ABSTRACT
Alone among Peele’s dramatic works, Edward I appeared in two Elizabethan printings, the quartos of 1593 and 1599. Copyright records suggest that in 1600 yet another printer considered issuing the play. 1 Theatrical accounts confirm the play's popularity: Philip Henslowe’s Diary lists fourteen performances of Longshanks, the king’s nickname and apparently Henslowe’s term for Edward I, between 29 August 1595 and 9 July 1596. “Longeshankes seute”— presum ably the “suit of glass” Edward wears in scene 3-was still important enough to mention in two inventories of 1598 .2 As printed, Edward I has enough flaws to make acting it impossible without some rearrangement, cutting, or rewriting.3 The existence of a printed text did not harm the play’s theatrical success: Henslowe earned very respectable sums from Longshanks in 1595-9 6 .4
