Sir John Oldcastle

Sir John Oldcastle is an Elizabethan play about John Oldcastle, a controversial 14th-15th century rebel and Lollard who was seen by some of Shakespeare's contemporaries as a proto-Protestant martyr.

Related Topics:
John Oldcastle - Lollard - Protestant

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The play was originally published anonymously in 1600. In 1619, a new edition attributed it to William Shakespeare. In fact, the diary of Philip Henslowe records that it was written by Anthony Munday, Michael Drayton, Richard Hathwaye and Robert Wilson.

Related Topics:
William Shakespeare - Philip Henslowe - Anthony Munday - Michael Drayton - Richard Hathwaye - Robert Wilson

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The play's positive depiction of Oldcastle may have been a reaction against Shakespeare's Henry IV plays, in which the fat buffoon Falstaff was originally called Oldcastle before complaints from Oldcastle's descendants forced a name change.

Related Topics:
Henry IV - Falstaff

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