Raymond Biswanger Slide Collection
William Shakespeare: 1608
(Cymbeline) Colchester, Essex
The Tragedy of Cymbeline, King of Britain was written by William Shakespeare some time between 1608 and 1610. It was not published in Shakespeare's lifetime, but was published in the first folio of 1623. The title of the play suggests the land he rules, rather than the king's person.The historical Cymbeline (usually called Cunobelinus) was a king in pre-Roman Britain whose rule over parts of south-eastern England began circa A.D. 9. He is cited in the texts of classical historians, and known by the many coins from that era inscribed with his name. The earliest coins he issued came from Camulodunum, or modern day Colchester, suggesting that that was his first base of power.
Shakespeare's king bears little resemblance to the historical Cunobelinus.
Colchester, Essex, Capital of Cymbeline or Cunobelinus [6 May 1985]
