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presents

the Annotated Popular Edition of

THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR

by George Peele

First Published 1594

Featuring complete and easy-to-read annotations.

Annotations and notes © Copyright Peter Lukacs and ElizabethanDrama.org, 2019.
This annotated play may be freely copied and distributed.

The Battell of Alcazar, fovght in Barbarie, betweene Sebastian king of Portugall, and Abdelmelec king of Marocco. With the death of Captaine Stukeley.
An it was sundrie times plaid by the Lord high Admirall his seruants.
Imprinted at London by Edward Allde for Richard Bankworth, and are to be solde at his shoppe in Pauls Churchyard at the signe of the Sunne. 1 5 9 4.
DRAMATIS PERSONS.	Introduction to the Play
The Usurper and His Supporters:	In The Battle of Alcazar, George Peele recounts one
	of the oddest military expeditions in European history, the
The Moor, Muly Mahamet.	failed 1578 invasion of Morocco by a ragtag army led by
Muly Mahamet, his son.	Portugal's King Sebastian. Sebastian was a young man with
Calipolis, wife of the Moor.	a dream of bringing a Crusade into Africa, but whose com-
Pisano, a Captain of the Moor.	bination of obstinacy and lack of experience produced a
	national catastrophe, matched in its results perhaps only
The Rightful Ruler and His Supporters:	by the Scottish defeat at Flodden.
	No one can pretend that Alcazar will ever rank among
Abdelmelec, uncle of the Moor, and rightful ruler	the greatest of Elizabethan dramas, but the story is intriguing
of Morocco.	enough to keep the attention of any reader.
Muly Mahamet Seth, younger brother of Abdelmelec.
Rubin Archis, widow of Abdelmunen.	NOTE on the TEXT'S SOURCE
Son of Rubin Archis.
Celybin, a follower of Abdelmelec.	The text of the play is taken from Alexander Dyce's
Zareo, a follower of Abdelmelec.	1874 edition of The Battle of Alcazar, cited below at #3,
Calsepius Bassa, a Turkish Captain.	but with some of the original spellings from the 1594 quarto
Abdil Rayes, a Queen.	restored.
The Portuguese:	NOTES on the ANNOTATIONS
Sebastian, King of Portugal.	Mention of Dyce, Bullen, Yoklavich and Edelman in the
Duke of Avero, a follower of Sebastian.	annotations refers to the notes provided by each of these
Duke of Barceles, a follower of Sebastian.	editors in their respective editions of this play, each cited
Lord Lodowick, a follower of Sebastian.	fully below.
Lewes de Silva, a follower of Sebastian.	Mention of Bovill, Bowen and Julien refer to modern
Christophero de Tavera, a follower of Sebastian.	authors who wrote about the battle.
Don Diego Lopez, Governor of Lisbon.	The most commonly cited sources are listed in the
Don de Menysis, Governor of Tangier.	footnotes immediately below. The complete list of
	footnotes appears at the end of this play.
Other Christians:
	1. Oxford English Dictionary (OED) online.
Tom Stukeley, Captain of the Papal fleet.	2. Crystal, David and Ben. Shakespeare's Words.
Irish Bishop.	London, New York: Penguin, 2002.
Hercules, an Italian in Stukeley's service.	3. Dyce, Rev. Alexander. The Dramatic and Poetical
Jonas, an Italian in Stukeley's service.	Works of Robert Greene and George Peele. London:
	George Routledge and Sons: 1874.
Appearing in the Dumb Shows:	4. Bullen, A.H. The Works of George Peele, Vol. I.
	Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888.
The Presenter.	5. Bowen, Marjorie. Sundry Great Gentlemen: Some
Abdelmunen, oldest brother of Abdelmelec.	Histories in Historical Biography. London: John Lane,
Two young Brothers of the Moor, Muly Mahamet.	1928.
Two Murderers.	6. Bovill, E.W. The Battle of Alcazar. London: the
Fame.	Batchworth Press, 1921.
	8. Julien, Charles-André. John Petrie, translator. History
Moorish Ambassadors, Spanish Ambassadors and	of North Africa. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970.
Legate, Boy, Soldiers, Messengers, &c.	24. Yoklavich, John, ed. The Battle of Alcazar. From
A Queen.	The Life and Works of George Peele, Vol. 2, Charles T.
Ladies.	Prouty gen. ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1961.
	25. Edelman, Charles, ed. The Stukeley Plays. Man-
	chester: Manchester University Press, 2005.

Prelude I:

Sebastian, the Portuguese Crusader King

On 20 January 1554, a male heir to the Portuguese crown was born in the royal palace at Lisbon; the boy's Portuguese grandfather, John III, was king of Portugal. The father of the boy, the feeble heir apparent João Manuel, aged 16, had died less than three weeks before his son's birth. The boy's mother was Catherine of Austria, sister of the Spanish King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

The infant was christened Sebastian, and he immediately became the "centre of the hopes of the Portuguese", since, as the only living heir to the throne, he was "the sole life that stood between them and absorption into the fearful power of Spain."⁵

Sebastian's mother, the Hapsburg Catherine, returned to Spain to serve her father, leaving Sebastian to be raised by his grandfather (the king) and his wife, Queen Catalina.

On John III's death in 1557, Sebastian, now aged 3, became King of Portugal, and his grandmother assumed the regency of Portugal. A popular queen, Catalina, after a long power struggle, was forced to retire by the dead king's brother, the Cardinal Henry, who took over both the regency of the nation and the responsibility for raising his grand-nephew Sebastian.

Thanks to Henry, Sebastian was surrounded by Jesuits, which resulted in the young boy, completely deprived of female companionship, developing an unconditional devotion to the church and a thorough distaste for the company of women. Sebastian grew to be a handsome young man, despite the presence of the famous Hapsburg chin, and was physically powerful thanks to a fanatical dedication to physical exercise.

Generous and truthful by nature, and carrying no streak cruelty, Sebastian was nevertheless "obstinate, headstrong and gloomy",⁵ living a life of severe austerity.

Once in his majority, Sebastian developed an obsession to go on a Crusade in Africa, and return the continent to its historical belief in Christ. Luckily for him, Portugal still possessed several fortresses on the coast of Morocco, and so, in 1574, he brought a troop of soldiers with him to one of those possessions, Tangiers, to test the waters. After receiving a "triumphal welcome" in this coastal city, and having his imagination fired by the easy capture of some lazy Moroccan ships, Sebastian returned to Lisbon and began preparations to lead a full-blown Crusade into Morocco.

Sebastian's opportunity to fulfill his dream appeared to receive a shot in the arm when, in 1578, he was approached by the recently deposed Sultan of Morocco, who promised the young king wealth, power and influence in Morocco if he would only help the ex-Sultan to regain his throne...

The information in Prelude I was adopted from Some Essays in Historical Biography, by Marjorie Bowen (1928).⁵

Prelude II:

Morocco's Saadian Dynasty.

The actual history of the Saadians' rise to power, as well as the story of the succession of the Moroccan crown, is a little more complicated than Peele has presented.
A combination of two factors led to the rise of Morocco's Saadian dynasty:
(1) the Portuguese in the early 16th century controlled a number of coastal fortresses, and
(2) Morocco's ruling family - the Wattasids - had only an infirm grip on the land.
The Saadians, a clan which had migrated from Arabia some four centuries prior, were chosen by the people of southern Morocco to lead a holy war against the Portuguese. A Saadian named Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman was appointed commander of the Moroccan forces.

On the death of al-Rahman, command was passed to his son Ahmad al-A'raj, who, helped by his brother Muhammad al-Asghar, successfully drove the Portuguese out of their fortress at Agadir in 1541, which in turn caused the Portuguese to further abandon Safi and Azenmour.
Around this time, Muhammed defeated his brother (who retired from public life) in a power struggle, and took over the Saadian forces.

The successes over the Portuguese had brought the Saadians great prestige, and it was inevitable that they would begin to seek control of all Morocco; numerous battles spread over many years finally brought them success, and the Saadian Sultanship can be dated to their capture of the Moroccan capital Fez in 1557.
The Saadians, however, established their capital in the pleasant climes of Marrakesh.

The Saadian leader, who had in the meantime changed his name to Muhammad al-Shaik, faced a number of problems in governing Morocco; primary among them were (1) the continued presence of the Portuguese along the coast, and (2) the presence of the Turks in neighbouring Algeria - the Ottomans controlled all of North Africa up to the frontier of Morocco. Indeed, in 1557, the Turks managed to assassinate al-Shaik, even carrying his head back to Constantinople.

Historian E.W. Bovill tells us that that there were two customs when it came to the succession to the throne in Morocco: one was that at the death of the current Sultan, the crown should pass to the eldest living male member of the royal family; and the second was that he who became king should murder all his potential rivals.

Muhammad al-Shaik had four sons. Upon his death, rule passed peacefully to the eldest, Mulay al-Ghalib, and historian Charles-André Julien writes that civil war was avoided when his three brothers left Morocco, taking refuge with the Turks; and that in fact, two of the brothers, Abd al-Malik (our play's Abdelmelec) and Ahmed al-Mansur, travelled to Constantinople to serve Suleiman, the Sultan of the Ottomans.
Bovill, however, writing earlier, follows the older tradition, reporting that al-Ghalib did in fact kill off all of his rivals, except for his two half-brothers, Abd al-Malik and Ahmed al-Mansur, who had been raised in Turkey.

In 1574, al-Ghalib died from an illness. His son, Mohammed (our play's Muly Mahamet) also peacefully assumed the throne of Morocco, but his uncles, still serving the Ottomans, and rightly believing the crown belonged to them, petitioned the Ottoman Sultan to give them an army with which to travel to Morocco and oust the usurper Mohammed.

The Sultan gave Abd al-Malik his army. Our play begins in 1576 as Abd al-Malik is re-entering Morocco with a large Turkish contingent to wrest the crown away from Mohammed.

A. Good vs. Evil in Alcazar.

Readers may wish to note that from Alcazar's very first speech, Peele makes it clear that he wants his audience to view Muly Mahamet (Mohammed) as a villain, and his uncle Abdelmelec (Abd al-Malik) as the rightful ruler of Morocco. Sebastian is also treated mostly as a hero, and the Christian characters generally avoid the author's condemnation.

B. Omissions in the Original Text.

Because Alcazar is a relatively short play, many editors have suggested that the only surviving original edition, the 1594 quarto, is a truncated version of the play as it must have first been performed.
Reduced as it may be, it actually does not appear to contain any continuity problems or butchered speeches or lines which are any worse than those that can be found in the quartos of many other plays of the era.
The most significant omissions of Alcazar's quarto are those pertaining to the Dumb Shows - the staged pantomimes performed at the beginning of each Act - which are largely missing stage directions; see Note C below for the important discussion about the Dumb Shows.
Generally, the quarto contains its share of individual lines which may be misprinted, but in general, where obvious emendations were made to the original text by Dyce, we have incorporated those changes without comment; where an emendation suggests an interpolation by Dyce or any other editor, however, we point it out.
A smattering of representative examples of other fixes suggested by Dyce, such as those which attempt to repair short lines or lines in which the meter is imperfect, are also incorporated into the annotations.

C. The Miracle Document and the Dumb Shows

The most single obvious set of omissions from the 1594 quarto are those pertaining to the Dumb Shows that take place in the prologue of each Act: specifically, (1) the stage directions that provide the action to be presented in a given Dumb Show, and (2) the spoken narration accompanying each Dumb Show, are largely absent from the quarto.
However, there has survived a miraculous document from the late 16th century that gives a hint as to content of some of these omissions: a piece of paper known as the Plot, or as we shall call it, the Theatrical Plot of The Battle of Alcazar.
The Theatrical Plot is a skeletal outline of the "entrances and exits of the characters, together with any such directions as would require the attention of the prompter of call-boy."²⁰ The plots hand-written "in two columns on a piece of paper mounted on pasteboard, and have a hole cut near the top to enable their being hung on a peg in the playhouse."²⁰
Incredibly, there are in existence fragments of only 7 such Theatrical Plots; and the Plot for Alcazar is the only one in existence for a play whose script is also extent.²⁰
Alcazar's Theatrical Plot appears to been written for a revival of the play that took place perhaps in 1598, a few years after the quarto was printed (1594); it is badly decomposed, and in parts only fragments of the instructions remain.
In a few cases, the Theatrical Plot provides specific and unambiguous instructions which helpfully supplement the stage directions of the quarto; where such information has been added to this edition, it is set off by pointed brackets (‹ ›).

D. Settings, Scene Breaks and Stage Directions.

The original 1594 quarto of The Battle of Alcazar was divided into five Acts and multiple scenes, which organization we follow.
As was the usual case in printed plays of the 16th century, no scene settings are provided in the quarto; all scene locations in this edition of Alcazar are the suggestions of the editor.
Finally, as is our normal practice, some stage directions have been added, and some modified, for purposes of clarity. Most of these minor changes are adopted from Dyce.

E. Annotations in Italics.

It may be said that George Peele, in writing Alcazar, remained true to the facts of the battle's history as they were presented in contemporary accounts.
Because the details of this story are so innately fascinating, we have included in the annotations observations which, at appropriate points, present to the curious reader extended historical context and biographical information.
The important thing to note is that these annotations will be italicized, to indicate that they present supplementary information that need not be read to understand the play itself.
Unless otherwise noted, all the historical commentary is adopted from E.W. Bovill's excellent history of The Battle of Alcazar.⁶

	THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR BY GEORGE PEELE First Published 1594
	ACT I.
	Enter the Presenter.	The Presenter: as was common in the earliest Elizabethan dramas, the play begins with an actor (sometimes called a Chorus) who appears on stage to introduce the story. In The Battle of Alcazar, look for the Presenter to appear at the start of each Act.
1	Honour, the spur that pricks the princely mind	1-2: the desire for honour motivates (pricks) kings, or
2	To follow rule and climb the stately chair,	those with ambition to become kings; prick also refers to the kicking of a horse with a spur, making this a fine metaphor with which to "kick off" the play. stately chair = ie. throne.
	With great desire inflames the Portingal,	3-5: honour has particularly inspired the King of Portugal,
4	An honourable and courageous king,	Sebastian I, to go to war.
	To undertake a dangerous dreadful war,	Portingal = Portuguese; Portingal was a common alternate spelling for Portugal.
6	And aid with Christian arms the barbarous Moor,	6-15: The Back-Story: see the note at line 20 for an explanation of this complicated back-story; one wonders if an audience was actually supposed to follow any of this. The main point to get from this introduction is that the villain Muly Mahamet is the present ruler of Morocco, but his uncle, the good guy Abdelmelec, is the one who should be king. 6-7: Sebastian intends to go to war to overthrow the cruel ruler of Morocco, Muly Mahamet. barbarous = heathen or cruel.^1 Moor = the term Moor was used to describe those people native to north-west Africa, especially the region corresponding to modern Morocco.
	The negro Muly Hamet, that withholds	7: negro = Bovill tells us that by tradition, Muly Mahamet was said "to have inherited the dark skin from his slave mother, and was therefore known as El-Mutuakel, the Black Sultan." The OED notes that in the 16th century, negro was used to describe dark-skinned people in general, which included Moors. Muly Hamet = Muly is the title assigned to the rulers of Morocco; Hamet is an abbreviation for Mahamet, and refers to our play's villain, Muly Mahamat, the present ruler of Morocco.
8	The kingdom from his uncle Abdelmelec,
	Whom proud Abdallas wronged,
10	And in his throne installs his cruël son,
	That now usurps upon this prince,
12	This brave Barbarian lord, Muly Molocco.	12: Barbarian = ie. from Barbary, the name Europeans gave to all of North Africa west of Egypt, but here meaning simply Morocco. Muly Molocco = ie. Abdelmelec.^4
	The passage to the crown by murder made,
14	Abdallas dies, and deigns this tyrant king;	= grants;^1 the quarto mysteriously prints deisnes here, which Edelman emends to deigns.
	Of whom we treat, sprung from th' Arabian Moor,	15: Of whom we treat = ie. "who's story we will tell". sprung from th' Arabian Moor = descended from the progenitor of the present first family of Morocco, a man who, according to the play's genealogy (see Act I.ii), was the great-grandfather of Muly Mahamet, and grandfather to Abdelmelec; see the note at line 20 below.
16	Black in his look, and bloody in his deeds;	16: Black in his look = dark-skinned, again referring to Muly Mahamet's complexion. 16-17: bloody…gore = an allusion to a terrible deed which Muly Mahamet is about to perform.
	And in his shirt, stained with a cloud of gore,	= ie. both literally and morally stained.
18	Presents himself, with naked sword in hand,
	Accompanied, as now you may behold,
20	With devils coated in the shapes of men.	20: ie. the two murderers of lines 44-45. Our Play's Moroccan First Family: in Peele's genealogy, the first member of the present royal family of Morocco was Muly Xarif, an immigrant from Arabia, who apparently also became the ruler of Morocco. His son Muly Xeque succeeded him. Xeque had four sons, the eldest of whom was Abdallas, who became king at Xeque's death. By prior agreement, on Abdallas' death, his three brothers were supposed to succeed to the throne, the next in line being Abdelmunen; the other two brothers were Abdelmelec (the third oldest), and Mahamet Seth, the youngest. Abdallas, however, reneged on the compact, installing his own eldest son (it appears he had three), our play's Muly Mahamet, on the throne alongside him. Thus, when Abdallas died, Mahamet automatically assumed sole rule of Morocco, depriving Abdallas' brothers of the Sultanship that rightfully belonged in turn to them. This family history is recounted again by Abdelmelec in Act I.i.
22
	THE FIRST DUMB-SHOW.
24		The Dumb Shows: early English dramas sometimes began with a brief pantomimed scene, which could present events preceding the action of the play (as here), events that occur between scenes, or even, as in the later scenes, allegorical presentations of events that will be played out fully in the succeeding Act.
	Enter the Moor Muly Mahamet, his Son, ‹ the
26	Moor's attendant, and Pages to attend the Moor.
	Enter to them the Moor's ›
28	two young Brethren: the Moor Muly Mahamet	= brothers.
	shows them the bed, and then takes his leave
30	of them, and they betake them to their rest.	The First Dumb Show: the Muly Mahamat is Sultan of
		Morocco, and our play's villain; in the Dumb-Show, he is shown, with his son, graciously offering a place to sleep to two of his (Mahamet's) younger brothers. Some of the stage directions in this edition of the play are supplemented by instructions adopted from Alcazar's Theatrical Plot; such added directions are set off by pointed brackets (‹ ›); see Note C in the Introduction to the play.
32	And then the Presenter speaketh.
34	Like those that were by kind of murther mummed,	34: Dyce's tentatively approves a 19th century commentator's suggestion that this line should appear immediately after line 20 rather than here. by kind of murther mummed = killed, and thus silenced, by their relatives (kind); throughout the play, with the exception of line 13 above, murder is written with a th, the more common spelling until the mid-17th century.
	Sit down and see what heinous stratagems
36	These damnèd wits contrive; and, lo, alas,	36: wits = meaning "people", but carrying a negative connotation regarding their mental faculties.^1 lo = behold.
	How like poor lambs prepared for sacrifice,
38	This traitor-king hales to their longest home	38: This traitor-king = ie. Muly Mahamet.
	These tender lords, his younger brethren both!	hales…home = ie. "sends to their deaths".
40		longest home = eternal residence, to be occupied after death.
42	THE SECOND DUMB-SHOW.
44	Enter the Moor [Muly Mahamet], and two
	Murderers, bringing in his uncle Abdelmunen:
46	then they draw the curtains,
	and smother the young Princes in the bed:
48	which done in sight of the uncle [Abdelmunen],
	they strangle him in his chair, and then go forth.	The Second Dumb Show: with the goal of securing his
50		throne from usurping relatives, Muly Mahamet murders first his own two younger brothers, and then his uncle Abdelmunen (who, as the oldest brother of Mahamet's father Abdallas, rightfully should have succeeded to rule on the death of the latter). go forth = ie. exit the stage.
	And then the Presenter saith.
52
	His brethren thus in fatal bed behearsed,	= a fabulous word, and George Peele original.
54	His father's brother, of too light belief,	= the sense is, Uncle Abdelmunen had been naively tricked into accompanying Muly Mahamet into the bedroom along with the young princes, ignorant of his own imminent death.
	This negro puts to death by proud command.	= ie. Muly Mahamet. = with a negative connotation.
56	Say not these things are feigned, for true they are;	56: Say not = suppose, understand: an imperative to the audience. feigned = invented, made up.
	And understand how, eager to enjoy
58	His father's crown, this unbelieving Moor,	= infidel, meaning a Moslem or non-Christian.^1
	Murthering his uncle and his brethren,	= brethren should be pronounced in three syllables here: BRE-ther-en.
60	Triumphs in his ambitious tyranny;
	Till Nemesis, high mistress of revenge,	61-62: the goddess of vengeance, Nemesis travelled the
62	That with her scourge keeps all the world in awe,	world seeking crime to punish, and was often portrayed, as here, carrying a whip (scourge).
	With thundering drums awakes the God of War,
64	And calls the Furies from Avernus' crags,	64: the Furies = goddesses with the appearance of monsters; the job of these three sisters was to punish those who committed certain crimes, such as murder or disobedience to one's parents, by bringing perpetual misery to them.^10 Avernus' = Avernus was a lake located in Campania, and is cited here due to the belief that it was situated at the entrance to Hades; its vapours were so poisonous that any birds that attempted to fly over it quickly fell to their deaths.^9 The connection of the Furies to Avernus seems to be an invention of Peele's. Edelman suggests that Avernus is used to mean Hades. crags = steep rocks.^1
	To range and rage, and vengeance to inflict,	= roam, wander; note the word-play of range with rage; such intra-line word-play was a signature of Peele's.
66	Vengeance on this accursèd Moor for sin.	= ie. his crimes.
	And now behold how Abdelmelec comes,
68	Uncle to this unhappy traitor-king,	wicked.^3
	Armed with great aid that Amurath had sent,
70	Great Amurath, Emperor of the East,
	For service done to Sultan Solimon,
72	Under whose colours he had served in field,	69-72: while the sequence of events is not clear from the text, it appears that Abdelmelec had long ago left Morocco for Turkey (see the note below at line 73), and put himself in the service of the Ottoman Sultan. Now, Abdelmelec has appealed to Murad III (here called Amurath), the present Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, for assistance in his (Abdelmelec's) project to overthrow Muly Mahamet, and take the crown for himself. The Sultan has agreed to help Abdelmelec, in recognition of the latter's having served in the army of his father, Selim II (wrongly identified in line 71 as Soliman, ie. Suleiman, who was actually Amurath's grandfather).
	Flying the fury of this negro's father,	73: "fleeing the rage of Mahamet's father, the Muly Abdallas"; it appears that Abdelmelec left Morocco for Turkey to escape his brother Abdallas upon the latter's ascending the throne, perhaps out of fear for his life, when it became apparent that Abdallas was not going to honour the agreement by which his (Abdallas') brothers (Abdelmunen, Abdelmelec and Seth) were supposed to succeed him.
74	That wronged his brethren to install his son.
	Sit you, and see this true and tragic war,	75-76: the Presenter again explicitly addresses the audience.
76	A modern matter full of blood and ruth,	= calamity or sorrow.^1
	Where three bold kings, confounded in their height,	= brought to ruin from the height of their glory.
78	Fell to the earth, contending for a crown;
	And call this war the Battle of Alcazar.	= properly El-Ksar el-Kebir, or Alcazar-quivir; Alcazar is stressed on the second syllable: al-CAZ-ar. The battle for supremacy in Morocco was fought on 4 August 1578, some 10 years or so before Peele wrote this play. The battle is known by Arab historians as the Battle of the Oued el-Makhazin, or "Battle of Three Kings", the reasons for which shall presently become clear.^8
80
	[Exit.]	The Real Abdelmelec (Abd al-Malik) Serves the Ottomans: when the Moroccan king Muhammad al-Shaik died in 1557, the eldest of his four sons, Mulay al-Ghalib (our play's Abdallas), assumed the throne without a struggle, in part because his three brothers left Morocco to live in Turkey in the Ottoman Empire, which at the time was ruled by the Sultan Suleiman (reigned 1520-1566); two of the brothers (Abd al-Malik and Ahmed al-Mansur), in fact, served in Suleiman's army, and then stayed to further serve the Sultan's son, Selim II (reigned 1566-1574), at Suleiman's death, as well as his grandson Murad III (reigned 1574-1595). In 1574, al-Ghalib died from an illness. His son, Mohammed (our play's Muly Mahamet) peacefully assumed the throne of Morocco. Abd al-Malik, however, decided the time was ripe to move in himself and make a bid for the throne, which by tradition rightfully belonged to him as the family's eldest living male. Abd al-Malik asked for, and received, the military assistance of the current Ottoman ruler, the Sultan Murad III, to help him with this project (the Sultan, who already controlled all of the North African coast east of Morocco, of course sensed here an opportunity to extend his own zone of influence to the Atlantic Ocean). Our play's storyline, in which Muly Mahamet murders his uncle and brothers to secure the throne for himself, is a fiction designed to create for the play a clear villain - Mahamet - and an honourable pretext for Abdelmelec to return to his homeland to restore the crown to its rightful place - on his own head. The information in this annotation is adopted from Charles-André Julien's History of North Africa (1952), pp. 223-7).^8
	ACT I, SCENE I.
	The Frontier Between Morocco and Algeria.
	Sound drums and trumpets, and then enter	Entering Characters: Abdelmelec is the eldest living uncle
	Abdelmelec, Calsepius Bassa and his Guard,	of Muly Mahamet; Abdelmelec has been in exile in Turkey
	and Zareo, a Moor, with Soldiers.	since his own eldest brother Abdallas assumed the throne of Morocco at the death of their father. Abdelmelec is returning to Morocco at the head of an army of Turkish soldiers, who are commanded by a Turkish military captain, or commander, Calsepius Bassa. Abdelmelec's goal is to seize the throne of Morocco from his nephew, Muly Mahamet, who was wrongfully installed as king by his father Abdallas, and who really wrongfully secured his crown by murdering his own two younger brothers and his uncle Abdelmunen, who should by all rights have become king when Abdallas died (this according to the earlier family agreement that Abdallas' brothers should succeed to the crown on Abdallas' death). Note that Calsepius is the Turkish commander's name; Bassa was an early form of Pasha, the highest official title which could be conferred by the Ottomans, and which was often given to military leaders.^1 Zareo is a follower of Abdelmelec, but his exact identity has been a source of confusion (see the note below at line 1). The quarto identifies him as a Moor, and he appears to be Abdelmelec's highest ranking lieutenant.
1	Abdel. All hail, Argerd Zareo; and, ye Moors,	1-2: All hail, Argerd Zareo = line 1 actually appears in the
2	Salute the frontiers of your native home:	quarto as follows: Alhaile Argerd Zareo and yee Moores, Dyce assumed that Argerd is Zareo's given name, and punctuated the sentence accordingly. The modern editor Charles Edelman suggests that by "Argerd", Argier is meant, and thus Abdelmelec is "clearly saluting the city of Argier". Edelman further asserts that despite the fact that no reference is made in the text to Zareo's race or nationality (other than the stage direction here which labels him a Moor), Peele intended Argier to be understood to be Zareo's native home (line 2). The problem with this interpretation is that Abdelmelec is clearly telling the Moors of his party (as much as he is Zareo) to salute their "native home"; furthermore, in the 16th century, frontiers was used primarily to refer to the border region of countries, not cities. We do not propose to solve this literary Gordian's knot, but have chosen to retain Dyce's punctuation, even as we leave it to the reader to decide what to think of this line. Moors = the exact identity of the Moors is also in question, but we will assume they are native Moroccans who, living outside of their homeland since the ascendency of Muly Mahamet to the Moroccan throne, have joined Abdelmelec in his quest to oust the former; line 2 does suggest, after all, they have been away from home for a long time.
	Cease, rattling drums; and, Abdelmelec, here	3-7: Abdelmelec addresses himself; the name Abdelmelec
4	Throw up thy trembling hands to heaven's throne,	is stressed on its first and third syllables: AB-del-MEL-ec.
	Pay to thy God due thanks, and thanks to him
6	That strengthens thee with mighty gracious arms
	Against the proud usurper of thy right,	7-8: "against the arrogant usurper - Muly Mahamet - of your
8	The royal seat and crown of Barbary,	right to the throne of Morocco." Barbary = the name Europeans gave to all of North Africa west of Egypt, but here Abdelmelec means simply Morocco.
	Great Amurath, great Emperor of the East:	9: Amurath is the name of the Ottoman Emperor, today known as Murad III. East = the quarto prints world here, but Dyce no doubt correctly emends this to East, so that this line matches - almost exactly - line 66 of the Presenter's speech above; as Dyce observes, the type-setter or transcriber of the play likely accidently inserted world here, his eye "having caught that word in the next line."
10	The world bear witness how I do adore
	The sacred name of Amurath the Great. −
12	Calsepius Bassa, Bassa Calsepius,
	To thee, and to thy trusty band of men	13-14: a body of janizaries, elite Turkish troops, had been
14	That carefully attend us in our camp,	assigned to act as Abdelmelec's personal guard.
	Picked soldiers, comparable to the guard	15-16: Abdelmelec equates his Turkish guard to the soldiers
16	Of Myrmidons that kept Achilles' tent,	who were commanded by Achilles, the greatest fighter of his era, in the Trojan War. The Myrmidons were a tribe which had settled in Thessaly in Greece.^7 comparable = usually pronounced, as here, with four syllables in Elizabethan verse. kept = attended, ie. guarded.^1
	Such thanks we give to thee and to them all,
18	As may concern a poor distressèd king,	18: Abdelmelec modestly means himself here.
	In honour and in princely courtesy.
20
	Cals. Courteous and honourable Abdelmelec,	Calsepius Bassa: the commander of the Ottoman troops was actually a Venetian renegade named Ramdan, and his lieutenant was a Corsican (unless otherwise noted, all italicized annotations, which present the actual facts of our history, are adopted from Bovill).^6
22	We are not come, at Amurath's command,
	As mercenary men, to serve for pay,	= meaning "as mere".
24	But as sure friends, by our great master sent
	To gratify and to remunerate	= repay.
26	Thy love, thy loyalty, and forwardness,	= eagerness.
	Thy service in his father's dangerous war;	27: Abdelmelec had long ago fled Morocco for Turkey, serving successive Sultans until the time was ripe for his return to Morocco. The present Ottoman Sultan Amurath is granting military assistance to Abdelmelec in return for the latter's many years of service to the Ottoman Sultans, beginning with (according to the text) Amurath's father, Selim II (who is mistakenly identified at line 34 below as Soliman, or Suleiman, who was actually Amurath's grandfather), and then Amurath himself. his father's dangerous war = likely a reference to the war fought between the Ottomans and Europe over Cyprus from 1570-3; the war culminated in the Battle of Lepanto, a massive naval engagement in which the Christian alliance crushed the Ottoman fleet. Here Abdelmelec was captured and brought to Spain, from where he escaped and returned to Constantinople.
28	And to perform, in view of all the world,
	The true office of right and royalty:
30	To see thee in thy kingly chair enthroned,
	To settle and to seat thee in the same,
32	To make thee Emperor of this Barbary,
	Are come the viceroys and sturdy janizaries	33-34: viceroys = governors or vice-kings who served as rulers of lands which had been conquered by the Ottomans and incorporated into the empire. janizaries = soldiers of an elite body of Turkish infantry, originally formed in the 14th century; the OED's original 1901 entry for janizary asserts that the troop "was composed mainly of tributary children of Christians."
34	Of Amurath, son to Sultan Solimon.	34: as noted above, Amurath's father was actually Selim II; Solimon, ie. Suleiman, was his grandfather. Abd al-Malik's Army: Abd al-Malik's invading Ottoman forces consisted of 6000 soldiers armed with an early type of portable firearm called an arquebus or harquebut, 1000 zouaves and 800 spahis or cavalry; this Turkish army was to be supplemented with an additional 6000 native Moorish horsemen who wished to join the rebellion.
36	Enter Muly Mahamet Seth, Rubin Archis,	Entering Characters: Muly Mahamet Seth (whom we
	Abdil Rayes, with others.	shall refer to as Seth) is the brother of Abdelmelec; Seth
38		has gathered from within Morocco an army of Moors inclined to fight against Muly Mahamet, and brought them to the border to join up with Abdelmelec and his Turkish forces. Rubin Archis is the widow of Abdelmunen, the slain brother of Abdelmelec and Seth. She is accompanied by other noble women from the capital city of Fesse (ie. Fez). Abdil Rayes' identity has confused editors. Though assumed by 19th century commentators to be a male, Rayes has been recognized by modern editors Yoklavich and Edelman not only to be female, but in fact to be the same character as the mysterious Queen who appears briefly in a later scene.
	Rayes. Long live my lord, the sovereign of my heart,
40	Lord Abdelmelec, whom the god of kings,
	The mighty Amurath hath happy made!	= fortunate.
42	And long live Amurath for this good deed!
44	Seth. Our Moors have seen the silver moons to wave	44-45: Seth's arriving Moorish army has noted the countless
	In banners bravely spreading over the plain,	standards (banners) of the Turks, which are so numerous that they cover the plains they are occupying; Seth is poetically acknowledging the generous assistance of the Turks in his brother's cause. The silver moons are the crescent moons that were a symbol of the Ottomans, sewn into the banners. wave = the quarto here prints wane, a word used to describe the diminishing in size of the visible part of the moon, but there is no reason to describe the moons as waning on the Turk's banners; rather, in light of the facts that n's and u's (which were used for v's) were frequently inverted in our old texts, Dyce reasonably emends wane to wave. over = pronounced in a single syllable: o'er.
46	And in these semicircles have descried,	= again, the crescent moons. = perceived, seen.
	All in a golden field, a star to rise,	47: the Ottoman flag contained a star within the horns of the crescent moon.
48	A glorious comet that begins to blaze,	48-49: Seth describes the star in the Ottoman flag as a
	Promising happy sorting to us all.	comet; comets were always viewed as omens, usually bad ones, though here Seth sees it as an affirmative sign, representing the ascendance of Abdelmelec. happy sorting = a successful outcome.^1
50
	Rubin. Brave man-at-arms, whom Amurath hath sent	51-55: as the widow of Abdelmunen, Rubin is rightfully bitter over the murder of her husband by Muly Mahamet.
52	To sow the lawful true-succeeding seed	52: in this interesting planting metaphor, Rubin alludes to the return of the throne to the branch of the family that rightfully should rule Morocco.
	In Barbary, that bows and groans withal	= therewith.^1
54	Under a proud usurping tyrant's mace,
	Right thou the wrongs this rightful king hath borne.	= ie. Abdelmelec.
56
	Abdel. Distressèd ladies, and ye dames of Fesse,	= "you other high-ranking ladies from Fez"; the ladies are likely refugees whose husbands were opponents of Muly Mahamet. ye = plural form of you. dames = wives of nobles lords. Fesse = alternate spelling for Fez, the capital of Peele's Morocco; the Saadians actually made their capital in Marrakesh.
58	Sprung from the true Arabian Muly Xarif,	58-59: Muly Xarif, Abdelmelec's grandfather, had immi-
	The loadstar and the honour of our line,	grated to Morocco from Arabia. We are about to be treated to another head-spinning distillation of the ruling family's history. Sprung = descended. loadstar = guiding star, one that shows the way.^1
60	Now clear your watery eyes, wipe tears away,
	And cheerfully give welcome to these arms:	61: Abdelmelec's army, now consisting of Moroccan and Turkish troops.
62	Amurath hath sent scourges by his men,	= whips, a metaphor for the mission of the Turkish soldiery.
	To whip that tyrant traitor-king from hence,	= here.
64	That hath usurped from us, and maimed you all. −	= perhaps by executing all of the ladies' husbands.
	Soldiers, sith rightful quarrels' aid	65-66: sith rightful…are = "since armies that fight for a legitimate cause can expect victory". sith = common variation of since.
66	Successful are, and men that manage them	= lead, command.
	Fight not in fear as traitors and their feres,	= companions, a favourite Peele word; note the wordplay of fear and feres.
68	That you may understand what arms we bear,
	What lawful arms against our brother's son,
70	In sight of heaven, even of mine honour's worth,	70: words with a medial 'v', like heaven and even, were often pronounced as monosyllables in Elizabethan verse, the 'v' essentially omitted: hea'n, e'en.
	Truly I will deliver and discourse	71-72: Truly…of all = Abdelmelec will summarize his family's history, though more for the audience's sake than the soldiers.
72	The sum of all. Descended from the line	72-73: Descended…Xarif = Xarif is an alternate spelling
	Of Mahomet, our grandsire Muly Xarif	for shariff, a name which was applied to the descendants of the prophet Muhammad. We may note here that this family is referred to today as the Saadian dynasty. Julien notes that the Saadian's alleged lineage from the Prophet is uncertain (p.222); it was common for aspirants to any Islamic throne to add legitimacy to their claims by asserting their descent from Muhammad.
74	With store of gold and treasure leaves Arabia,	= ie. a good supply. = ie. left; note how Abdelmelec moves back and forth between the present and past tenses as he tells his tale.
	And strongly plants himself in Barbary;	75: the ancestors of Abdelmelec and Muly Mahamet had actually arrived from Arabia in the 12th century, settling in southern Morocco.^8
76	And of the Moors that now with us do wend	= travel.
	Our grandsire Muly Xarif was the first.
78	From him well wot ye Muly Mahamet Xeque,	78: well wot ye = ie. "as you all know"; wot was an ancient and commonly used word meaning "to know'. 78-82: Muly…succeed = Abdelmelec's father, Muly Mahamet Xeque, who was next in line to the Sultanship, had established, with the general agreement of all involved, the succession for the crown upon his death, specifically that his four sons should rule in turn, the eldest one alive of course always at the helm; this way, the Sultanship was to remain with the brothers so long as any of them were alive, before passing on to any of their sons.
	Who in his life-time made a perfect law,
80	Confirmed with general voice of all his peers,
	That in his kingdom should successively	= Abdelmelec skips over explaining exactly how either his father or grandfather took over the crown of Morocco.
82	His sons succeed. Abdallas was the first,
	Eldest of four, Abdelmunen the second,	= the quarto printed faire here; Dyce's emendation to four is accepted by all the later editors.
84	And we the rest, my brother and myself.
	Abdallas reigned his time: but see the change!	85-88: initially, Xeque's plan was followed, as on his death the eldest brother Abdallas peacefully became the ruler of Morocco; but Abdallas decided to install his own son, Muly Mahamet, on the throne, rather than follow the agreed-to succession plan.
86	He labours to invest his son in all,
	To disannul the law our father made,
88	And disinherit us his brethren;	= brothers, pronounced as a trisyllable: BRE-ther-en.
	And in his life-time wrongfully proclaims
90	His son for king that now contends with us.
	Therefore I crave to re-obtain my right,
92	That Muly Mahamet the traitor holds,	= while sometimes Mahamet is pronounced as here with three syllables, more often it will be pronounced as a disyllable (MA-'met).
	Traitor and bloody tyrant both at once,
94	That murtherèd his younger brethren both:	94: Muly Mahamet's assassination of his two younger brothers and uncle Abdelmunen - who should have been next in line to the throne on the death of Abdallas - was described and acted out in the Prologue to the first Act.
	But on this damnèd wretch, this traitor-king,
96	The gods shall pour down showers of sharp revenge.	= showers is pronounced in one syllable here: show'rs.
	And thus a matter not to you unknown	97-98: And thus…delivered = ie. "but you already knew
98	I have delivered; yet for no distrust	all that."
	Of loyalty, my well-belovèd friends,
100	But that th' occasions fresh in memory
	Of these encumbers so may move your minds,	= burdens or troubles.
102	As for the lawful true-succeeding prince
	Ye neither think your lives nor honours dear,
104	Spent in a quarrel just and honourable.	100-4: "I tell you all these things so that you will not feel
		your lives and honour are too valuable to lose in my cause, which is just and honourable."
106	Cals. Such and no other we repute the cause
	That forwardly for thee we undertake,	= eagerly.
108	Thrice-puissant and renowmèd Abdelmelec,	108: Thrice-puissant = thrice-powerful; thrice was commonly used, as here, as an intensifier. renowmed = renowned; the word was more frequently spelled with an m in the 16th century.
	And for thine honour, safety, and crown,	= security: pronounced in three syllables: SA-fe-ty.^3
110	Our lives and honours frankly to expose	= freely, unconditionally.^2
	To all the daungers that our war attend,	111: daungers = dangers, which was more commonly
112	As freely and as resolutely all	spelled with an au until late in the 16th century.
	As any Moor whom thou commandest most.	our = Dyce emends this to on.
114
	Seth. And why is Abdelmelec, then, so slow	115-8: Abdelmelec's brother Seth is anxious to get moving.
116	To chástise him with fury of the sword	= ie. Muly Mahamet.
	Whose pride doth swell to sway beyond his reach?	= exert influence.
118	Follow this pride with fury of revenge.	118: in the quarto, the word then appears after pride; we follow Bullen in removing it for the sake of the meter.
120	Rubin. Of death, of blood, of wreak, and deep revenge,	= vengeance.
	Shall Rubin Archis frame her tragic songs:	121: "it is of these topics Rubin will sing."
122	In blood, in death, in murther, and misdeed,	= wickedness, sinfulness.^1
	This heaven's malice did begin and end.	123: Rubin may at this point sing a lament which did not make it into the quarto.
124
	Abdel. Rubin, these rites to Abdelmunen's ghost	125-6: Abdelmelec assures Rubin that notice of the murder
126	Have pierced by this to Pluto's grave below;	of her husband Abdelmunen has reached Pluto (the Roman god of the underworld) by now. by this = ie. by this time. Pluto's grave = metaphor for hell or Hades.
	The bells of Pluto ring revenge amain,	= with full force.^2
128	The Furies and the fiends conspire with thee;	= the goddesses of vengeance; see line 64 of Act I's
	War bids me draw my weapons for revenge	introductory scene.
130	Of my deep wrongs and my dear brother's death.
132	Seth. Sheath not your swords, you soldiers of Amurath,	= "do not put away".
	Sheath not your swords, you Moors of Barbary,
134	That fight in right of your anointed king,
	But follow to the gates of death and hell,	135-6: ie. "pursue Muly Mahamet to the gates of Hades".
136	Pale death and hell, to entertain his soul;
	Follow, I say, to burning Phlegethon,	= Phlegethon was one of the rivers of Hades, but it was comprised of fire rather than of water.
138	This traitor-tyrant and his companies.	= forces.
140	Cals. Heave up your swords against these stony holds,	= fortresses.
	Wherein these barbarous rebels are enclosed:	= savage or uncultured, though Calsepius' use of bar-
142	Called for is Abdelmelec by the gods	barous might be offensive to his Moorish listeners,
	To sit upon the throne of Barbary.	since they are of the same race, indeed same family, as the rebels he is referring to.
144
	Rayes. Bassa, great thanks, the honour of the Turks. −	= ie. "thou who art".
146	Forward, brave lords, unto this rightful war!
	How can this battle but successful be,
148	Where courage meeteth with a rightful cause?
150	Rubin. Go in good time, my best-belovèd lord,
	Successful in thy work thou undertakes!
152
	[Exeunt.]	The Real Abdelmelec: historians generally give Abd Al-Malik high marks for his character and abilities: Bowen writes that he "was an able statesman, a valiant soldier, an experienced general, a man of lofty understanding, remarkable culture, a wise, just and humane spirit." Bovill writes that though he served as Morocco's king for only two years, Abd al-Malik "proved himself to be one of the most enlightened rulers the Moors ever had", that he had "a diverse and possibly extensive knowledge of European affairs", and that he spoke Spanish and "could converse in Italian", even hiring English musicians for his court.
	ACT I, SCENE II.
	A Valley North of Fez	Setting: suggested by Edelman, based on the sources.
	Enter, in his chariot, the Moor [Muly Mahamet],	Entering Characters: Muly Mahamet is, at least for the
	[Calipolis,] and their son, ‹ Moors attendant	moment, the Sultan of Morocco; he has fled Morocco's
	on each side of the chariot. › Pisano, his captain,	capital due to the approach of Abdelmelec's superior army.
	with the Moor's Guard and treasure.	Calipolis is Mahamet's wife; their son we shall denote as Muly Jr. We note here that the quarto does not list Calipolis as a stage-entrant, but was added by Dyce (see the note at line 8 below). Pisano is an Italian military commander serving Muly Mahamet.
1	Muly. Pisano, take a cornet of our horse,	= a company of cavalry.
2	As many argolets and armèd pikes,	2: As many = ie. along with an equal number of". argolets = light-armed cavalry, perhaps carrying bows and arrows.^1 armed pikes = soldiers armed with pikes; a pike was a weapon comprised of a long pole with a pointed steel head; pikes were the most common form of weapon carried by European soldiers, as the OED notes, until the 18th century.
	And with our carriage march away before	= ie. the wagon in which Mahamet's treasury is carried.
4	By Scyras, and those plots of ground	= Sugden suggests the plain of Azgar is meant here, "on the west coast of Morocco", but no such plains can be found on a map. The context suggests Scyras lies in a valley, surrounded by mountains.
	That to Moroccus lead the lower way:	= perhaps referring to the imperial city of Maroco (modern Meknes), located about 33 miles west of Fez. Mahamet is trying to escape from Abdelmelec's forces, who are camped near-by (see line 7 below).
6	Our enemies keep upon the mountain-tops,	= a disyllable here: EN-'mies.
	And have encamped themselves not far from Fesse. −
8	Madam,	8: in the quarto, lines 8 and 9 are printed as a single, 12-syllable line; Dyce assumes that Muly Mahamet is addressing his wife here, and hence adds Calipolis to the list of those who just entered the stage. Bullen, however, wonders if the author's intent was to personify gold as Madam Gold (removing the comma after Madam), a sort-of Anglicized version of Lady Pecunia, the personified praise of money.
	Gold is the glue, sinews, and strength of war,	= sinews are tendons, suggesting strength; in ancient Rome, Cicero called money the sinews of war, in that no ruler can keep an army going without it.^1
10	And we must see our treasure may go safe. −
	Away!
12
	[Exit Pisano with the treasure and some of the Guard.]	13: stage direction added by Dyce.
14
	Now, boy, what's the news?	15: Mahamet addresses his son, who, according to the
16		sources, was actually only 12 years old.^25
	Muly Jr. The news, my lord, is war, war and revenge;
18	And, if I shall declare the circumstance,	= details.
	'Tis thus.
20	Rubin, our uncle's wife, that wrings her hands	= ie. "my" (the royal "we"). = ie. great-uncle Abdelmu- nen's.
	For Abdelmunen's death, accompanied	= "because of" or "over".
22	With many dames of Fesse in mourning weeds,	= upper class women. = clothes.
	Near to Argier encountered Abdelmelec,	23-25: "at the border of Morocco and Algiers (Argier),
24	That bends his force, puffed up with Amurath's aid,	met up with Abdelmelec, who directs his army, which
	Against your holds and castles of defence.	is swollen in size with the soldiers of the Turkish Sultan Amurath, against your fortresses (holds) and castles." 24-25: bends...against = the idiom bend against means "to direct against".^1
26	The younger brother, Muly Mahamet Seth,	= usually, as here, a disyllable: MA-'met.
	Greets the great Bassa that the King of Turks
28	Sends to invade your right and royal realm;
	And basely beg revenge, arch-rebels all,
30	To be inflict upon our progeny.	= family, though progeny usually referred to one's de- scendants.^1 Bullen prefers "race".
32	Muly. Why, boy, is Amurath's Bassa such a bug	= bug-bear, object or word meant to frighten.
	That he is marked to do this doughty deed? −	= valiant or spirited,^1 used ironically.
34	Then, Bassa, lock the winds in wards of brass,	34-43: Mahamet mocks the Bassa Calsepius: his speech suggests the Ottoman commander is taking on a Herculean task, one so impossible that in order to accomplish it he will need to assume the powers of the gods. wards = prisons or fortresses;^1 the allusion is to Aeolus, the god of winds, who kept the winds confined in a cave when they were not permitted to blow on the surface of the earth.^9
	Thunder from heaven, damn wretched men to death,	= ie. control the thunder and lightning as does Jupiter above.
36	Bear all the offices of Saturn's sons,	36: "take on the jobs of all the Olympian gods, who were the sons of the ancient god Saturn"; Mahamet goes on to name the three major Olympian deities. Bear = emended from the quarto's Barre by Dyce.
	Be Pluto, then, in hell, and bar the fiends,	= god of Hades.
38	Take Neptune's force to thee and calm the seas,	= Neptune was the god of the sea. = power.
	And execute Jove's justice on the world,	= alternate name for Jupiter, the king of the gods; one of his functions was guardian of the law.^10
40	Convey Tamburlaine into our Afric here,	= Tamburlaine (properly Timur, 1336-1405) was the manic and blood-thirsty conqueror whose empire comprised most of western Asia; he of course had been the subject of two immensely popular plays by Christopher Marlowe.
	To chastise and to menace lawful kings: −	= Muly Mahamet has himself particularly in mind here.
42	Tamburlaine, triumph not, for thou must die,	= Mahamet jeeringly addresses Calsepius by the conqueror's name. 42: Dyce notes that in Marlowe's Tamburlaine, Part II, the final words spoken in the play by the conqueror are "For Tamburlaine, the scourge of God, must die."
	As Philip did, Caesar, and Caesar's peers.	43: ie. "as everyone dies sooner or later". Philip = probably meaning Philip II of Macedon (the father of Alexander the Great), a conqueror in his own right, who had taken control of all the Greek city-states by the time of his death.
44
	Muly, Jr. The Bassa grossly flattered to his face,	45: ie. Seth obviously or transparently flattered Bassa Cal-
46	And Amurath's praise advanced above the sound	sepius to his face.^4
	Upon the plains, the soldiers being spread,
48	And that brave guard of sturdy janizaries	= excellent.
	That Amurath to Abdelmelec gave,
50	And bad him boldly be with them as safe	50: ie. with the janizaries serving him directly, Abdelmelec's personal security is assured. bad = bade, past tense of "bid". with them = Dyce has emended the quarto, which prints to them here.
	As if he slept within a wallèd town;
52	Who take them to their weapons, threatening revenge,	= ie. themselves.
	Bloody revenge, bloody revengeful war.	45-53: Yoklavich approvingly quotes an earlier editor, who
54		called this speech, "a mere jumble of participial and relative clauses, [which] are clearly impossible as they stand. Probably something has been cut…"
	Muly. Away, and let me hear no more of this.
56	Why, boy,
	Are we successor to the great Abdallas	57: Are we successor = the quarto prints Are we successors here, but Dyce correctly changes the last word to the singular, as Mahamet is using the royal "we" here, referring only to himself. Abdallas = the quarto incorrectly prints Abdelmulec here; I have accepted Bullen's emendation to Abdallas.
58	Descended from th' Arabian Muly Xarif,
	And shall we be afraid of Bassas and of bugs,	= bug-bears: see line 32 above.
60	Raw-head and bloody-bone?	60: the two compound words in this line were commonly paired, as here. raw-head = a bug-bear, comprised of a skull, per- haps with a body whose flesh has been stripped away.^1 bloody-bone = another term for a bug-bear.^1
	Boy, seest here this semitarie by my side?	= ie. scimitar, the short, curved, pointed sword with a single edge, typically assigned to characters of Turkish or Middle Eastern origin.^1 The modern spelling did not become common until the turn of the 17th century.
62	Sith they begin to bathe in blood,	= since.
	Blood be the theme whereon our time shall tread;
64	Such slaughter with my weapon shall I make
	As through the stream and bloody channels deep	= that.
66	Our Moors shall sail in ships and pinnaces	= small ships, which acted, for example, as messenger ships in the company of larger ships.^1
	From Tanger-shore unto the gates of Fesse.	= 16th century spelling of Tangier, a major port city held by the Portuguese, located on the northern shore of Morocco at the Strait of Gibraltar.
68
	Muly, Jr. And of those slaughtered bodies shall thy son	= meaning himself; Elizabethan characters, especially in Peele's works, often spoke of themselves in the third person.
70	A huge tower erect like Nemrod's frame,	70: huge tower = Dyce emends huge to the two-syllable word hugy, a common poetic alternative to huge; Dyce notes that hugy appears elsewhere in the play; tower is pronounced as a one-syllable word. Nemrod's frame = Nimrod, the "mighty hunter before the Lord" (Gen. 10:9), ruled a kingdom which included the city of Babel; Nimrod was said to have instigated the construction of Babel's famous tower (frame).^11
	To threaten those unjust and partial gods	= unfairly biased.
72	That to Abdallas' lawful seed deny	= ie. legitimate successors.
	A long, a happy, and triumphant reign.
74
	An alarum within, and then enter a Messenger.	= call to arms, as a warning of danger, or disturbance.^1,2
76
	Mess. Fly, King of Fesse, King of Moroccus, fly,	= flee.
78	Fly with thy friends, Emperor of Barbary;
	O, fly the sword and fury of the foe,
80	That rageth as the ramping lioness	= ie. like. = rearing on her hind legs.
	In rescue of her younglings from the bear!
82	Thy towns and holds by numbers basely yield,	= despicably submit.
	Thy land to Abdelmelec's rule resigns,	= surrenders.
84	Thy carriage and thy treasure taken is	84-85: Pisano, who left Mahamet at line 13 above, was,
	By Amurath's soldiers, that have sworn thy death:	along with the treasury, captured by enemy troops.
86	Fly Amurath's power and Abdolmelec's threats,
	Or thou and thine look here to breathe your last.	= "those who accompany you"; thou and thine was a
88		common expression.
	Muly. Villain, what dreadful sound of death and flight
90	Is this wherewith thou dost afflict our ears?
	But if there be no safety to abide
92	The favour, fortune, and success of war,
	Away in haste! roll on, my chariot-wheels,
94	Restless till I be safely set in shade
	Of some unhaunted place, some blasted grove	= blighted or cursed wood.
96	Of deadly hue or dismal cypress-tree,	= an obsolete spelling of yew,^1 which is deadly because it is poisonous.^25
	Far from the light or comfort of the sun,
98	There to curse heaven and he that heaves me hence;	= "carries me off from here": note the extensive alliteration in the line.
	To seek as Envy at Cecropè's gate,	99: an allusion to a myth that is strange even by ancient standards: Vulcan, the lame blacksmith god, tried to rape Minerva, the goddess of war and wisdom, but she fought him off; during the struggle, some of his semen dripped onto her leg, which she wiped away; the semen fell to the earth, which then gave birth to Erechthonius. Minerva, wishing to keep the child a secret - she had a reputation of being a virgin to uphold - placed Erechthonius in a chest, and gave the chest to the daughters of Cecrops - the three sisters Agraulos, Pandrosos, and Herse - to watch over, with instructions never to open it.^12 They opened it anyway. Minerva, appalled that her secret had been discovered, blamed Agraulos, and hatched the following plot: Mercury, the messenger god, had fallen in love with Agraulos' sister Herse; Minerva ordered the goddess Envy to plant in Agraulos' heart unmitigated jealousy of her sister's good fortune, which Envy did. Agraulos, now bitter, tried to block Mercury from entering Herse's room. Mercury, for Agraulos' trouble, turned her into stone.^13 seek = though the myth referred to here is easily identifiable, the exact meaning of line 99 remains unclear; the word in the quarto is seeke, which could mean (1) "pursue with hostile intention" or persecute; (2) resort or pay a visit to; or (3) at a loss, puzzled as how to act;^1 Dyce emended seeke to sick, meaning "sicken". Cecropes = a trisyllable word: Ce-CRO-pè. The name appeared as such in a 1581 translation of Seneca's plays.
100	And pine with thought and terror of mishaps:	= waste away. = the quarto prints the here, emended by
	Away!	Dyce to with.
102
	[Exeunt.]	The Battle to Overthrow Muly Mahamet: "Mulai Mohammed and his army rode out from Fez to engage his enemy but the battle was lost before it was joined. By a subtle combination of threats and bribes and a well-organized fifth column, Abd al-Malik had already ensured the betrayal of his adversary. As the two armies met, Mohammed was deserted by his Andalusians, Spanish Moors who had fled to Africa where they had for long provided the Moorish armies with their best troops. In March 1576 Abd al-Malik entered Fez unopposed..." (Bovill, p. 23).
	ACT II.
	Alarum within, and then enter the Presenter.
1	Now war begins his rage and ruthless reign,
2	And Nemesis, with bloody whip in hand,	2: as he did in the play's opening monologue, the Presenter describes Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, carrying a whip.
	Thunders for vengeance on this Negro-Moor;	= ie. Muly Mahamet.
4
	‹ DUMB SHOW ›
6
	‹ Enter above Nemesis; enter Three Ghosts. ›	7: Nemesis enters onto the balcony at the back of the stage.
8
10	Nor may the silence of the speechless night,	10-11: night is interestingly described as the architect of crimes, because villains act in the dark to hide their evil deeds. speechless = silent.
	Dire architect of murthers and misdeeds,	= Dyce has emended the original words which appears here,
12	Of tragedies and tragic tyrannies,	Divine architects.
	Hide or contain this barbarous cruëlty
14	Of this usurper to his progeny.	= clan or family.
16	[Three Ghosts cry "Vindicta!"]	16: the three spirits are those of Muly Mahamet's slain victims, namely his two younger brothers and his uncle Abdelmunen. This stage direction appears in the quarto.
18	Hark, lords, as in a hollow place afar,	18-20: the sense is that the shrieks of the ghosts have a
	The dreadful shrieks and clamours that resound,	spooky echoing quality.
20	And sound revenge upon this traitor's soul,	Hark = "listen closely". lords = the Presenter addresses the male members of the audience. hollow place = a common collocation, used some- times to describe a cavity such as a pit or room, here probably referring to a cave.^1 resound = echo;^1 note the wordplay of resound in line 13 and sound (meaning "cry out") in line 14.
	Traitor to kin and kind, to gods and men!	= traitor to family and nature, although kind could also mean "family"; this clause appeared in identical form in the 1561 play Gorboduc.
22	Now Nemesis upon her doubling drum,	= echoing or resounding.^1
	Moved with this ghastly moan, this sad complaint,	= emotionally affected. = lament.
24	Larums aloud into Alecto's ears,	24: sounds a warning into the ears of Alecto, one of the three goddesses of revenge known as the Furies. Note the unusual, but not unique, use of larum (a word related to alarm) as a verb.
	And with her thundering wakes, whereas they lie	= awakens. = where.^3
26	In cave as dark as hell and beds of steel,	26-27: Peele describes the Furies as living in a cave, as dis-
	The Furies, just imps of dire revenge.	pensers of justice (just), and as the children (imps) of revenge. beds of steel = Peele has borrowed this phrase from an earlier English work (see the note Act IV.ii), but as Edelman notes, beds of steel is itself a borrowing of the Furies' iron beds mentioned by Virgil in Book VI of the Aeneid.
28	"Revenge," cries Abdelmunen's grievèd ghost,
30	‹ Lying down behind the Curtains, the three Furies,	30: the Furies are presumably lying down on their beds of
	one with a whip, another with a bloody torch	steel (line 26); curtains at the back of the stage are
32	and the third with a chopping knife. ›	pulled back to reveal the Furies.^24
34	And rouseth with the terror of this noise
	These nymphs of Erebus; "Wreak and revenge"	35: These nymphs of Erebus = ie. the Furies, who reside in Erebus, the dark area below the earth, through which the souls of the dead pass on their way to Hades.^10 Later, at Act IV.ii.84, Peele mistakenly describes the Furies as the daughters of the primordial god Erebus. Wreak = avenge.
36	Ring out the souls of his unhappy brethren.	= ie. cry or call out. = ie. Mahamet's murdered brothers; unhappy = unfortunate.
	And now start up these torments of the world,
38	Waked with the thunder of Rhamnusia's drum	= Rhamnusia is an alternate name for Nemesis.
	And fearful echoes of these grievèd ghosts, −
40	Alecto with her brand and bloody torch,	40-42: the Presenter describes the individual attributes of the Furies as they appear on-stage, though these attributes historically actually applied to all three. brand = torch.
	Megaera with her whip and snaky hair,	41: all three Furies were said to have snakes entwined in their hair and around their arms and waists.^14
42	Tisiphone with her fatal murdering iron:	= ie. chopping knife.
	These three conspire, these three complain and moan. −	= lament.
44	Thus, Muly Mahamet, is a council held
	To wreak the wrongs and murthers thou hast done. −	= avenge.
46	By this imagine was this barbarous Moor	46f: the Presenter explains how the plot will have advanced before Scene I begins. By this imagine = "imagine that during this time".
	Chased from his dignity and his diadem,	47: Mahamet has lost his dignity and his crown; perhaps the second his should be removed for the sake of the meter.
48	And lives forlorn among the mountain-shrubs,
	And makes his food the flesh of savage beasts.	= ie. "for his".
50	Amurath's soldiers have by this installed	= ie. "in this intervening time".
	Good Abdelmelec in his royal seat.	= the author goes out of his way to indicate that his sym- pathies lie with Abdelmelec.
52	The dames of Fesse and ladies of the land,
	In honour of the son of Solimon,	= ie. the Ottoman Sultan Amurath, the (grand)son of Sulei-
54	Erect a statue made of beaten gold,	man the Magnificent.
	And sing to Amurath songs of lasting praise.
56	Muly Mahamet's fury over-ruled,	= overcome or overthrown.
	His cruëlty controlled, and pride rebuked,	= curbed.
58	Now at last when sober thoughts renewed	58-59: finally, having gotten over his despair, Mahamet is
	Care of his kingdom and desirèd crown,	ready to do what he has to do to regain his throne.
	By messengers he furiously implores	of Portugal, to request the help that, according to the
62	Sebastian's aid, brave King of Portugal.	Presenter, he had been offered, and rejected, once be- fore. he furiously implores = ie. Muly Mahamet vehe- mently begs;^3 in the quarto, imployes appears as the last word of the line, which Dyce has emended.
	He, forward in all arms and chivalry,	= ie. Sebastian. = eager or inclined to engage.^1
64	Hearkens to his ambassadors, and grants	= listens. = ie. Mahamet's.
	What they in letters and by words entreat.	= plead for.
66	Now listen, lordings, now begins the game,	= a very old expression, sometimes with thus or here in
	Sebastian's tragedy in this tragic war.	place of now.
68
	[Exit.]
	ACT II, SCENE I.
	A battlefield Near Fez.
	Alarum within, and then enter Abdelmelec,	Entering Characters: the victorious Abdelmelec, with
	Muly Mahamet Seth, Calsepius Bassa,	his brother Seth and Turkish guard (the janizaries), who
	with Moors and Janizaries.	are led by Calsepius Bassa, enter the stage.
		At the end of this stage direction, the quarto prints and the Ladies; we follow Dyce in having the "Ladies" enter at line 35 below. Alurum = call to arms.
1	Abdel. Now hath the sun displayed his golden beams,
2	And, dusky clouds dispersed, the welkin clears,	= sky.
	Wherein the twenty-coloured rainbow shews.	= ie. multi-. = shows.
4	After this fight happy and fortunate,	= synonym for "fortunate".
6	And Victory, adorned with Fortune's plumes,	6: a common image of personified Victory and Fortune. In the early 17th century, Philip Massinger frequently used the expression plumed Victory.
	Alights on Abdelmelec's glorious crest,	= lands on. = helmet.
8	Here find we time to breathe, and now begin	= rest (after the exertions of battle).
	To pay thy due and duties thou dost owe
10	To heaven and earth, to gods and Amurath.	= here and in line 14, heaven is pronounced as a mono-
		syllable (hea'n), but as a disyllable in line 23 below.
12	[Sound trumpets.]
14	And now draw near, and heaven and earth give ear,
	Give ear and record, heaven and earth, with me;
16	Ye lords of Barbary, hearken and attend,
	Hark to the words I speak, and vow I make	= ie. "and listen (hark) to the vow I make".
18	To plant the true succession of the crown:
	Lo, lords, in our seat royal to succeed	19-22: Abdelmelec provides for the succession: Seth will
20	Our only brother here we do install,	inherit the throne after he dies.
	And by the name of Muly Mahamet Seth
22	lntitle him true heir unto the crown.
	Ye gods of heaven gratulate this deed,	23-24: if the gods accept Seth's appointment as heir, then
24	That men on earth may therewith stand content!	Morocco's citizens will be less likely to dispute his succession; the two lines hint at the civil violence that normally accompany the death of a ruler as multiple claimants vie for the crown. gratulate = welcome, hail;^1 hence, approve.
	Lo, thus my due and duties do I pay	= the quarto here prints duetie is done, I paie; I have
26	To heaven and earth, to gods and Amurath!	accepted Dyce's correction.
28	[Sound trumpets.]
30	Seth. Renowmèd Bassa, to remunerate	= renowned. = reward.
	Thy worthiness and magnanimity,
32	Behold, the noblest ladies of the land
	Bring present tokens of their gratitude.
34
	Enter Rubin Archis, her Son, Abdil Rayes, and Ladies.	Entering Characters: Rubin Archis, we remember, is the grieving widow of the slain Sultan Abdelmunen. Abdil Rayes is not named in the scene, but Yoklavich and Edelman identify her as the "Queen" to whom the quarto mysteriously assigns the speech at line 46.
36
	Rubin. Rubin, that breathes but for revenge,	37: Rubin describes herself as living for the sole purpose of avenging her husband's murder.
38	Bassa, by this commends herself to thee;	= presents.^2
	Receive the token of her thankfulness:	= in the quarto Resigne, emended by Dyce.
40	To Amurath the god of earthly kings	40-44: Rubin offers her son to serve Amurath, the Ottoman Sultan.
	Doth Rubin give and sacrifice her son:	= hand or give over, surrender.
42	Not with sweet smoke of fire or sweet perfume,	42: Rubin plays on the word sacrifice.
	But with his father's sword, his mother's thanks,
44	Doth Rubin give her son to Amurath.
46	Rayes. As Rubin gives her son, so we ourselves	46-50: Abdil Rayes perhaps hands over some gold jewelry as she speaks here. we ourselves = the royal "we".
	To Amurath give, and fall before his face.	= Rayes appears to prostrate herself before Calsepius.
48	Bassa, wear thou the gold of Barbary,
	And glister like the palace of the Sun,	= glisten. = common expression to describe the sun.
50	In honour of the deed that thou hast done.
52	Cals. Well worthy of the aid of Amurath
	Is Abdelmelec, and these noble dames. −
54	Rubin, thy son I shall ere long bestow,	= before.
	Where thou dost him bequeath in honour's fee,
56	On Amurath mighty Emperor of the East,
	That shall receive the imp of royal race	= scion of a royal family, referring to Rubin Archis' son.
58	With cheerful looks and gleams of princely grace. −
	This chosen guard of Amurath's janizaries
60	I leave to honour and attend on thee,
	King of Morocco, conqueror of thy foes,
62	True King of Fesse, Emperor of Barbary;
	Muly Molocco, live and keep thy seat,	= the second and final time Abdelmelec is called by this name in the play.
64	In spite of fortune's spite or enemies' threats. −	= even in the face of.
	Ride, Bassa, now, bold Bassa, homeward ride,	65-66: Calsepius is returning home; note that the scene ends with a rhyming couplet.
66	As glorious as great Pompey in his pride.	= a disyllable. = famous Roman general, slain in the great civil war.
68	[Exeunt.]	Mahamet Escapes Abdelmelec's Grasp: though successful in ousting Mohammed, Abd al-Malik was unable to pursue his nephew because his Turkish troops refused to go further until they received their pay. Abd al-Malik had no choice but to borrow the money from the merchants of Fez, but by the time this was accomplished Mohammed had long escaped into the Moroccan hinterland. After paying off the Ottoman troops, Abd al-Malik sent them speedily on their way home.
	ACT II, SCENE II.
	Lisbon.
	Enter Don Diego Lopez, the Irish Bishop,	Entering Characters: the play's action switches to the
	Stukeley, Jonas, Hercules, and other.	Portuguese capital Lisbon, of which Don Diego Lopez is the governor. Lopez is greeting the leading members of a fleet of ships which has been sent by the pope to invade Ireland, but has been forced by a storm to put into Lisbon. Stukeley is an English adventurer and commander of all the forces. Jonas and Hercules are two Italian commanders who serve under Stukeley. The Irish Bishop is a curate with obvious interest in the success of the cause. Diego Lopez de Seqeira was a Portuguese soldier - a colonel - who would be assigned a command in the army Sebastian would raise to invade Africa. Hercules was a real soldier, and Stukeley's second-in-command.
1	Lopez. Welcome to Lisborne, valiant Catholics,	1: as a Catholic country, Portugal and its representatives are naturally not unsympathetic to the visitors. Lisborne = occasionally used spelling of Lisbon.
2	Welcome, brave Englishmen, to Portugal:	2: having recognized Stukeley as the commander of the fleet, Lopez assumes all of its leaders are English; but see Stukeley's speech at line 30 below.
	Most reverent primate of the Irish church,	= common alternate spelling of reverend.
4	And, noble Stukeley, famous by thy name,
	Welcome, thrice welcome to Sebastian's town;	5: Thrice welcome = another borrowing by Peele from Tamburlaine: the expression became common in the era's literature; thrice is used as an intensifier. Sebastian's town = ie. Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, of whom Sebastian is king.
6	And welcome, English captains, to you all:
	It joyeth us to see his Holiness' fleet
8	Cast anchor happily upon our coast.	= by good fortune.
10	Bish. These welcomes, worthy governor of Lisbon,
	Argue an honourable mind in thee,	= are evidence of.
12	But treat of our misfortune therewithal.	12: the sense is that Lopez has unintentionally described what is really a stop-over that was forced on Stukeley's fleet by bad luck as if it were a voluntary friendly visit.
	To Ireland by Pope Gregory's command	13-15: the fleet had intended to swoop down on and attack Ireland in an attempt to drive out the English. Pope Gregory's = Pope Gregory XIII (1502-1585, pope from 1572) spent much of his administration attempting to curb the alarming rate at which entire nations were converting to Protestantism; his sponsorship of Stukeley's expedition stemmed from Queen Elizabeth's stringent anti-Catholic policies. The Catholic Encyclopedia suggests that the goal of the Irish invasion was actually to depose Queen Elizabeth!^15 Pope Gregory actually gave Stukeley but a single ship, along with 600 soldiers (which some of the sources, and thus Peele, inflate to 6000) and 100,000 ducets.
14	Were we all bound, and therefore thus embarked,
	To land our forces there at unawares,	= by surprise. Thanks to her extensive network of spies, Elizabeth knew well ahead of time of Stukeley's expedition, but had been misled into thinking the fleet of invaders was much larger than it really was.
16	Conquering the island for his Holiness,	= the quarto has simply land here, emended by Dyce.
	And so restore it to the Roman faith:
18	This was the cause of our expedition,
	And Ireland long ere this had been subdued,	19: ie. "and we would have captured Ireland by now".
20	Had not foul weather brought us to this bay.	20: in reality, Stukeley's ship, the St. John of Genoa, was so unseaworthy that before venturing far into the Atlantic, he was forced to land at Lisbon, where Stukeley planned to ask King Sebastian for a new one.^6
		The English Presence in Ireland: the English had long maintained a presence in a small region surrounding Dublin, an area known as the Pale; but by 1542, under Henry VIII, Ireland had been brought more or less under complete English control, and in January of that year Henry was proclaimed "King of Ireland" by Parliament.^17
22	Lopez. Under correction, are ye not all English-men,	= a polite formula, used to excuse oneself in case one
	And 'longs not Ireland to that kingdom, lords?	unintentionally misspeaks or offends.
24	Then, may I speak my conscience in the cause
	Sans scandal to the holy see of Rome,	= without.
26	Unhonourable is this expedition,
	And misbeseeming you to meddle in.	= unfitting, an understatement.
28		As a country with its own extensive collection of possessions and protectorates around the world, the Portuguese would naturally not be inclined to approve any attempt to remove a colony from the mother-nation's orbit.
	Stuk. Lord governor of Lisbon, understand,
30	As we are Englishmen, so are we men,	= it is unclear whom Stukeley is referring to here.
	And I am Stukeley so resolved in all	= determined.
32	To follow rule, honour, and empery,	= strive for.^25 = sovereignty, power, control.^1,2
	Not to be bent so strictly to the place	= aimed or directed.
34	Wherein at first I blew the fire of life,
	But that I may at liberty make choice
36	Of all the continents that bound the world;	29-36: of all the invaders, Stukeley alone is not particularly concerned with Ireland's, and by extension the Catholic Church's, fortunes; rather, the Englishman seeks glory and power for himself wherever he can find it.
	For why I make it not so great desert	= because.
38	To be begot or born in any place,	= brought into existence, ie. born.^1
	Sith that's a thing of pleasure and of ease	= since.
40	That might have been performed elsewhere as well.	37-40: Stukeley does not assign any importance or signi-
		ficance to the accident of his birth in England, as he could have been born anywhere; hence his first alle- giance is to himself, rather than to England.
42	Lopez. Follow what your good pleasure will,
	Good Captain Stukeley: be it far from me	43-44: be it far…privilege = having made his point,
44	To take exceptions beyond my privilege.	Lopez retreats; ultimately, the mayor has no reason to really
		care one way or another about the fate of Stukeley, Ireland, or their fleet. take exceptions = object to, criticize. my privilege = ie. what is proper or acceptable.
46	Bish. Yet, captain, give me leave to speak;
	We must affect our country as our parents,	= love.
48	And if at any time we alienate
	Our love or industry from doing it honour,	= efforts.
50	It must respect effects and touch the soul,	50: respect = concern.^4 effects = Bullen notes the uncertainty over the exact meaning of effects here; Edelman suggests "motives".
	Matter of conscience and religiön,
52	And not desire of rule or benefit.	48-52: "and if we ever turn away from loving or working for the benefit of our country, it should be over a matter of conscience or religion, and not for purposes of selfish advancement."
54	Stuk. Well said, bishop! spoken like yourself,	54-55: Stukeley is openly disdainful of the Bishop!
	The reverent, lordly Bishop of Saint Asses.	55: Yoklavich notes the pun on the name of the 7th century Welsh Saint Asaph.
56
	Herc. The bishop talks according to his coat,	57-58: Hercules adds his own ironic commentary: the
58	And takes not measure of it by his mind:	Bishop speaks as an automatic mouthpiece for the church, without measuring his words with sober fore- thought.
	You see he hath it made thus large and wide,	= ie. his coat.
60	Because he may convert it, as he list,	60-61: a bitter metaphor: the Bishop will mold his words
	To any form may fit the fashion best.	and actions to facilitate achievement of whatever his most immediate needs require. list = wishes.
62
	Bish. Captain, you do me wrong to déscant thus	= remark.^2
64	Upon my coat or double consciënce,	= referring to the Bishop's double role as representative of the Catholic Church and as a man with his own moral compass, the latter which Hercules has accused the Bishop of subordinating to the needs of the church.
	And cannot answer it in another place.	65: perhaps the Bishop is vaguely suggesting that Hercules' insults require him to defend his honour in a duel, but does so in a way that indirectly returns the insult: "but you dare not answer for your words here."
66
	Lopez. 'Tis but in jest, lord bishop; put it up:	= a phrase used to describe the sheathing of one's sword; Lopez is asking the Bishop to relent, that he is taking the others' comments too seriously.
68	And all as friends deign to be entertained	68-69: "and why don't you all give me the opportunity to
	As my ability here can make provision.	practice my hospitality on you, as if we were all old friends."
70	Shortly shall I conduct you to the king,
	Whose welcomes evermore to strangers are	= foreigners.
72	Princely and honourable, as his state becomes.	= ie. "as is fitting for his royal position."
74	Stuk. Thanks, worthy governor. − Come, bishop, come,
	Will you shew fruits of quarrel and of wrath?	75: having goaded the Bishop, Stukeley slyly teases the Bishop for letting his temper get the better of him. shew = show.
76	Come, let's in with my Lord of Lisbon here,	= "let's go in"; note the common grammatical construction of this clause: in the presence of a verb of intent (let), the verb of action (go) is often omitted.
	And put all conscience into one carouse,	77: still slightly mocking, Stukeley proposes they unite their consciences (see lines 51 and 64) into a shared drink.
78	Letting it out again as we may live.	= ie. "as we are willing or inclined."^3
80	[Exeunt all except Stukeley.]	80: Stukeley remains on stage to explain in a brief monologue that his life's primary goal is to somehow and some way become a king, though he frankly doesn't care where and over what peoples he rules.
82	There shall no action pass my hand or sword,	82-91: note the extensive use of the figure of speech known as epistrophe in these lines, in which words appearing at the end of various lines are repeated. There shall no action = ie. "no action shall".
	That cannot make a step to gain a crown;	= ie. "that brings me closer to attaining".
84	No word shall pass the office of my tongue,	84: poetically, "I shall not speak any word". office = service or position.
	That sounds not of affection to a crown;
86	No thought have being in my lordly breast,	= existence (a noun).
	That works not every way to win a crown:
88	Deeds, words, and thoughts, shall all be as a king's;
	My chiefest company shall be with kings;
90	And my deserts shall counterpoise a king's:	= rewards. = be equivalent to.
	Why should not I, then, look to be a king?
92	I am the Marquis now of Ireland made,	92: In the play's final scene, Stukeley explains that he received this title from Pope Gregory. Before Stukeley sailed from Italy, Pope Gregory bestowed on the Englishman the title of Marquis of Leinster, though he became more generally known as the Marquis of Ireland.
	And will be shortly King of Ireland:	= Ireland is sometimes disyllabic, and sometimes, as here, trisyllabic: I-er-land.
94	King of a mole-hill had I rather be,	94: it had been reported that Stukeley one time told Queen
	Than the richest subject of a monarchy. −	Elizabeth that he "would prefer to be sovereign over a mole-hill rather than the subject of the greatest king in Christendom" (Julien, p.273).
96	Huff it, brave mind, and never cease t'aspire,	96: Huff it = swell with pride.^1 brave = excellent or worthy; Stukeley addresses his own mental faculties.
	Before thou reign sole king of thy desire.	94-97: the scene unusually ends with a pair of rhyming
98		couplets, as opposed to the more common single rhy- ming couplet.
	[Exit.]
	ACT II, SCENE III.
	The Mountains of Northern Morocco.	The Setting: Muly Mahamet, having escaped Fez and Abdelmelec with his family and remaining loyal troops, finds himself hiding in the mountains of Morocco, probably the Middle Atlas Range, about 50 miles south of Fez.^6
	Enter the Moor Muly Mahamet, Calipolis,	Entering Characters: Calipolis, we remember, is the
	their Son, Zareo, and another.	wife of Muly Mahamet; Zareo is one of the deposed Sultan's military commanders. Zareo, and another = the quarto says simply here, with two others; the Theatrical Plot states & two Moors.
1	Muly. Where art thou, boy? Where is Calipolis?	1f: lines 1 and 5-10 are recited in a play-within-a-play in Ben Jonson's 1601 Poetaster, except that fore-tellers (line 10) becomes, in Jonson's play, fore-runners.
2	O deadly wound that passeth by mine eye,	2-3: an earlier editor notes that these lines make no sense;
	The fatal prison of my swelling heart!	Dyce suggests emending prison to poison, but this does not really help much.
4	O fortune constant in unconstancy!	4: Fortune, who is often personified as a fickle deity, can only be relied upon to be unreliable.
	Fight earthquakes in the entrails of the earth,	5-13: in a series of imperatives, Muly Mahamet calls on
6	And eastern whirlwinds in the hellish shades!	various natural phenomena to express themselves.
	Some foul contagion of th' infected heaven	5: note the unusual alliteration of e- words in this line.
8	Blast all the trees, and in their cursèd tops
	The dismal night-raven and tragic owl	9-11: the croaking of the raven and the screeching of the
10	Breed, and become fore-tellers of my fall,	owl were considered ominous. The pair of birds are men-
	The fatal ruin of my name and me!	tioned together frequently in the era's literature, including in Peele's own play David and Bathsabe, which appeared around the same time as our present play: Night-ravens and owls shall ring his fatal knel, etc. dismal (line 9) = unpropitious.^1 name (line 11) = reputation and fame.
12	Adders and serpents hiss at my disgrace,
	And wound the earth with anguish of their stings!
14	Now, Abdelmelec, now triúmph in Fesse;
	Fortune hath made thee King of Barbary.
16
	Calip. Alas, my lord, what boot these huge exclaims	17-18: ie. "alas, how do these outcries benefit us (advan-
18	To advantage us in this distressed estate?	tage us) while we are in these dire straits (distressed estate)?" what boot = "what use are". exclaims = outcries, an unusual but not unique use of exclaim as a noun.^1
	O, pity our perplexed estate, my lord,	19-21: Calipolis begs her husband to think of his people,
20	And turn all curses to submiss complaints,	rather than to paralyzedly bemoan his own personal
	And those complaints to actions of relief!	misfortunate, and act to help them all. perplexed estate = distressed condition. submiss complaints = humble or subdued laments.^1
22	I faint, my lord; and naught may cursing plaints	22-23: naught…my life = ie. "your curses and lamenta-
	Refresh the fading substance of my life.	tions (plaints) are doing nothing to help me, who am starving to death."
24
	Muly. Faint all the world, consume and be accursed,	= rot or waste away.^1
26	Since my state faints and is accursed.	= greatness, power.^1
28	Calip. Yet patience, lord, to conquer sorrows so.
30	Muly. What patience is for him that lacks his crown?
	There is no patience where the loss is such:
32	The shame of my disgrace hath put on wings,	32-33: ie. news of Muly Mahamet's fall has surely spread
	And swiftly flies about this earthly ball.	throughout the world. Peele was fond of the image of news of one's disgrace making its way around the world; in his David and Bathsabe, for example, the rape of Thamar was passed on to the clouds "To bear this wonder round about the world."
34	Car'st thou to live, then, fond Calipolis,	= foolish.
	When he that should give essence to thy soul,
36	He on whose glory all thy joy should stay,	= attend.
	Is soul-less, glory-less, and desperate,
38	Crying for battle, famine, sword, and fire,	38: famine, sword and fire were frequently mentioned as attributes of war; sickness was also sometimes included in this list in the era's literature.
	Rather than calling for relief or life?
40	But be content, thy hunger shall have end;
	Famine shall pine to death, and thou shalt live:	= personified Famine herself will starve to death, ie. Muly Mahamet is ready to act to relieve his wife's hunger.
42	I will go hunt these cursèd solitaries,	= lonely places: according to the OED, a unique use of the word; Dyce suggests "deserts".
	And make the sword and target here my hound[s]	43: Mahamet's sword and shield will play the role of hunting
44	To pull down lions and untamèd beasts.	hounds, as he goes in search of game to kill.
46	[Exit.]
48	Muly, Jr. Tush, mother, cherish your unhearty soul,	= disheartened.^2
	And feed with hope of happiness and ease;
50	For if by valour or by policy	= strategy.
	My kingly father can be fortunate,
52	We shall be Jove's commanders once again,	= English authors had no compunction in having Islamic characters allude to Roman deities.
	And flourish in a three-fold happiness.	= triple, an intensifier.
54
	Zareo. His majesty hath sent Sebastiän,	55-58: Muly Mahamet has sent an ambassador to the King
56	The good and harmless King of Portugal,	of Portugal to offer him sovereignty over all of Morocco
	A promise to resign the royalty	if Sebastian helps him regain his crown.
58	And kingdom of Morocco to his hands;	His majesty = Muly Mahamet. harmless = innocent.^25
	And when this haughty offer takes effect,	59: ie. "and when Sebastian realizes what he is being offered". haughty = lofty or high-minded, though Bullen suggests "magnanimous".
60	And works affiance in Sebastiän,	= instills confidence or boldness.
	My gracious lord, warned wisely to advise,	= thinks this over, consider.^25
62	I doubt not but will watch occasion,	62-63: "Muly Mahamet will no doubt seize the opportunity
	And take her fore-top by the slenderest hair,	(occasion) when it presents itself".
64	To rid us of this miserable life.	To grab Occasion (or Opportunity) by the foretop (or forelock) = a common expression meaning to proactively take advantage of an opportunity when it appears; personified Occasion or Opportunity was usually imagined to be an old and bald woman, excepting a lock of hair which grew from her forehead.
66	Muly, Jr. Good madam, cheer yourself: my father's wise;	66: wise = likely correctly emended by the old editors from wife.
	He can submit himself and live below,
68	Make shew of friendship, promise, vow, and swear,	= show.
	Till, by the virtue of his fair pretence,	69: "till, by his excellent ability to dissimulate".
70	Sebastian trusting his integrity,
	He makes himself possessor of such fruits
72	As grow upon such great advantages.	66-72: Junior assures his mother that Mahamet will be able to dissemble, feigning modesty and submission to the degree necessary, in order to convince Sebastian to help him remove Abdelmelec from Morocco's throne.
74	Calip. But more dishonour hangs on such misdeeds	74-75: the dishonour inherent in behaving so deceptively
	Than all the profit their return can bear:	will outweigh any benefit one might gain by doing so; Calipolis is the sole voice of conscience in our play.
76	Such secret judgments have the heavens imposed	76-79: Providence is already punishing them for Mahamet's crimes.
	Upon the drooping state of Barbary,	= decayed, declining or despondent.^1
78	As public merits in such lewd attempts	78-79: the sense seems to be, "we have deserved the de-
	Have drawn with violence upon our heads.	structive punishment that heaven has imposed on us for performing such wicked (lewd)^3 deeds."
80
	Re-enter Muly Mahamet, with a piece of flesh	= meat; the quarto reads lion's flesh here, but as Mahamet's
82	upon his sword.	speech makes clear, he has stolen the lion's own food,
		and not killed the cat itself.
84	Muly. Hold thee, Calipolis, feed, and faint no more;
	This flesh I forcèd from a lioness,	= ie. took away from.
86	Meat of a princess, for a princess meet:	86: a neat bit of word-play: the meat intended for a lioness - the queen (princess) of beasts - is appropriate (meet) for a real queen. This line comprises an example of a figure of speech known as an antimetabole, in which the same words are repeated in reverse order, but with a clever twist here in that meet / meat have two different meanings. Keep your eyes open for several other antimetaboles in the play.
	Learn by her noble stomach to esteem	87-94: Mahamet admonishes Calipolis to learn a lesson from
88	Penury plenty in extremest dearth;	the example of the lioness: when she is hungry, she goes out and does something about it herself. 87-88: esteem…dearth = perhaps, "wisely reckon or account poverty (penury) in its most extreme form."
	Who, when she saw her foragement bereft,	= ie. "that her (the lioness') usual supply of food had dis- appeared".
90	Pined not in melancholy or childish fear,	90: the lioness didn't sit around wasting away in a fit of depression or worry.
	But as brave minds are strongest in extremes,	91: "but as great minds show the highest degree of fortitude when conditions are at their direst".
92	So she, redoubling her former force,	= redoubling should be pronounced as a four-syllable word: re-DUB-al-ling.
	Ranged through the woods, and rent the breeding vaults	93-94: the lioness travels extensively throughout the forest,
94	Of proudest savages to save herself.	tearing into the dwellings of animals to find meat to satisfy her hunger. breeding vaults = covered places, such as burrows,^16 where animals propagate.
	Feed, then, and faint not, fair Calipolis;	95: Dyce observes that in Henry IV, Part II, Shakespeare's Pistol parodies Mahamet's speech, merging this line and line 117, telling Mistress Quickly, "Then feed, and be fat, my fair Calipolis."
96	For rather than fierce famine shall prevail	= ie. prevailing.
	To gnaw thy entrails with her thorny teeth,
98	The conquering lioness shall attend on thee,	= a disyllable here. = metaphorically be Calipolis' servant.
	And lay huge heaps of slaughtered carcasses,	99-100: Mahamet imagines the lioness laying at the feet of
100	As bulwarks in her way, to keep her back.	Calipolis so many carcasses that they will form a rampart in front of her.
	I will provide thee of a princely osprey,	101-3: Dyce notes the superstition that the osprey has the
102	That as she flieth over fish in pools,	ability to charm or enchant the fish on which it preys.
	The fish shall turn their glistering bellies up,	of (line 101) = with. glistering = glistening.
104	And thou shalt take thy liberal choice of all:	= have. = generous.
	Jove's stately bird with wide-commanding wings	105: ie. the eagle.
106	Shall hover still about thy princely head.
	And beat down fowl by shoals into thy lap.	= knock down, with its beak or wings. = flocks.^1
108	Feed, then, and faint not, fair Calipolis.	108: Mahamet repeats line 95.
110	Calip. Thanks, good my lord, and though my stomach be	= common term of address.
	Too queasy to disgest such bloody meat,	= common 16th and early 17th century alternate form of digest.
112	Yet, strength I it with virtue of my mind,	= strengthen.
	I doubt no whit but I shall live, my lord.	= not a bit.
114
	Muly. Into the shades, then, fair Calipolis,
116	And make thy son and negroes here good cheer:	116: "go make sure everyone gets some food."
	Feed and be fat, that we may meet the foe	negroes = Moors.^1
118	With strength and terror, to revenge our wrong.
	[Exeunt.]
	ACT II, SCENE IV.
	Lisbon, the Royal Palace.
	Enter King Sebastian, the Duke of Avero,	Entering Characters: we finally meet Portugal's King
	the Duke of Barceles, Lewes de Silva,	Sebastian. The other named characters are nobles and
	Christophero de Tavera, and Attendants.	followers of his.
1	K. Seb. Call forth those Moors, those men of Barbary,	1-2: Sebastian refers to Muly Mahamet's envoys.
2	That came with letters from the King of Fesse.
4	Exit one, ‹ who brings in the Moorish Ambassadors
	with two Moorish Attendants. ›
6
	Ye warlike lords, and men of chivalry,
8	Honourable ambassadors of this high regent,	= sovereign, meaning Muly Mahamet.^2
	Hark to Sebastian King of Portugal.	= listen.
10	These letters sent from your distressèd lord,
	Torn from his throne by Abdelmelec's hand,	= ie. "who was torn".
12	Strengthened and raised by furious Amurath,	= cruel.^2
	Import a kingly favour at our hands,	13: Import = the sense is "ask or beg for", a truncated version of importune. at our hands = ie. "from me"; Sebastian employs the royal "we".
14	For aid to re-obtain his royal seat,
	And place his fortunes in their former height.	15: ie. and raise his fortune to the levels they had formerly occupied.
16	For quital of which honourable arms,	= requital, ie. repayment.
	By these his letters he doth firmly vow	17-20: Mahamet promises to grant overlordship of Morocco
18	Wholly to yield and to surrender up	to Sebastian if the latter helps him regain his Sultanship.
	The kingdom of Moroccus to our hands,
20	And to become to us contributary;	= as a viceroy - a subordinate king - of Sebastian's, Mahamet promises to pay tribute to his new master.
	And to content himself with the realm of Fesse.	21: ie. Mahamet agrees to rule directly only over the northern portion of Morocco, the region corresponding perhaps to the ancient Kingdom of Fez. himself = Dyce posits reducing himself to him for the sake of the meter. the realm = on the other hand, Bullen suggests keeping himself, and pronouncing the realm in one syllable: th' realm.
22	These lines, my lords, writ in extremity,	= ie. written as they are during a crisis.
	Contain therefore but during fortune's date;	23-24: since Mahamet's letters were written in such a des-
24	How shall Sebastian, then, believe the same?	perate moment, Sebastian suspects the Moor is not likely to keep his promises when his fortune is reversed.
26	1st Amb. Viceroys, and most Christian king of Portugal,	= governors. = the title Most Christian King had been granted to and used by French monarchs, but Peele here uniquely applies it to the Portuguese King Sebastian.
	To satisfy thy doubtful mind herein,
28	Command forthwith a blazing brand of fire	= torch.
	Be brought in presence of thy majesty:
30	Then shalt thou see, by our religious vows
	And ceremonies most inviolate,
32	How firm our sovereign's protestations are.	26-32: the ambassador will perform a dangerous act of self-
		mutilation to prove to Sebastian that Mahamet's promise is so sacred that he would not dare break it.
34	A brand is brought in by an Attendant.
36	Behold, my lord, this binds our faith to thee:
	In token that great Muly Mahamet's hand	= signifying.
38	Hath writ no more than his stout heart allows,	= brave. = ie. intends to fulfill.
	And will perform to thee and to thine heirs,	39: "and will indeed do all he promises, not just for Sebas- tian but even for those who succeed him".
40	We offer here our hands into this flame;	40-41: wow! a great bit of stage business, as the ambas-
	And as this flame doth fasten on this flesh,	sadors each sacrifice a limb to convince Sebastian of their truthfulness!
42	So from our souls we wish it may consume
	The heart of our great lord and sovereign,
44	Muly Mahamet King of Barbary,
	If his intent agree not with his words!
46
	K. Seb. These ceremonies and protestations	= formal and solemn affirmations or declarations.^1
48	Sufficeth us, ye lords of Barbary,	= "satisfy me". = plural form of you.
	Therefore return this answer to your king:
50	Assure him by the honour of my crown,
	And by Sebastian's true unfeignèd faith,
52	He shall have aid and succour to recover,
	And seat him in, his former empery.	= dominion.^1
54	Let him rely upon our princely word:	= kingly, royal.
	Tell him by August we will come to him
56	With such a power of brave impatient minds,	= an army.
	As Abdelmelec and great Amurath
58	Shall tremble at the strength of Portugal.
60	1st Amb. Thanks to the renowmèd King of Portugal,	= renowned.
	On whose stout promises our state depend.	= bold.^2
62
	K. Seb. Barbarians, go glad your distressèd king,	= men of Barbary. = make glad, raise the spirits of.
64	And say Sebastian lives to right his wrong.	= a play on words meaning "make correct or rectify the wrongs done to him."
66	[Exeunt Ambassadors and their Attendants.]	Mahamet's Offer to Sebastian: in return for Sebastian's helping him regain his throne, Mohammed promised the Portuguese monarch, in Bowen's words, "considerable portions of the dominion he no longer possessed, and notably the fortress of Larache", a Moroccan-held port on the Atlantic coast.
68	Duke of Avero, call in those Englishmen,	68: ie. Aveiro, a Portuguese seaport.
	Don Stukeley, and those captains of the fleet,	69: a Spanish title, usually fixed as here to a man's name;^1 the Portuguese equivalent is actually Dom.
70	That lately landed in our bay of Lisbon. −	= recently.
	Now breathe, Sebastian, and in breathing blow	71-72: a likely aside, as Sebastian freely admits to the
72	Some gentle gale of thy new-formèd joys. −	audience his joy in his good fortune: he had been wanting to lead a crusade in Africa for a long time, and the appearance of Mahamet's ambassadors has provided him with a pretext - along with a promise of native support - to fulfill his dream.
	Duke of Avero, it shall be your charge	73-75: the Duke of Avero is given responsibility (charge) for raising an army for the king.
74	To take the muster of the Portugals,
	And bravest bloods of all our country. −	= a trisyllable here: COUN-ter-y.
76
	[Exit Duke of Avero.]	77: this stage direction added by Dyce; Yoklavich notes the awkwardness of lines 68-77, in which the Duke of Avero is instructed to call in those Englishmen - after which he should have left the stage immediately - but then he waits until he is instructed to collect an army, after which he exits the stage to retrieve Stukeley's party. The Theatrical Plot gives us a hint regarding the solution to this minor problem: in the Plot, an additional character, a Count Vinioso, enters the stage with the rest of the nobility at the beginning of the scene; it is likely this personage who should be instructed to retrieve those Englishmen (Yoklavich, p.359). The Duke of Aveiro: Jorge de Lencastre was the 2nd Duke of Aveiro; born in 1548, he was only 30 years old at the time of the Battle of Alcazar,^21 during which he was the commander of Sebastian's cavalry.^6
78
	Lewes de Silva, you shall be despatched	Lewes de Silva: de Silva was a member of the Portuguese
80	With letters unto Philip King of Spain:	court, and one of Sebastian's favourites.
	Tell him we crave his aid in this behalf;
82	I know our brother Philip nill deny	= ie. brother-king. = will not, a favourite word of Peele's.
	His futherance in this holy Christian war. −
84	Duke of Barceles, as thy ancestors	= ie. Barcelos, a city in northern Portugal.
	Have always loyal been to Portugal,
86	So now, in honour of thy toward youth,	= promising, bold.^2
	Thy charge shall be to Antwerp speedily,	87: charge = job. to = ie. to go to. Antwerp = the great seaport had been taken by the Spanish in 1576 during the great wars of the late 16th century.
88	To hire us mercenary men-at-arms:
	Promise them princely pay; and be thou sure	= ie. "be assured".
90	Thy word is ours, − Sebastian speaks the word.	= Sebastian affirms he will back up whatever the Duke of Barceles promises to pay any soldiers he hires. The Duke of Barceles: Teodósio II (1568-1630) was but a child at the time of our story, and so an unlikely candidate to recruit soldiers for Sebastian in the Low Countries. The son of João I, the Duke of Braganza, Teodósio served as a page of the king, and accompanied Sebastian on the expedition to Africa. Teodósio's own oldest son would go on to be king of Portugal himself, reigning as João IV.
92	Chris. I beseech your majesty, employ me in this war.	Cristóvão de Távora: born in 1548, de Távora was a nobleman and renowned knight and soldier. In the 1570's he served Sebastian successively as chief of staff, councilor of state, and chief chamberlain. De Távora would command the Portuguese nobility at Alcazar.^22,25
94	K. Seb. Christopher de Tavera, next unto myself,	94-97: Sebastian describes the Duke of Tavera as a bosom-
	My good Hephaestion, and my bedfellow,	buddy.
96	Thy cares and mine shall be alike in this,	Hephaestion = famous closest and life-long friend of
	And thou and I will live and die together.	Alexander the Great. The name is written Efestian in the quarto. bedfellow = we may note that it was not uncommon in this era for members of the same sex to share a bed for a night; Dyce observes that a male member of royalty might admit a favourite to share his bed as a way to honour him.
98
	Re-enter the Duke of Avero, with the Irish Bishop,	Entering Characters: the Duke of Avero returns with the
100	Stukeley, Jonas, Hercules, and others.	leaders of the papal fleet of ships that had put into Lisbon harbour. The overall commander of the group, we remember, is Thomas Stukeley; Jonas and Hercules are Italian commanders serving under Stukeley.
102	And now, brave Englishmen, to you	= as the governor of Lisbon did before him, Sebastian assumes the entire party is English.
	Whom angry storms have put into our bay;
104	Hold not your fortune e’er the worse in this:	104: "don't think this was a stroke of bad luck."
	We hold our strangers' honours in our hand,	= ie. "I". = foreigners'.
106	And for distressèd frank and free relief.	= generous, unrestricted: frank and free are essentially synonyms;^1 frank and free was a common collocation.
	Tell me, then, Stukeley, for that's thy name I trow,	= believe.
108	Wilt thou, in honour of thy country's fame,
	Hazard thy person in this brave exploit,	= risk.
110	And follow us to fruitful Barbary,
	With these six thousand soldiers thou hast brought,
112	And choicely picked through wanton Italy?	= Sebastian employs an epithet for Italy that reflects the contemporary English view that Italy was a land of loose and corrupted morals.
	Thou art a man of gallant personage,	= appearance.^2
114	Proud in thy looks, and famous every way:	= to the English, at least, Stukeley was more infamous
	Frankly tell me, wilt thou go with me?	than famous.
116
	Stuk. Courageous king, the wonder of my thoughts,	117: Dyce notes that the line after this one has erroneously been omitted.
118	And yet, my lord, with pardon understand,
	Myself and these whom weather hath enforced	= forced.
120	To lie at road upon thy gracious coast,	= to lie at anchor, especially due to an unforeseen delay.
	Did bend our course and made amain for Ireland.	= direct. = "were heading straight".
122
	K. Seb. For Ireland, Stukeley, (thou mistak'st me wonderous much,)	123: mistak'st me wonderous much = since this clause, as it stands in the quarto, makes no sense, Dyce emends it to "thou mak'st me wonder much," and Bullen to "mistak'st wondrous much".
124	With seven ships, two pinnaces, and six thousand men?
	I tell thee, Stukeley, they are far too weak
126	To violate the Queen of Ireland's right;	= meaning Elizabeth I; the title of King (or in this case Queen) of Ireland had been granted to Henry VIII in 1542.
	For Ireland's Queen commandeth England's force.	127-154: here begins a lengthy digression, during which Sebastian showers effusive praise on England's monarch. Such flattery was not uncommon in early Elizabethan drama. The entire final scene of Peele's The Arraignment of Paris, for example, is completely dedicated to lauding the transcendent qualities of Her Majesty.
128	Were every ship ten thousand on the seas,
	Manned with the strength of all the eastern kings,
130	Conveying all the monarchs of the world,
	To invade the island where her highness reigns,
132	'Twere all in vain, for heavens and destinies	= ie. "it would be".
	Attend and wait upon her majesty.
134	Sacred, imperial, and holy is her seat,
	Shining with wisdom, love, and mightiness:
136	Nature that every thing imperfect made,
	Fortune that never yet was constant found,	= loyal, ie. personified Fortune is fickle with respect to her gifts to each individual.
138	Time that defaceth every golden show,
	Dare not decay, remove, or her impair;	136-9: Elizabeth alone is not affected by the ills that attend other mere mortals, including bad luck and the ravages of time, the latter which cause all living things - except for England's queen - to eventually lose their attractive features. her impair = emended by Dyce from the quarto's be impure.
140	Both nature, time, and fortune, all agree,
	To bless and serve her royal majesty.
142	The wallowing ocean hems her round about;	= rolling, surging.^1 = ie. "surrounds her."
	Whose raging floods do swallow up her foes,
144	And on the rocks their ships in pieces split,
	And even in Spain, where all the traitors dance	145-7: Bullen notes the corruption of these lines, which as
146	And play themselves upon a sunny day,	written make no sense.
	Securely guard the west part of her isle;
148	The south the narrow Britain-sea begirts,	= ie. the English Channel. = surrounds or encloses.^1
	Where Neptune sits in triumph to direct	= god of the sea.
150	Their course to hell that aim at her disgrace;	150: "to hell the course of those who seek to bring ruin on Elizabeth."
	The German seas alongst the east do run,	= early name for the North Sea.^1
152	Where Venus banquets all her water-nymphs,	= "the goddess of beauty feasts". A humorous printer's error - a typesetting spoonerism - occurs here in the quarto, in which Venus is printed as Nenus, and Neptune (line 149 above) appears as Veptune.
	That with her beauty glancing on the waves
154	Disdains the check of fair Proserpina.	154: Yoklavich suggests that Venus simply feels that Proserpina's looks are not worth her notice. Dyce, however, emends the first three words to Distains her cheek, meaning that Venus "sullies by contrast the cheek of Proserpina", ie. is so much more beautiful in comparison. fair = a disyllable here, FAY-er. Proserpina = the goddess of vegetation, and wife of Pluto.
	Advise thee, then, proud Stukeley, ere thou pass	= before.
156	To wrong the wonder of the highest God;	= ie. Elizabeth.
	Sith danger, death, and hell do follow thee,	= since.
158	Thee, and them all, that seek to danger her.	= endanger.
	If honour be the mark whereat thou aim'st,	159: Sebastian employs a common metaphor from archery.
160	Then follow me in holy Christian wars,
	And leave to seek thy country's overthrow.	= cease.
162
	Stuk. Rather, my lord, let me admire these words
164	Than answer to your firm objectiöns.
	His Holiness Pope Gregory the Seventh	165: an error: this was the thirteenth Gregory.
166	Hath made us four the leaders of the rest:
	Amongst the rest, my lord, I am but one;
168	If they agree, Stukeley will be the first
	To die with honour for Sebastiän.
170
	K. Seb. Tell me, lord bishop, captains, tell me, all,
172	Are you content to leave this enterprise
	Against your country and your countrymen,
174	To aid Mahamet King of Barbary?
176	Bish. To aid Mahamet King of Barbary,	176-7: the Bishop naturally opposes any changes to the
	'Tis 'gainst our vows, great King of Portugal.	army's plan.
178
	K. Seb. Then, captains, what say you?
180
	Jonas. I say, my lord, as the bishop said,	= lord is a disyllable here: lo-erd.
182	We may not turn from conquering Ireland.	= conquering is likely a disyllable, and Ireland a trisyllable:
		CON-qu'ring I-er-land.
184	Herc. Our country and our countrymen will condemn
	Us worthy of death, if we neglect our vows.	= a reflection of the view that the mission of the small
186		papal fleet was in the nature of a Crusade, complete with inviolable oaths taken by each participant to see the objective through.
	K. Seb. Consider, lords, you are now in Portugal,
188	And I may now dispose of you and yours:	188: Sebastian politely points out that Stukeley and his men are completely within his control and he may dispose of them as he wishes.
	Hath not the wind and weather given you up,	= a monosyllable here: gi'en.
190	And made you captives at our royal will?
192	Jonas. It hath, my lord, and willingly we yield
	To be commanded by your majesty;
194	But if you make us voluntary men,	194: ie. "but if you allow us to have our wish"; Edelman,
	Our course is then direct for Ireland.	however, interprets the line to mean "if you make us
196		volunteers, instead of conscripts".
	K. Seb. That course will we direct for Barbary. −
198	Follow me, lords: Sebastian leads the way
	To plant the Christian faith in Africa.
200
	Stuk. Saint George for England! and Ireland now adieu,	201-2: Stukeley frankly doesn't care who he is fighting: his
202	For here Tom Stukeley shapes his course anew.	duty is more to himself and his own potential gain than to any specific sovereign or principled caused. Saint George for England = old English battle-cry. 201-2: the scene ends with a rhyming couplet.
204	[Exeunt.]	Sebastian Absorbs Stukeley's Expedition: Bovill reveals that Stukeley's men actually preferred to remain in Portugal with Sebastian, due to the awful condition of their ship, which naturally Sebastian refused to replace. Bowen notes that the adventurers were further encouraged to join Sebastian by being paid in advance for their services!
	ACT III.
	Enter the Presenter.	Act III's Dumb Show: the quarto provides not a single hint as to the nature of this Act's Dumb Show. The Theatrical Plot, of which only a small portion remains (the greater part of it having disintegrated or worn away) provides some clues, though: "Enter Nemesis above...[to] her, three Furies bringing in the Scales...to them...them 3 ghosts...& Carr[y] him out...Fe[t] in Stukely...bring in the Mo[or]..." The Plot also calls for the use of some stage props to be used in the Dumb Show, specifically "3 violls of blood & a sheeps gather" - whatever that means! W.W. Greg, a scholar who studied the play extensively, carefully recreated the instructions that might have appeared here:
		"The Third dumbe shew. Enter Nemesis above. Enter to her three Furies bringing in the scales. To them enter three dwells. Then enter to them three ghosts. The Furies first fech in Sebastian and carrie him out againe, which done they fech in Stukeley and carrie him out, then bring in the Moore and carrie him out. Exeunt shew."^20
1	Lo, thus into a lake of blood and gore
2	The brave courageous King of Portugal
	Hath drenched himself, and now prepares amain	= in full haste.^2
4	With sails and oars to cross the swelling seas,
	With men and ships, courage and cannon-shot,
6	To plant this cursèd Moor in fatal hour;	= set or fix.
	And in this Catholic case the King of Spain	7-8: Sebastian appeals to Philip II of Spain to lend aid for
8	Is called upon by sweet Sebastiän,	his intended attack on Morocco. case = ie. cause.
	Who surfeiting in prime time of his youth	9: surfeiting = satiating himself, ie. overdoing it. prime time = less frequently used alternative to "the prime".
10	Upon ambitious poison, dies thereon.	= ie. the poison of ambition.
	By this time is the Moor to Tanger come,	11-12: by 1578, Portugal had reduced the number of ports
12	A city 'longing to the Portugal;	it controlled in Morocco to three: Tangier, Azila and Ceuta.^18 'longing = belonging. Portugal = Portuguese.
	And now doth Spain promise with holy face,	= solemn face, ie. the appearance of meaning it.
14	As favouring the honour of the cause,
	His aid of arms, and levies men apace:	= quickly, right away.
16	But nothing less than King Sebastian's good
	He means; yet at Sucor de Tupeä	17-19: yet at…the king = Sugden tells us that Sucor de Tupea is the modern Cullera, a town on the east coast of Spain, but there is no good reason to suppose this; as Yoklavich points out, the name Sucor de Tupea does not appear on any ancient map with which he is familiar. Previous editors consider whether the transcriber of the play simply misread Guadalupe (which is where Philip and Sebastian actually met) for Sucor de Tupea. As a way to charm his nephew, Philip agreed to meet Sebastian at Guadalupe, a city in Spain which is halfway between Lisbon and Madrid.^6
18	He met, some say, in person with the Portugal,
	And treateth of a marriage with the king:	19: Philip also supposedly offered his daughter to Sebastian to marry; see the note at line 52 in the next scene.
20	But 'ware ambitious wiles and poisoned eyes!	= ie. beware.
	There was nor aid of arms nor marriäge,	= neither.
22	For on his way without those Spaniards King Sebastian went.	22: Edelman notes that the Presenter's speeches here and in Act IV end with a line in heptameter (seven iambs).
24	[Exit.]	Philip and Sebastian Meet: Sebastian had originally sent an ambassador (a part played by Lewes de Silva in our play) to Spain to ask Philip to contribute 5000 infantry and 50 galleys to the Crusade to Morocco. Hoping to dissuade his nephew from the enterprise, Philip convinced Sebastian to meet in person to discuss the matter. The meeting took place on Christmas day, 1576, at Guadalupe, in Spain, and continued into the first weeks of the new year. At a minimum, Philip hoped to persuade Sebastian to allow Spain's great general, the Duke of Alva, to lead the army, but Sebastian rebuffed him, declaring he himself would lead all troops. Philip despaired, expecting that an army of Europe's worst soldiers - the Portuguese - led by an inexperienced young sovereign, would certainly result in disaster, and even possibly the death of Sebastian. A loss to Abdelmelec could expect to have even more serious consequences: Philip greatly feared a Turkish invasion of Spain; after all, the Ottomans had conquered all of North Africa as far as Morocco, and European wars with the Ottomans were ongoing. In an additional twist to the international situation, Philip had to consider how to respond to an unexpected offer of alliance delivered from Abdelmelec himself, received by the Spanish monarch a few weeks before Philip's meeting with Sebastian. Philip. wily as ever, decided to delay responding to the Moroccan Sultan, and in the end, agreed to his nephew's request to provide 5000 men and 50 galleons, but was able to attach to their agreement several conditions which, if any one of them was broken, would release Philip from his commitment; these included the requirements that: (1) the expedition would be limited to a naval attack on the port city of Larache, (2) Sebastian not travel inland with his army once he was in Morocco, and (3) that the expedition should take place in 1577.
	ACT III, SCENE I.
	Lisbon, the Royal Palace.
	Enter King Sebastian, Lords, Lewes de Silva,	Entering Characters: Lewes de Silva has returned from
	and the Ambassadors and Legate of Spain.	Spain, where he had been sent by Sebastian in Act II.iv
		with letters requesting aid from Philip for the Moroccan crusade.
1	K. Seb. Honourable lords, ambassadors of Spain,
2	The many favours by our meetings done
	From our belovèd and renowmèd brother,	= ie. fellow-king.
4	Philip the Catholic King of Spain,	4: Dyce thinks a line has dropped out after this one.
	Say therefore, good my lord ambassador,	= a common form of address.
6	Say how your mighty master minded is
	To propagate the fame of Portugal.
8
	1st Amb. To propagate the fame of Portugal,
10	And plant religious truth in Africa,	10: ie. "and spread Christianity to Africa".
	Philip the great and puissant king of Spain,	= powerful.
12	For love and honour of Sebastian's name,
	Promiseth aid of arms, and swears by us
14	To do your majesty all the good he can,
	With men, munition, and supply of war,
16	Of Spaniards proud, in king Sebastian's aid,	= ie. "and of proud Spanish soldiers".
	To spend their bloods in honour of their Christ.	= shed or spill.
18
	Legate. And farther, to manifest unto your majesty
20	How much the Catholic king of Spain affects	= favours.
	This war with Moors and men of little faith,	= meaning non-Christians, ie. Muslims.
22	The honour of your everlasting praise,
	Behold, to honour and enlarge thy name,	= fame.
24	He maketh offer of his daughter Isabel
	To link in marriage with the brave Sebastian;
26	And to enrich Sebastian's noble wife,
	His majesty doth promise to resign	27-28: as a dowry, Philip promises to turn over to Por-
28	The titles of the Islands of Moloccus,	tuguese control the Moloccus (properly Moluccas) Islands (also known as the Spice Islands, an archipelago located in eastern Indonesia, west of New Guinea).^19 doth = the quarto has with here, emended by Dyce.
	That by his royalty in India he commands.	29: ie. "that Philip controls", though as a historical matter Sebastian might have argued with this characterization. The Portuguese settled the Moluccas in 1512, but the Spanish soon followed in 1529, when Emperor Charles V claimed the islands for Spain. The Portuguese eventually paid Charles off to relinquish any claim to the Moluccas. The Dutch eventually wrested control of the archipelago in the early 17th century.^26 royalty = sovereignty. India = ie. the East Indies; the quarto reads Iudah (ie. Judah), emended by Dyce.
30	These favours with unfeignèd love and zeal
	Voweth King Philip to King Sebastian.
32
	K. Seb. And God so deal with King Sebastian’s soul	33-34: ie. if Philip does not really intend to fight in the
34	As justly he intends to fight for Christ!	crusade - which, after all, is taking place ostensibly in order to spread Christianity - God should punish the Spanish sovereign accordingly.
	Nobles of Spain, sith our renowmèd brother,	= since.
36	Philip the king of honour and of zeal,	36-37: Dyce notes that something has dropped out between these lines, as By you makes no particular sense.
	By you the chosen orators of Spain	= envoys or ambassadors.^1
38	The offer of the holds he makes	= fortresses; Bullen notes that there has been no previous mention of any holds offered by Philip.
	Are not so preciöus in our account,	= ie. as.
40	As is the peerless dame whom we adore,	= ie. Philip's daughter.
	His daughter, in whose loyalty consists
42	The life and honour of Sebastiän.
	As for the aid of arms he promiseth,
44	We will expect and thankfully receive,	44-45: as he sails towards Morocco, Sebastian plans to
	At Cardis, as we sail alongst the coast. −	stop in Cadiz (Cardis), where he expects to pick up Philip's promised reinforcements. Cadiz was an important port city on the south-west coast of Spain, about 50 miles north of the Strait of Gibraltar.
46	Sebastian, clap thy hands for joy,	46-47: Sebastian once again speaks in a likely aside, unable
	Honourèd by this meeting and this match. −	to contain his joy at his good fortune. match = marriage.
48	Go, lords, and follow to the famous war
	Your king; and be his fortune such in all
50	As he intends to manage arms in right.	= command.
52	[Exeunt all except Stukeley and Another.]	52: this strangely vague stage direction appears in the original quarto. The Theatrical Plot calls for the Duke of Avero to remain on-stage with Stukeley. Philip Proposes Marriage: Bowen describes how Philip had at one time or another tried to arrange a marriage between Sebastian and his daughter Isabella (aged 10 in early 1577) on the one hand, and Margaret of Valois, a member of the French royal family, on the other.
		Sebastian never married, nor did he seem to have ever developed any relationships with any women at all in his brief life, according to Bowen.
54	Stuk. Sit fast, Sebastiän, and in this work
	God and good men labour for Portugal!
56	For Spain, disguising with a double face,	56: Philip is lying to Sebastian. double face = interestingly, this use of the noun double face precedes the OED's earliest citation - 1873 - by almost three centuries.
	Flatters thy youth and forwardness, good king. −	= eagerness.
58	Philip, whom some call the Catholic king,	58-60: Stukeley addresses the absent Spanish king in this apostrophe.
	I fear me much thy faith will not be firm,	59: I fear me = "I fear": an example of the grammatical form known as the ethical dative; the superfluous me after the verb gives adds emphasis, as well as a useful extra syllable. faith = quality of fulfilling of a trust.^1
60	But disagree with thy profession.	60: ie. "but will belie or contradict what you have promised to Sebastian."
62	The Other. What, then, shall of those men of war become,	62-63: Stukeley and his companion are aware that Spain has
	Those numbers that do multiply in Spain?	been building up its army.
64
	Stuk. Spain hath a vent for them and their supplies:	= an outlet, a passage of escape.^1
66	The Spaniard ready to embark himself,
	Here gathers to a head; but all too sure	= Stukeley uses an expression which compares the mustering of Spanish soldiers to a pus-filled abscess or boil which appears ready to burst.
68	Flanders, I fear, shall feel the force of Spain.	68: the Spanish could be expected to use their troops in their already-existing war in northern Europe: why would Spain want to open another front?
	Let Portugal fare as he may or can,	69: Sebastian will have to do the best he can without Philip's help.
70	Spain means to spend no powder on the Moors.	= ie. gunpowder.
72	The Other. If kings do dally so with holy oaths,	72-73: God will punish those, including kings, who so
	The heavens will right the wrongs that they sustain. −	casually make sacred vows they do not intend to fulfill.
74	Philip, if these forgeries be in thee,	= acts of deceit.^1
	Assure thee, king, 'twill light on thee at last;	= land on, ie. come back to haunt. = in the end.
76	And when proud Spain hopes soundly to prevail,
	The time may come that thou and thine shall fail.	77-78: another scene ends with a rhyming couplet.
78
	[Exeunt.]
	ACT III, SCENE II.
	Fez, the Moroccan Captital.
	Enter Abdelmelec, Muly Mahamet Seth,
	Zareo, and train.
1	Abdel. The Portugal, led with deceiving hope,	= ie. false expectations (of victory).
2	Hath raised his power, and received our foe	= army. = ie. Muly Mahamet.
	With honourable welcomes and regard,
4	And left his country-bounds, and hether bends	4: ie. "and has sailed from Portugal, towards here". hether = hither, to here, a common alternate spelling.
	In hope to help Mahamet to a crown,
6	And chase us hence, and plant this Negro-Moor,	= from here. = ie. black Moor: Muly Mahamet, we remem- ber, was said to be of darker skin-tone than typically was found amongst the Moors.
	That clads himself in coat of hammered steel	7: "who dresses himself in armour", as if he were a Euro- pean - an intended insult.
8	To heave us from the honour we possess.
	But, for I have myself a soldier been,	= because.
10	I have, in pity to the Portugal,
	Sent secret messengers to counsel him.
12	As for the aid of Spain, whereof they hoped,	= ie. "and regarding".
	We have despatched our letters to their prince,	= ie. Spain's King Philip.
14	To crave that in a quarrel so unjust,
	He that entitled is the Catholic king,
16	Would not assist a careless Christian prince.	= reckless,^2 referring to Sebastian.
	And, as by letters we are let to know,
18	Our offer of the seven holds we made	= fortresses; it is unknown which fortresses Abdelmelec
	He thankfully receives with all conditions,	refers to.
20	Differing in mind [as] far from all his words
	And promises to King Sebastiän,
22	As we would wish, or you, my lords, desire.	17-22: Abdelmelec has successfully bribed Philip to withhold assistance to Sebastian by promising to turn over to him coastal fortresses now held by the Moroccans.
24	Zareo. What resteth, then, but Abdelmelec may	= remains, ie. "else is left to do".
	Beat back this proud invading Portugal,
26	And chastise this ambitious Negro-Moor
	With thousand deaths for thousand damnèd deeds!
28
	Abdel. Forward, Zareo, and ye manly Moors! −	= Zareo is always stressed on its second syllable: za-RE-o.
30	Sebastian, see in time unto thyself:
	If thou and thine misled do thrive amiss,	26-27: ie. "if you and your army continue to pursue this
32	Guiltless is Abdelmelec of thy blood.	unjust goal of overthrowing me, I refuse to take respon- sibility for the blood that will be spilled."
34	[Exeunt.]	Abdelmelec Courts Philip: upon taking power in 1576, Abd al-Malik sent an envoy to Philip, proposing a treaty of friendship, in which he proactively offered a number of concessions - all in an effort to ensure the Spanish stayed away from Sebastian's invasion - including the immediate ransom of all slaves (Christian and Muslim), free trade between the two countries, and, more importantly to Philip, a number of terms relating to the Ottomans, including: (1) a ban on Turkish ships entering the ports to which Spain had free access, (2) a promise to warn Philip if Abd al-Malik learned of Turkish plans to invade Spain, and (3) a mutual defensive pact between Morocco and Spain, in which each promised to come to the aid of the other if either was attacked by the Ottomans. Philip seems to have tentatively accepted the Sultan's offer, but he remained unsure to the last minute regarding how to escape his promise of men and ships to Sebastian. Edelman notes that Philip's ultimate failure to meaningfully support Sebastian's scheme demonstrates the success of Abdelmelec's wooing of the Spanish monarch.
	ACT III, SCENE III.
	The Portuguese-held Fortress at Tangier.
	Enter Don de Menysis, with Captains and others.	Entering Characters: Don de Menysis is the Portuguese Governor of Tangier; the other entering characters represent the Portuguese commanders of the fortress at Tangier, on the northern coast of Morocco. They have been notified to: (1) expect the arrival of Muly Mahamet and his forces, and are to offer them hospitality; (2) expect Sebastian to arrive by sea soon with his own army; and (3) prepare to go to battle against Abdelmelec. The play's governor is based on the real life Governor of Tangier, Duarte de Menesis, who was to become King Sebastian's second-in-command in the upcoming Moroccan campaign.
1	Menys. Captain[s],
2	We have receivèd letters from the king,	= ie. Sebastian.
	That with such signs and arguments of love	3-4: ie. "(with instructions) that we should welcome Muly
4	We entertain the King of Barbary,	Mahamet with a show of friendship". arguments = evidence.
	That marcheth toward Tanger with his men,
6	The poor remainders of those that fled from Fesse,
	When Abdelmelec got the glorious day,
8	And stalled himself in his imperial throne.	= ie. installed.
10	1st Capt. Lord governor, we are in readiness
	To welcome and receive this hapless king,	= unfortunate.
12	Chased from his land by angry Amurath;
	And if the right rest in this lusty Moor,	= vigorous.
14	Bearing a princely heart unvanquishable,
	A noble resolution then it is
16	In brave Sebastiän our Christian king,
	To aid this Moor with his victorious arms,
18	Thereby to propagate religious truth,	18: ie. to thereby spread the Christian faith.
	And plant his springing praise in Africa.	= adjective commonly used to describe sprouting or
20		growing vegetation, used in a metaphor with plant.^1
	2nd Capt. But when arrives this brave Sebastiän,
22	To knit his forces with this manly Moor,	= unite.
	That both in one, and one in both, may join
24	In this attempt of noble consequence?
	Our men of Tanger long to see their king,
26	Whose princely face, that like the summer's sun,
	Glads all these hether parts of Barbary.	= gladdens. = alternate spelling of hither, meaning nearest or closest.^1
28
	Menys. Captains, he cometh hetherward amain,	= "towards here in full force".^1
30	Top and top-gallant, all in brave array:	30: Top and top-gallant = common expression meaning "with all sails set"; the terms are shortened forms of topsail and topgallant sail, which refer to the highest sails on a ship.^1 brave array = fine martial order.^1
	The sixth-and-twentieth day of June he left	= the quarto prints "26." here; the emendation is Bullen's.
32	The bay of Lisborne, and with all his fleet	= ie. Lisbon.
	At Cardis happily he arrived in Spain	= ie. Cadiz; for the historical context of lines 33-45, see the note below at line 52.
34	The eighth of July, tarrying for the aid	= waiting.
	That Philip King of Spain had promisèd:
36	And fifteen days he there remained aboard,
	Expecting when this Spanish force would come,
38	Nor stept ashore, as he were going still.	= as if the ship was all this time still at sea. still = always.
	But Spain, that meant and minded nothing less,	= intended.^2
40	Pretends a sudden fear and care to keep	= anxiety.
	His own from Amurath's fierce invasion,	Philip's Fear: Philip lived with a genuine and ever-present worry that the Ottomans would one day invade Spain; he knew that if the Turks were to attack in earnest, there was nothing the Spanish could do to effectively repel them.
42	And to excuse his promise to our king;
	For which he storms as great Achilles erst	43-44: another allusion to the Trojan War: the Greek fleet
44	Lying for want of wind in Aulis' gulf,	collected at the port of Aulis before setting sail for Troy, but an unusual and ongoing calm prevented the ships from leaving the port; de Menysis compares the impatient Sebastian, who fruitlessly waited for Spanish reinforcements at Cadiz, to Achilles, whom he imagines chafing as the Greek ships sit paralyzed. (In the ancient Greek play Iphigeneia at Aulis by Euripides, we find Achilles given a speaking part in which he complains about the delay in leaving Aulis).^24 as = ie. as did. erst = in an earlier time. Aulis' gulf = a good example demonstrating the extent to which our dramatists paid close attention to each other's work, and borrowed appealing words and phrases: Aulis' gulf appears in Christopher Marlowe's Dido, Queen of Carthage, which was likely written in the mid-1580's (though not published until 1594), as well as in Peele's own A farewell Entituled to the famous and fortunate generalls of our English forces: Sir Iohn Norris & Syr Frauncis Drake Knights, which was printed in 1589.
	And hoiseth up his sails and anchors weighs,	= "and finally hoists".
46	And hetherward he comes, and looks to meet	= hitherward, towards here.
	This manly Moor whose case he undertakes.
48	Therefore go we to welcome and receive,	= emended from the quarto's rescue by Dyce, so that the line's last four words match to welcome and receive in line 11 above.
	With cannon-shot and shouts of young and old,
50	This fleet of Portugals and troop of Moors.
52	[Exeunt.]	Sebastian Waits for Philip's Soldiers: an English-language history of Portugal published in 1585 tells how King Phillip "of Castile" promised to give Sebastian 50 galleys and 4000 armed soldiers for the expedition to Morocco; Sebastian waited in Cadiz for a "certayne" number of days for Philip's promised aid to arrive, but to no avail, as the Spanish monarch, "under pretence that the greate Turke, ...not only denyed to performe his promise, but also (that is farre worse) caused a proclamation to be made and published throughout Spayne...whereby all his subjects were commanded upon greate pennalties that none of them shoulde accompanye Kinge Sebastian in that Voyage." (spelling slightly modernized for clarity).
	ACT III, SCENE IV.
	Tangier.
	Trumpets sound, and chambers are discharged.	= small cannons.
	Then enter King Sebastian, the Duke or Avero,
	Lord Lodowick, Stukeley, &c.;
	the Moor Muly Mahamet, Calipolis, their Son, &c.	Entering Characters: Sebastian's invading force has arrived at Tangier on the northern Moroccan coast. Muly Mahamet on the Run: after being deposed, Mohammed spent two years evading capture by Abd al-Malik; at one point he had entered the Spanish fortress of Penon-de-los-Valex, and begged Philip to help him, but was met instead with an order to leave the port city. With only 600 supporters left to accompany him, Mohammed next sent a letter of appeal to Sebastian - for which he never he received an answer; desperate, the ex-Sultan scuttled to the port city of Arzila, which the Portuguese had abandoned more than two decades before; this time he appealed directly to Duarte de Menesis, the Portuguese governor of Tangier, offering to return Arzila to Portugal in return for any assistance De Menesis might render him. De Menesis immediately sent ships to take control of the port, and Mohammed moved on to Cueta, another Portuguese-controlled fortress, to await developments. Sebastian was pleased to learn of the recovery of Arzila, which further raised his expectations that he would be warmly received in Morocco.
1	K. Seb. Muly Mahamet, King of Barbary,
2	Well met, and welcome to our town of Tanger,
	After this sudden shock and hapless war. −	= unlucky.
4	Welcome, brave Queen of Moors: repose thee here,
	Thou and thy noble son. − And, soldiers all,
6	Repose you here in King Sebastian's town. −
	Thus far in honour of thy name and aid,
8	Lord Mahamet, we have adventurèd,	= ventured.
	To win for thee a kingdom, for ourselves
10	Fame, and performance of those promises	10-12: performance…Portugal = Sebastian reminds Muly
	That in thy faith and royalty thou hast	Mahamet of the latter's promise to turn overlordship of
12	Sworn to Sebastian King of Portugal;	Morocco to the Portuguese monarch should they suc- cessfully restore Mahamet to his throne.
	And thrive it so with thee as thou dost mean,	13: poetically, "may this mission achieve a level of success commensurate with the level of honesty and genuine intention contained in your promise".
14	And mean thou so as thou dost wish to thrive!	14: "and may you intend to keep your promises to me to
	And if our Christ, for whom in chief we fight,	the same degree as you hope to succeed in your goal!"
16	Hereby t' enlarge the bounds of Christendom,
	Favour this war, and, as I do not doubt,
18	Send victory to light upon my crest,	= "land or settle on my helmet".
	Brave Moor, I will advance thy kingly son,	= promote.
20	And with a diadem of pearl and gold	= crown.
	Adorn thy temples and enrich thy head.
22
	Muly. O brave Sebastian, noble Portugal,
24	Renowmed and honoured ever mayst thou be,
	Triúmpher over those that menace thee!
26	The hellish prince, grim Pluto, with his mace
	Ding down my soul to hell, and with this soul	= violently drive.^1 = ie. "and along with my soul also drive the soul of".
28	This son of mine, the honour of my house,
	But I perform religiously to thee	29-30: "unless (But) I fulfill completely the promises I have
30	That I have holily erst underta'en!	sworn to perform."
	And that thy lords and captains may perceive	= ie. so that. = observe, ie. "satisfy themselves that".
32	My mind in this single and pure to be, −	= free from duplicity,^1 essentially a synonym of pure.
	As pure as is the water of the brook, −
34	My dearest son to thee I do engage:	= pledge, ie. "hand over as a guarantee of my good behaviour;"^2 it has historically been a common practice for high-ranking individuals to send their children to live or be raised by their overlords, domestic or foreign, as a guarantee of their fidelity to their masters.
	Receive him, lord, in hostage of my vow;
36	For even my mind presageth to myself,	= a monosyllable: e'en.
	That in some slavish sort I shall behold
38	Him dragged along this running river shore,	= ie. Abdelmelec; see the note at line 40 below.
	A spectacle to daunt the pride of those
40	That climb aloft by force, and not by right.	36-40: "even now I have a presentiment (line 36) that I will see Abdelmelec (who will be captured) and made part of a gang of slaves (37) dragged along the river shore (38), the sight of which will daunt the pride of those (like Abdelmelec) (39) who rise to the top through violence, rather than legitimate succession (40)."
42	Muly, Jr. Nor can it otherwise befall the man	= ie. Abdelmelec.
	That keeps his seat and sceptre all in fear;	= afraid.
44	That wears his crown in eye of all the world,
	Reputed theft and not inheritance.	45: ie. Abdelmelec is known by all to have taken the Sultan- ship by stealing it instead of inheriting it.
46	What title, then, hath Abdelmelec here
	To bar our father or his progeny?	47: "to keep my father and his descendants from the throne?"
48	Right royal prince, hereof you make no doubt,	= young Mahamet addresses Sebastian.
	Agreeing with your wholesome Christian laws:
50	Help, then, courageous lord, with hand and sword,
	To clear his way, whose lets are lawless men;	= ie. Muly Mahamet's. = obstacles (to the throne).
52	And for this deed ye all shall be renowmed,	52-55: in successive lines, Peele uses a figure of speech called anadiplosis, in which a word or words appearing at the end of one line are repeated at the beginning of the next.
	Renowmed and chronicled in books of fame,	= written about.
54	In books of fame, and characters of brass,
	Of brass, nay, beaten gold: fight, then, for fame,
56	And find th' Arabian Muly Hamet here	= abbreviated form of Mahamet.
	Adventurous, bold, and full of rich reward.
58
	Stuk. Brave boy, how plain this princely mind in thee
60	Argues the height and honour of thy birth!	= gives evidence of.
	And well have I observed thy forwardness; −	= eagerness.
62	Which being tendered by your majesty,	= offered; Yoklavich suggests a line is missing between 61-62, and that Which must surely refers to something other than the prince's forwardness.
	No doubt the quarrel, opened by the mouth
64	Of this young prince unpartially to us,	64: Yoklavich notes that Stukeley has suddenly switched from addressing Muly Mahamet's son directly to speaking of him in the third person.
	May animate and hearten all the host	= army.
66	To fight against the devil for Lord Mahamet.	= a monosyllable here: de'il.
68	K. Seb. True, Stukeley; and so freshly to my mind
	Hath this young prince reduced his father's wrong,	= recalled the outrages done to his father.
70	That in good time I hope this honour's fire,
	Kindled already with regard of right,
72	Bursts into open flames, and calls for wars,
	Wars, wars, to plant the true-succeeding prince. −
74	Lord Mahamet, I take thy noble son
	A pledge of honour, and shall use him so. −	= treat.
76	Lord Lodowick, and my good Lord of Avero,
	See this young prince conveyed safe to Messegon,	= Edelman notes that the reference here is to Mazagan, a city on Morocco's Atlantic coast, the modern El Jadida. Bovill writes that Mohammed (our Muly Mahamet) had attacked and failed to capture Mazagan from the Portuguese in 1562.
78	And there accompanied as him fitteth best:
	And to this war prepare ye more and less,	= "all of you".
80	This rightful war, that Christians' God will bless.
82	[Exeunt.]	Sebastian Departs from Tangier: after adding the experienced men-at-arms, as well as Mohammed and his adherents, from Tangier, Sebastian's fleet sailed down Morocco's Atlantic coast; the plan, at Philip's insistence, was to be limited to a sea-based attack on the fortress at Larache. The armada put in, first, at the newly-reacquired port of Arzila, to take on water. Unfortunately, Sebastian let the entire expedition disembark here, and the men, once on land, refused to get back on the ships, even though the objective - Larache - was only 15 miles south of Arzila! Declining to once again experience the headache of trying to re-embark 20,000 people, Sebastian made a fateful decision: the army would march to Larache instead. The topography of this part of Morocco made this also a fatal decision: Larache lay on the south side of a large river known as the Lixus, and the closest ford of the river lay about a dozen miles east of the port; this meant that the army would have to march inland, away from the supply ships, in the dead of summer, for about 20 miles, before it could cross the ford and turn west to approach the fort.
	ACT IV.
	Enter the Presenter.
1	Now hardened is this hapless heathen prince,	= unfortunate. = ie. non-Christian ruler. Note the heavy-handed alliteration of line 1.
2	And strengthened by the arms of Portugal,
	This Moor, this murtherer of his progeny;	= murderer.
4	And war and weapons now, and blood and death,
	Wait on the counsels of this cursèd king;	= attend.
6	And to a bloody banquet he invites	= a common metaphor (and below in the Dumb-Show, an allegory) for war.
	The brave Sebastian and his noble peers.	= the nobility of Portugal that have accompanied Sebastian
8		to Morocco.
10	DUMB-SHOW.
12	Enter to the bloody banquet.	12: no further instruction is given in the stage direction here, but the Theatrical Plot, whose description of the Dumb Show is badly decomposed, indicates that a literal (and allegorical) pantomimed banquet, complete with gruesome body parts, takes place on stage. Remaining fragments of the Plot attest to the attendance at the banquet of Sebastian, Muly Mahamet, the Duke of Avero and Stukeley, as well as the allegorical figures of Death and "F", perhaps meaning the Furies; among the props are "blood", "Dead mens head[s] in dishes", and "Dead mens bon[es]".
14	In fatal hour arrived this peerless prince,	= Sebastian.
	To lose his life, his life, and many lives
16	Of lusty men, courageous Portugals,	16: lusty = vigorous. 16: while the nobility were to acquit themselves well in the field of battle, the majority of the Portuguese - the scum of Portuguese society - were of a quality quite the reverse.
	Drawen by ambitious golden looks.	17: Drawen = common two-syllable alternate form of "drawn", meaning "attracted by". ambitious golden looks = "the attractive appearance of an opportunity to fulfill their ambitions"; but Dyce changes golden looks to golden hooks, a common collocation in this period.
18	Let fame of him no wrongful censure sound;	18: Let Sebastain's reputation not suffer because of this
	Honour was object of his thoughts, ambition was his ground.	defeat.
20
	[Exit.]
	ACT IV, SCENE I.
	Town of Alcazar.	The Setting: the town of Alcazar lies about 20 miles south-
		east of Larache; here Abdelmelec has gathered his great army to repel the invading Christians.
	Enter Abdelmelec, Celybin, Zareo, and others.	Entering Characters: Celybin appears to be Abdel- melec's chief scout.
1	Abdel. Now tell me, Celybin, what doth the enemy?	= "what is the enemy up to?" Sebastian's army has left the coast and is marching inland, in the direction of Alcazar.
2
	Cely. The enemy, dread lord, hath left the town	3-5: having picked up additional troops at Tangier, Sebas-
4	Of Arzil with a thousand soldiers armed,	tian sailed further down the Moroccan coast, landing and
	To guard his fleet of thirteen hundred sail;	disembarking at the port city of Arzil (which was now in Portuguese hands - see the note at the end of the last scene of Act III); from here, Sebastian's army began an inland march south in the direction of the town of Alcazar, located about 35 miles south-east of Arzil. Sebastian's True Goal: in reality, the plan for the Christian army was to march inland and south about 20 miles, in order to cross the River Linux, after which it could turn back towards the coast and attack the port-city of Larache, which lay on the south side of the river's entrance into the Atlantic. The ford lay about 12 miles north of Alcazar, which means that Sebastian was heading directly towards Abdelmelec's own waiting army.
6	And mustering of his men before the walls,	= ie. of Arzil.
	He found he had two thousand armèd horse,	= cavalry.
8	And fourteen thousand men that serve on foot,
	Three thousand pioners, and a thousand coachmen,	9: pioners = pioneers, ie. sappers or labourers. coachmen = drivers of the baggage train.
10	Besides a number almost numberless
	Of drudges, negroes, slaves, and muleters,	= mule-drivers.
12	Horse-boys, landresses, and courtezans,	12: horse-boys = stable-boys, horse caretakers.^1 landresses and courtezans = travelling armies never lacked for females ready to service the soldiers' every need. landresses = common alternate spelling for laundresses. courtezans = a politer word than whores.
	And fifteen hundred wagons full of stuff	13-14: Celybin comments dryly on the excessive baggage
14	For noblemen brought up in delicate.	(stuff) accompanying Sebastian's army; the wagons
		contained all the accessories that a pampered nobility, unused to the rigours of army life, cannot do without.
16	Abdel. Alas, good king, thy foresight hath been small,
	To come with women into Barbary,
18	With landresses, with baggage, and with trash,
	Numbers unfit to multiply thy host.	16-19: in this apostrophe, Abdelmelec admonishes Sebastian for unwisely allowing his army to be burdened with so much unnecessary and unseemly human and material baggage.
20
	Cely. Their payment in the camp is passing slow,	21-22: while personal property is not in short supply in the
22	And victuals scarce, that many faint and die.	Portuguese army, money and food are.
24	Abdel. But whether marcheth he in all this haste?	= whither, to where.
26	Cely. Some thinks he marcheth hetherward,	= "this way".
	And means to take this city of Alcazar.
28
	Abdel. Unto Alcazar? O unconstant chance!	29: "he is heading directly towards us? Alas, fortune is so
30		fickle!", ie. "what bad luck!" Is Abdelmelec genuinely unhappy to have to face Sebastian's army? We know that the Sultan much preferred to not have to fight a battle than to fight one; Bovill describes him as an enlightened man who wished to avoid bloodshed - and who also was not sure he could trust his own conscripted troops to not turn on him.
	Cely. The brave and valiant King of Portugal
32	Quarters his power in four battalions,	32: "has divided his army into four divisions".
	Afront the which, to welcome us withal,	= in front of which. = with.
34	Are six and thirty roaring-pieces placed:	= ie. cannon.
	The first, consisting of light-armèd horse	= ie. the first division. = cavalry carrying light arms, usually bow and arrow.
36	And of the garrisons from Tanger brought,
	Is led by Alvaro Peres de Tavero;	37: Alvaro Pires de Tavora was the brother of Christopher de Tavora; this Tavora would command the Portuguese nobles at Alcazar.
38	The left or middle battle, of Italians	= battalion or division.
	And German horsemen, Stukeley doth command,
40	A warlike Englishman sent by the Pope,
	That vainly calls himself Marquis of Ireland;
42	Alonso Aquilaz conducts the third, −	42: the sources state that one Alonzo Aquilar commanded a token force of 2000 Castilians which Philip ultimately provided to Sebastian.^25
	That wing of German soldiers most consists;
44	The fourth legion is none but Portugals,
	Of whom Lodevico Caesar hath the chiefest charge:	45: Lodevico Caesar = presumably Celybin means Lord Lodowick, who appeared in Act III.iv, but spoke no lines. the chiefest charge = command.
46	Besides there stand six thousand horse	= in addition. = cavalry.
	Bravely attirèd, prest where need requires.	= exquisitely outfitted. = to be used, ready.^2,3
48	Thus have I told your royal majesty
	How he is placed to brave the fight.	= perhaps meaning "offer battle" or "challenge us"; in a
50		military context, as a verb, brave was usually used transitively, with the object being the enemy itself, and meant "challenge" or "defy"; according to OED, the sense in which brave seems to be used here - "to face something with courage" - did not appear for another two centuries; hence it is hard to escape the conclusion that some words have dropped out: Dyce logically suggests emending the end of this short line to brave us in the fight. Edelman suggests the line is fine the ways it is, and that brave the fight could mean "array his army's formation".
	Abdel. But where's our nephew, Muly Mahamet?
52
	Cely. He marcheth in the middle, guarded about
54	With full five hundred hargubuze on foot,	= ie. foot-soldiers carrying arquebuses, an early portable firearm.
	And twice three thousand needless armèd pikes.	= useless. = soldiers carrying pikes, long poles with spikes on the ends; Celybin describes these soldiers as useless, because the Moroccans have firearms against which pikes are of little value. Bullen, however, argues that Sebastian's pikes are actually a very useful weapon against cavalry, which made up at least half of Abdelmelec's army; the problem for Sebastian would be the poor quality of his soldiers, rather than the army's arms or disposition.
56
	Zareo. Great sovereign, vouchsafe to hear me speak,	= "please let me say something".
58	And let Zareo's counsel now prevail:	= "my advice".
	Whilst time doth serve, and that these Christians dare	= "while time is available", ie. "while he still has time".
60	Approach the field with warlike ensigns spread,	= standards, banners.
	Let us in haste with all our forces meet,	61-62: Zareo advises a quick strike and enveloping move-
62	And hem them in, that not a man escape;	ment, in which Abdelmelec's forces, which are triple
	So will they be advised another time	the size of the enemy's, surround the Christian army
64	How they do touch the shore of Barbary.	and annihilate it.
66	Abdel. Zareo, hear our resolutiön:
	And thus our forces we will first dispose.
68	Hamet, my brother, with a thousand shot	68: Hamet = ie. our play's Seth.
	On horse-back, and choice harguebuziers all,	68-69: a thousand…all = 1000 cavalry carrying firearms. shot = a soldier carrying a firearm.^1
70	Having ten thousand [foot] with spear and shield,	70: these are foot-soldiers; I have adapted Dyce's suggestion
	Shall make the right wing of the battle up;	to insert foot after thousand.
72	Zareo, you shall have in charge the left,
	Two thousand argolets and ten thousand horse;	= light-armed horsemen, perhaps with bow and arrow.^1
74	The main battle of harquebuze on foot,	74: main battle = ie. primary division, here the center of the army. of = ie. made up of.
	And twenty thousand horsemen in their troops,
76	Myself, environed with my trusty guard	75-76: Yoklavich observes that something has dropped out
	Of janizaries, fortunate in war;	here, and that Abdelmelec likely means that he himself will command the main body of the army. environed with = surrounded by.
78	And toward Arzil will we take our way.	78: Abdelmelec plans to march his forces directly towards the oncoming army of the Portuguese.
	If, then, our enemy will balk our force,	= likely meaning "refuses battle", or "is able to avoid con- fronting our army".
80	In God's name let him, it will be his best;	= ie. "the best thing for him."
	But if he level at Alcazar walls,	= aims at, ie. attacks.
82	Then beat him back with bullets as thick as hail,
	And make him know and rue his oversight,	= regret. = the sense is "recklessness"^1
84	That rashly seeks the ruin of this land.
86	[Exeunt.]	Sebastian's Army: Bovill's summary regarding the composition of the invading army generally agrees with Peele's: the invading forces consisted of 10,000 Portuguese infantry, of which 2500 were nobles, and the remainder untrained, unskilled conscripts; 2000 cavalry, commanded by the Duke of Avero; 3000 German mercenaries, who had been hired in the Low Countries; Philip's token donation of 2000 Castilians; Mohammed's 450 Moors; and Stukeley's 600 papal troops. In addition, the army had 36 pieces of artillery. Sebastian's army waited two weeks at Arzila before finally commencing its indirect march to Larache. The insanity of the enterprise becomes apparent when we consider the number of non-combatants who travelled with the army rather than remain on the ships - Bovill suggests they may have very well equaled the number of fighting men! Beyond the prostitutes, drivers and pioneers, the nobles were accompanied by their personal servants and retainers, and many of them even brought along their entire families! The nobles had no concept of what it meant to "travel light"; the lords instead made sure to bring along as many of their personal effects as they deemed necessary, "each in proportion to his rank and precedence, pavilions and chapels, sumptuous vestments and costly apparel...silver and gold plate for its service. Well over a thousand wagons had to be embarked to carry this impedimenta." (Bovill, p.87). The final bit of stupidity was the heavy armour the Portuguese wore, which would have made the already intolerable 115° temperature that much more unbearable. The caravan barely made three miles a day, and ran out of food and water within three days. The army finally reached and crossed the ford at the river Lixus on the march's sixth day. Now, Sebastian would have a relatively easy two-day march to Larache. While crossing the Lixus, however, the Christian soldiers noted that Abdelmelec's command, which numbered perhaps 70,000 men, was nearby in force (about half infantry and half cavalry). Sebastian's army would never make it to Larache.
	ACT IV, SCENE II.
	The Portuguese Camp North of the Town of Alcazar.
	Enter King Sebastian, the Duke of Avero,	Entering Characters: the leaders of the Christian army
	Stukeley, and others.	meet in a war counsel.^24
1	K. Seb. Why, tell me, lords, why left ye Portugal,	= plural form of you.
2	And crossed the seas with us to Barbary?
	Was it to see the country and no more,
4	Or else to fly before ye were assailed?	4: fly = flee; the quarto has slay here, emended by Dyce.
	I am ashamed to think that such as you,	assailed = attacked.
6	Whose deeds have been renowmèd heretofore,
	Should slack in such an act of consequence:	= be remiss or negligent with respect to; Sebastian's
8	We come to fight, and fighting vow to die,	commanders are hesitant -with good reason - to join battle with Abdelmelec.
	Or else to win the thing for which we came.
10	Because Abdelmelec, as pitying us,	= ie. "acting as if he has taken pity on us".
	Sends messages to counsel quietness,	11: Abdelmelec has apparently sent messages to Sebastian and his soldiers admonishing them regarding the inadvisability of their continuing on. The real Abd al-Malik did send a letter to Sebastian, warning him not to trust Mohammed (who had a history of cruelty toward his Christian subjects), and offering the Portuguese monarch an honourable peace if he would turn around and go home; needless to say, Sebastian did not deign to answer the missive.
12	You stand amazed, and think it sound advice,	= stunned.
	As if our enemy would wish us any good:
14	No, let him know we scorn his courtesy,	= meant sarcastically, of course.
	And will resist his forces whatsoe'er.
16	Cast fear aside: myself will lead the way,
	And make a passage with my conquering sword,
18	Knee-deep in blood of these accursèd Moors;
	And they that love my honour, follow me.
20	Were you as resolute as is your king,
	Alcazar walls should fall before your face,
22	And all the force of this Barbarian lord
	Should be confounded, were it ten times more.	= destroyed.
24
	Avero. So well become these words a kingly mouth,	= ie. fitting (are). = ie. for a.
26	That are of force to make a coward fight;	= persuasive enough.
	But when advice and prudent foresight	27-30: Avero is inspired: "when a king joins his own wis-
28	Is joinèd with such magnanimity,	dom with good advice and fortitude (magnanimity),^1 victory is inevitable." Edelman observes that what foresight Avero is re- ferring to is unclear.
	Trophes of victory and kingly spoils	= ie. trophies (trophes was a common alternate spelling),
30	Adorn his crown, his kingdom, and his fame.	referring to the spoils of war. In the quarto, Troupes appears here, emended by Yoklavich.
32	Enter Christopher de Tavora, Don de Menysis	32: I have accepted Yoklavich's stage directions here; the
	and Hercules.	characters would logically be rushing in to announce the approach of Abdelmelec's army, which changes the whole strategic situation.
34
	Herc. We have descried upon the mountain-tops	= observed.
36	A hugy company of invading Moors;	= large body.
	And they, my lord, as thick as winter's hail,
38	Will fall upon our heads at unawares:	= ie. in a surprise attack.
	Best, then, betimes t' avoid this gloomy storm;	= ie. it would be best. = at once, immediately.^2
40	It is in vain to strive with such a stream.
42	Enter the Moor.
44	Muly. Behold, thrice-noble lord, uncalled I come	= Muly Mahamet is addressing Sebastian; thrice-noble is another expression Peele has borrowed from Tambur- laine.
	To counsel where necessity commands;
46	And honour of undoubted victory
	Makes me exclaim upon this dastard flight.	47: "force me to speak out regarding your army's cowardly retreat (or shirking of its duty)."
48	Why, King Sebastian, wilt thou now foreslow,	= delay^3 or slacken,^1 ie. hesitate to engage in battle.
	And let so great a glory slip thy hands?
50	Say you do march unto Larissa now,	50-52: Larissa = the quarto prints Tarissa, but Yoklavich
	The forces of the foe are come so nigh,	notes that one of Peele's sources calls the port town of
52	That he will let the passage of the river;	Larache, which lies on the Atlantic coast about a dozen miles directly west of the army's current position, by the name "Larissa". Mahamet's point is that Sebastian has no choice now but to fight; even if they tried to march away, Abdelmelec's forces would block (let) their way. nigh = near.
	So unawares you will be forced to fight.	= unexpectedly.
54	But know, O king, and you, thrice-valiant lords,
	Few blows will serve. I ask but only this,	= ie. "with one easy strike we can secure victory."
56	That with your power you march into the field;	= army, here a monosyllable.
	For now is all the army resolute	57-61: Muly Mahamet, trying to persuade Sebastian's
58	To leave the traitor helpless in the fight,	commanders to join battle, explains - falsely, of course -
	And fly to me as to their rightful prince.	that Abdelmelec's men, recognizing that Mahamet is
60	Some horsemen have already led the way,	the true king of Morocco, have begun to desert Abdel-
	And vow the like for their companiöns:	melec to join his (Mahamet's) side.
62	The host is full of tumult and of fear.	= ie. Abdelmelec's army.
	Then as you come to plant me in my seat,
64	And to enlarge your fame in Africa,
	Now, now or never, bravely execute
66	Your resolution sound and honourable,
	And end this war together with his life	= ie. Abdelmelec's.
68	That doth usurp the crown with tyranny.
70	K. Seb. Captains, you hear the reasons of the king,
	Which so effectually have pierced mine ears,
72	That I am fully resolute to fight;
	And who refuseth now to follow me,
74	Let him be ever counted cowardly.	= accounted, reckoned to be.
76	Avero. Shame be his share that flies when kings do fight!	= flees.
	Avero lays his life before your feet.
78
	Stuk. For my part, lords, I cannot sell my blood
80	Dearer than in the company of kings.
82	[Exeunt all except the Moor.]
84	Muly. Now have I set these Portugals awork
	To hew a way for me unto the crown,	= cut a path.
86	Or with their weapons here to dig their graves.	86: someone - the printer or copier - has confused the pronouns in this line; in the quarto, the pair of theirs are printed as yours, probably in light of the next line beginning with You. The quarto also ends line 86 with a comma, compounding the error. Dyce has properly emended the pronouns and punctuation of this line.
	You bastards of the Night and Erebus,	87-88: Peele erroneously describes the avenging sister-
88	Fiends, Furies, hags that fight in beds of steel,	goddesses, the Furies, as daughters of the primordial deity Erebus, though the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus did call them daughters of the god Night.^10 On the other hand, Nemesis (mentioned below at line 94) has been described as a daughter of both Night and Erebus. bastards = the quarto prints dastards, which means cowardly, emended by Dyce; the transcriber may have assumed the line described the Portuguese, without really giving it any thought. Furies = the quarto prints Fairies, emended by Dyce, but Yoklavich argues that fairies, which were thought of as "sinister creatures" (p.367), would not be out of place here. fight in beds of steel = at line 20 of the Presenter's speech of Act II, we are told that the Furies lie in beds of steel, but how they fight in such beds is unclear. Yoklavich notes that a long search on his part revealed no source or explanation anywhere that he could find for this curious allusion; however, I have discovered that the phrase fight in beds of steel appeared in an English translation of the Roman poet Seneca's ten plays which was published in 1581, specifically from Act V.iv of the play Thyestes: "Where furies fight in beds of steele, and heares (ie. hairs) of crauling snakes." The problem is, there is no Act V, Scene iv in the original Latin play; the scene was added by the 1581 translator, Jasper Heywood; thus we cannot turn to the Latin text for a clue as to what the phrase's intended meaning was.
	Range through this army with your iron whips,
90	Drive forward to this deed this Christian crew,
	And let me triumph in the tragedy,
92	Though it be sealed and honoured with the blood
	Both of the Portugal and barbarous Moor.	= ie. Abdelmelec.
94	Ride, Nemesis, ride in thy fiery cart,	94-97: a fourth reference in the play to Nemesis, the god-
	And sprinkle gore amongst these men of war,	dess of vengeance. She presumably uses a fiery cart
96	That either party, eager of revenge,	to travel the world, seeking injustices to punish.
	May honour thee with sacrifice of death;
98	And having bathed thy chariot-wheels in blood,
	Descend and take to thy tormenting hell
100	The mangled body of that traitor-king	= ie. Abdelmelec.
	That scorns the power and force of Portugal:
102	Then let the earth discover to his ghost	= reveal.
	Such tortures as usurpers feel below;
104	Racked let him be in proud Ixion's wheel,	104-7: Mahamet lists some famous mythological punishments: 104: Ixion's wheel = Ixion's father-in-law tried to extort Ixion's wedding presents from him, and in revenge Ixion invited the man to his home, wherein he caused him to fall into a pit filled with fire; Ixion was pardoned by Jupiter, who invited him to a feast, but Ixion repaid his host by trying to seduce Jupiter's wife Juno. He was punished by being tied by his hands and feet to a wheel which forever spun around in the underworld. Ixion is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable: ix-I-on. Racked = tortured or stretched out, as on a rack.
	Pined let him be with Tantalus' endless thirst,	105: Tantalus' endless thirst = Tantalus, a son of Jupiter, revealed secrets told him by the king of the gods, and for this indiscretion was punished by being placed in a lake to suffer permanent thirst and hunger; whenever he reached for the water around him or the fruit hanging from the branches above him, they would shrink away from him. Tantalus' may have originally been written by Peele as Tantal's, a not uncommon alternate form of the name, for the sake of the meter, says Bullen. Pined = tormented.^1
106	Prey let him be to Tityus' greedy bird,	106: Tityus' greedy bird = Tityus, a son of Jupiter, was a giant who, for insulting the goddess Diana, was chained somewhere in deep hell, where a vulture unceasingly gnawed on his liver. His prostrate body was said to cover nine acres.^9
	Wearied with Sisyphus' immortal toil:	107: Sisyphus' immortal toil = Sisyphus was a king of Corinth and a shady character; for any of a number of offenses (including attacking and killing travelers with a large stone), Sisyphus was condemned to eternally push an enormous block of marble up a hill, after which the block always slid or rolled back down the hill.^10
108	And lastly for revenge, for deep revenge,
	Whereof thou goddess and deviser art,	109: Mahamet describes Nemesis as a planner or architect
110	Damned let him be, damned, and condemned to bear	(deviser) of revenge.
	All torments, tortures, plagues, and pains of hell.
112
	[Exit.]	Sebastian's Army Prepares for Battle: with Abd al-Malik's superior army arrayed before him, Sebastian had no choice now but to meet the Sultan in battle; the Portuguese leaders conferred, and agreed on a plan which Bovill goes out of his way to compliment: rather than lining up his soldiers in long ranks, which would have made them vulnerable to being rolled up on the flanks by the enemy's numerous cavalry, Sebastian's army was formed into an enormous square, perhaps a half-mile in length along each side, and 5-10 rows of soldiers deep. The benefit of this formation was that it would resemble a large, rectilinear hedgehog, with pikes facing outward in all directions, which in capable hands could be very effective against Abd al-Malik's horse-soldiers. In addition, the most experienced troops - the Germans, Italians, and Castilians, as well as the nobility of Portugal - were placed at the front of the square to directly face the infantry of the enemy. The artillery was initially placed directly in front of the troops, and the 2000 cavalry - vastly outnumbered by the enemy - were placed on the wings, spreading out from either flank of the square. The non-combatants were contained within the square's perimeter. Stukeley and Hercules commanded some of the troops in the front. Had Sebastian's starving, exhausted and demoralized Portuguese recruits - which made up the majority of his army - been battle-hardened veterans, or at least well-trained rookies, his army might have had a chance.
	ACT V.
	Enter the Presenter.
1	Ill be to him that so much ill bethinks;	1: may misfortune or calamity fall on him who thinks so wickedly.
2	And ill betide this foul ambitious Moor,	= befall.
	Whose wily trains with smoothest course of speech	3: "whose cunning schemes (trains) combined with flattery".
4	Have tied and tangled in a dangerous war
	The fierce and manly King of Portugal.
6
	[Lightning and thunder.]
8
	Now throw the heavens forth their lightning-flames,
10	And thunder over Afric's fatal fields:	= deadly.
	Blood will have blood, foul murther scape no scourge.	= cannot escape the whip of retribution.
12
	Enter Fame, like an angel,	13-14: personified Fame, appearing as an angel, enters the
14	and hangs the crowns upon a tree.	stage and hangs two crowns on a tree.
16	At last descendeth Fame, as Iris	16-17: as Iris…life = Fame now comes down to release
	To finish fainting Dido's dying life;	the souls of the kings from their mortal selves, just as Iris did for Dido in the Aeneid. Dido, the founder and queen of the North African city of Carthage, fell in love with the Trojan prince Aeneas after he landed at Carthage with his fleet of Trojan survivors who had escaped the destruction of Troy by the Greeks. Her love rejected, Dido fell on her sword, and according to the Aeneid, Iris, the messenger goddess, flew to earth to release Dido's soul from her dying body.
18	Fame from her stately bower doth descend,
	And on the tree, as fruit new-ripe to fall,	= like.
20	Placeth the crowns of these unhappy kings,
	That erst she kept in eye of all the world.	= earlier, till now. = view.
22
	[Here the blazing star.]	23: a special-effects comet appears.
24		Interestingly, over the previous winter, while Sebastian was fully engaged in preparing for his invasion of Morocco, an enormous comet appeared in the skies over Europe and North Africa. Comets had ever been considered omens, and Sebastian is reported to have - no surprise here - interpreted the heavenly vision as a sure sign of victory to come. The website space.com describes the Comet of 1577 as the greatest comet of the 16th century; it was visible for three full months, from early November till the end of January 1578.^23
	Now fiery stars, and streaming comets blaze,
26	That threat the earth and princes of the same.	= threaten: comets were viewed as ominous signs of tragedy.
28	[Fireworks.]	28: a display of small explosions was a popular special effect on the Elizabethan stage.
30	Fire, fire about the axletree of heaven	= in the Ptolemaic conception of the universe, to which all of our playwrights subscribed, the heavens and the celestial bodies contained therein were imagined to exist within a series of concentric spheres, all of which rotated around the earth, which sits in the middle of the universe. axletree = axle. axletree of heaven = another phrase Peele borrowed from Tamburlaine.
	Whirls round, and from the foot of Cassiope,	= ie. Cassiopeia, a constellation in the northern sky.
32	In fatal hour, consumes these fatal crowns.
34	[One crown falls.]	34-38: the falling crowns represent the deaths of all of our
		play's kings in the upcoming battle.
36	Down falls the diadem of Portugal.
38	[The other crown falls.]
40	The crowns of Barbary and kingdoms fall;	40: Dyce wonders if kingdoms "crept in here from the next line", ie. did the eye of the copier or type-setter subconsciously pick up the appearance of the word kingdoms in the next line, and accidentally place it in this line as well, substituting whatever word was originally here?
	Ay me, that kingdoms may not stable stand!
42	And now approaching near the dismal day,
	The bloody day wherein the battles join,
44	Monday the fourth of August, seventy-eight,	= ie. the year 1578.
	The sun shines wholly on the parchèd earth,	45: a reference to the scorching heat of the Moroccan battlefield. Sebastian insisted on meeting the enemy in the middle of the day - as Bovill writes, "At the hottest time of day at the hottest time of the year, Sebastian ordered his army to advance." (p.126).
46	The brightest planet in the highest heaven.	= ie. the sun; both the sun and the moon were considered planets in Elizabethan drama's cosmology.
	The heathens, eager bent against their foe,	= eagerly directed.
48	Give onset with great ordnance to the war;	48: begin the battle with a spirited demonstration of cannon fire. Edelman notes the irony that the Moroccan's artillery had been obtained from England in return for the saltpetre, or potassium nitrate, that England needed to make its own gunpowder. onset = military attack.^1
	The Christians with great noise of cannon-shot
50	Send angry onsets to the enemy.	= ie. attacks on, ie. cannon blasts at.
	Give ear, and hear how war begins his song	= listen, pay attention. = ie. personified War's.
52	With dreadful clamours, noise, and trumpets' sound.
54	[Exit.]	The Battle of Alcazar Begins: Abd al-Malik's cavalry quickly surrounded Sebastian's army as the king ordered his troops to advance. The Moors fired off their cannon, and the Christians responded in kind. The two front lines moved quickly to engage, and the van of Sebastian's square crashed into the front lines of Moorish infantry.
	ACT V, SCENE I.
	The Battlefield at Alcazar.
	Alarums, and chambers discharged, within;	= calls to arms. = cannons. = from off-stage.
	then enter to the battle;	The Battle: soldiers from both armies enter the stage and
	and the Moors, who form Abdelmelec's army, fly.	fight. Abdelmelec's Moroccan soldiers run away.
	Skirmish still; then enter Abdelmelec	The Battle Continues: Abdelmelec is carried on-stage as
	in his chair, Zareo, and train.	he sits on his chair of state; he was very sick, indeed near death, on this fateful day. train = retinue.
1	Abdel. Say on, Zareo, tell me all the news,	1-5: Abdelmelec is horrified to see his own soldiers flee from the battlefield.
2	Tell me what Fury rangeth in our camp,	= is wandering around.
	That hath enforced our Moors to turn their backs;	= compelled. = ie. run away.
4	Zareo, say what chance did bode this ill,	4: "Zareo, tell me what event predicted this calamitous de- velopment?"
	What ill enforced this dastard cowardice?	= cowardly.
6
	Zareo. My lord, such chance as wilful war affords;	7: Zareo reminds Abdelmelec that war is unpredictable. Note that War is personified, described by Zareo as perversely obstinate (wilful). affords = provides.
8	Such chances and misfortunes as attend
	On him, the god of battle and of arms.
10	My lord, when with our ordnance fierce we sent	= along or in tandem with. = cannon.
	Our Moors with smaller shot, as thick as hail	= ie. the infantry armed with arquebuses.
12	Follows apace, to charge the Portugal;	10-12: Bullen suggests these lines are corrupt, as they suggest the Moors were sent into the fight at the same time the cannon were firing, when in reality the soldiers would be sent in after the bombardment had ceased. Opening Phase of the Battle: as the prime soldiers of the two armies collided, hand-to-hand combat ensued; as described in the first part of the scene, the Christians gained the early advantage, their foes in the Muslim center breaking and retreating.
	The valiant duke, the devil of Avero,
14	The bane of Barbary, fraughted full of ire,	14: Zareo describes the Duke of Avero as a destroyer or dealer of death (bane), fighting furiously against Abdelmelec's forces.^1 fraughted = loaded, as with freight, ie. filled with. ire = wrath, ie. blood-lust.
	Breaks through the ranks, and with five hundred horse,	= cavalry.
16	All men-at-arms, forward and full of might,	= eager.
	Assaults the middle wing, and puts to flight
18	Eight thousand harquebuze that served on foot,	= ie. Abdelmelec's foot-soldiers who carried firearms.
	And twenty thousand Moors with spear and shield,	19: Dyce notes a line is probably missing after this one.
20	And therewithal the honour of the day.	13-20: the Duke of Avero, leading the right-wing of the
		cavalry, followed the infantry with his own charge, and he too put the enemy in front of him - mixed cavalry and infantry which were assailing the weak right side of the square - to flight. So successful was Avero that he captured two of Abd al-Malik's five green standards.
22	Abdel. Ah, Abdelmelec, dost thou live to hear
	This bitter process of this first attempt? −	= account.^2 = wave or attack.
24	Labour, my lords, to renew our force	= a disyllable here: lo-erds.
	Of fainting Moors, and fight it to the last. −
26	My horse, Zareo! − O, the goal is lost,	= Abdelmelec wants to appear on horseback before his troops in order to rally them.
	The goal is lost! − Thou King of Portugal,
28	Thrice-happy chance it is for thee and thine	28: ie. "it is your great fortune". thrice-happy = three-times lucky; thrice was commonly used, as here and in line 39 below, as an intensifier.
	That heaven abates my strength and calls me hence. −
30	My sight doth fail; my soul, my feeble soul
	Shall be released from prison on this earth:
32	Farewell, vain world! for I have played my part.	= Elizabethan dramatists frequently placed such delightful self-referential clauses into their characters' speeches.
34	[Dies.]	Abdelmelec's Death: hoping to stem the retreat of his forces by inspiring them with his presence, Abd al-Malik rode furiously into the melee which was drawing nearer to him; as he raised his sword, however, he fainted, and was helped off his horse: he was dead within a half-hour.
36	A long skirmish;	= on-stage battle.
	and then enter Muly Mahamet Seth.	Entering Character: we remember that Seth is Abdel-
38		melec's brother and greatest supporter.
	Seth. Brave Abdelmelec, thou thrice-noble lord!
40	Not such a wound was given to Barbary,	= ie. "would have been dealt".
	Had twenty hosts of men been put to sword,	= armies.
42	As death, pale death, with fatal shaft hath given.	42: "as personified Death had dealt Barbary by shooting Abdelmelec with his death-dealing arrow;" Death has been imagined to shoot arrows that kill just as Cupid shoots arrows that cause individuals to fall in love.
	Lo, dead is he, my brother and my king,
44	Whom I might have revived with news I bring.	= ie. good news.
46	Zareo. His honours and his types he hath resigned	= insignias or distinguishing marks.^2
	Unto the world, and of a manly man,	= from.
48	Lo, in a twinkling, a senseless stock we see!	48: Lo = behold.
		twinkling = Dyce posits shortening the word to twink, a common alternative for twinkling, for the sake of the meter. senseless = literally without possession of any of the senses. stock = trunk.
50	Seth. You trusty soldiers of this warlike king,
	Be counselled now by us in this advice;
52	Let not his death be bruited in the camp,	= reported, spread.
	Lest with the sudden sorrow of the news
54	The army wholly be discomfited. −	= discouraged and defeated.^2
	My Lord Zareo, thus I comfort you;
56	Our Moors have bravely borne themselves in fight,
	Likely to get the honour of the day,
58	If aught may gotten be where loss is such.	= anything.
	Therefore, in this apparel as he died,
60	My noble brother will we here advance,	= ie. bring forward onto the battlefield.
	And set him in his chair with cunning props,	61: cleverly support Abdelmelec's body on the throne in such a way that he will appear to still be alive.
62	That our Barbarians may behold their king,	= men of Barbary.
	And think he doth repose him in his tent.	= believe. = "is resting".
64
	Zareo. Right politic and good is your advice.	= shrewd, cunning.^2
66
	Seth. Go, then, to see it speedily performed. –
68
	[The body of Abdelmelec is propped up in his chair.]	69: stage direction added by Dyce.
70
	Brave lord, if Barbary recover this,
72	Thy soul with joy will sit and see the fight.
74	[Exeunt.]	74: there is no new scene here; the body of Abdelmelec, supported in his chair, remains on stage. Abdelmelec's Death is Concealed: Bovill assures us that had news of the Sultan's death become known throughout the army, the majority of the soldiers would have deserted without a second's thought. To prevent this from happening, Abd al-Malik's body was placed in his tent, and his Jewish doctor pretended to carry on a continuous conversation with the dead man through the tent's flaps; in the meanwhile, orders continued to be disseminated in the Sultan's name to the army.
76	Alarums within: enter to the battle;	76-77: the battle is renewed.
	and the Christians fly: the Duke of Avero is slain.
78
	Enter King Sebastian and Stukeley.
80
	K. Seb. Seest thou not, Stukeley, O Stukeley, seest thou not
82	The great dishonour done to Christendom?
	Our cheerful onset crossed in springing hope;	= attack. = thwarted. = (its) spreading or sprouting.
84	The brave and mighty prince, Duke of Avero,
	Slain in my sight: now joy betide his ghost,	= befall.
86	For like a lion did he bear himself!
	Our battles are all now disorderèd,	= lines of battle.
88	And by our horses' strange retiring-back	88-89: in retreating, Sebastian's cavalry have left the foot-
	Our middle wing of foot-men over-rode.	soldiers in the center to be overwhelmed by the enemy.
90	Stukeley, alas, I see my oversight!	= negligence, ie. error.
	False-hearted Mahamet, now, to my cost,
92	I see thy treachery, warned to beware	= ie. "I had been warned".
	A face so full of fraud and villany.
94
	Alarums within, and they run out,
96	and two set upon Stukeley, and he drives them in.	= ie. two enemy soldiers. = off-stage. The Tide Turns: despite the best efforts of his best soldiers in the front ranks, Sebastian and his army were too far outnumbered to prevail; as the Moors replaced their tired troops with fresh ones, and the numerous enemy cavalry broke the flanks of the Portuguese square, the battle turned in the Moroccan's favour, and soon enough a general slaughter of the Christian army began.
98	Then enter the Moor and his Boy, flying.	= young male attendant. = fleeing.
100	Muly. Villain, a horse!
102	Boy. O, my lord, if you return, you die!
104	Muly. Villain, I say, give me a horse to fly,	= flee.
	To swim the river, villain, and to fly.
106
	[Exit Boy.]
108
	Where shall I find some unfrequented place,
110	Some uncouth walk, where I may curse my fill,	= ie. new and unfamiliar land.^1
	My stars, my dam, my planets, and my nurse,	= mother. = ie. "my (unlucky) stars": the alignment of the heavenly bodies at one's birth was said to determine one's fortune in life.
112	The fire, the air, the water, and the earth,	112: Mahamet names the four elements from which the universe was believed to be constituted.
	All causes that have thus conspired in one,
114	To nourish and preserve me to this shame? −	114: "to save me from premature death only to see this happen to me?"
	Thou that wert at my birth predominate,	115-8: Mahamet addresses the star that had the most in- fluence over his life's path.
116	Thou fatal star, what planet e'er thou be,
	Spit out thy poison bad, and all the ill	= evil poison.
118	That fortune, fate, or heaven, may bode a man. −	= presage (regarding the course of an individual's life).^1
	Thou nurse infortunate, guilty of all,	= malevolent or inauspicious.^1
120	Thou mother of my life, that brought'st me forth,
	Cursed mayst thou be for such a cursèd son!
122	Cursed be thy son with every curse thou hast! −
	Ye elements of whom consists this clay,	= "which comprise this earth".
124	This mass of flesh, this cursèd crazèd corpse,	124-5: note the intense alliteration in each of these two lines.
	Destroy, dissolve, disturb, and dissipate,
126	What water, [fire,] earth, and air congealed.	126: fire is missing from this line in the quarto, and is pro-
		perly inserted by Dyce; it is also disyllabic here: fi-er.
128	Alarums within, and re-enter the Boy.
130	Boy. O, my lord,
	These ruthless Moors pursue you at the heels,
132	And come amain to put you to the sword!
134	Muly. A horse, a horse, villain, a horse!	134-5: 1594 saw the publication of both our present play
	That I may take the river straight and fly.	and The True Tragedy of Richard III, an anonymous
136		alternate version of Shakespeare's Richard III. In Tragedy, Richard exclaims as he flees the Bosworth battlefield, "A horse, a horse, a fresh horse." His page relies, "Ah, fly my Lord, and save your life." Shakespeare's Richard III, in which the king most famously exclaimed to Catesby, "A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!", was not published until 1597, though it was likely written earlier, perhaps in 1593-4. It is not known, nor is it knowable, which of these three plays was written first, or the degree to which any of them influenced or borrowed from the others.
	Boy. Here is a horse, my lord,
138	As swiftly paced as Pegasus;	= famed winged horse of myth, which was frequently de-
	Mount thee thereon, and save thyself by flight.	scribed as swift in the era's literature.
140
	Muly. Mount me I will: but may I never pass	= myself.
142	The river, till I be revenged
	Upon thy soul, accursèd Abdelmelec!
144	If not on earth, yet when we meet in hell,
	Before grim Minos, Rhadamanth, and Æacus,	145: Mahamet lists the three judges of Hades, who mete out punishment to the deserving.
146	The combat will I crave upon thy ghost,	= demand for, ie. wish upon; crave upon was a common collocation.
	And drag thee through the loathsome pools
148	Of Lethès, Styx, and fiery Phlegethon.	148: Mahamet lists three of Hades' major rivers.
150	[Exeunt.]
152	Alarums within: re-enter Stukeley wounded,	152-3: the quarto prints here, "Enter Stukley with two
	followed by Hercules and Jonas.	Italians"; the emendation is Dyce's.
154
	Herc. Stand, traitor, stand, ambitious English-man,
156	Proud Stukeley, stand, and stir not ere thou die.	= "don't move from here before you die," or perhaps more sinisterly, "don't move, or we will be forced to kill you".
	Thy forwardness to follow wrongful arms,	157-9: ie. "your eagerness to participate in an unrighteous
158	And leave our famous expedition erst	military cause, while abandoning the pope-sanctioned
	Intended by his Holiness for Ireland,	invasion of Ireland". erst (line 158) = first, ie. originally.
160	Foully hath here betrayed and tied us all
	To ruthless fury of our heathen foe;
162	For which, as we are sure to die,
	Thou shalt pay satisfaction with thy blood.
164
	Stuk. Avaunt, base villains! twit ye me with shame	= 'be gone!" = "dare the two of you reproach me".
166	Or infamy of this injurious war?
	When he that is the judge of right and wrong	167-8: Stukeley deflects any attempt to place responsibility
168	Determines battle as him pleaseth best.	for the expedition's failure on his shoulders: it is God who decides which way battles turn.
	But sith my stars bode me this tragic end,	169: "but since my stars have predicted this tragic ending to my life".
170	That I must perish by these barbarous Moors,
	Whose weapons have made passage for my soul	171-2: poetically, "who have fatally wounded me."
172	That breaks from out the prison of my breast;
	Ye proud malicious dogs of Italy,	173: Stukeley insults his Italian soldiers.
174	Strike on, strike down this body to the earth,
	Whose mounting mind stoops to no feeble stroke.	= aspiring.
176
	Jonas. Why suffer we this Englishman to live –	= tolerate.
178
	[They stab Stukeley.]	179: Yoklavich notes the existence of a tradition which suggested Stukeley was killed by his own men.
180
	Villain, bleed on; thy blood in channels run,	181-2: the Italians' part in the play ends with a rhyming
182	And meet with those whom thou to death hast done.	couplet.
184	[Exeunt Hercules and Jonas.]
186	Stuk. Thus Stukeley, slain with many a deadly stab,
	Dies in these desert fields of Africa.
188	Hark, friends; and with the story of my life	188-9: "let me tell you my life's tale, as a way to distract
	Let me beguile the torment of my death.	myself from thinking on my impending death." beguile = deceive.
190	In England's London, lordings, was I born,	= gentlemen (of the audience).
	On that brave bridge, the bar that thwarts the Thames.	191: Stukeley alludes the London Bridge, which in the 16th century was the only bridge to cross the Thames; Sugden describes the London Bridge as having narrow arches and piers which took up half the width of the bridge, causing the water to back up during tidal changes, resulting in the difference in the height of the water on either side of the bridge to be as great as four feet, hence Stukeley's characterization of the bridge as a "bar that thwarts the Thames."
192	My golden days, my younger careless years,
	Were when I touched the height of Fortune's wheel,	193: ie. "when I achieved my greatest success"; Fortune was often personified as spinning a wheel which arbitrarily lifted and lowered people's circumstances.
194	And lived in affluence of wealth and ease.
	Thus in my country carried long aloft,
196	A discontented humour drave me thence	= "drove me from there"; drave and drove were equally commonly used in the 16th century.
	To cross the seas to Ireland, then to Spain.
198	There had I welcome and right royal pay	198-202: Philip was for some reason attracted to Stukeley,
	Of Philip, whom some call the Catholic King:	and supported him during his time in Spain.
200	There did Tom Stukeley glitter all in gold,
	Mounted upon his jennet white as snow,	= a small Spanish horse.^2
202	Shining as Phoebus in King Philip's court:	202: shining like the god of the sun; Phoebus is an alternate
	There, like a lord, famous Don Stukeley lived,	name for Apollo.
204	For so they called me in the court of Spain,
	Till, for a blow I gave a bishop's man,	= attendant.
206	A strife gan rise between his lord and me,	= began to rise, ie. arose. = ie. the bishop.
	For which we both were banished by the king.
208	From thence to Rome rides Stukeley all aflaunt:	= from there. = ostentatiously.^1
	Received with royal welcomes of the Pope,
210	There was I graced by Gregory the Great,	= ie. Pope Gregory XIII; Edelman notes that it was actually Gregory I who was known as "the Great".
	That then created me Marquis of Ireland.
212	Short be my tale, because my life is short.	= ie. "I have little time left to speak before I die."
	The coast of Italy and Rome I left:
214	Then was I made lieutenant general
	Of those small forces that for Ireland went,
216	And with my companies embarked at Ostia.	= the ancient port of Rome, located at the mouth of the Tiber River; the quarto reads Austria here.
	My sails I spread, and with these men of war
218	In fatal hour at Lisbon we arrived.	= fateful.
	From thence to this, to this hard exigent,	= extremity, last state.^2
220	Was Stukeley driven, to fight or else to die,	= driven is a monosyllable here: dri'en.
	Dared to the field, that never could endure	221-2: Stukeley could never turn his back on a chance to
222	To hear God Mars his drum but he must march. −	fight.
	Ah, sweet Sebastian, hadst thou been well advised,
224	Thou mightst have managed arms successfully!
	But from our cradles we were markèd all
226	And destinate to die in Afric here.	= destined.
	Stukeley, the story of thy life is told;
228	Here breathe thy last, and bid thy friends farewell:
	And if thy country's kindness be so much,
230	Then let thy country kindly ring thy knell.	= ie. toll a bell at his death.
	Now go and in that bed of honour die,	= ie. the battlefield.
232	Where brave Sebastian's breathless corse doth lie.	= the more common 16th century form of corpse.
	Here endeth Fortune, rule, and bitter rage;	= so reads the quarto, but Dyce wonders if Fortune's rule was intended here.
234	Here ends Tom Stukeley's pilgrimage.	233-4: Stukeley's part in the play closes with a rhyming couplet. Dyce suggests emending the end of this short line to earthly pilgrimage, a common collocation of the era.
236	[Dies.]	Stukeley's Death: Thomas Stukeley fought bravely till the last moment, struck down by Moorish scimitars. There is no reason to think he was killed by his own men. Hercules, Stukeley's second-in-command, was captured alive by the Moors, but died in captivity before he could be ransomed.
238	Re-enter Muly Mahamet Seth, Zareo,	Entering Characters: with Abdelmelec dead, his brother
	and train, with drums and trumpets.	Seth is the new ruler of Morocco.
240
	Seth. Retreat is sounded through our camp, and now
242	From battle's fury cease our conquering Moors.
	Pay thanks to heaven with sacrificing fire,
244	Alcazar, and ye towns of Barbary. −
	Now hast thou sit as in a trance, and seen,	= sat. = ie. "as if thou were".
246	To thy soul's joy and honour of thy house,
	The trophies and the triumphs of thy men,
248	Great Abdelmelec; and the god of kings
	Hath made thy war successful by thy right,
250	His friends, whom death and fates have ta'en from thee.	250: Dyce notes that "something has dropped out" from before this line.
	Lo, this was he that was the people's pride,	= "behold".
252	And cheerful sunshine to his subjects all!
	Now have him hence, that royally he may	= ie. "have his body taken from here". Dyce notes that despite this instruction, the body remains on stage.
254	Be buried and embalmèd as is meet. −	= appropriate.
	Zareo, have you through the camp proclaimed
256	As erst we gave in charge?	256: "as I earlier instructed you to do?" Note that Seth,
		who as the surviving brother is the new Sultan, has assumed the royal "we".
258	Zareo. We have, my lord, and rich rewards proposed
	For them that find the body of the king;	= meaning Sebastian's body.
260	For by those guard[s] that had him in their charge	260-1: Zareo seems to be reporting that Sebastian was mur-
	We understand that he was done to death,	dured by his own soldiers.
262	And for his search two prisoners, Portugals,
	Are set at large to find their royal king.	263: "have been released to find Sebastian's corpse."
264
	Seth. But of the traitorous Moor you hear no news
266	That fled the field and sought to swim the ford?
268	Zareo. Not yet, my lord; but doubtless God will tell
	And with his finger point out where he hants.	= ie. haunts, an occasionally used alternate spelling.
270
	Seth. So let it rest, and on this earth bestow
272	This princely corse,	272: "this kingly corpse".
	Till further for his funerals we provide.	= funeral rites.
274
	Zareo. From him to thee as true-succeeding prince,	= ie. Abdelmelec.
276	With all allegiance and with honour's types,	= signs or trappings.^1
	In name of all thy people and thy land,
278	We give this kingly crown and diadem.	278: with the battle won, Zareo removes the crown from
		Abdelmelec's head and places it on Seth's.
280	Seth. We thank you all, and as my lawful right,
	With God's defence and yours, shall I [it] keep.	= added by Dyce.
282
	Enter two Portugals with the body of King Sebastian.
284
	1st Port. As gave your grace in charge, right royal prince,	= ie. "your highness instructed us to do".
286	The fields and sandy plains we have surveyed,
	And even among the thickest of his lords	287: "and in the location where the bodies of the Portuguese nobility was the thickest".
288	The noble King of Portugal we found,
	Wrapt in his colours coldly on the earth,	= royal standard or banner.
290	And done to death with many a mortal wound.
292	Seth. Lo, here, my lords, this is the earth and clay
	Of him that erst was mighty King of Portugal! −	= ie. a (short) time ago.
294	There let him lie, and you for this be free
	To make return from hence to Christendom.	Sebastian's Corpse: Bovill tells us that the new Sultan did in fact offer two of the Portuguese prisoners - servants both - their freedom if they found Sebastian's body; the two discovered the king's corpse on the battlefield, where he had fought honourably and furiously, stripped of all armour and clothing. Some nobles offered 10,000 ducats for the body's release, but the Sultan refused the offer. The location of Sebastian's remains are unknown today.
296
	Enter two, with the body of the Moor.	= ie. Muly Mahamet. Who the two are is unclear; Dyce makes them pea- sants, Edelman soldiers.
298
	1st Person. Long live the mighty King of Barbary!	= ie. Seth.
300
	Seth. Welcome, my friend: what body hast thou there?
302
	1st Person. The body of th' ambitious enemy
304	That squandered all this blood in Africa,
	Whose malice sent so many souls to hell,
306	The traitor Muly Mahamet do I bring,
	And for thy slave I throw him at thy feet.	= "as if he were your slave".
308
	Seth. Zareo, give this man a rich reward;
310	And thankèd be the god of just revenge,
	That he hath given our foe into our hands,	= a monosyllable here: gi'en.
312	Beastly, unarmèd, slavish, full of shame. −
	But say, how came this traitor to his end?
314
	1st Person. Seeking to save his life by shameful flight,
316	He mounteth on a hot Barbarian horse,	= fiery, spirited. = the horses of North Africa, frequently referred to in literature, were famous for their strength and beauty.^7
	And so in purpose to have passed the stream,	= intended. = ie. cross.
318	His headstrong steed throws him from out his seat;
	Where, diving oft for lack of skill to swim,	= ie. sinking.
320	It was my chance alone to see him drowned,	= "my luck or fortune".
	Whom by the heels I dragged from out the pool,	= ie. out of.
322	And hether have him brought thus filed with mud.	= ie. defiled.^25
		Death of Muly Mahamet: with the demise of Mohammed, the third of the kings who had participated in this fight has died on this same day; it is for this reason that the Battle of Alcazar is also known as the Battle of the Three Kings.
324	Seth. A death too good for such a damnèd wretch:
	But sith our rage and rigour of revenge	= since.
326	By violence of his end prevented is,	326: "has been anticipated by his death", ie. Muly Mahamet died before Seth could himself kill him.
	That all the world may learn by him t' avoid	= ie. a lesson.
328	To hale on princes to injurious war,	328: ie. "dragging kings into wars which can bring them no benefit".
	His skin we will be parted from his flesh,	= "we command".
330	And being stiffened out and stuffed with straw,
	So to deter and fear the lookers-on	= frighten.
332	From any such foul fact or bad attempt:	= deed.
	Away with him!
334
	[Exeunt some with the body of the Moor.]
336
	And now, my lords, for this Christian king:	= a disyllable again: lo-erds.
338	My Lord Zareo, let it be your charge	= duty.
	To see the soldiers tread a solemn march,	= solemnly march.
340	Trailing their pikes and ensigns on the ground,	340: as a sign of respect.
	So to perform the prince's funerals.	= king's. = ie. funeral rites.
342
	Here endeth the tragical battle of Alcazar.
		Postscript I: Casualties and Aftermath.
		Once Christian resistance had ended, the Moroccans ceased their slaughter, and rounded up the survivors to ransom off at a later date; indeed, ransoming white slaves and captives produced a regular and sizeable income to the Moors and Ottomans. It is estimated that about 3000 men were killed on each side, though it is possible the Christians lost more; accurate numbers are impossible to state with any degree of confidence. The Portuguese dead comprised mainly of the nobles and foreign mercenaries who fought in the cavalry or in the van of the square. Among those killed were the Duke of Avero, the brothers Alvaro and Cristopher de Tavora, and Thomas Stukeley. The Duke of Barcelles was captured alive, and Bovill reports that the Moors mistook him for the king and "twice threw [him] in the air for joy."
		Postscript II: the Fate of Portugal and Cult of Sebastian.
		Rule of Portugal fell to Sebastian's grandfather, Cardinal Henry; when he died two years later in 1580, a succession crisis occurred, with numerous pretenders to the throne appearing; Philip of Spain settled the issue by invading Portugal and assuming the kingship for himself. Thus began a period of benign Spanish rule over Portugal, a period known as the Iberian Union, which lasted for 60 years. Meanwhile, as survivors and ransomed Portuguese returned home, a rumour began to circulate that Sebastian was still alive - after all, as far as the Europeans new, his body had never been found. A strange but intense cult, whose adherents believed that Sebastian was still alive, developed that lasted for several centuries. In Morocco, meanwhile, Abd al-Malik's brother Ahmed al-Mansur went on to reign until 1603.
		Postscript III: Stukeley's Life.
		Thomas Stukeley was born in about 1525 in Devonshire. Stukeley served as a soldier in France and Scotland until 1551, when his patron, the Duke of Somerset, was arrested. When an order for his own arrest was issued, Stukeley escaped to France. Then began several years of cat-and-mouse spying for and against the French king, until he was finally caught and arrested and sent to the Tower, where he remained until the death of King Edward VI in 1553. Stukeley left England and served the Holy Roman Emperor in the Spanish wars in northern Europe until 1554, when, short of money as usual, he returned to England and married the daughter - and sole heir - of a wealthy English alderman.
		In 1555, Stukeley once again was forced to flee England when he was charged with counterfeiting; after another brief fling fighting on behalf of the Emperor, he turned to piracy, preying largely on Spanish ships. Stukeley returned to favour under Queen Mary, and served on the Scottish border in 1560-1, but after squandering his wife's fortune, he began a grander deception: having convinced the queen that he intended to colonize Florida, Mary provided him with six ships, 300 men, and artillery, but Stukeley's intention all along had been to use this force to engage in piracy, which he did for the next two years, preying on Portuguese, French and Spanish ships, to the great embarrassment of the English government.
		Mary sent a squadron to capture Stukeley, which task was accomplished in Cork harbour in 1565, but thanks to the influence of some high-placed friends, Stukeley was improbably released. Incredibly, the government next sent him on a mission to Ireland to negotiate with the Irish rebel Shane O'Neill; in the Emerald Isle, Stukeley purchased several offices, including that of Marshal of Ireland, as well as several large estates. Skipping some tedious details, we can next report Mary stripping Stukeley of all his Irish titles in 1568, and in 1569, accused of treason, he was imprisoned in Dublin Castle. With the help of the Archbishop of Armagh and the Spanish Ambassador in London, he escaped and sailed to Spain, where he was, in the words of the National Biography, received by the court "with a consideration that astonished the English ambassador."
		Stukeley spent the early 1570's in the service of King Philip in Spain, where, the National Biography writes, "he was generally styled Marquis or Duke of Ireland, and the king was reported to have allowed him five hundred reals a day and a residence at Las Rozas, a village nine miles from Madrid." Stukeley, however, remained attracted to the idea of an invasion of Ireland. His developing plans were interrupted when he was forced to leave Spain after feuding with Maurice Gibbon, the Archbishop of Cashel. After engaging in some mercenary fighting - he was in command of three galleys at the Spanish victory over the Turks at Lepanto (7 October 1571) - he was rehabilitated by Philip, and spent the next two years back in Spain, plotting further military campaigns against England.
		During a second trip to Rome in as many years, he convinced Pope Gregory to provide him with the means to invade Ireland. Leaving Italy with 600 men, the invasion seemed destined to take place, until Stukeley was forced to put in at Lisbon due to the unseaworthiness of his ship. The rest, as they say, was history. The information in this postscript was adopted from the National Biography (1885-1900).^17

George Peele's Invented Words.

Like all writers of the era, George Peele made up words when he felt like it, usually by adding prefixes and suffixes to known words, combining words, or using a word in a way not yet used before. The following is a list of words and expressions from The Battle of Alcazar that research suggests may have been first used, or used in a certain way, by Peele in this play.

a. Words.

behearse

Cardis (for Cadiz)

doubling (meaning echoing or resounding)

foragement

larum (meaning to sound an alarm)

misbeseem

Moloccus (for Moluccas)

b. Compound Words.

double conscience

mountain shrub

Negro-Moor

river shore

roaring piece (referring to artillery)

traitor-tyrant (revived, previous appearance 1490's)

true-succeeding

twenty-coloured (first use of this compound word, and first use to describe a rainbow)

wide-commanding

c. Expressions and Collocations.

angry storm(s)

basely yield

blasted grove

bloody torch

the collocation of bow and groan (describing a people or land that bows and groans beneath a burden).

the collocation of drag and heels (as in "dragged by the heels").

knee-deep in blood (though we find "vp to the knees in bloud" printed in 1587).

rattling drums

step ashore

voluntary man / men.

to work affiance

d. Words and Expressions
Incorrectly Credited By the OED to Peele.

argolet

muly

solitary (meaning a lonely place)

the collocation of number and numberless

List of Footnotes.

Footnotes in the text correspond as follows:

1. Oxford English Dictionary (OED) online.

2. Crystal, David and Ben. Shakespeare's Words. London, New York: Penguin, 2002.

3. Dyce, Rev. Alexander. The Dramatic and Poetical Works of Robert Greene and George Peele. London: George Routledge and Sons: 1874.

4. Bullen, A.H. The Works of George Peele, Vol. I. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888.

5. Bowen, Marjorie. Sundry Great Gentlemen: Some Histories in Historical Biography. London: John Lane, 1928.

6. Bovill, E.W. The Battle of Alcazar. London: the Batchworth Press, 1921.

7. Sugden, Edward. A Topographical Dictionary to the Works of Shakespeare and His Fellow Dramatists. Manchester: The University Press, 1925.

8. Julien, Charles-André. John Petrie, translator. History of North Africa. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970.

9. Bechtel, John H. A Dictionary of Mythology. Philadelphia: The Penn Publishing Company, 1899.

10. Smith, W., ed. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: John Murray, 1849.

11. Metford, J.C.J. Dictionary of Christian Lore and Legend. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1983.

12. Theoi.com Website. Hephaistos Loves. Retrieved 3/26/2019: www.theoi.com/Olympios/HephaistosLoves.html.

13. Humphries, Rolfe, trans. Ovid. Metamorphoses.Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1983.

14. Theoi.com Website. Erinyes. Retrieved 3/26/2019: www.theoi.com/Khthonios/Erinyes.html.

15. Catholic.org Website. Gregory XIII. Retrieved 3/27/2019: www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=5371.

16. Halliwell, James O. A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words. London: John Russell Smith, 1878.

17. Stephen, Leslie, and Lee, Sydney, eds. Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1885-1900.

18. The Encyclopedia Britannica. 11th ed. New York: 1911.

19. Encyclopedia Britannica Website. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia. Retrieved 4/2/2019: www.britannica.com.place/Moluccas.

20. Greg, Walter W., ed. Henslowe Papers. London:A.H. Bullem, 1907.

21. Varzeano, Jose. alcoutimlivre.blogspot. Retrieved 4/18/2019: https://alcoutimlivre.blogspot.com/2012/02/d-jorge-de-lencastre-2-duque-de-aveiro.html.

22. Saraiva, José Hermano. História de Portugal - Dicionário de Personalidades. Edição QuidNovi, 2004. Retrieved 4/18/2019: https://carreiradaindia.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/cristovao-de-tavora/.

23. space.com Website. Comets of the Centuries: 500 Years of the Greatest Comets Ever Seen. Retrieved 4/21/2019: www.space.com/24069-greatest-comets-of-past-

centuries.html.

24. Yoklavich, John, ed. The Battle of Alcazar. From The Life and Works of George Peele, Vol. 2, Charles T. Prouty gen. ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1961.

25. Edelman, Charles, ed. The Stukeley Plays. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005.

26. Global Security Website. Indonesia History - Moluccas - Spice Islands. Retrieved 4/26/2019: www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/indonesia/history-moluccas.htm.