Early Modern Studies Journal

English Department | University of Texas | Arlington

On the Recovery of the Environmental Pasts of Early Modern Plays Abstract

Laurie Johnson, University of Southern Queensland

This article outlines initial findings from the “Playing Conditions” research project, which seeks to improve understanding of the role climate played in the rise of the Elizabethan playhouse industry. In the course of this research, it has been necessary to rethink prevailing assumptions about the English Little Ice Age. The primary source materials are being incorporated into the Weather Extremes in England’s Little Ice Age, 1500-1700 ArcGIS database. Examination of these materials reveals that the seasonal weather phenomena normally associated with Little Ice Age climate, including long frozen winters and cold, wet summers, did not fully develop in England until the first decade of the seventeenth century. During the sixteenth century, as the playhouse industry emerged, the English faced volatile seasonal variations with extremes of drought and severe storm weather and violent tidal surges. For theatre historians, accurate accounts of sixteenth-century climate in England is an important tool in better understanding the rise of the playhouses and playing business. Yet this research has come up against some significant points of resistance both within and without the academy, which it is also helpful to document in the context of making a case for the continued value of historical research in relation to the impact of climate change as a driver of cultural innovation.