In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the scene is laid in Kronborg Castle at the small town of Elsinore in Denmark. It has been somewhat of a mystery why the action of the play should take place precisely at this place. Why not in England, since Hamlet is not a historical play retelling something that had really happened? Admittedly, Shakespeare’s Hamlet is based on a Danish tale, viz. the "Amlethus story" told by the Danish historian Sakse ("Saxo Grammaticus") in his Gesta Danorum. In this tale, however, the scene is laid mainly in Jutland, with a minor digression to England. Sakse, in turn, had used a motif from an old Roman tale, the story about Lucius Junius. The latter was a nephew of the last Roman king, Tarquinius Superbus. In order to elude persecution from his uncle, Junius faked insanity and therefore was surnamed Brutus (meaning ’senseless’, ’stupid’). In Sakse’s version the scene was removed from Rome to Jutland, the King became a Governor and all the characters got Danish names.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet was first printed in 1603, but there is much evidence indicating that a play with a revenger called "Hamlet" existed some decade before that date. It has been generally assumed that this hypothetical play was the prototype that Shakespeare used when composing his famous tragedy. Consequently the hypothetical drama has been termed the "Ur-Hamlet" (from German ur-, denoting ’earliest’). But apart from this supposedly lost play, there is also an extant version of an early Hamlet play. This is a German version of Hamlet, which can, as we shall see, be proven to be a forerunner of Shakespeare’s famous play. The complete title of the German play is"Tragoedia. Der bestrafte Brudermord oder: Prinz Hamlet aus Dännemark". The text of the play has been preserved in the form of a copy written in 1710 after the original manuscript. This copy was first published in the periodical Olla Potrida in Berlin in 1781. In 1967 it was republished by Albert Cohn in his Shakespeare in Germany. For brevity’s sake the German play will be called Prinz Hamlet throughout in this book. For readers familiar with German a sample of passages from Prinz Hamlet is given below.

1. ... ein Gespenst an der Vorderseite des Castels ...

2. ...vielleicht bist du ein Sonntagskind, ...

3. Unser neuer König macht sich lustig; sie trinken Gesundheiten. - Ach heiliger Anton von Padua stehe mir bey ... O Saint Velten wenn nur erstlich die Hauptrunde vorbey wäre ...

4. ... solt ich ... gehenkt werden ... (cf. German: sollte ich)

5. Was macht Ihr hier?

6. ... ob auch alle Posten wohl besetzt seyn. (cf. Germ.: besetzt sind)

7. ... denn weil ich in Teutschland, hat er sich geschwinde zum König in Dännemark krönen lassen, unter Schein des Rechtens aber hat ermir die Krone von Norwegen überlassen, und beruft sich auf die Wahl der Stände. (cf. German: weil ich in T. war, hat er)

8. Er tut auf diesem Rundeel der Schildwacht grossen Schaden.

9. ... dass ich täglich nach der Mahlzeit zu Mittage in meinem Königlichen Lustgarten zu gehn pflegte ...

10. ... einen subtilen Saft von Ebeno gennant ... (cf. Engl.: ebony German: Ebenholz)

11. ... Ihro Durchlaucht zweifeln an meiner Hülfe auch nicht!

12. Was ist dieses? Sollte wohl ein Echo den Wiederschall von unsern Worten wieder zurückschicken.

13. ... es nimmt uns gross Wunder, dass Ihr Euch habt vorgenommen, von hier zu reisen, und Euch nacher Wittenberg zu begeben.

14. Wir aber sind gesonnen, ein Carisell anzustellen ... (cf. English: carousal, German: Schmaus)

15. Denn ich gedenke noch, da ich noch jung war, wie mich die Liebe plagte, ja sie hat mich so toll gemacht, als einem Märzhaasen, anjezo aber acht ich sie nicht mehr: Ich sitze lieber bey dem Ofen, und zähle meine rothe Pfennige, und trinke Ihro Majestät Gesundheit.

16. ... gehe fort nach dem Kloster, aber nicht nach einem Kloster, wo zwey Paar Pantoffeln vor dem Bette stehen.

17. ... wir sind fremde hochteutsche Comödianten ...

18. Seyd ihr nicht vor wenig Jahren zu Wittenberg auf der Universität gewesen ...

19. Könnt ihr wohl diese Nacht eine Comödie präsentiren? (cf. Engl.: to-night, German: heute Abend)

20. Habt ihr noch alle drey Weibspersonen bey euch, sie agirten sehr wohl? -- Nein, nur zwey, die eine ist mit ihrem Mann an den Sächsischen Hof geblieben.

21. ... der einen König agiret, muss sich einbilden, dass er in dem Spiel ein König sey, und ein Bauer auch wie ein Bauer.

22. Ich bin ein grosser Liebhaber eurer Exercitien, und meine es nicht übel, denn man kann in einem Spiegel seine Flecken sehen ...

23. ... könnt ihr wohl sie diesen Abend noch präsentiren?

24. ... machet das Theater fertig in dem grossen Saal; was euch an Behölzung mangelt, könnt ihr von dem Schlossbaumeister fordern.

25. ... es soll vor der Abendtafel Ihr von den Teutschen eine Komödie und nach der Tafel von unsern Landskindern ein Ballet gehalten werden.

26. ... noch diesen Abend eine Comödie präsentiren wollen.

27. (Corambus:) Die Comödianten werden eine schlechte Belohnung bekommen, denn ihre Action hat den König sehr missfallen. (Hamlet:) ... darum gehet hin und tractiret mir diese Leute wohl.

28. Hier präsentirt sich im Tempel ein Altar.

29. Verberget euch, Corambus, hinter die Tapeten, bis wir rufen.

30. Aber sehet, dort in jener Gallerie hängt das Conterfait Eures ersten Ehegamals, und da hängt das Conterfait des itzigen ... (cf. German: das Bildnis)

31. Hätte ich meinen Schwager, meines vorigen Gemals Bruder, nicht zu der Ehe genommen ...

32. Hätte mir der Pabst solche Ehe nicht erlaubt: so wäre es auch nimmer geschehen.

33. Ich bin nun lange nicht zu Hoffe gewesen, und meine Zinsen abgegeben.

34. ... ich will Euch auch einen guten Käss spendiren. (cf. Ger.: Käse)

35. ... der Schneider hat mir meinen cartunen Rock ganz verdorben.

36. ... wo es unter den Adel kommt, dass es bey den Unterthanen leicht einen Aufruhr bringen könnte ...

37. Wir haben bey uns beschlossen, Euch nacher England zu schicken, weil diese Krone nahe mit der unsrigen befreundet; als könnt Ihr Euch eine Zeit, weil eine gesundere Luft allda, in etwas refrigiren ...

38. Ja, ja, König, schickt mich nur nach Portugall, auf dass ich nimmer wieder komme, das ist das beste.

39. Ich sollte Euch damit verlezen, denn er ist so stark vergiftet, dass, wer nur die geringste Wunde damit bekömmt, augenscheinlich sterben muss. (cf. German: augenblicklich)

40. Dieser traurige Unglücksfall mag wohl in keinem Seculo der Welt jemals geschehen seyn. (cf. Engl.: secular, Germ.: Jahrhundert).

As the above examples demonstrate, Prinz Hamlet is written in a language that could be termed as poor high school German. It was only when I discovered that I could read and understand the text of Prinz Hamlet that I realized that the language apparently was some inferior kind of German. My command of foreign languages is not good enough for ordinary 16th century German. After this discovery, I soon found that the text of the play was teeming with solecisms, and that the language was clearly non-idiomatic. Moreover, here and there we find Anglicisms pure and simple, e.g.:

"Castel" instead of Schloss or Burg.

"Saint" instead of Sankt.

"Ebeno" instead of Ebenholz.

"Carisell" instead of Schmaus.

"Conterfait" instead of Bildnis.

"Harquebusieren" instead of erschiessen or hinrichten.

"Plomasch" instead of Gefieder.

"Diese Nacht" instead of heute Abend.

Diese Nacht may occur in present day colloquial German. In sixteenth century German it is more like an Anglicism. Diese Nacht corresponds formally to the locution to-night, but Nacht in colloquial German refers to the period of sleep, while actually the time for evening entertainment was meant."Diesen Abend" (examples no. 23 and 26), literally ’this evening’, is apt but still not idiomatic.

Another oddity is the high frequency of Latin loan words, normally not used in German. E.g. the Comedia von der schönen Sidea by Jacob Ayrer contains only ten foreign words, while there are hundreds of them in Prinz Hamlet. At least 30 of them are even missing in the very comprehensive Deutsches Wörterbuch by Jacob Grimm (where every one of the Sidea loan words is to be found). Such un-German words are e.g. Carisell, Cartun, Casus, Cito, Comödiant, Commandieren, Consens, Contrair and Correction.

The play refers to a woman who has received permission from the Pope to marry her brother-in-law (31, 32) This is clearly an allusion to Catherine of Aragon, whom the Pope permitted (in 1503) to marry her brother-in-law, the future King Henry VIII of England.

In Prinz Hamlet it is intimated that a person who is sent to Portugal would not be expected to return (38). The same allusion appears in an English play from about 1585, The First Part of Ieronimo. The actual event behind these allusions is probably the death in 1578 of the English Captain Stukely when on duty in Portugal. There is another English play dealing with this event, The Battle of Alcázar.

Prinz Hamlet contains a prelude of the type that Seneca habitually used and that also occurred in some English plays in the 1570’s and 1580’s. Such preludes were not used in German plays of the period.

There is also a dumb show (a pantomime) in the drama, as a play within the play. Its plot consists of the murder of a king by means of poison. No such play within the play has been found in any German piece from the period. The English play Gorboduc from the 1560’s actually contains a dumb show with a poisoning of a king.

A considerable part of the content of Prinz Hamlet is taken from Sakse’s story about Amlethus. Not, however, this very name. The author of the German play has substituted the English name Hamlet, which was in use already in the sixteenth century. Ch.W. Bardsley has recorded this name on documents from Chester in 1566 and 1587.

There is also an allusion to the salubrious air in England (37). This does not correspond to Continental notions about the climate of Great Britain. Rather it is what the British themselves like to believe. E.g. in Shakespeare’s Macbeth both Duncan and Banquo speak favorably about the air of a certain place in Scotland.

One of the characters in Prinz Hamlet is the Lord Chamberlain Corambus. Although he is only a minor part in the cast, the author has managed to bring out a number of distinctive traits about him. These traits correspond to what is known about Queen Elizabeth’s Lord Chamberlain, Lord Burghley (William Cecil, 1520-98). Corambus is portrayed as devoted to his sovereign--just as was Burghley. Corambus is much older than the monarch--just as was Burghely. Corambus has a son who goes to France--just as did Burghely’s son Thomas in 1561. Corambus has had love troubles in his youth (15)--just as had Burghley. Corambus spies on Hamlet on two occasions.--Burghlely is known to have kept a small army of spies for domestic use. Corambus likes to count his coppers (15).--Burghley liked to collect riches, and he grew exceedingly rich eventually. Corambus wants to give the actors a parsimonious reward (27).--Burghley is known to have been extremely restrained in distributing the Queen’s pensions and other benefits (see Legouis p. 90).

The name Corambus seems to be adapted from (Latin) cor ambis ’double-hearted’, perhaps meant as a travesty on Burghley’s legend "Cor unum, via una" (’one heart, one way’).

So many allusions to English circumstances and such tangible influences from English usage cannot be pure coincidence. We are forced to assume that Prinz Hamlet was written in German by an Englishman.

Besides the allusions to things English, Prinz Hamlet also contains several hints at Kronborg. This Renaissance palace was finally completed in the middle of the 1580’s--simultaneously outshining most of European palatial architecture (picture below).

The action of the play takes place in an anonymous castle being the self-evident residence of the Court of Denmark. There are several royal castles and palaces in Denmark, but all the detailed references in the play unequivocally point to Kronborg Castle in Elsinore.

The play begins with a lengthy section dealing entirely with the guard duty on the Castle, irrelevant to the main plot. Kronborg was intended to function partly as a Royal residence, partly as "The Lock of the Baltic". (In those years a toll was extracted of all ships passing through this narrows within Danish territory.) Both these functions called for rigid watch being kept day and night. We may assume that King Frederick II felt just as proud of his guard as of the Castle itself.

Furthermore, a part of the Castle is called Rundeel, apparently a mis-spelling of the Danish word Runddel, the adopted term for two projections of the Castle (then almost a fortress). Other references to existing conditions are Lustgarten (9)--a certain place in the vicinity of the Castle, der grosse Saal (24)--the castle hall, Gallerie (30)--the last built wing so called, and Tempel mit Altar--the castle church, completed in 1582. There is also a reference to the Schlossbaumeister ’castle-builder’ (24), and until November 1585, there was in fact a castle-builder on duty at Kronborg.

The most interesting reference, however, is the one concerning the famous tapestry of the Great Hall (29, 30). This tapestry was woven by master weaver Anthonius de Corte and his journeymen. It was probably delivered and set up in 1584. It displayed pictures of 111 successive Danish Kings (most of them fictitious, of course) with a caption in German for each of them. These woven portraits are embodied in the action of the play. Corambus, the Lord Chamberlain, hides himself behind die Tapete, and in the same scene Hamlet speaks about das Conterfait of the present King and about that of his immediate predecessor. It is taken as a matter of course that these portraits are exposed on the wall. Apparently the author of the play wanted to give a special prominence to the tapestry with its royal (and putative historical) display. He even named his King after the most frequent royal name occurring on the tapestry. Erico is just a latinized form of the German name Erich, borne by nine of the 111 "Tapestry-Kings". (See Mackeprang, p. 79-80.)

It can be concluded that most of these allusions to Kronborg Castle imply that the author of Printz Hamlet knew the Castle well. We can feel sure that he either had visited Kronborg before he wrote the play or actually composed it on the spot.

From the above evidence we may conclude that Prinz Hamlet must have been written in the period 1583-85. E.g. the famous tapestry could not have been ready woven before 1583. The castle builder left in 1585. But we can narrow down the period of its creation even more. The great importance given to the Castle and to the Guard of the Castle seems to indicate that the play was somehow connected with the final completion of the Castle. According to a contract signed in October 1584, the Castle was to be completed in June 1585. Since the King stayed a whole week at Kronborg in that month (more than in May or July), it is likely that the Castle was in fact inaugurated in June 1585. The King’s sojourn includes one Sunday, viz. Sunday, June 13, 1585. (Weddings and feasts were usually held on Sundays.) And as a matter of fact, in the very beginning of the play there is an otherwise uncalled-for mention of the word Sonntagskind (person born on a Sunday). Shortly afterward, there follows an invocation of Anton von Padua (i.e. Saint Anthony of Padova), whose day was June 13. This seems to mean that the Castle was "born" on June 13, which fell on a Sunday in 1585. There follows an additional invocation of an unknown Saint Velten. This may be a mis-spelling for Saint Veit (alias Vitus), the patron saint of actors and players. His day was June 15.

Everything points to 1585 as the year Prinz Hamlet. was composed. The links between the play and Kronborg Castle imply that this German play was written in order to be performed on the day of inauguration of the Castle, which appears to have been June 13, 1585.

In 1985 the town of Elsinore celebrated the 400th anniversary of Kronborg Castle. Those in charge of the arrangements had planned for a celebration in the fall. Since it was essential that Her Majesty, Queen Margrethe of Denmark, should contribute with a visit and a ceremonious reception of the key to the Castle as part of this celebration, they had to choose a date suitable to her. It happened to be June 13! (Her Majesty had been duly informed by me of the above facts in good time before the date.)

But who was this Englishman, who knew so much about Kronborg that he was capable of producing an inauguration play (in German!) for the Castle?

He must have been a person with very good connections to the highest social circles in Denmark and/or Saxony (were the King’s sister lived). After all, he was entrusted with the framing of an essential part of an entertainment at the Royal Danish Court. He must also have been a person with a good knowledge of Denmark’s constitutional law. In the play we find allusions to the right of disposal to the Crown of Norway that belonged to the King of Denmark in the 1580’s. There is also a reference to the succession to the throne being dependent on the approval by the estates of the realm (7).

The author must also have been familiar with contemporary political circumstances in Denmark, since he refers to the risk of rebellion (36). Such a risk was imminent in April, 1585, when some "crown farmers" in Halmstad revolted (according to Kancelliets brevbøger, pp. 293, 312). It is also obvious that the author knew about the King’s pride in having financed the Castle without resorting to tax revenue. We even find references to the notoriously good relations between the English and Danish monarchs and to the worries among the peasantry about their tax burden (33).

Further, we can establish that the author must have known about the family and private life of King Frederick. The fact is that he refers to a Weibsperson (’female person’) who is staying with her husband at the Saxonian Court (20). This must bear upon the King’s sister Anna, who married the Elector of Saxony in 1548. Electoress Anna would hardly have participated in a far away celebration in June, 1585, since she had less than four months left to live. (She died on October 1, 1585.) Moreover, there are allusions to the extensive drinking habits of King Frederick (3, 14) and to his keen interest in tournaments, fencing contests and race horses (Arabs).

Finally, the author apparently possessed a passable knowledge of German and a certain talent for composing drama. Probably he was also experienced in the colloquial language of the continental courts.

It is beyond possibility to attempt to identify all the Englishmen that could have acquired these qualifications and who could have been on the spot in June 1585.

But as it happens, at least one person is known to have had the birth, the age, the travels, the interests, etc. that would fit the unknown author. This person is William Stanley (1561-1642), second son of the 4th Earl of Derby. In 1585 he was 24 years old and a member of one of the 61 families constituting the English Nobility. He was also related to Queen Elizabeth (second cousin). During the preceding three years he had been sojourning on the Continent in order to improve his French, Italian and other languages. Possibly he had also been at the Wittenberg University for a semester or two.

The Stanley and Cecil families both had their London residences in Channon Row in Westminster and Sir William therefore had the opportunity to get acquainted with Lord Burghley.

The Stanley family had another residence at Chester (See Figure 5), the town where the name Hamlet was first documented. Two members of this family have been noted for their connections with the theatre. Sir William’s elder brother, Lord Strange, in 1576 became the patron of a troupe of actors. (Shakspere later joined this very troupe.) Sir William himself is known to have been "busy in penning comedies for the common players" in 1599 (when he had become the 6th Earl of Derby, see Figure 6). If he had ever acquired German it would certainly have been an elementary "School German". French and Italian would probably have come first on his syllabus. (Latin and Greek were of course natural parts of his school curriculum.)

The probability of finding yet another young Englishman with such qualifications must be estimated as microscopic. We can conclude that Prinz Hamlet aus Dännemark was very likely written by William Stanley.

If young William was the author, our next question would be: Why in German? English was his native language and the play was to be performed in Denmark.

The answer is simple. In addition to Danish, German was at that time the official language of the Danish Court. E.g. the captures on the tapestry portraits were all written in German. At the christening of Crown Prince Christian in 1577, students from Copenhagen had performed a play in German, Davids Sieg über Goliath. We can also imagine that some German princes may have been invited to attend the inauguration of Kronborg Castle. The Elector and Electoress of Saxony would certainly have participated, if only Electoress Anna’s health had permitted a journey.

Prinz Hamlet is, however, written in typical "School German", and the entire play appears in many instances to be rather amateurish. So perhaps some other motives contributed to the choice of German in this special case. One motive could have been to provide an opportunity for the actors to practice and improve their German. This brings up the question: Who were the actors at the first night performance of Prinz Hamlet? For whom were the various parts of the play designed? Although this question cannot be given an exhaustive answer, there are certain hints at an explanation in the text of the play.

As already mentioned, there is a play within the play. This is supposed to be performed by a troupe of actors, whose principal, Carl, becomes involved in a lengthy dialogue about the troupe and their performance. What Carl has to say about the play-within-the- play tallies on most points with the play Prinz Hamlet itself. He says for instance that there are two female actors, that the roles include a king and a peasant and that the play will be performed in German. This is a true description of Prinz Hamlet, but it does not tally with the play-within-the-play. The latter has one female part, no peasant part and is not performed in German. The inference is that the dialogue is really about the situation on Kronborg Castle when the performance of Prinz Hamlet was prepared.

Therefore, when it is said that the actors have come from Germany, we should understand that Prinz Hamlet was acted by persons who had arrived from Germany (or who had at least been there before). And when Carl and Hamlet talk about the troupe originally comprising three "female persons" of whom one is absent, we may guess that the author has three persons of some importance in view. The absent one could be the King’s sister, Electoress Anna (1532-85), who certainly stayed with her husband at the Court of Saxony, just as Carl says (20). The two others could be the King’s eldest daughters, Princess Elizabeth (1573-1626), and Princess Anna (1574-1619). (Incidentally, the latter was to become the Queen of Scotland in 1589--and of England in 1603). These two girls were certainly "female persons" and they had terminated their stay in Germany years before. Being 11 and 10 in June, 1585, they would have participated in the celebration of the Castle. They were also old enough to be able to act the two female parts in Prinz Hamlet, viz. Queen Sigrie and Ophelia. These characters speak some 50 or 60 lines each, i.e. just about what a ten-year-old child could reasonably memorize.

It seems probable that the two roles were written purposely for these Princesses as a part of their education. The more so as the play also provided three mute parts, two male and one female. These would have been well suited to the capacities of the three Royal children "in the middle". The dumb show could very well have been included especially in order that Crown Prince Christian (8 years old), Prince Ulrik (6) and Princess Augusta (5) should be allowed to dress themselves up and to act together with their older sisters. Princess Hedevig (3) and Prince Hans (1) were of course too young to participate.

Just like the two female parts, most of the male parts are also limited in their spoken lines. These could have been acted by children and teenagers, having to learn eight to 80 lines each. There are only two big parts, Prince Hamlet with about 500 lines and King Erico with 200. These must have been acted by adults. Hamlet alone speaks about half the lines of the entire play. If the play was performed by young amateurs, it is almost unthinkable that any other than the amateur author would have coped with the part of Hamlet. He who had conceived the plot and written the text (perhaps several times) would have been able to memorize the 500 lines and play the leading part. With Sir William as Hamlet it is natural to think of his tutor, 39 year old Richard Lloyd as King Erico. (Mr. Lloyd was probably accompanying Sir William during all the three years of Continental journeys.) We may surmise that tutor and student had come from Wittenberg to Elsinore just as it is said about the the actors in the play. The other male parts may have been acted by noble boys attending the Court, such as Frederik Rosenkrantz (1571-1602) and Knud Gyldenstierne (1575-1627), both of them known as Hofjunker (’courtier’) when they came of age.

It seems that King Frederick’s appetite had been whetted after having seen the inauguration play, Prinz Hamlet, in June 1585. In fact, the next summer the King invited seven English actors to Elsinore. (Prinz Hamlet requires just seven actors with maximum doubling of parts.) Among these seven were actors Kemp, Bryan and Pope, whose names are connected with the theatrical company that was patronized by the Stanleys.

Later, we will find that a contemporary English translation exists of Prinz Hamlet. Perhaps it was this version that was performed by the English actors in the presence of the Royal Court in Elsinore in the summer of 1586.

The purpose of this essay has been to show that Prinz Hamlet was in all probability composed by the theatre fan William Stanley in the spring of 1585. There is much evidence that points to the play having been performed at the inauguration of Kronborg Castle on Sunday, June 13, 1585, in the presence of His Majesty King Frederick II and his family. Given this, Prinz Hamlet must be an original play and not an abortive German translation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as has been often taken for granted. As we noted above, it has long been a custom to presume that Shakespeare’s Hamlet was based on a lost forerunner, generally called the Ur-Hamlet. If anything deserves this name it is indeed the German drama Prinz Hamlet aus Dännemark from 1585.

In 1942 we could watch Leslie Howard, acting a Professor Smith, speaking with a fictitious German minister in the British film Pimpernel Smith. The minister says: "Remember that Hamlet is a German play" and the Professor replies: "But you must admit that we have a damn good English translation of it." I laughed heartily at this joke at the time. Now I realize that satire can hit the truth. So much about the problems concerning Prinz Hamlet and its possible influence on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. But after all, the principal aim of literary history should be to promote understanding the work of art, in this case Hamlet.

Arup, Erik, Danmarks historie II, Köbenhavn 1932. (p. 623)

Bardsley, Ch.W., A Dictionary of English and Welch Surnames. London 1901. (p. 352-353)

Cohn, Albert, Shakespeare in Germany, Wiesbaden 1967. (p. 4, 240)

Conyers, Read, Lord Burghley and Queen Elisabeth, London 1960.

Dansk biografisk Leksikon.

Draper, Peter, The House of Stanley, 1864.

Greenstreet, James, Articles in The Genealogist 7-8, Lond. 1891-92.

Grimm, Jacob, Deutsches Wörterbuch, 1854-.

The History of the House of Stanley, Liverpool 1801.

Kancelliets Brevbøger 1584-88, Köbenhavn 1906. (p. 185, 293, 312)

Kindermann, Heinz, Theatergeschichte Europas. II, Salzburg 1959. (p.365)

Legouis, Emile, A Short History of English Literature, Oxford 1932.

Mackeprang, M., Kronborgtapeterne, Köbenhavn 1950. (p. 38, 79, 80)

Mollerup, V., Danmarks Riges Historie 1536-1488, Köbenhavn 1900- 1906. (p. 264, 281)

Murray, John Tucker, English Dramatic Companies 1558-1642, London 1910. (p. 34)

Pedersen, Laurits, Helsingör i Sundtoldstiden 1426-1857 I-II, Köbenhavn 1926. (p 274, 448)

Pollard, William, The Stanleys of Knowsley. Liverpool 1868.

Regesta diplomatica historiæ Danicæ, Hafniæ 1895. (p. 678)

Sir William Stanley’s Garland, 1814 (reprint).

Wanscher, Wilhelm, Kronborgs Historie, Köbenhavn 1939.

Wilson , Thomas, The State of England Anno Domini 1600, Reprinted inCamden Third Series, Vol. 52, London 1936.