Anthony Munday facts for kids

Anthony Munday (sometimes spelled Monday) was an English writer and playwright who lived from about 1560 to 1633. He was born in London and was the son of a stationer (someone who sold books and writing materials). He was an important writer before William Shakespeare and even wrote plays about the famous folk hero Robin Hood. People believe he was the main writer of a play called Sir Thomas More, and that he worked on it with other famous writers like Henry Chettle, Thomas Heywood, William Shakespeare, and Thomas Dekker.

Biography

Anthony Munday was once thought to have been born in 1553, but later information suggested 1560. A monument to him, which is now destroyed, said he was 80 years old when he died. We also know he was a "citizen and draper," which means he was a respected person in the city and worked with cloth or fabrics. In 1589, he lived in Cripplegate, London. Even in 1613, he was still connected to the cloth trade, helping to provide costumes for city events. He was also called a "gentleman" because of his writing.

Early Years

Anthony Munday likely started as an actor. In 1576, he began an apprenticeship with a stationer named John Allde, but he didn't stay long. By 1578, he was traveling in Rome. He said he went abroad to see new places and learn languages. However, he might have been gathering information about English Catholics living in France and Italy.

He wrote about his travels in his book English Romayne Lyfe (1582). He mentioned that he and his friend, Thomas Nowell, were robbed on their way to Amiens. An English priest helped them and gave them letters to deliver in Reims. They gave these letters to the English ambassador in Paris. Munday used a false name and pretended to be the son of a well-known English Catholic. This helped him get into the English College in Rome, where he was treated kindly. He wrote about daily life there, a disagreement between students, and a festival in Rome.

The Playwriting Years

Munday's work against the Catholics was rewarded in 1584 when he became a messenger for the Queen. After this, he seemed to stop acting. In 1598–1599, he traveled with the Earl of Pembroke's acting group in the Low Countries. During this time, he worked as a playwright, often rewriting older plays. He spent his time writing for booksellers and theaters. He also created religious works, translated famous stories like Amadis de Gaule, and wrote lyrics for popular songs.

From 1605 to 1616, he was the main writer for the City of London's public shows, called "pageants." These were big, colorful parades and performances. One of his works was London's Love to Prince Henry (1610), which described a pageant on the River Thames for Prince Henry becoming Prince of Wales. He also created a very grand Lord Mayor's show in 1616. It's possible he wrote many pageants between 1592 and 1605, even though records for those years are missing.

His Works

It's not known exactly when Anthony Munday became known as the "poet to the city." However, he was already doing similar work before this. The famous writer Ben Jonson even made fun of him in his play The Case is Altered (written around 1598 or 1599), calling him Don Antonio Balladino. Another writer, Thomas Middleton, also mentioned him.

Munday wrote many poems and stories, both original and translated. He was an important playwright before William Shakespeare. One of his first works was The Mirror of Mutability from 1579. He dedicated it to his supporter Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. He might have been part of the Earl of Oxford's acting company after returning from Italy. Munday's Banquet of Dainty Conceits was printed in 1588.

Most of what we know about Anthony Munday's plays comes from the papers of Philip Henslowe, a theater owner. We don't know exactly when he started writing for the stage. The earliest date in Henslowe's papers connected to Munday is December 1597. However, he might have been with the Earl of Oxford's theater company before 1578. A play called Fidele and Fortunatus was mentioned in old lists and was recorded in 1584. This is likely the same play, Two Italian Gentlemen, which Munday probably wrote or translated.

Munday wrote two plays about the life of Robin Hood: The Downfall of Robert Earl of Huntington and The Death of Robert Earl of Huntington. These plays were first mentioned in theater records in 1597–98 and were published in 1601.

Catalogue of Plays

Here are some of the plays Anthony Munday wrote, sometimes by himself and sometimes with other writers:

• Fidele and Fortunio or Fedele and Fortuna, by Anthony Munday. c. 1584.
• Sir Thomas More, by Anthony Munday, Henry Chettle, Thomas Heywood, William Shakespeare, and Thomas Dekker. c. 1591–3.
• Mother Redcap, by Anthony Munday and Michael Drayton. December 1597. This play was not printed and so it is lost.
• The Downfall of Robert Earl of Huntington, by Anthony Munday. February 1597–8. Printed in 1601.
• The Death of Robert Earl of Huntington, by Anthony Munday and Henry Chettle. February 1597–8. Printed in 1601.
• The Funeral of Richard Cordelion, by Robert Wilson, Henry Chettle, Anthony Munday, and Michael Drayton. May 1598. This play was not printed.
• Valentine and Orson, by Richard Hathwaye and Anthony Munday. July 1598. This play was not printed.
• Owen Tudor, by Michael Drayton, Richard Hathwaye, Anthony Munday, and Robert Wilson. January 1599 – 1600. This play was not printed.
• The Widow's Charm, by Anthony Munday. July 1602. This play was printed in 1607, possibly under the title The Puritan or Widow of Watling Street.
• The first part of the Life of Sir John Oldcastle, by Anthony Munday, Michael Drayton, Robert Wilson, and Richard Hathwaye. Printed in 1600.

Translations

Anthony Munday also translated many books from other languages into English:

• Palmerin D'Oliva (1588)
• Francisco de Morais's The honorable, pleasant and rare conceited historie of Palmendos (1589)
• Etienne de Maisonneuf's Gerileon of England (1592)
• The anonymous Primaleon of Greece (from 1594)
• Amadis de Gaul (from 1596)
• Francisco de Morais's Palmerin of England (from 1596)
• The Dumbe Diuine Speaker by Giacomo Affinati d’Acuto Romano (1605)

See also

In Spanish: Anthony Munday para niños