St John's College S.62 (James 447)
'Club Law'. English, seventeenth century
'Club Law', a comedy, attributed at times to George Ruggle. The play was first performed at Clare Hall c. 1599, and though set in Athens is in fact a sharp commentary on town-gown relations in contemporary Cambridge. Begins imperfectly in Act 1 Scene 3. Act 5 Scene 5 ends: 'which woundes no balme can salve, no cunning hand can heale, unlesse your gratious hands, send forth a merry peale / Finis / plaudite'. The play was identified and printed from the present MS by G. C. Moore Smith as Club Law: a comedy (Cambridge, 1907). A copy of this work is in the College Library at 4.30.7.
275x170 mm. 62 pp. [7-68]. The first six pages have been torn out. The MS appears in the sale catalogue of the library of Richard Farmer, Master of Emmanuel, 1798. It was in the College Library when Cowie compiled his catalogue, Dr Moore Smith suggests that it might have been bought from a bookseller soon after the Farmer sale (pp. ix-xi).
Single hand throughout (mid seventeenth century), a clean copy. Paper. A few corrections. Former paper covers torn away.