhouses to be situated in Ba ...

. After 1598, he assumed some non-acting responsibilities, helping Henslowe and Edward Alleyn manage the business affairs of the company. Yet he remained an actor as late as 1617, as he appears in the "plots" for plays including ''Frederick and Basilea'' (as Heraclius), '' The Battle of Alcazar'' (as an ambassador), and ''1 Tamar Cam''. He remained with the company through its successive patronage by Prince Henry and the Palsgrave. As a writer, Rowley belonged to the crowd of collaborating playwrights who kept Henslowe and Alleyn supplied with new drama. Henslowe paid him for additions to Christopher Marlowe's '' Doctor Faustus''; tradition, deferential to Marlowe, has assigned him the clown's bits in the 1616 edition. He wrote the now-lost ''Judas'' with William Borne (or Bird, or Boyle) and Edward Juby. He also wrote alone. His only extant solo work is '' When You See Me You Know Me'' (1603–5), a history of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...

from the death of

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...

to the visit of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infant ...

. He also wrote a play on

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

and two apparent comedies, ''Hard Shift for Husbands'' and ''A Match or no Match''—all three licensed shortly before his death, and none of which has survived. On stylistic grounds, H. D. Sykes assigned him a share in ''

The Famous Victories of Henry V ''The Famous Victories of Henry the fifth: Containing the Honourable Battel of Agin-court: As it was plaide by the Queenes Maiesties Players'', is an anonymous Elizabethan play, which is generally thought to be a source for Shakespeare's ''Henriad ...

'', '' The Taming of a Shrew'', and parts of Robert Greene's ''Orlando Furioso''. These attributions are possible but not widely accepted, as the plays are associated with

Queen Elizabeth's Men Queen Elizabeth's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in English Renaissance theatre. Formed in 1583 at the express command of Queen Elizabeth, it was the dominant acting company for the rest of the 1580s, as the Admiral's Men and the ...

, a troupe with which Rowley is not otherwise associated. MacD. P. Jackson also credits him with writing ''

Richard II, Part One ''Thomas of Woodstock'' and ''Richard the Second Part One'' are two names for an untitled, anonymous and apparently incomplete manuscript of an Elizabethan play depicting events in the reign of King Richard II. Attributions of the play to Willi ...

'' which others attribute to Shakespeare. The long-uncertain question of his connection to the more-famous

William Rowley William Rowley (c. 1585 – February 1626) was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626 in ...

was perhaps clarified by the discovery of his will in the 1960s: in this document, a brother named William is bequeathed all of Samuel's books. Samuel Rowley died in the parish of St Mary's in

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed a c ...

, where he had resided for decades.

References

*Cesarano, S. P. "Samuel Rowley." ''Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. * Chambers, E. K. ''The Elizabethan Stage.'' 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923. * Foakes, R. A., and R. T. Rickerts, eds. ''Henslowe's Diary''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968. *Nunzeger, Edwin. ''A Dictionary of Actors and Other Persons Associated with the Public Representation of Plays in England before 1642''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1929. *Somerset, J. A. "New Facts Concerning Samuel Rowley." ''Review of English Studies'' 17 (1966). *Mark Eccles, Mark. "Samuel Rowley." ''Studies in Philology'' 79 (1982). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowley, Samuel Rowley, Samuel 17th-century English dramatists and playwrights 17th-century English male writers