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1500Leonardo da Vinci
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1505Tower of London
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1509Henry VIII's Coronation
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1511Jousting Rules
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1511Catherine of Aragon's pregnancy
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1516Utopia by Thomas More
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1518Songs written by Henry VIII
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1520The Field of Cloth of Gold
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1526First printed Bible in English
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1528Henry VIII's 'Great Matter'
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1534Last letter from Thomas More to Henry VIII
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1539Dissolution of the Monasteries
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1540Henry VIII's Great Bible
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1540Henry VIII's Psalter
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1543Minstrels at a feast
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1543Chopping Wood
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1543Vesalius's anatomy lessons
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1543Copernicus
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1547Edward VI's diary
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1549Henry VIII's assets
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1553Letter from Elizabeth I
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1556Circular zodiac chart
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1558Elizabeth I's Map
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1567The First National Lottery
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1570Elizabeth I in a golden chariot
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1575Handwritten recipe
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1577Elizabethan dress codes
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1582First English Dictionary
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1585Recipe for pancakes
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1587Mary Queen of Scots
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1588Elizabeth's Tilbury speech
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1592Elizabethan thieves
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1592Doctor Faustus by Marlowe
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1595A cure for drunkenness
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Intro
This play tells the story of the man who sells his soul to the devil in return for 24 years of power and knowledge - a legend that began in Germany in the 1500s. The story has inspired countless writers, dramatists and composers ever since, but the first major stage version of the story in England is this one by Shakespeare's contemporary Christopher Marlowe (1564-93). Written sometime between 1588 and 1592, but only published in 1604, the play was extremely controversial at the time, as it explores the paths human beings can take when they allow the devil into their lives.
Doctor Faustus was performed many times around the year of Marlowe's death, and its demonic impact on the audiences became the stuff of legend. During the Elizabethan period, the popularity of theatre had grown so much that the Crown was concerned about the effects of controversial plays. Plays were given an official licence if they were deemed suitable, but playwrights could be censored, arrested or even imprisoned. James I passed an act in 1606, which forbade any blasphemous or profane references to God or Christ – actors were fined £10 for each profanity. Marlow was forced to make a number of revisions to Doctor Faustus.
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