Antiquaries in the Age of Romanticism: 1789-1851 - Queen Mary ...

It discovered King John dressed as his effigy appears in Worcester Cathedral, surrounded by his barons sheathed in
mail, with cylindrical helmets and correct armorial shields, and his courtiers in the long tunics and mantles of the
thirteenth century, there was a roar of applause, so general and so hearty, that the actors were astonished…Receipts
of from 400l to 600l nightly soon reimbursed the management for the expense. 71
If the consequences were not quite as far-reaching and instant as Planché later claimed, it
was certainly the case that the antiquarian approach now established itself as artistically valid
and commercially profitable in the presentation of Shakespeare. This dialogue between theatre
and antiquarianism was taken to a wider audience when the designs for King John were
published immediately after the first performance with ‘biographical, critical and explanatory
notices’ by Planché. 72 In the notes Planché binds literary and antiquarian tradition together with
epigraphs from Shakespeare and Chaucer and a quotation from Camden. The Chaucer in
particular serves to bolster the antiquarian interest in customs and manners as an adjunct to the
exposition of character:
Me thinketh it accordant to reson
To tellen you alle the condition
Of eche of hem, so as it semed to me,
And which they weren of what degree;
And eke in what araie that they were in. 73
Planché has, he explains, taken Camden’s advice and looked for ‘authorities’ for his
costumes among tomb effigies, tapestries, royal seals and stained glass windows. His secondary
sources are Douce and Meyrick, Gough and Stothard. He also considers the evidence of the
King’s clothing as recovered from his body during the opening of his tomb in 1797. 74 This was
perhaps the closest that antiquarian research could, or should, come to its source material. At the
same time Planché’s notes are constantly making judgements that balance theatrical effect
against authenticity. Almost none of his costumes were direct copies. The second costume for the
King was based on his great seal, impressions of which, Planché explains, are ‘affixed to one
71
Planché, Recollections, 1, p.55.
72
Planché, Costume of Shakespeare’s historical tragedy King John.
73
Planché, Costume of Shakespeare’s historical tragedy King John, epigraph.
74
See Making History, p.97.
247