The Tragedy of King Richard II

Theatre 250/376 Seminar Fall 2008
Sources and Dating

The play was probably written no earlier than 1595.

On February 7, 1601, the day before Essex led his failed Gunpowder Rebellion against Elizabeth, his fellow conspirators commissioned a special performance of the play in the hope of arousing popular support.

The play first appeared in print in 1597 (Q1), possibly from Shakespeare's own manuscript. In the first and the two succeeding editions (Q2 and Q3), all of which were printed during Elizabeth's life, the episode (IV,1,145-308) in which Richard yields the crown was omitted. Q4 (probably a memorial version) appeared in 1608 and Q5 in 1615. The folio version in 1623 was taken from Q3 and Q5.

The principal source of information about Richard III available to Shakespeare was Sir Thomas More's
History of King Richard III in Raphael Holingshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1587);The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and York by Edward Hall (1550); Sir Jean Froissart's The Cronycles of England (1523-25); A Mirror for Magistrates (1554-87); Samuel Daniel's The First Four Books of the Civil Wars Between the Two Houses of Lancaster and York (1595); and Woodstock (1592-93), a play.

Sources

Shakespeare in Quarto

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