This first chapter begins by examining the patronage model Robert Dudley learned during his early life. He was less likely to ‘form’ a company than to acquire one, and was primed to do so even before Elizabeth was on the throne. Biographical information about the known members of the company helps to locate most of them in the parish of St. Stephen Coleman Street by 1559 or soon after, and new evidence identifies a previously unknown member as well as familial and parochial ties linking members together over many years. The key to these connections are the sisters and wives who appear alongside the players in the records, pointing to the ties between them, which I argue is true in the literal sense that these women actively maintained the bonds within the company. From a theatre history perspective, this backstory flips the standard narrative of the players not settling in London until after they had their patron. I locate them instead in the alleyways lining Coleman Street prior to 1559, and argue from this starting point that their approach to the business of playing during the next thirty years can be explained with reference to their origins as players in London.

By abandoning the focus on virtue and replacing it with a focus on preservation by means of occasional deception, the Machiavellian discourse throws suspicion on the role of the counsellor, and especially problematises his powerful role in relation to the monarch. This is especially the case in late Tudor England, ruled by monarchs perceived to be ‘weakened’ by their age or gender. Whereas the Henrician humanists had advocated counsellors who ruled their princes, the threat of Machiavellianism and weak monarchs renders such arguments threatening, and the counsellor falls under greater suspicion for his perceived usurpation of power. At the same time – and by contrast – there is a view that such weak monarchs require strong counsel to guide them. If this cannot come from individuals, as they are likely to be self-interested, then it must come different, ‘dis-interested’, sources. Whereas single private counsellors will be self-interested and thus ought not to rule a monarch, especially a female one, assemblies such as parliament will guide the prince according to the good of the commonwealth. For this reason, they need to have a share in the government. Command becomes ‘bridled’ by this source of counsel.