The Epistle says, 'Wee begunne with Gold, follow with Siluer, proceede with Brasse, and purpose by Gods grace, to end with Iron'. Fleay, i. 283, and Greg (Henslowe, ii. 175) take this and The Brazen Age to be the two parts of the anonymous Hercules, produced by the Admiral's men on 7 and 23 May 1595 respectively. It may be so. But the text presumably represents the play as given at Court, apparently by the King's and Queen's men together, on 12 Jan. 1612. An Anglo-German Amphitryo traceable in 1626 and 1678 may be based on Heywood's work (Herz, 66; Jahrbuch, xli. 201).
The Brazen Age > 1613
1613. The Brazen Age, The first Act containing, The death of the Centaure Nessus, The Second, The Tragedy of Meleager: The Third The Tragedy of Iason and Medea. The Fourth. Vulcans Net. The Fifth. The Labours and death of Hercules: Written by Thomas Heywood. Nicholas Okes for Samuel Rand. [Epistle to the Reader; Prologue and Epilogue.]
Cf. s.v. The Silver Age.
The Iron Age. c. 1613 (?)
1632. [Part i] The Iron Age: Contayning the Rape of Hellen: The siege of Troy: The Combate betwixt Hector and Aiax: Hector and Troilus slayne by Achilles: Achilles slaine by Paris: Aiax and Vlesses contend for the Armour of Achilles: The Death of Aiax, &c. Written by Thomas Heywood. Nicholas Okes. [Epistles to Thomas Hammon and to the Reader, signed 'Thomas Heywood'.]
1632. [Part ii] The Second Part of the Iron Age. Which contayneth the death of Penthesilea, Paris, Priam, and Hecuba: The burning of Troy: The deaths of Agamemnon, Menelaus, Clitemnestra, Hellena, Orestes, Egistus, Pillades, King Diomed, Pyrhus, Cethus, Synon, Thersites, &c. Written by Thomas Heywood. Nicholas Okes. [Epistles to the Reader and to Thomas Mannering, signed 'Thomas Heywood'.]
Dissertation: R. G. Martin, A New Specimen of the Revenge Play (1918, M. P. xvi. 1).
The Epistles tell us that 'these were the playes often (and not with the least applause,) Publickely Acted by two Companies, vppon one Stage at once, and haue at sundry times thronged three seuerall Theaters, with numerous and mighty Auditories'; also that they 'haue beene long since Writ'. This, however, was in 1632, and I can only read the Epistles to the earlier Ages as indicating that the Iron Age was contemplated, but not yet in existence, up to 1613. I should therefore put the play c. 1613, and take the three theatres at which it was given to be the Curtain, Red Bull, and Cockpit. Fleay, i. 285, thinks that Part i was the anonymous Troy produced by the Admiral's on 22 June 1596. More plausible is the conjecture of Greg (Henslowe, ii. 180) that this was 'an earlier and shorter version later expanded into the two-part play'. Spencer had a play on the Destruction of Troy at Nuremberg in 1613 (Herz, 66).
