Drummond of Hawthornden: The Season at Bourges, 1607

In 1607 the Scottish poet William Drummond of Hawthornden was in France; like many of his fellow-countrymen he had gone there to attend a university. Drummond's subject was law and his university was Bourges, but his interests in things other than his chosen profession led him to the playhouse. With industry but a certain naivety he recorded what he saw in great detail: more than twenty productions tragedies, tragicomedies, comedies and some farces put on over several weeks. His notes have survived ;1 they are closely written and at times illegible, but though we might on first sight be tempted to pass them by, they are of much interest, for they add to our knowledge of the French theatre of the early seventeenth century. They are in fact a unique record of the repertory of the most important troupe of the time, and as such, they are quite without rival either in detail or completeness. They handsomely fill a gap in French theatrical history. Our knowledge of this period has hitherto been at the best fragmentary. The names of the actors and actresses have been preserved, and we know the companies they belonged to, and some of the parts they played. We know something of how the players were organized, and there are in the official records occasional details of their dealings with the authorities of the court and the city. But though we knew in general what the players performed, we have had to guess the details. Drummond's MSS. show us the whole : we see the full repertory of the company from tragedy to farce, the fulsome harangues by the "prologue," the melodrama, the jokes. We are given some hints on how the plays were staged, and something of the audience's reaction to what was offered.