Introduction

SPENSER Allusions in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, compiled by Ray Heffner, Dorothy E. Mason, Frederick M. Paddleford, and a host of volunteer contributors (edited by William Wells),¹ was a groundbreaking work that continues to help literary historians evaluate Spenser’s fame and influence during his lifetime, the period immediately following his death, and the century following. The Wells collection noted references, quotations, allusions, echoes, and free associations in 563 manuscripts and works printed from 1580 through 1700. Since the Wells compendium was published, a handful of scholars have reported several new allusions, and while surveying a multitude of works published in England from the beginning of printing in England through 1700, I came across even more hitherto unrecorded references and allusions. Although a few of the items I found have been published elsewhere,² as the numbers burgeoned I thought it would be helpful to publish the entire collection as a supplement to Wells.

This gathering comprises primarily references to Spenser by name or to characters and passages in his poems. Several of these references noted here were found in catalogues of libraries being sold by auction.³ Because a mere list of Spenser’s works put up for sale would be too tedious for words, I have included a few details about the previous owners and of the auction venues. I have not perused all auction catalogues by any means, but I have seen a fair number, and it struck me that a note on Spenser’s worth to book buyers of the last quarter of the century might be of some small value to students of literature. At the very least, references to Spenser’s works in booksellers’ catalogues show that there was a ready market for them.

Methodology

Few of these allusions require comment or explication; they speak for themselves. My methodology is simplicity itself: I have presented the references in chronological order, and references within each year are organized alphabetically; for each one, I cite the author and title (usually with regularized punctuation), STC or Wing number, UMI reel number and position on reel, give a context for the allusion, transcribe the reference, and note subsequent editions, if there are any. I have retained the original fonts and spelling except for regularizing i/j, u/v, and vv/w; I have also regularized dropped capitals and all capitals at the beginnings of lines. Most of the biographical material used to identify various writers who wrote about Spenser was taken from Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), and is referred to herein as Oxford DNB. To avoid a great deal of repetition, I have not cited this source each time I consulted it, but anyone who looks deeper into biographies of people mentioned in this work will notice my deep indebtedness.

Because it is unlikely that anyone will sit down and read straight through this work and more likely that readers will dip in and out at random, I have supplied identification more than once or twice to some persons mentioned herein. Better to err on the side of too much information rather than too little.

Pagination begins where Wells leaves off.

Key to Abbreviations in Spenser’s Works

Colin

Colin Clouts Come Home Again

FQ

The Faerie Queene

SC

The Shepheardes Calender

Other Abbreviations

JMRS

Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies

N&Q

Notes and Queries

Oxford DNB

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

PMLA

Publications of the Modern Language Association of America

SpEncy

Spenser Encyclopedia, ed. A. C. Hamilton (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1990)

STC

Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, & Ireland 1475–1640 (London: Bibliographical Society, 1986London: Bibliographical Society, 1976), compiled by A. W. Pollard, G. R. Redgrave, et al.

UMI

University Microfilms International (Modern English Books, 1475–1640; Modern English Books, 1641–1700)

Wing

Short-Title Catalogue 1641–1700 (New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1972–84), compiled by Donald Wing et al.