The Fourth Day of Christmas in churches of Shakespeare's time - The Innocents' Day (Series, Part 4)
Why does Herod do this? To remove prospective heirs or competitors for his throne.
Such killing is a repeated theme in Shakespeare, in Richard III with the killing of the princes in the tower, in Richard II and other history plays, in Hamlet, Macbeth, and more. The slaughter of innocents is part of the general cultural-religious backdrop for the killing of Lady Macduff and son in Macbeth.
Killing competitors for a throne was not restricted to biblical texts in Shakespeare’s time, but the Bible tales were the only ones required by law for hearing in churches, with legally enforced attendance during which this text was read.
By the numbers: The word “Herod” occurs NINE times in Shakespeare,
in four plays:
- twice in Hamlet (“out-herod’s Herod,” 3.2.14-15, perhaps also a reference to Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist beheaded for condemning his incestuous marriage);
- once in in The Merry Wives of Windsor;
- and once in Henry V as a reference to Herod the Great’s slaughter of innocents:
“Your naked infants spitted upon pikes
Whiles the mad mothers with their howls confused
Do break the clouds, as did the wives of Jewry
At Herod’s bloody-hunting slaughtermen. (3.3.38-41)
- “Herod” occurs five times in Antony and Cleopatra.
(Cleopatra lived at the same time as Herod the Great.)
In the second scene of that play, a servant says,
“Let me be married
to three kings in a forenoon, and widow them all:
let me have a child at fifty, to whom Herod of Jewry
may do homage.” (1.2.27-30)
So we hear not only the name of Herod, but also “three kings,” in the space of two lines, and you can bet Shakespeare’s audiences would have noticed.
[To be cont.]
INDEX for posts in this series on the TWELVE DAYS of CHRISTMAS in Shakespeare’s time (and possible influences on the plays):
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2024/12/twelve-days-of-christmas-in-churches-of.html
NOTES: All references to Shakespeare plays are to the Folger Shakespeare Library online versions: https://shakespeare.folger.edu
[1] It is frequently noted that there is no historical evidence for Herod ordering the slaughter of boys 2-years old and younger. This tale appears only in the Bible, so it is likely the tale was made as a fiction for the purpose of catechism, to teach that Jesus was like a new Moses, who, like Moses, escaped the slaughter of young boys by a cruel and ambitious ruler.
IMAGES:
Left: Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640)
The Massacre of the Innocents (between 1611 and 1612)
oil on oak panel
Collection: Art Gallery of Ontario
The Thompson Collection
Public Domain via https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Rubens_-_Massacre_of_the_Innocents_-_Art_Gallery_of_Ontario_2.jpg
Right: Cornelis van Haarlem (1562–1638)
The Massacre of the Innocents (1591)
Nederlands: Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem – De kindermoord in Bethlehem
Frans Hals Museum
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Via https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Cornelis_Cornelisz_van_Haarlem_-_The_Massacre_of_the_Innocents_-_22_-_Rijksmuseum.jpg
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Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
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