William Sampson (playwright)
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William Sampson (1590?–1636?) was an English dramatist.


Life

Sampson is thought to have been born about 1590 at South Leverton, a village near Retford,
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
, into a
yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...
family. From early life he was in service in local households of the neighbourhood. He found a permanent position as a retainer by 1628 in the family of Sir Henry Willoughby, 1st Baronet, of Risley, Derbyshire, where Phineas Fletcher resided between 1616 and 1621. Sampson died soon after the publication of his ''Virtus post Funera'' in 1636.


Works


Drama

Sampson made the acquaintance of
Gervase Markham Gervase (or Jervis) Markham (ca. 1568 – 3 February 1637) was an English poet and writer. He was best known for his work ''The English Huswife, The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woma ...
, another Nottinghamshire author, and joined him in writing, probably about 1612, a tragedy on the story of Herod and Antipater drawn from the ''
Antiquities of the Jews ''Antiquities of the Jews'' (; , ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in the 13th year of the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, which was 94 CE. It cont ...
'' by
Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing ''The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Judaea ...
(based on books xiv. and xv.). It was successfully produced in London, was licensed for publication on 22 February 1622, and appeared as ''The True Tragedy of Herod and Antipater''. Markham mentioned a related play by 1612, and Sampson apparently revised it shortly before its publication. The influence of the Latin work of Josephus was mediated by a 1558 English translation by Peter Morwyng. The play itself was populist, with onstage violence and depictions of low life, and echoed some Shakespearian effects. It was acted at the Red Bull Theatre, where the audience appreciated spectacle. Sampson followed with a play on his own, on a topic of local interest—the seduction by one Bateman of Mistress German, a young married woman of Clifton. The lovers committed suicide. The episode was the subject of a
chapbook A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...
''Bateman's Tragedy; or the perjured Bride justly rewarded'', and there was a popular ballad on the theme (later reprinted by
Joseph Ritson Joseph Ritson (2 October 1752 – 23 September 1803) was an English Antiquarian, antiquary known for editing the first scholarly collection of Robin Hood ballads (1795). After a visit to France in 1791, he became a staunch supporter of the idea ...
). Sampson's piece was written partly in blank verse and partly in prose, and was published as ''The Vow Breaker''. A second plot involved Gervase Clifton, a local worthy, Member of Parliament and soldier serving against the Scots in 1560 at the
Siege of Leith The siege of Leith ended a twelve-year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. French troops arrived in Scotland by invitation in 1548. In 1560 the French soldiers opposed Scottish supporter ...
, following ''
Holinshed's Chronicles ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', also known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland'', is a collaborative work published in several volumes and two editions, the first edition in 1577, and the second in 1587. It was a large, co ...
''. In the last act the mayor of Nottingham has an interview with Queen Elizabeth about the navigation of the
River Trent The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...
. A third piece, a comedy, entitled ''The Widow's Prize'', is also attributed to Sampson. Sir Henry Herbert the licenser, on 25 January 1625, allowed it to be acted by Prince Charles's Men, conditional on some changes. In the 18th century the manuscript belonging to John Warburton was destroyed.


Verse

Later in life Sampson wrote heroic verse on the nobility and gentry of the Midland counties. In 1636 there appeared his ''Virtus post Funera vivit, or Honour Tryumphing over Death, being true Epitomes of Honorable, Noble, Learned, and Hospitable Personages'' (London, printed by John Norton, 1636). The opening lines are addressed to
William Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, KG, KB, PC (25 December 1676), who after 1665 styled himself as Prince William Cavendish, was an English courtier and supporter of the arts. He was a renowned horse breeder, as well as being ...
. There follow a prose dedication to Christian, Dowager Countess of Devon, and one in verse to Charles, son of the Earl of Newcastle. The poems—all in heroic couplets—number thirty-two. Among the persons commemorated are Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (''Bess of Hardwick'', No. 1), and William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire (No. 3). A commendatory poem by Philip Kynder appeared with the work. Sampson's efforts to attract the patronage of the Cavendishes continued. An unprinted poem by him, inscribed to Margaret Cavendish, Marchioness of Newcastle, is entitled ''Love's Metamorphosis, or Apollo and Daphne''; it is in some 180 six-line stanzas, and is extant in Harleian MS. 6947 (No. 41, ff. 318–336). The first line runs "Scarce had Aurora showne her crimson face". Another of Sampson's poems, entitled ''Cicero's Loyal Epistle according to Hannibal Caro'', was dedicated to Lucy Hastings, wife of Ferdinando, Lord Hastings.


Family

Sampson married Helen, daughter of Gregory Vicars, and sister of John Viccars, and had by her at least two sons, Henry the physician and William, who both became fellows of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge; William (1635–1702) was later rector of Clayworth and prebendary of Lincoln from 1672. Sampson's widow in 1637 married, as her second husband, Obadiah Grew.


Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, William 1590s births 1636 deaths English dramatists and playwrights People from Nottinghamshire English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets People from Risley, Derbyshire 17th-century English poets