Hamlet, the Pirates Son

Mary Floyd-Wilson
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
floydwil@email.unc.edu
Mary Floyd-Wilson. Hamlet! the "irate#s $on.% Early Modern Literary Studies $pecial &ssue '( )*++(,
'*.'-'' -U./0 http011purl.oclc.or21emls1si-'(1floyhaml.html3.
'. &n the .estoration period! $ha4espeare#s plays were re2ularly censured as 5ar5aric
products of a rude a2e. Writin2 in an era that pri6ed classical models! critics
e7pressed disappointment that $ha4espeare#s plots were often derived from some
old Wretched Chronicler! or some empty &talian novelist% )$ome .emar4s on
The Tragedy of Hamlet% 8,. The neo-classicists characteri6ed $ha4espeare#s
dramas as anti9uated! lac4in2 refinement! and even :othic% in their sensi5ility
)Hamlet ;efore &ts Time% <=>-=(,. Hamlet#s delay! for e7ample! was a plot
?5surdity% that su22ested $ha4espeare#s failure to rise a5ove the 5ase and
mean% 9uality of his low @ri2inals% )$ome .emar4s on The Tragedy of
Hamlet% 8,. Tracin2 Hamlet#s emer2ence in the post-.omantic period as a
perennially modern play! Mar2reta de :ra6ia has demonstrated how this plot
a5surdity% 5ecame incorporated into Hamlet#s character as a si2n of his comple7
interiority and modernity )Hamlet Without Hamlet '8*,.' ;ut other elements of
Hamlet#s plot are less easily a5sor5ed into Hamlet#s mysterious su5Aectivity. The
.omantics and their heirs can still find fault with what :oethe identified as
Hamlet#s e7ternal relations!% where5y characters are ta4en from one place to
another! or connected to2ether in one way or another! 5y accidental incidents.%
?ccordin2 to :oethe! these errors% function as props% to the play#s structure!
5ut unli4e the play#s internal relations!% they do not stamp themselves deep in
the soul% )Furness *8B,. The pirates# rescue of Hamlet at sea is Aust this sort of
e7ternal relation%Ca literal turnin2 point in the tra2edy#s plot that remains
stu55ornly peripheral and outward. ;y removin2 the "rince from Hamlet! this
e7ternal relation fulfills ?. C. ;radley#s definition of e7treme a5surdity% )(+,.
&ndeed! some scholars have deemed the sea-voya2e a 5ar5aric fol4-tale% relic
and a serious artistic flaw% )/awrence D'E Wentersdorf B<B,.* ?nd when not
i2nored! or treated as an aw4ward contrivance! the pirates# off-sta2e appearance
stri4es critics as so impro5a5le that it must si2nify the special intentions of
providence% )$infield (*,.< ;ut what has not 5een e7plored is how Hamlet#s sea-
voya2e succeeds in locatin2 a seemin2ly crucial moment of character
development 5eyond the reaches of psycholo2ical inwardness. Moreover! the
stu55ornly mar2inal pirates point us! & will su22est! towards $ha4espeare#s
investment in the 5ar5arism of his source material and to re2ional identifications
o5scured 5y modern interests in selfhood.B
*. For William /awrence in '(BB! the pirate rescue is $ha4espeare#s remar4a5le and
ori2inal solution to a host of pro5lems posed 5y Hamlet#s crude! trivial! FandG ill-
motivated% sources )=*,. ?lthou2h $ha4espeare was confined% 5y his sources to
include Hamlet#s sea-voya2e! he overcame this technical difficulty% with the
pirates )D'E 8+,. The pirates# rescue allowed $ha4espeare to return Hamlet to
Henmar4 more immediately!% /awrence contends! thus solvin2 the dramatic
o5stacle of Hamlet#s a5sence. Failin2 to consider that in the pirate-less First
Iuarto Hamlet mana2es to 2et 5ac4 to Jlsinore without delay or e7plication!
/awrence maintains that the rescue replaces the aw4ward old story% found in
$a7o :rammaticus and FranKois de ;elleforest when ?mleth 1 Ham5let stays for
a time at the Jn2lish court.= To discern $ha4espeare#s ori2inality! /awrence turns
to Der Bestrafte Brudermord! the :erman play dated '8'+! lon2 thou2ht to 5e
inde5ted to that 2host of a source! the Ur-Hamlet.D &n Brudermord! the ship
comes ashore on an island! where two 5andits )Banditen, hired 5y the 4in2
attempt to 4ill Hamlet! who then tric4s them into shootin2 each other. Hamlet
discovers in their possession the 4in2#s letter that orders his death in Jn2land if
the island am5ush were to fail. /awrence remains undecided as to whether this
scene derives from the Ur-Hamlet )as other critics have ar2ued,! 5ut he does
dismiss it as terri5le stuff% that leaves Hamlet marooned off Jn2land% )=<,.
$ha4espeare#s pirate rescue! on the other hand! provides a speedy return and
shows Hamlet#s capacity for 9uic4 action% )8+,. The fore2one conclusion for
/awrence! despite the 9uic4 action% of Hamlet in Brudermord and the a5sence of
pirates in I'! is that since $ha4espeare had to deal with such 2raceless sources!
his final achievement% proves all the more admira5le.
<. The most popular readin2 of the pirates# capture is that their appearance further
underlines the providential intervention that Hamlet associates with his for2in2 of
.osencrant6 and :uildenstern#s letter of e7ecution. ?s ?lan $infield has ar2ued!
the pirates are so impro5a5le and so unnecessary to the plot% that we are
compelled to read them as sym5olic of providence )(*,. J7tendin2 this ar2ument!
.ichard &de has su22ested that the pirates are conventional fi2ures )which are not
in ;elleforest,% derived from prose romance and associated! 2enerically! with
supernatural forces )<'<,. &n these readin2s! the thieves of mercy are the final lin4
in a chain of accidents compelled initially 5y Hamlet#s rashness. ?t the other end
of the spectrum! a handful of critics have claimed that interpretin2 the pirate
incident as accidental misses te7tual clues that indicate that Hamlet arran2ed the
rescue himself. Most recently Havid Farley-Hills has ta4en up this position
)which rests a 2reat deal on the earliest definition of the word craft% as ship,E in
his assessment! the scholars who identify the pirates with providence also assume
that Hamlet lac4s the initiative to finish the tas4 of reven2e% on his ownC
initiative clearly demonstrated 5y his plottin2 to meet up with the pirates )<*>,.8
For 5oth sets of critics! the supposed implausi5ility of the storyline initiates a
discussion on what the episode ultimately says a5out Hamlet#s inner 9ualities.>
B. Let critics who have ta4en a historical approach to the play directly challen2e the
assumption that the pirates are patently implausi5le when they point to Jn2land#s
relations with Henmar4 in the late si7teenth century and to the 2enuine presence
of pirates in the North and ;altic $eas )Wentersdorf B<D,.( ?s :unnar $AM2ren
notes! the Jn2lish were more li4ely to have heard of Jlsinore than Copenha2en!
since it was the site of the $ound Toll levied 5y the Hanish crown! which
appro7imately one hundred Jn2lish ships paid twice a year in their travels. The
$ound Toll% was what Henmar4 char2ed for their ostensi5le efforts to 4eep the
;altic $ea free of pirates )'*+-*',. Hespite such efforts! however! the northern
waters were full of Juropean pirates! many of them Hanish and Jn2lish in ori2in
)Hollerup 'BDE $AM2ren '*',. &n other words! the presence of pirates in Hamlet
may have 5een 9uite credi5le to an early modern audience. ?s historian Jdward
Cheyney o5serves! in the late si7teenth century! the 5itter diplomatic
communications 5etween Henmar4 and Jn2land concerned! almost entirely! the
Jn2lish piracy of Hanish ships. &n remindin2 us that Jlsinore was perceived 5y
the early modern Jn2lish as a 5usy cosmopolitan port threatened 5y pirates!
historical accounts su22est the possi5ility that Hamlet#s e7ternal relations are
more than accidental occurrences distractin2 us from Hamlet#s interiority.
=. ?lthou2h notoriously anachronistic! Hamlet ma4es some effort to historici6e the
relations 5etween Henmar4 and Jn2land! particularly in Claudius#s claim that
Hamlet will travel to Jn2land to demand Henmar4#s ne2lected tri5ute.% $ince the
Hanish sword has left Jn2land#s cicatrice N raw and red!% Claudius assumes the
Jn2lish people will pay him homa2e% )B.<.D<-D=,.'+ These references situate
Hamlet in what later 5ecame 4nown as the Oi4in2 ?2e!% when Henmar4
re2ularly e7torted payment from Jn2land to protect its coasts from Hanish pirates
Ca payment that hardened into the Hane2eld.% ?s Holinshed#s Chroniles
o5serves! This money was called Hane2ylt or Hane money! and was levyed of
the people. ?lthou2h others ta4e that to 5e Hane2ylte! whiche was 2yuen unto
such Hanes as 4in2 J2elred afterwards reteyned in his service! to defende the
lande from other Hanes and enimyes% )&.*<(,. &n medieval use! vi4in2% means
those who practice piracy! and accordin2 the !ED! the earliest recorded use of the
word pirate% identifies them as Hanes.'' &n his discussion of the Hanish
con9uest! William Camden ma4es these associations apparent0
For then! 5e2un they Fthe HanesG to rove upon the coasts of France and Jn2land!
and were 5y the writers! that penned in /atine the histories of Jn2land! named
Winingi! for that they practised "iracie0 for Wiinga! in the $a7on ton2ue! as
?lfricus witnesseth! doth si2nifie a "irat that runneth from cree4 to cree4e. )'B*,
With Pames#s accession! piracy 5ecame not only increasin2ly demoni6ed 5ut
e7otici6ed as well. The rovin2 pirates of the ?tlantic and Mediterranean! Jn2lish
and otherwise! would soon o5scure the almost ethnic correlation once made
5etween Hanes and piracy.'*
D. .eco2ni6in2 this correlation leads us! & propose! to a new readin2 of Hamlet#s
sources. ?s scholars have made plain! pirates do not hiAac4 ?mleth1Ham5let in
$a7o or ;elleforest.'< However! 5oth te7ts do include si2nificant references to
piracy. Most prominently! Ham5let#s father! Horwendile is a heroic pirate! who
2ains renown and power with his sea adventures. ;elleforest o5serves! from a
historical distance! that the 2reatest honor that men of no5le 5irth could at that
time win and o5taine! was in e7ercisin2 the art of piracie upon the seas% )'>',. &n
$a7o! Horwendile#s success as a pirate motivates the Qin2 of Norway in his
attempt to transcend him in warfare and cast a shadow over the 5rilliance of this
world-famed sea-rover% )>*,. When in Hamlet Horatio refers to the compact
5etween @ld Fortin5ras of Norway and the valiant% Qin2 HamletCas this side
of our 4nown world esteem#d him%Cit recalls Horwendile#s fame as well as the
a2reement and su5se9uent show-down 5etween the pirate 4in2s )'.'.>8->>,.'B
That Horatio wonders whether the :host may have uphoarded in FhisG life 1
J7torted treasure in the wom5 of earth% )'<(-B+, su22ests a life of piracy. &ndeed!
it is Horwendile#s reputation as a pirate in 5oth sources that prompts his 5rother
Fen2on#s murderous Aealousy )$a7o ><,. The nostal2ia of $ha4espeare#s Hamlet
for his father and for Henmar4#s Jdenic past has its roots in ?mleth1 Ham5let#s
many comparisons 5etween the i2no5le Fen2on and his heroic pirate father. &n
;elleforest#s closet scene! Ham5let laments to his mother that she has married a
man who murdered the honor and 2lory of the Hanes! who are now esteemed of
no force nor valour at all% )*'',. Thus! in losin2 Ham5let#s father! the Hanes lost
their national reputation as worthy heroes of the seas.
8. &f we stress these elements of Hamlet#s sources! $ha4espeare#s pirate rescue may
still loo4 providential 5ut it also 2estures towards Hamlet#s personal and national
herita2e. $ym5olically! perhaps! Hamlet faces another version of his father at sea0
not only are the thieves of mercy% reminiscent of Horwendile 5ut they also 5rin2
to mind the pirate con9uerors of Henmar4#s primitive Oi4in2% history. The
pirates function as the literary and historical 2hosts of Hamlet#s ancestors! on the
mar2ins of the play! outside the sta2ed action! 5ut crucial to his #olte-fae. Critics
seem to a2ree that Hamlet returns from his sea-voya2e in ?ct = a transformed
man! 5ut there is no consensus on why or how he has chan2ed. The solilo9uies are
2one and Hamlet ma4es his only pu5lic declaration of his status! This is &! 1
Hamlet the Hane% )=.'.*=+-=',. The curiosity of this statement is why the prince
would 5e compelled to characteri6e his royal identity in this way.'= &ndeed! what
Hamlet literally asserts is the recuperation of his ethnic identityCa recuperation
that may 5e connected to his adventures at sea.
>. ?s & have ar2ued elsewhere! Hamlet#s melancholy has estran2ed him from his
native! northern comple7ion% )English Ethniity 8>,. His 2enuine mournin2
e7acer5ates his melancholyCa forei2n infection that alienates him
physiolo2ically and emotionally from his former self. ?nd Hamlet#s interiority or
inwardness! lon2 cele5rated 5y critics as selfhood or su5Aectivity! may have 5een
identified as unnatural 5y some early moderns.'D Hamlet articulates his alienation
in ethnolo2ical terms early in the play0 althou2h 5orn to the Hanish custom of
drin4in2! a stereotypically northern vice that leads other nations to clepe Fthe
HanesG drun4ards!% he has lost all mirth and for2oes such practices )'.B.'(,. ;ut
his concern for Henmar4#s reputation su22ests frustrations with the determinism
of a northern 5irthCfor nature cannot choose his ori2in% )'.B.*D,. For Hamlet!
Henmar4 sits on the mar2ins of the civili6ed world! Rtraduced and ta7ed of other
nations# for its Rheavy-headed# and 5ar5arous customs% )Jn2lish Mettle% 'B*,.
The prince adopts here a forei2n voiceCpossi5ly an &talianate oneC
ventrilo9uisin2 continental opinions and distancin2 himself from his 5ase ori2ins.
&n "ierce "enniless his $upplication to the Hevil!% Thomas Nashe articulates this
purported &talian disdain for Hanish culture when his spea4er denounces the
Hanes as 5ursten-5ellied sots% and cele5rates &talianate preAudices a2ainst them0
:od so love me as & love the 9uic4-witted &talians! therefore love them the more
5ecause they mortally detest this surly! swinish 2eneration% )88,. Moreover!
Hamlet#s disdain for his nativity resonates with Jn2land#s own an7iety a5out its
northern roots! epitomi6ed in their particular concern that they inherited
drun4enness from the Hanes.'8
(. The tension 5etween Hamlet#s dispara2ement of his low ori2ins and his proud
assertion in ?ct =CThis is &! 1 Hamlet the Hane%Cmirrors! & want to su22est! a
tension at wor4 in the early modern literary and historio2raphical turn towards
northern sources. Throu2hout the si7teenth century! the Jn2lish stru22led to
reconcile themselves to their own northern ori2insCadoptin2! on the one hand!
forei2n civili6in2% customs and em5racin2! on the other hand! the ru22ed
5ar5arism of their native roots )English Ethniity B>-DD,. The Jn2lish civili6in2
process was trou5led 5y the notion that civility ori2inated elsewhere0 the very
concerns with de2eneration that led .o2er ?scham to condemn &talianate
Jn2lishmen also compelled seventeenth-century anti9uarians to cele5rate the
uncorrupted condition of Jn2land#s hearty! warli4e northern ancestors. &nitiatin2
this historio2raphical turn northward were the popular histories 5y the Ma2nus
5rothers0 Pohannes Ma2nus#s history of the :oths and $wedes! which includes
Hamlet#s story! and his 5rother @laus Ma2nus#s Desri$tion of the %orthern
"eo$les. &n the same way that $a7o#s medieval ?mleth tale is a central national
myth% aimed at 5olsterin2 the reputation of the Hanes! these popular histories
sou2ht to resurrect the reputation of the :oths! lon2 deni2rated 5y &talian
humanists )Ma7well =*+,.'> &ndeed! these northern histories inspired the
seventeenth-century trend in Jn2lish historio2raphy of identifyin2 the worthy
9ualities of :ermanic settlers in Jn2land as :othic.%'( ?s Pulie Ma7well has
recently ar2ued! it is li4ely that the Ma2nus 5rothers# histories are lon2-
overloo4ed sources of $ha4espeare#s Hamlet )='>-D+,.*+ :iven this trend in
historio2raphy! it is hardly coincidental that ;elleforest! in his efforts to amend
French de2eneracy! offers ideolo2ical reasons for loo4in2 to the history of
Henmar4 for inspirin2 source material0
that there was never any nation! how rude or 5ar5arous soever! that too4e not
some pleasure to do that which seemed 2ood. N & deli2ht to spea4 of these
stran2e histories! and of people that were unchristned! that the virtue of the rude
people maie 2ive more splendor to our nation! who seemin2 them so compleat!
wise prudent! and well advised in their actions! mi2ht strive not only to follow
)imitation 5ein2 a small matter,! 5ut to surmount them. )<'',*'
While the reli2ious impulses of such philo5ar5arism prove entan2led and
complicated! attractin2 .eformist and Counter-.eformation writers ali4e! the
ethnolo2ical implications seem plain0 conventionally :othic% traits had some
merit. ?ncient northern 5ar5arism! whether Hanish or Jn2lish in ori2in! was
2ainin2 favor as uncorrupted virtue. When cast in their 5est li2ht! the :oths
represented the reAuvenatin2 forces of youth! vi2or! and moral purity!% capa5le of
reformin2 cultural decadence ):othic .evival% 8<,.
'+. Hamlet#s Henmar4 proves rotten 5y internal and e7ternal causes. /i4e the
Jn2lish! the Hanes are northerners cau2ht 5etween the humoral e7cesses of their
native comple7ion )and the customs that feed those humors,! and the corruption
wrou2ht 5y the importation of forei2n civili6in2% 5ehaviors. Whether we cite
/aertes#s Franco-inspired ha5its! Claudius#s Machiavellian ways! or Hamlet#s
melancholy! the Hanes in $ha4espeare#s play are hardly representative of
untainted northern virtue. ;ut chronolo2ically the play situates Henmar4 5etween
periods! loo4in2 5ac4 to a heroic medieval past while also invo4in2 an early
modern present.** Hamlet#s dilemma is not only how to play scour2e without
2ettin2 tainted! 5ut also how to play scour2e when already tainted )whether 5y
scholarly melancholy! his 2rief! the 2host! or somethin2 else,. .emar4a5ly! when
faced with the mystery of Hamlet#s distemperacie% )*.', in I'! Claudius
su22ests a chan2e in environment as a potential cure0 he Austifies his deportation
of Hamlet 5y reasonin2 that the aire and climate of FJn2landG 1 May please him
5etter than his native home% )''.'*<-B,.*< ?lthou2h forei2n to our concept of
selfhood! it was commonplace in the period to su22est that the e7ternal
relations% of one#s air and climate had a determinin2 effect on a person#s
psycholo2ical and physiolo2ical health. Travel to forei2n countries mi2ht pur2e
)or infect, an individual#s native comple7ion! and a sea-chan2e could imply a
material transformation of one#s disposition.*B $ha4espeare#s Hamlet! of course!
never ma4es it to Jn2land! so technically he fails to 5enefit from that country#s
environment. &t is Aust as well! perhaps! that Hamlet avoids Jn2land! which was
typically characteri6ed 5y the Jn2lish and the continent as pro5lematically
northern! too. ?s the 2ravedi22er Ao4es0
&ra#e0 ? FHamletG shall recover his wits there Fin Jn2landG!
@r if a do not! Rtis no 2reat matter there.
Ham0 WhyS
&ra#e0 RTwill not 5e seene in him there. There the men are as mad as he. )=.'.'BD-
=+,
The Clown may echo the sentiment that the Jn2lish people#s natural manners%
had 5een created perfect% 5y their climate until the apish desires for forei2n
fashions and customs% 5rou2ht a5out a decline in their inwarde condition%
).an4ins <,. &n Iuarto * and the Folio! however! Claudius defends his 5anishment
of Hamlet 5y su22estin2 that the seas as well as countries different% have the
power to pur2e intemperance0
Haply the seas and countries different!
With varia5le o5Aects! shall e7pel
This somethin2 settled matter in his heart!
Whereon his 5rains still 5eatin2 puts him thus
From fashion of himself )<.'.'8<-'88,
We need not ima2ine that Claudius#s concern is 2enuine to reco2ni6e that his
assertion a5out the transformative power of a sea-voya2e had purchase in the
period. ;ut to ta4e seriously the notion that Hamlet#s internal turmoilCthat self-
alienatin2 matter in his heart%Ccould 5e relieved 5y a simple chan2e in e7ternal
relations threatens a romantic view of Hamlet#s deep su5Aectivity. We mi2ht ar2ue!
however! that the romance of Hamlet is the fresh start that his sea-voya2e
provides! sha4in2 loose that somethin2 settled!% pur2in2 him of his post-
medieval contamination! and helpin2 him retrieve a 9uality of Hanishness% that
slipped away with his father#s death. "erhaps it is neither an accidental occurrence
nor mere indiscretion that insti2ates Hamlet#s actions at sea! 5ut a physiolo2ical
and historical recuperation of his former! 5ar5aric self. &t is in this state! removed
from Henmar4 and pur2ed 5y the sea! that Hamlet is rescued 5y the piratesC
fi2ures that em5ody the 9ualities of his heroically :othic ancestors.
''. .ather than ar2uin2 that the sea-voya2e and pirate rescue 5rin2 out hidden
internal 9ualities in Hamlet )such as initiative! heroism! or impulsiveness,! & am
su22estin2 that e7ternal forcesCenvironmental and historicalCtransform the
prince outwardly! thus alterin2 the temperament he presented in ?cts '-B. ?s
Maurice Charney has proposed! it is very li4ely that the Hamlet of ?ct = has cast
off his in4y cloa4 and now appears in the sea-2own% of his travels )*8+,.*=
Hamlet#s messa2e to Claudius indicates that he has arrived on Henmar4#s shore
na4ed!% hintin2 that he has 5een stripped of his old 5elon2in2s and ma4in2 it
li4ely that he would 5e dressed in sailin2 2ar5 )B.8.B*,. &f this is the case!
Hamlet#s costumin2 when he announces himself as the Hane% would 5e
indistin2uisha5le from the pirates who deliver his letters to Horatio in the
previous act. This is not to say that all purported si2ns of Hamlet#s 5roodin2
su5Aectivity% have evaporated0 as he tells Horatio! he still feels ill% a5out his
heart )=.*.*+>,. ;ut the solilo9uies are 2one! and despite his 2ain2ivin2% or
pan2s of conscience )*'',! Hamlet responds to the demands of his e7ternal
relations% and his e7ternal ha5it! thus retrievin2 his historically northern role as
the son of a heroic Hane.*D &n a culture where refinement was understood to
decline easily into de2eneracy! $ha4espeare#s low @ri2inals% may have helped
foster! temporarily! a national fantasy of untainted primitivismCa fantasy that
would soon play a si2nificant role in shapin2 historical and le2al thou2ht in
seventeenth-century Jn2land.*8
Notes
' He :ra6ia o5serves that the few ei2hteenth-century readers who complain of
Hamlet#s delay see it as a pro5lem of plot! not character )Hamlet Without
Hamlet '8*,.
* &de notes that the pirates have 5een the source of some em5arrassment for
$ha4espeareans% )<'<,.
< $ee also Qitto! .ose! and Waddin2ton )BD',.
B & rely on Charnes#s useful distinction 5etween su5Aectivity and identity in $o
Unsecret to @urselves% )B'8-'>,.
= /awrence also ac4nowled2es "lutarch#s Life of Caesar as a potential source!
which descri5es the episode when Caesar was captured 5y pirates. The well-
4nown story of ?le7ander#s encounter with the pirate Hionedes may have
influenced Hamlet#s adventure! too! especially 2iven that 5oth ?le7ander and
Caesar are on Hamlet#s mind in the 2raveyard scene. For a consideration of
?le7ander#s pirate anecdote as a source for Henry '! see $pencer.
D @n the status of Der Bestrafte Brudermord! see Pen4ins! ''*-'**.
8 This ar2ument was initiated 5y :eor2e Miles in '>8+ and revived 5y Martin
$tevens in '(8=.
> Loshio4a! for e7ample! ar2ues that the voya2e provides Hamlet with a spiritual
re5irth.
( $ee also ;ullou2h B'-B= and Hollerup! 'BB-B8.
'+ Iuotations from the play follow the ?rden * Hamlet! ed. Harold Pen4ins.
'' The !ED cites Pohn de Trevisa )trans,! "olyhronion (anul$hi Higden
)'<>8,0 O&. B'=.
'* For historical considerations of Jn2lish piracy in the early modern period see
?ndrews! /ane! and .edi4er. &n a literary survey of pirate studies!% Powitt
demonstrates that pirates were often disruptive fi2ures! 5ut most of the material
cited is post-Jli6a5ethan in its focus. Fuchs ar2ues that the Jn2lish turn to piracy
in the Mediterranean esta5lished a connection 5etween Jn2land and &slam! the
satanic other of Christian Jurope% )B(,. @n the distinction 5etween Jli6a5ethan
and Paco5ean attitudes towards piracy! see /e6ra! *D8.
'< ?lthou2h & 9uote the 'D+> Jn2lish translation of ;elleforest#s The Hystorie of
Ham)let! all of the 9uotations also appear in French version of '=>*! which
$ha4espeare may have consulted0 5oth are availa5le side 5y side in :ollanc6#s
The Soures of Hamlet. To avoid confusion! & am usin2 ;elleforest#s spellin2 of
Horwendile and Fen2on when citin2 $a7o as well.
'B Charnes notes that Qin2 Hamlet was willin2 to 2am5le away his son#s
patrimonyE see Hamlets Heirs* D'. &dentifyin2 Qin2 Hamlet as a pirate helps
ma4e sense of this cavalier act.
'= For a co2ent discussion of this pronouncement! see de :ra6ia#s Weepin2 for
Hecu5a.%
'D The critical status of inwardness or interiority in early modern writin2 is! of
course! complicated and resistant to summary. $ee in particular the wor4 of
Francis ;ar4er! Catherine ;elsey! Qatherine Maus! Havid Hillman! and Michael
$choenfeldt. $ee also /ee for the ar2ument that the voca5ulary of essentialist
interiority% does not e7ist in Hamlet or in the wider culture )'=>,. For a pre-
Cartesian readin2 of Hamlet#s emotions that radically and importantly shifts the
terms of the discussion! see "aster! Humoring the Body! *>-=+. @n the
ethnolo2ical valences of inwardness! see Floyd-Wilson! English Ethniity! '<*-
'=8.
'8 Camden ma4es the commonplace claim that the Jn2lish received their
drun4enness% from the Hanes )(emains *',. $ee also + ,arning-$iee to all
drun-ards! which states0 Edgar 4in2 of Jn2land perceivin2 that his people had
learned of the Hanes )many of which were in this land at that time, to drin4
e7cessively% )'>,.
'> @n the philo5ar5arism of $a7o! see Malone. @n the si7teenth-century
resurrection of :othic history )often influenced 5y readin2s of Tacitus,! see
Qli2er! :othic .evival!% Wolfram! :othic History!% and Pohannesson! >D->(.
'( $ee Qli2er! The &oths in England. @n similar northern trends in Jn2lish
history writin2! see Pones! MacHou2all! and $hu2er.
*+ Ma2nus#s history cele5rates the :oths and $wedes! it deni2rates the Hanes!
and vilifies Horvendil! Fen2o! and ?mlet as Hanish tyrants.
*' @n ;elleforest#s comple7 reli2ious and political motives for writin2! see
Ma7well! =BB-==B.
** This mi7ed chronolo2y is! of course! insepara5le from the play#s simultaneous
representation of pa2an! Catholic! and "rotestant cultures.
*< $ee the first 9uarto in Hamlet. The Te/ts of 0123 and 0143.
*B @n the ethnolo2ical si2nificance of such ecolo2ical e7chan2es! see Floyd-
Wilson! English Ethniity. @n the constant interactions 5etween the cosmos and
early modern su5Aectivity! see "aster! Humoring the Body. Here and throu2hout &
follow "aster#s approach to historical phenomenolo2y in resolutely resistin2 the
impulse to find a5straction and 5ody metaphor where the early moderns found
materiality and literal reference% )*D,.
*= Hamlet tells Horatio how he had his sea-2own% scarf#d a5out% him on the
ship )=.*.'<,. Pen4ins 2losses it as a coarse! hi2h-collared! and short-sleeved
2own! reachin2 down to the mid-le2! and used most 5y seamen and sailors% )<(B,.
$ee also Calderwood! *8+.
*D Hamlet ac4nowled2es the power of the ?ristotelian notion that ha5it or the
adoption of certain practices may alter character )assume a virtue%,Cthe
intentional deployment of more environmental alterations. For another view of
this issue in the play! see Cefalu.
*8 @n these historical developments! see "ococ4.
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.esponses to this piece intended for the .eadersT Forum may 5e sent to the Jditor at M.$te22le@shu.ac.u4.
X *++(-! Matthew $te22le )Jditor! EMLS,.