f 202 (7 March)
Anna Regina
Anne by the grace of god Queene of England Scottland fraunce and Ierland. To all
Iustices of the peace, Maiors M Sheriffes
Bayliffes and all other his Maiesties Officers and
loveinge subiectes to whome yt shall or maye appertaine greetinge. Know yee
that of our speciall grace and favour, Wee are well pleased to authorize
vnder our hand and signett the bearers hereof our sworne
seruauntes Roberte Lee, Martin Statier and Roger
Barfeld with theyr fellowes and Asociates beinge our
Commedians vppon theyr humble suite vnto vs for theyr better maintenaunce
Yf att anie tim<.> they should haue
occasion to travell into anie parte of his Maiesties
dominions to playe Tragedyes, historyes, Commedies and pastoralls aswell in
and about the Cittye of London, and ‸ ⸢in⸣ all other Cityes
vniuersities & townes att all time anie times, (the time of divine
seruice onlye excepted) Theis<.> are therefore to will and requier you vppon the sight hereof quiettlye
an<.> favourablye (withe
your best favours) to permitt and suffer them to vse theyr sayd
qualitye within your Iurisdicions without anie of your
molestacons or troubles, and also to affourd them your Townehalls and all
other such places att anie time haue benn vsed ‸⸢by⸣
for men of theyr qualitye, That they maye be in the better readines for
our seruice when they shalbe therevnto Commaunded, Nott doubtinge
butt that our sayd seruauntes shall find the more favour
for our sake in your best assistaunce, Wherein you shall doe vnto
vs acceptable pleasure. Given at the Court of Whitehall, the seaventh daye of Marche
1605./
A Warrant from the
Queenes Maiestie for her players/.
While the warrant was originally written on 7 March 1605/6, the copying of the warrant cannot be dated very exactly: it is preceded by copies of petitions to both Elizabeth and James about how Southampton was suffering from encroachment on its monopoly of the sweet wine trade. None of these, including the last and longest to James, is dated. The item following this warrant, on f 203, is dated 12 November 1606. The dated item closest but before the warrant (f 192v) is dated November 1606 and the one before that (f 191v) 26 October 1606, so it seems likely that the queen's men visited Southampton in the fall, possibly early November, and their warrant was copied at that time.
The outside edge of the leaf has been trimmed in the process of repairing the manuscript, leading to occasional missing letters (here indicated by the diamond brackets).
Record title: Book of Instruments
Repository: Southampton City Archives
Shelfmark: SC2/6/6
Repository location: Southampton
The Book of Instruments' contents include copies of a
range of civic documents, including indentures, statutes, debts,
acquittances, official letters, apprenticeships, and more,
continuing the collection of such documents important to the town in Knaplocke's Book. A note pasted on the
back of the first flyleaf indicates that this volume was repaired in
1970 and that earlier repairs, including trimming the edges of the
leaves, had been done somewhat carelessly. The original volume may also
have brought together several loose books. In general, items appear in
chronological order, but there are enough exceptions to suggest that
things were moved around in binding, or – more likely – that those
entering the copies might go back to fill a blank leaf, rather than
insisting on a strict chronological order.
1597–1689; English with Latin mainly in
date headings; paper; ii + 374 + ii; 375–91mm x 255–60mm; modern pencil
foliation at bottom of leaves followed (pencil foliation at top of
leaves gets into some difficulty around f 118, which is followed by '118
(B)' at the top, while bottom is correctly 119); red-leather-covered
board cover, metal and leather clasps, title on spine: 'THE BOOK | OF |
INSTRUMENTS || SC2/6/6.'