John Still - Authorship of Gammer Gurton's Needle

Authorship of Gammer Gurton's Needle

Gammer Gurton's Needle is the second earliest extant English comedy, properly so called. Still, whose reputation as a serious churchman cannot easily be reconciled with the buffoonery in A Ryght Pithy, Pleasaunt and merie Comedie: Intytuled Gammer Gurtons Nedle, was first credited with its authorship by Isaac Reed in his 1782 edition of Biographia dramatica. The title-page of the piece, which was printed by Thomas Colwell in 1575, states that it was played not long ago at Christ's College, Cambridge, and was "made by Mr S. Mr of Art." A play was acted at Christmas 1567, and Still was identified as being the only M.A. on the register at that time whose name began with S.

There are reasons to suppose, however, that the play had been in Colwell's hands some time before it was printed, and it may well be identical with the Dyccon of Bedlam for which he took out a licence in 1562-1563, "Diccon the Bedlem" being the first of the dramatis personae of Gammer Gurton. In the accounts of Christ's College for 1559-1560 is the entry, "Spent at Mr Stevenson's plaie, 5s."

William Stevenson was born at Hunwick, Durham, matriculated in 1546, took his MA degree in 1553, and became BD in 1560. Stevenson was a fellow of Christ's College from 1559 to 1561, and is perhaps to be identified with a William Stevenson who was a fellow from 1551 to 1554. If such is the case, there is reason to believe that the composition of Gammer Gurton's Needle should be referred to the earlier period. He was made prebendary of Durham in 1560-1561, and died in 1575.

Contemporary Puritan writers in the Marprelate tracts allude to Dr John Bridges, Dean of Salisbury, author of A Defence of the Government of the Church of England, as the reputed author of Gammer Gurton's Needle, but he obviously could not be properly described as "Mr. S". Dr Bridges took his MA degree at Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1560, and the witty and sometimes coarse character of his acknowledged work makes it reasonable to suppose that he may have been a coadjutor of the author.

In the light of the authorship discussion, Gammer Gurton's Needle is thought to have been produced in around 1553. Though less overt in its use of Latin comedic conventions than its contemporary Ralph Roister Doister, a number of scholars have noted the play's parodic treatment of Terentian comedy. The plot centres on the loss of a needle belonging to Gammer Gurton. It is eventually found when her servant, Hodge, is slapped on the buttocks by the trickster figure Diccon and discovers it in the seat of his breeches.