The Earl of Pembroke’s Men was an Elizabethan acting company about which not much is known. Their patron was Henry Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. He married, in his third marriage, Mary Sidney, a sister of the poet Philip Sidney and a niece of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the long-time favourite of Elizabeth I, whose supporters included Pembroke.
Marlowe probably dedicated to Mary Herbert the edition of Thomas Watson’s Amintae Gaudia published in November 1592.
The Pembroke’s Men probably consisted of 11 professional actors, 4 boy actors and 5 extras.1 Christmas 1592/93 they played at court. In 1593 they went on tour but were unsuccessful, according to a letter from Philip Henslowe to Edward Alleyn.2 The reason for this can no longer be determined today.3 The thesis that companies always moved to the provinces as soon as they ran into financial difficulties in London is now obsolete. Although the year 1593 was difficult because of the plague, touring was part of every company’s daily routine, even if they already had a fixed house. Some companies toured successfully for years.4
In 1597, Pembroke’s Men performed exclusively at the Swan and caused a scandal. The drama The Isle of Dogs by Thomas Nashe and Ben Jonson incurred the displeasure of the Privy Council. Jonson and actors Robert Shaw and Gabriel Spencer were sent to Marshalsea Prison, where spy Robert Poley was sent after them. October 1600 saw the last known performance of Pembroke’s Men at the Rose.
Edward II
Marlowe wrote Edward II for the Pembroke’s Men. Henslowe does not mention the play in his notes, which does not necessarily mean that it was written for this company in the first place. Roslyn L. Knutson even suggests that Edward II was originally written for Edward Alleyn as well.5 This role, however, is very different from the other Marlovian heroes Alleyn was known for. Mortimer would correspond more to this type.
The title page of the first surviving print reports that the drama was performed several times in London. It was not really suitable for touring, for it requires sixteen actors after all.6 Perhaps the Pembroke’s Men nevertheless took it with them in 1593 when they went to the provinces.7
