William Haughton (died 1605) was an English

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

in the age of

English Renaissance theatre The English Renaissance theatre or Elizabethan theatre was the theatre of England from 1558 to 1642. Its most prominent playwrights were William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Background The term ''English Renaissance theatr ...

.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. "Haughton, William". In ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press, 1911; Vol. 13, p. 66.

Life

Most of what little biographical information there is about him is derived from the papers of

Philip Henslowe Philip Henslowe ( – 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 London. ...

, proprietor of the

Rose Theatre The Rose was an Elizabethan playhouse, built by theatre entrepreneur Philip Henslowe in 1587. It was the fifth public playhouse to be built in London, after the Red Lion in Whitechapel (1567), The Theatre (1576) and the Curtain (1577), both i ...

. Henslowe's earliest reference to him refers to him as "young" Haughton. He wrote all his known dramatic work for Henslowe, for production by 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 ...

and

Worcester's Men The Earl of Worcester's Men was an acting company in English Renaissance, Renaissance England. An early formation of the company, wearing the livery of William Somerset, 3rd Earl of Worcester, is among the companies known to have toured the coun ...

. (Henslowe's papers refer to Haughton as Hawton, Hauton, Haughtoun, Haulton, Howghton, Horton, Harton, and Harvghton Chambers, E. K. ''The Elizabethan Stage''. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923; Vol. 3, p. 334.—a fine example of the famously flexible Elizabethan orthography. His name is spelled Houghton in his 1605 will.) On 10 March 1600 Henslowe lent Haughton ten

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

s "to release him out of

The Clink The Clink was a prison in Southwark, England, which operated from the 12th century until 1780. The prison served the Liberty of the Clink, a local manor area owned by the Bishop of Winchester rather than by the reigning monarch. As the Libe ...

". A William Haughton received an M.A. from Oxford in 1604, but Baugh doubts that this was the playwright. Haughton made his will on 6 June 1605, with his sometime dramatic collaborator Wentworth Smith and one Elizabeth Lewes as witnesses. It was proved on 20 July 1605. He was of All Hallows Staining at that time, a London church whose tower survives. He left a widow Alice and children.

Career as a playwright

During the years 1597 to 1602 he collaborated in many plays with Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker, John Day, Richard Hathwaye and Wentworth Smith. Haughton's hand has also been sought in several anonymous plays of the period, including ''Wiley Beguiled'', ''The Wit of a Woman'', ''

The Merry Devil of Edmonton ''The Merry Devil of Edmonton'' is an Elizabethan-era stage play; a comedy about a magician, Peter Fabell, nicknamed the Merry Devil. It was at one point attributed to William Shakespeare, but is now considered part of the Shakespeare Apocryph ...

'', ''Captain Thomas Stukeley'' and ''A Warning For Fair Women''. A merry comedy entitled '' Englishmen for My Money, or A Woman will have her Will'' (1598) is ascribed to his sole authorship, and Fleay credits him with a considerable share in ''

Patient Grissel ''Patient Grissel'' is a play by Thomas Dekker, Henry Chettle, and William Haughton, first printed in 1603. It is mentioned in Henslowe's diary in the entry for December 1599. The plot is a variant of the medieval tale of Patient Griselda, ...

'' (1599). The latter attribution has been confirmed and refined by W. L. Halstead and by Cyrus Hoy (1980), giving the subplot concerning Sir Owen the Welsh Knight and his wife Gwenthyan, as well as that concerning the Duke's sister Julia and her three foolish suitors to Haughton, leaving the main plot to Dekker and Chettle. ''The Devil and his Dame'', mentioned as a forthcoming play by Henslowe in March 1600, is identified by Fleay as '' Grim the Collier of Croydon'', which was printed in 1662. In this play an emissary is sent from the infernal regions to report on the conditions of married life on earth. This attribution has recently been confirmed by William M Baillie (see below). ''Grim'' is reprinted in vol. viii, and ''Englishmen for My Money'' iii, vol. 5, of WC Hazlitt's edition of Dodsley's ''Old Plays''. ''Englishmen for My Money'' was edited in old-spelling by A. C. Baugh in 1917, and appeared as a Tudor Facsimile Text in 1911. ''Grim'' has been edited by William L. Baillie as part of ''A Choice Ternary of English Plays: Gratiae Theatrales'' (1984), and appeared as a Tudor Facsimile Text in 1912. ''Patient Grissell'' appears in Fredson Bowers' edition of Dekker's Dramatic Works. In May 1600 he brokered a play, now lost, to Henslowe called ''The English Fugitives'', possibly based on

Lewes Lewknor Sir Lewes Lewknor (c.1560–1627) was an English courtier, M.P., writer, soldier, and Judge who served as Master of the Ceremonies to King James I of England. M.P. for Midhurst in 1597 and for Bridgnorth 1604–10. His career has been desc ...

's ''The Estate of English Fugitives'' published in 1595.

Known works

Known plays by Haughton, either singly or in conjunction with others, include: # '' Englishmen for My Money, or A Woman Will Have Her Will''.

Stationers' Register The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. This was a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with England's publishing industry, including prin ...

entry 3 August 1601. Printed 161, 1626, 1631. # '' The Poor Man's Paradise'', August 1599. Not printed; possibly not finished. # '' Cox of Collumpton'', with Day, November 1599. Not printed, although an eyewitness report of a performance survives in

Simon Forman Simon Forman (31 December 1552 – 5 or 12 September 1611) was an Elizabethan astrologer, occultist and herbalist active in London during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and James I of England. His reputation, however, was severely tarnishe ...

's casebook. # '' Thomas Merry, or Beech's Tragedy'', with Day, November–December 1599. Not printed. It has been suggested that this survives as part of Yarington's ''Two Lamentable Tragedies'', though this is more likely to be an analog handling the same murder. # '' The Arcadian Virgin'', with Chettle, December 1599. Not printed; possibly not finished. # ''

'', with Chettle and Dekker, October–December 1599. # '' The Spanish Moor's Tragedy'', with Day and Dekker, February 1600. Not Printed; possibly not finished, though it is now usually identified with ''Lust's Dominion'' from the Dekker canon. # '' The Seven Wise Masters'', with Chettle, Day, and Dekker, March 1600. Not printed. # '' Ferrex and Porrex'', March–April 1600. Not printed. # '' The English Fugitives'', April 1600. Not printed; possibly not finished. # ''The Devil and His Dame'', May 1600. Probably the extant anonymous play '' Grim the Collier of Croydon''. # '' Strange News Out of Poland'', with "Mr. Pett," possibly

Peter Pett Peter Pett may refer to: * Peter Pett (shipwright, died 1672) (1610–1672), English master-shipwright at Chatham Dockyard * Peter Pett (shipwright, died 1589) (?–1589), English master-shipwright at Deptford Dockyard * Sir Peter Pett (lawyer) ...

, May 1600. Not printed. # ''

Judas Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of ...

'', May 1600; apparently finished by William Bird and Samuel Rowley, December 1601. Not printed. # '' Robin Hood's Pennorths'', December 1600 – January 1601. Not printed; possibly not finished. # '' The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, Part II'', with John Day, January–July 1601. Not printed. # '' The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, Part III'', with John Day, January–July 1601. Not printed. # '' The Conquest of the West Indies'', with Day and Smith, April–September 1601. Not printed. # '' The Six Yeomen of the West'', with Day, May–June 1601. Not printed. # '' Friar Rush and the Proud Woman of Antwerp'', with Chettle and Day, July 1601 – January 1602. Not printed. # '' Tom Dough, Part II'', with Day, July–September 1601. Not printed; possibly not finished. # '' The Six Clothiers, Part I'', with Richard Hathwaye and Wentworth Smith, October–November 1601. Not printed. # '' The Six Clothiers, Part II'', with Hathwaye and Smith, October–November 1601. Not printed; possibly not finished. # '' William Cartwright'', September 1602. Not printed; possibly not finished.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haughton, William 1605 deaths English Renaissance dramatists Year of birth unknown 16th-century English writers 16th-century English male writers 17th-century English male writers 16th-century English dramatists and playwrights 17th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights