Thomas Preston
Thomas Preston was a notable figure in 16th-century England, recognized primarily for his contributions to literature and academia. He served as a fellow at King's College, Cambridge, and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees there. In addition to his academic achievements, Preston had a significant moment when he performed a play attended by Queen Elizabeth I, which led to her granting him a pension and the title of queen's scholar. His legal education culminated in a doctor of laws degree, and he eventually became the vice-chancellor of Cambridge University.
Preston is often associated with the play "Cambises," written around 1560, which explores themes of justice and authority through the story of the Persian king Cambises. The play is notable for its dramatic portrayal of violence, reflecting the tastes of Renaissance audiences, and it features allegorical characters that emphasize the relationship between the monarchy and the common people. The narrative suggests divine judgment on rulers, showcasing a moral lesson about obedience and governance. Overall, Thomas Preston's life and work illustrate a blend of scholarly pursuit and theatrical innovation during a transformative period in English history.
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Thomas Preston
Composer
- Born: 1537
- Died: 1598
Biography
Although disagreement exists about the authorship of A Lamentabe Tragedie, Mixed Full of Plesant Mirth, Containing the Life of Cambises, King of Percia, which may also have been presented as Huff, Snuff, and Puff, Felix E. Schelling, a revered Renaissance scholar of the early twentieth century, made a persuasive case for Thomas Preston’s authorship. Those disagreeing with this conclusion often had preconceived notions about the sort of play a cloistered Cambridge don might produce.
In 1556, Preston was a fellow at King’s College, Cambridge University, and received a bachelor’s degree the following year. In 1561, he was granted a master’s degree. A learned man with a solid classical background, Preston acted in 1564 in a performance of a play that Queen Elizabeth I attended in Cambridge. He addressed the queen in Latin and was given leave to kiss her hand. Elizabeth awarded Preston a pension of twenty pounds a year and gave him the title of queen’s scholar.
In 1565, Preston became a proctor of Cambridge University. In 1572, he began legal studies, earning the doctor of laws degree in civil law in 1576. He became a member of the College of Advocates in London in 1581, an organization involved in pleading both civil and canonical cases. By 1584, Preston had returned to Cambridge as master of Trinity Hall, and in 1598, he became vice- chancellor of the university, a position he occupied at the time of his death later that year.
Cambises was written around 1560, when Preston was not yet thirty years of age. If he became an austere scholar in his later life, he was probably much less austere at the time the play was written. The source of this play appears to be Richard Taverner’s The Garden of Wisdom (1539), a collection of anecdotes about Cambises, a legendary ruler whose greatest deed was to have the flesh of Sisamnes, a corrupt judge whose actions displeased God, flayed and his rent flesh used to cover the official seat of his son, who replaces him as judge.
Writing at a time when Renaissance audiences were drawn to plays in which violence occurred on stage, the author of Cambises capitalized on this preference and, in the script, gave specific directions about using a false skin to achieve the flaying on stage before cheering audiences and about using “a little bladder of vinegar pricked” to simulate bleeding.
The play, cast with such allegorically named characters as Ambidexter, Preparation, Proof, and Execution, focuses on the relationship between commoners and royalty, clearly supporting unfailing obedience to royalty and unity within the realm in all circumstances. The play, in which the king and members of his court speak in alexandrines, or fourteen syllable lines, categorically implies that God alone can remove evil rulers. Cambises rules for two years before his sword falls from its scabbard, accidentally inflicting a fatal wound and supporting the notion that God ultimately judges.