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Hello everyone,

The Records of Early English Drama (REED) project is delighted to
announce the launch of REED Online (ereed.library.utoronto.ca), its
new open-access website.

Please see our press release below for full information.

Best wishes,
Carolyn Black, REED Project Manager




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ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF REED ONLINE

The Records of Early English Drama (REED) project is delighted to
announce the launch of REED Online (ereed.library.utoronto.ca), its
new open-access website.

The site features REED's first digital edition of dramatic records for
the county of Staffordshire, encoded in TEI. Easily searched with a
number of useful filters, online records appear conveniently on the
same page as their translations, document descriptions, and any
glosses or related endnotes. GIS mapping based on the *Patrons and
Performances* map of historic county boundaries and main roads
illuminates significant details further. For students and those new to
records research, helpful search tips, an introduction to the research
process, and an anatomy of a sample record provide a welcoming guide.

The *Staffordshire* records, edited by J.A.B. Somerset, are found in
scattered collections, but they yield fascinating glimpses of early
social and economic history through accounts of public performances,
social occasions, royal welcomes, folk customs, and professional
entertainments. A few examples highlight the richness of the
collection, which includes two royal visits – by Queen Elizabeth in
1576 and, more extensively, King James I in 1615. The records of
Tutbury, whose castle was a major administrative centre for the
household of John of Gaunt, show us from 1380 a flourishing Minstrel
Court while the accounts of Burton Manor, home to Thomas, Lord Paget
reveal an Elizabethan household filled with music, playing, and
revels. By contrast, Newcastle under Lyme sources record evidence of
implacable hatred of players, levying large fines upon persons who
allowed playing, and firing the town constable for turning a blind
eye. For those interested in tracking the itineraries of professional
troupes across the kingdom, new details of performance troupes
visiting Stafford and Walsall as well as the private residences of
Beaudesert, Blithfield, and Burton will be important.

Staffordshire is REED's pilot digital publication, with more
collections forthcoming on the same website to enable easy
cross-collection searching. As REED begins planning for the production
of the next collection for the county of Berkshire, the integration of
Patrons and Performances data, and the further development of REED
Online, it welcomes all comments and suggestions from users. Please
send any feedback to REED’s project manager, Carolyn Black, at
[log in to unmask]

REED gives special thanks to the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada for a Connection grant that has made
possible development of our digital publishing framework for REED
Online.

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